Terror Infinity - Side B
by Wellsford
Summary: Terror Infinity - Side B In a new experiment to push man to evolve, God has decided to send people into the worlds of manga, anime, light novels, visual novels and video games. Compared to horror movies, such worlds shouldn't be as terrifying and should be easily to return from, but... You would be very, very mistaken.  Welcome to Side B of God's World. Main Site Royal Road.
1. Chapter 1

Plot - "Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live... A real life?"

The world changes when you click YES.

In God's dimension, you have to keep getting stronger, keep evolving to survive one horror movie after another. Do you kill everyone in your way to reach the end as a lone king? Or fight along with your comrades and survive through the support of friends?

Everything was just for staying alive. Until you find the secret of God's dimension. Who is the real enemy?

Terror Infinity - Side B

In a new experiment to push man to evolve, God has decided to send people into the worlds of manga, anime, light novels, visual novels and video games.

Compared to horror movies, such worlds shouldn't be as terrifying and should be easily to return from, but... You would be very, very mistaken.

Welcome to Side B of God's World.

A summery of High School of the Dead -

It's the end of the world: a virus that turns people into the walking dead who feast on the flesh of the living has been unleashed and things are rapidly going to hell. The plague strikes Fujimi High School, where unlikely hero Komuro, genius Saya, estranged love interest Rei, sword-wielding Busujima, Hirano the gun otaku and a school nurse of below-average intelligence need to escape the school and head for the city, where their parents might still be alive.

Go to school, come home, eat meals, go to bed and wake up...Go to school, come home, eat meals, go to bed and wake up...Go to school, come home, eat meals, go to bed and wake up...Go to school, come home, eat meals, go to bed and wake up...Go to school, come home, eat meals, go to bed and wake up...Go to school, come home, eat meals, go to bed and wake up, AND IT ALL STARTS ALL OVER AGAIN.

Shin Kazami no longer knew what the meaning of life was, if he ever did.

He thought he knew what it was when he was a kid, but now as he is about to graduate high school in just one more year, just as an average student with no prospects, no motivation for higher learning and with no real idea what he wants to do with his life, he finds himself realizing that his life is empty in every sence of the world.

Shin: Is this all that there is to life? School was just one day after the other and now that is almost over. What's next? College? Find a job, but what kind of job can a guy without a college degree or any motivation find?

I want something to change for the better. Something just has to change. If not, then I will just become another face in the crowd till the day I die without leaving a name or a mark on this world.

Heck, I haven't even gotten a girlfriend, though I don't want some winey girl on my arm or some loose women who will cheat on me the first chance that she get thinks she can get away with it. Still, I don't have one and I want one, but who would want to date me?

\- Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live... a real life?

After school I came straight home since I wasn't apart of any clubs and I had no part time jobs either.

I turned on the computer in my room to check this weeks release of my favorite manga since I forgot to buy the magazine, and a message popped up.

My first thought was that this was some kind of virus I accidentally download from the web. Just thinking that this was the third virus to infect my computer this year, and how I would have to later beg my uncle for another repair or antivirus to fix this, my already foul mood from before became worse.

I was about to immediately exit out of it rather then click either yes or no since either option infects the computer even worse... yet my heart skipped a beat when my finger stopped from clicking the X.

\- Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live... a real life?

Zoning out for who knows how long, I juat kept staring at the message on my computer.

An indescriable, unkown force compelled me to put my finger on the mouse and move it away from the X icon. I clicked on the YES button...Then immediately afterwards I lost conscious.

I, I think I said something right before, but I don't rememberwhat it was. It probably wasn't important.

?

Cold, shaking... The moment that I realized that something was off, that I was in a foreign place without even needing to open my eyes, I shot up from the ground.

I looked around in a panic and found that I was lying down on the floor somewhere, a classroom of some kind, not in my room siting in front of computer how I remember. A bizarre anxiety overcame me as I realized that I had no idea where I was or how I came to be here, but within a few seconds I had calmed down.

I had no idea where I was or how I arrived here, but panicking pointless and worrying that I have been kidnapped from my home won't do me any good.

I have seen in tv show and other literature that when this type of unreal situation occur it is best to stay calm and collected. It should be only after acquiring more information about my situation...I can then decide to be scared out of my mind.

Aqua: Not bad, and it could alway be worse, I geuss. You look to have the best quality of the bunch this time.

The cold, yet seductively adult voice came from a corner of the room.

I turned my head around, and saw a red head woman in her early twenties looking down at me. Both literally since she was standing and I was on the floor, and figuratively since you can just hear the superiority in her voice.

The young women was beautiful and was young enough to be a college student, yet her face showed experience that is uncommon for her age. There was a small scar running down her neck that looked like it was a very deep wound at the time it occurred. It was very unlikely to ever heal and disappear without plastic surgery.

The intense red haired women took a cigarette and began to smoke without a care in the world. It made her look even more mature, although it was bad for her health and looks.

The women then looked past me with calm and judging eyes. I turned around and realized that I wasn't alone in this, and thank god since despite her great looks that women was scaring me even before she took out a cigarette.

Behind me, lying on the ground like I was there were six other people.

Four men and two women, half of which were already waking up like I was and the other half still groggy and collecting themselves.

We were in in a classroom, not from my school, but it felt vaguely familiar. Not like I have been here in person before, but that I have seen it somewhere before. Oddly, even though I just felt cold when I woke up and that it should still be winter outside, I felt incredibly hot in my school winter uniform as if it was summer. The others around me felt just as uncomfortable as I was. They began taking off their heavy clothing they had on as well or loosened their clothes or taking off their jackets or coats.

Shin: Where is this place? Who are you? Why am I here? Also, why is it so damm hot in this classroom? Did someone over due it with the heater? It is killing me.

I said as much as I stood up to take off my jacket and tying it around my waist. I just meant to ask some questions, yet I ended up complaining, especially about the heat which shouldn't have been the main issue here. The women chuckled to her self before looking over at me mockingly.

Aqua: I thought you had the most potential here, but aren't you too relaxed to be worring about the temperture? Interesting if nothing else, but think carefully, it should had already inserted everything to your head. Where you are and why you are here and all of that good stuff.

Think carefully?

What kind of fortune cookie advise is that? Still, I tried to recall everything just for the heck of it. I only remembered when the pop up on the screen showed up which read, "Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live... a real life?", and clicked YES.

Afterwards, I fell unconscious. Wait... there really was something. There's something in my head, something about survival and life.

This is a game.

Whoever created this game is not known, maybe it's god, maybe it's the devil, or maybe it's the aliens or humans in the future.

Now I have become a player of this game, or maybe part of this game.

A game that brought together those who's lost in life, but have yet to become a rotten person. When they choose this game, they will be transported to various scenes in horror movies... Or that is how it should have been.

In a new project to test the limits and potential of man, it was decided to expand the range of missions that the players will embark on. Specifically, the works of manga, anime, books, and games that meet God's criteria.

The criteria is horror and high casualty rate.

Aqua: It is unluckily for you all that God changed the rules on you, but since we all come from Japan we may be more fortunate then others. This times the mission is High School of the Dead. Your luck isn't bad, you newbies basterds, getting such an easy mission on the first time around. Even when you die it will be an easy death. You just get bitten and become zombies in the end. So lucky, haaaaa!

The red haired women began to lightly laugh like crazy person. It was scary and I wasn't the only one here who tensed up and backed away a little. I was getting closer and closer to deciding that it was fine to be scared out of my mind for many reasons, but about what she just said kept me from panicking as much as I should have been.

High School of the Dead.

It is the name of one of my favorite ( former if I now have to live through it if what she said was true about this being that world ) manga/anime. An action, adventure and horror story of a post apocalyptic world quickly overrun by zombies.

The story follows a small group of highschool students, along with a school nurse and little girl as they fight their way through the streets of a zombie overrun Japan, to find a way to survive. The zombies are referred to as THEM, a form of mental protection against the cold act of killing former humans who have been turned.

Zombies, social collapse, deadly human survivors taking advantage of the situation to commit crimes and above all, and the slow decay of the main cast's own moral code. It is an amazing manga/anime that quickly became popular thanks to its amazing story, art, setting and character ( More often then not the females are stacked, having large breast so plentiful to the degree that you would have to question if the setting really is in japan, if you set aside all the other horror and gore ). It is an incomplete work as it has been on hiatus for years, yet it is still something that I would regularly read/watch again.

Fat Man: A mission? So are you saying only our conscious has come inside the computer? Just like in novels? And when we complete this game our conscious will go back to our bodies?

The one who asked this was a chubby man in his twenties who was next to me.

I too thought that it was a valid question to ask, but the red haired women gave him a death glare that was far to unbecoming of her first class face, which somehow made her look all the more frightening.

What is wrong with me to be so afraid of... never mind. She just took out a gun from a pack behind her back and shoved it into the mouth of the fat man so quickly that none of us could even react to stop her, if the gun didn't deter us already.

The gun was to my best knowledge a Beretta, similar to the Auto 9 once used by a certain robot cop, and it was pushed further into the fat man's mouth. Red hair womena looked down at the fat man with a look of disgust.

Aqua: I don't know or care if it's conscious or whatever, but in this world you will feel pain, you will get injured, and you will die. Also, you were wrong. When you finish this mission, you will go to the next one. Maybe you have seen or read it or maybe not. Everytime, God will bring in new members to replace those that died in the last movie, or just mission now as it were. Every mission consists of seven to twenty people, and the number of players will increase the difficulty of the mission. In other words this is a very easy movie, we only have eight people here, one difficulty level higher then if we had seven the lowest level of difficulty.

Then with a sneer, the fat man began to tell the red hair women off.

Fat Man: How do you know those who died didn't go back to their body? Perhaps they chose to die willingly. You can't scare me so easily!

What the hell is this guy saying?

We could all see a vein appear on the red haired women and I could swear that that her finger on the trigger of her gun was becoming itchy, further proof that that you shouldn't get on the wrong side of the women with a gun who doesn't hesitate to place a gun in a man's mouth.

Also, that guy most be fearless and talented to speak clearly with a gun in his mouth.

Aqua: Then do you want to try dying? Huh, can you imagine that unending terror? I lived through five missions so far. The first one was Hollowen 1. There were 17 newbies in that movie and three experienced veterans. A full 20 man difficulty. And do you want to know how it all ended? They all died. Killed by Michael Myers. I was the only survivor. Because it was a full 20 player difficulty, God fucked with the plot so much that even heavey weaponry didn't even slow him down as he walked slowly towards you and no matter how far, how fast you run, you turned a corner and there the fucker was? Can you imagine being followed around by the world's worst stalker and seeing your comrades die before your eyes? You piece of fat ass shit! You want to die, huh!?

Red haired woman was shouting like a madman.

Her intent to kill was so clear and obvious in her eyes for all of us. The fat man finally realized the situation he was in and looked like he was about to piss his pants in fear. Then the gun in her hands was shoved so down his throat that he couldn't even plead for his pitfall life.

Aqua: The point here is that death is death. Dying in an horror movie or anime is death in the real world even if our minds are in computers or whatever. Furthermore, I want to add that when you die here you will be tortured by the devils in these missions that will take all sorts of shapes and forms, so if you don't have the determination to live through this world of infinite terror, I advise you to suicide now. It will be a much more pleasant death then if you continue on.

It really looked like the red haired womens was about to kill the fat man and the seven of us new players tried to persuade her otherwise, but interrupting them was one of the two women newbies here.

A petie looking girl with glasses who could very well still be in middle school, yet her ability to remain calm in this situation made others believe that she was older then she really was, in a total different way then the red haired women.

Hikari: Then we don't have a way to return to the real world or our bodies?

The red haired women went back to her corner in the classroom and lit another smoke.

Aqua: Look, I am telling you that it's not your conscious that came into the computer. Do you honestly believe that humans have to technology to create this game? No way in hell. This is the work of a god and we are nothing more than bugs, worthless specks in his eyes. We were thrown here to struggle just to entertain him or they. Both our body and conscious have been brought to this world, and can't go back. At least I don't think we can go back that easily.

The glasses girl has a sense of calmness, obviously the type to think before she acts, and she thought about what to say next.

Hikari: By the sound of it, there should still be a way to go back to our world right? You never said that it was impossible, just unlikely.

This girl was smart.

Just like me, or even betterr then me she has been observing our situation and our conversations to find out what she should be doing. The red haired women seemed to have come to a similar conclusion as I had and looked at the glasses girl impressed.

Aqua: Not bad, not bad at all. The quality of this time's newbies are not bad, and unlike a certain someone you aren't complaining right off the bat. You're right, there is hope to go back.

Then after she was done insulting me, the one who complained about the heat, the red haired women began to explain ways we go about getting home, and once that topic came up we all paid attention.

Aqua: Everytime you finish a mission, that is you lived through the mission in one piece, you will obtain a fixed base reward of 1000 points. You can exchange these points for a lot of things, such as the right to live in a movie for 100 days. That is one way to get back home or escape the horrors of this world.

Then another player, a middle aged guy then asked an obvious, yet stupid question if you gave it any thought.

Middle Aged Man: Who would want to live in a horror movie or some anime were you can die? That's asking us to die.

Hikari: Don't you understand what she meant? There are many genres of horror movies, manga and anime like High school of the Dead. H.O.T.D is a bad example since the entire world has been overrun with zombies which makes it closer to the later Bio Hazard movies and games, but in some works, everything can be explained with science somewhat and are isolated events. You just have to go outside where the main events are happening and the rest of the world is normal.

The red Haired women gave the glasses girl an impressed look.

Aqua: You are exactly right. You can indeed live in another part of this world normally for those days. Just think about it a second. After experiencing a couple of these dreadful life and death trials, the chance to live normally in this or some other world is a blessing.

I think I am beginning to understand how this world works.

For a long time I have felt incredible boredom and have been living aimlessly, so I am looking forward to being a player in this world and adventuring just like the main characters in manga, but this isn't a game. This is real life without any save points.

Here you risk your life over and over again and no matter how exciting it is, it will all eventually get to you. I always thought what are the characters in manga and anime complaining about, wanting to go back to a normal life so badly, instead of a magical and adventuring life for as long as possible, but that was only one just one sides opinion. Once you experience life and death missions here in this different and dangerous world, then the mundane and peaceful life is what you begin to wish for.

Aqua: Other than exchanging for time, there are many other things. Such as this beretta used by RoboCop. A sci-fi weapon, and this is its unlimited ammo version. It took a whole 2500 points and some rewards. If you wanted to use those points to live in a movie or manga world, that would be almost an entire year with 250 days of peace. There is more. You can also use points to improve yourself, including intelligence, mental capacity, reaction time, cell vitality, muscle density, and immunization strength. In other words, if you survive through this mission you can double your strength. If you lived through a hundred movies, you can become a superman.

Hikari: This is all imformative and all, but we are getting off track here. Let's get back to the main point. How many points does it take to get back to our world? With no more life and death missions to haunt us?

The red haired women raised a hand with five fingers. The a few of the others that had yet to speak made there own assumptions about that gesture.

Man A: 50 points?

Women B: 500 points?

Man B: 5000 points?

They all gave their own thoughts, but before the red haired women could confirm or deny, the only other male close to my age spoke up.

Maybe a year older then me or so, but he looked completely different from me, your average youth that you could find anywhere. Unkempt hair, messy clothing and a face that could scare children ( Not ugly, just tough looking ).

Misaki: It obviously isn't going to be so easy to get out of this hell hole if what she said about this place is true? 50? 500? 5000? Give me a break! If no more then five missions was enough to get out of here then that lady wouldn't have spent 2,500 points for a weapon.

Aqua: Another good one in this batch. How lucky am I, and you are right tough looking kid. Those aren't nearly enough points to truly escape this place alive. 50,000 points. You need that many points to return to the real world.

Shin: 50,000!

Red haired women took out another cigarette.

Aqua: Did the number go over your head kid? Yes it is true. If you don't use any points, you just have to live through fifty movies then you can go back... Like that could happen.

Everyone quieted down.

According to her, if you don't use your points, it isn't possible to live through fifty missions without using your points for one thing or another.

Aqua: Of course, 1000 points is the base reward of every mission, so it is possible to get more then the base 1000 points just for surviving. You can do side quests in movies to earn points. For example; when I explained everything to you about this world, according to God's rules, explaining to newbies will be rewarded 100 points.

Misaki: Then what are the main and side quest for these missions? I want to know the best and fastest away to get out of this place.

Aqua: Then just look at your watches. You should have a special watch on your hand given to you by god when you arrived here.

Then we all realized that we had black metal watches on are wrist.

I noticed the watch beforehand, yet I wanted for it to come out in conversation naturally just now. I had already drawn attention, and negative attention at that. The red hair women who is my best chance at surviving this place, so I didn't want to slip up like the fat man and say something stupid and have her impression of me worsen.

The watch was on everyone's left wrist and we looked at the screen together. There was data on the screen of the watch. It was in small print and was constantly revolving, so it took a minute to understand what was the message... possibly from God himself.

God's Mission

High School of the Dead, 8 Man Mission

Story Plot.

Main Quest: 1000 Points.

Objective 1. Escape the school and reach the apartment of Rika Minami with the Main characters at the school by tomorrow midnight.

Objective 2. Survive till sun rise of the following day after reaching the apartment.

Main Characters:

Takashi Komuro - Negative 1000

Rei Miyamoto - Negative 100

Saeko Busujima - Negative 100

Saya Takagi - Negative 100

Kohta Hirano - Negative 100

Shizuka Marikawa - Negative 100

Alice Maresato - Not Included.

Side Quest: Bonus Points.

1\. Kill the Zombies - 1 Point = 20 Zombies.

2\. Kill the Rioter - 5 Points = 1 Rioter.

3\. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points.

Penalties: Negative Points/Death.

New Players - Negative 1000 points for killing a New Player.

Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

Total Score: Pending.

Aqua: You will get one point for every twenty zombies you kill, 5 point for killing those who have gone mad in the apocalypse, and 1000 points for every newbie...

She looked at everyone with a wicked face.

Only glasses girl and I looked back calmly at her. We both understood the rules of this game just now, and so we weren't afraid like the others. To the contrary, we didn't get why they were afraid. The rules were right there.

Aqua: And that is negative 1000. Killing a newbie like you guys would be negative 1000 points to your killer. Ok then, if you have any other questions hurry up and ask. This mission is about to start.

Glasses girl looked at me for some reason and then back to the red haired women. She obviously had more to ask.

Hikari: Sorry, and I am not to familiar with this manga since it is more aimed at men who like big breast and panties, so I don't know the plot too well, but this world should or should soon be overrun with zombies. If it is the latter and the outbreak hasn't happened yet, can't we ignore the plot and just kidnap the main characters and take them to this apartment?

Shin: She makes a good point. You and you gun there look intimidating to say the least. We could even find a way to explain the situation and...

Aqua: Good idea, but God's world isn't that easy. Do you think it is easy to just kidnap seven people and transport them across the city? Just in a normal situation we would have to deal with the cops and eyewitnesses, but now we are in this world's apocalypse. Also, messing with the plot to that extent would definitely change the difficulty of the mission and I mean for the worse. If any of them die at the very least you will lose 100 points and one mistake could wipe us out. If you end in the negative by the end of the mission then you will be killed by God. Still, this is a good opportunity to get points outside the main mission.

Shin: You mean killing zombies?

Aqua: Yeah. Using one of my previous mission before god made the change to manga and anime, Bio Hazard ( Resident Evil ), you could get 1 point for every 10 zombies, but there were only so many zombies if you had the mean to kill them all, but look here.

The red haired women then pointed towards the windows of the classroom. We could see the city out the windows and anyone who knows about H.O.T.D, then you would know that soon the the city will burn and chaos will break out because of the zombies.

Aqua: Look, there are millions of people out there who will soon be turned into zombies. 1 point for twenty zombies is a bargain in this world. With this infinite ammo gun can you imagine how many points I can get? Too bad I have to protect the main characters and only have till tomorrow midnight and to the evening to stay here. Really, what a shame.

Everyone, including the young glasses girl and the unkempt youth looked at the red haired women frightened. More so then her gun, it was her mind set.

Even if this world was just fake, not the real world but a game world of some kind it was asking too much of us to just see the people here as fake and not worth worrying about. Our mind set and morality is the result of the society we lived in till now. But this women was different.

It was obvious that she didn't care about shooting and killing zombies, and we could easily believe that if it was in the mission to kill normal people she wouldn't hesitate to do so.

The others were scared of her, didn't agree with her, I was the same, but I still knew that she wasn't wrong.

Manga, anime, books and games... I would have given anything to live such an interesting life, yet as with stories with high mortality rates, if you are not the main character then you are screwed.

It is the same here. If you are not Takashi Komuro or a main character of H.O.T.D you are going to die a horrible death. Probably all mission given by God are the same, so in the end we are all side characters who are trying to live in stories where god ( The author ) doesn't care if we die or not, no, he will use our death to make the story better... As is the fate of a side character.

Shin: I don't like it, but to do everything we need to survive isn't wrong. Points are just as important as food or water here, definitely more important then money.

Aqua: Well, aren't you a smart one. Still not an adult, but you might just have what it takes to survive here.

Shin: Th-thank you.

Then the red haired women offered me one of her cigarettes, and I reluctantly took it.

Shin: I don't really smoke.

Aqua: So? Having a vice or two or three won't kill you. Well, I thought the same way, bad for your lungs and all, untill I came to God's world that is. Too many things here have tried to kill me to care anymore.

Shin: You know you still haven't told us your name.

Aqua: Right back at you. It is only polite to tell your name first, but I hate those kinds of formalities the most. The name I went by when I was working was Aqua.

Shin: The name is Shin. What kind of job did you have that got you that name?

Aqua: It was a name that carried on from my days as a swimmer, and seemed to match my new occupation in the JM-SDF. Any other questions?

Shin: Who is this God that you have been mentioning?

Aqua: God is the thing that manages our entrance to the missions. It gives us points and you also exchange through it. God is a ball of light. I don't really know what it is either. It only talks when spoken to and it is pretty mechanical. Sorry, but any more questions will have to wait.

Then as she said that school broadcasting network turned on and although we never really checked, we heard the door of the classroom unlock.

The following announcement was just like it was in the manga.

\- Attention all students and teachers!

Attention all students and teachers!

At the present time there is a violent struggle occurring within the premises.

Students, stay with your teachers and follow their instructions.

Repeat.

Attention all students and teachers!

Attention all students and teachers!

At the present time there is a violent struggle occurring within the premises.

Students, stay with your teachers and follow their instructions.

Repeat.

Attention all students and teachers!

Attention all students and teachers!

At the present time there is a violent struggle occurring within the premises.

Students, stay with your teachers and follow their instructions.

Repeat...

The message was about to play again, but just like in the story a zombie should have broken into the broadcasting room and well... You can imagine the rest.

Aqua finished her cigarette, took out her beretta once more ( Scared the shit out of the fat man as she did so ) and walked over and opened the classroom door.

Aqua: Alright folks the plot is difficulty of this mission is not high, so it is unlikely god changed the plot by much. The main characters probably won't die too easy, but just in case I am going to clear this place up and make it easier on everyone. Also, remember that others can hear and see us as we are now apart of this world. If they hear anything not belonging to this world or spoilers, 10 points will be deducted for every sentence. Well newbies, try your best to survive. I am out.

Aqua was already walking down the halls without a care in the world as the halls were quickly being filled with other students in a panic to escape. We all ran out as well and tried to follow her.

Man A: Where are you going?

Aqua: Where? To do do my part and get some points. What else?

Women B: What about us.

Aqua: How is that my problem? The thing I forgot to mention was that I have three rules. 1. Don't interrupt me, 2. Don't point a weapon at me, and 3. I won't carry worthless men with me. I have no obligation or need to help you guys stay alive. This is a baptism. If you can live through this one mission then you are worthy to become my comrades and if you can't do that then you can die for all I care... Though that will mean that you have already died.

Fat Man: You are abandoning us!

Aqua turned back around and although the halls were filled with hundreds of students yelling in loudly in a panic, we still heard her reply in the coldest voice that I have ever heard in my life.

Aqua: It isn't abandonment if we were never comrades to start with. If you want be to acknowledge as such then live. Live and survive!


	2. Chapter 2

Then after her parting words, Aqua left just like that, fading together in with the crowd of panicking students who will soon be all turned into zombies.

I...the seven of us here were left alone. The only experienced veteran of these missions has left us and we had to make a decision, and fast. This is the world of HSD and the plot was moving at this moment.

Shin: So what should we all...

Man A: Le-lets get out of here!

Fat Man: Damm, I can't believe that bitch just left us here. I hope she gets bitten!

Women A: Yeah. We should find a place to hide out.

Shin: Wait everyone. We should first...

But no one waited for what I had to say.

Of us seven newbies, the other three man and the other women left and joined the crowd. This even included the other teenager close to me in age.

They ran together with the crowd to try to escape the school, but it was no use, right? The students and teachers were surly being turned into zombies at this very moment. Also, even if they escape the school... just what is out there for them?

The world has just welcomed the apocalypse.

A zombie armageddon.

What hope is there to just escape?

No matter how you look at this, meeting up with the main characters of H.O.T.D and completing God's mission is the surest way to stay alive. Once they all get their act together and are armed with weapons and tools they all become a badass fighting force to be feared. Long as you can keep up with them, then honestly you are pretty much safe from sure death.

Hikari: Hey!

Shin: Huh? What is it?

Hikari: You were just standing there and weren't responding to me was all. I wanted to know what you were going to do now. Won't you join them and try to find a place to stay safe?

Shin: What, and die? They all just completely forgotten about our mission in their panic just because Aqua left us. I bet you anything that they are going to die within the hour. What about you? Why didn't didn't you join them?

Hikari: For the same reason. Besides, I don't do well in crowds and have a hard time trusting others. Really, high schools that are filled with students like this are the worst. I am glad that I opted to not go to high school next year.

Shin: I think higher educational planning is least of your problems now. If this world follows real world time, then by the time you get 50,000 points to leave here, you may be too old for high school.

Hikari: Well, that is one good thing about all this. My name is Hikari. In the real world I am a middle school dropout and... Programmer I geuss, right?

Shin: Why are you asking me? So you are into computers?

Hikari: To say the least, though what I do is illegal... and got me on 10 country's most wanted list.

Shin: ...That is, interesting. To bad your talents won't be much help here.

Hikari: Is that right?

It was.

In H.O.T.D, all networks have gone down or are too flooded with activity to be used, and within the week all machinery will be permanently disabled. It is a real shame, but if she survives this mission and depending on the location of the mission, she will become a real asset. Long as we don't end up in a edo period manga she will have her chance to shine.

But what is most important is that Hikari isn't stupid.

Not only didn't she lose her cool, she also knows she can't survive alone. The reason being is that she is a girl. Not a tough/scary girl with magical enhancement, armed with sci-fi infinite ammo weapons and a former marine like Aqua, but a normal girl. Not only does she look like she doesn't work out, she looks to be a indoors type of girl.

Hikari is smart and talented, but she can't survive this type of physically demanding mission like H.O.T.D alone. Yes, she can't survive alone, so she approach me, a male who can protect her and may be somewhat capable, who can at least remain somewhat calm in this world of horrors.

Shin: Do you know the plot and story of H.O.T.D?

Hikari: Not really. I am not a male who gets turned on from watch an anime about unrealistically large breast and slim waist women running around. Boys are disgusting to like that stuff.

Shin: But that is what makes it great. If not for its hiatus it may have become one of Japans greatest works ( Damm hiatus! ). Also, I don't see why you are complaining. Your not exactly bad looking and are plenty slim, you know.

Hikari: ...I don't think this is the place for you to be picking up girls.

Shin: I wasn't. So... do you plan on joining me?

Hikari: That still sounds like you are picking me up, but yes. I unfortunately don't know the plot of H.O.T.D, so I can only rely on you. Also... I need some help dealing with the zombies. I can give you advise since I am smart, so... please don't leave me here alone.

Shin: Fine, but since I don't want to die as well, if you become too much of a burden to me, then I won't hesitate to leave you behind. I am no hero of justice or that good of a guy, so prepare yourself for the worse.

Hikari: Thank you Shin. I won't let you down.

I have now acquired my first comrade/follower. Now it was time to think about what comes next.

Hikari: Where shall we go from here? Like I said I don't know what the plot is.

Shin: Well, we have three choices to choose from. The main characters right now should be split up into three groups. The Takashi ( MC ) /Rei group, Saya/Kohta group and the Saeko/Shizuka group. Aqua said that it was unlikely that the plot has changed much, but since we loose points when they die we should still see to it that nothing bad happens. Besides, I would feel much safer with those super teen of students having my back.

From what I remember, the main character Takashi should be heading towards the roof and avoiding the crowds by going through the administration building.

The akward team of Saya and Kohta group will soon be moving to the wood shop room. Saya goal is to have Kohta, a military geek, make weapons for them to survive with.

Saeko should be heading to the infirmary and meets up with and protect the school nurse, Shizuoka.

I told Hikari what is currently going on, and after a few seconds she came to a conclusion. That was quick. As expected from a glasses girl character.

Hikari: We should go after the main character Takashi. Although there should be a low chance of a change in the plot, having one of the main character die is a huge risk for us and among them, Takashi who is negative 1,000 points can wipe us out if he dies. There are only the two us, so we can only go after one group since we are sticking together. We shall follow after him for the sake of securing our safety.

It was an accurate decision and one I agreed with. There was also something that I wanted to try out as well since I heard about the missions.

I didn't argue with her, not only since I agreed but because we didn't have the time as well.

Shin: Then lets go. If we wait too long the zombies will begin to appear.

Hikari: Alright then. Let's go!

Hikari and I quickly pushed through the hectic mad rush of students to reach the administration building. While holding on to Hikari's hand ( Her face flushed red, so she must not be used to male contact ) so she wouldn't get separated from me in the crowd, I pushed, shoved, punched and kicked with the best of these high schoolers to get where we needed to go.

Hikari was glaring at afterwards after realizing that I was having a lot of fun back there hitting and kicking other people, but it couldn't be helped.

Hitting other people like in battle manga isn't something you can do every day in real life without becoming a thug or criminal. Even by becoming a cop you can be prosected/sued for for excessive violence. Also, since they weren't real people and all, NPCs, so what does it matter?

Aqua herself said as much herself and although I don't like it, her way of thinking isn't wrong, and sooner rather then later we are going to be fighting humans, not just zombies. That is at least true in H.O.T.D where a lot of the survivors have lost their minds and go crazy with violence.

Hikari: So, so where are they...the main characters?

Shin: They should be around here... Do you want to take a break? You were forced to keep up with be back there in all that chaos.

Hikari: I-I am fine. Besides, you said we didn't have much time before they are attacked by their first zombie.

That was correct.

Soon, or if it hasn't happened already Takashi, Rei and Takashi's best friend who dies in the first chapter, Hisashi, will run into one of their teachers that has been turned into a zombie. They survive unharmed, at least the main characters do and afterwards will realize that that going down stairs is a bad idea and will head to the roof.

I told Hikari as much on the way here, so she knew that we didn't have time to waste if we we going to try and help Takashi survive ( Although in the original plot he doesn't die as the MC ), but just looking at her told me that she was already reaching her limit physically. I had no attention to abandoned her despite what I said, but...

Shin: Alright, but try to rest when you can. Also, in this world the zombies are called THEM.

Hikari: Is that really important?

Shin: Not sure, but in later chapters it is implied that saying THEM, instead of zombies or the undead is better for the characters mentalities. I am unsure if it is true, but causing unneeded stress on this worlds characters should be avoided because honestly, high school kid shouldn't be able to just get used to this world as quickly as they did.

Hikari: They also shouldn't be able to use bats to blow zombies away into the air, metters away at that too, but I understand and it is the same with us. Even if we are told that we can die here, and it is probably true, but because we are in the world of fiction, so I think we can manage somehow. I mean, if this was our world and all of this happening then I don't think that we would be able to stay this calm.

Shin: I know what you mean. Also, we don't have to live in this godforsaken world for the rest of our lives either. We will just be here for two days and God has given us directions to follow. We are much better off then the main characters of this world just trying to survive. Also, have you seen the American tv show The Walking Dead? Now that's a messed up group. Surviving without aim and surviving with purpose and aim are quite different after all.

Hikari: That sounds very deep, Shin. Were you an aspiring poet in the real world, or was that a line from one of your gross manga and anime.

Shin: I was definitely no poet and I have been into manga and anime so long as I can remember. Those words might have come from somewhere and also... Don't call manga and anime gross! It is the world's greatest culture and is loved by many, both men and women, young and old. Apologies to the god of animation right now!

Hikari: Sorry, I already have issues with the one that brought us here, so I kindly refuse. So movong on, where are

?: Run!

?: Wh-No! Don't come any closer!

Echoing within the halls were the panicked voices of high school students and by the sound of it they weren't just dealing with the violent crowd of students trying to escape the school. Also, this timing...

Shin: That voice? Damm it is already starting!

Hikari: What is it?

Shin: That voice just know was the one of the main characters Rei Miyamoto. I know that voice VA's voice anywhere. It is coming around the corner down the empty hall,

Hikari: ...That is creepy, but I geuss otakus like you are good to have around.

Shin: Save that crap for later! We are leaving... Hang on!

Hikari: What!?

I didn't give her time to voice an objection and picked her up into my arms, princess carry style and ran. Hikari's face was unbelievably cute as she wa embarrassed, and any other time I would be excited at such a manga like development, but now wasn't the time.

Carrying Hirkari, I ran down the hall at full speed and after turning the corner... I saw them. I actually could see the three of them in the flesh.

Takashi Komuro

Rei Miyamoto

And the friend who gets turned into a zombie later on, Hisashi, full name Hisashi Igou, Takashi's best friend and Rei's current boyfriend.

Rei had just struck one of THEM, their former teacher who had turned, right in the heart with her makeshift spear made from a broken broom. She was confident that her skills as a member of the sojutsu club could tak care of this enemy, but failing to know the differences between living human beings and an undead, her spear failed to kill him and was soon pushed against the wall.

Hisashi: Rei! Hurry and pull it out!

Hisashi took the enemy by surprise from behind and restrained him with his unprotected hands and arms. He thought he had the enemy under control, but... He doesn't.

What would happen next if nothing was done is...

Shin: Damm! Hasn't this guy ever watched a horror movie or two before. That is far too risky?

Hikari: Shin?

After placing Hikari down, I quickly ran towards the fight instead of doing what I should have done and allowing the plot to continue as is. I knew Hisashi was supposed to die here, which I mean he will be bitten by one of THEM and would soon turn into one himself on the roof of the school after they survive this scene.

Shin: Really what was wrong with me? Hey, give me your bat?

Takashi: Huh? Who are you? Hey!

Not waiting for a response I already took Takashi's bat as he was distracted by the abnormality of it all, as his friends were fighting for their lives against a zombie.

I quickly moved closer to the fight and just as I raised the bat up above me, the zombie that Hisashi had captured in his grasp had freakish turned its head 180 degrees as if it was normal. It was about to bite into his arm and lockin his fate to become one of THEM.

Shin: Like I'll let you!

As quickly as I could, I dropped down the bat on top of the undead's head... And what happened next was just like that one game at the beach. Where at the beach you and your friends play the water melon game with the stick, and you successfully split it open... With all its red inner fluids for all to see and splattered everywhere.

Shin: ...Eh?


	3. Chapter 3

The head of the zombie, the dead body of the zombie, if that isn't a contraction fell to the floor as it head was smashed in... By the bloody bat in my hands.

What happened just now was so, so surreal.

Watch people fight against a real zombie.

The feeling of the bat smashing into a man's head.

The blood, bone and the slightly decayed brain matter that splatter out into the open... Staining me, Hisashi and the wall next to us with it's filth.

Shin: This, this really wasn't a game was it?

I, we all came from the modern world and at the very least when first experience these fantasy-esque scenes straight out of the world of anime, I was rather delighted, ecstatic in fact.

Being bored with the reality for long as I can remember I have always wanted to come to this world. The world of anime and games.

I wanted some kind of stimulation. A way to not become one of the walking dead ( Figuratively ) of the adults of modern society. I was rather delighted when I first learned of this world and in a way I still am. I mean this is the exciting worlds of manga, anime, novels and games.

Not only can I finally at last experience all these worlds, but I can and definitely will enhance myself with points to make myself stronger, better then ever before.

I should have been fine here in this world with nothing to worry about. Not just H.O.T.D, but I have spent the better part of my life watching anime and playing video games. If there is anyone who can survive this world it would have to be me.

I would become stronger and never die.

Once I finally became strong enough and nothing could kill me here, I would be able to go to any world, live the life of any of the MC that I have always admired and live however I like, maybe even get girlfriend ( Just looking at Rei when I first saw her got me excited in spite of the circumstances ). And if I ever got bored of this place, I would just go back to the real world as a new man.

That was what I imagined... Well, untill I bashed in the skull of my first zombie that is. This may in a way be my idea world, but this place wasn't heaven, if it even exist.

This was hell.

And I was just a little bug in the eyes of God or whatever he is. Human lives are worth nothing more then flesh and blood, and here in this world when a person get bitten by one of Them, all you can do is kill them to put them out of their misery.

I am just a regular person. Both in here and in the old world. Knowing the plot as well as I do is an asset, but in the end luck is an important factor. And facing off against a real zombie made me realize a few things.

This world wasn't a game.

This world wasn't heaven or paradise for is a world is hell world.

Where one can die, cast aside like this former teacher now a headless body in a pool of blood. But most importantly... I didn't want to die. At least here and turned into one of THEM after I am killed.

Hishashi: Are you ok? Thanks for saving me back there. Who knew that one of those things could spin their head around.

Shin: Ah, no problem. Just doing what any person in my situation would have if they saw someone in trouble.

After having his life saved, Hasashi thanked be and brought over his two companies to introduce themselves. I already knew who Takashi and Rei were, yet I still went along with the introductions. Then it was our turn.

Takashi: Just who are you guys? Your not wearing our school uniform?

Shin: Ah, that, your right we aren't students here. We...

Hikari: Our siblings go to this school and we are worried about them. The truth is that this madness just isn't happening here, but all over the city.

Rei: Is, is that true?

Hikari then saved me the need to come up with an explanation. Our story was the following... And I had to say, Hikari had no talent for coming up with good stories.

Hikari's and my family are close. The the four of us, with our two siblings who go here and were supposed to ditch school halfway through and meet up to go to the mall for a day of fun. The two of us arrived early and were going to wait for them, but we discovered that something was wrong.

THEM.

They started appearing everywhere and the two of us ran away, but because of siblings never showed up we became worried with everything going on. We came to their school as fast as we could, and to our surprise we found that the front gate was left open and bloodstains were on the ground. Fearing for the worst, the two of us infiltrated the school to find our family.

I honest couldn't believe that Hikari came up with that story in the heat of the moment... A bullshit story by an author with no literary talent. It was a imperfect story and had so many holes in it ( Like why don't we all go to the same schoolor and why didn't we call ), yet for whatever they bought it hook line and sinker.

Maybe the God of this world does something to the character and setting to allow us to have a believable excuse to be here. Although I doubt a truly bad lie could be believed.

Takashi: So did you find them?

Shin: We wish we didn't. They, they were turned into one of THEM ( Me following up with that story ). We... had to deal with them.

Hishshi: ...

Takashi: ...

Rei: ...

Shin: Please don't look at us like that. We have already moved on, or are deluding ourselves into thinking so. At the very least I don't want to not think about it for now.

Takashi: Alright then. Thank you again for helping us,

Shin: Yeah, and it was a good thing that we did too. Unless you wanted your friend here to be turned,

They all, including Hikari looke at me in shook.

I then began to explain to them all on how one becomes one of THEM. That once you are bitten by one of THEM you will become one of them, an undead, and even in death unless you receive a strong blow to the head before dying.

Hisashi's face turned paled as he realized that if I was a second later then the undead would have bitten him, sentencing his fate to become one of THEM. Hearing as much, all three characters began to thank me all over again, but there was one person that wasn't so happy, so I ignored her for now.

Then Takashi and them began to discuss this new information and Rei though to call her father on a secret and secure line. Originally, the call didn't last very long, but because Rei was calling earlier then before, the call went through perfectly.

Rei was able to haply talk to her father, and after a brief crying scene from Rei, they all began discussing what to do once they all escape and reach the East Police Station. Too bad that it is impossible to reach there before the police are forced to retreat somewhere else.

As they were discussing plans, pulling me aside Hikari began to speak to me in a low enough voice that couldn't be overheard.

Hikari: Hey Shin, what is going on?

Shin: What do you mean?

Hikari: What do I mean? It sounds like that Hisashi was supposed to die here or would have at the very least been bitten by on of THEM. Isn't that what originally happens?

Shin: Yeah. What about?

Hikari: Are you sure it was a good idea to save him. Won't this change the plot somehow.

Shin: Hmm, maybe a little. Without the death of Hisashi, Takashi won't grow as a leader who is responsible for everyone's lives and Rei's feeling for Takashi won't be reignited. Personally, as a fan I think that Hisashi's death was needed and I really hate stories that are afraid to kill off their main/sub characters, but we aren't the readers here, but actual people living this story. Like the authors we have the right to move this story however we want, and although some things may change slightly, I think it was well worth it.

Hikari: How so?

Shin: Think about it. By saying their lives just now we have gained their trust and are basically a part of the group now. I believe Aqua original meant for us to just go with the plot, escape the school together in a panic and hopefully we could all become one group as we secretly looked out for them. Now we don't need such shaky relationship because we are trusted members of the group from here out.

Hikari: So that is it? So our opinions and ideals will be listened to by them from here out. That is some amazing thinking there Shin. Did you think of all this as soon as we decided to go after the MC's group?

Shin: No. I just went with the flow back there was all. The chance to act like the main character doesn't come up to often in the real world, and so I got excited.

Hikari: ...Are you a idiot?

After listening to Hikari's complaints we both consulted with Takashi and the others.

Hisashi originally planned to wait for help on the roof, but now with new information that this isn't an isolated event, he has given up his plan of heading up to the roof. This effectively changed the plot along with him still being alive, but only time can tell to what extent.

With no help coming we all needed a new plan, and Rei suggested that we find better weapons to arm ourselves with. Along with her own spear martial arts club, there were sword and othe serious martial arts and sport club here at this school, so acquiring makeshift weapons should be possible.

From the administration building where we currently where, we were moveing over to the club building. As we were running there, I could swear that I heard the sound of a gun being firing constantly, and I immediately thought of Aqua.

She didn't stick around to help us out, but it was still reassuring knowing that she was still alive and kicking, but more importantly it meant that she was till fighting hard. With that Auto 9 with infinite ammo she should be killing hordes of THEM right this second.

The more Aqua killed the undead for points, the less there were of THEM to hinder all of us. Just that was more then enough to help us out.

Then at last we arrived at the club building.

Lucky for us there were still some students nearby who were still fighting/distracting THEM, so we could sneak around back and enter unnoticed in all the chaos.

From the spear martial arts club Rei got a replica spear, Hisashi took some basic gear from the hand-to-hand martial arts club and Takashi acquired a better bat from the baseball club.

I myself took a bat as well, protective gear from the martial arts club to shave off potentail bites from THEM, and filled a bag with a first aid kit and anything else I could quickly spot that I thought would be helpful.

Hikari... was just too anti-athletic to really put a weapon in her hands, so we armed her with protective gear to the point it didn't slow her down too much. She didn't completely agree with not being able to fight as well, but I just had to point to the closest window, where just right outside there was an army of THEM, which we would have to push our way through to escape the school and she was more then ready to agree with me.

Hikari: Fighting? Me? I'll leave that kind of thing to you tough looking men. Gender equality? That is a important social issue, but don't you think old time values like men fight and women protect from the rear are sacred? I do, thus I'll allow you to fight in my stead.

Shin: ...Let's just go.

As we were leaving we saw the students still fighting the losing battle with the undead.

Takashi and Rei felt that we should help the students, who included a few of Rei's friends, but it just wasn't possible.

It was obvious for all to see that. Although they were still hold up, there was just too many of THEM who had them surrounded. They weren't going to last much longer and we couldn't afford to waste time or had the power to really help them.

Maybe if this wasn't our first mission, but we are still normal people. We didn't have the ability to save them or protect them from future dangers that are sure to come. Still, Rei wasn't listening to this, so Hisashi had to slap her to stop her from running off. Also, Takashi gave a helping hand.

Takashi: Rei, Hisashi is right. We don't have the ability to help them. Lets just... Let just focus on surviving.

Hisashi: Please Rei.

And with Takashi and Hisashi's persuasion they were able to convince Rei to leave the Club building behind. Exiting the building we began to discuss our next plan of action as we were repelling the few undead who came after us.

Takashi: So what now?

Shin: Now...We should go find some some comrades and find a way out of this godforsaken place.

Rei: What do you mean by comrades!? Didn't we all just abandon my club members back there!?

Takashi and Hisashi were confused and Rei was still angry over leaving are friends, so they were all wondering what I was going on about. Lucky, Hikari was able to follow up for me.

Hikari: Say, what is our goal here? It should be to escape from this school and try to meet up with our families. Unfortunately, that isn't possible with our man power alone and we also lack a means of transportation. We need comrades, capable comrades who have similar goals as ours and a means of transportation. We also can't become to large of a group as we need to move fast.

Shin: That is right. Once we find a few comrades... Maybe a swordsman, gunner, strategist and a medic then we can steal a car from one of the teachers and get the hell out of here.

Takashi: That is a good idea and I am with you, but... isn't that too specific? Where can you find such first rate comrades on short notice in the middel of the apocalypse?

Shin: Ah, who knows. Maybe we will get lucky ( Oh my... I thought that I was going to be penalized for that potential spoilers there juat now ).

The five of us; Takasji, Hisashi, Rei, Hikari and I returned to the main building.

They all agreed to look for any potential comrades, but they were itching to get out of this place and look for their families, so they weren't willing to wait more then thirty minutes on the search.

It wasn't a lot of time, but more then enough if you know the locations of the main characters from knowing the story inside and out.

Saeko Busujima and Shizuka Marikawa should have just left the the nurse's office with medical supplies and Saya Takagi and Kohta Hirano should be fighting their way through THEM trying to reach safety. In the original plot everyone was supposed to meet by the stairs, yet... What is this odd feeling that I am having?

Shin: Hey, lets hurry it up. I... I have a bad feeling.

Hikari: What do you mean a bad feeling?

Shin: Like everything is going to well.

Hikari: In what way is everything going okay?

Shin: Well, isn't it? We have avoided the majority of THEM, found comrades, weapons, we are all unhurt and have a plan of action to get to safety. Things are just going to well. The idea that something bad is juat waiting for us around the corner juat won't go go away. We need to hurry!

And without waiting for any arguments about safety, I ran ahead. The others decided to do the same, but because they had to guard the slow and defenseless Hikari, they got somewhat left behind.

I ran, ran and ran down the halls as fast as I could with the sence that something bad was really about to happen at any moment. I ran into countless of THEM on the way, but using the technique that Saeko Bushimiya came up with to just knock them down since it's very hard for them to get back up, I preceded forward nearly unhindered. I had to smash in one or two of undead heads in with my new bat, yet over all I quickly made my way down the hall.

I then heard shots being fired as I reached the middel of the hall where the stairs were. It wasn't the sound of Aqua's Auto 9 from earlier, but something much softer and lacked the rapid fire power. It has to be Kohta's nail gun that he got from wood shop room. The shots weren't coming from this floor, but from the one above

Kouta: Takagi! I am out of nails. Takagi!

Saya: No! Stay away!

Shin: Damm, they just had to be on the next floor!

I ran up the stairs as fast as humanly possible... Only to confirmed my worst fears coming true.


	4. Chapter 4

What I saw after running up the stairs, cornered against the wall was the pink hair and glasses girl ( Glasses not equipped yet ) of the main characters, Saya Takagi. Tears were rolling down her eyes as she was trying to escape one of THEM that was right before her as it attempted to devour her alive.

In her hand was a power drill which she was desperately trying to turn it on, but it wouldn't. As a bladed tool, it was possible to use the non spinning drill as is to kill the the undead even if she lacked the physical strength by aiming at the soft eyes, yet Saya wasn't thinking too clearly at the moment due to her fear of being killed.

Damm, just like I feared, the plot changed because of our, no my actions. Did saving Hisashi mean that one of the other main characters had to die to keep the original number of MCs?

Whatever the case, I didn't have any more time to think as the undead was about to bite Saya. Taking the baseball that I got from the club building ( Didn't know if it would come in handy or not at the time ) and threw it towards the undead.

The ball hit squarely its head and although it didn't die, but flinched for a few seconds. I still wouldn't make it to her in time, but someone else had it covered miraculously.

One of my top three female swordswomen in fiction in my opinion, the purple long haired, tall, slim and deadly when given anything slightly resembling a sword, Saeko Busujima.

Running swiftly like the wind Saeko raised her wooden sword into the air and slashed right down on top of the head of the undead monster attacking Saya. With a single motion the undead feel to the floor for good, never to rise again from the dead a second time.

Saved and with tears in her eyes, Saya looked back and forth between Saeko and I confused, but there was no time at all for thanks or introductions. There were more of THEM coming right for us. Kohta Hirano who was holding off the surrounding THEM with his nail gun, but having run out of bullets and not having the chance to reload, they moved in to attack.

In that moment Saeko, Saya, Kohta and I gave each other a look and without any need for words we knew what we had to do. Kohta moved back together with Saya to reload his gun, and Saeko and I moved to protect them.

Shizuka Marikawa, the blonde school nurse ( Who has the BIGGEST BUST among the main character ) who came here with Saeko knew she was totally useless in a fight and joined Saya and Kohta in the rear who were reloading his gun, but before passing right by me and giving be a seductive wink.

Shin: High school girls are bitches, but adult highschool nurses are the best. Definitely.

It was only at this point when I was thinking something stupid did I ask myself when did I become so heroic and confident, but I had no time to wonder if I was being foolish. I had undead to kill.

Saeko moved first and rushed the undead. She used her godlike skill to knock THEM off balance and then send a quick strike to the head. Like so, she took out many of Them in no time.

My job was to take out the ones who made it pass Saeko. I took my bat and went to work.

Once you get over the disgust of the rotten flesh and the smashed head/brains when you kill one of THEM, they weren't tough opponents at all. THEM, they only had two things going for them. Their number and physical strengths, and the physical strength was largely dependent on them grabbing you. Long as you take a good amount of distance and watched your back, they really were easy to kill off.

This really was an easy mission in hindsight as Aqua said. If this was a later Biohazard game there would be be fast zombies with chain saws ( Hate the later games ), and there would be Hunters and whatever monstrosity you could imagine, bit not here. H.O.T.D I just had a lot of slow zombies to deal with.

I just had to swing my bat on a crash course straight towards their heads, which they didn't even try to dodge, and blown away.

\- Side Quest Reward 1, Kill The Undead - 1 Point Acquired!

And finally I have killed my twentieth undead.

Really, I am really envious of Aqua with her Auto 9 who is just killing THEM left and right. Such an easy mission and I have to kill them one at a time. Even if I could safely kill a lot of them, at most in a single day I would get no more then 5-10 points.

While I was complaining about my lack of ability to get points it was at that time when Hikari, Takashi and the rest had finally by this point arrived and joined us in the battle. Then together, 2-3 minutes later we had cleared out all the nearby by undead in the hall. Some cried, some hugged and others were glade to see other people again, but we didn't have too much much time to waste. Together, we all ran to the teacher's lounge for a much needed break from fighting and where we could possibly find the keys to the school minibus.

It didn't take long and not many of the undead got in our way as we arrived to the lounge. Everyone found a place to sit down and rest, but there was once again one annoyed girl in the group eyeing me. Hikari looked at me angry, yet a little frightened. Maybe it was because I had blood and guts all over my clothes and the baseball bat.

Hikari: You're really enjoying yourself, huh?

Shin: Maybe a little, but I am far more frightened then happy right now.

Hikari: You almost got yourself killed and you left me alone. For what?

Shin: That... Couldn't be helped. My actions probably did change to plot and if I didn't run off back there and save Saya, who knows what would have happened next. One plot change was enough.

Hikari: But you still left me.

Shin: ...Am I your babysitter? Didn't you say that I could abandon you if you got in my way? I just made a choice for my and all of our survival. Was that wrong?

Hikari: ...

Shin: Well, I still haven't really abandoned you in the the way you are thinking of. I just choose to make a decision and I really didn't have any time for a discussion. I choose the best method for survival so I won't apologies, but I am sorry for making you feel insecure.

Hikari: I, I wasn't.

Shin: Ok then. I won't bring it up again.

Hikari: Alright, so lets just move on from this blame game. Do you know what we need to do next?

Shin: Yes. Next is actually the easy part.

I then began to explain the next part of the plot.

The main characters would decide to take the minibus instead of the Shizuka's car so that it could fit everyone, and also watch TV for the current news. Then there would be a discussing about "THEM".

Next, they would be leave the teachers office and head to the main entrance and escape out the front. They would meet some other survivors and attempt to leave. Unfortunately, more of THEM would stand in their way.

The group then discoverd that the undead couldn't see with their eyes and were almost home free by just moving quietly, but one of the survivors would create a loud echoing noice and draw all the nearby undead to them all.

They would run to the minibus and along the way half of the non main characters died. They reached the bus, more survivors showed up and then they all escaped.

I told Hikari all what would happen up to the escape. Hikari went over my information about the plot and gave her analysis.

Hikari: If we are willing to change the plot again, then we could safety escape the school by stopping that one guy from accidentally alerting THEM to us and we can escape home free. What do you think?

Shin: Your idea is good, but is it really necessary? If it was just us then your method would be correct and worth the risk of changing the plot, but we have her.

I look towards the window, but it wasn't like we could see her outside, but the gunshots could be heard from out in the yard.

Hikari: You mean Aqua?

Shin: That's right. Since we arrive here Aqua has beeen Killing off THEM with that Auto 9 with infinite ammo. Aqua has been sticking to outside the building, so we haven't noticed the effects, yet surly she has to have wiped out all of THEM that are out there. Even if the one's inside the building follow us out, the one's outside will be taken care of by Aqua, so we can quickly out run them and reach the bus.

Hikari: Are you that that confident in Aqua's ability to deal with THEM?

Shin: Well, I don't have a discerning eye for strength, but Aqua seemed incredibly strong, right? Especially how she just disappeared right in front of us and the next we saw her she had her beretta inside that fat man's mouth.

Hikari: I guess you are right. And I am also guessing that Aqua is your type of women.

Shin: Wh-where did that come from?

Hikari: So your not denying it. Are adult, gun wielding girls with 34D breast is your type?

Shin: DROP IT!

For some reason, Hikari didn't like me praising Aqua. If I didn't know better you think she was jealous, but that wasn't possible. For one we didn't know each other. Two, there is nothing that great about me. And third and lastly, she just probably feels bad that she isn't contributing much to the mission, which isn't true.

Hikari's ideas are quite similar to own once I explain the plot to her, but because I am also hearing them from the outside, I can objectively look at them. Just like right now.

I was only against the idea of not changing the plot in the escape only because we discussed it together. If I was by myself I would maybe reached the same conclusion as Hikari without giving any thoughts to the risk and tried it out. Just like when I saved Hisashi before started an unexpected ripple effect that I didn't account for.

Hikari was right about how that I was enjoying myself too much and was acting reckless, but with her here I think I can manage to stay levelheaded, at least before the action starts up again.

Shin: Thank you.

Hikari: Wh-what for?

shin: Just for being here. That's all.

Hikari: Th-that's... Stop trying to act like a MC from an anime. Gross! Creep! Die!

Shin: ...Really, middle school girls are the worst. Not cute at all.


	5. Chapter 5

Takashi Komuro

Rei Miyamoto.

Saeko Busujima.

Saya Takagi.

Kohta Hirano.

Shizuka Marikawa.

With the exception of the pink haired little girl main character Alice Maresato, the entire main cast of High School of the Dead were gathered together.

In addition, Igou Hisashi was with us like he was one of the MCs, which he very well may be now since he didn't die and turn into one of Them on the roof of the school.

Saeko: So it is decided. We are a team and if we want to survive and make our escape we will act as one. Selfishness won't be tolerated.

Hisashi: Busujima is right. A teams first priority snould be to the team. Any action that goes against or risks the teams safety is unacceptable. Long as we can agree to this then I will give my all for the team, but for those who put us in danger... I am more then willing to abandon any of them.

Everyone was rested and ready to move, and so we were now all deciding on the course of action to escape the school.

In the original plot Saeko was the one who first to mention the creation of a team, but with the new addition Hisashi who has survived his fate, he took an active lead in the group discussion. It should have just been only a vague notion of a team, but Hisashi got them thinking more seriously about there situation. Maybe more then necessary.

Rei: A-anyways, how are we going to get out of here?

Takashi: Since have decided to take the school's minibus to escape... Getting to the parking lot through the front entrance would be the quickest way.

Hisashi: Alright then. Lets go!

Together we all left the teacher's office and began making are way to the front entrance.

On the way, Saeko and Saya reminded us all not to unnecessarily engage with THEM. If we were to run into any of THEM it would be best to avoid begin grabbed by them because of their immense strengh and to just push them aside. Like Saeko had already confirmed, the undead had a very hard time getting back up.

Then, moving from the second floor to the first we ran into a group of survivors battling a group of THEM, and losing at that.

We just decided to prioritize our group over others, but because it would be too troublesome to find another way down to the first floor, we moved in the save them and took out the undead that were in the way.

Saeko, Takashi, Rei, Hisashi and I jumped down the staircase and quickly dispatched the undead. The whole thing took no less then five seconds and we were looking more and more like a team of badass high school warriors attempting to survive the apocalypse.

Hisashi, who had some how become our leader spoke to the survivors and it was decided that they would be temporarily absorbed into the group. No one disagreed with his decision, yet it was looking more and more like Hisashi was taking over Takashi's role as the leader of the group and potentially the true main character.

With our numbers increased, we were ready to make a dash out of the school. Now down onto the first floor we quietly moved towards the front entrance, but with many of THEM in the way on the first floor we were forced to temporarily hide behind the school lockers.

To get to the entrance we just had to quietly move through the undead and and not make too much noice as we opened the doors, but for those who didn't fully know the characteristics of THEM, that they couldn't actually see or feel us or anything for that matter, and responded only sound, they saw it as suicide to jump into the horde of undead.

Saya discovered as muchl but she had yet to test out this theory, so after she explained the theory, everyone was looking to see who would volunteer to test it out.

Originally, Takeshi was the one to volunteer, but without the event where he killed his best friend who had turned, he didn't gain the qualities of a strong leader, and so he was currently hesitating to volunteer.

And Hisashi, our so called new leader didn't volunteer either. It wasn't that he was a coward or anything, it was just that he valued his life and wouldn't risk it so readily. If his friends are in danger sure, but if it is a situation where he didn't have to risk his safety with plenty of options, then he was just like everyone else.

An entire minute passed in silence.

No one was volunteering and so we said stayed hidden behind the lockers. It got to the point where I was about to volunteer when...

Hikari: I'll go.

The small voice and equally small frame of a female body that finally volunteered and was raising her hand was Hikari. I was about to ask why her, but she beat me to it.

Hikari: I am neither a strong or brave person. A coward to say the least, but because I am also a logical person, I need to volunteer here to prove my worth to the group. I can't fight, but if I can at least contribute something to the group, then I am fine with risking my life.

Saeko: Really? I don't believe those are the words of a coward though.

Hikari: They are. Because I am more afraid of being abandoned then one of Them killing me. This isn't bravery, but necessity.

I see.

Hikari already knew the plot from me telling her and was using the situation to appeal to the group. I myself am a valued fighter of the group, so the others would think twice before abandoning me in a dangerous situation, but what about Hikari?

A small, middle school girl with little stamina who doesn't have the strength to use a weapon and is just staying behind everyone being protected. Not a chance would anyone play hero and risk their life to save her from a dangerous situation. Even I can't say I would go that far for her, although I would like to think that I would.

But that's why Hikari is putting on a show for the group that she is infact a valued member of the team. A valued member of the group who would risk her own small life for them all, despite being weak.

That is brave.

That is honorable.

But more importantly, it makes her look very pitiful, but someone worth protecting as well.

Here this little girl is volunteering her life for them, while all the while everyone else was thinking of themselves. How would you feel?

Bad?

Terrible?

Like human trash?

Hikari looks like a middle schooler who just graduated elementary school despite being only one year younger then me ( Age sixteen. Learned she was that old earlier in the teacher office ), so the effect was multiplied.

Now everyone was feeling bad and were volunteering to take her place, but Hikari refused them all and walked out into the open, right into the middle of a group of THEM without making a sound.

If she survived this then she may even become the mascot character of the H.O.T.D group who everyone would die to protect... Is it wrong that I now want to see her fight it out with Alice the original cute mascot? If it is then I blame it solely the menta trauma from bashing the brains out of the countless undead had on me.

Hikari bravery strolled through the hall as if see wasn't surrounded by dozen of THEM ( But I could swear that she was just about ready to piss herself. I would be if I were in her shoes despite knowing that I was safe ) and moved ever so closer to the front doors.

Gently, Hikari open up the the double doors of the school and without waiting for us, began to walk out, which I really couldn't blame.

Since we decided to not change the plot we knew that one of the survivors that we picked up would cause a loud echoing noise to sound throughout the halls, bring out all the nearby THEM towards us.

That was why as possibly the slowest among us, Hikari needed a good head start as much as possible.

Saya: Alright, let go.

Saya told us it was okay to follow after Hikari in a very soft voice. We all moved in unison from behind the lockers to the front doors while avoiding the undead, and that is when it happened. Not the "it" that I was expecting, but an entirely different "it" altogether.

From around the corner, an undead came flying, blown away and then slammed into the a few of THEM that were in the way, and continued till they all smashed into the lockers in a loud bang.

Shin: Is-is this a Manga... Never mind just run!

I yelled and and told everyone to run for two reasons.

1\. The zombies near the entrance were now alerted to our presence.

2\. From the hallway, running like his life was on the line, which it probably was, one of the new players that came here together with us, the unkempt youth, and behind him... right behind him were what had to be all the remaining THEM within the school chasing him.

An entire wave of undead were following him and were now coming straight towards us, ready to swallow us up and turns us into one of them after devouring us alive.

Everyone responded to my warning and ran. Running away from the tidal wave of undead following us all as we made our escape into the front yard of the school, I had just one thought on my mind.

Shin: What did I do in my pass life life to have my first mission to be zombies!? Why not To Love-Ru Darkness?


	6. Chapter 6

At this moment in time there was good new and bad news.

The good news was that Aqua kept her word about clearing up the undead who were outside the school.

The entire grounds of the school outside were completely free of all undead. The remains of THEM, and their creepy headless bodies were sprawled out around the grounds dead once more. Most likely the heads were blown off from Aqua's Auto 9 Beretta.

And standing 100-200 meters ahead of us by the school parking lot, where the minibus was parked, in plain sight and leaning against the outside of the bus was our veteran Player Aqua.

Looking at her and recalling everything that has been going on, like the apocalypse, it felt like it has been a long time since the last I've seen her. Seeing her relaxed and smoking one of her cigarettes came as an great relief. Most importantly, seeing that strong and fearless woman alive and well was the best I could have hoped for.

Lifting her head up, Aqua saw us running over and gave us a kind smile... That just didn't match her or the situation that we were in, which just reminded me what was the bad news that was following right behind us.

The bad news that I just wanted to forget about was about that.

The unkempt youth/newbie whose name I just didn't know screwed us all over by bringing with him an army of THEM that follewed him from the halls of the school, and now they were chasing us down, attempting to devour us all alive.

A fate worse then death awaited those who failed to escape here. An after life where you join THEM on the conquest of destruction and canablism would be your fate for all eternity.

As we were running towards the minibus we didn't have the luxury to talk, yet we still found a way to bitch about our situation.

Takashi: Damm that bastered! Why did he have to bring them all here with him?!

Shin: Stop complaining and run!

Hikari: What are we supposed to do? With so many of THEM coming after us like this, even if we reach the bus they will surrounded the bus. Escape wil be impossible!

Rei: Can't we just run over them with the bus!?

Hikari: We'll flip over first if we had to run over so many. We need to divert their attention somewhere else first. If not...,

Hikari trailed off and looked straight forward towards Aqua and the Auto 9 in her hands.

It wasn't hard to geuss what she was afraid of. That Aqua would shoot us with her gun before we made it any closer to her. Probably, kneecap us so we would still be alive and squirming for the undead to pick us off.

It was more then likely a good idea for her. Aqua wouldn't kill the main characters to avoid losing points, and the rule about killing us newbies may not apply if she doesn't deal the fatal blow herself. It was a possible loophole that wasn't looking good for the three of us newbies right at this moment.

And as if right on cue, Aqua made her move, but it wasn't what I, we expected. With her gun she should be more then capable of shooting us from the minibus, yet she came running towards us. It became obvious to us that her targets weren't us, but the undead THEM that were right behind us.

Aqua ran pass us and said a short sentence to the nurse Shizuka, the only adult and person among the main characters who knows how to drive a car, or at least had a license.

Aqua: Drive and don't wait up!

Without waiting for a reply, Aqua then went to face off against the army of undead alone.

She raised the hand holding on to the Auto 9 Beretta and began her shooting spree of death. Ever shot accurately hit their heads and all too quickly, 20-30 of THEM fell in no time at all. Still, 20 out of an army made a very small dent, yet Aqua didn't look worried at all.

To the contrary, I couldn't see her face from here, but I just knew that she was smiling right now. To her, the army of undead were nothing more then prey. They were points and after every 20 headshots, she will get a point to use make herself even stronger.

Thanks to Aqua's emergency save we were all able to make it and bored the Minibus.

Hisashi: Hurry, everyone get on! Ms. Shizuka, please start up the car immediately. We don't have time to waste and thanks to that women have a few seconds before she gets corned!

Shizuka: Al-alright. Ahh, this isn't the same as my car... umm, A-B-C...,Why is this so confusing!?

Hikari: Blonde ditz.

As our only adult here, Shizuka was being her usual airhead self as she was looking over the controls of the car and the others were hurrying her up, so I was the only one to notice another group of survivors aiming for the minibus, but unfortunately for them, they all got caught up in the chaos of Aqua's battle and were devoured... All except one teacher in a black suit.

It was unfortunately Rei Miyamoto's arch nemesis, Mr. Shidou, a teacher who taught at the same school that the man characters went to and in the wake of the apocalypse, cult leader/founder.

Mr. Shidou was using the other students as bait to escape danger just like in the original plot and causally walked up to the minibus. Once she noticed him, Rei made a big fuss over him coming with us, but Takashi and Hisashi were able to calm her down, but she kept saying that they would regret it one day... If only we can live to the next day tomorrow.

Then at last, Shizuka got the car running.

A few of THEM were in our path, but after psycing herself up she was able to will herself to drive over the undead, who in her eyes still looked human, yet weren't.

Shin: Where's Aqua!?

I asked Hikari and the unkempt youth who was exalting loudly and trying to catching tjeir breath.

Misaki: D-don't know.

Hikari: She, she, she's still back there fighting the last time I checked. Most likely...

It was then as everybody were about to rip Aqua off as dead that within the legion of undead, shredded pieces of rotten human flesh were being flung in the air. The bodies of the former humans were being cut apart into countless pieces by something. From with the legion of undead, the figure of Aqua could be seen again.

I had no idea what Aqua had done, yet every time she swiped her hands around, more and more pieces of rotten flesh were torn apart. Once enough of the undead were cleaned up for her to get a clear shot at us, she began running towards the school gates at an inhuman speed faster than professional athletes. My best geuss was that Aqua was planning to meet us there.

As the minibus was about to smash through the front gates of the school, Aqua jumped towards the moving vehicle and landed on top of the roof.

Shin: She made it!

At full speed, we then crashed through the front gates of the school and successful made our escape. Everyone began to shout out loud in joy over our successful escape, but I was not one of them. The reason being was at that time I was distracted.

I noticed a small, glowing ball of light around Hisashi's school collar.

The small ball of light then began to gently float over slowly towards me and landed on the palm of my right hand. A warmth dissolved through my body from my right hand, up my arm and finally to the rest of my body. It was an amazing and wonderful feeling that was hard to describe.

\- Hidden Side Quest Complete!

Saving Hisashi Igou and having him escape the school alive, overcoming his fate to die within the grounds and be turned into an undead. Rewarded 2500 points and two rank C rewards!

A rigged and dignified voice rang within my head out of nowhere and told me of my unexpected prize.

Hidden Side Quest?

There wasn't such a Side Quest listed on the watch. Is that what the "Hidden" is supposed to mean? And 2500 points, that is 2.5 more points then just completing a single mission!

2500 points and a reward. With that much I can enhance my stats by 250. If I placed that much in Muscle Density I could blow away those undead with my bat like Takashi and the other H.O.T.D characters could do in the anime! Hell, in Immunization Strength alone I might be able to get bitten by one of THEM and keep fighting strong.

It was then when I was lost in thought did I see a sudden panic starting within the car.

Takashi: Wh-what is that!? Everybody be careful!

Everyone was looking upwards towards the roof of the car.

Metal blades were constantly pricing the roof of the car over and over again, and coming closer to the left hand side of the car... Where I was sitting. I had a vague idea what or who that was, so ignoring the complaints and screams of everyone else, I just went ahead and opened the window to my seat.

Immediately flying through the window and saftly landing on the seat next to me like some kind of acrobat was Aqua.

Aqua: So you, and two other newbies survived, huh? Good job.

Shin: No no no, I think I should be the one to say "You survived" here! I mean, you were outnumbered and surrounded by an army of THEM back there, and you then broke through the undead as you tore them apart. Like they were paper, and then somehow you jumped a good a good 50 meters and landed on the roof of a moving car. Lastly, flung yourself through the window of the same moving car and are now having a pleasant and calm talk next to me... Where should I even begin!?

Aqua: I believe you just did... You look stressed. Are you ready for that smoke yet?

Aqua asked this as she took out one of her own and lit it up, not minding the situation at all. The cigarette that Aqua originally gave me at the start of the mission was still inside my pocket and after everything that I have gone through, it was looking more and more tempting.

Shin: ... Please ask me that again after the next life or death situation.

Aqua: You might not survive a next time, you know.

Shin: Then I will have something to look forward to keep my spirits up.

Aqua gazed at me for a while ( Very uncomfortable to be stared at by a beautiful women for over ten seconds, being a shut-in otaku and all ) and began to laugh ( Also not good for my tender seventeen year-old heart! ).

Looking away embarrassed, I saw that the others in the car were looking at us, more accurately Aqua after her grand appearance by window. They had all sort of questions for her who could so easily deal with so many of THEM at once like they were nothing and escape unharmed without a scratch, yet they were all far too intimidated by her to approach and start a conversation.

As for why I could interact with Aqau... Hell if I knew. I am too tired to care and it has only been a few hour at most since I arrived here. I was ready for one of the famous H.O.T.D hiatuses right now. Still, I was curious.

Shin: By the way, what was that back there? The way you tore apart those undead and latched onto the roof of the bus? Did you have some kind of sword that you exchanged from God on you?

Aqua: No. I have something much better and much cooler then just a sword. Watch.

Aqua made sure the others couldn't see her from our seats and raised her right hand in front of my face. I then heard a sharp sound cutting through the air and after blinking in surprise for a good thirty seconds, I found three blades pricing through Aqua's hands and were gently touching the skin of my neck.

A small trail of blood ran down my neck, but I didn't have the mental capacity to care at the moment. The reason was that I knew what I was looking at and... Seeing it in person left me in shock. I was more of a fan of manga and anime, but no otaku in the world could see what I was seeing and not match it with one of the key icons of Marvel.

Aqua: Cool, huh? The genetic package of Wolverine from the X-Men. Along with generous enhancements to my stats, I received Wolverine's healing factor and with an addition of his adamantium skeleton and claws. The metal claws weren't something that he was even born with, so it was a great deal.

Shin: ...How sexy.

Aqua: ...That's your take on this?

Shin: Well, I am so, so jealous of you and those claws. I don't even know what I am more attracted to. You or the adamantium claws.

Aqua: Strange. Also, don't be jealous over the adamantium. It was only after I exchanged for this enhancement that I realized that it was incredibly hard to swim, and as a former professional swimmer it came as a huge blow to my identity ( Well, your name is Aqua, so... Right ). I fixed it by increasing my Muscle Density, but it took a hell of a long time till I could swim like before.

Shin: Still, I'm so jealous. I definitely want you, no, I mean the enhancement!

Aqua: ...You put a whole new meaning to appreciating inner beauty, Shin.

Goofing off like that, Aqua and I began to discuss the various cool enhancements you can get back in God's world.

Soon, Hikari ( Looking upset while looking at the two of us having fun without her ) and the unkempt youth, whose name I just learned is Misaki, joined us in the conversation. And like that, we drove into the city filled with the undead.


	7. Chapter 7

In the minibus driven by Shizuka Marikawa, we drove from the school infested with undead and into the city infested with the undead.

Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, the main character and background characters of H.O.T.D and I all gazed out the window to have a look at the city that was burning down and infested with THEM who had full reign over the city.

Hikari: Hey, Misaki. How did you survive back there in the school? Also, where are the other New Players?

Hikari and I had just finished explaining our story as to how we survived that hell hole of a school and met up with the main characters of H.O.T.D.

We did mention that we saved a somewhat important character that was supposed to die the first chapter in the manga. Aqua hearing us gave us both a look, but quickly went back to smoking.

Aqua then said that we shoud refrain from unnecessary changing the plot if it isn't necessary. As she explained it, such actions will change the plot and more then likely increase the difficulty of the mission.

And she was right. There were more than one instance were the plot changed and made things harder for us.

1\. Originally, back when Saya Takagi was backed into a corner in the school she was supposed to use the electric drill she had on hand to kill the undead that was about to kill her, yet when I arrived that didn't happen. The electric power of the drill was dead, and I, having some kind of bad premeditation beforehand, ran towards Saya and barley saved her life with the help of Saeko Bushimiya.

I remember that while we in the office, Saya went over her tools and said annoyingly that the power drill was working just fine earlier, but now it was dead and not turning back on no matter what she tried.

This meant that God tampered with her weapon to make her more likely to die, almost leaving us with one dead Main character and at negative 100 points.

2\. Secondly, although I can't be certain, the number of THEM in and outside the school by far exceeded the possible number of students enroolled in school. Aqua mentioned getting over 120 points while waiting for us outside by the bus as she was clearing out zombies. And when you add the number of THEM my group took out ( Don't know how many Misaki killed if any ), but there was no way that the school had so many students. Hell, there were still a good army of them left back at the school. And the fact that every undead we came across was wearing a school uniform, it meant God added more, no, Spawned more of THEM to get in our way.

3\. All the students who were following Mr. Shidou ended up dead and all the survivors that we saved inside the school came out unharmed and reached the minibus. It wasn't directly related to us players, but the difficulty of the mission got many of the background character, who would have made more then one appearance ( Like the two sluts and the guy who was angry at Takashi for some unknown reason ) all died.

From this incident I've learned that changing the plot successfully like saving Hisashi could lead to acquiring more points and whatever "Rewards" were, but comes at the heavy price of God screwing with us and the mission's difficulty.

Now, back to before after giving are side of the story, Misaki answered Hikari's question as if it wasn't important, but was a little angry.

Misaki: Those guys, fuck, they all died! Why should I care about them?

Hikari: They... Really died then? Weren't you five a team? How did you survive.

Misaki: Team? Like hell and why would I lie? I only went with them because I was going in the same direction as them, that's all. I was skeptical of all this mission and Got stuff, so I went towards the front entrance, and they thinking that we were a group followed me.

Shin: Then what happened?

Misaki: They died. We were attacked by THEM on the first floor and they were all bitten. I am good at fighting and knew enough about zombies movies not to unnecessarily allow them to touch or bite you, so I survived. They just didn't. Then from there, I accepted the reality of my situation and like Aqua there, I began to hunt down THEM whenever I could for points. I killed sixty-three of them so far and made 3 points.

Sixty-three!

Well, someone here was having even more fun then I was pretending to be a zombie hunter. And he did it alone at that as well. That is impressive, but it was also that level of simple thinking that led him to chewing more then he could handel, which in the end led to the army of THEM to chaste him around the school till he met up with the rest of us.

Hikari: Hey guys, do you think they were turned into... one of THEM?

Hikari's question that no one was thinking about, no one was purposely thinking about left us silent. It was Aqua, having finished her third cigarette who answered her.

Aqua: Oh yeah, they were definitely turned. Shot them in the head myself after they wandered out of the school and to the school grounds after they were turned. Additionally, I didn't lose any points since they were confimed dead by God and could no longer be saved.

Shin: ...

Hikari: ...

Misaki: ...

Aqua: Don't be like that you guys. It was their own fault for disregarding my words as nonsense and went out on their own. And as for their fate of becoming one of THEM, I told them from the start to suicide if they weren't prepared for a worse fate then death in God's little game to fuck with us. I certainly won't mourn them and you shouldn't either. We each... Our responsible for our own survival here. Nether the weak or the strong will be protected here. There is only survival.

Shin: ...

Misaki: ...

Hikari: ... Hey, how about we all introduce each other now?

The one who spoke up in this awkward situation was Hikari.

Hikari was just as tired, maybe the most emotionally weak here, being a middle school girl and all ( Like age matters when the world has entered into the apocalypse ), yet she still tired to get rid of this foul mood.

Shin: What do you mean introduce ourselves?

Hikari: Well, we only now know each others names, but that's it. I don't know and didn't care to know more about everyone when I first arrived here, but now... I wouldn't mind knowing at the very least how you lived your lives in the real world and how you came to be here.

Misaki: Why now? It isn't like we aren't still in danger. It could always wait till we reach this Shizuka ladies friends place.

Hikari: Yeah, but we might not all make it there and... If you or any of us die we will never know. I mean, even now we don't know the names of the others that didn't make it here or what they did in life. Isn't that... Isn't just too sad?

Hikari is right.

The fatman, the two adults and the only other newbie women besides Hikari.

We didn't know their names nor what they did for a living. They died here and if we ever get the chance to escape this place alive, we won't even be able to tell their family, friends and love ones that they are dead or what they did when they died.

I no longer have a family to speak of, but... Like Hikari said that is incredibly sad. To die and be forgotten. That is definitely one of my greatest fears and a fear that most humans have.

Shin: Then let me start off. My name is Shin. Seventeen years old. I am a second year high school student who is about, or was about to move on to the third year. My hobbies include reading manga, watch anime, reading light novels and-

Hikari: So you are an otaku? We all already knew that, so lets move on. Wasting out time like this... Gross.

This-this girl is so... that is why middle school girls are the worst.

Cells phones and the latest gossips are their bibles, and everything else, especially otaku culture is blasphemy to them. And why was I just rushed off like that? Wasn't I your ally just now by starting up this discussion by going first?

Die!

After I and my character summary were cut short, Misaki went ahead with his turn.

Misaki: My name is Misaki. Nineteen as of last month. I was about to graduate high school and I am a former biker gang leader. That is were I learned to fight, both in school and in a gang. My parents aren't worth mentioning, but I have a younger sister that I care about very much. Along with fighting, I am knowledgeable about bikes and other vehicles, and I am capable of simple repairs, but not at the professional level yet. I-I was just studying for college entrance exams on my computer and that damm message from God appeared, and on a whim... I chose YES.

Hikari: So you can both fight and fix cars? That is a reliable skill set for these kinds of missions I am guessing. Right, Aqua?

Aqua: Of course. Fighting aside, the ability to fix cars and bikes will become a great asset. If we are in a post apocalyptic world like H.O.T.D, if this bus or another vehicle breaks down then such skills will especially come in handy. I bet you even know how to hot wire vehicles as well?

Misaki: Is that something I should even admit?

Hikari: We will be counting on uou, Misaki.

Misaki: Ye-yeah.

Misaki looked away embarrassed. He probably isn't used to being praised, especially by two girls like Hikari and Aqua.

And by the way, wasn't his treatment just know too good? Having knowledge about manga and anime should be far more valuable than a bit of automobile knowledge. What is with this difference, Hikari?

Whatever, and anyways, next up was Aqua. I was very curious about her and how she ended up here, but she didn't say much.

Aqua: Aqua isn't my real name, as it doesn't make sence to name a red head girl that, but that name is good enough for this world so call me as such. My parents have already passed away and I have no siblings or any other family to speak of. During my school years it discovered that I had a talent for swimming and I was good enough to win a few meets and was told to even prepare for the Olympics, but I had gotten into an accident and lost my shot at the gold medal. Luckily, the injury was recoverable, but unluckily it wasn't the kind of wound that healed instantly, much less jump into a chlorine pool and be expected to swim like I used to.

Shin: It was that bad?

Aqua: It was. It took a whole year for the large burn marks on my back to heal and then I had to go through rehab for another year since I was in bed a lot an my muscles became weaker. By the time I was fully recovered, I had graduated high school and missed the Olympics. I could have trained for the next one four years later, but it wasn't like I loved swimming that much, so I never tried. Then I drifted for a while and then a friend introduced me to the the army.

Hikari: The army?

Aqua: I know right, but... It wasn't that bad. A little structure when you are feeling lost isn't a bad thing. Anyways, a few years later and at the age of twenty-one I was apart of a JSDF navel unit. I was so good in water infiltration missions that I got the nickname Aqua by my coworkers, which was the very same nickname that I had in school as unbelievable as it was. Now this next part is pathetic. After becoming the ace of my unit, I finally realized that I had a real talent for swimming and that I really did like swimming, so began to think that if I went back to training for the Olympics and did my best I could have gone there. I was just that good... Okay, maybe not win, but with my skills I could have imagined that I placed at the very least. Once those thoughts consumed me... Well, you can imagine how I ended up here since God only sends those messages to those who have thought about honestly killing themselves at least once.

Hikari: ...

Misaki: ...

Shin: ... So your a good swimmer, huh.

Aqua: Hahaha, thanks for for trying to turn the mood around, but you don't have to. After coming to this world I realized that I want to live no matter what after all, so you can relax.

Shin: No, I-I wasn't thinking that deeply really. I just don't know how to swim, so I was jealous. That's all.

Aqua: Then, if you can survive this, no three missions then I will teach you to swim. In God's world where we all return to we have our own rooms and they can be modified as we like. In mine I have a pool, so I can teach you to swim... In bathing suits of course.

Shin: Please do!

Misaki: Allow me to join you as well. I am not the best swimmer and a professional one like you would be the best teacher for me.

Hikari: ... Morons.

Lastly, ( After looking at Misaki and I like we were trash on the road side ) Hikari began her introduction as the one who brought up the subject.

Hikari: My name is Hikari as you all know. Sixteen years old. What you might not know is that I am also a genius with computers and an amazing hacker. Internationally wanted at that.

Shin: Why are you wanted?

I didn't want to believe what I was hearing, but Hikari's seriousness conveyed that she was telling the truth, yet... How does a middle school girl, or anyone for that matter end up as a hacker?

Hikari: A large muti-billion dollar company wrong a lot of families with their newly developed drug... Including my own.

Aqua: And so you got back at them?

Hikari: I was always told that I was good with computers and I couldn't forgive that company for what they did, so I went to work. Then six months later after studying and practicing my skills, I hacked into the company's servers and ruined them all within the span of five minutes. Before they realized that they were being attacked all of their classified files were released for the public to see. Weeks later and a law suit here, a subpoena there and the company went under.

Misaki: What did they do to you that you had to destroy them like that?

Hikari: I rather not say. Then from there I got overconfident, overconfident in my skills. I thought myself as an actual god that I was anle to control lives like I did and deliver justice, so I did similar things to other bad companys. I was successful for three whole years till the authorities caught wind of me and were close to tracking me down. Fearing now my parents would fair if there daughter were to be sent to jail, or killed by one of the organizations of the very dangerous people I have destroyed would come after me or my family... I quickly became depressed and one day I saw that message on my computer. I clicked YES and here I am.

Shin: Well, haven't you lead an interesting life.

Hikari: More like a self destructive life if you ask me. I played around with the lives of others for revenge against people who I felt should be punished and sent them into jail cells, now look where I am. I want to go home and see my parents even now, but I can't help but think that this world is my punishment. It has to be... This world is hell and I don't even have the ability to protect myself. Truly, truly the worst but most deserving punishment from god.

No one said anything after hearing Hikari's story. I can't imagine how a fresh into middle school girl could have been pushed by anything to become a wanted criminal with a crime spree lasting over three years.

It might have been really true that each and everyone one of us truly did wished to die at one point or another. Aqua and Hikari were obviously, but I sensed that Misaki was hiding something as well and just didn't bring it up.

I was the same. Events of my past and my lack of motivation for the dull future ahead of me led me to click YES like everyone of them.

We were all confused and tired, both physically and mentally from the events of the day and from the burdens of our past, but the day was still not over yet. Not for God who rules this world or the characters of H.O.T.D, and us four who were forced to follow after them

The story moved forward without anyone's permission as the minibus stopped right by a tunnel.

Rei Miyamoto and Mr. Shidou had just gotten into a firce argument. It looked like once more, the plot steady moved into the future.


	8. Chapter 8

Rei Miyamoto

The daughter of Kiriko and Tadashi Miyamoto.

A classmate, childhood friend and love interest of the main character Takashi Komuro, and along with Saeko Busujima is one of the main heroines of High School of the Dead.

Rei is also member of the Sojutsu ( Spear ) club, and her combat skills have proven to be a strong asset to the group with her weapon of choice the spear, and is also shown to be skilled with a M1A1 Rifle with a bayonet attached.

Despite always harboring a deep affection for Takashi, his constant reluctance caused her to give up on him and date one of his best friend, Hisashi Igou.

Although she was dating Hisashi, she never truly got over Takashi and still holds feelings for him, despite their friendship appearing totally ruined to their friends.

Although Rei is supposed to be a senior along with Saeko, she was held back a year because of an incident where her father, the police officer in charge of investigating her teacher's father, Koichi Shido, back lashed on to her.

As some sort of revenge for having his father investigated by Rei's father, he forced her to repeat the whole year and since then she has held a grudge against him. More so then for herself, she hates Shido and his father with a passion because the event lead to her father apologizing to her in tears. Rei harbors enough hate for and his father that if provoked enough she is more then willing to kill than settle their differences with words.

Kochi Shidou is the teacher of class 3-A at the High School where the Main characters went to and the central antagonist in Highschool of the Dead.

Koichi Shido is the son of a prominant politician.

When he was a child, Koichi greatly admired his father, the latter being a diet debater as well as a canidate for cabinent minister. However, while his fathers public life made him seem like a noble man, his life at home was the exact opposite.

Koichi constantly heard arguments between his parents, one such fight revealed that his father was commiting adultery on his wife. His mother began to drink heavily, causing her to die of alcohol poisoning when Koichi was in high school. Despite this, Koichi still trusted his father even then.

He left home and continued his studies at a university that his father had been director of before his ascention into politics.

Later, Koichi became a teacher at high school were the main characters went to, wanting to ensure a future for the next generation.

Then some time later, his father phoned him and told him that a police officer, Rei's father in the public safety department was investigating the "real" source of his funds. Koichi was told to hold back the officer's daughter, Rei by a year in order to humiliate him and make him back off.

The teacher had no grudge against Rei, but at the same time, he did not care if he mistreated her, as she was no differ then other girls, since he never had any interest in women to begin with. Koichi flunked Rei without hesitation, hoping that it would bring him to ultimately achieve his own goals.

Rei wouldn't ever accept being in the same group as Mr. Shido, and Mr. Shido was not content just with being a part of the group, but wanted to become its leader and use the group as the basis for his own organization/cult in the making.

The two were currently arguing and it was beginning to get out of hand.

As Rei's boyfriend, Hisashi disliked Mr. Shido for what he did to Rei, but because he had gotten a firm hold on half the group during the ride into the city, he wasn't too willing to start a fight needlessly.

On the other hand, Takashi tried to calm Rei down and effectively conveyed that he was on her side, which made Rei happy, but in the end she couldn't take being in the same space as Mr. Shido.

Then storming out in anger, Rei left the bus. Takashi was still the one who went after her, just like in the original plot. If there are no changes to the story then soon a run away punlic bus will head straight for us all. And in the attempting to escape the crash Takashi and Rei run into the tunnel next to wear were currently stop stopped ( Tunnel is Anime Only ).

Aqua: Hey, you know what will happen next, right?

Shin: Yes. Takashi and Rei will get split off from the group. It's fine not to change the plot, right?

Aqua: Normally I would say you were right, but you guy have messed around far too much with the plot. If they do get separated then there is a good chance that an even greater danger then what they were supposed to face might come their way.

Hikari: So shouldn't we force them back on the bus, or are we going leave them to their fate then and not mess with the plot anymore and take our chances?

Misaki: Hey, isn't that too much of a risk? Aqua just said that it would be more dangerous for them then it was supposed to be.

Aqua: Then just one of us will have to go with them is all.

Shin: Will you go?

Aqua: ...No, I'll stay here. Takashi and Rei together are worth 1100 negative points, so if something unforseen happens to them you newbies will be wiped out because you only receive 1000 points as a base reward, but I think that God is trying to trick us about who is the most important character we should be protecting right now.

Shin: You mean it isn't Takashi, the MC that if he dies we will lose 1000 points and us newbies could potentially be wiped out?

Aqua: That correct.

Hikari: Then... you mean Shizuka Marikawa?

Aqua: That's right.

Misaki: Shizuka? Why?

Shizuka Marikawa.

The nurse of the high school were the main characters went to and and one of the main characters herself. A super busty, natural blone and even more natural airhead.

She possess medical skills and carries supplies, but because most injuries in HSD lead to death and being turned into one of THEM, she rarely gets to show off her skills. She also isn't a fighter, so I couldn't see anything worth while about her. Maybe except that she has a friend in the...

Shin: That's it!

Misaki: What is?

Shin: The place we need to take the main characters to after they all separate from Mr. Shido's group/cult is Shizuka's friend, Rika Minami, since it is impossible to immediately get to the police precinct to meet Rei's father. That is why they will spend a part of the night/early morning there, then to Saya's place, a mall, and then the police precinct where they find that the police have retreated somewhere else.

Misaki: So what?

Hikari: What Shin is getting at is, if Shizuka dies, who will suggest going to Minami's place? No one and we can't suggest it because that would be revealing spoiler and would make us seem more suspicious. We are already using lousy cover stories as it is.

Shin: It's true. Only because we have been so helpful in our escape from the undead infested school was why they weren't asking any questions that they really should be asking and that we can't answer easily. Like who were are, why we are here and why do we have a Berreta Auto 9 from Robo Cop with infinite ammo wielded by a red haired women who can kick the assess of THEM with little effort ( Hirano had already been pestering Aqua about her gun earlier on the drive here ).

Misaki: So what is the plan then? If Aqua will go with the majority of the group to protect that nurse, who will go with Takashi and that women?

Shin: ...I'll go.

Hikari: Shin?

Misaki: Why you! I can-

Shin: Your definitely strong Misaki, and so I want you to use the strength to protect Hikari here while I am away.

Hikari: ...

Misaski: Why do I-

Shin: Don't forget. We haven't proven our worth yet to Aqua, so she won't go to any extra lengths to protect us. Even before, it was only to protect the main characters that Aqua took on THEM back at the school for us. That is why we will protect her and while I am gone that responsibility will go to you.

Misaki: Still, why are you bossing me around?

Shin: I am not. I am just asking you to repay your debt. You almost got us all killed back at the school when you rushed out like that. That is why this isn't an order, but a way to repay a debt. And as to why it has to be me, I have the most trust with the two of them for saving Hisashi's life. That's all.

Misaki: ...Tch, alright then. You can leave your girl with me till you get back. It is a promise between men.

Shin: Alright, but she isn't my women.

Hikari: ...Weren't you too quick to deny that?

Shin: What, you wanted me to say that you were my girlfriend?

Hikari: Gross! No way would I want a otaku, virgin loser as my boyfriend. I would rather die then let you even touch my hand.

Shin: Y-you... Your purposely doing that aren't you. Aren't you!?

Aqua: Well, I hate to break up this lovely moment and all, but...

Aqua pointed out the wondow so that we would notice the approaching vehicle.

The bus that has gone out of control thanks to the driver and the passengers being turned into THEM, was at this moment heading down the road right towards us.

Shin: Well, no more time to talk. See you guys later!

Then without waiting for a repy, I jumped out the window just as Takashi and Rei who were arguing outside had finally noticed the bus as it was just about to flatten them.

Takashi: What's the driver doing? He is going to crash!

Shin: Back away. It is going to-

And it was just as I was warning them that the bus flipped over and skidding across the road and was heading right for us three.

Takashi quickly grabbed Rei and jumped backwards into the tunnel, and I as well followed right after them. The bus came to a stop at the entrance of the tunnel and caught fire, effectively sealing the three of us from the rest of the group on the other side.

Saeko: Are you guys okay!?

Takaahi: Yeah we are, but it doesn't look like we can get back there. Lets meet up... At East Police Precinct!

Saekp: What time?!

Takashi: Five P.M! If not today, then tomorrow at the same time!

And with those parting words, Takashi, Rei and I ( The third wheel ) ran down the tunnel to avoid further explosions, flames and smoke from the overturned bus.


	9. Chapter 9

Shin: That was close.

Takashi: Yeah it was. Good thing that you warned us.

Rei: Sorry for getting you involved.

Shin: No trouble at all. We are a team after all.

Takashi, Rei and I exited the tunnel and were breathing in some much needed fresh air, away from the burning wreckage of the flipped over bus. We took a minute to rest beside a hill and that was when I remembered.

Shin: Shit!

From up the hill, a man in a biker outfit came down the hill and crashed into Takashi and slammed him into the ground. Rei and I tried to get him off, but the biker was in fact one of THEM, so his physical strength far surpassed both of ours.

I found a nearby brick, originally Rei's job, and smashed it down agains the the undead biker's helmet. The force of the hit was more then enough to cause enough injury to the head despite the helmet protecting him, and so he died... Again.

It was a short scare, but that attacked put us more on alert.

We no longer had the safety of moving together in a large group of fighters, so we had to become more vigilant of our surroundings.

Next came finding a means of transportation.

It would take to long to meet up with the rest on foot, so we looked for anything that we could use to take us there.

Takashi found the bike of the undead that just attacked us, but there was no way that it was going to fit three people ( The third wheel is sorry ). Rei found an abandoned pickup truck up the road with the keys still in the ignition and had a half a tank of gas left. That pickup truck became our new ride through the new city of the dead, ruled by THEM.

Takashi in the drivers seat, Rei in the passengers and myself in the back drove through the city.

Driving through it all it gave off a very erri feeling. Stores, apartments and car were abandoned far as the eye could see. Everyone who once lived here either ran away and abandoned this part of town... Or they all died and were turned into THEM and were just waiting, hidden nearby to attack us.

It was by no means a pleasant drive.

Rei: Over there!

Rei shouted, and over to where she pointed to was a cop car.

The cop car was sticking out aroud the corner of a building. We drove closer to the cop car, and only to find that it was the wreckage of a cop car. A truck had driven straight into it. Our only hopes were dashed that we could receive any help ( I knew the plot, but pretended otherwise ), but it wasn't technically a bad thing to find this cop car.

Rei approached the wrecked cop car and suggested that we scavange what we could, maybe find a weapon for our protection against them. From inside the car we were able to acquire real weapons.

A Japanese police issue gun.

A police baton.

Handcuffs.

And from the a destroyed and no longer functional gun, additional bullets.

Takashi was given the gun and I took the police baton. The gun was the obviously more powerful weapon and I kinda wanted to have it, but since gun's were needlessly loud and couldn't use it regularly, so on the surface there wasn't any real point in keeping it besides making ourselves feel safer.

But the truth was that Takashi, Rei and I will be in need of it very soon.

After acquiring weapons from the destroyed cop car, we continued to drive and eventually it became dark.

It was finally night time, but because we did not have any shelter to speak of, so it was nothing to be happy about. Truth be told, I wish it was still day time even if it meant that my two days here in this world would be extended a little.

During the day. there is the light from the sun and a sence of security even in this apocalyptic world, but during the night there was none of that. Not only was it harder to see, during the night all living who had not turned and animals will be resting, which means that even a small sound will carry over a long distance.

For example, if I fired off a single gunshot sound during the day would only bring nearby THEM towards us, but in the middle of the night undead from miles and miles could potentially find there way to me.

We were all tired and wanted to find a place to rest for a while, yet we had a problem.

We were running out of gas, so we had to stop soon. Lucky, there was a gas station right in front of us, and for whatever cosmic force that is at work it was the very same gas station that Takagi and Rei stopped at in the original story line.

Now that part baffled me since we were traveling in a entirely different vehicle with potential more or less gas then the bike they were going to originally take. If this wasn't a coincidence, but intervention from God then that meant that he really wanted us to stop here despite us Players changing the plot so much.

Well, that was fine with me.

If I can help it, I too didn't want anymore major changes to the story.

Even if the difficulty is higher then it should be, long as it still follows the same time line and events as the original H.O.T.D then I think I can manage, but if God throws me a major curveball, then I can't make any promises about playing my role.

We stopped at the gas station and began to quickly fill the truck with with gas, or that is what we wanted to do, but we didn't have any money on us so Takashi and I went inside the gas station store.

As we were looking around to see if there was anything we needed first, I went over the next major event in my head that should be happening any minute.

Takashi and Rei's bike was running low on gas so they stopped at a gas station to fill it up.

While Takashi went inside the gas station to get cash from the register to pay for the gas, a crazed man attacked Rei from behind while she was waiting for Takashi to return.

Takashi hears her scream from inside and rushes out to find Rei being restrained at knife point. The mad man who had just lost his family to THEM and who had to kill them with his own hands lost all of his morals, and so had to problem with kidnapping and killing people.

With Rei held hostage, Takeshi was forced to disarm and fill the tank of the bike so that the mad man could use it to escape the city. Then while the mad man was distracted, Takashi shot the mad man with the gun he had hidden in the shoulder, took Rei away on the bike and left their attacker to be eaten and turned by THEM who were drawn to all the noise they were making during the confrontation.

If all of that is about to happen then what should I do?

The mad man must have already seen me enter the gas station with Takeshi, so I can't just sneak up from behind and hit him. My best geuss as to what will happen is that either me or Takeshi will be ordered to leave, probably to go back inside the station while the other fills the tank of our pickup truck.

The variable we need to worry about here is who will be asked to leave. If it is the person who isn't armed with the gun then things won't go too well. The mad man is large and looks well built enough to pose as a challenge to us if we don't have the gun, especially since he will have Rei as a hostage.

If we can't kill him in the first move then it is very possible that Rei or one of us will be killed or seriously injured. That will be bad since the fight will draw over THEM who are near by.

The one who has to stay and mediate with the mad man and fill up the gas has to be the one armed with the gun. That means success or death rides on a 50% chance. The same as flipping a coin in the air and being asked if it is heads or tails.

I can't predict the future with math and seeing through the human psyche like [ ], so those kinds of odds were far to low for me to bet my life on.

Takashi: Shin, there is plenty of snakes here and since we have the pickup truck we should just take everything.

Shin: Ah, I geuss so. Who knows what our food situation will be like from now on in this apocalypse.

Takashi: That's a good point. Shin, take everything you can to the pickup truck. I'll open the cash register and get money for the gas.

Shin: Alright, but too bad this isn't a gas station that all you have to do is press a button behind the counter and you can get gas manually.

Takashi: You mean non self service? Those are rare these days and I always thought that those places were to dangerous to work at, so I never applied for part time jobs there.

Shin: Why is it dangerous?

Takashi: Isn't it obvious? Those kinds of gas station are more likely to have more cash in the registry than places that use credit cards. I was always afraid that some junky would come in at night with a gun to rob, and shoot me.

Shin: I guess that is true and you see stuff like that on the new, but you shouldn't let the things you see on tv stop you. The media, they dramatize events like they happen all the time. Besides, even of someone does try to rob you, those kinds of places have...

Takashi: What? Have what?

Wait, that is it!

How could I forget such a simple fact. It may just be the stereotype for stores in bad neighborhoods, but it should be possible, right?

This is a manga/anime world after all.

To confirm my suspicion, I went around the counter as Takashi was about to smash open the cash register with his bat, and I looked under the the counter.

Shin: These was one!

Takashi: That's...

What I had just taken from under the counter was a gun.

A handgun of some model and when I checked and took out the cartridge and it was fully loaded with bullets. These was even a box of ammunition as well under the counter.

What is this?

Bio Hazard ( Close enough )?

Call of Duty?

Splinter Cell?

And what fool leaves his job as the apocalypse is going on without taking his or his owners gun. A stupid fool who has probably been turned into an undead by now, that is who.

Takashi: I never thought to look under the coumter.

Shin: Well, I like to play American based games with all to realistic violence and detail ( You know the one ). Besides, you were having fun as you were about to smash open the cash register, right?

Takashi: Th-that... your right. Sorry.

Shin: No need to apologies. Just holding onto this handgun is makes me want to test it out on one of THEM. Too bad they are so damm loud.

Takashi: Hahahaha, I'm the same! This is all so dangerous, yet...

Takashi smashed open the cash register with a scary smile on his face, and within his eyes was madness. Even without killing his best friend, Takashi was already being changed by the apocalypse.

Takashi: Stuff like this is far too fun.

Shin: I have to agree. Let's take the money and-

Rei: Kyaaaa!

Takashi: Rei!

It looks like Takashi opening the cash register and takings money out was the sign for the next event to occur, but there was no longer anything to worry about.

Now that both Takashi and I are armed with gun, the worst case scenario wouldn't be a problem anymore now that we were both armed with guns.

Takashi and I both ran out of the station in response to Rei's scream, both of us ready to tackle anything that could get in our way... Or that is what I wanted to believe, but like what I most feared, even without changing the plot any more God threw us a goddamm curveball to the face.

Before us now was the mad man who was in the original story, currently restraining Rei as a hostage.

Rioter 1: Took you assholes long enough to bust open the cash register. Isn't that right bro!?

Rioter 2: Your right partner!

The mad men that I was expecting from the beginning called over to a man who I had never in my wildest dreams expected to find.

An accomplice.

An accomplice with was waiting right behind Takashi and I after we exited the gas station.

An accomplice rioter who was armed with a gun pointed at our back.

Shin: ...God one, us zero. Lesson learned, don't ever go into a gas station in the middle of the night during the apocalypse.


	10. Chapter 10

Well, we were screwed big time.

The mad man, who I am now calling R1 for Rioter 1, who had taken Rei hostage by knife point was not alone.

He was teamed up with another crazed rioter not in the original story, R2. The second man had taken us by surprise and had us a gunpoint, so they had effectively made us all into hostages.

Really, what did I do to arrive at this point?

Did saving Hisashi cause that big of a ripple effect? The only other thing I could think of was different because of my actions was that we took a pickup truck and not a bike to get here. What, just because there is more space for passengers, it ended becoming a target for crazed rioters?

Whatever the case, I, we were all in a bad spot right now. The two of them had Rei now held hostage, a gun and more importantly a gun pointed at our backs. Even if a negotiation was possible with these mad men, they would have all the power in the talk.

Still, we still had a shot at reversing the situation.

As they were ordering us to get rid of our weapons, I realized that the fact that there side had a gun wasn't an absolute factor here. No matter how insane these two were they knew that a gun shot would alert all the nearby THEM. If that wasn't the case then it would have been smarter to kill the two men and take the girl away to do who know god what's to Rei.

Just like the knife to Rei's throat the gun was just another bluff. We still have our guns on us, so long as we are carefull it is more than possible to turn this situation around for the better.

The two rioters after telling us to to disarm gave us two instructions if we wanted to get Rei back.

1\. For Takashi to hand over the keys to the pickup truck and for him to fill up the tank with the money get got from the cash register.

2\. For me to move away from Takashi, Rei and the knife wielding R1, to move back into the gas station with the gun wielding R2.

Takashi was going to be forced to fill up the gas while I was going to be dragged back into a close building that can not just block sight, but as well sound... I think it is obvious what their plans for me were and with that gun.

Going into that building was going to give the two of them all the power and most important of all I was going to be silenced. I can't allow that to happen and tried to convey that much to Takashi so that he would know we had to do something and fast, but he wasn't even looking at me. He kept staring at Rei and the knife to her throat and I only now did I notice that his legs were shaking.

Takashi was too overwhelmed by the whole situation to act.

I didn't want to think about it, but because he never killed Hisashi after he was turned like he was originally supposed to, he never grew into the MC he needed to be to become a leader, but more importantly he now wasn't the type of man to approach a man with a knife or gun and shoot with the intent to kill... Which was very bad for me. That meant that I can't rely on Takashi for support here and had to take care of both R1 and R2 by myself.

I was escorted from behind by the R2 in the direction of the gas station as Takashi began to fill up the pickup truck. If I couldn't rely on others and wanted to make it out of this alive then I needed to act right now.

And although he was useless now, just before I stepped back into the gas station Takashi presented the ideal opportunity without meaning to.

Takashi: Hey... Why don't you just let her go? We... Don't even know if her parents are okay, and we are about halfway there to where they should be. So just-

R1: You must be stupid or something! If her mom and dad were in the city then they would be the same as our families! Dead or turned into one of THEM, so if you found what was left of them, all you can do is bury them or bash their skulls in! Hahahahah!

R2: Or maybe even both!

R1: Good one bro, hahahahaha!

This was my chance!

While the R2 turned around to laugh at Takashi, I could finally make my move. I quickly pulled out the handgun that I just found inside the station and turned around to face the rioter gunman R2.

R1: Hey! That kid has a gun!

R2: What!

Damm, I was spotted, but it was too late now to stop me.

I had already drawn the gun and pointed it at the R2 right in front of me. On his face was a look of fear and terror that so far I have only seen by those about to be eaten alive by THEM... And now I was the cause of it for this man here. Still, I had to do it less I wanted to live... and I did.

\- *CLICK*!

\- *BANG*!

Shit!

What a fucked up cliche to be caught in... Was what I thought as I feel backwards from a large impact to my left shoulder. I was shot by the rioter before I could get off a shot from my gun, all because I didn't switch the safety off.

It was a cliche of a cliche from both animation and tv dramas that I have seen countless times. I always thought to myself how stupid could they be to not check, but looks like today I would join them in that foolishness.

I thought as much I was lying on the cold ground of the asphalt in a pool of my own blood.

Did I treat this world too much like a game?

Of course in real life you have to switch the safety off first if you want to shoot a gun. It was a god dammed safry feature. It wasn't like mashing the A button in a video game in front of a tv screen.

How stupid could I be?

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!

And isn't it too late to reverse this situation? After I got shot (And that hurt like hell and still does ) I dropped the gun, and it dropped right next to the R2 to pick up.

Now he held two guns pointed at me... Hell, who do you think that you are all that now? You're no Tasha Godspell!?

I then looked over to the two main character that were frozen in place due to fear after I was shot. Rei looked as pale as a ghost and Takeshi could only keep staring at me... His eyes unable to look away as I lay there in a pool of blood flowing out from my shoulder.

R2: Really, you all just had to resist and we were really going to let you, pth, damm I couldn't keep a straight face!

R1: You would have never made it as an actor, bro!

Takashi: You, you basterds!

R1: Oh, hold up there. If you don't want anything to happen to your woman then finish up filling the tank! Those freaks are coming!

It was just like the R1 said.

The sound of that last gunshot sounding in the night drew all the nearby THEM towards our direction. Within another minute or so, whoever was still around this place would be eaten alive and turn into one of THEM, just like the R1 in the original story.

The only difference now was that it was more likely to be Takashi, Rei and I who will be left behind. Maybe they would take Rei with them to play with her, but nonetheless, at this rate we were all going to reach a BAD END here.

Shin: ...That's right...

Right, this was a bad ending.

My own bad ending.

Without becoming the hero that I was pretending to be, wanted to be since I first got here to this world. Without becoming special, without becoming like the MCs that I always admired and wanted to become, but knew that I could not in the real world... I, I won't be able to ever return to the real world after becoming something.

Shin: Fu-fuck you crazy shit heads that went mad just because the world ended while you are still alive! Like hell I'm going to be killed by the likes of you people!

R2: What, you still haven't had enough!? Would you like another hole in your body? How about between your eyes this time!?

Shin: ...I won't die.

I won't die.

I don't want to die.

I'll live. I won't die.

I don't want to die. I'll live. I won't die. I don't want to die. I'll live. I won't die. I don't want to die. I'll live. I won't die. I don't want to die. I'll live. I won't die. I don't want to die. I'll live. I won't die. I don't want to die. I'll live. I won't die. I don't want to die. I'll live. I won't die. I don't want to die. I'll live. I won't die. I don't want to die. I'll live!

Survive survive survive and live, survive survive survive and live, survive survive survive and live, survive survive survive and live, survive survive survive and live, I'll Survive and live!

That is right.

I'll Survive and live... But more importantly how dare these people, these NPC's dare look down on me and threaten to kill me!? What right do these things have to kill me?

Do they think that they are one of the great villains of manga and anime.

Madara Uchiha

Aizan Sosuke

Black Beard

The Earl of Millennium

Principality of Zeon

The Mage of Beginning

Majin Buu

Marik Ishtar

Kire Kotome

Healcliff

Miya Yosuba

Ren Gokuken

Aharogi Tree

Johan Libbert

Phantom ( Mar )

Hao Asakura

Esdeath

Shogo Makishima.

Damm, at least give me that level of villain!

I'll die with a smile on my face if you were that level of enemy, but no way in hell am I dying here to Rioter 1 and 2.

Fuck you guys... No I won't die here on the ground in a pool of my own blood. I'll live! I stand up here, kill you people, escape and live!

It was then that a voice rang in my ear, but I didn't have the time or energy to listen to it. I had to stand up and fight for my life.

\- PHYSICAL REALM LIMIT BROKEN!

REWARDED 500 POINTS, MUSCLE DENSITY INCREASED BY 30 POINTS, CELL VITALITY INCREASED BY 20 POINTS, IMMUNIZATION STRENGTH INCREASED BY 10 POINTS!

For some reason I felt great strength rise from my body as an rigid and dignified voice rang within my head, but I couldn't register it or cared about where it came from. The pain in my shoulder also subsided to some extent as well. And so I stood up. Stood up with the determination to live no matter what.

Takashi, Rei and rioters were shocked to see me stand up like nothing had happened to me. Like a bullet didn't just cut through and out my body and that I hadn't lost a lot of blood.

R2: Wh-what is wrong with this guy!? He was just on the ground unable to move!

R1: Who cares! Just shoot him again!

Shin: Takashi! Save Rei already! She is your woman, right!?

Takashi stared back at me, but I had no more time to worry about him. Even if he is too much of a coward not to kill his foe, I'll take care of his opponent after I deal with this guy who made the first and last mistake of his life by shooting me.

I had no weapons to speak of anymore and I had zero martial arts experience.

I need a weapon and fast, and luckily the bat I threw away earlier wasn't too far from me. While Takashi threw his away into thes street away from the gas station, I purposely threw mine towards the store of the gas station so I could pick it up quickly again in the case I needed it. Thank god I did so on a whim.

The bat was ten meters from where I currently was, and so I jumped for it with all my strength. The gunman rioter saw me do so and shot at me with both gun, but the recoil from his improper two gun style backfired on him and not only did he miss by awide margin, he stumbled backwards as well.

With one leap that even surprised me, I crossed the ten meters in an instant and took back my bat. Tightening my hold on the handel of the bat I was now armed and ready for a fight, but they weren't making it easy for me.

R2 threw away one handgun to better his aim and pointed his remaining gun at me. I was too far away from him to immediately attack and so I would at least need five, no three steps with my enhanced strength as it was to reach him.

What should I do?

I doubt that he will miss a second time in this situation. Is it possible...Can I dodge the bullet? No, impossible.

The depths of my mysteriously increased strength is not so great that I can dodge a bullet, but because I have nothing else I have to try anyways.

Damm MCs who so easily acquire special powers and enhanced five senses. Share some of that with me, will you?

What would they do in this situation. Now who is my favorite gun wielding protagonist I can plagiarize from?

It would have to be Tasha Godspell from Witch Hunter.

Within possible human reaction speed, his master taught him how to dodge invisible Mana Bullets ( My equivalent to all bullets ) by looking at the muzzel of the gun to determine the trajectory path of the bullet and too also watch the finger of the trigger to figure out the timing for when the bullet is shot, with the key being doing both at the same time.

It was an impossible task that needed Tasha to train for a long time and almost dying in the process, but I have to do it here and now.

Do or die.

With amazing concentration I locked on to the muzzel of the gun as well as the finger pressing the trigger. I never knew my eyesight was so good, but hell, humans can do anything when they are on the verge of death, yet it still wasn't easy.

By pushing concentration to realms that even I didn't know that I had, time seemed to slow down ( Hope it isn't the moment that a person dies kind of thing ), yet R2's hand kept shaking constantly, so it was hard to determine the exact path of the bullet and his finger was about to pull the trigger.

I need greater concentration to live. A higher reaction speed to move at the exact moment that he pulls the trigger to live through this, so I kept thinking thinking.

Thinking of a way to dodge the bullet and survive this life and death situation... And then it came to me, whatever it was. Within the very last second time stopped and all sounds of the world disapeared. Although the entire world had slowed down I could still move and that is when I saw it... The moment that the trigger was pulled on R2's gun.

\- MENTAL REALM LIMIT BROKEN!

REWARDED 500 POINTS, MENTAL CAPACITY INCREASED BY 20 POINTS, INTELLIGENCE INCREASED BY 10, REACTION SPEED INCREASED BY 30 POINTS!

I dodged the first bullet.

Luckily, the bullet was aim for the side of my torso, so it was easy to step to the side to avoid it, getting away with a very small flesh wound that splatter blood into the air, but I paid it no mind. My chance had come!

I kicked the ground and made a rushed for R2.

He was amazed by my speed and backed away as he fired off a second bullet. This time the aim was especially bad as the bullet went for the top of my scalp. I only had to duck a little to come out of it without a scratch.

I am sure that R2 was shocked speechless. Here he just saw a human being that had not yet been turned into on of THEM rise from the ground as if the hole in the shoulder was a joke, and then saw the same person in the span of what couldn't be more then three seconds dodge two bullets. If he hadn't lost his mind before this then he had now.

Laughing like a true madman he fired a third and final bullet as I was directly in front of him with my bat raised. I didn't expect a third bullet and one so well dammed aimed for the center of my face, maybe he was in a similar state as me right now, but whatever the case it was too late for him. Not for a moment, not from precaution, but very well fear did I not take my eyes off that gun of his.

Turning my head to the side in a flash beforehand with enough force that it should have broken my neck, the bullet went right by my head, leaving behind a very deep burning graze mark right above my left eye ( Nearly needed an eye patch there ).

I did it.

It was only after I had raised the bat with my usable, not shot up right arm and smashed it down on the skull of R2's head, with blood and brain matter swimming through the air did I finally register that I was still alive. I created a miracle from nothing and survived and won against R2 and his fucking gun!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

The same rigid and dignified voice?

Before I didn't bother to listen to it, but once I thought about it again it all came back to me. It said that I broke some kind of limit, I think it might have been God and I was rewarded with points and increased stats.

I received 500 points for breaking the Physical Realm. Muscle Density increased by 30 points, Cell Vitality increased by 20 points, and Immunization Strength by 10 points. Then another 500 points for breaking the Mental Realm. Mental Capacity increased by 20 points, Intelligence increased by 10, Reaction Speed by 30 points.

Weren't these enhanced stats that I juat acquired already worth 1200 points if I were to enhance myself? And with another 1000 points just for breaking those two limits I already have the equivalent of 2200 points, not including the points from the undead and rioter I have killed or the side quest from savings Igou Hisashi .

I haven't even passed my first mission from God and yet I have close to the amount of points you would get from surviving over four missions already!

I was extremely pleased with myself, but what woke me back to reality was the sound of another loud gunshot. I instinctively felt over my body out of reflex, but it didn't look like I was shot again. I then realized that I totally forgot about Takashi, Rei and the last rioter as I thinking about my points.

I turned around while on guard and I was pleased with what I saw.

Takashi had run up to R1 and shot him in the shoulder just like in the original plot and saved Rei. Maybe it was the shock of seeing a comrade almost killed or just my words, but whatever the case, Takashi took care of the last rioter showed that he had finally awakened as the true protagonist of High School of the Dead.

Shin: That is how it should be. Hey, you guys. Can you stop hugging each other in a passionate embrace look at where we are ( Like I am one to talk, getting engrossed by looking over my many, many points )? They are coming towards us right this second!

Takashi and Rei who were hugging each other back away in a hurry embarrassed, and seeing that we didn't have even have thirty second to spare for out escape from the undead, they begun to move. Takashi started up the car and Rei ( Very quick thinking on her part ) quickly retrieved the guns that were on the floor. Noticing how much power guns played in that standoff back there, Rei now knew that we needed power to survive this apocalyptic world if there were going to be both THEM and mad men like those two to deal with.

Then as we were about to drive away in the pickup truck, R1 began to scream at us. Takashi did indeed shot R1, but only in the shoulder. He was still alive and kicking.

R1: H-Hey! Damm my shoulder hurts... Are you guys just going to leave me here!? To be eaten by THEM!? I'll be left alone, help me. You guys have to help me!

Inspite of his plea for help, Takeshi and Rei fully attended to leave this man behind to be eaten and turned by THEM. I was of a similar mindset as well. NPC or not, this bastered and his friend almost got all of us, which includs. He can join the undead for eternity for all I care, but... His life still had one last value to me.

Shin: Rei can I see one of the guns you collected?

Rei: Sure, but... You aren't going to help him out ( I am sure she meant spare him the fate of turning into one of them ), are you?

shin: ...No, it isn't that. I can't tell you why though, but I need to do this of I am going to continue living in this world. Please don't ask questions.

Nodding as if she understood and seeing as Takashi did not stop me, Rei handed me one of the three guns we now had in our possession.

Rei probably believed that I meant this world, but that wasn't exactly it.

The world I was referring to was this world of God's, where I and others would be forced to risk our lives in order to survive and gain points and hopefully to one day to return to our home and familys after whatever regrets we all had that led us to click YES were resolved here.

Mine weren't, and so I had to do this and just getting home wasn't enough for me. That might be the goals of Aqua, Hikari and Misaki if they are still alive out there, but not mine.

A normal person after experiencing that life and death battle should have first thought about escaping this place and returning to the original world, but I didn't.

What I was most concerned about were the points I had and how I could use them to enhance myself. In this world that wants nothing more to kill me in the most cruel way possible and force me to do things a sane, what a moral and upright human being shouldn't never do... I was enjoying myself deep down and every last minute of it.

For the first time, I realize that I am a truly broken individual who had dreams of living together with manga character and with the dangers that come with it. Just like Sora and Shiro, I wasn't born here, but this is definitely the world that I should be living in..

I have to thank the God, devil, alien or whatever that created this place and brought me here. Don't get me wrong, I still want to punch the bastered for not giving me informed consent prior to arriving here, but nonetheless, I want to thank said person, yet what I have to do now is for my own survival.

I arrogantly want to live the life of a protagonist and can't help but look at this world with wonder and all the fantasy with joy, yet Hikari and others would all agree that kind of thinking will get me killed one day for sure. It almost did it almost did in reality.

I honestly can't say that there is anything I can do, or desire to do to change my mentality, but there is one thing that I can do. Engrave onto my body, mind and soul that this world isn't just a fantasy world, but a true hell world. And just like the real world, without effort, talent and luck one can't survive this here in this hell world.

I wasn't born with talent and I never tried hard enough at anything to think that I am a hard worker, and just now I probably used up my life's worth of good luck to stay alive in that shit storm. That is why because I lack effort, talent and luck...I will strengthen my resolve.

The resolve to live.

To survive any world in spite of my own foolishness to enjoy these 100% fatality rate missions given to us by God, and like like Vongola X, I will overcome any and all obstacles in my way and survive with the power of my resolve.

I will survive till the day I honestly wish to return to my boring world that only worth are books and games going for it.

That is why what I have to do now has to be done. Not something that I did in the moment to survive, but to strengthen my resolve to live no matter what, and in spite of myself above all. I must stain my own hands with blood of my own free will, so... That is why... That is why...

Shin: It doesn't matter if he is human or not. Those who threaten my path of survival and those who point there animosity at me... Can go die and burn in hell. At the very least you can become a part of the foundation of my strength... Die.

At point-blank range, squarely at his forehead, ignoring any and all pleas asking to be spared, I pulled the trigger. I... In the truest sence of the word, I have become a murderer.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

Shin: I-I killed a dying man for points. I hope that is enough for now to... Keep me grounded within reality.

I then dropped to my knees.

It wasn't that I was saddened about what I just did. I didn't have to do it, but he was an enemy who tried to take advantage of me and my comrades. He could go to hell and burn for all I care, but that wasn't the reason for my worsening state.

I had loss to much blood earlier after getting shot through the shoulder. I had also forced my body in that situation to continue to fight and pushed myself beyond my limits.

I was honestly surprise that it took this long to happen. The timing was so perfect. It was just like in an anime.

Takashi: Shin!

Rei: Shin!

Takashi and Rei called out to me, but it was no use. With nothing sustaining me any longer, I fell to the asphalt ground and passed out.

Even knowing that the undead, THEM were approaching us becaue of the ruckus we made with those gunshots, I couldn't keep myself awake.

Whether or not the next time I open my eyes I will be human or not... Only time can tell. This far from the best, but not the worse ending for a former otaku. I... Could at the very least say I did my best, right?


	11. Chapter 11

I was alive.

Lying in the back of the pickup truck the next day around noon, after the first events of the H.O.T.D apocalypse I had awoken. I didn't perish yesterday night and looking over my body I haven't been revived as one of THEM.

Shin: So... That meant that I's alive! That I hadn't died, that I survived despite all odds. Does this mean that I have a main characters luck after all!?

Rei: What nonsense are you talking about the first second you wake up?

Shin: ...

Embarrassingly, Rei overheard my brief moment of eighth graders syndrome.

Takashi and Rei were in the front seat of the pickup truck and after getting up to take a look around we were parked in a lot somewhere. Looking around, we were in the city and have escaped the residential area.

I sat up I found that my left shoulder hurt like hell, confirming the fact that I had been shot last night. It loked like whatever adrenaline effect that I was on during that fight had long since past, leaving me a parting gift of intense pain.

From the two of them, I learned that they were worried since I hadn't woken up once since the events of last night at the gas station.

We were ambushed by two rioters who had lost their minds in the tragedy, and after disposing of the two wee left the station in a hurry to avoid the incoming undead drawn in by the conflict.

I passed out right after the fighting was over, so Takashi and Rei filled me in on the rest. The two dragged my unconscious body into the pickup truck ( I have to thank them later ) and escaped THEM who had come over after all the sounds we made during the confrontation with the rioters.

From there, Takashi and Rei kept driving and only stopped to rest a little and to apply bandages to my gunshot wound ( I have to thank them again later ). We had just now enter the city in the afternoon and had come to a stop once they heard the sounds of me waking up.

It was great to know that I was in the company of such great companions, but it was getting bad that I was constantly owing them favors. Especially now since Rei was helping me change the bandage on my shoulder, but she then all of a sudden she gasped in surprise.

Takashi who was off to the side guarding us came over and saw what had surprised Rei, and then I finally noticed as well.

My gunshot wound that I sustained last night was no longer there. The area still looked a bit red and hurt like hell, yet the wound had closed completely. Rei herself said that there was definitely a hole in my shoulder when she bandaged me up late last night, and now it was gone.

Takashi and Rei thought it was a miracle, a small one in this apocalyptic world where nothing good happens, but a miracle nonetheless, yet I felt otherwise.

It had to be because of my enhanced stats, right?

Of the two limits that I had some how accidentally broken last night, the first of which was the Physical Realm. Muscle Density, Cell Vitality and Immunization Strength stats ( Yeah, I have stats! ) were increased. If stats are real and they can increase ( Just look at Aqua to know that it is real ) then the reason for my wound being healed would have to be because of Cell Vitality.

Cell Vitality would have increased my healing ability and if Immunization Strength played a part in it then it kept the wound from getting infected, so the healing process went much smoother.

It was half-assed logic, but I had nothing else to go on, so I went with it.

Shin: Is this a sign that I'm meant to go down the path of immortality and rule forever... Well, it's not the worse, yet not OP enough.

After seeing that I was recovering well ( Shoulder is killing me ), we went back on our way to meet up with our comrades. We had high expectations, but what we saw left just reminded us of the horrors of this world will only continue to get worse.

The land before us had become a battle field.

Just like a real war zone there was confusing and violence in every direction.

The rioters had fully taken over and were beating up any and everything that they saw moving, Noth THEM and their fellow human beings. These people had gone mad in the truest sense of the word and to get where we need to go next, we had to somehow get by all of this.

I knew that this scene was coming up, but it was worse then I could have ever expected. There were rioters for sure, but it was much more spread out then what I remembered from the manga or anime. The increased difficulty of this scene had to have been a result of changing the plot, but I doubt that I was the cause of all of this.

It had to be the others, and the only one I can imagine purposely changing the plot was Aqua who is confident in her ability to survive.

My only concern is that if the others are alright.

I don't care much for Misaki, but he is a comrade in this world and is strong ( blowing away zombies with his fist alone ). Hikari on the otherhand is a weak girl.

Not to look down on her, but I can't imagine her surviving through chaos like this without anyone to look out for her. She is not at all as capable of a woman like Aqua who can take a stroll through this kind of world with a smile on her face.

Takashi: Do you think we should ditch the pickup truck and find bikes to get through this mess. The pickup truck would be too big of a target for those rioters to spot.

Rei: If we had two or three bikes then sure, maybe we could get through all of this, but... I still think it is too dangerous to go through here. Lets find another path.

Shin: ...No. We will cut straight ahead in the pickup truck.

Rwi: Why? It is too dangerous.

Well, I can't say that I am too afraid to change the plot any more then we already have, since I don't want to lose points for every sentence for spoilers.

Shin: Do you see that. I highly doubt that there is going to be any safe passage for us to get to the bridge on the other side ( Not like we can passs through it with all the traffic ). Beside, we don't have to be afraid of them.

Takashi: Why not?

Shin: This is why.

I took out one of the three guns we had to remind them both that we weren't powerless.

I explain to the two that as far as we knew, there are very few rioters armed with guns, so if we drive the pickup truck through the war zone and focus on taking out those who have guns and those trying to stop us, we can make it safely to the other side in one peace.

Takashi and Rei were both reluctant to kill another human being with intent, but reminding them that we were no longer the same people as yesterday before the apocalypse had an effect on them.

Last night Takashi shot a man who for no better word for it wanted to gang rape Rei with his friend, and both he and Rei were more then willing to leave said man to be eaten by THEM... They came around to my way of thinking which wasn't too hard.

With that decided, we begin formulating our plan.

Rei would drive the car through the crowd, while Takashi and I shot the rioters who attempt to stop us. I will position myself above the hood of the car and shoot the rioters ahead of us, while Takashi takes the rear and shots those behind us and the one who pose a threat that I miss ( Sure as hell don't plan to ).

Takashi asked if I was capable of shooting in my condition by bringing up that I was shot not even twenty-four hours ago, but I assured him that I am fine and won't hold any of them back. I wasn't acting tough either. My shoulder hurt like hell, but I could move my body just fine. I guess these the benefits of increased stats.

With all of our roles decided upon we began to move out!

Rei drives through the chaos of the street filled with undead and mad rioters and we are quickly spotted... Unfortunately for them.

Rioter: Hey, stop that pickup truck!

Rioter: Everyone don't let them get through, ghaaaa!

The first few rioter that stood in our path were run over and blown away.

I was jealous towards the driver Rei since I don't get points for the rioters she killed, yet I bet she wouldn't agree. I couldn't see her face right now, but I heard her scream a little just now. Takashi was worried for her, but we had our own problems to deal with.

Rioter: Shoot! Shoot them. They are trying to run us over!

Now it was our time to act.

The rioters with guns began shooting at us and we had the job to stop them.

It would be the end if Rei or a tire were to be shot. If we were to stop here then we would be all to quickly surrounded and killed by either the rioters or THEM.

Shin: You ready!?

Takashi: Yeah!

Then the two of us began to shoot into the crowd of enemies.

While Takashi shot the rioters behind us, I shoot the one in front of us. In front of the pickup truck were to rioters, one with a gun and another a shotgun, and I quickly took them out. One bullet towards the handgun rioter and two towards the shotgun rioter just to be extra safe. That thing could cause a lot of damage even if not accurately shot at us.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

My shots quickly took them down and Rei drove right over their corpses.

It was a nasty sight when one of the heads were crushed by a high speed revolving tire, but I didn't have the time to throw up. More and more of the enemy were coming our way.

Rioters with more guns and those who were trying to jump onto the moving pickup truck were all dealt with as soon as they reared their ugly heads. If they weren't carrying a dangerous weapon like a shotgun, I would let them get as close as possible before I shot them. The reason was because that I was no expert shooter, so I needed them all to get as close as possible for me to shoot them dead, and once they did I could easily get head shots on all of them.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

Takashi turned around and saw the bloody work I was making out rioters and complimented my shooting and asked if I was a legendary gunman in my past life, but I didn't have an answer for him other then maybe.

Both of us were surprised by the high accuracy of my shots.

I can hit the head or chest with a 8/10 rate, and we were on a speed vehecal. If we were still I wouldn't be surprised if my shots were 100% accurate long as they were close enough.

Is it because of my enhancements that I had become a better shot? Does Intelligence, Reaction Speed or Mental Capacity have anything to do with shooting? Whatever the case, I didn't have much time to think it through.

As we were almost out of all the chaos on the streets, the worse and most expected enemy you would meet in an apocalyptic world, a mad man equipped with a blazing flamethrower ( God, where did he find that kind of thing!? Did he make it? You have to much time on your hands during the apocalypse, Die! ). We only had 5-10 seconds before the flames of his flamethrower would devour us whole.

Reiv You guys, do something!

Shin: Shin, your the better shot! You do it!

Shin: I am not the the MC here! Fine, I'll do it!

I couldn't help but complain that the true main character here gave me the hardest job. I am not Kouta, so if I am not going to get the girl(s) here then don't give me the toughest scene. If not Rei, then Saeko or Alice in plus 10 years.

Anyways, I steady took aim with both hands ( I had been shooting with the right arm to avoid the recoil reopening the shoulder wound ).

I was no expert marksmen, but what I had was increased mental abilities thanks to breaking the Mental Realm, or whatever it was. I already had enhanced vision and reaction time, so my shooting naturally improved, but when I focused my mind, I could get back that sensation from last night when I was fighting the rioter with the gun.

If only a little, time slowed down and the scope of my vision increased to their limits.

I saw the man and his flamethrower admist the bright flames he was summoning and took aim. Then at the very last second before the flames devoured us, I pulled the trigger of my gun. The bullet flew from the muzzel of the gun straight and true, and hit the tank of the flamethrower, causing a large explosion in front of us.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE RIOTERS - 5 POINTS ACQUIRED.

Rei drove through the flames and through some miracle we came out the other side all right. On the other side of the flames we had fully escaped the chaotic battle field and put it well behind us.

Rei was fine and I pushed Takashi down at the last moment ( Whose existence was worth negative 1000 points, the equivalent of negative 200 lowly rioter ), so we all came out unharmed, yet my back felt like something was burning, probably from the flames, but thankfully it didn't hurt much.

Both Takashi and Rei complained about the explosion, half sure I did it on purpose ( Guilty ), yet I feigned innocence and they dropped the matter.

Once the three of us confirmed that we were in the clear, I checked how many points I had acquired after going through that madness and found 75 additional points after killing fifteen rioters.

Shin: ...So unbalanced.

I thought as much when I went over my total points.

Killing over forty of THEM gave me 2 points, yet fifteenth rioter gave me 75 points. There were the 10 points for last nights incident, 1000 points for the breakthroughs and 2500 points for saving Hisashi. Altogether, I now had 3587 points.

It was a lot of points, especially considering that this was my first mission, yet I still felt cheated. For seventeen rioters I got 85 points, but for forty plus undead I only received 2 points.

I didn't notice as much when I first saw the side quest rewards, but the effort to kill an undead was much higher then a human being in my opinion.

Sure, humans can have guns, but I am still more terrified of a group of THEM, then I am of rioters so long as I have a gun as well ( Half the time it could make the situation worse when fighting Them, since they are attracted by sound ).

Unless you have an infinite ammo gun like Aqua who has no shortage of bullets, it isn't even worth the time or bullets to spare to get points from them. I would rather go hunt rioters...

I just heard myself just now and I noticed that my moral view point have shifted since yesterday, but I was in no mood to care.

Should I? Yes.

Will I? Not anytime soon at the very least.

If someone one wanted me to be an upright citizen even in a different world then don't send me into an honest to goodness zombie apocalypse. The Hero of the Shield was right, don't outsource heros ( Not like I am one yet )!

After crossing that hellish battle ground, we found that we couldn't cross the bridge due to new regulations placed by the police to stop THEM and those possibly infected from crossing. It was when were were loss as what we were to do now that we saw something that brightened our mood.

It was the minibus.

None of us expected to see it here, including me since I knew the original plot, but there it was. Out side it on the streets, taking a guarding position were my comrades and the main characters from H.O.T.D.

The first to spot us was Hikari who was right next to Misaki ( At least he is doing his job ), and on the roof of the minibus I even saw Aqua wave us over. I was honestly glad to see them again, I was, but I just had one thought as I looked at the bus, the great damage to it and the lack of a certain group's presence.

Shin: ...What did they do?


	12. Chapter 12

The team was back together.

I was reunited with the group and we were all happily greeting each other and I moved over to where Hikari and the others were waiting for me.

None of them looked injured, so they should have had a better time than me who was shot, but I could see exhaustion in the eyes of two of them as the stood next to the minibus... That was riddled with bullet holes on one side and with shattered windows.

The one who wasn't like them and was full of energy smoking a cigarette called out to me first.

Aqua: So you are still alive.

Shin: I geuss I am. Just barely.

Hikari: Is that how people who were separated in an apocalyptic world greet each other? No, "Are you alright" or "I am glad to see that are fine" and "That I was worried"?

Shin: Hikari... Did you-

Hikari: Me? No way. I was worried about Takashi and Rei who are negative 1100 points if they died. You could have never come back for all I care.

Shin: ...Is that so ( Middle school girl are the worst ). Whatever the case I am glad to hear your poisonous words again. Misaki, thanks for looking out for her.

Misaki: It was no problem. Just returning a debt, right?

Hikari for some reason was blushing and avoided looking at me after telling her that I was glad that she was okay, but I didn't give her a second thought now that I knew she is safe. What I wanted now was information and I looked towards Aqua for answers.

Shim: So what happened while I was gone? Also, where is 's group go? I've noticed that you guys still have the minibus which they were supposed to keep.

Aqua: Oh, that's a boring story. Let us just say we got here alright in one piece.

Hikari: How was that alright!?

Misaki: How was that alright!?

Both Hikari and Misaki both couldn't agree to Aqua's assessment of what happened, so reluctantly she went over the events of yesterday/this mourning. From the time Takashi, Rei and I left the group.

They were attacked multiple times by THEM after leaving us behind, but Aqua was there so they had no troubles dealing with them, so the first day of H.O.T.D's apocalypse ended with nothing serious happening ( Lucky them. I was SHOT and they got to rest peaceful in a bus ). The real trouble began the next day.

The next day, traffic was horrible and they made little to no progress. Not only was there talk about about ditching the bus, they were also worried about my group and wanted to look for us.

Mr. Shido made a fuss about that idea, yet Aqua also agreed that my group was fine and there was no need for them to look for us.

They would all receive notifications that a main character had died and that we lost points if something happened to Takashi and Rei, so it was unlikely that anything major happened to my group. It was true in a sense, but not accurate since I was shot and almost got toasted by a flamethrower, but no need to mention that all now.

It was around the time that the main characters were at the peak of the argument with Shido and his cult in the makings that they were almost killed. Not by Aqua's standards, but for anyone else it was as close as you could get to a BAD END in a game.

While stuck in traffic, rioters attacked the minibus and the other cars and the civilian on the roads. They were much like the ones we encountered, out to destroy and kill anything that were in their path of destruction. The traffic then came to a complete standstill when the undead entered the mix it mademade the situation worse, as if that was possible.

THEM on one side and rioters on the other.

No one thought that they could escape the situation, but Aqua lead the way to victory. She literally moved the cars that were in their way by just pushing them and for all the rioters and THEM who came within 100 meters of the minibus had their heads blown away by Kouta.

Aqua had lent him her gun and although he had questions about a real infinite ammo gun with multiple type of bullets and firing modes, he stopped asking questions when he was allowed to use it to his hearts content and he did... So much so that everyone became more afraid of Kouta then Aqua who was making a path through dozens of cars with physical strength alone ( Might have been the whole point. A distraction in a already chaotic situation to avoid the others asking questions about Aqua and the other Players ).

Then once a path had been cleared, they drove the minibus, with the new driver being Aqua, right onto the sidewalk and broke through/ran over the crowd of rioters and undead to escaped to safety.

As they were driving over the rioters, Hikari made a point to remember how the most scary part wasn't running over living or nonliving humans and undeads, but Aqua who was laughing like a maniac on drugs ( Probably because she saw how many points she was making just by driving and running them over. So lucky ).

Hikari: And so we made an successful escape, but once we found that using the bridge was impossible and that it was unlikely that your group crossed it, we decided to wait for you guys in this area. A few hours passed and here you are.

Shin: Seems like you guys had quite the adventure. It doesn't even sound that bad since Aqua was there.

Hikari: Doesn't sound bad!? Are you stupid? How would you feel if endless army's of THEM and rioters kept coming at you no matter how many of their comrades were killed and lying on the ground dead. It was a literal sea of fire and blood back there. It was something right out a religious bible page!

Misaki: Also, don't get us started on that kouta guy. Aqua giving him that gun was the scariest thing that I have seen since I arrived here. He was like a berserker with that gun. Head shot after head shot and body after body fell to the ground in a ever rising lake of blood. Even after it was all over he was still in that strange state and firing that gun even with the risk of more of THEM coming at us. We were all too scared to talk him down.

Shin: So what happened?

Hikari: In the end, Aqua had to punch him and take back the gun to get him to calm down. He was knocked out cold and when he woke up he was the same timid guy as before. It was like he had a second personality.

I look over to said gun manic and rooftop sniper in the making, Kouta Hirano.

He looked just fine to be, except the fist imprint on the left side of his face, but I understood where Misaki was coming from.

Among all the main characters of H.O.T.D, Kouta is the one who has most embraced the zombie apocalypse. He was a timid and bullied kid in school, but was actually a gifted marksman with real training experience, so when normalcy and morality no longer mattered in this new apocalyptic world, Kouta began to change for better or worse, and made the best use of his skill set ( A lot of which to appeal to Saya Takagi. I never did get who she really liked, Takashi or Kouta, but he had made a lot of good impressions on her, and some bad ).

He naturally becomes excited about guns and shooting THEM, but because of the end of mankind and the stress of it all has mixed with his love for guns, he looks like he has gone mad a lot of the time.

Shin: Sorry. It looks like you all have been through a lot, but I still have one more question.

Hikari: What is it?

Shin: Where is Shido and his cult?

Hikari: ...

Misaki: ...

When I asked the question I wanted to know the most, both Hikari and Misaki began to look pale. I don't know what happened, but for Misaki as well to have such a strong reaction it must have been something.

Altnough hesitantly, it was Hikari who eventually spoke up in the end. All the while taking glances at Aqua while doing so, but it was Aqua who gave me a clear answer.

Hikari: Mr. Shido and his group... They, they were-

Aqua: I got rid of that annoying bunch.

Got rid of?

What the hell does that mean? Killed?

Shin: When you say you got rid of them... What do you mean?

Aqua: It is like I just said. I got rid of them. Nothing more and nothing less.

Hikari: It is as Aqua said. Aqua forced them off after they a fuss about them all meeting up with Shin and the others and not escaping somewhere safer. Also, when our side said that wanted to look for you even of it meant abandoning the minibus, they agreed, but demanded that we leave Shizuka behind since she is a valuable medic. That was when Aqua got involved.

Aqua: I couldn't just allow them to keep that nurse. Also, I felt that unlike in the original manga and anime, Shido wasn't going to let the nurse Shizuka go no matter how much he was threaten.

Hikari: Then while Hisashi amd Shido were arguing, Hisashi trying to come to some kind of comprise...

Misaki: Aqua, she drew her gun and things went south fast.

Aqua: So I drew my gun. What of it? Soon as the conversation got to negotiations which didn't happen originally, I couldn't stand by any longer and do nothing. So I shot Shido in his right hand and told him and his cult to leave. The cult cried about staying, but they were already corrupted by Shido, so I gave more warning shots and they all ran out of the bus screaming. What happened next was non of my concern.

Shin: What happened?

Now this was the part both Misaki and Hikari couldn't say out loud, so Aqua explained. It was just as I was beginning to geuss and I was right for better or worse.

Mr. Shodo and his cult died not one minute after being ejected from the minibus. The cult shout curses at them all as they drove off and which attracted THEM. Faster then they could prepare themselves to run or fight, they were quickly surrounded and eaten alive.

This included the only antagonist so far named in H.O.T.D, Koichi Shido. They all watched the scene in horror as he was chased down and killed by THEM.

Shin: Did anyone say anything about this later?

Hikari: N-no. No one did. Although it was cruel, no one went against Aqua for what she did. Her timing was so good since it looked like she took a stand for Shizuka and all of them, that they felt responsible as well for not stopping her. It became shared responsibility, so there was no one to point out and blame. In fact, I think they saw Aqua in a better light since she showed them she could make tough, yet ultimately right decisions.

Shin: Was that your plan all along?

Aqua: No. It just happened that way. My reason was just to save Shizuka, but I also just wanted to get rid of that Shido prick once and for all.

Shin: Well, long as you are making the world a better place.

Misaki: What better place? She is a murder! Maybe that cult leader Shido is one thing, but the students... The students weren't too far gone. If they were separated from that man, then...

Aqua: That is too much of a risk Misaki.

Misaki: What?

Aqua explains that it was too much of a risk to her and the group to let them keep going with them.

As she explained it, if she didn't then there would be be a good chance that they would hold a strong gruge against her for kicking out their group leader Mr. Shido. There was more then a good chance that they would retaliate against her or the group later on.

They might go after her, Hikari, Misaki or one of the other main characters and as a result they could lose hundreds of points as a result. It wasn't a risk she was willing to take, especially if it involved her own safety.

After hearing this, Misaki seemed to understand that it was a hard chice and a choice that had to be made and calmed down.

I then asked Aqua it was a good idea to do what she did? Not because of the morality of the situation, but since it might change the plot for the worse.

Aquua: It shouldn't be a problem, right? I studied up on manga and anime since I was informed of the change to the missions, so I know and remember H.O.T.D to the last released chapter ( I still cry over it long hiatus ). After separating from the main characters, Shido and his cult don't reappear till the main characters reach Takagi's parents home. We and the mission won't last that long, so taking them out early shouldn't effect the plot at all for us.

Shin: And you don't believe there wouldn't be much of a ripple effect?

Aqua: That is what I believe. Even if it is something happens as a result it shouldn't be a big change. You guys are the fearless ones for changing the plot as newbies. This is my sixth mission from God, so I can change the plot with some confidence. I would have never added an another main character like you did Shin.

Shin: No, I am far from fearless. Just stupid enough to try.

Aqua: Well, that is one kind of strength. If you die you are a dead fool, yet if you live you are a courageous fool. If it the later, then you might make it out of this place alive yet.


	13. Chapter 13

It felt oddly short ( Filled with bullets and flamethrower ), but the day was coming to and end and night was upon us.

It was only one hour before dusk and we needed a place to rest since it was unlikely that we would be able to cross the bridge today.

It is especially dangerous at nights since both Them and rioters could be hiding in the dark waiting to prey on us. It was then that Shizuka finally suggested that we all stay at her friend, Rika Minami's apartment and also the destination of our first objective of the main quest given to us by God.

After Aqua, Hikari, Misaki and I escort them there we will be half way, no, almost all the way done with the mission since the next objective is to simply survive till sunrise of the following day.

Takahi and Shizuka went ahead to scout first in the original plot, but because we still had the minibus ( Bullet ridden as it was ) we could all go check it out together.

We then confirmed that it really was a decent place to stay for a while. The fence was sturdy and the apartments had a good view of the area. It was an ideal place to spend the night, with the exception of one thing.

It was THEM.

All the residents inside the complex had already been turned into THEM, if we ever wanted to stay here we needed to quickly clear this place of the undead as soon as possible. It was already getting dark, so I would rather deal with the freaks in the light of day, then the darkness of the night.

Some of us were hesitant, but we had no choice after coming this far. We will take this apartment complex from the undead and make it our own territory.

Shin: Today we don't run, but fight back against the undead... The was kinda cool!

After closing the the front gate so that no reinforcements could come along, we began the capture operation immediately.

Takashi, Rei, Hisashi, Saeko, and Kouta took the odd number floor and our group of Players took the even number floors. Saya and Shizuka who had little to no battle potential stood in the back of our groups for safety.

Their group worked was as a team as Takashi, Rei, Saeko and Hisashi quickly made quick work of the undead that showed up. Kouta with a depressed expression was forced back to using his modified nail gun and handled the few who slipped by. Ever since Aqua took back her Auto 9 Sci-fi gun his normal high energy when holding a gun was half nonexistent ( Please don't miss now on us ).

Before we split up, I noticed that Takashi has doing more to appeal to Rei and taking action like a real MC. I don't think they have done anything yet since Rei is still technically Hisashi's woman, but Takashi, after gaining more confidence thanks to this apocalypse looked like he wasn't ready to give up Rei to his best friend, and said friend has yet to notice Takashi's intentions ( I also swear that I saw Saeko checking him out, DIE Protagonist! ).

Rei also took complicated looking glances at Takashi from time to time since he saved her at the gas station yesterday. How will this all end for the two of them and Hisashi... Is something that I really want to see, but unfortunately the mission ends sunrise tomorrow.

As for our group of players, it was pretty much a one side beat down delivered by Aqua.

\- *BANG*!

Aqua began shooting with her Auto 9 Sci-fi gun.

Her and the Auto 9 blew up the heads of THEM like a watermelon. A rotten one with all its disgusting contents inside now visible for all to see.

It was my first time up close seeing Aqua shoot and the time at the school escape was chaotic, but now looking at her I found why the others were afraid of her when she held that gun.

I looked at Aqua as she walked fearlessly straight into the horde of undead within the apartment complex. She waited for the zombies to approach then shot at them all at once without missiing a beat, or headshot.

The very few undead that got near her were all shot in the head or if they were unlucky and ended up real close, shreadded into post human flesh by her adamantium claws ( God that is sexy no matter how many times I see it. Would she watch the new Marvel movies with me when this is over? ).

Aqua's strength, accuracy and speed were way higher than a normal persons by far. It made my recent jump in stats look like nothing.

Still, I felt like I could follow Aqua's movements about half the time, which was more then I can say for the others who were completely lost. From some MMA books that I read when I was bored, I learned that there were two types of visual acuity.

Distant Visual Acuity - Measured how far you could see.

Dynamic Visual Acuity - Defined by your eyes ability to discern fine detail in moving objects.

It seemed like dynamic visual acuity was related to the Reaction Speed stat.

I could see Aqua's movements clearly which meant the difference between their reaction speeds weren't that big, or it meant that she just wasn't too serious yet, with the later being more likely then the former.

The fact that I could somewhat keep up with her seems like those rewards really enhanced my abilities.

I thought as much when I was facing the rioters with my near perfect shooting, yet now I am certain that points could increase stats and make one stronger. Aqua was living proof of that!

I kept looking at her and found that despite showing almost ten times the ability of a normal person, I felt deep down she was still holding much back. I was overjoyed as I followed behind Aqua and the others as we dealt with THEM.

Every room in the complex needed to be sweeped and cleared of undead, so even I got a turn to play a part. The gates were already closed, so we could all shoot to are hearts content and not worry about undead backup. Also, most of the undead should be drawn to the the commotion on the bridge.

We could shoot to are hearts content, so I didn't hold back.

My time with a gun couldn't be said to even be twenty-four hour, but I was getting the hang of it by copying what I saw from watching Aqua and Kouta.

I was shooting very fast thanks to my enhanced reaction speed and was avoiding the undead that came my way with my increassed physical abiliy. I was smart enough to only aim for zombies within 10-15 meters. Ten meters was effectively my 100% accuracy shooting distance.

Hikari, Misaki and the other, beside Takashi and Rei who were with me earliar today, they didn't know about this and just saw me getting headshots without aiming.

Not even ten minutes since we entered the complex and all of THEM had been dealt with. Most of which was thanks to Aqua, but along the other main characters I showed that I had what it took to survive in this world.

Hikari: Were you always so used to shooting? That was unreal!

Misaki: Yeah. This couldn't have been your first time.

Shin: Well, lets just say that I am a man with a lifetime of worldly experience.

Misaki: Oh really? Experience my... You are about the same age as us. Stop showing off to look cool. Gross!

Shin: Middle school girls are the... Tch, never mind!

5-10 minutes of smashing, bashing, pricing, stabbing and shooting later, we had cleared up the apartment complex. Shizuka then lead us into the room of her friend. While the others were marveling at the great apartment that they weren't expecting, the Players of the group received a message from God.

Main Quest: 50% Completion!

Objective 1 Complete!

Objective 2. Survive till sunrise of the following day after reaching the apartment.

Aqua: With this the first half is over. Now we just sit back and relax till tomorrow mourning.

Everyone was currently taking a break.

A much need break from all of the horrors we had experienced in their own way.

The men were looking around the place and should be about time they found the gun stash, and the women were about to take a bath to clean themselves off ( VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO THE AFTERWARDS PART OF THIS! ).

As for us player, Aqua decided to gather us together and explain to us more about God, his missions, and enhancements. But first...,

Shin: Hey, Aqua.

Aqua: What is it?

Shin: Can I get a light?

Aqua: Oh, you were still holding on to that cigarette from back then? I thought you didn't smoke?

Shin: I don't and don't plan to continue, but... I have been through a lot in the last two days. I am very willing to temporarily disregard my belief system for a variety of reasons. One of such is...

I rolled up the sleeve of my shirt all the way as proof.

Hikari and Misaki gasped as they saw the scars of a bullet wound. Aqua just looked at it, then me and laughed while lighting my cigarette up.

Hikari: Shin, are you alright? Also, the wound looks healed. How?

Shin: The pain is manageable and why it healed so fast, who knows. Thanks for the concern.

Hikari: Who is concerned about you!?

Misaki: Aren't you though?

Aqua: Whatever the case, you really have been through a lot. Still, you and the others did very well for your first mission from God.

Hikari: How exactly?

Aqua: I mean, even if some of you are still holding on to your morals, you have all adjusted splendidly mentally to this outrageous situation and have surpressed your fears. I have seen newbies both think of this world as a video game believing that they were save points and that nonsense, and those who didn't believe a single word of warning that I offered like those few who died early on in this mission. Mentality is an important factor here in this world and some people are weaker then others... And that can be dangerous.

Shin: Is that why you don't look out for newbies?

Aqua: ...Yes, that is right. With real comrades I really do believe that it is possible to overcome any obstacle. In these horrow filled worlds it would definitely increase the chances of survival to have skilled individuals with multiple skill sets and view points, but what normally happens when some people are brought here it is that they get scared, can't adjust well here and will drag you, your friends and themselves all down to hell. That is why I made my rule. Unless they show great promise, they at least need to survive one mission for me to even consider them comrades.

Misaki: Baptism by fire.

Aqua: That's a nice way of putting it. The first mission is always the biggest trial for new Players. You don't have increased stats or enhancements yet, so one can only rely on their luck. You guys are incredibly lucky and basically completed your first mission long as you don't do anything stupid in the remaining... Eight hour or so left. Congratulations on staying alive your first go around in hell.

No one was in the mood to celebrate just for surviving so far. Maybe when this mission was truly over and done with, but not now.

Now yet.

Hikari: By the way Aqua, I have a concern. How do we return to God's place? You know, the place you talked about where we go to do enhancements and get our own rooms. Does a light desend on you? Do we fade away? Or maybe a path appear before us that we have to walk to?

Aqua: Who knows. I really don't know exactly. My best bet is close to instant teleportation. The exact moment that the mission ends I always end up back to God's place, which I like to call the Terminal Lobby. You all don't have to worry about being not able to go back to the Terminal Lobby when the time comes. Long as you are alive and have your human conciseness then it is all fine. Even if you are infected with a horrible virus from some world or you lost all of your arms and legs, it can all be fixed and healed up as good as new with a few points.

Hikari: You mentioned the mission. As in the Main Quest that is displayed on all of our watches. Sounds really like a video game.

Aqua: Well, this place isn't that easy. There are two types of Quest that God gives us to increase the difficulty from just entering a Mission World and just surviving.

Shin: The Main... And the Sub Quest.

Aqua: The Main Quest has to be completed no mater what for us to go back to the Terminal Lobby and I have never experienced a mission that said otherwise so far, but who knows. The Main will give out one or multiple objectives for us to complete for us to return. The Main Quest will always give out a 1000 point base reward for surviving any one mission. All missions from God are difficult to some degree and could kill us, but he won't give us a truly impossible Main Quest mission. Also, sometimes changing the plot greatly can lead to additional or erase preexisting objectives.

Misaki: And Side Quest?

Side Quest are either optional or relate to one of the objectives of the Main Quest. Lets say we are given a mission to kill a boss character in a video game. If it is clearly stated to defeat him in the Main Quest, we have to defeat the boss monster, but under Side Quest it would usually give us additional point rewards if God deems that doing so is hard.

Hikari: What does that mean?

Aqua: It means if defeating the boss monster is easy or not. And what I mean by hard or not is if there is a clear cut way to beat him. Like a certain holy sword to slay or a book that can take immortality away. If there isn't such a clear path to victory and just following the story won't keep us alive, is what I mean by hard bosses to defeat, but in exchange god will offer up a lot of rewards.

I think I get what she means.

A good example would Peraona 3's Final boss Nyx.

In Persona 3's story, everyone kept saying that it wa impossible to defeat Nyx no matter how much they stood up to fight it. It turned out to be true because Nyx was part of the will of man, so she couldn't be killed long as man desired her to come. In the end, the protagonist had to seal her away by sacrificing his life.

Just following the plot a team like ours could seal Nyx away, but what if it was possible to truly defeat Nyx? Then just how many points would you get? With a boss like Nyx I would imagine one would receive the highest level in points and rank rewards.

Aqua: An optional Side Quest would be that we could challenge the boss for extra points, yet we could avoid him and successful complete our mission, but God would make us more inclined to want to fight him.

Hikari: I would prefer to run away if all possible.

Aqua: Well, like I said, God won't make it too easy on us. It depends on the situation whether it is better to avoid or confront the boss monster. There are also easier Side Quest like killing weak opponents like undeads and rioters, or other simple task like stealing an Quest Item from someone and keeping it till the end of the mission. There are also Hidden Side Quest as well.

Aqua looked at me when she mentioned that last part.

She indeed suspected that I did at least one thing from constantly messing with the plot to end up with a Hidden Side Quest rewards.

Hikari: I get from the name that it is hidden and not stated on the watches, but how do you go about getting one?

Aqua: It is hard and not impossible, but I wouldn't try it unless you have the confidence to survive whatever God throws at you. Taking certain actions, or changing the plot to a huge degree can lead to a Hidden Side Quest, but it comes at the cost of upping the difficulty of the whole mission. Worse case scenario, an eight man difficulty mission like this may become equal to the highest degree of difficulty, a twenty man difficulty mission. Worse part is that God won't say or tell you by how much has the difficulty increase or what will change in the plot.

Hikari: For example?

Aqua: If I were to use a famous Mangas for example... For Dragon Ball it would be like Majin Buu awakening immediately before he has gained the required energy from the main characters. If I were to use Naruto, during the Land of Waves Mission, Naruto's Ninetail Fox's power goes out of control more then what it was supposed to and we now have to deal with him along with mission although hopefully there should be a suitable reward for subduing him.

Misaki: Sounds like it ia far too dangerous to even try.

Aqua looked at me again just know to make a point. I get it already and I feel guilty already. Please stop with the deathly stare.

Aqua: Your right that it is dangerous, but you can't always be satisfied with 1000 points per mission, can you. I may, or may not try for it in a safe one like this where I have the ability to get lots of points and there are no bosses for me to defeat, but in an already difficult mission I might just go for broke and risk it.

Hikari: Please don't.

Aqua: I won't if I have comrade, but if I am alone in a mission with no experienced players, I will put my needs before newbies like you guys. Well, that is enough about the missions for now. Lets get into the good stuff.

Aqua began to go over what we could exchange from God with our points, but my thoughts were somewhere else.

She was purposely vague about Side Quest and Hidden Side Quest. The only reason that I could think up was that she knew how many points one could get from them, but didn't want us to know that it was worth the risk.

Excluding points from the mysterious limit breaks, I already have more then two thousand points and together with the Main Quest I will have over 3000 points. That is more then three missions wroth of points.

If you think of it like that then anyone would want to constantly go look for Hidden Side Quest no matter the risk they bring to themselves or others. What I think Aqua was trying to tell me was not to endanger her now that I know about to worth of Hidden Side Quest.

What she would do to me... I rather not think about.


	14. Chapter 14

Once I was done fearing for the worse, I went back to listen to our discussion.

Aqua was finally getting to the part I most wanted to hear about. How does one such as myself go about become an OP Protagonist?

Aqua: There are just too many good things you can exchange from God in the Terminal Lobby. I haven't even finished reading through half the list of items and possible enhancements even after all this time. The exchanges have four categories. The first are Scientific, such as guns, bullet proof vests, and even some weapons that only appeared in sci-fi movies and novels, but they cost a fortune. The best stuff isn't something that I can afford, just the Auto 9 from RoboCop was all I could get and it is already very useful ( You got an Unlimited Ammo version, right? ). You can also exchange an unlimited ammo version of a RPG, but it cost 2000 points, but I would rather use them to enhance myself. The second are Magical items, like scrolls, Taoist charms, amulets, and magic swords and the like.

Misaki: Are those like the weapons they have in games? Are they very powerful and even real?

Aqua: As real as anything else you see here. Still, I don't know if they are powerful or not, but magical items cost double the points of scientific items. So far I have only been exchanging magic bullets. You would use them in supernatural and fantasy based missions.

Shin: You mean like Blood+ or Blue Exorcist

Aqua: I am not familiar with them, but if they are the kinds of places you would least likely want to live in then then, your right. If there are also equivalents mangas to movies like the horror movie, The Grudge, then you would want those types of magic weapons at your side the most.

The three felt a shiver down their spines at the thought.

As though there were ghosts hiding in the shadows. I couldn't say I was a fan of pure supernatural manga and animes since I prefer magic and fantasy, but those type of missions should be feared and prepared for the most.

Aqua: Do you recall why I said a story like H.O.T.D, High School of the Dead was an easy difficulty mission? It's because you can solve and explain everything here with science and guns. You can kill the monsters, you can run away. As long as you're not infected and you have a gun, you can survive no problem. The worse types of missions... The ones where you can't use your common logic to explain are the worse..

Hikari: Have you've experienced one of those missions before?

Aqua: Back when God was assigning us horror movies. My very first mission was Halloween, and hell, it had to have a Twenty Man difficulty on top of everything else. There were even two strong veteran players as well, yet everyone but me and one other person died. That demon stalker in the movie slashed the side of my neck right before the mission was complete and I never had God erase it. It was a reminder for me to live no matter what and not to underestimate the missions. I did get my revenge in the end since the movie had sequels, so I... Am pretty much over it.

Aqua then began smoking a cigarette after taking about her past experience in a past mission. She looked gloomily and filled with rage as she remembered it, and no one here could speak up to say anything. It was when Aqua was finished with her cigarette did the conversation continue.

Aqua: I mentioned earlier about bosses, right? Well, defeating that demon not only gave me a lot of points, 5000, but also a rank B reward. It was my first time seeing a B rank reward and I used it for a very nice enhancement.

Hikari: What's a rank B rank reward? Is it important?

Aqua: A very good question. Let me explain.

Then Aqua went over the third category of things you can exchange.

Support items, antidotes, drugs with healing properties, perishables like bullets, some sci-fi items like invisible cloak ( Why wasn't this just added to Sci-fi? ), and enhancement items.

Aqua told us that she was overjoyied and couldn't belive it when she saw the enhancement items for the first time. Like the genetic mutation of Spiderman.

The description said it lets you obtain the bloodline of spiderman, increasing intelligence by 20, mental capacity by 20, cell vitality by 50, reaction speed by 100, muscle density by 100, and immunization by 150 points. and you also get the web shooter ability. All for just a low, low price of 2000 points.

Hikari: The enhancements alone would cost over 4000 points and you would get a web shooter ability as well. It's way too cost effective.

I completely agreed with Hikari, but the reasoning behind it was explained when we got to the subject of rank rewards.

Aqua: God never makes thing easy here. If one had this genetic mutation then you won't be in danger in missions like H.O.T.D , but this type of enhancements cost rank rewards. A rank A reward can be reduced to three rank B rewards. Rank B can be reduced to three rank C and so forth. The lowest rank is D. I am an exception to the rule since in my first few missions I got extreamly lucky, but it really isn't something you can easily acquire. None of my former comrades ever got one.

I saw Aqua look over at me since she knows I must have one or two rank rewards, yet I held back on admitting it.

Aqua's know it all look was getting on my nerves no matter how good looking her face was. It only took down her annoying ( gauge ) by 87%.

Wait, isn't that a lot?

Misaki: What rank reward did your Wolverine Mutation need?

Aqua: It was the same as Spiderman. It needs a rank C reward, but there are also higher grade versions that could be exchanged for points and a B rank reward. I have also looked at a few rank D enhancements. There is battle Ki for example. A rank D could give you Low Level Ki, but the but the higher level Advance and Master Ki would require a rank B and even A rank rewards. The enhancements that start off low aren't the most powerful, but will become the strongest if they keep ranking up.

Aqua also mentioned a very useful enhancement that would come in handy in High School of the Dead. The T Virus Mutation enhancement like the the main character of the Bio Hazard movies, Alice had.

It increases intelligence by 20, mental capacity by 20, cell vitality by 50, reaction speed by 50, muscle density by 50, immunization by 100, and the evolution ability of T virus. It needs 1500 points and a rank C reward.

There are different Viruses one can get from in universe that could come in handy, but that wasn't the point. The main character of the movie got it without doing anything and according to Aqua, with the T-Virus you wouldn't be turned or mutated by any monster you could come across, zombie or otherwise.

I felt blessed and giddy all over hearing these nice things.

As someone who will have over 4000 points and a reward to spend, it meant that once I survived through this mission I could exchange for quite a few good enhancements.

Not only did I have hope for the future, the path to almightyness was coming closer and closer. Will the day I become a OP Superman like character be sooner then I originally hoped? It then became more likely a possibility once I heard the next part of Aqua's explanation.

Aqua: There are also some high level enhancements, but they are there just to entice you and I personally won't belive them till I see them with my own eyes. I can't imagine that they actually exist. Like there is bloodline of god for example. It needs a rank S reward and 50000 points. Isn't that exaggerating, and will it make you the next saviour of man? There is also Xiuzhen ( Taoist method of gaining immortality ). It has less basic stats, but you gain unique skills. It needs a rank S reward and 70000 points.

Hikari and Misaki laughed at his words, yet I didn't.

Wasn't that better then your average Over Powered Main character? I can become God or at the very least a member of UQ Holders. Also, how does immortal rank higher then God in points?

Well, I geuss I'll find out one day. That is for sure.

Hikari: And the fourth category? The first three seem to have included everything already. What more is left.

Aqua: The fourth category has the good stuffs. You know everyone will break down when they've been here long enough. So the last category is entertainment items. There's tobacco, weed, heroin, which are cheap and of the best quality. One point can be separated into 1000 parts. A kilo of heroin only takes 5 parts of a point. How is that? God analyzed that a normal person only needs about 300 points in cell vitality and 350 points in immunization to inject heroin without the risk of a overdose. Crazy how you could ask such a question and get a answer back. Too bad I am only into smokes.

Shin: Just cigarettes?

Aqua: Just cigarette. The only vice I need, though the tobacco I exchange for is something you can't get on earth anymore.

Shin: What else is there?

Aqua: Other than those you also exchange for time to live in a normal world through this category. There are also music albumns, movies, magazines and even men and women.

What, so I can still get my weekly...wait what what!?

Shin: I am not interested in silicone dolls.

Aqua patted my shoulder and gave me a strange smile.

Aqua: What are you talking about, it's real women. God can create real women! They have intelligence, they have their personality, and even memories. When you buy a woman, man for women like Hikari and I, you can choose their face, body, age, race, every detail. You played that Artifical Girl game before least once in your life, right? This is much more detailed and enjoyable.

Both the eyes of Misaki and I were shining, while Hikari snorted with both anger and embarrassment. Well, she is a middle school girl ( Although a lot of them are already bitches ).

Aqua: God also said that once you get enough points to go back, you can keep your enhancements, all the items you exchanged, and this woman can go with you. I only made a man who can cook and clean since I hate that stuff, but if you want you go back to the real world you can go back and marry her. She will love you for the rest of your life with no chance of her ever cheating on you ( My ideal women ),

Hikari: Stop this topic men, also Aqua, have you no shame? Even, even if it isn't for that, you made a man just for chores. Whatever, just, just tell us about God's Terminal Lobby. What will happen after a mission?

Aqua: Nothing special. You will go to the Terminal Lobby after the mission. God is a sphere of light floating in the center. You can communicate with it just by thinking. There are twenty rooms to the side, though they were never all filled. You will have your own room. Only people you give permission to can enter your room. Other than this, you will have ten days in the lobby between every mission. Now, that is all for this Q&A session.

Aqua was done talking and began heading for a window.

She was about to jump out into the streets. It was so sudden that we didn't know how to react, but I was the first one to recover.

Shin: Wait! Where are you going?

Aqua: Where? To go get more points of course.

Hikair: You are going out now? The mission is almost over.

Aqua: That is why this is the only time we have left to get points. Besides, we no longer have to baby sit the main characters anymore. Just look.

Aqua looked at her wrist.

We followed Aqua's gaze and looked at our own watches as well. It was blank where Takashi and the other main characters names were used to be. Also, it said that objective 1 was complete.

GOD'S MISSION

HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD, 8 MAN MISSION

STORY PLOT.

MAIN QUEST:

Objective 1. Complete.

Objective 2. Survive till sunrise of the following day after reaching the apartment.

Base Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Kill the Zombies - 20 Zombies = 1 Point.

2\. Kill the Rioter - 1 Rioter = 5 Points.

3\. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 points for killing a New Player.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. D-ZERO - Any player with 0 or negative points at the end of a mission after all calculations are finished, will be killed. No exception.

Aqua: See. We're free to move how we like from now on. Whether you want to go out and hunt for points, or rest here it's up to you. Remember you can do anything long as it means surviving.

Shin: What about Alice Maresato? Soon the rest of the characters are about to go save her from-

Aquav What about that little kid? She actually never came here to begin with, so we never had to save her from the beginning. We will no longer be penalized if a main character dies from here on out, so we can actually leave if we want to. I wouldn't since this is a pretty safe building after it is secured. The main characters never realized it originally, but after I took a look around, I found that this place was designed by that frined of Shizuka's to defend against intruders. The doors are incredibly solid and the windows are bullet proof. No way those undead freaks will get inside here unless you let them in.

After saying as much Aqua handed us each a phone.

It was a communication device that she exchanged from God. The phones could work anywhere in the world even without satellite coverage and within a certain range we could even find each other using them. It was a very handy device that only cost 50 points.

Aqua said she keeps some on hand for when she finds comrades she can trust in. That probably means that before we weren't trust worthy enough for her.

I could have really needed this when I got separated from the others, but I understood how we didn't look confident enough in her eyes to lend us a 50 point phone.

Aqua then left the apartment complex through the window as to not alert the others and left. If they were to ask later, we can always tell them that Aqau had a family member living nearby and didn't want to endanger us by getting us involved.

Hikari: Hey, do you think Aqua will be alright?

Misaki: What, you worried? I am honestly more afraid for those undead and rioters who don't know that she is coming for them, than I am for Aqau herself. That women is a damm monster with her gun and metal claws.

Shin: Misaki is right ( And they are adamantium claws ). Aqua is much stronger than us and she has that Auto Nine Robo Cop beretta with unlimited ammo and the genetic ability of Wolverine. Shit. If I survive this I will get my own Desert Eagle with infinite ammo and whatever superhero power I can get to keep up with her.

Hikari: Yeah, you're right. One hundred points can enhance someone's power by a tenth. After I survive I have to ask Aqua more about the details on exchanges, not just sex toys like you guys are fantasizing about, but we don't have time to talk about this. You should just concentrate on protecting me, Shin.

Shin: Why me?

Misaki: Why him?

Hikari: Shin seems more capable in a tough spot then you, and besides... He may be a gross otaku, but he is still better looking then you Misaki.

Misaki: In what way!?

Hikari: Do I really need to say it, you unkempt former biker punk ( And in the end you said it )?

Misaki: No.

Shin: Thank and I'll do my best, but for the love of god stop calling be names!

Fooling around like this to distract ourselves from the horror that lied outside these walls, it was soon past midnight.

So now all they needed to do from here on out was to survive till mourning sunrise. Long as nothing unexpected happens we will come out of this alive... I can only hope.


	15. Chapter 15

After Aqua left, the most waited for event finally occurred within the apartment were us Player and the main Character were staying for the night.

Yes, it was one of the most amazing scenes of both manga and anime that must have contributed to H.O.T.D's ban in China... The after bath event of the female male characters.

The women of the group Rei, Saya, Saeko, and Shizuka were walking around the apartment with little to nothing on ( Shizuka only a TOWEL ) since they were washing their clothes all at once.

Half of them were drunk from alcohol they found around the apartment and didn't hesitate to do so with all the stress they have built up. It was poison to the eyes and I had no attention of looking away and nor did Misaki by my side, but in the end we could only watch.

They just stuck with the males of the group to the end.

Shizuka did nearly walk over our way and her bath towel was just about to fall off, but Hikari intervened and had Takashi send her somewhere else ( Takashi had to carry her on his back... She was leaning her chest against his back and when she almost slipped he got to touch her...GODDAMMIT, THAT BASTARD! He already has Rei and is about to enter the Saeko route as well. Die! ).

Hikari: Perverted bastereds, die! How gross!

Shin: Gross, gross, gross and gross, is that all you can say? Are you Kirino?

Hikari: Who is that? Probably some anime character. You two, can you be anymore morons? Just looking at women like they are objects. Have you no shame?

Misaki: I, we really weren't...

Shin: Hey Hikari.

Hikari: What is it?

Shin: If beautiful women are going to walk across the room half naked or more ( Shizuka ), then there is no man in the world who would look away! Maybe there are some unrealistic manga protagonist with no spine as men ( Ichika Orimura, Rito Yuuki and and formerly Kodaka Hasegawa ) who are like that, but such a person doesn't exist in the real world. If I am wrong may this horror world's God strike me down ( To real a possibility when there is a a whole lot of proof that he is here, when people end up in an entirely different world filled with fantasy and horror ).

Hikari: ...

Misaki: ...

Shin: ...See! I am right, so apologies!

Hikari: Wh-why are you all of the sudden confidently lecturing me here, when it is you who is in the wrong?

Shin: Then why didn't you stop the girls earlier if you felt so strongly?

Hikari: ...They didn't when listen to me and didn't care that much if others so them.

Shin: Then no harm no foul. Also...

Hikari: What?

Shin: You joined them in the bath just now, right?

Hikari: Yeah, what of it?

Shin: I read the manga and watched the anime, so I know what happened in there.

Hikari: ...Do you want to die!

With a beet red face, Hikari stared daggers at me.

Misaki didn't seem to know what this silence was about, but Hikari would kill me if I told him about the erotic secne that took place in the bath and how Hikari, not knowing the story either ( And didn't tell her ), got caught up in it.

Her eyes were clearly telling me to go die 1000 times, so I took it that I just won our argument.

After Hikari finally calmed down and was willing to join us, us three Players were currently watching the news for the latest on the apocalypse of H.O.T.D ( There were still news reports ).

There was less then two hours left before the mission comes to a end and because none of us wanted to go out and kill THEM or rioters in the middle of the night, we had nothing else to do.

There were very few stations still going on through this zombie apocalypse, and we were watching intently to was the very same broadcast that the MCs watched originally in the manga/anime, which was coverage of what was happening on the bridge.

Over the bridge, a police barricade was in effect to stop THEM from crossing.

The police were trying to help everyone they can, but the situation all over was so bad, that they even told survivors tryng to cross the bridge to abandon family members if they were slowing them down. You would never imagine the police saying such things, but that was just where they were. They were very much undermanned and had men abandoning their post as well.

It was the apocalypse after all, and in an apocalypse there will also come disorder and those who will abuse it.

Besides the police there was another group at work on top of the bridge. Their was a large protest currently ongoing.

They were blaming the police, Japanese government and the American superpower for the "Killer Disease", their word for THEM. It was nonsense to think that humans could, and without warning could create a virus that turns human beings into the walking dead ( Choice of words were honestly a coincidence ) and that they would spread it around the world, including their own countries.

Yes, it was 100% nonsense, but because of unnecessary hype and stress, the protesters were believing the garbage they were being fed, and it only got worse.

When the police began to actively shoot THEM the protesters intensified their actions. The police

It was then, when the rioters were protest was at it's peak, after the police began to actively shoot THEM that the commanding officer of the police was caught on camera walking over to the protesters. He had been just given orders to use whatever means, illegal or inhuman to gain control of the area.

If the story follows the original plot, he will walk over to the leader of the rioter, ask him to leave and when the man didn't comply the commanding officer will shot the man dead to quite the crowd. Then the rest of the police force would use more forceful methods to deal with both THEM, civilians and rioters.

I told the others what was going to happen, so we were surprised as to what just happened on the news.

As the rioters were acting up and the police were about to shoot, bullets from behind the protesters are fired in rapid succession. In no time at all almost all the rioters were killed by someone they couldn't even see.

This didn't happen in the original plot, so I said out loud that it must have been Aqua who fired those shoots. Hikari remained somewhat composed when I told them this, but Misaki was visibly angery at that sight of that carnage and my reveal that it was her.

Misaki: Why is she shooting into a crowd innocent people!? They weren't THEM, so why? Is she insane?

Hikari: Don't you remember? Rioter are worth 5 points per kill and undead are 1 point per 20 kills. That makes it effectively 100 times more cost efficient to kill rioters then the undead.

Misaki: It's still an horrible scene and is is alright to shoot into a crowd just because they are technically rioting? Some of those people were just there to relive pent up stress, not hurting anyone.

Misaki had a point there.

Over there on the brige were just a lot of people foolish peope who weren't really crazy, they just didn't know what else to do to let out their frustration. They were and are a far breed from the ones who attacked us these last two days, but despite knowing this, I can't and am not allowed to blame Aqua for her actions.

During missions, the highest priority after staying alive should be to gain as many points and rewards as possible. Points will allow you to become stronger, increasing the a person's chance at surviving.

Also, far as I know I am the only newbie here who has experienced first hand the power of increased stats and their effects thanks to the Physical and Mental Realm Breakthroughs.

Not only has there been increased in my physical power and reaction speed, I even feel slightly smarter.

I am now able to look at subjects in different angles and can come up with better solutions. The power of stats are very real and should be gained at all cost.

We should all know how hard it is to get points, but because I am the only one here who has acquired points from both THEM and human rioters, I know how so much easier it is to get as many points as possible from rioters then it is from THEM.

It is exactly as Hikari said.

It is 100 times more efficient to kill rioters then THEM for points.

If say, God's mission was for us to gain 1000 points within twenty-four hours, which way would be easier to go about completing the mission, killing THEM or rioters?

It would be rioters hands down.

You would need to kill 20,000 undead to gain 1000 points, yet with rioters you would only need to kill 200 to reach your end goal. 20,000 vs 200, which would be easier to accomplish within twenty-four hours... You don't need to be a genius to figure it out.

I was honestly jealous of Aqua who had the ability to go out there and kill as many THEM and rioters as she liked.

Just now on the bridge, she should have gotten hundreds, maybe over a thousand easy points from killing those rioters. With that many points you could double a selected stat of the average person.

Yes, I was jealous, but because I felt this way I had no right to say anything to Aqua and preach morality.

I killed a person, many people for the sole sake of points in the last two days, with that purpose in mind. I am the same as Aqua who kils for points, but if I was allowed to argue back, I would say that it just depends on whether you see the people of this world as real humans or NPCs.

Aqua, and maybe not as much. Hikari, she saw the people here as NPCs just here for our missions. Misaki, he sees the people here as human, no different then our own world, but he might just be in denial.

He has adapted like all of us, knowing we have actually been sent to the world of a manga/anime and that we could be killed here, but the people here are just too life like for him to just decide that they aren't real.

As for me I can understand both sides.

I am some where in the middle myself since I do consider the main characters of H.O.T.D comrades just like Hikari, Aqua and Misaki.

I wouldn't hesitate to kill the rioters that threaten me or my comrades, and I would even see them as points to make myself stronger, yet I feel a real sence of comradery with the main characters who I have been through life and death situations with, so I can't disregard them as just NPCs.

And if they are just NPCs, where do you draw the line?

If they are exactly life like and can think for themselves, who bleed and die, can you really say their lives have no value? Less then a humans?

Shin: What the hell? Never in my seventeen yesrs of life have I given so much thought to the meaning of existence, and here I am, debating whether or not artificial intelligence is real life worth protecting. Damm increased Intelligence!


	16. Chapter 16

There was not much time left before the mission finally came to an end.

Less then two hours, so we should be in the clear unless something unexpected were to occur, yet I just realized that there was something off.

Shin: Isn't it about time for the main characters to move out?

Misaki: For what?

Shin: You know? To go save Alice Maresato.

It looked like both Hikari and Misaki were again unaware of what is supposed to be happening now.

Really, they should read some more manga. It even has an anime. They didn't know the next plot event, so I informed them about Alice.

Alice Maresato.

She is the last main character to make an appearance in High School of the Dead.

After the main characters arrive to this apartment and the commotion on the bridge dies down, Takeshi and Kouta who were on lookout duty notice a father and child running away from THEM and attempting to find shelter.

The two on lookout had seen a few people killed by THEM so far as they were on watch, but the young child of 7, Alice, and her father were especially troubling to bear and watch silently.

While desperately looking for shelter, a family of survivors pretended to let the father and daughter in, only to stabbed the father in the stomach with a makeshift spear with a knife on the end.

There was reason was to keep them away and the father was threatening to bust down the door, but it was a horrible thing to do nonetheless.

Then, watching Alice crying over the the body of her now dead father, which attracted THEM towards her, Takashi and the others could no longer stand to be bystanders and went to save Alice.

Shin: Alice Maresato should be a block or so away from us and will be surrounded by THEM soon because of her crying. It was still dark out, so this all happened before sunrise, so my problem here is that I hear no one taking action. Not Takashi or any of the other characters.

Hikari: So you think that they missed Alice when they were on lookout, or she could already be dead? Aqua caused a huge scene back there on the bridge, so she might have changed the plot.

Shin: It is possible, yet I don't think so. They couldn't have missed her since Hisashi went up stairs earlier where Takashi and Kouta are doing lookout to make sure they are doing there job. Also, the appearance of Alice Maresato is a turning point for the story.

Misaki: How so?

Shin: Not only is she a main character, she is the reason that they leave this apartment in the middle of the night for the next designation. We may have the power to change the plot with our actions, but I don't think God would allow Alice to die somewhere we couldn't possibly see since her existence is incredibly important. It has to be something.

Hikari: ...

Shin: Hikari?

When I called out to her because she was silent, I noticed that Hikari's face had become very pale. If I had to geuss, she just realized something. A huge something and was having trouble bring it up.

After calling out to her a second time, Hikari finally snapped out of her silence and told us what was on her mind. Apparently, she believes that Alice Maresato has already made an appearance.

According to her, a few minutes ago she heard Takashi, Kouta and Hisashi arguing about saving a young girl and her father who were running away from THEM. It looked like the father and daughter who really had no where to go, but Hisashi said it was too dangerous to save them.

Also, Hisashi went on to say it would be bad to needlessly expand their group any further and that by adding an adult to the group ( A real adult, not an air head like Shizuka ) would make things more complicated since as high school kids, an adult would want to be the one in charge.

So in the end after a long discussion...

Shin: And what, they are abandoning Alice and her father? This is bad. The father aside, Alice is a main character! Who knows what will happen if she dies!

Hikari: I don't like the idea either, but it isn't like if she dies we will lose points. I can't and don't want to look at these people as real, so...

Shin: That isn't the point. This isn't about real, not real, NPCs or about morality. Just like how Aqua suspected that letting Shizuka unguarded and following Takashi and Rei was a bad idea, this could be another trap from God.

Misaki: Trap? How?

Shin: It is because of Alice that the main characters decide to leave this place and move on to the next in the middle of the night. Not only will this effect the plot, Alice is still a main character. Who knows what will happen if she dies out there, and what consequences that mean for us since so far we have avoided a main character dying.

Hikari: Isn't that a little bit of a stretch? She isn't Takashi the main, main character. What is the worse thst could happen? Is it worth it to check if she is still alive and leave this place to get her? Aqua said that long as we stayed here the undead won't be able to get to us.

Shin: Don't underestimate this world, Hikari. Thinking that the changes that I caused to the story couldn't be that bad is what got me shot in the shoulder by a rioter. This too could be a ripple effect of my actions. It sounds like Hisashi, a character that was supposed to die early on in the story, is the main reason that no one here is going to save Alice.

This has completely blindsided me.

To put it as an example. If we had the option of ditching the main characters and flying off to a safe and isolated island till the end of the mission, I believe God and this world would not allow us to so comfortably survive.

What could happen is that we eat something that is infected with whatever is causing human to turn into undead, and with our guard down we could all be turned, or a ship or plane crash lands on the island and one of the passengers that survive is infected.

Both ideas are crazy and unlikely, but within the realm of possibility.

In H.O.T.D, no one knows the cause of the the walking dead, and survivors wanting a chance at survival could show up on the safe island in the middle of the night without us knowing.

This world and God can't be underestimated. If you do you will blindsided like I am right now.

Shin: I am going to save her.

Hikari: But...

Shin: No, I have to. Despite the danger, I prefer to face horrors that I can see and expect then a unknown horror waiting for me to slip up.

After making my decision to save Alice to avoid the possibility of something unexpected happening, I made my preparations.

I took a handgun and the trusty bat that I have been using throughout this whole mission with me. We found more powerful guns and even a crossbow that would be perfect for near silent attacks when compared to a loud gun, but although with my increased my stats I became a better shot with a gun, I didn't have the skills to use a crossbow which isn't just point and shoot.

It may not be a bow and arrow, but it should be much more difficult to use than a gun.

Hikari and Misaki who started to agree with my choice in action to save Alice wanted to come with me, but I was against it. I wanted this to a quick rescue operation where all I have to worry about the safty of Alice and my own life, the two of them were too big of a liability to take along.

Takashi, Rei, Hisashi, Saeko, Saya, Kouta and Shizuka ( Who has sobered up a little ) saw me getting ready to leave.

They were all on the fence about saving Alice and her father, so me taking action was enough for them to offer to help me, but I turned them down. I made the excuse that one person was enough and that I could move better alone, but the truth was that I didn't want the possibility of anymore main characters to die and mess with the difficulty of the mission.

Hisashi strongly tried to stop me from going by saying that it was a group decision and that I was risking THEM following me back, so I said that I wouldn't come back then, and that if saving the little girl meant leaving the group, I would do so without hesitation.

To be honest it was fine to not come back since there wasn't much time left in the mission, yet my words came across differently from my thoughts.

Like I was some MC who would risk anything to save a innocent life. It was a cool thought, but my reasons were much more selfish.

If say, there was less then thirty minutes left when this was all going down, I would risk God making one last move at us and take my chances by staying here in this safe, big nice apartment filled with comrades, top of the line guns and beautiful women that were half dressed... Reall, why was I going again? Whatever.

With no further words to say to any of them, I left to save Alice.

Dangerous.

Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, Dangerous, and no what? I am in freaking danger!?

I ran alongside the fence of the apartment complex and jumped over to the over side after finding a spot where there were no THEM.

Then moving from shadow to shadow without, or trying not to make any noise, I made my way to Alice on foot. At least in the manga/anime, Takashi had a bike he could use to get there quickly even if the engine from the bike attracted THEM, but not me.

While moving as fast as possible to get to Alice, I had to worry about making unnecessary sounds as I moved. I don't know how ninjas do it, but it is actually very hard to stay silent while moving less you are tiptoeing the whole way.

Thanks to the chaos at the bridge dying down, it was no longer the biggest source of sound in the area, so one wrong move from me and hundreds of THEM will be crashing down one me like a tidal wave.

Alice: Papa... Papa!

I heard the sound of a little girl crying coming from where there was a large crowd of THEM had gathered in front of the gate of a house.

Damm, please don't die on me!

\- *BANG*!

In the manga that sound would have been Kouta giving the hero, now me, cover with a sniper rifle he acquired from Shizuka's friends gun stash, yet unfortunately it was just me.

I shoot the undead with my gun in hopes that the sound would drawn out Alice's crying and bring THEM towards me and it worked, too well in fact.

All of the undead that were at the gate came towards me in a large wave dead set on devouring me.

Shin: Half assed plans always give you half assed results and they come back to haunt you, but isn't this too much!?

I said as much as I jumped on top of the brick fence next to me.

If I were to climb up the undead would have caught a hold of me, but thanks to my increased stats I could straight up jump onto the fence in one motion.

I then ran on top of the fence with impressive balance that even I didn't know that I had, and seeing one of THEM about to reach Alice who was cowering in a corner of the inner yard of a house, I jumped and drop kicked the undead away.

Alice who was crying looked up at me, not expecting someone to drop down from the skys or save her for that matter, but I didn't have time to introduce myself yet. There were still five undead in the yard of the house and beyond the gate leading out into the street were an army of THEM heading back this way.

Shin: Please stay where you are. I'll take care of these monsters in a moment and we will be out of here!

Alice: ...Ok.

Taking the hesitant ok as confirmation I went to work on THEM.

This time using my bat, I smashed the heads of all the undead with my enhanced strength thanks to Muscle Density and avoided being caught by surprise due to Reaction Speed. I made sort work of THEM in no time, yet I was cutting it extremely close.

I ran to the front gate and closed it, and quickly jumped back in a panic as on of THEM was about to bite my hands locking the gate. If I was a moment later then I would have been caught by the countless undead attempting to break through the gate.

With the gate locked they wouldn't be able to get in, but from the shaking of the metal gate, I could see that it wasn't going to last forever, or even another minute longer under the assault of the army of undead.

Shin: Al... I mean little girl. We have to leave now ( Oh, that was close. It would have been a spoiler if I had called out her name ).

Alice: But... Dad is...

I had tried not to think or look in the direction of that corpse, but she just reminded me that her father who was just trying to protect his daughter was dead, murdered in cold blood, and that Alice saw saw it all with her own eyes.

When I think about it, I can't understand how she was able to stay cheerful as she dose throughout the manga/anime, and the fact that she is a child shouldn't make it any better to deal with it, but at this moment she wasn't like that.

Just looking at her and I could see that she wasn't very willing to leave her fathers side. What did Takashi do in the manga again to convince her to go along with him? He isn't here, so it should be okay.

Shin: Little girl, what is your name?

Alice: ...Alice.

Shin: Then Alice, won't you come here for a second? We can't stay here much longer, but we can at least say goodbye to your great father here who protected you. You want to, right?

Alice: Ok.

Ah, I really felt like trash here.

Manipulating a little girl into mourning for her father just so she would be more obedient to my orders.

I said that I was one the fence about the subject, but I can't not look at Alice and not see a human being. She was no NPC or anything less then human. Could a computer mourn a parents loss like this? If one really could then they would be our equals.

As I was having those complicated thoughts again ( Damm Intelligence ), Alice and I paid our respects to her father who I had just put a shirt from a laundry line to cover his face, and unexpectedly I honestly prayed as well.

Originally, I had no attention of saving him if the plot had stayed the same. I had already changed enough of the story that all of this happened, so I decided to leave this man to his fate and just save Alice. If I had to do it again I might make the same choice again, but...

Shin: Sorry for not coming earlier even if it was your fate to die here.

It was then at that moment that a message from God rang in my head as I was praying. It was as I was listening to the message in shock of what it said, that I noticed a large, a great change in the mission world of High School of the Dead.

It started as a red light that had enveloped Alice and the blood red light transferred to me when she grabbed my hand with her own small hand, in a small attempt to comfort herself that she wasn't alone.

Then the night sky is was dyed the color of blood. It was a dark blood red light that illuminated the world as if to devour world whole.

\- HIDDEN SIDE QUEST HAS BEEN ACTIVATED!

QUEST OBJECTIVE: SAVE ALICE MARESATO FROM THE UNDEAD FOR THE NEXT THIRTY MINUTES. ALL UNDEAD WILL MARK YOU AND ALICE AS TARGETS TO BE KILLED AND TURNED INTO ONE OF THEIR OWN. ADDITIONALLY, THE UNDEAD'S STRENGTH AND SPEED HAVE BEEN PASSIVELY INCREASED BY 60% TILL THE END OF THE MISSION, AND EVEN AFTER THE QUEST IS COMPLETE YOU YOURSELF WILL STILL BE MARKED BY ALL UNDEAD TILL THE END OF THE MISSION.

Shin: ...Well, he got me again. Why is the path to almightyness... So filled with death and violence? Couldn't I have have started out on Easy Mode first?


	17. Chapter 17

As if there was some universal law stating not to pretend to act like a hero, the difficulty of the mission just took a huge increase. The blood red light pouring down from the skys has also reached THEM. The eyes of all the undead began to shine red and their bodies were all emitting a dark, dirty crimson colored miasma.

\- *CRASH*!

The gate separating Alice and I from THEM was busted open like it was joke that it even lasted this long, and the undead came flooding in towards us fast. Without thinking I grabbed Alice and ran over to the brick fence and jumped for my life.

We were now safely on the on top of the fence and it should act as our bridge to safety through the sea of undead, or it should have, but...

Shin: You have to be kidding me...

The undead, probably due to their increased strength and speed, or the combination of the two now allowed them to do the one thing I feared most and what they couldn't do in the manga.

They now had learned to climb.

Not just pulled themselves over a wall, but pull themselves up and stand on top of the fence like I was.

Shin: What the hell!? Isn't the balance here too broken? This isn't one of the later Biohazard games. No one wants to mess with running and weapon wielding zombies!

I screamed at the top of my lungs all of that as I began running for my dear life. There weren't just the THEM behind me on the fence to worry about. The greater threat were the ones on the street trying to grab my legs and trip me and pull me down towards them for a late night meal I'll rather not attend.

It should just been an increase in power and speed, but this coordinated attack from behind and to the side made me wonder if their intelligence wasn't increased as well. Whatever the case, I had nearly tripped three time from moving so fast while avoiding the hands from the ground and I wasn't allowed to slow down either thanks to the ones behind us.

Alice: Hey, are we going to be okay?

Shin: Who knows. At the very least, I'll make sure to protect you ( What MC was I? ).

Despite that promise, I had no hope about the situation at all.

For one, I had no idea where I was going.

I coolly said that I would voluntarily leave the group to save Alice, so I couldn't go back. The worse case is that they see the army of THEM that were following me back, and they shoot me in an attempt to stop me ( Kouta with a sniper rifle is no laughing matter ).

Lastly, the immediate problem was that the fence I was running on top of was coming to a end. I had to either jump to the next fence across a sea of undead, or risk it on the streets and run for my life. Both options were BAD ENDS as far as I was concerned since I also had to worry about Alice.

Shin: Should I just risk climbing on top of a house and waiting this to end, or...

Alice: Hey, look over there!

Up ahead where Alice was pointing at were a pair of head lights began making its way down the street towards us.

It was tank looking car driving down the street and heading right for us and the crowd of THEM that had us surrounded. Riding on top of the military model Humvee were Seako and Kouta ( It looked like she had the time to get properly dressed unlike in the manga/anime this time around. Should I be glad that there wasn't an unneeded distraction for my eyes... But something felt missing in my heart ).

Shizuka: Wow, there are so many?

Rei: You say that like we have the option of running away.

Saki: Charge!

The Humvee caring the main characters recklessly charged into the army of undead and ran them over ( Some went flying ). God, seeing it up closely Takashi was right. They're insane ( But in a cool way ).

Saeko then jumped down from the vehicle and began to attack THEM and Kouta backed her up with his newly found shotgun. Then Takashi ( Who should be here ), Hishshi ( His fault I am here instead ) and... Misaki? They all came out of the Humvee to back Saeko up and clear a path for me to reach the vehicle.

Saeko: This will be the last ferry that will be crossing the river. Will you be coming?

Shin: Like I have a choice. Save a seat for me ( Getting way to caught up in this scene )!

Alice: Are they your friends?

Shin: Who knows, but they sure are dependable.

I jumped over from the fence and ran to the Humvee thanks to everyone clearing a path for me and Alice. I then handed Alice off to the girls in the vehicle so that I could speak to my two Player comrades who had come with the main characters to save my ass.

Shin: I thought you guys weren't going to help me?

Hikari: Who said that? It was you who just rushed forward like that alone like a fool without waiting for us. Once you left, we all came to the quick decision to help you and the girl. It was unlikely that we could return afterwards as well, so we quickly packed up and came to your rescue.

Snin: Thanks you guys, but I think it will be you guys who need the help now.

Hikari: What do you mean?

What do you mean?

There was a reason that I didn't even attempt to fight THEM who were coming after me besides their large numbers. This whole save Alice Quest Event forcefully made all the undead much stronger in power and speed. Just look. After that surprised attack just now, we were all being pushed back.

Misaki: Hey, what is wrong with these things!? They are much tougher them before!

Kouta: I've noticed! Anything other then head shots don't even stun them for more then a few seconds!

Saeko: Stop complaining and fight! You two are men, right!?

Misaki: Right!

Kouta: Right!

Still, despite Saeko's encouragement, the situation wasn't good at all.

The characters of H.O.T.D didn't notice the red sky or the miasma surrounding THEM and it looked like only the players could, but they were still fighting against there effects.

They used to be able to take them out in one blow to the head, but if you weren't using a gun then an undead might require an additional follow up blow for the kill. And with their increased speed, power and along with their unbelievable numbers it was too high a task in this situation and we were all being forced back to the car.

Shin: Lets escape! There isn't any points for us to fight them, especially when we are so disadvantaged.

Hikari: Should we return to the apartment building!?

Shin: No, you all probably didn't close up the gate properly when you left right? They could have already gotten in and we don't have the luxury to clear them out while watch our backs from this crowd. You are better off driving off somewhere. Besides, it looks like for whatever reason they are targeting me.

Hikari: I-I see. Your right, we should... Wait, you don't mean to...

Shin: Yeah, I am not coming with you guys.

This event shouldn't last that much longer, but it is a fact that both Alice and I are targets to them.

Even if they don't hear or see us, I believe that they can sense the two of us somehow. Escaping by car is our best shoot at escaping, but a surprise attack from THEM on the way these numbers can easily flip over our vehicle. The only way I could think to overcome this situation... Was to split up their attention.

Shin: You guys take this girl Alice here and escape with the humvee. It you can make it to the water you should all be safe since this model can cross rivers and they can't swim.

Misaki: What about you?

Shin: I am going to run and then run some more till I lose these guy. If I don't have to worry about Alice, then... I should be able to make it.

Takashi: No. It is too dangerous. Lets escape together.

Shin: That won't work ( It really won't work, you know. This isn't a plan for me to sacrifice myself for the group, but for me to offload half of these supercharged undead assholes onto your group. You guys who will both have Alice and a loud car will probably become the main targets for THEM for a while. And then, before the the event ends and I become the sole target I will find a crack to hide in till the mission is over and done with ). Also, the truth is that my house is nearby. I didn't bother to check it out since I didn't have any hope left, yet in the end I have to check, but if I go with you guys to escape... ( Dramatic effect ) who knows the next time, or if there will be a next time that I can ever come back here ( I am such a bastard ).

Now, give me an Oscar award, or its Japanese equivalent because my acting got through to them all in the end.

Or maybe it was the fact we had no more time to argue as our weapons were breaking and we were running out of ammo. Whatever the case, they took Alice ( The saddest puppy dog eyes in tear were staring at me, making me feel like trash again ) and the main characters of H.O.T.D, High School of the Dead left in the humvee.

It was for a short time, but we were comrades and I was honestly sad to see them go, yet as I was running away from half the original army of THEM, the over half followed the main characters in the car, I was having another issue that I was upset about to deal with.

The main character of H.O.T.D left, but only the main characters left in the Humvee, and so for whatever reason I wasn't running away for my life alone. As I was shooting the undead that were getting closer with the handgun as we ran, I asked the question that has been on my mind.

Shin: Why are you two following me? Having more then half of THEM follow the Humvee was a part of my plan, but it wasn't like this was much safer either. You would have had that entire group at your side, so why?

Hikari: Well, despite being a genius hacker, I might be a idiot or that I caught idiocy from you, Shin. Take responsibility.

Shin: NO. WAY. IN THE SEVEN HEAVENS AND HELLS. Will I ever take responsibility for you in my life time ( Which may end far too soon ). What about you Misaki?

Misaki: Well, I was feeling bad about having you do all the dangerous work even though it is obvious that I am stronger then you... But now looking behind me, I feel like I am an idiot as well for getting swept up in the mood.

Shin: So... We are all idiots in the end, huh? Oh my, it reall looks like our future survival rate will be even lower then I could have ever imagined.

\- *BANG*!

Shin: Damm, I am out of bullets! Just keep running!

The three of us with no where to else to run to and out of bullets, so we unconsciously returned to the apartment complex.

It didn't guarantee our safety, but it was better then nothing and we had nothing. Aqua herself said that THEM were unlikely to break in, but that assessment was before the power up. Who knows if the doors will hold, but...

Shin: There isn't any other choice, huh?

Hikari: What is it?

Shin: It was nothing. How are you holding up, Hikari?

Hikari: I am about to die from all of this running, but... The goal is just up ahead. Look!

Just up ahead was the apartment complex.

Once we get back to the room and barricade ourselves til the end of the mission, we'll win. We'll have survived all of this madness.

Hikari: Kyaaa!

Shin: Hikari!

Just as we had passed through the front gate of the complex not seeing any undead in the yard, one of THEM that was hidding in a blind spot grabbed Hikari by the arm.

Frightened like I have never seen her before, she tried to free herself from it's grasp, but even if Hikari had a average man's strength she wouldn't be able to break free from one of THEM, not to mention a supercharged version.

What bad luck was it to run out of bullets now? There was also an army of undead following behind us even now. We had no time for this crap.

Shin: Hikari, duck down!

I could only rely on my bat to quickly kill it.

Hikari did as I instructed and ducked down as much as she could, as my bat traveled just above her head and struck the undead. Damm, in my panic the bat hit the shoulder and not the head, but thankfully it had let go of Hikari.

Shin: Hikari, get up and lets go. They are-, ahhhhhhh!

HikRi: Shin!

The the undead.

One of THEM.

One of THEM just bit my right hand.

The undead's teeth bit right through my protective gear that was supposed to help me stay alive.

I, I, I was...

Shin: Get the fuck off you bastered!

With all my might, I punched the face of the undead that was still bitting down on my hand.

Whether because of my increased stats or that I didn't care if I broke my left hand in the possess, but I killed it in one blow.

Both of my hands were ruined in that confrontation, but the hand that Hikari and Misaki were looking at with pale faces was the right hand. The hand half devoured by THEM.

Misaki: Shin, you...

Hikari: Shin... Your hand. It, it is my-

Shin: Shut up all of you and run inside now! The mission is almost over, so we will deal with this later. Go!

My words, combined with the appearance of of the army THEM just outside the apartment complex gates woke them up from their thoughts, and we ran away.

Running up the stairs, down a hall and slamming the door shut and locking it for good measure... We were safe, least for the moment.

Tired, both physically and emotionally we sat down/fell to the floor in the living room.

No one said a word for a good ten minutes and all we did was listen to the sounds of THEM gathering around the complex and banging on the door of the apartment. Lucky they haven't broken in yet, or we would have been killed, but no one was in a mood to relax.

This included me.

Time to time, the two of them would look at me, and then turn away with a hint of guilt.

Hikari probably felt guilt since I was bitten and infected while saving her. It was my own decision at the time, so I have no intention of blaming her, yet I am not in such a great mood that I would try to console her.

As for Misaki... He was most likely contemplating whether he should kill me before or after I am turned.

I won't blame him either for such thoughts, and should be thankful that he hasn't done anything yet, but he was too dangerous of a factor here to let these thoughts become stronger... It wasn't like I was ready to call it quits yet.

Shin: Hey, Misaki.

Misaki: ...What?

Shin: Call Aqua on the communicator phone. There is something I have to ask her.

It was at that moment...

\- HIDDEN SIDE QUEST COMPLETE!

TAKING THE PLACE OF THE MAIN CHARACTER AND SAVING THE LIFE OF ALICE MARESATO.

REWARDED 2000 POINTS AND RANK C REWARD!

Shinv ...Hahahahah! Thanks for the points, but will I ever get the chance to use them?


	18. Chapter 18

Aqua: So that is why the sky turned the color red and the undead became stronger. Really, what kind of good, or bad luck do you have to be triggering events left and right like this?

Shin: I would like to think it is bad luck considering my current situation.

With my hands ruined and unable to move a finger properly, I had Misaki use his communicator phone we were giving to call Aqua seeing as I couldn't.

I not only did this to get advice from Aqau, it was also to get Misaki to discard the idea of killing me.

It was 100% guaranteed that I was going to turn into an undead, one of THEM sooner or later. Now, all alone in a room with one of THEM, which I mean me, is a risk that no one should take if they were sane.

The mission would be over in less then an hour at sunrise, so I had some hope that once this mission is over and we arrive to the Terminal Lobby, whatever is inside me now that was going to turn me into a undead would be fixed.

That was the reason I called Aqua.

If I were to say that kind of unsupportable theory here and now in my desperate state, who would believe that I wasn't trying to talk my way out of being killed?

Maybe Hikari. She feels responsible for what happened to me. Even if it was an obvious lie, in the mental state Hikari was currently in, she would either believe me wholeheartedly, or wouldn't mind if it was a lie and would take dying together here as her punishment.

The latter is more then possible since when she was telling her life story, she was obviously felt guilty for her past crimes. It the punishment of death would be what she was always looking for, but like I said, I haven't given up.

The point is of the the two of them, only Hikari would side with me and Misaki wouldn't risk it and definitely kill me before I turned, but Aqua could defuse the ticking time bomb that is my short life.

If Misaki hears that there is a chance for me to survive from Aqua, a veteran of these insane and scary mission from God, he would have no choice but to accept it and not kill me. Misaki is a violent guy, but he definitely wouldn't murder a man in cold blood without a good reason.

Hikari: Aqua... Shin, he can be saved, right?

Aqua: ...It isn't impossible, but Shin, do you really want to risk it? You can only be healed if you go back to the Terminal Lobby.

Shin: What do you mean do I want to risk it? If I go there the virus or whatever is in me now will disappear, right?

Aqua: It won't suddenly disappear. Even if you are injured or caught some terrible disease, when you are called back to the Terminal Lobby, those injuries will come back with you. To fix whatever injuries that occur to you in the missions you have to exchange points to God for him to heal you, but long as you are alive you can be healed if you have the points.

Shin: Does it cost a lot of points?

Aqua : No. Not if you tell God exactly what to heal it won't cost a lot of points, but if you don't know what is wrong or don't tell God, he will give you a full body treatment and that will cost a lot more points.

Shin: Then what is the problem? I will just tell him to get rid of whatever turns humans into THEM in H.O.T.D that is inside me. What's the problem?

Aqua: What I am asking is are you willing to wait that long till you are called back to the Terminal Lobby. In this last hour, fifty-two minutes in until sunrise, if you become an undead you will no longer be considered human anymore, so God won't let you come back to the Terminal Lobby. You may have to experience becoming one of THEM if you fail to make it in time, is a problem in and of itself. I don't know what happens to people here when they die, but some death here can destroy the soul. You might not get an afterlife or a chance at reincarnation if you turn into an undead, you know.

Hikari and Misaki had terrified expressions as they heard this.

Aqua mentioned something like this in the very beginning of the mission, but I bet no one even believed it to be true then. Still, even if you are not a religious man anyone would be frightened at the idea that even after death, a worse fate could befall you.

They are all probably imaging me continuing to live after death as one of THEM, to forever live in this world unable to act as I wish till the day some MC comes along and bashes my skull in.

I was imaging it right now, so that had to be the case.

Also, we know nothing of the soul, so after death as one of THEM, who knew I could go to heaven or even hell. This was something worth considering, to die now peaceful or risk dying in the worst possible manner, yet...

Shin: ...It wouldn't work. Heaven or hell, I don't even know if they have an internet connection or get WS-Jump there. I'll prefer to the living world for the time being.

Aqua: You... Is that all you are worried about?

Hikari: Yeah, Shin, there is a chance that you may die, so stop being a creepy otaku!

Shin: Well, if I am at death's door then stop calling me a creep otaku ok? And putting aside if I can last till the end of the mission, who knows how long this place can hold with those supercharged THEM out there.

Misaki: Shin is right. Who knows how long those doors will last.

Hikari: Shin is hurt... Because of me and now he can't even defend himself, and there is only Misaki and me to hold them off. The main characters also took all the weapons stashed here, so we are basically unarmed as well. If they break in... It is the end. Hey Aqua... What should we do?

Hikari was half in tears at this point, but the answer that she got and what I expected wasn't what she was looking for.

Aqua: ...How is any of that my concern? Whether Shin turns or if you are all killed, how is that my problem?

Hikari: But, but Shin is...

Aqua: Like I said not my business.

Misaki: Not my business... None of my concern... What is you problem bitch! Shin is dying over here and you have the power to help him and us! Are you even human!?

Shin: Stop that Misaki! I didn't have you call her just so you can get into a shouting match. I only wanted to know if I could survive, that there was a chance here that I could live after being bitten by THEM. Aqua has no obligation to help any of us.

For that reason I didn't blame Aqua for her words.

She had never said she was our comrade and has never done anything to prove otherwise. Even when she saved us from THEM or gave us these communicators, it was for her sake and her survival, not ours.

Neither Hikari, Misaki or I had any right to ask anything of Aqua or put her in any risk of danger, yet not just Misaki, but Hikari was not satisfied either.

Hikari: Aqua...

Aqua: ...

Hikari: It, it was my fault that Shin was bitten by THEM. Whether he did it conscious or not, he did it to protect me.

Aqua: What of it?

Hikari: I, I don't like Shin that much ( Hurts ). He is a creepy otaku after all ( Hurts, so stop ), yet despite being one he has looked out for me time and time again. I owe Shin a lot, so I am begging you Aqua, to help Shin any way you can. If you have any advice or you could come here in person it would be very much appreciated and I would never forget this favor. But...

Aqua: But?

Hikari: ...But if you leave Shin here to die without lifting a hand, I will do whatever is within me ability to kill you. Wolverine or whatever nonsense enhancements you have, I will find a way, someway to kill you one day. You got that bitch!

Aqau: ...Huh. Shin, you have a really good friend there, and Hikari... I should really kill you the next chance I get for that threat, but... Whatever, I help Shin and the rest of you.

Hikari: Really!?

Aqua: Yes. I am currently an hour away from you guy. If I hurry I might make it in time to help clear out all the undead outside to give you all piece of mind. I, I really can't do anything for Shin, but I will do my best to help you three survive... Long as it doesn't jeopardize my own safety. Understand?

Hikari: Yes! Thank you, that is more then enough!

Misaki: Reall, you should have said this in the beginning.

Aqua: Well, I am on my way now, so try to stay alive. Head up to the rooftop of the building if you can to buy as much time as you can. Those undead may be able to climb a little, but I doubt that they are that good of climbers. If any do try to climb up though, just kick them down. Also, Misaki, I will forgive Hikari for showing guts, but I won't forget that BITCH comment for when we get back to the Terminal Lobby. I am hanging up now.

Misaki: Wait, why only-

In the middle of Misaki complaining about the unfairness, Aqua hung up on us.

Now, only time could tell if she would make it in time, or if it wil even matter for me, which who is slowly turning into one of the undead.

Hikari: Thank goodness. Once Aqua get here everything will be okay Shin. But in the meantime lets head up tp the roof. We should be able to climb up from the second floor veranda.

Misaki: Ok. I'll give Shin a hand since his hands are no good right now.

Shin: The way that sounded was stupid, and sorry, but I will have to decline the offer to join you two.

Hikari: ...What do you mean?

The reasons was simple.

1\. I was bitten and could turn at any moment.

No matter how much I want to live and how little I really know about these two, they are still my comrades in this Mission World. Strange, I never had friends in the real world, but now I had comrades.

Hikari has a foul mouth that cuts into my heart, but she had just proven like how I went the extra mile for her during the mission, she could do the same thing even in the face of an opponent like Aqua.

Misaki... I am not as close to, but the two of us naturally got along while we were waiting for the mission to end inside the apartment. It is too embarrassing to say out loud, but he may be my first male friend.

I might be willing to kill anyone to survive so I can reach my goals, but... I don't think I could live with my self if I turned into an undead and killed them, though I wouldn't even be alive anymore.

2\. They're target is me.

Because of the event that I triggered, the undead had become more dangerous and have permanently marked me as a target. I have no desire to lie down and let myself be killed, but this might all end if I die. They are targeting me, so they might ignore the others if only I am killed and the after effects of the Quest I activated may end.

I take out the needless stuff, and told them what I have concluded and decided on. Still, the two of them, especially Hikari doesn't agree with me.

Hikari: You, you can't stay here to die alone!

Shin: I don't plan on dying. It is just a precaution. To avoid the worse case scenario.

Misaki: The worse case scenario?

Shin: That the moment THEM break in and eventually reach us, and I bet they will, I'll turn as well. Can you honestly say that the two of you can react well enough in that situation where you have to deal with THEM, and ME at the same time? Will you just recover like that from the emotional shock, and deal with the situation calmly? Though not official, I have been kinda acting as your leader and making the decisions around here. When your leader dies and turns into an undead, can you... Do what you have to do in that spilt second of life and death?

Misaki: ...

Hikari: Stop it Shin! You aren't going to die and we aren't going to, huh, wait, put me down Misaki!

Shin: Thank you.

Hikari who was trying to still persuade me was lifted off her feet and was being carried up the stairs by Misaki. Hikari kept hitting Misaki to let her go, but she was too weak to make him slow down.

Misaki: Please don't thank me, Shin. I am too much of a coward to tell myself that everything will be fine and allow you to come up onto the roof with us... Sorry.

Shin: Don't apologize. A real coward would have left without a word or just killed me outright the moment that I was infected. Your even bringing Hikari with you, so she doesn't meet a bad end with me.

Misaki: ...

Hikari: Hey, can you save your silent man's moment of respect for later, and let me go!? We aren't leaving Shin behind!

Misaki: Stop struggling so much! I am trying not to hurt you.

Shin: If you know how to do one of those hand chops to the back of the neck to knock the other person out harmlessly, you might want to...

Misaki: Like hell I know such a thing! This isn't an Ani... No nevermind. Whatever, just don't die on me.

Hikari: Wait, just don't decide things on your...

Without waiting any longer, Misaki carried the struggling Hikari up to the veranda.

When I then heard the screen door close, I knew they were moving on to the roof. Now, with the exception of the raging THEM outside the building and halls, the apartment was lifeless with sound expect my own breathing.

Shin: So now I'm all alone. Just like before... What an afoul, yet oddly familiar feeling. It's been a while.


	19. Chapter 19

It was a common story.

It was eight years ago when my life was abruptly changed.

That day, a family of four were coming back from a family vacation.

A Father

Mother,

Daughter

And... A Son.

On the drive back home, the father was sleepy and his reflexs were dulled when the accident happened. A drunk driver came around a curve and slammed into the family of four's car. The result... Was death.

The Father and Mother died instantly on impact. The two children and the drunk driver survived the initial impact were rushed to the hospital, but of the three, two of them passed away in the following hours.

The drunk driver who had alcohol in his system had complications during his emergency surgery and passed away. No one ever came for him, so he died alone whether deserved it or not, which he did.

And of the two children that survived, the older sister of the boy was pronounced brain dead.

She had the least physical injuries, but she hit her head in a very bad way in the crash and the doctors said there was no possibility of her ever waking up despite her body being technically alive.

Then a few weeks later, as stated per prearranged family decisions, and the will of the lone son who survived the accident and distant realities, the sister was allowed to pass away.

Then there was the sole survivor of the incident. The son... Me.

I don't really remember much of that time, but I recalled enough of it the sad event that I would rather not. With no where to go and having no direct family, I was taken in by distant relatives.

It was a family of three.

A Father.

Mother.

And a daughter that was a year younger then me.

They... They were nice enough family that I was lucky to end up with. There really were worse places to end up. I still remember that afoul group home I had to stay in temporarily before any family members were found by social services , yet... They still weren't family.

I am thankful for them taking me in, but I distanced myself from them whenever I could. It was around this time that I discovered manga, anime and games.

And of course, as a kid I was already into it, yet my passion for it transformed from causal into full blown otaku syndrome that allowed me to escape reality.

My passion for manga, anime, games and novels would then become stronger and stronger over the years, but I believe what really set it off was a chapter from a certain detective manga.

The protagonist who had a even harsher childhood then mine, said that even his back story was common place tragedy in this large and wide world we live in and that there was no point in getting to overly upset over it.

Common?

Those words really stuck with me.

If like the protagonist, if having ones family die in a terrorist bombing was ordinary when you looked all over the world... What was my own personal tragedy?

With how many people die around the world in car accidents, it had to be more common then even common. For my family to die and to be left alone... For that tragedy to be common place... I began to hate that word, and from then on I sought out the uncommon and unique.

This obsession is the core of my interest for manga and my desire to become something more, like the main characters from my favorite mangas... But then reality set in.

Unless one has talent, real talent it isn't possible become really special and stand out from the crowd. This was the truth that I learned after trying many things and failing despite my abnormal desire to succeed at something.

I then recalled what a certain female soldier told her young pupil.

That if you can run fast in elementary school you will be popular, in middle school if you can fight you will be popular and in high school if you can read you will be popular. If you can do all three you can be popular, special sure, but that is only school.

Then what about after high school? What would it take to stay popular past school and into adult life?

Become a politician, a movie start or make some great discovery that gets written in textbooks for future generations to read?

I could never come up with a real answer to what it meant to become special... Which lead to my recent depression.

Then one day, I received a message on my laptop computer.

\- Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live... A real life

Shin: Huh? Like it could be that easily. If it was that easily... If I could be one of them if only a little, I would have done so already and not be here. Whatever the cost. Tch, whatever. What is the harm in clicking YES? The laptop is already infected with one thing or another.

Ah, I remember.

Shin: I remembered what I said before I hit YES. Who knew it would be like this. Dying. All alone in someone else's apartment... But it was worth it in a way. I got to play the MC for a while, gained comrades, saved some girls and even experience an increase in "stats". So worth-, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*!

For the last ten minutes, or what I believe to be ten minutes I have been having on and off coughing fits.

It remember it starting a few minutes after Hikari and Misaki escaped to the roof.

It began with a small cough that didn't stand out, and then every other minute or so I would begin to cough again.

Then came my first uncontrollablecoughing fit... It was the worse.

I felt a great pain in my chest and started coughing non stop for a full five minutes. When I coincidentally checked my arm I used to cover my mouth ( Hands are out of the question )... I saw blood.

Blood that I had spat up.

Who knows how much time after that passed, but it couldn't have been a lot.

The stress, pain and knowledge that I could turn into one of THEM at any moment... Dulled my perception of time and just made everything seem longer then it was.

Waiting for this mission to end, I could only wait in the dark all alone. It was my own choice and I don't regret it, yet as more and more time passed, my resolve weakened.

Wishing that I had asked Hikari or Misaki to kill me already, or throw myself out the window head first. The latter wouldn't have been a good option since I can barely move and with the sea of THEM out there, I wouldn't even touch the ground before being devoured and then turned.

Both options were out right now.

It was at that moment where I was having all these depressing thoughts when I heard a ringing sound in the room. It was the communicator phone that Aqua left us. Misaki must have left it behind in his hurry to escape to the roof with Hikari.

Shin: Wh-what could she want at this time? Damm, my hands are basically done for right now! Do you really expect me answer!? I am on death's door, you know!

The ringing would not stop even after a minute, so by myself, and in great pain dragged myself over to where the phone was. I didn't even have the strength to walk up right, so I really was dragging my body over. Then with my slightly better, non-bitten hand that was just broken and swelled up, answered the phone in great pain ( Yeah, I said it again ).

Shin: He-, hello. This is Shin speaking. How may I be of service today, my dear ojou-sama? Today I am feeling under the weather, but I am more then happy to do my best for your sake... Like answering a damm phone when death is about to invite by for cookies and tea on the other side of a fancy, yet eerie looking door!

Aqua: ...If you have the energy to be a smart ass, and an imaginative smart ass at that then you can hang in there for another twenty minutes. I'll be there soon hopefully. These damm THEM keep getting in my way.

\- *Bang*, *Bang*,*Bang*,*Bang*,*Bang*!

It sounded like Aqua was really having difficulties getting here, but that wasn't what was on my mind. The time till the mission was over was.

Shin: Tw-twenty minutes? There... There is still that much time left? What did you want?

Aqua: Your attitude is getting on my nerves. Put Hikari or Misaki on the...

Shin: They're not here.

Aqua: ...Where did they go? Escaped alone? Dead?

Shin: No, they followed your advice and went to the roof.

Aqua: And you didn't go with them? Or was that you weren't allowed to?

Shin: It was my choice that I didn't go with them. It was too dan-, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*!

Aqua: Shin!

Shin: I, I just choose to stay behind, okay? Just to... Wait this all out in peace, and alone.

Aqua: Didn't want to in endanger the others?

Shin: That, and I didn't want them think that it would be better to put me out of my misery. I can't see what I look like now ( Can barley see at that ), but I could imagine that I look so bad that they would be taking pity on me by ending it all.

Aqua: You don't regret your choice?

Shin: ...It would be a lie to say otherwise, but at best I feel that it is 70/30 for, for taking my chances and not ending my seventeen years of life now.

Aqua: Do you want to live that badly? It... You might be better for you to end it here. There should be guns and some bullets left somwwhere if you look ( To weak to bother looking ).

Shin: I, I still want to live. That... Is my decision. If this world has taught me one thing- *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*... It is that there are still somethings for me to achieve. Both here and our original world. I-I have yet to take my very first step in the real world. Like hell I am- *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*!

For a full minute my coughing fit continued.

And this time I didn't cough up, but threw up blood and bit of internal organs. I-It was unlikely that I was going to make it. I knew that from the beginning, yet evwe so I said it in a teary voice...

Shin: I... I don't want to die.

Aqua: ...

Straight from the heart and not saying it to anyone in particular, yet those were the truest words I have said in my entire life.

Aqua, who had stayed on the phone through the entire coughing fit heard my desperate plea and spoke up at last. Compared to her aloof or scary usual self, her words carried both conviction and compassion.

Aqua: It, it is taking me much longer then I hope to return and it is unlikely that I will get there in time, but... There is a way! I am not sure, but it is our only shot. Shin, find a corner of the room to hide in and stay away from the doors. If you don't die from this then it will be a miracle. I am coming for you now!

Aqua said so with resolution in her voice and hung up. I still felt that it was unlikely that I could make it, either THEM will break down the door or I would join THEM, yet I wish I could still talk to someone in this last moments.

How funny is it?

That a guy who sought the uncommon and pushed away normal, yet still potential friends now wants human contact at the end? How, how pitiful it was.

Minutes, maybe even ten minutes have passed since the call with Aqua ended.

The mission shouldn't last much longer, so long as the the door to the apartment held these last few minutes, I have a real shot at surviving this or I would have if not for the unholy, undead turning virus course through my veins.

My skin has turned pale, if not lifeless white color and the throwing up blood has stopped. Either because I had no more to throw up or this virus had decided that the pool of blood that I was drowning in the corner of the room was enough. Pick your choice, but the reality was that I was dying.

My vision was blurred and all but gone, I can't move any part of my body anymore, and I don't even have the energy to bat an eyelid. My body was failing me and maybe within a minute from now, I would be dead.

I would die.

I would really die here.

Die, and become a undead.

Die and join THEM.

As one of THEM, I would forever roam the earth and devour others in one large cycle of undead life.

One of THEM... As one of THEM... In other words, I would be just like them. One amongst many. A face within the crowd for all eternity.

Ordinary.

I would be ordinary for all of time... Like hell I will die that way!

I don't to die! Not here! I don't want to die! I don't want to die ordinary! I want to be special! I don't care what I have to kill or destroy! I don't want to die like this Father!

Like hell I will die that way! I don't to die. Not here! I don't want to die! I don't want to die ordinary! I want to be special! I don't care what I have to kill or destroy! I won't die like this Mother!

Like hell I will die that way! I don't to die! Not here! I don't want to die! I don't want to die ordinary! I want to be special! I don't care what I have to kill or destroy! I won't die like this Midori!

I, I, I won't die here! And so, before I knew it I was trying to stand.

For what purpose I didn't know, but maybe, I believed that staying down would lead to death. Just waiting for death on my ass in a pool of my own blood, scared out of my mind at the terror of THEM, the rioters, the world, God and above all my own shortcomings... Doing notning was not the right choice for me, Shin Kazama, to take.

And so on shaky legs I stood up.

Even if I still had to lean against the wall to stay up, this was far better then where I was before. I wasn't going to die and had no such thoughts anymore, but if I ever were going to die, I was not going to be caught sitting down. Whether life or death, I would face it head on!

Shin: He-hear that God, *Cough*, *Cough*, devil or whatever you are up there running this hell hole! This, this isn't enough to kill me!

It was at the moment as if response to my provocation, I heard that voice again in my head. It was God leaving another message.

\- LONGEVITY REALM LIMIT BROKEN!

REWARDED 500 POINTS, CELL VITALITY INCREASED BY 10 POINTS AND IMMUNIZATION STRENGTH INCREASED BY 50 POINTS!

Longevity Realm.

It was the perfect present just for this situation.

The plus fifty in Immunization Strength and ten in Cell Vitality could be felt right away. Energy was returning to my body and my breathing became at ease. I was by no means healed, I still felt like shit, but it was better then nothing and when you HAD NOTHING, even a little could go a long way.

Whatever it was that was killing me seemed to have been stopped temporarily, and it looked like my second, third, most likely my last wind wind wasn't over yet.

\- HIDDEN GOD'S QUEST COMPLETE!

AS A NEW PLAYER, YOU HAVE REALIZED THE THREE BREAKTHROUGHS IN THE FACE OF HORROR AND LIVED, COMING EVER SO CLOSER TO THE NEXT STEP IN THE EVOLUTION OF MAN.

REWARDED 3000 POINTS, RANK B REWARD AND AN UPGRADE CERTIFICATE!

\- UPGRAD CERTIFICATE!

A RARE CERTIFICATE GIVEN TO PLAYERS BY GOD.

ALLOWS FOR THE UPGRADE OF A LOW OR INTERMEDIATE LEVEL NON-GENETIC ENHANCEMENT, IGNORING POINTS AND REWARD REQUIREMENTS. CONSUMABLE: ( 3 ).

Shin: ...Ha, Hahahahahahaha! I can't tell which one of these words are making me feel better anymore! Still, Longevity Realm, 3000 points and whatever the Upgrade Certificate is... You won't fool me with your sexy, sexy rewards God! I know you have a sick sense of humor, so what is about to-

\- *CRASH*!

Was I too full of myself just now?

The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. So much so that I didn't know whether to laugh or cry because of my constant good and bad fortune. From the broken door and my only form of protection being ripped from its hinges and lying on the floor, they finally broke in. The undead, THEM were now flooding into the apartment and I had no means of protecting myself.

I also didn't even have the strength to run away for my life and try to join up with the others on the roof. I was feeling better, but not that better. This... Was the end of the line... Or I would have thought so. As the light from the sun was just beginning to visibly show, not yet risen over the horizon, a single sound reverberated throughout the world.

\- *HOWL*!

A frightening howl filled with bloodlust was heard by all, including THEM who should of had no intelligence left in them.

No one moved are dared even to breathe. All living and nonliving beings who heard that howl were overwhelmed by a feeling of death, and it was well understandable from what happened next.

It started from outside.

From what little I could see through the window while pushed up against a corner of the room, I saw a white, no a silver light flash by. The sliver light sprinted straight through the crowd of THEM outside the apartment complex as if they were wet tissue paper and they all torn apart. Whatever it was, it didn't neee to do anything more then run through the crowd of undead to tear all of THEM to shreds.

\- *HOWL*!

It's howl echoed throughout the complex, telling all those inside that it has arrived and made this place its territory. Also... That no one, living or otherwise was going to be leaving this place in one piece.

Whatever it was, it was now heading towards this apartment. I couldn't see it, but the undead and myself sensed as much, like prey instinctively knowing that they were about to be preyed upon.

Luckily, the first victims were THEM that had broken in and were closest to the open broken down door.

A beast of unknown origin slowly walked through the door and all too quickly began devouring and slashing apart the undead. Despite THEM receiving a boost in strength and speed thanks to God's quest event, they were nothing before the beast.

It was only after the three seconds it needed from entering the apartment and killing the undead, that I could register the true form of the beast that both saved my life and now looked towards me as its new prey.

The true form of the beast was a wolf. A wolf, but not just any kind of wolf.

Ten feet long with a tail at tall as me, yellow, if not golden eyes, dripping silva that has mixed with the dirty blood of the undead onto the floor. Metallic and sharp claws and fang, and along with its most distinguished feature...

Shin: Silver fur... A giant, silver monster wolf. Your kidding me! This is a zombie genre story, right!?

The silver wolf cared nothing for my complaints about the genre.

It now looked at me with pure madness in it's eyes that were devoid of all light and emotion. I was neither its equal or food in it's eyes. I was only something to be killed. To be ripped apart by its claws and fangs. It was already a miracle that it hadn't done so already, yet it looked like my luck had come to an end, if I ever had any to start with.

\- *HOWL*!,

The SilverWolf howled loudly as it was about to kill me.

In a panic I pointed the police baton that I had on me all this time, yet forgot about at the monster wolf. Not only was it a worthless weapon in the face of this foe, my right hand could barley hold onto the thing being broken and all.

It was the world's worst bluff in all of history, but if I hadn't done at least that I would have gone mad from the enormous bloodlust directed at me. I still might...

Shin: Ahahahaha!

Then, with what I could only see as a savage smile, the large monster wold with silver fur jumped towards the cornering I was cowering in. At the very least I should be proud that I was still standing, right?

GOD'S MISSION

HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD, 8 MAN MISSION

STORY PLOT, SURVIVED!

MAIN QUEST:

Objective 1 - Complete!

Objective 2 - Complete!

Base Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Kill the Zombies - 1 Point = 20 Zombies.

2\. Kill the Rioter - 5 Points = 1 Rioter.

3\. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 points for killing a New Player.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. D-ZERO - Any player with 0 or negative points at the end of a mission after all calculations are finished, will be killed, no exception.

TOTAL SCORE: Shin Kazama

Base Survival Reward 1000 Points +

Sixty-five Undead Kills 3 Points +

Seventeen Rioters Kills 85 Points +

Savings Igou Hisashi 2500 Points and Two C rank reward +

Saving Alice Marezato 2000 Points and C rank reward +

Physical Realm Breakthrough 500 Points +

Mental Realm Breakthrough 500 Points +

Longevity Realm Breakthrough 500 Points +

God's Quest Triple Breakthrough 3000 Points and B rank reward

FINAL SCORE = 10,088 Points, 2B rank rewards!


	20. Chapter 20

Shin: Am I dead?

I lied there on the floor with my eyes out of focus and felling dizzy.

I remembered the in previous moment that silver wolf monster that came right out of a nightmare jumped at me. Those huge claws, sharp fangs and crule golden eyes were right before in front of me. It was only an instant, just an instant away the monster wolf was from ripping me to shreds.

Shin: Then... Am I dead or am I alive? Heaven? Hell? Which is it?

Aqua: Your alive at least for the moment and this is still the hell God sent us to. You and I cut it quite close there.

Only now did I realize that Aqua was right in front of me. She had me pinned down to the floor. Not in a sexual way, but like a predator that was about to take a bite out of its prey, me, yet also in a nonsexual way.

Aqua looked completely exhausted.

Her usual strong, confident self was long gone and in its place was a tired and mentally exhausted girl. As she was getting off me, I noticed her eyes.

It was only for a split second before they were back to normal, but her eyes were a yellow color. The same golden eyes filled with cruelty that the silver wolf held. It, it couldn't be true. I am just over thinking this, rihht? I knew it had to be, but...

Shin: Aqua, are you the one who saved me back there? That, that...

Aqua: Yeah, I was that silver wolf that you saw. Along with the Wolverine mutation enhancement, I also possess a Werewolf mutation as well. What you saw back there was my full wolf transformation.

Shin: Aqua is a Werewolf... That, that, that is so...

Aqua: Scary?

Shin: Awesome! Do you also have a half human half wolf form like Kotarou and Kito from the Akamatsuverse?

Aqua: Fool! I almost killed you and look. What was I worried about?

With a ever so slight smile Aqua walked away which gave me the room to get up and look around as I stood there in a daze.

I still had no idea where the hell I was. Aqua said that this was in fact hell, so we must not be back in the real, but still in God's Dimension. According to Aqua once a mission comes to an end we would be transported somewhere, so this must be the Terminal Lobby.

From what I could see, I was standing in an open platform with a huge sphere of light in the center. It lit up the whole platform like the very sun. Beyond the edge of the platform was darkness. Just pure darkness. A kind of darkness where not a hint of light or life could be found.

Was this really the so called Terminal Lobby? Just looking at it for a few seconds made his head dizzy.

It was as I was looking around I saw the others.

Hikari, Misaki and Aqua... and also a fourth person was here. A elderly man in a buttler suit came out from one of the rooms on the edge. He looked familiar. Too familiar, but if I were to reveal his identity then a certain Dark Knight might come looking for me with a copyright complaint.

The so far nameless buttler walked over and picked up the exhausted Aqua.

Aqua was a beautiful women and her current weak appearance looked very attractive, yet he didn't even bat an eyelash at her. Is this what you call professional service level of a legendary butler? Still, I was slightly ( A lot ) envious of him as he was carrying here away.

Aqua: If you have any questions, just ask God over there. Communicate to him with your mind. As for Shin, quickly go over to God and have him fix up your body. You can still turn into a undead in your current state. Just coming here won't fix what is wrong with you remember? Also, other than creating your own person, don't exchange anything. Wait until tomorrow for me to explain everything. Oh right, to choose a room just imagine how you want the room to look like and it will be done to your specifications.

The buttler then carried Aqua away to her room to rest.

Shin and the others stood there looking at each other, then they fell on the floor. They were all exhausted, but quickly scanning the room around. Hikari looked at me and ran over. Without waiting for me to even stand she tackled me into a hug.

Hikari: Shin! Shin, I am glad that you are alive. It was my fault, yet, yet...

Shin: It is fine, but could you get off. I am still technically dying, and... Your heavy.

Hikari: What!

Then a painful right slap came into contact with the side my cheek.

Hikari was furious, but then seeing one of my tooth fall to the floor and blood staining her hands, she remembered that she just hit a dying man who was slowly rotting away into an undead, and apologized.

Then it was Misaki's turn to come over.

Misaki: Yo! Yor still alive?

Shin: Well, for the moment. How was it on your end?

Misaki: Other then that girl constantly trying to leave the roof to go back for you and hitting me when I stopped her, everything was a okay.

Shin: Looks like you had it rough.

Misaki: That sounds sarcastic coming from a man who is infected with some zombie virus and looks like he is about to die any minute. Are you really okay?

Shin: I am not and I am still infected, but for certain reasons I'll get I'll get to later, I am sort of in a temporary remission at the moment. Give me an hour and I might still turn into one of THEM.

Hikari: Then hurry up and get yourself healed! Also, sorry for that slap. Did I hit you so hard that a tooth was knocked out?

Shin: No, but in my current state even someone with half your strength could have done it. Also, you don't have to keep apologizing for every little thing. The tooth and the bite. The mission is over and done with, so it's all in the past now. I am just thankful that it ended at the time it did.

Misaki: Yeah, and did you see that silver wolf, Shin? It came out of nowhere, bulldozed the undead in the surrounding are and went into the apartment building. I thought that it was going to kill us all.

Shin: She nearly did. That was Aqua.

Hikari: It was!

Shin: Yeah, according to her, Aqua has a Werewolf mutation that she exchanged from God. What we saw was her full wolf form.

Misaki: So not just Wolverine, but Werewolf as well. What else? Can she sprout wings out her...

Hikari: Misaki! Aqua has already reserved one beating for you calling her a bitch. Do you want a second one from are Wolverine mutation, Werewolf with an infinite ammo gun?

Misaki: ...Never mind.

For an instant, Misaki was as pale looking as me. If only he could have seen her up close in as a large wolf that was pulsating death and destruction, he wouldn't have even dared to bad mouth her out loud.

Hikari: Well she is strong. Not just her inhuman powers, but just about everything. All of that happens and she can coolly give out instructions like that. I was so scared, just thinking about everything now that it is over... I can't even move my hands and legs. Shin, I am glad you, no all of us are still alive. You should do as Aqua said and... Shin?

Shin: A women... Can she be an anime character?

Misaki: No no no no, you have to choose a super model, right? It's only the logical thing to do. Not some silly anime character.

Shin: Don't say anime heroine are less then your lousy models who pretend to be pure, but are probably spreading their legs for the cameraman!

Misaki: Oh, what did you say! Do you want to die otaku bastered!? I won't go easily on you just because you are dying!

Shin: Bring it swimsuit idiot! A man who doesn't know the true worth of anime heroines can go to hell!

Hikari: Two freaking idiots! Men are all idiots! We lived through that and experienced, so much terror, yet the first thing they think about is sex, sex and more sex!

Shin: You know, that just now was pretty hot, Hikari. Say sex again amd also keep that TSUN voice and add some DERE at the...

Hikai: Shup up, otaku! Shin! Just hurry up and get your repairs done! Morons!

Hikari ran toward a room in anger, and closed the door with a loud bang.

It woke the two of us from our foolishness. We laughed with embarrassment then closed our eyes. Misaki was probably designing his ideal women right now, yet kidding and making fun of Hikari aside, I moved over to God for my repairs.

This is a wonderful feeling is what I thought when I made contact.

As I closed my eyes under the sphere of light, I felt as though I fused with it. A screen appeared in front of me, it's similar to a computer program or video game Main Menu.

There were four categories of items, and the six stats of enhancements. It also showed the amount of points and rewards I had gained as of date.

My stats were the following and looking over at them, I couldn't help but feel that all the terror and near death experiences were all worth it, but I could only say as much after the fact:

Stats

Intelligence - 111

Mental Capacity - 120

Cell Vitality - 129

Reaction Speed - 137

Muscle Density - 147

Immunization Strength - 155

Exchange Categories

1\. Sci-fi Weapons - None.

2\. Magical tems - None.

3\. Support items - Communicator Phone×1 and Upgrade Certificate.

4\. Entertainment - None.

Missions Survived: 1.

Exchange Points: 10,088.

Rank Rewards: S=0, A=0, B=2B, C=0, D=0

I had 10,088 points total!

1000 from the basic mission, 2500 from the hidden quest for saving Hisashi from his fate to die, 2000 for a second hidden quest for saving Alice in place of the main character, 1500 for breaking the three realm limits, 3000 for God's Quest for breaking the three limits as a newbie player of his world and 88 Points for various kills.

I asked god to repair my injuries, specifically whatever was currently in my body at this very moment trying to kill me, rotting me from the inside and slowly turning me into one of the walking dead. Also, I added in the resulting injuries from it all remembering that I threw up a lot of blood maybe even some internal organs.

I also asked God to keep the scar from the healed bullet wound. Like Aqua's scar on her neck, I planned for it to be another reminder that this world wasn't all wasn't fun and games. That I could die here, and I really nearly did. I want a visual reminder whenever I look in the mirror with my without my shirt, so that I the future I will never wake up and forget those days in H.O.T.D and believe they weren't dangerous.

Once I told God my request, I was floating in a beam of light shot from the sphere.

Orange light particles then entered my body and thirty second later a dark brown particle would exit my body a disintegrate into oblivion. The orange particle most have been the repair and the brown particle that was destroyed was the unknown virus that causes the apocalypse in High Schoo of the Dead.

The whole process took 10-15 minutes and once the beam let me down to the ground I checked myself over. I was perfectly healthy as I ever was. Maybe even better than ever since after gaining all of my stats increases this was the first time I was in 100% condition.

Not exhausted from battling THEM, recovering from a gunshot wound to the shoulder or nearly dying to a fatal and supernatural disease that could cause the apocalypse in less then twenty-four hours if it was let out into the real world.

God had took 69 of my points for the repairs to my body, so now I had a total of 10,019 Points. I don't feel that 69 points is a lot when you still have over ten thousand , but now I was healed and better then ever so there was no use sweating over 60 or so points. I mean, 60 points could only raise a single stat by 6.

Now it was time to focus on the most important matter at hand now that I have arrived to the Terminal Longe after healing my life threatening wounds.

Shin: So... Creating a woman, huh. Create a woman... Who should I choose, hahahahha!

I was not planning to use my points yet.

I recognize the importance of it after experiencing life and death over and over again. Even though I have quite a lot of points, I still wanted to consult with Aqua first, but since it was free points, I only had one thing on my mind.

Making my ideal women!

Hestia - The goddess who descended to earth and started a clan with the white haired speedy main character Bell Crane. She is small, which isn't bad, and she has a gret chest. 9/10.

Lala Satalin Deviduke - The ailan princess who moved in with the king of awkward falls Yuki Rito. Lala is a 10/10 in every aspect, but her inventions will get me in trouble.

Saber - The heroic spirit and legendary king of Britain, the King of Knights Arturia Pendragon. Her physique stopped growing at the age of 14, but she is such a legendary figure that it would be a crime to not have that swordswomen around. She could even teach me some things. 9/10.

Kato Megumi - The underground main heroine who goes unnoticed, but will at times show the cutest expressions. 9/10.

Mio Naruse - The red head little sister and with the demon lord's power. She is a 10/10 and is erotic enough to push her score up by 5.

Shiki Ryougi - The kimono/jacket wearing killer with a knife and eyes that can perceive death. She is scary, but an good looking women with a certain look that draws others. 8/10.

Misaki Mikoto - Last but not least the LEVEL 5 electric tusndere middle school girl. Still underdeveloped, but has a lot of potential if you have ever seen her mother, and she is a Esper to boot. 9/10 all the way.

Now... Which who I choose?

I ended up giving them all high scores and there are still characters I haven't thought up yet. Like A grown up Tina Sprout, or any of the main heroines of Date A Live and The Breaker: New Waves. To many choices, too many choices, too many choices and only one free human creation.

I have over 10,000 points so that is twenty additional human creations... I can't, right? No no no no no, I... I won't fall into depravity, I mean temptation. Ahh, it is that. This is God's last punch to the face to show that my hard work isn't enough.

Shin: Why... The humanity of it all. This really is hell!

The next day.

In the end, I couldn't choose on an ideal women. Having infinite choices in life... Is not as great as other people make it out to be.


	21. Chapter 21

The second day since we arrived in the Terminal Lobby.

The four of us had gathered. Hikari, Misaki, Aqua and myself. We were to meet to make plans and discuss more about enhancements and our future course of actions. That was the plan, but there was a fifth person, a girl about the same age of me here with us.

Mokoto: Hello, my name is Mokoto. I am Misaki's childhood friend and... Apparently I am a human creation of his makings. Please look after me.

Shin: Misaki, she is beautiful and all, but I thought you were 100% going to create a swimsuit model? You were all excited by it.

Mokoto: ...

Misaki: D-don't look at me like that. He, he's kidding, Mokoto. Your the one I love most. Let me introduce her to you guys. She is my childhood friend Mokoto and... She died sometime last year. I was, I was trying to make someone who looked like her, yet I ended up making the real her instead.

Hikari: You made her? As in the actual Mokoto? Like you brought her back to life?

Misaki: No, not like that. The Mokoto that is here before you is a human creation and not the original Mokoto, but she was born from my memories. I met her when she was three years old and since then we have been nearly inseparable, and unknowingly when I made her God used all those memories that I possessed and gave them to this Mokoto. Body, voice, personality and even her small, almost unnoticeable expressions that only I could ever pick up. They are all the same.

Mokoto: It might seem strange for me to say, but I don't feel at all that I am a copy or clone. It isn't just memories of my life that I have, I also have the feelings to go along with them. I am not reading off a script trying to imitate the girl Misaki knew. I'm just me. Mokoto.

Human creation?

I was just thinking about a possible anime girlfriend(s), but Misaki was trying to bring back... Make a copy of someone who was already dead.

Could I do that? Could I bring back... My family? It know it wouldn't be actually them, yet I can't get the possibility out of my head. Maybe once I am satisfied and ready to to return to the real world it might be something to seriously think about.

Shin: Aqua, you can bring back what you exchange from God back to the real world, right? Both enhancements like your Wolverine/Werewolf mutations and Misaki's human creation Mokoto?

Aqua: I have never seen anyone return to the real world before, but it should be possible. The person who exchanges their points for 'Back to the origin' can retain all of their items. All items from exchanges, stat enhancements, created life forms, summoned life forms and genetic changes to the body. The those exchanges will belong to the player even if he chooses 'Back to the origin', meaning the real world where we came from when you are ready to make the 50,000 point exchange. If you believe that God will keep his promise then we should be able to take back everything we have gained here.

Misaki: I heard as much from God when I made my human creation, but I am glad to hear you say that. Now... Now not just for my little sister that I left behind, but for Mokoto as well I will survive this place and return home!

As we heard Misaki proclaim he would return to the real world, we could all feel his passion and... It was more to it then just escaping this place that was motivating him.

Most likely, Misaki feels responsible or is responsible for the death of his childhood friend.

He said that the incident happened a year ago and had been trying to turn his life around, but the fact that he received that message and clicked YES meant that he wasn't over it. This also led to him leaving his younger sister alone because of his depression.

I still don't know Misaki that well, yet it was obvious that he was carrying something heavy on his shoulders.

There was nothing that I could do to help him since I had my own issues to deal with, but when I look at his desperation... I was reminded a little of myself.

After introducing his girlfriend to us, Misaki then sent Mokoto away so we can discuss business, yet we were still stuck on the subject of human creations.

Aqua: An exact copy in both body and mind, or as close to it as you can get. That is amazing. I have lived through six missions from God and I never knew these creations could be so detailed. Mine just cooks, cleans and knows how to to clean gun and make bullets.

Hikari: That is detailed in a different way, but you are right. Who knows how many secrets are hidden in this place.

Shin: Right. No one has ever mentioned this place in the real world, or word has just never gotten out and was kept a secret. Getting transported to movies, manga, anime and novels, and then interacting with the characters and even changing the original plot. Then there are exchangeable items enhancements which are all unbelievable. I can understand things like guns, but enhancements? Do you think that this kind of world is possible? When Aqua said at the start of that mission not to treat this world like a game world, that couldn't have been better advice. If she haven't said that, I definitely would have believed this to be to be some virtual reality world and I was brought here against my will to be an Alpha tester.

They were silent.

None of us had any kind of answer to what this crazy world was, and that... Was uncomfortable for us who were risking our lives here. I then took a deep breath and continued my speech.

Shin: I don't care if this is God's territory, or a devil's game. I just want to live, earn enough points to realize my goals and one day return home. Our golas may not be exactly the same, but none of you probably wants to die in these missions, right? The four of us should form a group, a team for the sake of survival. Because no one knows what the next mission will be, there's a limit to how much one person can do. We will form a team and help each other out. Anyone against my idea?

Aqua: You seem to have changed quite a bit from the person I first met in the mission. More so than Misaki who just lost virginity over there.

Misaki became embarrassed over what Aqua said out loud, but she quickly followed up by saying it wasn't something to be embarrassed about. I agreed. If I could decide on a women then I could throw away my seventeen years of of inexperience out the window.

Aqua: I think you're right. We couldn't confront any missions alone before we get enough enhancements. I've experienced six missions, so I know how important team work is. That last mission was easy, but the average difficulty of a mission is enough to give me a real difficult time. Team work can get you through those difficult times, but reality isn't that kind. Sometimes those next to you are just as dangerous as the monsters. I am fine with sharing information and help each other out, but if any newbies want to break apart our team, I advise all of you to kill them.

Hikari: But, but didn't you say killing a newbie will cost 1000 points? Even if they get in the way, I can't see killing them outright as a good thing.

Aqua: There are ways around that , it will cost 1000 points to kill a new player, but am I going to be the one to kill him? No. I can just break his or her arms and legs, or push them into the monsters. Long as I don't finish him off with my own hands then it will not count. Any else have any other questions?

Misaki: Isn't that a little bit cruel?

Aqua: Yeah it is, but so what? New players can be a lot of trouble, so why can't I kill them? That is why I make a point to not trust or deal with new players till they survive their first mission. You three are the exception.

Shin: Right, we won't hurt any newbies intentionally, but if they are to get in our way or put us at great risk, then I don't mind doing what I have to. I will survive no matter what and one day return to the real world. Now I have something to tell you all. Aqua might already have noticed, but during the mission I think I discovered how to obtain extra points and rewards. It probably has to do with changing the plot. Saving a character that was supposed to die, kill strong monsters or completely reverse the plot. I think you can get rewards by completing these and surviving.

Then I began to tell them about my experiences.

Saving Hisashi and Alice, how I broke some kind of limit three times and God even rewarded me for it and said it was a Hidden God's Quest. And that I received 1B and 3C rank reward, for two B rank rewards, over 10,000 points and the Upgrade Certificate.

Hearing this, the three of them were shocked and didn't know how to continue.

Aqua who recovered first said that she knew about the rank rewards and limit breakthroughs as she has experienced them herself, but never heard of Hidden God's Quest or being rewarded an item from God like the Upgrade Certificate.

I asked about the three realm breakthroughs, and Aqau said that if a player pushes their body pass the limit in a specific area through sheer force of will alone, God will reward a player with increased stats. She also added that after a player begins enhancing themselves with points or enhancements, it is impossible for that player to to be rewarded for a breakthrough again. Breakthroughs are only available for normal people who have yet to strengthen themselves with outside forces like God.

Then that means I was lucky in a way.

Putting Physical and Mental Realms aside, if you were in the state that I was in that forced me to break the Longevity Realm Breakthroughs, you chances of living through the rest of the mission are slim to none. Then to acquire all three realm breakthroughs in your very first mission... It has to be infinitely close to impossible as you can get.

It was worth it for all the rewards, but if I was asked to to it again, I would walk away without a second thought.

Hikari: How many points do you have?

Shin: 10,019 points, two B rank rewards. I had a little more points, but my repairs cost 69 points.

They looked at me with envy and jealousy. Even Aqua had slightly forced a smile.

Aqua: I risked my life and almost died who knows how many times to get just four thousand points in my first mission, but you got over ten thousand in your first outing and even two rank B rewards. Shit, Shin, it seems like I should have you carry me in the next mission.

Misaki: 4000 points in your first mission isn't small either, so don't complain. Hikari and I almost died a few times too and we just have 1000 or so points.

Shin: But it wouldn't have mattered if not for Aqua. If you didn't come back for us in that... Werewolf form for us, then those undead would have broken in and possibly killed us all. Thanks.

Hikari and Misaki also gave Aqua their thanks, but she said it was nothing and looked away slightly embarrassed. It was cute, and would have been cuter if I didn't have the image of her almost ripped apart at the end of the mission.

Hikari: We now know how to obtain rewards. Even though they are difficult to get, but it's better than not knowing anything at all. Plus you also get points along with it. That's why you need 50,000 points to go back. It's impossible if you just complete the basic missions. At least we have something in mind now.

Misaki also stopped being jealous of me and Aqua gave me a look of respect and trust.

Aqua knew that I was a good enough person to tell her about the Hidden God's Quesr and the Upgrade Certificate, when it could have been to my advantage to keep it to myself or say a half truth. I, we had all passes our first test here alive and Aqua had finally awknowledged us as her peers.

Aqua: Ok then, I will give you a description of the exchangeable items and stats. We still have nine days to rest so we don't have to rush, but we have to make the most of our time. For the next mission and to survive!


	22. Chapter 22

Aqua: There are six stats you can increase with the points you get from missions and enhancements that you exchange from God. It all seems very game like, yet the stats themselves are all realistic. No ATK, DEF or AGI stats like in Video Games people. The first stat Intelligence is correlated with memory and your ability to think. Mental Capacity is related to Extra Sensory Percepction or ESP for short, basically your ability to feel and effect the strange that can't be explained by science. Cell Vitality affects your recovery rate. Reaction Speed and Muscle Density are obvious and they will become the most useful stats for you to increase. Reaction Speed allows you to see objects moving at high speed, and after reaching a certain level you can even see the trajectory of bullets. Of course your body has to move fast enough to dodge them and that's where Muscle Density comes in. It increases your bodies strength and toughness. Immunization Strength is also an important factor. If your immunization is strong enough during missions like High School of the Dead with zombies, you wouldn't get infected.

Intelligence, Mental Capacity, Cell Vitality, Reaction Speed, Muscle Density and Immunization Strength.

In the coming missions into the world of fantasy born from japanese entertainment like manga and anime then each stat will become incredibly important.

Aqua said that Muscle Density and Reaction Speed are the most important, and they were for the standard battle stories, yet if the criteria for missions are high or potentially high fatality rates then increasing every stat to a high enough level will become critical.

The question is whether I should make my stats well rounded or go down a specialist route like Muscle Density and Reaction Speed ( A fighter route ), or Intelligence and Mental Capacity ( What I can only imagine a mage route ).

Aqua: That is all for the stats for now. Next we will continue with the exchangeable items. I will advise both Hikari and Misaki not exchange any items and spend all your points in Cell Vitality, Reaction Speed, Muscle Density, and Immunization Strength, with the focus being on Reaction Speed and Muscle Density. Otherwise, you won't even be able to keep up with all the running.

Hikari nodded in agreement, understanding that she had few options at this point, but Misaki looked dissatisfied.

He was probably happy to make himself stronger with points, but I bet just like me he wanted to exchange points for something amazing.

Then Aqua turned to me and went over my options.

Aqua: Shin. Since you have 10,000 points and two B rank rewards ( One B and three C's. 3C = 1B ) to spend, the world is yours for the taking. With your amount of points you should just go for both a few genetic and whole body enhancement. But what you want is up to you. Then spend the remaining points on stats or some weapons, your choice. Next to me you will be the strongest one among us in the next mission, and you should also think about probably getting a magical item as well. From my experience, missions with the supernatural are the worst to deal with next to full blown out wars.

Shin: I was just thinking the same thing. Of all the storys that I have read, supernatural or science that has reached the level of the supernatural like Elfin Leid and Toaru Majustu no Index are the most dangerous. It was always my plan on getting a weapon that can kill those type of monsters and opponents. I have the points to spend even of they are expensive.

Aqua: Then lets get a move on? Lets go check out God's interface and power up.

The four walked toward the sphere with excitement.

Especially since it's the first time for three of us. We were all going to soon surpass normal people from now on.

I stood under God/Sphere of light then closed my eyes. I experienced that feeling of being connected to God again like the time I repaired myself.

Shin: Lets first take look at genetic and body enhancement shall we.

The screen focused on the support items category then it listed all the possible enhancements. I filtered out the ones that needed S and A rewards and only looked at rank B and lower enhancements. Even then the number was still in triple digits.

Spiderman Genetic Mutation -

Rating 83.

Applicable to movies that require high dexterity. Web shooter can be used in any circumstances. Requires a rank B reward and 2000 points.

Wolverine Genetic Mutation -

Rating 84.

Applicable to moves that require CQC and vitality. Adamantium skeleton and claws can be used in any circumstance. Requires a rank B reward and 2000 points.

High level Ki -

Rating 87.

Applicable to movies that require close combat. Can buff stats substantially in short period of time. Requires rank B reward, 2500 points and intermediate level Ki.

Upper Class Hunter Nen/Aura -

Rating 91.

Applicable to missions that require close combat. Potentially has very high growth, but because of the specialist nature of Nen is very limited ability wise. Requires a rank B reward and 2700 points.

Advance Mana Control.

Rating 82.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Allows access and control Mana that is in the air for Magic Spells, and can be used to increase stats. Requires a rank B reward, 2000 Points and Intermediate Mana Control.

Jonin Level Chakra -

Rating 85.

Applicable to most missions. Can increase stats moderately over periods of time, yet have harsh rebound when exhausted. Requires a rank B reward, 2300 points and Chuunin Level Chakra.

A-Class Trigger -

Rating 93.

Applicable to missions that require combat. Can store the users real body within the trigger and replace it with an A-Class Trion Body. Can download and use up to eight different types of triggers ( Must be obtained separately ). Triggers has the bailout function, able to escape after the Trion Body is destroyed, the main body will be ejected and fly away anywhere within 1000 meters of where Bail Out occurred. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed or Bail Out, the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain assess to Trion Energy. Requires a rank B reward, 3000 points and a B-Class Trigger.

Innocence Cube -

Rating 80.

Applicable to the missions that require combat against spirits and dark forces. Acquire one of the 109 shards of Innocence and become an Exercist. Will develop a Equipment or Parasite type Innocence weapon. Innocence is the natural enemy of evil spirits, demons and all things that go against the will of god. Possess an Evolution factor and access to Faith Energy. Requires a rank B reward and 2450 Points.

High Elf Genetic Mutation -

Rating 85.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Possess one of the highest affinities with most magic and the spirits. Increase the effects of magic spells and spiritual energy. Depending on the affinity, supernatural entities will have higher or lower intimacy with the owner. Requires a rank B reward and 2800 points.

Plasma Stigmata Implant -

Rating 89.

Applicable to missions that require high combat power. Special tissues created by reverse-engineering Nova cell cultures, which gives superhuman abilities and prowess to Pandora and Limiters. Females will develop into Pandora who can use HIGH END SKILL and Males will develop into Limiters who can use FREEZING. Volt Texture has evolved to the higher grade Plasma Texture allowing for far greater output, but has a high maintenance cost that deteriorates the body with extended use. Requires B rank reward, 3200 Points and Heroic Stigmata Implant.

High level Werewolf Genetic Mutation -

Rating 88.

Applicable to most missions. Has the ability to transform into a werewolf, increasing stats substantially temporarily. Owner will not be affected by the instincts of werewolf bloodline. Requires a rank B reward, 2700 points, and Entry Level Werewolf Mutation.

Demon Lord ( Rank ) Genetic Mutation -

Rating 87.

Applicable to most missions. Has demonic power and access to most Demon Magic. Rank Lord increases strength substantially and emotional state can increase power. Owner will not be affected by holy water. Requires a rank B reward, 2600 points and Demon Viscount Mutation.

Vampire Count ( Rank ) Genetic Mutation -

Rating 90.

Applicable to most missions. Has blood energy and access to most blood magic. Rank Count increases vitality substantially, can recovery from any injury as long as brain and heart are not destroyed. Owner will not be affected by sunlight and silver. Requires a rank B reward, 3000 points and Vampire Viscount mutation.

S Rating One-Eyed Ghoul Genetic Mutation -

Rating 84.

Applicable to most missions. Possess high combat and regenerative power, but is very hard to master. Allows access to one of four types of the predatory organ of a Ghoul, the Kagune. Owner will not effected with a ghouls need to eat human flesh and will be unrecognizable from other humans being ( Low RC count ). As a S rated ghoul, there is a chance of an incomplete Kakuja forming. Requires a rank B reward, 2500 Points and A Rating One-eyed Ghoul Mutation.

New-Type Awakening -

Rating 89.

Applicable to missions that require above average intelligence, mental capacity and reaction speed. Increases sensitivity to the supernatural and strong emotions. Has access to Psychic Power and most esper abilities. When the mind is focused the Intelligence, Mental Capacity and Reaction Speed stats will substantially increase temporarily. Requires rank B reward, 2900 points and Cyber New-Type Awakening.

Witch/Warlock Genetic Mutation -

Rating 88.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Able to store a source of Mana inside their bodies, or within an object with no limit. The ability to turn a inanimate object or a living being into a familiar called a Supporter. Requires a rank B reward, 2600 Points and the C rank Witch/Warlock mutation.

LEVEL 4 Power Development -

Rating 83.

Applicable to missions that require above average intelligence and mental capacity. Increases sensitivity to the supernatural and and other non-magic abilities. Has access to Psychic Power and random Esper Power. When the mind is focused the Intelligence, Mental Capacity and Reaction Speed stats will substantially increase temporarily. Requires a rank B reward, 2750 points and LEVEL 3 Power development.

Devil's Fruit Genetic Mutation ( Consumable ) -

Rating 74.

Advantage and disadvantages in certain missions vary depending on the type of devil fruit. A random Devils Fruit will be given and consuming one, will develop a unique ability. Three types - Paramecia ( Super Power ), Zoan ( Animal Transformation ) and Logia ( Element Body Transformation ). The power of the Sea will reject Devil Fruit users and greatly weaken them. Only one may be consumed. Requires a rank B reward and 2000 Points.

It was there as I was looking throught the enhancements a thought came to my mind and I then switched to the rank A enhancements list. And there they were. Master Level Ki, and higher level Elder Werewolf and Vampire Mutations.

These all required their rank B counter parts, so that seemed to be the theme here. Even if you have the points and the reward, without it's lower level version then you couldn't exchange for it.

Shin: God, I have a question. Can I choose two bloodlines or genetic mutations at the same time?

Then God actually answered back. It was the same dignified voice as always.

\- Yes but it will have unpredictable result. The different genetics could absorb or proliferate each other. You have a seventy percent chance of becoming a non human being.

Shin: That probably means monster. How about different types of energy? Like Aura, Ki, Chakra and Blood Energy.

\- Yes, it is possible to have more then one type of power, yet it is impossible to own two of the same type.

Shin: Same power?

\- Meaning the same source of power, yet it manifested differently. It is possible to have Nen/Aura [ Life Force ] and Psychic Power [ The Mind ], but Nen/Aura [ Life Force ] and Ki [ Life Force ] are not compatible, so they can't both be learned.

I then nodded as I understood.

Creators in their hopes of originality would come up with different kinds of power and abilities for their characters in manga and novels, but it wasn't odd for them to have the same source like Ki, Chakra and Aura.

\- But there is alternative to this rule. With the same chances of a bad reaction like with Genetic Mutations enhancements, it is possible for one type of energy to absorb the other of the same type. For example, Ki [ Life Force ] and Nen [ Life Force ], one can absorb the other to become a superior energy, like Greater KI or Greater Nen/Aura. The more powerful energy will be used as the base for the Greater energy and when exchanging for high tier version of Ki or Nen/Aura, it will automatically become a superior version as well.

Shin: Was is the difference Greater and regular Ki or Nen?

\- Unknown. The results are randomly made if the absorption is successful. Using Greater Ki that has absorbed Nen/Aura as an example, it may allow it the use the general abilities of Nen ( Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Gyo, En, Shu, Ken, Ko and Ryu ), stay the same but you can now develop a original skill just for you ( Hatsu ) or no new abilities were absorbed yet the size of one's Ki may simply be magnified. It is also with the realm of possibility that all of the listed properties can be developed.

Shin: Ok, but what happens if the absorption ends in a failure?

\- With Genetic Mutation fusing together there is a chance at becoming a non human being, but with a failure to absorb two different energies there is a different risk involved. The two energies may cancel each other out so both would be loss. There is also the chance that the body can't handle the absorption process and a explosion occurs.

Shin: An explosion within the body... Probably means death right?

This really was an important decision to make and to be honest if if I let myself I would be here all day thinking of all my potential possible routes to almightiness, but I was getting an evil look for taking so long from Hikari.

The others haven't chosen anything yet, but she just knew that I was enjoying this too much and I would be here all day if I was allowed.

Hikari: Having fun?

Shin: Ye-yeah, but I am almost done. You?

Hikari: Still giving it some thought, but I am pretty much decided on a Muscle Density route since in the last mission I was as powerless as a little girl without her parents. All I could do was come up with a few analysis. At the very least I need the ability to runaway from danger and leave the dangerous stuff to you.

Shin: ...Please help out.

Hikari: But wouldn't you still have fun?

Shin: Yes, but I don't want to die either.

Hikari: I'll help, but please protect me if I get into any danger.

Shin: You sure are spilled. Sure. I expect the same from you.

Hikari: Refuse. I don't want anything to do with a dirty otaku like you.

Shin: ...Yet you still asked to be saved, huh. Tch, middle school girls are the worst.

I look back at my many ( MANY ) options to bring back up my mood, and soon I made my decision.

I used a rank B rank reward, separated my second rank B reward into three C's, one C rewards into three rank D rewards which I learned that I could do and used up the rest of my C rewards and two D's. All that I had left was a single D reward after I was done.

Shin: Low level Ki cost 500 points and D Rank Reward, Intermediate Ki cost 1200 points and C Rank Reward, B Rating One-eyed Ghoul cost 700 points and a D Rank Reward, A Rating One-eyed Ghoul cost 1100 points and C Rank Reward, S Rating One-eyed Ghoul cost 2500 points and B Rank Reward.

So of my total 10,019 points, one B and two C and two rank rewards, I just spent 6000 points and most of my rewards, leaving myself with 4019 points and a single D rank reward.

It was still 4000 points strong and I had a reward left over, but spending almost 2/3 of your savings never sits well with human beings, especially since I got these points for risking my life a half dozne times in just two days. But still, I have even more to do, yet at least this part won't cost me points.

Next, I use God's Certificate to upgrade rank C Intermediate Ki to rank B Advance Ki.

It might have been better to to just use two of the Consumables of the certificate to get Advance Ki from Low level Ki and save 1200 points, but seeing as Aqua has never seen or heard about it before it must mean that this certificate is an extremely rare item.

Becoming strong as fast possible is importan here in this worldt, but I believe that it is best not to use them all up at once. Who really knows what I really need here in this missions to survive and protect my comrades. I am aiming for a close combat route at the moment, but what if I need magic later on?

Yes, I have Ki, but what if I find that a spiritual, psychic or magic power is needed more here. With the certificate that I have, I can quickly get higher level versions of those skills.

Also, with my remaining rank D reward I could get another low level power like Psychic Power or Low Level Mana Affinity , but could I really master all these new powers in the ten day that I have till the next mission?

Not likely.

I am still new here and that is why till become more informed and experienced it is better not to be too rash. The future is unpredictable, but having a trump card in reserve shouldn't be ignored either.

Now that I upgraded Ki to Advance my shopping list was finished for now and I made all the exchanges to God. Just as I did, everyone began to look at me in stranglely.

It was then that I noticed that a beam of light coming from God shined down on me and lifting me into the air. Then from there countless light particles flew into my body.

The whole process took over a half an hour. I was bored just floating there, and the others down there waiting for me to finish were just as bored, and Aqua was the most ticked off of all.

Aqua: Please hurry and bless us with your presence our lord and savior Chirst!

Hikari: Are enhancements always so dramatic?

Aqua: Depends. When you get the full body packages like spider and wolverine genetic enhancements will you be lifted into the air by the beam of light as if you were the chosen one. Normally just a few particles of light enter your body and you feel stronger or smarter. Shin must have gotten more than one amazing enhancement for this kind of light show.

Listening to their conversation was the only thing that I could do right now, and then the enhancements were finally done with, and in those final moments there was a change.

Within my body two bright stars of different energy were created. One was a bright green star centered around the navel and the other was a dark and ominous red star located on the back near the spine.

Once those two stars were firmly formed within myself, I eventually fell back to the floor after all my enhancements were finished with. They were all staring at me and that got me worried if something happened to my face. I know I choose to become a ghoul becomes it was badass, but it shouldn't have made me ugly, right?

Shin: Is something wrong? Guys?

Hikari: No, not at all. You just look... Your face is manlier is all.

Aqau: Hikari is right. You also look much more muscular, although not buffed up like a weight lifter.

Shin: Really! Is that true Misaki? They aren't just messing with me?

Misaki: How should I know! Go look in a mirror if you really want to know.

I couldn't see my face, but I excitedly felt up my body and I was shocked. I was never muscular, just another skinny kid who did just a little bit above average in gym. Now from what I could tell I was muscular and toned all over. My arms were bursting with power and by abs that were rock hard solid.

Shin: Have I become sexy? A cool ikemen.

Aqua: Stop idolizing yourself you M and check out your stats. Tell us what you got.

Doing as I was asked ( Told ), I checked my stats.

STATS

Intelligence - 207

Mental Capacity - 260

Cell Vitality - 588

Reaction Speed - 447

Muscle Density - 467

Immunization Strength - 667

EXCHANGE CATEGORIES

1\. Sci-fi Weapons - None.

2\. Magical tems - None.

3\. Support items - S Rating One-Eyed Ghoul and Advance Ki Energy.

4\. Entertainment - None.

Missions Survived: 1

Exchange Points: 4019

Upgrade Certificate: 2

These stats surprised me. I know I exchange some pretty high enhancements, but wasn't this too much? I was basically five times stronger with the exception of Intelligence and Mental Capacity which didn't go up as much as compared to the rest of my stats.

Then I looked at my abilities.

The power of life force Ki and the predatory organ of a ghoul the Kagune.

Ki is a form of life force, it will recover naturally. As Ki increases the one's stats increases as well.

The Kagune is a unique weapon of a ghoul. A special liquid muscle that is as red as blood that could be used for both offense and defense. There were four types of Kagunes and the type I found that I was blessed with was the same same as Ken Kaneki from Toyko Ghoul, the Rinkaku ( Shining Scales ).

Shin: I separated a rank B rank reward into three C rank rewards, and used D, C and my only other B rank rewards, and used one of my Upgrade Certificate. What I exchanged for was low to Advance Level Ki Energy. Also, I exchanged for a S-Rank One-eyed Ghoul Mutation.

I then told them about my amazing stats, but they just looked at me funny.

Shin: What?

Misaki: Why a ghoul?

Hikari: Did you fantasies about eating human flesh in the real world? Creepy...

Shin: No! It is just cool is all and it's from one of my favorite manga ( The anime, especially S2 was a disappointment except for a few battle sences. Really, why can't they stick to the original manga? ). Besides, the enhancements don't carry the need to eat human flesh.

Hikari: Disappointed?

Shin: Shut it!

Then after the inital repulsion, Hikari and Misaki became envious of my stats. Of course they were. I am amazing and they knew it.

Hikari: Do you think those Xian ( Taoist immortals ), ghost, vampires, werewolves in tales and legends are real? I mean, Shin is a ghoul now. Is it possible that they were people that got away from this place. Perhaps this place had existed since ancient times. God's world used to use horror movies and not manga and games, right? Of course there were no horror movies back then, but there was still horror tales and stories.

Shin: That might be right.

Hikari: They were probably the first generation of supernatural creatures because no matter if its Xian or vampires or werewolves, their first generations were always the strongest. Perhaps the first generation were people that came from this place, but their descendants gradually became weaker because they lack the source of power. Is this possible?

Misaki: Then what about this place? A place that can even give you the bloodline of God. Who could had created this place?

Hikari: Perhaps the real God, the devil or the flying spaghetti monster. Who knows? This whole place is a mystery. Ah, Shin did you get any abilities?

Shin: In fact I did. Ki Energy and and a ghouls weapon the Kagune. But I still don't know how to use them yet. What about you guys? Did you get your enhancements yet?

Misaki then as if on que jumped eight feet in the air and did a spinning kick. His landing was also safe and he gave off a satisfied look.

Misaki: I feel like my body's full of power. More so then ever before. And I can see everything so clearly. How are you feeling?

I too noticed that my vision was greatly enhanced. I could see scarches on the other side of the room and even notice the invisible flow of air in the room too somewhat if I focused. Still, excited about what I just saw, I had to give it a shot as well.

I was able to jump a good twelve feet easily, and although I couldn't do the kick as well as Misaki could and lost my balance, I landed safely on the ground as well.

Hikari: Amazing!

Misaki: Hmm, not bad I geuss.

Shin: I could probably jump much higher once I figure out this Ki thing, but even without it I'm almighty!

Aqua: Great, great you are amazing alright. Hurry up and figure out your abilities. After all they required several rank rewards. One rank B, two C's and two D rewards Then go look at some of the sci fi and magic weapons. You still have a rank D reward left, and that could get you something nice to play with.

Then just as Aqua suggested I connected back with God again and focused on sci fi weapons first.

It had everything from swords to RPG's and even lightsaber and plasma guns. I even saw a combat robot that looked awfully looked like a miniature RX-78-2 that required 20,000 points and a rank A reward. It said that it could follow you into missions ( Amuro Ray, taking off! ). There was also the nameless Black Trigger of Kuga Yuuma that copies the powers of other triggers ( God had made it so that it can copy sci-fi weapons as well ) that required 28000 points and two A rank rewards .

It was all too much for my blood ( For now ), so I turned to something more affordable and looked at modernized weapons. Guns were inexpensive, even an anti air rocket launcher only cost 50 points, yet the unlimited ammo counter part cost 2000 points.

It's twenty times more! Too expensive.

Then I looked at the magical items.

I played enough games and read manga to understand magic weapons very well without an explanation.

One time use magic scrolls were inexpensive and only cost twice as much as a grenade. A lightning scroll cost 30 points, frostbolt 50.

Most of the magic weapons were designed for close combat in mind. A cool glowing sword cost 1000 that I liked, but I nearly fell over backwards when I saw that Saber from Fate's Excaliber! That was 30,000 points and a rank A reward and it counter part Item Avalon cost 35000 points and a rank S reward... I nearly had a heart attack ( God, why am I so poor? ).

Those were all amazing, but I couldn't get them, so I considered what weapon I wanted to use that was affordable.

As my stats increased, ranged weapons and sci fi weapon may become less effective. Perhaps I will get to a point where I can move faster than a bullet or so tough that even a bullet couldn't penetrate my skin. Strong enough to kill someone with just a finger ( CP9 ).

In that case, why not invest in defensive equipment. There are more to RPG's then swords and scrolls like armor and shields, but in the end, I wanted a close combat weapon the most for now.

Ghosts and supernaturals monsters were still my biggest threat right now. That is why I choose a convenient magical close combat weapon.

Among the hundreds of items, what I choose was a certain ring. It had the strange name Na Ring.

Na Ring -

Rating 75.

A ring created by Xiuzhen technology. It had a subspace of 1.5 cubic meters and can be activated with Ki and other Xiuzhen related energy. Once activated it would create an energy field around your fist which can extend to weapons. This energy field is capable of damaging supernatural beings. Requires 1500 Points and D rank reward.

It also has the option of expanding its field around weapons that it is in contact with, so if I get a magic sword in the future ( Which I sure as hell will ) it will have double the effect of two magic weapons.

Also, I thought that this item was totally made for me. Close combat, energy field, and can be used with Ki. Another surprise was it had a subspace to store items, so now I have a dimensional bag to store food and medication to missions.

Shin: Alright then, that's it. Even though it's a little expensive its well worth the cost to have a "Bag".

1500 points and my very last rank D reward.

I almost used up almost all he had, but it was worth the cost, but while do I feel like I have become a reckless spender? It feels like that time I discovered Ebay for the first time. Uncle was made when I took his credit card.

I then made the exchange to God and after opening my eyes, a ring appeared in front of me. It's a bronze ring with a dragon carved on it. It was cool and I immediately "Equipped" it. Then I felt energy moved from the core of my body, the abdomen to my finger where the ring was.

I could sense the subspace on his mind and this was also my first time sensing Ki energy. Now I had an idea how to us it!

Aqua: Something from entertainment category? Is this for a girl, or maybe for me?

Aqau looked at me without any expectations as she said that and for some reason Hikari was looking at me as well with a hint of worry for some reason.

Shin: No, but if I didn't think you would cheat on me the first chance you got then I would offer a beauty like you a diamond ring the first time I saw you ( And those claws ). Try and touch it.

I said so with a smile and Aqau took the bait. She moved her hands over then quickly moved away as if he received an electrical shock.

Aqua: Damm, you got that Na ring? You know that I am part Werewolf, right?

Shin: Sorry, I forgot.

Aqua: DO. YOU. WANT. TO. DIE!?

I backed away in fear slightly. I knew, I hoped that our Wolverine/High Werewolf, short tempered woman with an infinite ammo Auto 9 could take a joke, but... Even playing around Aqau scares me.

Hikari: Na Ring? Is that a electro shock ring Sci-fi weapon?

Shin: No, this is a magic item. Something created by the Chinese immortals, Xian, according to the description. It has the name of Na and can store up to 1.5 cubic meters of items and tools, and can also function as weapon to attack supernatural beings. That was why it hurt Aqua who is part Werewolf. With this ring we have a weapon to use against ghost and such on our missions. It is a 'Bag' and magic weapon in one. How it only needs a rank D reward is beyond me.

Hikari: Hmm. Maybe its God's way of telling us to get it so we have an easier time surviving. There might be other such convenient tool is the lower level exchanges. I will look for some later.

Shin: That is great, but I might no be able to get anymore this time around. I used up the last of my rewards just now with the Na Ring.

Hikari: Is that right. Then how many points do you have left now after the Na Ring and your enhancement?

Shin: A little over 2500.

Hikari: How unfair! You just used up 7500 points and you still had more then twice the points when Misaki and I first got here. How about helping a girl and comrade out?

Shin: Sure. I always planned to, but on one condition.

Hikari: What? It isn't my body is it? Creep!

Shin: No! For now on you can't keep calling me creepy or any other insults out of your middle schooler mouth of yours.

Hikari then brought a finger to her forehead and began to think for a few minutes as if this was a very important decision that would effect the rest of her life. Was it that hard for her not to insult me?

Hikari: ...I'll keep it down to ten times a day.

Shin: Ten times! Just what am I in your eyes women?

Hikari: Then five.

Shin: ...One.

Hikari: Four.

Shin: One.

Hikari: Three and that is my final offer ( What the hell kind of bidding war is this? ).

Shin: Alright. Three times a day.

Hikari: ...Can we go back up to at least five?

Shin: No! Really, is it that middle school girls are the worst, or is it just you? It's only you right!?

From there, I than began to use up 1500 and so points for supplies for the team.

I exchanged points for medicines, antidotes, both sci-fi and magic support items and even weapons like hand guns, included with ammo. That fact I could keep all of this stuff within the Na Ring was a blessing, but when I looked at my points starting to dwindle down I began to cry internally.

I may have gotten the majority of my points through dumb luck and not skill, but I also almost died for those points in one way or another. I was fine with my decision, but still... I am just glad that Aqau didn't need/want anything like the others as she had her own supplies. Thanks to that I was able to keep 1503 points in the bank, so with another D or C rank reward I could get a pretty good enhancement or Sci-fi/Magic weapon.

I noticed it back in the mission when she took out the communication devices, but who knew that that small bag attached to her belt behind her back was an actual game "Bag". According to Aqau it had limited single item slots for storage, with a max of 12 slots, but she could have an infinite amount of the same item in the magic bag of hers.

Aqua: Alright that is enough for for enhancements. If you want can come over to my place as my personal butter from my human creation can cook up a meal for you all, as he has five star chef level ability, but afterwards we will all begin training.

It was here at last.

Training!

The training arc was starting up! I wonder what we can do here in God's world to improve ourselves. A Hyperbolic Chamber or gravity machine ( Both DBZ ) would be cheating, right?

Aquav You can increase your stats with training, although it is slow at first. From what I have seen from my previous comrades who have come to God's Dimension and myself when I first arrived here is that mercenaries and professional athletes can rival those with low level enhancements, just missing the special ability is all. Training is very important because, Shin, even with you amazing stats right now you have no real combat background. And so one of those guys can still take you in a fight long as they don't let their guard down and you refrain from using Ki. I always make it a point to training during the ten days off God gives us and you better do the same if you don't want to die easily.

Hikari: Ok, but is there anything we need to learn specifically?

Aqua: Yes, you all need to lean how to shoot with guns, both hand and heavy weapons. Shin, you could shoot just fine with a gun after you broke your limits in the last mission, but at the very least those undead needed to be 10-15 meter from you to guarantee your shots. I have a open area in my room that I have worked hard to make that has everything you need, so always feel free to drop by. We will all train hard and give it our all for the next mission.

Hikari: No, we aren't training for the mission, but to live.

Misaki: Yes. To go home with Mokoto and see my sister. For that I will do whatever it takes.

Shin: To become an OP main character ( Through effort. Starting OP is boring ) and build a harem with Human Creations, no, I mean to survive. Hahaha...

Misaki: ...

Hikari: ...Creepy ( THAT. IS. ONE! )

Aqua: Well, at least your honest about your desires. That is your best bet to keep you alive during the horrors that are to come... And they will certainly come for you.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favourite/Comment.

For those who were interested, LEVEL 3 Power Development required two C rank reward, and LEVEL 2 one C rank reward and Level 1 one D.

For those dissatisfied with the choice of Ghoul Mutation and Ki Energy let me explain. Enhancements that are B rank are strong at first, but don't improve much, so later on towards the end game they are burdens and become trash. Also, they don't help you learn skills later on as most don't come with a power like Ki Energy, Mana or Blood Energy.

D ranks start off weak, but later on become much stronger than the average B rank when they reach B rank, and there are skills and special weapons that need them, so its better to start off with a D rank enhancement. Now, this isn't an absolute rule that can't be gotten around with a combination of exchanges, but that's the general consensus.

Lastly, so there are no misunderstandings famous powers like Wolverine, Hulk or Spiderman are not exactly the same. Just getting these powers won't allow them to completely fight like them and be Over Powered. Powers like heat ray vision or super strengthwill drain the user, and immortality belongs to the realm of S rank exchanges and S rank alone.

Stats also play an important part with abilities. You will wear your body down with Superman's strength with a Muscle Density and Reaction Speed of 500, or even 1000. Powers that regenerate the body are also limited by Cell Vitality ( Recovery and how much the body can keep recovering without proper rest ) and Immunization Strength as you will see with Shin later on.


	23. Chapter 23

I went back to my room and got a different change of clothes different then the ones I came here with. Light fitting clothes that were easy to breathe in. I then went over to Aqua's room and all three of them, along with Mokoto and the buttler were already there.

Aqua: Don't tell me that you were late becaue you couldn't decide on your attire? Your not a woman..

Shin: It's good to see you too. Thanks for inviting me.

Aqua: Well hurry up and eat up. My personal buttler has been complaining that the meal's getting cold.

Aqua exchanged some high quality wine from God and her buttler poured everyone a glass.

According to Aqau, relative to the practical items, these kinds of entertainment related items were very inexpensive. With just a single point we were able to get all kinds of drinks.

Most of us were too young to drink, but we were risking our lives, so we forgot about the rules of our old lives.

Aqua's buttler was sure enough an five star chef and everyone enjoyed the meal. Even though there were only ten dishes, all the food were expensive items they couldn't get in the real world. From the biggest lobster I have ever seen and some disgusting sounding dishes that apparently cost a lot of money in the real world.

Aqua: God's especially generous at entertainment, especially food. Even a billionaire in the real world probably couldn't compete with us. We drink wine over a hundred year like water, smoke the highest quality cigarette and can get any form of entertainment from video games, movies and even the latest issues of manga. Hell, I even have a computer connect to the real world.

Hikari: A computer? Can you email others?

Aqua: No. You can't email or leave behind messages on websites.

Shin: It was too bad about not being able to contact the real world, but I am not too saddened since I have no one worth talking to back there. Besides, I have everything I need here. And if it wasn't for the dangers, this wouldn't be a bad place to live. You go to the real world when you're bored, then come back here. If such an option existed I would be set.

Hikari: Shin has a point, but I still want to go back home. That's why we have to live, survive through all the missions. Then we can choose to live however we like. Whether it's to go back to the real world or stay here.

Misaki: Yeah, and I am definitely going back home.

Aqua: Alright then. I will bring you guys to the training grounds now. Take a break and we will start training. You have nine days then we will have to welcome the next mission in our best condition.

The room Aqua created was huge.

She led all of us downstairs and we left the human creations behind.

We were amazed with what we saw. In front of us was an area as big as a pro soccor field. It looked like a professional military grade training room. Aqua looked over the room with a hint of pride in her face and told us more about it.

Aqua: At first I didn't know that you can change the room as yiu pleased, but after figuring it out, you just have to focus and imagine on where you want to change while holding the room's handle outside. God will also amend any imperfection you have. Just like this training ground. It is a replica of the training facility I went to after I joined the JSD and before I assigned to the navel unit, of course with a few modifications here and there.

Aqua's training ground was separated into a few areas. There's a target practice field, the latest weightlifting equipment, a long distance running field, an obstacle running field, and a close combat platform, an olympics sized pool and even a very high rock climbing wall ( Which completely dwarfs how far the stair we descended were ).

Aqua: Starting today, everyday from 8am to 12pm, 1pm to 6pm, and 7pm to 12am, we will train nonstop. We won't see any results on our body with just these few days of training, so we will start with shooting and close combat excersises. You will also have to run and test your limits. Once you know your own limits you can plan ahead in the missions. There's really was too much we need to go over in these nine days, so lets get started.

Aqua then gave everyone a description of the purposes of each training. Long distance running and obstacle running was obvious. Close combat was necessary, shooting was an important factor in sci-fi and futuristic missions.

Everyone agreed to her plans and went to work.

Misaki immediately went over to weightlifting area and was already testing the limits of his enhanced strength and was pushing himself hard from the very beginning.

Hikari: Muscle brain idiot...

Shin: It is nice to see that you are not only harsh with me, Hikari. So Aqua, what about guns? Do we go exchange them for training? Or are we using your Auto 9?

Aqua: No need to worry your pretty little head over spending what few points you have left. Didn't I say you can create anything in your room? It's just that you can't take many of these things out of the room. Go take a look at that storehouse in the corner. I have already made guns that we can test out. You can also test the power of sci-fi weapons. Even though they are expensive, but you should probably exchange one when you have the points later on.

Hikari: You... Probably can't create magical weapons in this room, right?

Shin: Why?

Aqua: Hikari means that it would be too much of an advantage. I kept trying to make mahic weapons and tools, but I couldn't create them and failed, so God probably put a restraint on this.

Hikari: I thought as much. This confirm that supernatural missions will tend to be harder then the sci-fi ones. The most difficult missions are probably the supernatural and magical ones, so God wouldn't let us get familiar with this type of weapons to decrease their difficulty. Anyway, if I have the points I will probably only get one sci-fi weapon and spend the rest on magical weapons. That's what I am plan for now.

Aqua: That isn't a bad thought, but first work on your physical parameters. You need to be able to run from any kind of monster till you get enough points to fight them head on.

Hikari: Why not become strong enough to defeat them right away?

Aqua: What do you mean? You are obviously a support/explanation type character. You will probably tend to lean on the rest of us, but it is an important role for someone to help us out from behind.

Hikari: ...Explanation character.

That was great!

Not only was Hikari's face priceless once someone pointed out her default character, my 1500 points and last rank D reward didn't go to waste. With it, I will be able understand and test out a magic weapon.

Aqua spent the rest of the afternoon teaching us how to use guns.

Of course, other than testing out sci-fi guns for fun, they put their main focus on normal guns and luckly Aqua already had the same models that I exchanged for. Everyone's main focus was on their shooting accuracy, so besides weightlifting and running around the track, Hikari and Misaki spent the most of their time on target practice.

As for me, Aqau thought that it was best her to be directly in charge of my training and so she became my sparing without even me agreeing to it, but it wasn't like I didn't like or understand why.

Of the four current members of our team, the two with the highest stats and enhancements were Aqua and myself, and the difference between us and them, Hikari and Misaki was night and day. Even without using any special powers I knew I could take either one of them, even Misaki the former biker gang leader.

Aqua led me to the combat platform and faced herself right in front of me.

From what I knew I wasn't a match for her.

With the exception of her Auto 9, Aqau has been using her points to enhance herself greatly. Wolverine Genetic Mutation including Adamantium skeleton, High Werewolf Genetic Mutation and Mid Class Hunter Nen/Aura ( I heard she wanted Upper Class Nen/Aura, although she had enough rank rewards she lacked the points and is saving up for it ). Aqua was also probably in the army back in the real world, a navel seal and special ops member at that.

In ever considerable way Aqua was much more experienced than myself in close combat. It would take no time at all for her to knock down to the ground.

Aqua: First, are you fine with hitting a girl?

Shin: ...You make it sound like I am even going to land a blow in, and yes I am somewhat okay with it. I am a modern man who believes in gender equality like Touta Konoe. I say if you can hit a man you can hit a women... Long as they are threatening your life. Any other reason is a disgrace for a man.

Aqua: That is good to know, but if Hikari could hear that she would save, "Creep, The worst and stay away from me loser!" and things like that.

Shin: You imitation is flawless, but can we get started?

Aqua: Ok, but how much do you understand about your current power and abilities?

Shin: Not much at all. I can feel that I am much more powerful then ever before, but I don't know to what extent. Thanks to the Na Ring that activated with my Ki, I now have an idea how to bring out Ki, but I have no idea about my ghoul's Kagune weapon.

Aqua: From that famous cannibalism manga, right? How do they use them?

Shin: Who knows. I think full ghouls will just know for the most part, but I am not a full ghoul, but a One-eyed half ghoul like the protagonist. In the manga it came at first due to stress, but later on after he had a spiritual awakening of sorts he could bring it out as he liked and overall became stronger as well.

Aqua: Sounds like you choose a difficult power to wield. Why did you choose it and all the way to it's B reward variant?

Shin: Because it was cool.

Aqua: ...

Shin: It's fine, right? I'll master my powers eventually, so don't look at me as if I was some pitiful child. Why did you choose your then? The Wolverine and Werewolf mutations.

When I asked that Aqua looked away in embarrassment and was even blushing a little. It was extremely cute on a girl who normally doesn't do that, but that is why it was confusing. What was so embarrassing about my question?

Aqua: My, my favorite animal is the wolf and I have always been a fan of Wolverine from the X-Men. When I first got here to God's world and saw all these genetic enhancements, I was excited to get them for myself and as luck would have it just like you I ended up with a lot of points and rewards for my first mission. Over 4000 points and two rank C rewards. Then after two more movies ( Still horror movies at this point ) I had all the reward for the Wolverine Genetic Mutation up to B.

Shin: Ok. Then what? Also, weren't you afraid of turning into a monster by having two Genetic Mutations?

Aqua: ...I thought they were the same.

Shin: What?

Aqua: I thought they were the same. That both a werewolf and a wolverine both types of wolves, so I tnought that my chances that they would blend together were high.

Shin: What, but a wolverine is...

Aqua: I learned about it after the fact.

Shin: ...Are you a idiot?

Aqua: Shut up! I mean, who would look at Wolverine and think a small animal? Although I now know that despite it's size the wolverine is a strong animal capable of taking down those much larger then themselves, which is pretty cool, but still...

Shin: ...

Aqua: Don't look at me like that! Do you want to die. Ah, never mind all of that. Lets get to training already. I need to let my stress, I mean get you ready for the next mission.

Aqua's true intentions came out in the end, but I didn't dare comment any further of my surprisingly air headed veteran solider of six missions.

It was worth it in the end to see such a cute side to her, and it only cost me getting the shit beat out of me for the next few hours.

Was it really worth it... Who knows


	24. Chapter 24

I swung my fist at full force at the face of my opponent. She side stepped a half a step and avoided the blow. I then quickly pulled back my arm and spun my body around into a full force kick.

I was no expert in using kicks in a fight, but my One-eyed Goul enhancements were no joke. If the kick landed the average man would go down 100%, but my opponent wasn't average and the kick didn't land.

My opponent grabbed my leg and kick the other to throw me off balance, and in that same motion swing/threw me away over fifty meters as if I weighted nothing.

After recovering from the terrible impact, I looked at my opponent to see that she was once again disappointed that I was defeated so quickly.

Aqua: Not good enough. Your speed and strength are there, but you couldn't keep calm and failed to bring out your true potential.

Shin: Is, is that really the case?

Aqua: Yeah. You have much more strength than before, so you couldn't control your attacks as you envisioned them. If you did then you could knock out a professional solider or world ranked boxer in a single blow. You need to learn how to control your speed and power within these last few days. You also have to learn to master your new abilities. Ki and Ghoul mutation. I have no attention of helping those who can't even survive one movie, so the new Players will be depending on you for the next movie. Understand?

Shin: Yes.

Today was the fifth day of training and since God only gives us a 10 day break, there were omly five more days till the next mission. There was not a lot of time left and my progress so far has left much to be desire, and with an opponent like Aqua by my side it was obvious that I was lacking more then a few things.

I definitely felt that I couldn't control my own strength, my muscles the way I wanted to as it felt like I was in an entirely different body once I began to tap into my new found strengh. This was to be expected according to Aqua. She herself experienced something similar once she made her enhancements, but unlike me she didn't, couldn't have ever hoped to have acquired two rank B reward level enhancements like S Rating One-eye Ghoul and Advance Level Ki in one go after the very first mission.

First there was Ki.

Ki was rather interesting and it was just like how it was described in manga and novels. The punches I received from Aqua even when she was going easy on me could still knock a normal person out 10/10 times, but it was only painful at first. I would feel a warm sensation moving through my body which I realized was my Ki and the pain soon dissipated. From all the special powers that I knew now, it seemed like Ki had the best healing factor among them all.

During the last few day, even when I was eating and talking about our days of training with the others, I was still thinking of the training I was going through and eventually I figured out the functin of Ki for the most part.

Other than lessening pain, when I spread the power through the rest of my body, my speed and strength would triple, if not quadruple or higher.

That was the only time I could fight Aqua to some extent as a equal, but if she were to use Aura or her Werewolf strength then I was at the entirety of her mercy. I couldn't do anything against that kind of power that she displayed.

I also learned that after using up all of my Ki I could barely move for the next 10-15 minutes afterwards. It seemed like this could only be used in emergencies, but I know from stories like UQ Holder and The Breaker it could be sustained much longer, so maybe it was the way I was using it was at fault.

Whatever the case I didn't think I could solve this problem any time soon and definitely not before the next mission.

Also, in my spare time I would try to imitate the skills that consumed Ki to activate. I had already found that in the Support section within God's exchanges that there was a skill category. There I was able to find all sort of skills that you could exchange points for.

Soul Crushing Strike -

Rating 67.

Matching physical moment and Ki circulation to create an exceptional powerful Ki strike. A ki strike that can deal internal damage as well as crush bones. A proper Soul Crushing Strike causes a small sonic boom when unleashed, an explosion directly in front of the extended fist. An offensive technique from "The Breaker" universe. Requires 1500 Points and C rank reward.

Instant Movement -

Rating 74.

A basic foot technique to move from one place to the next with high-speed movement. Ki, Mana, Spiritual Power or Physic Power is used to jump from point A to point B as quickly as possible. 1700 points and C rank reward.

After Image -

Rating 59.

A advance application of Ki to create false images of oneself while moving. Requires 1000 points and a rank D reward.

Soul Crushing Strike, Instant Movement, After Image, Ryuseisuken and even Hadoken were available in the form of scrolls and books that could be absorbed, knowledge and all if one had the points, yet it wasn't that easy to learn them.

The skills could be learned without a training arc, but at the same time most, if not all of them needed rank rewards as well, with the offensive and useful skills needing a C rank reward or above.

Still, whenever I found the time I would try to see if I could use those kinds of skills without exchanging points for them. As one could expect, it was hard if not impossible for a person from a boring reality like mine to really understand this Ki manipulation stuff. Especially if one was not a battle genius like Touta Konoe.

I could somewhat understand Soul Crush Strike and Instant Moment since they were explained in great detail in the mangas in an easy to understand in a way.

Soul Crushing Strike was just matching Ki with physical moment perfectly, and Instant Movement was in its simplest form striking the ground with the foot powered by Ki to jump from one place to the next ( While there was a lot more to it, one could use a pretty shabby version of it like Touta did before meeting Kito ).

Next was my weapon as a Ghoul, the Kagune ( Shining Child ). Here, I was hopelessly made no progress at all.

A Kagune is a ghoul's predatory organ and functions as their weapon and claws.

It is as red as blood ( The colours are varied in the anime to distinguish the kagune of each individual, which is cool! ), flexible like the flow of water ( Also called liquid muscle, cool! ), but firm and sturdy.

When released, a ghoul's physique is strengthened, they are more resilient and their mobility heightens. A kagune is composed of RC Cells, which flow just like blood, can become as they can be repeatedly hardened, softened and controlled at will by the ghoul ( Cool! ).

Although a ghoul's healing ability is high, the healing of wounds tends to be delayed if the wounds are inflicted by a kagune, and potentially are a weapon to counter those with similar healing factors ( My thoughts on the matter ).

The Kagune was one of the defining features of the Ghoul in 'Tokyo Ghoul', yet progress has been at a stand still as I still hadn't figured out how to use the my Kagune yet.

It was of the same rank as my Advance Level Ki, so it should make me many times stronger as it shouldn't be too weak, so I want to learn it as fast as possible, but like Aqau commented time and time again, I shouldn't have choosing a genetic mutation that was hard to learn and control.

No wonder it had such a low rating despite Ghouls being extremely strong and near immortal once you reach a high enough level.

In the manga the protagonist had to go through as major spiritual awakening to unlock his full potential, but I really hope that I don't have to be tied down to a chair and be tortured for an entire month to become a badass.

Still, it wasn't al bad being a Ghoul that can't get it up, or out as it is. Even without the Kagune just being a Ghoul and a S Rated one at that had benefits. Although I have not fully unlocked it, I could heal from practically any wound that I suffered from no matter what.

I could twist my foot into a bloody mess like Ken Kaneki, but if I am given a half hour of rest most nearly all injuries are healed, and if given an hour there isn't even any scars left over.

This wa both good and bad news for me as it turned out.

The good news is that among all off the members of this team, I might have been the hardest to kill, but the bad news was that after Aqau learned this she started going all out in our spar and I became a blood mess in the end.

Aqua said with my healing factor that came from being a Ghoul and my Ki energy the two of us could do more serious training to make up for my lack of talents. That was great and all, but in the back of my mind I couldn't help but feel that she just wanted an excuse to beat me up.

From Aqua I did learn more about other enhancements and how they worked, specifically how hers worked during our many, many spars.

What I learned early on was that Aqua was the ultimate close range specialist you would never want to mess with.

Aqua's Wolverine Genetic Mutation made her hard to damage. She had an incredible healing factor comparable to my own, and as far as I could tell and almost infinite stamina. Also, with her adamantium skeleton it was impossible for her to suffer any really bad/impairing injuries that would hinder her during a mission, less the entirely of her flesh is ripped out.

Then there was the High Werewolf Genetic Mutation.

Aqua had at least three states of transformation far as I could tell. Her normal state, a wild awakened state were her stats are greatly increased ( Her eyes glowed yellow and her muscles grew slightly. She said she holds back from the full werewolf form since it makes her look like a wild, muscle builder. DON'T WANT TO SEE ON MY AQUA ), and the third and last of which is a strange full wolf form mutation thanks to her Wolverine Mutation and Nen ability ( I'll get to that ).

Aqua posses Nen/Aura from the HxH universe.

Like my Ki, her Aura makes her substantially stronger, but compared to my Ki which is a burst of power, Nen is a mild yet steady and lasting increase in power. To put it simply, Ki would win the hundred mile dash, but Nen/Aura would come out on top in a marathon ( What I liked most about her Nen was that her aura had color like the first anime, not that see through aura from the 2011 version. WHAT WAS WITH THAT? ).

When her Nen is active, normal attack against her are less effective and her attacks do a lot more damage to me if I am not equipped in Ki, just like how it was in the manga. When I do use my Ki enhanced body to attack or defend, my attacks become effective again and so do my defenses. This proved that supernatural/magic powers could effect one another and that non supernatural/magic attacks are far less effective. It would take pure overwhelming power from a high spec gun/Sci-fi weapon to damage someone equipped with a special power.

We would all be going into the worlds on manga, anime, novels and games from now on, and will face off against strange opponents, so this was good to know.

When I compared my Ki to Aqua's Nen, I felt a bit cheated, but that wasn't really the case. Compared to my Ki which was currently sort lived, her Aura lasted much in a fight and she even has the chance of developing her own original technique, Hatsu. But the truth was different after I conveyed my thoughts to Aqua.

Aqua agreed that Nen was much easier to wield and there were many applications for it like Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu, Gyo, En, Shu, Ken, Ko and Ryu, but Nen had a major down side.

Unlike with Ki, chakra and other kinds of powers it was impossible to learn skills. I could go to God and exchange points for a skill book or scroll, but for Nen that is specialized to the point that other Nen users can't ( Shouldn't ) learn the Hatsus of others, Aqua doesn't have the option to exchange points for Nen techniques.

Overall, what I learned about Aqua was that if she were ever to become an opponent I must defeat then I would be 100% screwed.

Aqua's Wolverine, High Werewolf and Nen compliment each other too well and when combined she become a frightening existence.

First of all, as a Nen user Aqua is an Enhancer, so her adamantium claw and Werewolf transforming which are already broken weapons, become so much more stronger. Also, when she invokes her Werewolf power while using Aura she also becomes a Specialist Nen user, and her new ability combines all three enhancements: Wolverine's Adamantium, Full Werewolf transformation and her Enhancer Nen ability.

That ten foot long, silver wolf that almost killed me in H.O.T.D was Aqua in her fully transformed werewolf state. She becomes a muscular car sized werewolf with adamantium fur, claws and fangs and her body strengthened to the extreme with aura. It was OP in a way, yet there were down sides.

The first was that Aqua was lost the ability to transform halfway, as an actual half human half wolf werewolf. Secondly, Aqua loses control of her self as a side effect ( Can only give herself simple suggestions like attack or rescue/DEVOUR Shin Kazama ) and in exchange she becomes te ultimate cold blooded killing machine that you would never wish to fight at close range. Lastly, whether she is injured or not Aqua would become incredibly exhausted when she turns back.

It was her final card to play in a emergency ( But doesn't that all make her more badass and sexy? ).

As for everyone elses training went they did the best that they could as well.

High School of the Dead, or H.O.T.D taught us all that anyone of us could die at any time ( Almost seeing me, their central character die at the the hands of those undead had more of an effect then I expected ), so they did their best everyday.

Hikari lacked strength and stamina during the last mission and had to be carried, both figuratively and literally, but after her enhancements she has become more confident in physical ability. She could run and even join Misaki and I when we lifted weights, but as of now she was only at the level of a physically fit female athlete, not at the level of my badass heroine yet.

Hikari could now become the star of any average high school sports team with ease, but she wasn't at an Olympic or military personal level yet. Despite that, Hikari was quite proud of her new physical fitness.

I understood her feelings very well as somewhat of a shut-in myself, but when I complimented her on her physical ability and her work out effort to improve herself, Hikari used three of her five insults for the day.

What, did she think I was complimenting her body or something? Well, maybe I shouldn't have done so after she just took off her wet with sweat, sports jacket ( She made in her room ).

Anyway, although her physical stats were so so, Hikari surprisingly excelled in shooting practice.

Once she got used to the recoil from shooting and some tips from Aqua she became the best shooter among us newbies. I was still the best within a certain short distance with my reaction speed, but there was no need to say so out loud, especially when Hikari's smile was cute when she won shooting contest against Misaki and I.

Misaki went hard core from beginning to end.

Whether it was weightlifting, running around the track, shooting practice or hitting the pool for a swim, Misaki did everything and could be said to be or MVP. Among the the four of us, Misaki was the most determined to gain 50,000 points and return back home to our real world without monsters or super powers.

He was the most determined to do so quickly, but he wasn't stupid. He knew he too would have to enhance himself with points just to survive, so he knew it wouldn't be any time soon, but he used his frustration at further motivation in his training.

Misaki, the former biker gang leader most excelled at CQC, close quarters combat. No need to even mention Hikari, but unless I went all out with Ki ( Could knock him out cold ) Misaki could take me in a fight despite having higher stats. I did sometimes win some times by using the fact the as a Ghoul I could risk taking a beating and plan out my tactics accordingly, but he was definitely the better fighter.

I should say as expected of Misaki. He was the guy who could blast THEM away with his fist even before the enhancements and now I bet he could out do those fictional main characters from H.O.T.D .

Like this... Training my Ki, attempting and failing to unlock my Ghoul side, learning more about my comrades... Time moved went by in a flash. Our last day of training was over and tomorrow... Would be the day we return to that world.

The world of survival that God or the Devil came up with to test us, challenge us and push us to our limits for whatever grand purpose we could all care less about.

All that would matter tomorrow will be returning alive. Now, we enter the last night before our fight for survival


	25. Chapter 25

The night before the start of the second mission, or what passes for night in this world, I was still up. Wanting to be prepared to face a variety of situations, I was watching anime in my room alone.

I learned from Aqua that you could exchange points to God for TV Shows, Movies and books for cheap. As an otaku I am obviously capable of of remembering every manga, anime, games or novels that I have watched, read or played, but I wasn't doing so for simple entertainment.

Watching an anime for fun and watching an anime while thinking what would you have done in the main characters shoes, or trying to find exploits in the story/system to use... Let's just say that it gave a whole new experience to viewing anime.

Shin: Is this how people who do thirty minute reviews of anime episodes feel? Damm, if I have to critic every little thing that I see it saps half the fun of watching anime unless you just like to complain or hear yourself talk. Not like I was doing this just for fun... Lets get some fresh air.

I left me room and took a walk around the open area of the Terminal Lobby.

It was one large circular platform, but it was better then nothing. After walking halfway around, I spotted one of my comrades here in God's World. A red head haired women leaning against the door to her own room smoking a cigarette.

Shin: Yo.

Aqua: ...Hey Shin. Couldn't sleep?

Ahin: More like I wanted a break and some fresh air.

Aquq: Ha, I don't think you can get any of that in this hell hole of a world. What were you even doing that you need fresh air?

Then as if to undermine the meaning of fresh air, Aqua offered me one of her cigarettes. By no means was I a smoker, but for some reason whenever Aqua would offer me one, I couldn't find it in me to refuse.

Shin: Is this what they call peer pressure? A beautiful girl or the cool kid will offer you smokes or drugs and you feel compelled to try it.

Aqua: Am I the beautiful girl in that analogy? Whatever, just smoke it ( Now if that wasn't juat peer pressure then what is ). Just think of it a motivation.

Shin: Motivation?

Aqua: Yeah. If you keep inhaling smoke into your lungs, first hand or second, you are destroying your brain cells and lungs, so you are going to end up with cancer. That is why you will feel motivated to do better in the missions, gain lots of points and put it into Intelligence, Cell Vitality and Immunization Strength.

Shin: ...So I am risking my life for the chance to keep smoking?

Aqua: For the the chance to keep smoking with a good women like me. Wait, was that peer pressure?

Shin: Who knows. When I was in school, not even two weeks ago, I didn't view any of the other students as peers.

Aqua: What is that? Too cool for school?

Shin: Too amazing for school ( Is what I tell myself ). Isn't that why God himself offered me enrollment here? I bet he feels honored.

Aqua: Wow, you ego is just so huge.

Like that we joked for a while. I didn't ask Aqua why she was out here instead of in her own room... When I saw her just intensely staring at the floating sphere of light in the middle of the platform that we called God.

Aqua: So you were watching anime in the middle of the night. Aren't you relaxed.

Shin: It was for research purposes only. I know that this world isn't a game, although God might just send us to one.

Aqua: So you weren't watching anime happily thinking about what world you want to go to next?

Shin: ...My reasons are still valid nonetheless.

Aqua: Well, keep it up. I 100% see this world as nothing but hell, but a fool like you who enjoys this place might just survive to the end, long as you keep one foot grounded in reality.

Shin: Thanks, but since you just called me foolish, I can't take your compliment wholeheartedly... Aqua, can I ask you something?

Aqua: It depends. What is it?

Shin: What happened that made you unable to trust new players?

Aqua: ...Are we close enough for me to give you an honest answer?

Wow, so blunt.

It was true. I didn't know Aqua that well. I probably haven't even gain her trust yet since in our training sessions, I wasn't able to really show her that I could protect here back. The truth was that if she doesn't protect mine or the others, then we may all die tomorrow. Still, there was something that I wanted to know.

Shin: Aqua.

Aqua: What is it now?

Shin: Why did you come and save me?

Aqua: ...

Shin: If you hadn't come at that time, the undead would have undoubtedly eaten me alive and I would have had no way to resist.

Aqua: It wasn't that big of a deal. Hikari begged me and all and it wasn't like I was going to die of a mission of that level.

Shin: True, but you could have gotten more points, right? Hell, if you went wild with your wolf form in the middle of a city of THEM and rioters you could have gotten thousands of points. Remember, you told me that despite having an A and D rank reward in reserve you didn't have the points for anything that you wanted. You could have used them to increase your already high fighting potential even more. Then why...

Aqua: Just because! Just because, alright? Isn't that enough of an answer?

It doesn't look like I was going to get anymore out of Aqua today. I am no busybody, but if I want to learn more about Aqua we would both need to survive the next mission and I need her to really see me as a comrade and partner in this world of terror made by God,

Still, there was one last thing I want to confirm. No, it was closer to something that I wanted to tell Aqua for a while now,

Shin: You... You don't want to hear something stupid like, "Lets make a promise not to die" or anything, right?

Aqua: ...Your right, but how did you know?

Shin: Well, this horror filled world just brings out that kind of atmosphere, is all. Aqua, you are also a beautiful women, so I am sure some male survivor in one of your previous missions said something similar.

Aqua: ...Are you psychic?

Shin: No, but I am thinking of becoming a newtype later on. Those kinds of events happen all the time in anime, so, you know...

Aqua: This is the real world, not... Never mind, forget it. This world may be even more insane and fantasy like then most anime. So why were you asking me that? Did you want to say some cool lile that?

Shin: Kinda, but I won't. This... Isn't the kind of world where we or anyone of us could keep that kind of promise for long, or at all. And since someone mad you that kind of promise before and isn't here now... And seeing you here all alone smoking the hours away before the next mission, I would rather not be responsible for the aftermath for failing to keep such a promise.

Aqua: Good. Your smarter then you look, Shin.

Shin: That is why I want you to promise me that you won't die.

Aqua: ...I'll take that back. What?

Shin: Aqua, for all intents and purposes, you are my savior. You are a strong, beautiful woman who saved my life when no one else could. Your not only my savior, but my role model as a player here. If you were to die here, quite honestly, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. If someone as strong as you could die here, then what about me? At the very least I would lose any confidence that I could live through this horrible place.

Aqua: ...And how is that any different from the promises that other have said to me before?

Shin: What do you mean how is it any different? It isn't like I am promising you that I will live.

Aqua: ...What?

Shin: Don't you understand? You will be living for my sake and my sake only. If both you and I survive then good. If I survive and Aqua dies then bad. But if I die and Aqua lives then it doesn't really effect you since I never promised you that I would live. At most, I would appreciate a mourning period of twenty-four hour at the very least, but afterwards feel free to forget about me... Although I know it will be hard to forget a guy like me in one life time.

Aqua: ...

Shin: What is with that look like I am some pitiful child? This is my ideal promise with my savior. From now on you can live for my sake, but if, and I mean if I die one day, even tomorrow it want be any skin off your back, right? ...Wait, why are you laughing?

Aqua went into a laughing fit that lasted a whole five minutes.

What is wrong? Did I say something strange? This promise benefits only me, yet doesn't burden Aqua. What is wrong with such an easy deal?

Aqua: Shin.

Shin: Yes.

Aqua: That kind of selfish, one sided promise... I'll keep it.

Shin: I don't think it was that bad.

Aqua: It absolutely is. Still, it was very kind. Now then... Won't you come with me for a bit.

Aqua stood up and forcefully took my hand as she opened the door behind her to her rooom.

Shin: What is it? Some special last minute training session.

Aqua: No. I... I am inviting you to my room.

Shin: Well, I can see that, but for what reason if we are not going to train? Battle tactics? Emergency hand signals?

Aqua: Your too stupid for those, so no, that is not why.

Shin: Then for what reason?

Aqau: To spend the night with me in bed. Surprisingly, your my type or maybe a type that I never knew that I liked to begin with. My buttler has his own room which is sound proof, so we can be loud as we want. Are you coming in, or...

Shin: ...

So what should I do people ( Have no idea who I am talking to )?

The issue at hand is that a beautiful, red haired woman that you admire had asked you to come into her room, no into her bed. Should I or should I not?

...Lets do a pro and con list.

PRO LIST -

1\. I can sleep with Aqua, a mature cool beauty who could only be described as stunningly beautiful. If this was a contest to sleep with her and there were over 100 contestants, I would set a bomb off early where they were auditioning just so I wouldn't have any competition. That is how much I desire Aqua's body, I mean like her. In fact, it wouldn't be wrong to say that after saving my life she was my first love ( Excluding Anime character ).

2\. I surprisingly get along well with Aqua. More so then any girl that I have ever met before she is someone who understands me and even accepts the twisted side in me who is half enjoying this hell world. She also hasn't mentioned such a hobby, but I bet she even likes, or liked anime and games before she was sent to this world.

In the house I live with relatives in the real world there wa a cousin who was quite attached to me. Despite myself not treating her like real family, she on the other hand thinks of me as an older brother. I should have been happy to hear things like she wanted to grow up to be my bride, but... The fact that she was a false replacement for my sister and the that she didn't like my otaku hobby kept me from liking her as a sister or a romantic partner ( We are technically related, but far enough that no one would bring up the fact if we got married ).

The point is... Aqua is the most compatible partner I could hope for... Long as she doesn't cheat and leave me for someone better.

3\. Lastly, and most importantly... I can get rid my virginity. Seventeen years of proof of not being with a women. At this rate, I am afraid that I will become a magician and not the good kind.

CON LIST -

1\. If I sleep with her, Aqua will become a special person to me. If she were to ever die it would hurt far more then just losing a comrade whose strength you believed in above all else.

2\. Things will get very, very awkward when it is time for me to start creating my anime harem. Worse case scenario and I don't even want to imagine it happening, but... Won't I have to give up my harem for a girlfriend? What an afoul choice to make and not one I would like to ever make ( Like being asked to throw out one's Anime heroine figurines. Come on, I know you all have them. You understand, right!? ).

3\. Lastly for the Con side... What is she after her.

I don't believe Aqua is the type of girl to just invite men into her room ( God hope not ). Not that I think she is a virgin... Not that it matters, so there should be some reason that Aqua is doing this. Will she ask later something from me? Does she have something in mind already? And what does this mean for the future?

In the future, long as she offers up her body, I will be come her errand boy. Hell, to be honest just a kiss would be enough reason for me risk my life for her, or do something outrageously dangerous that I shouldn't.

Won't I be effectively selling my soul for the touch of a women?

Aqua: Shin are you coming in or...

Aqua has asked me again. So Shin... What will your answer be here? Will you sell your soul to a women you don't know that well for sex, or will you summon up your manly pride and kindly turn her down?

Shin: ...Please lead the way.

Ah, it is no good.

Even if there is some ulterior motive for Aqua asking me to come into her room, I am too weak of a man to say no. What the hell, according to Aqua this place is hell, so what is wrong with selling my soul once or twice? If it is a women like Aqua... It was definitely worth it.

The day of the second mission had arrived.

It was also the first day of my life that I could greet the day with a smile now that I was no longer pure, yet...

Hikari: Shin, why are you holding on to your knees, sitting on the floor?

Shin: No reason.

Hikari: Why do you look like you experienced something embarrassing, can't help yourself from feeling some great shame?

Shin: ...No reason.

Hikari: Shin. When I look at you, why can't I help seeing the image of a young girl hugging her knees in shame and tears after doing something highly embarrassing, losing their identity as a man, I mean girl?

Shin: No reason, and shut up already!

Hikari hit the mark on all counts. To understand my shame and loss of pride of a man would have to go the after events of my of my night with Aqua in her room. It began when I woke up early this morning.

After a night of passion with Aqua I woke up in her bed.

When I opened my eye and saw that I was using her firm, yet soft arm as a pillow, I recalled what happened last night and I was embarrassed. Not a bad kind of embarrassment, but the good kind.

Aqua who saw me wake up kindly greeted me with another of many amazing kisses that we have had. She then left the bed to get dress and ask her butter who stays in a different room to make breakfast for us. It was as she was getting dressed that I had two grand revelations.

1\. I have discovered that I don't really mind muscular female bodies like Aqua's.

Aqua was far from a ripped body builder. How did Rudeus Greyrat say it? Not particularly bulging to the surface, a thin layer of soft flesh, but underneath all of that was strong and powerful muscles. I admired them so much that I want them for myself, but since that is unlikely anytime soon, I want her her muscles for myself.

Does this mean that I now have a muscle fetish now? Who knows, but my main problem is my second revelation.

2\. When I took a second look through my memories of my first time... I realized that last night I was the girl!

I don't mean anything strange by that, but Aqua took the lead from beginning to end, and the worst part was that she completely outlasted me! I knew that she was stronger then me in battle, but should the girl really do so much better then the man in this kind of thing too? It is like... I knew Aqua had experience before me, but for to be so much better... My male pride couldn't really let this go this time.

Aqua: Shin... Shin! Are you listening?

Shin: Huh? Sorry I wasn't listening.

Aqua: Shin, this is life and death. Were were talking about our plans and you weren't even paying attention... Come her for a second.

Aqua then brought me over to a corner of the platform to speak to me where the others couldn't hear us.

Aqau: You aren't upset about what I said to you this morning, are you?

Shin: This morning? Ah, no it isn't about that. I'm am just having an identity crisis about something else. Completely unrelated to our night together.

Aqua: It doesn't really look seem like it.

About what the two of us talked about before meeting up with Hikari and Misaki. I was able to forget about that negative tidbit of information in my moment of crisis, but now I remembered.

Aqua told me that she didn't want to start a relationship with me after sleeping together, and thank God that it wasn't a performance issue. I wouldn't have hesitated to kill myself with the problems I was already having.

Her reason was the same she didn't like making promises of surviving together. It was very likely that either one of us, or both of us could die at any given time on a mission, so she doesn't want to deal with the strain of a relationship.

Also, it could undermine our judgment in the field if we more feelings for each other then necessary ( One could question that sleeping with someone for the first time could so that, but no point saying that out loud ).

I understood what she said and although I didn't like it, I didn't try to unpersuade her. Doing so now would only lead to an argument and neither of us could afford a strained relationship right now. Aqua might not need me, but I need her power to survive these missions in one piece.

And so... We decided to stay friends or whatever we were.

Aqua: If you stay so down Shin when the mission starts then you will die, Shin.

Shin: I am not down... I am just not looking forward to risking my life in this next mission is all ( Although, I still want the points and rewards ).

Aqua: Really? Well, if that is what you say it is then, then it must be true. I really brought you over here to find away to cheer you up and since we don't have time to do THAT again, so I wanted make you a promise that I think you would like.

Shin: What?

Aqua: I know you were a little disappointed that we didn't become a couple since I don't want a relationship here in this world, but... Long as you are alive I promise that I won't sleep with another man. It might not mean much, but I...

Shin: ...

So... She is mine?

Aqua is saying that she is my women? That I am the only man for her? Damm, why didn't she say so earlier? If I have time to improve my bed stats and I won't have any future competition to worry about, I can definitely one day make Aqua mine!

Still, I don't want to come off as 'creepy', as Hikari would put it and told Aqua that I appreciate the thought, and that I would strive to do my best. It was the truth after all since it wasn't a lie at all.

Aqua will only sleep with me long as I am alive... What better motivation do I need to stay alive then this? That is right up there with my goal of one day become an almighty OP main character!

Aqua and the rest us had finished packing our supplies. We had also put on our survival gear that we ( I had ) exchanged for.

Lightweight durable clothing, body armor, backpacks full of rations, medical kits, a handgun for each of us ( The extras for the newbies packed away in the Na Ring ) and an extra set of clothing. I could have stored everything in the Na Ring, but there was no guarantee that we will always be together from beginning to end once the mission starts up.

What would happen to Hikari and Misaki if I had all the weapons and supplies and we were separated. That was why each of us had a backpack full of goods ( I got one despite my Na Ring since I wanted to match ).

Any moment now we will be returning to that world.

Though it is the world of manga, anime, novels and games that I love, its true form is that of a hell world full of horrors waiting to devour us. Would we survive or would we live? That was the question, but I, no we were all determined to survive!

Aqua: Even though it's only a few days, but you've trained everything you could. Just remember one point. Anything and everything can happen in missions, so you must be cautious. And try to help others if possible, but if they affect your safety, kill them! I will.

Hikari and Misaki hesitated, yet I already resolved myself to do what ever is necessary to survive. Telling me now again wasn't going to change things.

Shin: How are we going to the next movie? Do we just disappear suddenly?

Aqua: No. When it's time, there will be twenty beams of light shot down from God. You just have to stand in one and we will be transported to the next mission.

We all sat on the floor in the platform as we talked about nothing in particular. Talking now was just a way to calm our nerves. Even Hikari's occasional insults were nice to hear though I would never tell her as much.

Mokoto and the buttler didn't come out to see us four go. Misaki already said what he needed to his girlfriend and the buttler was just made to serve Aqua and nothing more.

After twenty minutes came and gone The sphere of light that we knew as God became brighter and brighter. Then it shot twenty beams of light to the ground. Then that voice, the dignified voice of God sounded within all of our minds.

\- Enter the beam in thirty seconds. Target locked. Transportation to BTOOOM starts!

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Thank you all for reading the first arc of "Terror Infinity - Side B". This is my first Fan Fiction, so I am glad that there were a lot of people who enjoyed it.

There are also two thing that I want to clear up. Shin's current love affairs and his growth direction.

For the time being Shin will have two love interest. The older and cool Aqua, and the young, smart sharp mouthed Hikari.

Aqua is a women who will get along very well with Shin and is probably his first love, but Aqua is a strong women who doesn't need Shin or anyone to live.

Hikari is smart, but for a long time she will be a weak girl who needs to depend on others to survive, and the strongest man who is close to his age is Shin, yet fells she is undeserving of liking him at times.

Shin likes Aqua the most, but knows that it is nearly impossible to become her special person. As for Hikari, with her Shin feels a strong need to protect her and is a girl that needs him as opposed to Aqau.

Shin wishes to become strong for both of them, yet... How will this love triangle ends, even I don't know.

Now, I am sure there are people that think that Shin has been too lucky with the amount of points he acquired in his first mission, so I will basically outline what will happen for his growth for his next few future missions.

Shin will acquire a lot of points and rewards in his first and second missions and they will be used for enhancements, weapons/equipment and skills. Afterwards, get will not acquire that many points and rewards as before and his down time will be more of a training arc then sudden increased power.

The reason being is so that he doesn't become to OP quickly and I can narrow down his fighting style. Martial Arts, Sword and One-eyed Ghoul Enhancements. This will be the basic formula for Shin's development for the the time being.

Also, on the subject of martial arts and Ki... I am completely loss about Qi, Chi, Ki and all the techniques that go along with them. That is why I need your help.

Later I will make a page for exclusively Ki related comments. It is a little shameful that I am asking for help like this, but for those who help me out thank you and if I use your skill idea in the future you will be mentioned in the Authors comments.

The skills can be from novel and other Mangas ( I am only really familiar with Ki from UQ Holders and The Breaker series ). Even original skills are ok. Just make sure to put in a skill format ( Don't need the blue box ), and should include how many points and rewards the skill needs for exchange. On the page I will write out an outline for those who are interested.

Also, I will change up my writing style. I just feel that the current way I am going I won't be able to come up with good battles for you all to read.

Thank you, and look forward to future terrors that are to come in the upcoming Terror Infinity - Side B, BTOOOM arc.


	26. Chapter 26

Plot - "Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live... A real life?"

The world changes when you click YES.

In God's dimension, you have to keep getting stronger, keep evolving to survive one horror movie after another. Do you kill everyone in your way to reach the end as a lone king? Or fight along with your comrades and survive through the support of friends?

Everything was just for staying alive. Until you find the secret of God's dimension. Who is the real enemy?

Terror Infinity - Side B

In a new experiment to push man to evolve, God has decided to send people into the worlds of manga, anime, light novels, visual novels and video games.

Compared to horror movies, such worlds shouldn't be as terrifying and should be easily to return from, but... You would be very, very mistaken.

Welcome to Side B of God's World.

The Story so far -

Shin Kazama, an otaku disappointed in his life chose YES when God asked if he wanted to know the meaning of life and wanted to live a real life, and was transported to God's world of horrors and terror in his/her/its new experiment.

Shin, Hikari and Misaki survived their first mission in High School of the Dead/H.O.T.D thanks to the help of the veteran Player Aqua. They survived and then went to the Terminal Lobby where they could rest, train and make exchanges to God to increase their power for the next mission 10 days later.

Shin who received the most points and rank rewards in H.O.T.D was able to make amazing exchanges from God in preparation for the next mission and his own goal of one day evolving into the OP ( Over Powered ) main character of his dreams. What he acquired were the One-eyed Ghoul ( Tokyo Ghoul ) Genetic Mutation, Ki ( Life Force Energy ) and the magic weapon/subspace bag Na Ring. And with an assortment of other goods for the team's survival in the next mission he was ready to take on the world.

Now, Shin ( Who has gained great power and lost his virginity to the cool red head beauty Aqua ) and the rest of Team Japan were ready to embark on their next mission in God's dimension, Btooom!

A summery of Btooom -

Ryota Sakamoto is an unemployed 22 year old who lives with his mother and spends his days doing nothing but playing video games. In the real world, there may be nothing special about him, but online, he's one of the world's top players of the combat game using only bombs, called 'BTOOOM!'.

One day, he awakes on what appears to be a tropical island, though he has no memory of how he got there or why. While exploring the island, Ryota runs into a unknown man who attacks him by throwing a strange looking bomb at him. Ryota then realizes that both his life is in danger, and that he has somehow become trapped in a real-life version of his favorite game Btooom. Ryota and the other "players" must now survive through the nightmare to figure out the reason why they ended up in the game in the first place.

\- From Animenewsnetwork, With small edits.

The world faded to black.

Shin and the others stepped into the beam of light and the next moment they entered a state of half awake and half alseep, yet this didn't last long. The first to recover was Shin and within the blink of an eye his vision came back.

Shin and the others all found themselves in a spacious wide space, and from all corners of the room a loud mechanical sound and rushing air could be heard. The ceilings, walls and floor were made of steel. In one corner of the room was a large screen and lined up along sides of the walls were soldiers armed with gun. It was a unfamiliar place for all of them, yet...

Shin: I know this place, or something like it.

That was my first thought after calming down and observing my surroundings. God said that the next mission was Btooom, so by all the metal and my ears popping, we must be on the cargo plane that the characters took to reach the island for the death game. But if this is Btooom... Where are the Main Characters or the other people on the island?

Shin: They're not here.

Shin looked once more around him, but he wasn't mistaken.

In the original Btoom there should have been more people on the cargo plane heading for the island, but besides Hikari, Misaki, Aqua and Shin himself there were only eleven other people lying on the metal floor of the plane. Their identities are most likely the new players to Gods world.

Aqua: Tsk, this is bad. Fifteen people. You won't get this kind of difficulty in an adventure manga with only slight sci-fi elements like Btooom's BIMs. God must have changed something.

Shin: Have you ever encountered this situation before?

Aqua: A few times and also I heard so from the veterans of God's Dimension before me. God can change the plot elements and difficulty of a mission. This happens randomly and usually ends with the player's party getting wiped. Of course you also get a generous amount of rewards for finishing it as compensation.

Misaki: Like enough points to go home?

Aqua: I wish. If it was that kind of deal I would be certain 100% certain that we would be wiped out.

Hikari: That is worrisome. Lets look at our watches for more information. Afterwards, we can find out just what has beeen changed.

Shin: Alright.

We all began to look at our watches to find more out about the mission this time around.

It showed different data than during High School of the Dead. There was nothing about helping a main character. In fact, God was telling us to off one off.

The main character at that.

GOD'S MISSION

BTOOOM!, 15 MAN MISSION.

NON STORY PLOT.

MAIN QUEST: The Mission.

Objective 1. Deafeat Ryota Sakamoto by the end of Day 7.

Objective 2. A Player must collect 8 Chips [ Includes their own ] from the NPC's playing Btooom on the island. Number of total NPCs = 150.

Base Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

Combat Mission Reward: 1000 Points and D rank reward.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points.

2\. NPC Chip - 10 Points.

3\. Btooom Solider Chip - 100 Points and D rank reward.

4\. Btooom Commander Chip - 500 Points and C rank reward.

5\. Ryota Sakamoto's Chip - 6000 points and B rank reward. Can be shared by more then one person, but in that situation contribution will become a factor and points/rewards split.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 for a Player killing a Newbie Player. A New Player is a New Player till they go on their second Mission.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. D-ZERO - Any player with 0 or negative points at the end of a mission after all calculations are finished, will be killed, no exception.

4\. Midnight Execution - At midnight at the end of every day Players with less then 2 Chips will killed. This number will increase by 1 for every following day till Day 7. If by the end of Day 7 and the Main Quest is not complete, all Players will be killed for failing the mission.

5\. Chip Depletion - Starting Day 2 and ending Day 6, once per day, a unit of 5 Btooom Soliders and 1 Btooom Commander will appear on the island to kill both Players and NPCs. When an NPC is killed by someone other then a Player or NPC, that persons chip is destroyed and can't be recovered.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Mission Information.

1\. A defeated/killed party's chip will be absorbed into a Player's Chip. The Chip from Players Chip can't be transferred/taken under any circumstances, including in death.

2\. With the only exception being Ryota Sakamoto, a defeated party's chip will go to the person who delivered the killing blow.

3\. The number/types of chips collected will increase the effectiveness of a Player's Chip Radar.

4\. A Player can't use the BIMs of another party, but can use them if they are dead and personally killed the the other party. Also another's BIM can be used if activated and deactivated. Also, a Player can't take the BIM/tools of a Btooom Soldier/Commander even if a Player kills them.

TOTAL SCORE: Pending.

They were all overwhelmed, especially the three former newbie players. The sheer difficult and number of rewards for this mission was leagues ahead of when they in HSD.

Kill the main character Ryota Sakamoto, kill and collect the chips of others, Btooom Soldiers, Btooom Commanders and if one could not complete the main quest by a certain number of day then it clearly states that all players will die. There were so many opponents and dangers that they actually had to fight, but if one could survive this mission then one would gain lots of points and rewards.

1000 points for the basic reward for entering a mission and surviving, a Combat Mission reward of 1000 and D rank reward, 10 points per NPC Chip, 100 and D rank reward for every Btooom Soldier Chip, 500 and C rank reward for every Btooom Commander Chip, and defeating the main character himself would earn 6000 points and a B rank reward if you did it alone.

The mission held extreme dangers, but equal amount of rewards for our troubles.

Misaki: Guys look! There is something strange on our hands.

Hikari: Where?!

Aqua: ...

Shin: He is right. It is the IC Chip!

We all looked at their hands and found what Misaki was talking about.

On the back of our left hand was a piece of metal in the shape of a oval chip. It was the multipurpose IC Chip that was a key element in the story of Btooom, yet it was slightly different. In the original story chips were green in color, yet all of ours were colored blue.

Hikari: What are these blue Chips?

Shin: These chips on the back of our hands are the chips mentioned in the mission that we have to collect. Everyone on the island had one that they need to collect from other players. They also function as a radar. As for the color, it is probably meant to show that we are players, not NPCs or original characters from the manga which were green and not blue.

Hikari: I see. Then lets discuss the mission details. This Ryuta that we have to defeat within seven days is the main character, right?

Shin: Correct. On record he is the leader of the tenth place team in the online game of Btooom, a game where players fight with only bombs called BIM. In real life Ryuta is just a NEET ( When I just called him that, Hikari gave me a "What right do you have to call some that?" look. Shut up! ), but once he is transported to the death game he finds that his skills in the game Btooom carry ove into real life ( Kinda like me, although I have no real life skills if you don't count Anime knowledge a skill ).

Misaki: Is he strong? What are all chances?

Shin: If people are just relying on BIMs then he is the strongest. We have guns and grenades at our disposal, so we have a good shot beating him, but he is a tricky enemy to face. Out of all of us, I am only confident that Aqua could defeat him. It just...

Misaki: Just?

Shin: He isn't an opponent that we should get 6000 points and a rank B reward for defeating. Like I said, in a battle with just bombs he is the strongest. We have guns, grenades, magic attack scrolls and both Aqua and I have abilities above the average human. Even if God placed a restriction on us like we can only uses BIMs, at best Ryuta is a 500-1000 point opponent with a D rank reward as the prize.

Hikari: Your the expert on this story, so if we were to take your opinion into consideration... Then God must have changed the story in a way to make him a 6000 point and B rank reward enemy for us.

Aqua: God definitely changed the plot with this fifteen man mission, but we shouldn't concern ourselves with him yet. He will not appear till the very last day after all. What I am more worried about are these Btooom Soldiers and Commanders. So you know about them Shin?

Shin: No. Btooom Soldiers or Commanders, they didn't appear in the main storyline. My best geuss is that they are professional Btooom players God has created.

Misaki: For what purpose?

Hikari: To kill us. If our opponents were just average people throwing around bombs then this mission would at best be one or two levels higher then High School of the Dead. Not a fifteen man mission like this. I can't help but feel that we really are about to be wiped out.

Aqua: Well, if one is not afraid of danger and is skilled in combat then this is the best mission possible with all the points and rewards. Any of you know the story other then Shin? All I know is that they fight with those bombs instead of guns.

Misaki: No.

Hikari: Not at all.

Shin: You guys are so unprofessional. Btooom is a very popular manga and since our lives is on the line, then you should review even the oldest manga, anime and games. Especially if this dimension existed since the ancient times. The plot of Btooom is...

?: Btooom occurred in a modern day society just like ours. There was nothing obviously different about this world, but in the darker part of society where the rich and powerful rule, a certain project was proposed.

Interrupting Shin who was about to explain the plot of Btooom was one of the newbie players who had just stood up from the floor. A women in her late 20's with a common face and body that doesn't standout, with the exception of her white lab coat. She had an aura of wisdom around her, yet had the slightest look of unease on her face.

Shin was the first to recover from the surprise and greeted her.

Shin: My name is Shin. High school, or former high school student I should say now. Welcome.

Saki: Saki, and if it isn't too much trouble could you tell me where this place is? If I am not mistaken... We are in the back of a cargo plane.

Shin: I don't mind, but could you continue your explanation about the story of Btooom. I know it as well, but since it sounded like you could give more then a wiki like answer, I would like you to finish first. It is important.

The Saki sighed at little, was really was felling anxiety from her situation, but did as she was asked and told us her version of the story of Btooom with the upmost seriousness. Saki was someone who couldn't be overwhelmed too easily.

Saki: If you insist. By the not so realistic power to be that secrecy control the world from the shadows, a project was proposed by a thriving game company, Tyrannos Japan, was being carried out. The project was to have ordinary citizens pick out criminals, or more accurately people who are a stain on society and have them kidnapped and brought to undiscovered privately owned island. These outcast were then forced to play a cruel death game based on a popular online game in that world, Btooom, using a certain type of bomb that doesn't exist in reality, but in the very same online game, BIM, to kill one another with a promise that if they did as they were told they could return to society. But let me point out that this death game wasn't actually a twisted way to cleanse society of its human trash, but for the mere pleasure of those watching the game from their TV screens. The death games that have happened before the beginning of the manga were all prototypes of the finalized game they were actually considering showing the public. The game that the main character was brought to was to be the final death game to work out all the bugs and was being broadcasted too many potential sponsors. Then as the manga goes on the main character Ryuta Sakamoto slowly discovers the truth of the game. He then decided that not only will he survive the death game, but will do everything in his power to permanently end the death game. The manga has yet to end, so that is the full story as of date. If you want more information on the characters then I propose that you just read the manga. It has some nonrealistic elements, but I found it to be a good read. The idea of that type of death game with it's back story isn't uncommon, but for the main weapons to be bombs and the main characters just normal humans... Is quite exciting and interesting. Gun were by conception to be an easy to use weapon that anyone can become proficient with. Even a child can hold and shoot with a handgun and kill, yet bombs are a different story all together. When throwing a bomb you need to measure distance and be aware of arm strength, for timers you need a good mental clock and planning ability to lead your opponent into your trap and with the implosion and barrier bombs into the mix to keep you on edge, you need real strength and smarts to survive.

When Saki was finished her explanation, all the newbies who have yet to wake ip were finally up and about. A few were complaining to us about where we were and why the hell were we talking about Btooom! the manga on a plane to god knows where, but Igave them no mind.

They weren't important.

The ones who had my attention were the few who didn't panic right away and were listening to everyone to gather more information. These type of newbies were good. Long as you could show them proof that this wasn't all fake and was the world of a manga, they would form their own judgment and make the correct decisions. Looking back, in High School of the Dead, among us, the ones who adjusted right were the ones who survived in the end.

To survive.

Not those with clear greater strength then others or those who believe that they are smart enough to live through these horrors, but the ones who have a desire and talent for surviving will be the ones who make it out of this alive.

Shin: I'll survive again. We all will.


	27. Chapter 27

Shin knew that this place, whatever it is was took all kinds of people.

They only had to have felt like dying and ending their life at one time in their life and clicke YES to when that message appears before them. No one would even be surprised if voice actor, famous musician or even the president of the United States of America where to show up here ( I still wouldn't hand over the role of leader to him ).

Shin was still ignoring the newbies who were being loud, but because he promised Saki to explain everything he finally began to speak with them.

Shin: First of all calm down. There is no point in yelling or threatening others. In a moment one of us will...

Punk Kid: Hey, who made you in charge! Fuck, hell where am I and why have you brought me here!? I know who you are and where you live. Want me to drive by your house and kill your family, huh!?

I could only sigh at this typical worthless neighborhood punk and maybe local corner drug dealer.

They act like they are god and threaten people left and right. How is it even possible for him to know where I live? Also, even if he killed some family he is acting like the cops and the law are beneath him. He would probably blab about it to a friend on the street and the next day his ass would be in jail for some one to use.

In the real world I was never afraid of peope like him, but because they were dangerous I kept my space from them.

How about now?

Just how much have I gone through already with the first mission in High School of the Dead?

THEM, Rioters, being shot in the shoulder by an asshole, THAT FLAMETHROWER RIOTER, strengthend THEM, being bitten by THEM and slowly being killed/mutated into one of THEM, and last but not least almost being mauled to death by a women who had the ability to transform into an ADAMANTIUM ARMORED MONSTER WOLF and worst of all... LOSING TO THAT VERY SAME WOMEN IN BED just last night and being told that we couldn't date each other afterwards, almost destroying my pride as a man!

What is a gangster or two after going through all of that? Nothing that is what.

Also, I have already shown that I could dodge multiple bullets long as I can see the gunner after a few stat increases. Now, I possess the powers of a half ghoul, Ki and a magic ring with a subspace filled with guns, ammo and magic attack scrolls.

Now lets ask, who should be afraid of who here? Not me, so why should I hold back?

Shin: First, I don't have a family to speak of. Second, SHUT THE FUCK UP TRASH! One of us is going to explain everything to you in a second, so shut your mouth and wait. What? Are you too dumb to understand words?

Punk: Y-you... How dare you talk to me like that!

Aqua: Hey, human stain. This is a very important time for us to gather information. Keep quite or I will make you.

As Aqua was saying what was on her mind, her Auto 9 was pointed at him and all the new players. It was to show that she wouldn't forgive any of them for messing with us. Still, that one guy just had to provoke her. I felt no sympathy for him.

Punk: Who are you talking to bitch? Just because you are good looking means shit! Also, you are going to carry a imitation gun least get the model 54. An Auto 9 Berreta. Like it is so easy to get one. It is obviously a fake to show others after watching the new movie.

Then the teen punk took out his own gun and... What was it that Aqua said she wasn't good with again? I think we were all just reminded when she pulled the trigger of her own gun without hesitation.

\- *BANG*!

A loud bang later, we found that Aqua shot the hand holding the gun.

The power of the Auto 9 easily blew the man's arm in two. It took a moment for the teen punk to realize what happened. Then his sense of pain kicked in he started screaming so loudly that the noise of the plane was drowned out.

For the other new players this was not just a show of power, but proof that everything that they were experiencing and seeing with their own eyes were real. Most of them then began joining the punk teen in screaming, but there were a few that remained calm.

They were the four who Shin had said were good. A college student, a Russian, a slender man who was well built and of course Saki.

Misaki went over to confiscate the gun and looked it over, before throwing it away looking pissed off for all that trouble.

Misaki: That was obviously a fake gun, Aqua. Why did you shoot him? Not that I care either way.

Aqua: Just stop his bleeding already. I don't want to lose points over a guy like that. Also, as a reminder for you newbies listen up. I am deathly allergic to guns pointed at me and they stress me out a little. I might do something I would very much like to do if I see another one pointed at me, ok?

The newbies were now deathly afraid of Aqua who who was still holding the Auto 9 emitting heat, but the others were inwardly laughing. Not because of the blood and gore, but because they knew it was the truth how much Aqua hates having a gun pointed at her.

Her reactions during the training period were comical to say the least. Aqua noticed them laughing at her deep down and glared at them. Shin quickly avoided eye contact with her and spoke to one of the calm newbies, Saki. Even after all of that she was still calm. Her initial confusion when she woke up seemed to have lessen l

Shin: You are different from the rest Saki. Weren't you afraid of the gun just now? That is a real gun ( A real Berreta Auto Nine used by RoboCop with infinite ammo ).

Saki: Once you see one gun fired off once they are all the same, really. What is too be afraid of?

Shin: Dying?

Saki: Then I long since discarded such fears, that is enough about me for now. Will you tell us what is going on. If I am not wrong this isn't just any cargo plane we are on. This design and the soliders sitting to the side who haven't reacted at all to the commotion we have caused... This is the plane that took the characters to the island in Btooom!, right? I don't know how I arrived here, but I am getting the feeling that this isn't just some elaborate reenactment, is it?

All four of us were surprised that Saki had deduced so much so much about this world ftom a few clues ( Can give Conan a run for his money ). Most would just assume that the four of us were mad to be talking about the manga/anime Btooom so passionately. Aqua was the first to recover, but I noticed that more then surprised, she was more cautious with Saki.

Aqua: Damm, a smart one has appeared. They are useful in a way, but...

Shin: Aqua?

Aqua: It is nothing. Don't worry about it. Hikari go explain to the newbies about this world and the missions. You had the least points last time and women are naturally physically weaker then men without proper training, so you will go.

Hikari: Thank you everybody. Well, where should I start? Ok, if you all think about what you are doing here for a second God will...

Then Hikari began to explain to the new players about God, God's Dimension and the Mission Worlds.

Then Hikari explained this world to the newbies, and that they were in the popular manga/anime Btooom. The watch on their hands shows them what their mission is this time, to kill the main character Ryuta Sakamoto before the the end of the seventh day.

Of course, as we agreed before hand in the Terminal Lobby, Hikari kept the information about the hidden side quests from them. This was valuable information, but more importantly dangerous information that only belonged to the four of them, and to be honest, I would shoot a newbie who acted the way I did without consulting with everyone else first.

This was the lesser of two evils in my opinion.

Then Hikari explained how they would go back to God's dimension where they rest, the Terminal Lobby after the mission is finished, and told them about the categories of items and enhancements. Hikari then smiled happily after saying everything. It looks like she got that 100 points for explaining everything to new players as a veteran.

Hikari: Hehe, I will have to thank you guys when we get back. How about I cook you a meal later.

Aqau: Pass. You would burn it, right? Your girl power is too low.

Misaki: I, I only let Mokoto prepare my meals. Besides...

Shin: I bet it will taste like, no I mean there is no need to thank us Hikari.

Hikari: Rude, liar and creepy otaku ( That is two )! I am not a bad cook!

Aqau: ...

Misaki: ...

Shin: ...

Hikari: You all are the worst!

The joy that Hikari felt for the extra 100 points soon disappeared in a flash.

Not wanting to antagonize her any more then I already have, I looked back to the new players to see their reactions after being told everything.

Most of them either didn't believe it or panicked/started to cry. Other than Saki who was looking around calmly, there were two more people of the four that I had spotted early as good looking at our group.

It was a little nerve-racking being stared at like this for minutes on end.

Shin: What are your names? Can you understand Japanese?

One of them was slender, Chinese/American, but he had dense muscle. He didn't shake Shin's hand and took a step back.

Zero: You can call me Zero. I don't want to answer any other questions if that is okay?

Shin: That is fine. It isn't like I have gained your trust or anything. Still, will probably get along fine. See that red haired women with the Auto 9? She too has by a code name. Just... Don't get to close to her. That is my...

Aqua: Shin, move on.

Shin: Ok.

Zero: ...

Shin left behind the unfriendly newbie named Zero.

It was his turn to greet the Russian man, and opposite from Zero, he greeted him warmly and openly shook his hands when it was offered.

Kampa: Kampa Lovski. Of course I can understand a little bit of Japanese. Just that I and not too used to it. Your hands are... strong. Do you work out?

Shin: Thanks, but not really. I had a late growth sprout of sorts recently.

Kampa: ...

Shin then turned to look at the other new players.

Aside from a few hooligans, one of which was shot, there were two middle aged fat men, they stood together cautiously and holding suitcases. These two were probably businessmen that knew each other in the real world. Two twenty something young men. One of the was smart enough to inspect the surroundings, the college looking student who I saw earlier, while the other was flirting with a woman.

The eleven newbie were formed of:

A women that didn't stick out as much as Saki, the hooligans ( Three ), two fat business men, two twenty looking men, Saki, Zero and Kampa.

Shin: 4 out of 11, huh. Whatever, everyone please introduce your occupation, age, and what your specialty is, so we can assign your responsibilites properly.

Then Shin noticed that the new players were hesitant. It was then that Saki spoke up for them

Saki: If you allow me to speak for them ( I swear I saw her look at them all as trash, yet she still acted like their representative ), even though that's what you are saying, but we can't confirm that what you told us thus far as the truth. Do you have anything to prove you're not lying? Like the things you exchanged or your physical abilities or enhancements?

Shin: We can prove what we are saying is real. Especially with my ring and Aqua's enhancements which are...

Aqua: Not another word Shin.

Shin: Huh?

Aqua: It is fine for you, Hikari and Misaki to know the extent of my abilities since we are a team, but not them. I don't trust newbies, so I won't show them my abilities. Also, since your abilities are an extension of mine since we are teammates you can't show them yours yet either. That women is smart, so she may be pretending to be friendly and helpful now to learn the extent of our power to rebel against us at a later time.

Shin: But they are asking for proof.

Aqua: Then find another way. If you want to show them your abilities that badly... You can consider our partnership in the Mission Worlds over with.

Shin: ...

Aqua wasn't leaving me with any room to talk back.

I value Aqua as both a comrade and the women I like, potentially love, so if I had to take sides it wouldn't even be a contest to who I would side with. I felt bad for leaving the newbies in the dark, but I am firmly on Aqua's side if she is this adamant about this.

Saki: I think you are mistaken my purpose. I am not trying to go against you and I certainly don't want to break up your team if you are all as capable as you seem ( So you would if we weren't capable? ), yet for our cooperation to go smoothly it's better to eliminate our wariness.

Saki then glanced over at Zero and Kampa.

I noticed it a little as well, but they were the most on guard of all the new players and... Somewhat dangerous maybe.

Saki just seems to accept things easily long as she can get an explanation that she is pleased with, so she can stay calm through all of this, but those two are different. Their calmness feels like it comes from confidence in their ability and experience. Somehow... They remind me a little of Aqua, but far less frightening, yet frightening nonetheless.

Saki: Then just let us take a look at the hemostatic spray and bandages. That girl Hikari mentioned such items in her explanation.

Aqua turned to Misaki and nodded.

She probably didn't want me to show off my Na Ring while retrieving the spray. Misaki then threw the spray and bandage toward Saki.

Saki: Anyone have a knife? The sharper the better.

Before anyone on our side could say that we did, a knife was provided by the newbie side.

It was Kampa that took out a dagger from his pocket and threw it over to Saki. Both Kampa and Zero now had their eyes on Saki.

Saki then quickly sliced her wrist decisively, as if that hand didn't belong to her. Blood started pouring out like water. Hikari and the other woman started to scream as they saw it. The rest of the newbies were startled also.

Then Saki sprayed her wrist with the hemostatic spray. Miraculously, the knife wound started to clot and the bleeding stopped after a few seconds. With the except of Aqua, it was the first time for us three to see the effects of the spray.

Saki: I believe you now. I had the rank of colonel when I was in the army although I am retired now. I worked for the Japanese government in researching OOPArts, Out-of-place-artifacts that have been proven to once hold technology beyond even our current civilization and if possible, recreate them for military purpose.

Saki bandaged the wound and handed the dagger, spray and bandages to Kampa. Before we could ask why did she give the spray and bandages to him, Kampa and then Zero followed Saki's example and did the same thing. They cut their wrist, sprayed and bandaged the almost completely healed wound. After they finished, Kampa was the first to speak.

Kampa: I am a member of an international mercenary group. A top ranked gunner. My nick name is Overlord ( Not to be confused with Laharl or the light novel by that name ). To be honest, I would rather you to be lying. This is a terrible place now that I know that it is real.

Zero returned the spray and bandage to Saki and began to coldly introduce himself.

Zero: I don't have a name, so just call me Zero. I am an assassin specialized in long distance sniping. Unfortunately, I may not be able to showcase my skills. I didn't have my sniper rifles on me when I clicked YES.

A military colonel/scientist, a top mercenary and and a badass assassin armed with a sniper rifle ( Not Currently ).

Shin: Really, all kinds of people can end up here. Maybe next time I can shake hands with Mr. President.


	28. Chapter 28

Aqua: Good, your abilities are quite capable. The four of us here have survived from the last mission given to us from God. I've lived through six movies and they lived through one so far. Though it seems like we miscalculated. We should had exchanged some limited ammo machine guns and other heavy weaponry since we have a top mercenary and sniper now, since those are rather inexpensive. Damm, it was my mistake to not suggest them because I haven't formed a team with other players since my first two mission. My mind set was stuck in stone as a loner.

Saki adjusted her glasses as she had a look of confusion. She kept going back between Aqua, me and the others for a while and then she pointed at me.

Saki: But why is he so strong? Next to Aqua, Shin is the next strongest, yet he is far more powerful then the other two who have been here just as long after surviving one mission.

In fact, I was already aware there were some newbies being wary of me. Zero and Kampa were paying close attention to me though they were silent this whole time.

Shin: That is easy to explain. You get 1000 points every time you survive a mission, that's a fixed basic reward. Other than that, God will issue you side quest. Completing these will earn you extra points. Look at the watch, it displays all the extra missions we can do for points and ranked rewards. I finished a tough side quest in the last mission as a new player and was rewarded extra points ( More then you ), so I'm a bit stronger than Hikari and Misaki after spending my rewards on enhancements.

Saki was going to ask more, but the TV screen within the plane lit up with life. Everyone looked toward it and what they saw being displayed was a fat man in overalls and a cap. It was the game planner of the real life Btooom game of Tyrannl Japan, Gemu Shusaisha.

Gemu: Ladies and gentlemen! Good evening! I'm the sponsor for this event, Gemu, Nice to meet you all! We are honored to invite you all here in order to participate in this exciting game!

Aqua: Everyone quite down. The mission is starting!

Aqua immediately took out her Auto 9 and kept it ready in case anything unexpected happens. Although no one dies in the beginning on the plane, the fact still remained that were were all surrounded by armed men with guns. In the manga they only had stun guns, but here they had real live weapons. If they decided to spray us with bullets all of us would die.

It really was best to be cautious here.

Gemu then began to explain what was awaiting us.

We were on a plane headed to an island in the Pacific. The island was an uninhabited to the south of a certain country. The island had no clean water or food, so it wasn't one of the paradise like islands that families dream of going to on vacation.

The he told us all to do our best in the game if we wanted to return alive and that none of us had the right to complain. Some of us didn't like that, still believing that this was the real world, but with the weapons being pointed at them quickly shut them up.

Next we moved on to the subject of BIM.

BIM were a special type of bomb found and used in the online game, Btooom. There appearance were of a dark metal with a futuristic design. They activate with a fingerprint recognition, so only the original player could use them, but if that player was defeated one could confiscate there BIM and use them as their own.

We were told to use these new types of bombs that they developed to battle other players. There were many as eight types of BIM available, but each player would only start of with eight of one type of BIM.

The types of BIMs were the following:

1\. CRACKER - The Cracker BIM is the most common type of BIM. A simple bomb that will explode on impact, but has low explosive power.

2\. TIMMER - The Timmer BIM will count down to 10 and at 0 it will detonate. The countdown of the BIM can be adjust, so it has high tactical value. Has moderate explosive power.

3\. IMPLOSION - The Implosion BIM is a unique bomb that sucks in its surroundings before imploding. Great at destroying large, thick targets since the implosion ignores most physical resistance.

4\. BLAZING GAS - The Blazing Gas BIM releases gas when it explodes. A toxic chemical gas that deterioratess everything that it touches. Has a large area of effect when thrown up high or when used with wind direction. Great at exposing hidden enemies and as escape cover.

5\. HOMING - The Homing BIM locks on to targets and follows them with a small propeller, exploding within range of the target. It has very low explosive power, but it's lock-on function can be used to identify hidden targets.

6\. REMOTE CONTROL - The Remote Control BIM can be detonated from a distance using the add on switch and pressing a numbered button for the bomb. Made with booby trapping in mind and has high eplosive power.

7\. 1300°C FLAMMABLE OIL SPLASHING FLAME - 1300°C Flammable Oil Splashing Flame BIM separates and splits fire in four directions to corner a opponent or light them up.

8\. BARRIER - The Barrier BIM is another unique bomb that instead of creating an explosion, summons a triangle shape barrier around the holder that can protect them from harm.

The eight BIM that we will all start out with will be soon handed to us in a bandolier case. It was then when the discussion was about to move on to the Chips that one of the newbies spoke up.

One of the two fat businesses claimed that this was all some elaborate prank and this wasn't really happening. This got the other newbies to jump on the bandwagon. From what I could see, they believed that they were being punk on some reality TV show or were going to be extorted for money in some scam ( If only ).

If only that was the case... Especially for the fat business man who got everyone going. He moved up closer to the screen to yell at Gemu, and that is when they moved.

On Gemu's signal, two of the soldiers stationed to the side of the cargo plane moved for the first time. They raised their guns and without any warning fired at the fat business man. Not one of the newbies moved after that. They just watched the the now dead body full of bullet holes drops to the metallic floor in a bloodly mess.

If anyone here were still under the assumption that this was all some prank... Then there was no helping them now. From here on out this could only be seen as the prolouge of what is to occur in this mission.

Saki: Something like this didn't happen in the manga, right? The soldiers on the plane were also only armed with stun guns.

Shin: It probably has to do witht the difficulty of this fifteen man mission and how God wants us to play along with his revised script. All of us veterans here are armed with handguns and Aqua and I have above human physical ability. Even if we are still forced to play this death game by God, if we could somehow defeat all the soldiers onboard the plane, we could attempt to hijack it.

Saki: You mean for our own use in the mission? That would be really helpful if that was a possibility.

Shin: I have found that this world has a lot of freedom, so hijacking this plane is possible, but with over two dozen soldiers here armed with heavy weaponry... The only Player here who would come out alive here would be Aqua. The rest of us would be injured or dead.

Saki: Then God won't allow us too easy a time. Still, doing things that the characters in the manga didn't or couldn't do could come in handy.

Not minding the half panicking and half crying group of newbies, Gemu continued his explanation. The next subject was about the IC Chip.

The IC Chip is an oval glass that is embedded into a Btooom! player's left hand. When it is used, it shines a blue-ish green light. The IC chips are both radars and sonars used in the real life version of the Btooom game. Every Btooom player on the island will have one chip on them at the start of the game.

The IC chips are implanted in the player's left hand, and can only be removed when that player is dead or surgery... The latter of which will definitely not be available to them. The ultimate goal of the game is to collect 8 of these chips and only then will that player be allowed off the island.

The IC chips are mainly used for locating opponents. A player will need to put strength into their left middle finger, the IC chip will be activated. When that sonar detects the IC chip of another play, the user will get the feeling of that player's presence and know his location, but on the other hand, when a player gets detected, he feels this as well. So the located player will know that he has been exposed, so he knows that someone is trying to locate him.

Gemu then finally gets to the point that to win this game they must collect eight IC Chips or just Chips from other players during this seven day event on the island ( It wasn't till much later in the manga did they say that they had a time limit ). The seven days part wasn't there in the manga or anime, so I realized that God was capable of even changing a characters dialogue.

Gemu then finished up by saying that we will be directly above the island in three minutes and should get ready to parachute down to the island.

Gemu: Well then... Please have an exciting time playing our newest interactive game everyone! Bye!

With everything explained the large TV screen was turned off, leaving all of us to process this new information, but there was something that I've noticed that needs to be said.

Shin: Hey guys, I know that there is a lot to be done in these three minutes and not a lot of time to do it, but there is a major problem that has to be discussed.

Saki: What? Do you mean the other players? The NPCs?

Hikari: I had an idea about that. My best geuss that they are already on the island or on another plane like us. With the except of him signaling the soldiers to shoot that one newbie, the man speaking from the TV, Gemu wasn't specifically talking directly to any of us. It might have have been streamed to multiple locations at once.

Aqua: That sounds about right? God probably wouldn't want us to take the chance and kill the NPCs while they were in one place to steal their chips all at once. If we had the cover of over a hundred meat shield ( This merciless women means the NPCs ), we could take our chances against the guards coming after us.

Shin: That is important too, but that wasn't what I wanted to bring up.

Misaki: Then spit it out already. We don't have much time.

Shin: ... Ok then. Where are our BIMs?

Hikari: ...

Misaki: ...

Aqua: ...

Saki: ...

Kampa: ...

Zero: ...

When Shin looked at the faces of his new and old comrades he realized one truth. Once again... God pulled a number on them and this time right at the start of this fifteen man difficulty mission.


	29. Chapter 29

The revelation that we may not be given any BIM had an impact on Team Japan.

Misaki: What the hell! We have to participate in this crazy death game and they don't even give us weapons. Does God want us to die?

Aqua: That might not be the case.

Saki: What do you mean. It is quite clear that we are now at a disadvantage now that we know we won't be given BIM. Some of us might be skilled in combat, but to face those NPCs armed with futuristic bomb will be difficult to say the least.

Aqua: We aren't as much as a disadvantage as you may believe. These missions may be randomly selected, but God will never place us players in a truly impossible situation. Us four veterans have guns and physical enhancements. If God doesn't look at us individually, but as a whole then he might have deemed it that our side would of had too much of an advantage if he started us off with BIMs to use.

Hikari: Aqua is right. Our guns would normally beat bombs in a contest of strength. Bombs have explosive power and AOE damage, but guns have the absolute superiority in speed. Our side would normally win, but down on the island we will have the geographical disadvantage with the cover of all the trees and rocks. Still, even if our combat ability was lessened by 70%, that remaining 30% is still a huge advantage here. Given us BIM on top of everything else would be God helping us too much.

Misaki: Now that I think about it we already have grenades. Who needs BIMs.

Shin: So because the five of us have become stronger, God responded by adjusting his missions for us. So it is because of us that the standard of the missions have gone up? Ideally, after every mission we will have more members and hopefully more competent allys at that, but the difficulty of each new mission will go up. Does that mean that we will never have an easy mission no matter how strong we become?

Saki: Could be the case. Then once this mission is over we will need to decide on rules for new teammates. Who will join our team, how many can join us and the strength of the team overall. Ideally, 20 strong and capable members would be for thr best, yet if God from that point on will have the missions on the highest difficulty from that point on...

Aqua: Well, there is no point in discussing our future plans that far ahead. Lets just survive this mission and...

Aqua looked over at the other Players and so we followed her gaze.

With the exception of Saki, Kampa, Zero and the smarter young college student who had so far stayed far enough to listen, but not close enough to join us... The other new players had distanced themselves from us. Probably too scared of us for so many reasons and so they decided to not associate with us anymore.

It was only now that young college student walked over to us cautiously.

Shuai: Can I join your group? Even though everything is unimaginable, but I still wish to stay by you. Oh right, my name is Li Shuaixi. Just call me Shuai. Occupation... just graduated from college, don't have any occupation yet. But I used to watch a lot of horror movies and stories at home. Oh, and I am familiar with fantasy web novels and various mythologies.

Shin: That is great, Welcome to this group. Even though we are not guaranteed to live, we won't give up on our comrads. By the way, you Chinese right?

Shuai: Yes I am. I went to college here, but it was on a exchange program. Then when I was depressed that I would have to go back home because I couldn't find a job... I ended up coming here.

Misaki: You felt depressed enough to die because you had to go back home? What is that?

Shuai: I know, but if I couldn't find a job I was supposed to join my Fathers company and... I would rather die then work under that bastard of a Father.

Well, here we have someone who has issues with his parents.

Kampa: So there are now eight of us. This is good for our combat ability, but are we going to be okay? With eight men in a unit, then there are eight mouths to feed. Do you all have enough food in those bags?

Shin: Yes, if it was just us original four and this mission was only going to last a few day, but it looks like we didn't bring enough. Not only are there now eight of us, I never expected for the mission to last a full seven days. My first mission didn't even last 48 hours and we were in a modern city. I never thought far enough that we could end up in this kind of situation. .

Shuai: Excuse me, but I have a idea. I have read Btooom as well, so I know some of the details. There is a way to get food and other goods.

Saki: You mean the daily supply drop?

Hikari: Supply drop?

Shuai: Yes. The one's running this game will have planes fly over the island and drop down a case of supplies by parachute. Inside will be food, drinks clothes and other goods including medicine. They do this so that the players on the island can fight at full power and not waste their BIMs on catching fish to eat.

Shin: That's right. We really lucked out that this is Btoom and not some other survival game manag. If the setting was still an island, having a constant supply of medicine.

Saki: But that isn't all good news? There is danger involved as well.

Saki was right about that.

The battle for supplies is one of the biggest motives for conflict on the island. There are only so much supplies to go around and certainly not enough for everyone. In the manga Btooom, most of the battles fought started out over supplies.

The players who can consistently acquire supplies filled with food and water, while other become weaker without such basic necessities, are the ones in the best position to survive the death game.

Zero: Some of us here know more about this manga then others, but that doesn't seem to matter since this is a Non story plot. What I want to know is more about the difficulty of this Btooom game.

Saki: What we need is information from you experienced veterans. How would you rate this mission?

Hikari: Let me explain: The four of us did a brief analysis before you guys woke up. To be honest, Btooom isn't a difficult mission. For the characters in the manga, sure Btooom is dangerous, but we have guns. No matter how much of a geographical disadvantage we have if the NPCs hide behind a tree or large rock, I would dare say we still have the advantage overall. In comparison, it has a lower difficulty than our last mission High School of the Dead in a way. Yes, both missions can be explained using science, but the sheer number of enemys in H.O.T.D makes me feel that Btoom is easier to deal with. Yet why is H.O.T.D a seven people difficulty mission while this is fifteen? We believe that the plot changed, so the difficulty is raised accordingly.

Shin: I can't completely agree with you about this being easier, but it isn't worth dismissing. It even read on our watch that this is a Non Story Plot. It is best to assume that the death game won't follow the manga since the main characters are absent.

Saki: What do you not agree with Hikari's analysis?

Shin: Mine is just a personal opinion. The number of enemies in H.O.T.D is definitely frightening for a normal person, but if a player has decent enhancements and weapons, then it is an easy mission. Not long ago I saw Aqua just take a stroll through hordes of undead with her gun and basically play around the whole mission, obtain points believing that she wouldn't die.

Aqua: I see what Shin is saying. I could play around a little in H.O.T.D because I had an excellent gun and top tier enhancements, and I bet Shin here could now out run and fight any undead after his enhancements, but I am personally more afraid of a PvP battles with futuristic bombs then any army of undead.

Saki: I see. We need to know how much the plot changed and why is the difficulty so high? Also, we don't know the real strength of these Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders since they did not appear in the manga. We have to fight one to learn their speed, strength, BIMs and other variables. Then we can devise a method to kill them.

Kampa: Yeah, but I read what was on the watch and it said nothing about defeating them. All we have to do is kill the main character, or are you afraid that if we leave them alone that they will protect him?

Saki: That, and I also have another theory that I am...

But before Saki could say anymore it was time to move.

The cargo plane hatch opened up, letting the cold night air into the plane. The time to parachute down to the island had come at last.

Shin saw that the new players were being lead, forced out the hatch of the plane with parachutes and no BIMs like we all feared. They fell out of the plane and were free falling to the ground below. Everyone calmed down a little when they saw the first newbies's parachute open safely, but they were still scared of skydiving all the same.

The soldiers were pushing everyone off regardless whether they were ready or not and then half of the fourteen remaining players feel down onto the island below.

Aqua: We should hurry before they throw us off like that aa well. They might even start shooting at us if we take to long.

Shin: Alright. Saki, Kampa, Zere and Shuai. I brought enough handguns for all the players here, but so much had happened that I forgot ( Didn't want ) to hand them out. The four of us are already armed, but you four will also need a gun to fight here if they aren't going to give us any BIMs to start with. I can also give you each two spare ammo cartridges.

Saki, Kampa, Zero and Shuai agreed with Shin's suggestion, but they had no idea where he was keeping the extra guns.

They saw that the four of them had back packs, yet they never assumed that they were carrying guns for many people. They were especially shocked to see four handguns and extra ammo appear out of thin air from Shin's left hand where his Na Ring was equipped. Saki was the most curious about how Shin did that, yet they didn't have time to get into another discussion.

After Kampa asked for an additional gun as he was skilled with using dual-gun style, the four remaining new players, Shuai being the most nervous jumped out of the plane. The remaining were told that if we didn't jump out in thirty seconds we will be executed.

Misaki: Do you think we should have planned to jump out together? You know, land in the same area and all?

Aqua: If we were all professionals maybe, but I doubt all of us have parachuting military training to jump off a speeding plane in the middle of the night and land within the same area. We will try to meet up if we can, but that shouldn't be our main concern. Stay alive, find shelter and gathering the Chips of seven NPCs early on will determine whether we will have a easy or hard time once the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders begin appearing. Only afterwards should we activity try to look for each other.

Hikari: Aqua is correct. By the latest we should definitely meet to form a battle strategy for when it is time to deal with the main character, Ryuta Sakamoto on the final Day Seven.

Shin: Then it's decided. Survive, gather chips and meet up for the final battle. Lets all meet again down on the island!

With those last words, the four of us jumped off the plane together.

The cold winds and the shadows of the night quickly separated us. Like Aqua said it would have been really hard to stay together in these conditions. I couldn't find anyone no matter how hard I tried even with my advance sight from enhancements.

Then three third of the way to the island my parachute finally deployed at last. After the initial shock from opening of the shoot my decent towards the island slowed down. I was able to calmly look around and found that it was impossible to see anything in the darkness.

That was when I looked up and saw lights leaving the area. They were planes. More then the one we were just on, but multiple planes carrying Players and NPC alike. The 150 NPCs and fourteen remaining players were destined to meet on the island below us all.

Shin: So it begins. I survived once, I'll survive twice and as many times as needed. Try your best world, but I won't go down without a fight!

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 1.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 1.

4:27 A.M

Players Alive: 14/15.

NPCs Alive: 150/150.

Btooom Soldiers Inactive: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Inactive: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. Players and NPC's have landed down on the island for the 7th Real World Btoom Game. Will now record how Hard Mode plays out. If acceptable, designs for multi level games can begin once the game is revealed to the public for entertainment.


	30. Chapter 30

One among many, a lone player of the real world Btooom game fell through the skys and touched the sands of the tropical island.

\- *Crash Landing*!

Shin: *Sigh*... I finally made it! Parachuting at night is crazy scary. I only, kinda want to do again, only a little bit. Now then... What an I supposed to do now?

In the dead of night, I finally made it to the island death game where the real world Btooom takes place. From what I could see around me I landed on one of the beaches ( Scary how I almost ended up in that pitch black night ocean ). For what I am too do now... I was lost.

I was separated from my teammates, new and old. It was too dangerous to look for them or NPCs to hunt for Chips in this darkness no matter how much better my vision has become and I had no shelter from the cold of the night.

Shin: But first... I have to see if it is really safe.

Shin raised his left hand where his blue chip was implanted and ererted some force in to his left middle finger to activate the radar function of his blue IC Chip. He felt the radar blue-ish green wave of light spread out with him at the center, and waited for a possible response.

Shin: ...No responce is it. Well, no point in staying here any longer. Lets find somewhere I can at least get some idea where I was.

Now knowing that it was safe, I left the beach and walked fearlessly into dark island jungles of the night.

Shin left the beach and began walking into the island's jungle.

In the manga and anime there should be poisonous and large animals inside, like the giant Komodo Dragons, but he wasn't too worried. Shin had Ki, regenerative power of a ghoul and grenades. Whether it is a fight or he gets bitten by one of them, he should be fine for the most part long as he avoids whole families of them.

After an entire hour of tracking through the jungle in the darkness, having the bad luck to almost fall into two sink holes, Shin was greeted by two things. One was the light of the coming day and the other was...

\- *Explosion*!

An explosion rang through out the island's jungle.

Whoever it was, Player vs NPC, or NPC vs NPC the fighting had begun. They used the light of the new day as a signal to start the killing of the death game.

Shin: Was no one confident enough to start a night battle on the first day? Wait, why an I making this sound like it has nothing to do with me? I don't have time to waste here. I need to get into the spirt as well and fight it out with them.

The reason was that I simply didn't want to die.

If I don't have two chips including my own by the midnight, or seven chips by the end of Day 7, I will be killed by God. I need two chips for today, and one additional chip for each of the following day that are to come.

I also have to collect as many chips as I can today.

Starting tomorrow the mysterious Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders will start appearing. Their sole purpose will be to kill us players, but more importantly they will collect the chips the NPC's that us players desperately need.

Today, how many chips one can acquire will determine the difficulty of the next few days for us Player. Ideally, collecting all 7 today would be for the best. If not, starting tomorrow we will have to start looking for scarce NPCs while also being hunted by the BT Soldiers and BT Commanders.

Shin: No time to waste messing around. Time to look for my first chip.

Shin looked around for the next two hour using his radar, yet found no signs of either NPCs or his fellow Players. It was when he was about to give up and take a break that his luck changed for the better. Without even having to use his radar, Shin spotted something in the distance.

Shin: That guy there... He is not one of the Player. He is an NPC!

Sitting on a rock by a wide stream 400 meters from where I was hiding within the jungle was a lone man.

With a PET bottle that he must have had on him from the start, he was collecting water from the stream and looked to be resting. ( I have to wonder how clean the water here is on the island. I forgot that part, but it can't be healthy to drink that as is ).

He was definitely unaware of me, so this was my chance, but I couldn't be careless here. With my increased vision from my enhancements I was able to perfectly spot what was around the man's shoulder. It was one of the bags that are used to carry BIM.

I had to be careful. With my handgun and reflexes I definitely have the advantage, but depending on the type of BIM he has, I could be walking into a trap. If it is the Cracker or Timmer type bombs that need to be thrown I can manage, but if he has set a Remote Control BIM, I could be walking into a trap and if he has Barrier BIM then he can block my attacks and run away.

If it is the latter I just had to hunt him down till he runs out, but I don't like that idea. I will be spending tons of bullets firing at him when he has both Barriers and the nature barriers of the nearby trees and rocks, and when I do finally get him my reward will only be a single Chip and no BIM. My best course of action is to not let this get drawn into a battle and cleanly kill him in one shot of my gun.

Shin: Huh? Cleanly kill in one shot. When did I acquire the mindset to plan a man's execution, I wonder? It is very good, but... A bit disturbing nonetheless.

NPC: What am I even doing here?

He was a man who lived a somewhat shameful life, but he had never done anything to deserve being sent to this place. This hell. A real life death game where they had to use toy looking, yet still real bombs to kill other people.

The man's name, family, friends and occupation didn't matter.

All that mattered was that his ex-girlfriend, who cheated on him and spent his savings sent him here. Just because the man was pestering her a little to return the outrageous amount of money that she spent, that she got fed up and submitted his name to be sent here.

NPC: Damm! She wasn't even that good looking of a women to be acting like that, but I gave her a chance because my coworkers said she was easily. I should have been the one to send her to this hell hole, not the other way around! Damm, just... Just what did I do to deserve to be sent here. I, I won't let it end here. Once I get eight of these chips I can return... Return and let her experience the shame, no much greater hardships then I had to-

\- *SPLASH*!

NPC: Who's there!

The man turned his body around towards the stream where he heard something falling over. He was about to activate his radar to see if there was an enemy nearby, but he saw something sinking down the stream that made him relax and somewhat confused.

NPC: Just a rock. That nearly scared me to death. But still... How did a rock fall like that? There was nowhere high up for it to fall-

\- *BANG*!

Something impacting the back of the man's head hard and fast and the faint traces of his own blood pouring onto the stone he was just standing on... That was the last few things a nameless man who was brought to this island felt and saw before his life came to an end... Such was the fate of this NPC of Btooom.

Shin saw the bullet hit and rejoice at the message he them received from God.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, NPC CHIP - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED.

Shin: Great! My plan worked, but I was scared there for a second. I don't know what I would have done if he had immediately activated his radar back there.

The one who had shot the NPC man was Shin. Shin devised a plan to have the NPC fousc his attention somewhere else for a moment so that he could get a clear shot in.

Shin's plan began by him finding a rock. Once he found a good rock he would throw up into the air, not at the NPC with the possibility of it missing. Then having said rock drop loudly into the stream just at the edge of the man's vision, away from where Shin was.

Then while carefully moving closer to the NPC while looking out for hidden traps, Shin would get within his best firing range, aim and then shoot the NPC dead. With his one shot hitting squarely in the back of the NPC's head, the plan was a success with Shin's victory.

His makeshift plan went off without a single hitch to even Shin's own surprise.

Shin: Who knew that with my aim and physical strength could throw a stone so high into the air and land so precisely in the stream like that? Maybe instead of bullets, I could just throw stones at them. It will save me ammo for a real emergency and it is much more quieter to throw stones then shooting a gun. Kinda like a silencer. Also, I should exchange for a silencer when I return to the Terminal Lobby.

With those thoughts still in my head, I decided to check my spoils of war.

The blue chip on the back of my left hand which before had the number 1 mark on it, the number 2 has taken its place. This confirmed that without having to take a fallen opponents chip personally, the one who kills him will automatically gain his chip.

With two chips acquired, I now filled my base quota for the day and gained 10 points as well. Knowing that I am in the clear for tonight's Midnight Execution I can comfortably hunt for more chips without felling pressure to find my next foe immediately.

Shin: Now then, lets check out the second spoils of war, BIM!

Besides chips, the winner of a battle in Btooom can take the defeated parties chips. I wasn't allowed to start off this game with BIMS of my own, but now I would have my own set of BIM from the NPCs that I killed.

Watching my step as I moved closer to the fallen NPC, I reached out and took the man's BIM bandolier case. I opened the bag carefully and found that inside were all Timer BIM, BIMs that go off with a countdown instead of exploding on impact.

Doing a quick count, inside the case were all eight of the BIM that a NPC starts with were all here!

Shin: How lucky! How great is it that this guy didn't even use one BIM yet. Poor sap, I'll make sure to use them well and at use at least one before this mission is over.

To test to see if I was the rightful owner of these BIM now, I turned on and tried to adjust the countdown of one of my new Timer BIM. I could successfully set a Timer BIM's countdown for as long as ten seconds or as short as one second. Timer BIM were useful, difficult to use because of the adjustable countdown that was the key point for this BIM.

I need both instant explosions and set timer for practical combat, so I set the countdown of four of the eight BIM for one second and left the rest unset for now. Now I had effective four cracker like BIMs and four timers that I can adjust to the situation.

Shin: My firat kill was easy. Let us hope that the next one will be just as-

\- *PING*!

Shin: Wha- Th-that was was a reaction. From the chip on the back of my left hand there was some kind of reaction to something... Someone just used their radar on me. I have to get out of here!

That was my first thought.

Obviousl, in this real life death game of Btooom or in any combat situation one should run away when there position is found out. A Blazing Gas BIM could be thrown over here at any second for instance, but this was also a chance.

Like a wise red haired magician of Type Moon once said, 'Escaping without purpose is called falling and escaping with purpose is called flying'. Just running away will do me no good.

This is a chance to set a trap.

It is only the first day in the death game, so the NPCs have probably had not discovered all the tactics one could use here on this island with their BIM and radars. If that NPC that I killed was a more experienced Btooom player he would have used his radar the moment he felt something was off.

More so then I originally thought, this was the ideal time to take advantage of the newbie NPCs. The difficulty of this mission itself is high, so the leaning speed of the NPCs may be faster then the players in the original manga.

Shin: I have to take advantage of this time. I'll hide.

Shin ran into the jungle quickly to hide, yet he did not go too far. Hiding within the trees and tall grass he kept silent. A few seconds later, someone came out of the jungle from the other side of the stream where Shin once was.

This person, a young girl raised her left hand where her chip was implanted and activated her radar. She did not get a response like she did the first time around, so she tried a second, third, fourth and fifth sweep of the area, but there was no response.

Shin's plan was working.

The IC Chip's radar can find other player's chips, yet only under one condition. They have to be moving. If someone who has a chip isn't moving around a lot like Shin is then a radar won't pick him up no matter how many times they sweep the area.

Shin: Good. It seems like she thinks that whoever it was that she picked up escaped already. Now, it was my turn to ambush her. Don't hold it against woman.

Once I was done acting like a cheap third rate villain and saw that the hand of the girl with the chip that she raised was down, and that there wasn't going to be another radar search, I began to act. While staying hidden and making as little noise as humanly possible, I crawled closer and closer back to the river stream.

Now that I was close as I could possibly get to her without leaving the cover of the jungle, and was able take out the girl who I was about to ambush, I was able to see her face clearly... And I unconsciously stood up from the tall grass and called out to her.

Shin: Hikari? What are you doing here? It is me, Sh-

Hikari: Kyaaa! Stay away!

Hikari, our self-proclaimed genius hacker heroine took out not a BIM, but one of the grenades that I EXCHANGED FOR HER, AND SHE ALL TOO QUICKLY DECIDED TO RETURN IT TO ME BY THROWING IT IN MY DIRECTION.

Shin: Fuck! You baka-

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Where Shin just stood... Became a sea of flames and smoldering earth.

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 2.

Real World Btoom Game, Hard Mode - Day 1.

7:05 A.M

Players Alive: 12/15.

NPCs Alive: 140/150.

Btooom Soldiers Inactive: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Inactive: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. The players of the 7th Real World Btooom have begun to face each. Still in the early stages.

2\. Although it is not important... The security system was down for 2.03 seconds around 5 PM. The system scan showed that there were no errors that would get int he way of the game, but our technicians will keep an eye on the system.


	31. Chapter 31

Half covered in dirt and half in smoke dust, was very angry man at a certain girl sitting seiza in repentance.

Shin: ...ARE. YOU. AN IDIOT, HIKARI!? Did you want me to die on the very first day that badly!?

Hikari: I said that I am sorry, so can you give it a rest? It has been over an hour ago and you are fine.

Shin: I AM FINE BECAUSE IT WAS ME! If that had been anyone other then me, you would have killed them in a fiery explosion. Thankfully I was able to quickly jump away in time.

Hikari: Sorry.

Shin: If I hadn't used KI to strengthen my legs in that split second, I , 100% would have been caught by the explosion.

Hikari: ...Sorry.

Shin: ...I geuss it is fine. I am safe and sound, and I should be happy that you have such fast reaction speed ( I am very thankful that it was a bomb and not a gun. God knows if I would have been okay ).

If it wasn't obvious already, the girl who spotted me with her radar scan earlier, who I was just about to ambush and who quickly turned the tables on me with a deathly explosion with a grenade was Hikari, one of my three original comrades along side Misaki and Aqua.

I had lost track of her and the rest of them on the descent down from the cargo plane and to the island. Aqua, Hikari and Misaki were all armed and had plenty of supplies ( Thanks to me ), so I wasn't worried about them, but who knew I would have my first reunion with one of them so soon... And in such an exciting ( Not ) way?

Shin: Anyway, I am glad that you are safe Hikari.

Hikari: Is, is that so? I too am glad that you are alright as well... Already hunting for Chips I see.

Hikari with a grim face looked towards the direction of the NPC that I killed not to long ago. It was unfortunate, but just because they are called NPCs, doesn't mean that they will just fade away like in a video game. The back of the man's head was still blown open from my splendid gunshot.

Shin: Well, yeah, I mean, this is the best time for us all to acquire Chips, right? Before the mysterious Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders arrive tomorrow. It is literally now or never. Have you collect any chips yet?

I already knew the answer before I asked or saw Hikari sway her head silently. Hikari didn't have any BIM on her like I did, so she had yet to kill anyone for their chips yet. It was still early in the game, but...

Shin: *Sigh*. So it really is like that.

The first time I saw what the mission was, I was worried about this possibility.

Not just in this mission, but in the previous one as well, Hikari had yet to kill. Not any undead, rioter or an NPC here in H.O.T.D. For the most part it really was because she was too weak do anything, but now with her increased stats compliments to the 1000 points from the last mission, Hikari should now hold strength slightly above the average person. She has also learned that she is skilled with a gun, so she no longer has anything stopping her from fighting on her own or in a group as a valuable asset. If there was one... It would be her own hesitation to hurt or kill.

Hikari isn't a naive person to think she can survive this place without taking a life at some point, yet she is still a young girl. Not a girl like Aqua who was in the army, but a regular middle school girl and civilian. Hikari, as a former criminal hacker may have hurt people before with her actions, but never physically or where she could see them.

To some extent and more then others...Aqua, Misaki and I have crossed the line. The line where one one side people take action and on the other side are where those we call bystanders live. Hikari has still not crossed that line to our side, and she needs to if she wants to survive here on this island.

In the real world you don't have to and could possibly live your life in peace, but this isn't that world. This place is hell and if you don't adapt you die. This is, or should have been Hikari's problem to solve alone like the rest of us, but... For whatever reason I can't think of, I can't leave her alone. And now that I have seen the state that she is in, I...

Hikari: Shin.

Shin: Yes, what is it?

Hikari: You weren't paying attention were you? You have been doing that a lot lately.

Shin: Really, I haven't noticed. By the way... What is that?

Hikari: That what?

Shin: You know, that? Why do you have a laptop with you and out in the open?

Hikari: This? Nothing special. I was just checking the latest data from Tyrannos Japan network that is covering the island.

Shin: I see... What?

From Hikari's explanation, Shin finds that Hikari hasn't been doing nothing this entire time since the start of the real world Btooom death game.

Hikari, the genius hacker who went by the name N3, as soon as she landed on the island hacked into Tyrannos Japan's security network, and secretly from them has been observing their security feeds and player data. She wasn't able to access everything without risking alerting Tyrannos, yet she has been able to get a lot of information that is border line cheating in this death game.

Every hour, Tyrannos Japan uses their system to pin point the moments of every player of the island, and to Shin's shock, Hikari has hacked into this system. That means that every hour on the hour she is aware of every living person on this island's last whereabouts.

With this information and some proper planning, Hikari could effective kill off every player on the island by hunting them down and laying out traps. It was... It was...

Shin: That is so cheating! This isn't even borderline unfair. It is unfair to everyone enjoying this game, Hikari. Turn it off.

Hikari: Are you stupid? Why would I do that, and who in here in their right mind is enjoying this death game?

Shin: Ahh, sorry. I lost my cool for a second there ( Since I am having fun ).

Hikari: Creepy ( THAT IS THREE ).

Shin: Anyways, this is great. Have you been using this to find the other?

Hikari: I gave been trying, but it isn't perfect. I can't tell the difference between NPCs and Players like us, and I can't get any names out of the system without alerting the admins. This island is also very huge and we are all so spread out... After looking at the records of moments of Players and NPCs, you Shin turned out to be the closest player to me.

Shin: How did you know it was me if you can't tell us apart?

Hikari: That is simple. In the last update I saw that near me that someone had already killed another NPC or Player. It is so early in the game and not even ten peopel have been killed on the island, I assumed that it was either you, Aqua, Misaki or the newbies that you handed guns to. And here we are.

Shin: Ok, but if you were so sure that I was an ally then why were you so jumpy that threw a grenade at me?

Hikari: Well, it wasn't like I was certain who it was, Player or NPC, or if the data that I took was real, so I was a little on edge when I arrived here. The player who was supposed to be here disappeared out of thin air, so I was beginning to think that this was a trap.

That kind of excuse was reasonable for throwing a bomb at me, yet I still had one more question.

Shin: Hey Hikari, you exchanged for that computer from God right?

Hikari: Yeah, so?

Shin: My concern is... How much was that very useful computer of your worth point wise.

Hikari: ...

Shin: That doesn't look like a normal entertainment category computer, does it? More like... Isn't that an expensive hi tech or sci-fi computer?

Hikari: ...Maybe.

Shin: So... Out of your important, very important 1000 points to use to enhance your stats since you are an incredibly, incredibly weak middle school girl who I had to actually carry in the last mission in more then one way... How many of those points did you use?

Hikari: ...100 points.

Shin: 100 Points!? That... Forget it. Thinking about it again you made the right choice.

I honestly did want to get made mad at Hikari.

With 100 points, with the average person being 100, she could have increased her Muscle Density, Reaction Speed or Cell Vitality by 10, or 1/10. For some one as weak as Hikari, a 1/10 of a increase in strength and endurance could go a long way, but I understand her reasoning.

Hikari wasn't too strong to begin with, so a small increase in power might not make her that strong in a street fight. That is why Hikari has chosen to increase her strengths then her weaknesses.

Hikari is a genius hacker who went by the name N3, took down dozens of corrupt companies and is wanted by 10 or more countries. Give her a computer and she can be both a powerful ally and a fearful opponent to our enemies. A tool like this computer can bring the best out of her ability and talent is most welcolmed, but I wished that she told me about this before.

If Hikari did tell me and ideally before she made the exchange, I could have warned her that we won't always be sent to worlds where her talents will be applicable. We could have been sent to Naruto or One Piece, worlds where there are no large networks for her to use her computer.

Yes, Hikari's talents are amazing and have a lot of potential uses, yet they are highly dependent on the surrounding environment. If we ended up in a historical samurai manga, she would have wasted her 100 points for nothing.

Hikari: Sorry for not telling everybody what I exchanged. I, I just wanted to surprise you all. In the last mission I was useless to say the least. You even almost died because of me Shin. I juat wanted to make myself useful and whether I like it or not this is my only skill in life where I won't lose to another.

Shin: It's fine, but you are right, I wish you would have told me. I still had some points left over after everything, so I could have exchanged that computer for you or an even better computer for you.

Hikari: I couldn't allow you do that. Not just me, but you used your points to help everyone out and get us all supplies. You've already done enough. Save your points and get better weapons and enhancements for yourself.

Shin: It would be for myself since an increase in your abilities would help the team... But I understand. I won't bring it up again. So... With that computer you know the locations of everyone on the island?

Hikari: Not in real time unfortunately, but I do have recorded their last position from twenty minutes ago and I get an hourly update. Why?

Shin: Isn't that obvious? If we know their last known location then we can track them. Then I... We will kill them all and take their Chips and BIMs.

Hikari: ...Yeah.

Shin: ...

Hikari obviously reacted to the words "We will kill", but we didn't, especially Hikari didn't have the option of not hurting others here on the island. I already have two chips, so I can survive tonight's midnight excution, but with her one chip she couldn't.

And because of the rules of this game that the person who kills the NPC is the one who gets the chip and they are nontransferable, I couldn't kill for Hikari and give her chips. If she was going to survive pass to today and hopefully live through this week... I was going to have to hold her hand here and teach her how to kill.

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 3.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 1.

8:22 A.M

Players Alive: 13/15.

NPCs Alive: 131/150.

Btooom Soldiers Inactive: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Inactive: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. More battles have been starting all around the island.


	32. Chapter 32

Shin: Hikari, are you ready?

Hikari: Yeah. The plan... I'll follow it. Please go ahead.

Shin: Alright, I am going now.

After telling Hikari of my near full proof plan to help her hunt for NPC chips ( Making sure to avoid words like people or murder ) the two of us set out.

Using Hikari's computer as a valuable source of information we went to an area that according to the last system scan there were many possible NPCs/players were last spotted. Then, once the next scan was complete we would begin to head over and track down the nearest chip. Twenty minutes of walking later we found our next chip, a gangster looking man in his late thirties.

Once I saw the man, I was honestly very thankful for our luck. Not because of this chance to get an NPC chip, but because the NPC himself looked like a villain no matter what angle one looked at him. It shouldn't matter when you are killing a human being or NPC, yet for a first timer like Hikari, the more they look deserving of death and that killing them will be benefiting society, the better.

Shin: Still, I hope the plan works.

The plan that Shin came up to kill the chip was simple.

Shin will use explosives to scare the the NPC and force him to run in the opposite direction of himself. And Hikari, who will be hiding and staying still to avoid being caught on radar, will wait for the chip to pass by and... Hopefully she will take him out with her handgunand not freeze up. The last of is the only real danger of their plan. Hikari was the best shot out of the three newbie survivors of H.O.T.D, but Shin was worried if she would really pull the trigger, yet in the end he could only trust Hikari.

Shin: I can't do this her. Just disabling the enemy myself and having her finish him off is no good either. If she can't fight and kill with her own hands then somewhere down the line, this mission or the next she will die. Like hell on my journey towards an OP protagonist am I going to let my comrades die!

And then the battle began.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

As per the plan, Shin began throwing grenades at the NPC.

Shin opted to use his grenades first instead of the Timer BIM since he felt that they were more useful in a fight. He threw the grenades not directly at the NPC as he could have done, so that the enemy would follow his role and head towards Hikari, but the NCP didn't runaway without putting up a fight.

NPC: Damm, this bastard, trying to kill me... Give it your best shot moron!

The enemy NPC began his own attack at Shin.

The NPC threw one of his BIM into the jungle despite not knowing where his opponent was, yet he didn't have to. The eight BIM that he started out with were Homing BIM. They lacked destructive power, but made up with it with there unique function of being able to track opponents and fly directly at them with its attached propeller.

Shin: Homing BIM? Surprising, but not outside my expectations!

When the Homing BIM was nearing Shin, he took out his handgun and shot the BIM in mid flight. The BIM exploded and lit up the surrounding area. Shin was not the best shot in the world, but his Reaction Speed stat that improved reaction time and vision more than made up for any lack of talent.

NPC: A gun! Damm, how did he sneak one onto the island! They took mine, but not his? Shit!

Shin: Good! He is running away.

The effects of the NPC hearing the gunshot was what Shin was looking for. A gun was a weapon that none of the other NPCs had on the island due to anything other then food or a survival knife being confiscated to keep the theme of a bomb battle that is Btooom. Guns were an exclusive right held only by Players who were outsiders to this world and somehow ended up in this death game .

Despite bombs having a strong effect of death, the gun was a much more clearer form of danger for a person of modern society. That was why hearing the gunshot scared the NPC and erased the idea that he could fight back with toy looking futuristic bombs.

Just as Shin had hoped for.

Shin: Good! The man is running away as planned. Now all that is left is for Hikari to do her part and finish him off!

Shin said this, but he was obviously worried about Hikari's ability to pull the trigger and take the NPC's life, so he chased after the man just in case. Fearful that Hikari would be unable to shot the NPC and the NPC in turn spots her and... But in the end it looked like his worries were unneeded.

\- *BANG*!

The NCP who was running for his life was shot down without even seeing the one who took his life. A bullet entered from the left side of his head and exited out the right. The only words for it... It was a perfect execution.

Shin looked down and then walked over to the corpse of the NPC to confirm the kill. He looked at the gunshot wound and he was very impressed. Hikari took down the man with one shot through the temple. Shin had really believed that Hikari would chocke up at the last minute and get herself killed.

Shin: He is dead alright. Too bad he used one of his BIMs before he died. Still, seven Homing BIM can be used in a lot of... Hikari?

Shin looked towards where Hikari came out of the jungle to surprise attack the NPC... Trembling where she stood, with her hands still out holding onto her gun and tears running down her face. Shin called out to her again worried, but received no response for her.

Anyone who saw her now could tell that she was in shock and needed to time to collect herself, but... Shin knew that they didn't have time for that. They needed to gain as many chips as they could before the day ended and there was still light out, so they both couldn't wait for who knows how long for Hikari to recover form this shock.

Shin, choosing that they had to power through this event, in Hikari's stead he checked the BIMs of the fallen NPC, Homing BIM, and took them. Having then found nothing else of importance on the man that could benefit them, Shin picked up Hikari up off her feet and and carried her away. He felt deeply conflicted about exposing her to more battles, but telling himself that it was for her sake, they left to find their next NPC and chip.

After killing the gangster looking NPC and acquiring Hikari's second chip allowing her to survive Day 1's midnight execution, the two of us moved on to our next chip/target. Hikari was still a little in shock, yet Shin was able to get her to move on for the moment.

Shin: Now on to the next target.

The NPC we went after next was after the latest scan that gave us his location. The NPC was a white collar worker similar to my first opponent. Hikari recovered somewhat by this point and working together, it became an easy kill.

This time our positions were reversed. Hikari would be the attacker to draw enemy attention and I would hide in wait, waiting for a chance to kill the NPC when he let his guard down.

Hikari started off by using her new Homing BIM she gained from the gangster NPC to attack the enemy from a distance. They didn't have much destructive power, so they couldn't make the man runaway in fear like our previous opponent when we used grenades, but they gave Hikari a different advantage.

A short distance away hidden in the jungle, Hikari could just stay still and let the BIM fly to the NPC. This allowed her to stay out of the NPC attack range and if he were to use his radar to look for her, she wouldn't show up at all. This was one of the tactics that best bring out the power of Homing BIM, but we weren't looking for an immediate and decisive win.

The point of this strategy wasn't to kill NPC outright with explosions, but just distract while I go in for the kill from behind, but unexpectedly the NPC was a foolish to an extent that surprised even us. He saw the Homing BIMs that Hikari released coming at him and did nothing as it made contact and exploded right in front of him.

Who knows if he forgot the detailed explanation on the types of BIM on the plane ride here and so he thought it was a toy, but whatever the case he was done for from the moment he didn't run the first Homing BIM doing a lot of damage and two more later hitting him, the man fell all too quickly.

The battle was so anticlimactic that even Hikari who was still reeling over the guilt of her first kill felt that the man was far too pitiful and stupid. She still felt bad for him, but Hikari's sarcastic side came out. Hopefully, this was a sign that she was adjusting to this place in her own way. If what it took for her was to look down on others to stay sane then so be it.

Now the problem was...

Hikari: ...Shin.

Shin: I know?

Hikari: He

Shin: I know.

Hikari: Th-this NPC is still alive.

Shin: ...I can see that.

After the battle was over and we were about to leave with the NPC's remaining BIM, Hikari spoke up and said that she did gain the dead NPC's chip. She also couldn't turn on her new Timer BIM, that belonged to the man, so we realized that that the the dead NPC wasn't so dead after all. I kinda knew that he wa still alive from the start, but I was sort of in denial and for good reason too.

His skin had turned a redish black color from the multiple explosions, yet he still breathing, barely, unfortunately for him. Even with medical treatment who knew if the man could ever step out of a hospital bed again in his life time. We could leave him here, wait for some Komodo Dragon to eat him, but not only was that too cruel, it was ineffective as well.

At times you can't underestimate the human bodies ability to survive trauma.

Shishio Makoto survived his own execution of being burned alive and lived for days without proper treatment. This man was obvious no great warrior like him, but the premise is still the same. Leaving him like this was bad for many reasons, so the natural choice was to...

Hikari: ...Let's put him down.

Shin: What?

Hikari: What's the matter? It is obviously the right choice to put a bullet in this guy's brain. Besides, that is what we came here for anyways.

Shin: Yes, but... I wasn't expecting you to suggest it first. It is obvious that you hate killing, and this would be nothing less then an execution, or mercy killing, but that's besides the-

Hikari: ...So what? Death is death here in this world. Using guns or BIM from a distance won't pretty it up. Let's stop wasting time here and move on, ok?

Saying so Hikari took out her gun.

She was about to kill this NPC, this man here, lying on the dirty ground who was basically burned alive and put a bullet into his head. And she wasn't doing it for mercy. This was pure murder, not even for survival.

Right now, I bet anything that Hikari isn't even thinking about killing this NPC for his chip or BIMs. She is just going through the motions and killing just because. No reason, just because it was an option she was going to kill this person.

That kind of mentality... Is absolutely wrong.

Killing for fun or killing for profit are absolutely wrong even in this world is what I believe even now. Even if you think that way in the back of your mind, if survival isn't your first and final goal then... Murder can't be forgiven. I am doubtful that murder ever could be, but if it is possible then only for one's survival could it become one's justification.

What Hikari is doing can't be allowed to happen. She... Isn't a broken human being like me nor should she ever be. As a man, comrade and possibly a friend, I can't and won't allow this place to change her in that sort of way.

\- *BANG*!

The gun that Hikari fired at the more then half dead NPC was quickly pushed away and the bullet priced into the ground inches away from the man's head. Hikari tried to resist and break free of my grip, but for her or even for someone as strong as Misaki after his stat increase, it would still be impossible with my Muscle Density stat.

I then took out my own handgun and aimed it at the NPC.

Hikari: What are you doing?

Shin: Shut up. Let me handle this kind of dirty work.

And then I opened fire.

\- *Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang*!

I'm a man here in this world to have fun playing the main character, but I want to live above everything else. I am a broken human who enjoys punching, kicking, shooting and bashing in skulls, but above all I want to live to achieve my goal to become special. That is my justification for all I do on this island and for all past and future missions.

But what about Hikari?

She is just trying to survive this hell dimension to the best of her ability. Her killing others to live in this world is justifiable, but meaningless killing can't be forgiven. Just killing because you are pushed emotionally like this can't be right.

I really might be splitting hairs here, but as the person closest to her right now I can't allow it. Also, seeing Hikari fall down a dark path, and then maybe seeing her die one day on that path definitely won't be good for me, or my heart.

Using Aqua as an example, whatever made her the badass killing machine who laughs in the face of death and won't hesitate to kill, all that happened before I met her. There is probably nothing I could do at the moment to change her here even if there is or is not a need to, but I met Hikari here on my watch as we came to this Mission World together.

I should only feel responsible for my own life, but for whatever reason I feel that I am responsible for the weak girl that I met in H.O.T.D who asked me to support her because she knew that she was too weak to make it on her own... And to me she was the first girl, the first person asking to rely on me, a useless otaku.

Her actions and her survival are directly linked to me, and if the worst were to happen to her and she dies, my own desire to live will be effected. It was fuzzy logic that I couldn't understand where it came from, but that was my answer as I shot as I shot round after round of bullets into the NPC on the ground.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, NPC CHIP - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED.

Once more I killed.

All for points, chips and for Hikari, yet ultimately it was all for my survival. I won't make any excuses. Like the Shield Hero said about his own actions to protect what he wanted to protect in an imperfect world... I am definitely going to hell.

Hikari: Shin, why did you stop me from killing him if you were going to do it anyway?

Shin: Sorry for taking your hard earned chip, but I am not going to let you execute a man like that. Leave that kind of thing to me. Let's go.

Hikari still looked at me upset, not knowing why I stopped her, but this was fine.

Even if she needs someone to hate other then the God of this world to hate, to blame for forcing her to kill. It is fine since... What I only want is for her to live. I don't know when I developed such strong feelings, but it didn't matter.

We still had things to do and NPCs to kill. This was just the first day and we had so much left to face.

Hikari: ...Creep ( GOD DAMM IT! THAT IS FIVE ALREADY ). Acting like a MC.

Shin: ...Oh, how I wish that this world was a game or movie. Then I can fast forward the boring parts and just get to the fun action scenes. Also, why can't I act somewhat cool without being insulted?

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 4.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 1.

11:11 A.M

Players Alive: 13/15.

NPCs Alive: 129/150.

Btooom Soldiers Inactive: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Inactive: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. More, and more fun battles have been starting all around the island.


	33. Chapter 33

Our target for another NPC Chip right before noon was troublesome.

Like with the others we found the NPC, a women in her late 20's who was setting up a camp with Hikari's laptop that she had used to hack into Tyrannos Japan's system. The female NPC was unaware of us at first, or so we thought.

I went in first to distract her while Hikari lies in wait, choosing to continue with our current battle strategy that has been working so far. When I was close enough to to kill her with either BIM or a gun, but didn't at first because I wanted Hikari to get the NPC's chip... That was my first mistake.

I should have killed her immediately and then failing to do so immediately after noticing that the women NPC had two cases for BIM was my second mistake. This NPC has already experienced killing, so just like Hikari and I, she had adapted to this death game called Btooom fast.

The women NPC must have been on the edge emotionally, so her senses were extremely sharp. The moment I accidentally stepped on a tree branch, not even considering the possibility that it was a wild animal, the NPC activated her radar and found me.

\- *PING*!

Shin: Shit!

I was about to shoot her where she stood, but it was too late as I had lost the timing. The NPC swiftly activated a switch on her wrist before I could even aim it at her.

\- *BEEP*!

A few feet from where I stood, I heard something turn on to my right and instinctively I immediately jumped away. Less then a second later a large explosion occurred where I once was stood.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Remote Control BIM.

The Remote Control BIM wasn't a BIM that was thrown, but set beforehand like a landmine amd one that could be detonated from a distance. It was useless if completely avoid or spotted early, but it's weakness were easily made up with it's destructive power far exceeding any of the BIMs that I've seen so far on the island

The explosion was so powerful that I shouldn't have been able to jump away like that unharmed, but just like the incident with Hikari, I was able to escape safety thanks to my increased Stats and Ki.

Shin: ( Maybe I should thank Hikari after all for earlier ( Not ). If not for that incident I wouldn't have been on guard against against explosives of all kind ).

Still, it wasn't that I was safe.

Right after the hidden BIM went off, the NPC sent out a radar scan and then a BIM came flying my way. Once again with legs strengthened by Ki I jumped away, this time up a tree hanging on a sturdy tree branch. Then right below me an explosion occurred the moment the BIM hit the ground.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Shin: ( Hahaha, detonating right away and that circular shape... A Cracker BIM! ).

The Cracker BIM was the most common BIM that just explodes on impact. Normally such a BIM wouldn't be a problem with my reflexes, yet...

Shin: Only god, not our sadistic God, knows how many Remote BIM that are hidden in the area, so I just can't carelessly jump anywhere. I also can't let Hikari come near this minefield either.

NPC: Where is he... Up in the trees! Is he a monkey? Die!

With another radar scan the NPC found me up the tree and threw another Cracker BIM towards me. To avoid, I kicked off the tree quickly, avoiding the explosion. Then once I landed, I pulled out my gun and began firing like mad at the NPC.

The NPC was surprised that I had a gun, but it didn't reverse the situation that I was in. None of my shots hit her. She was outside my effective shooting range where I can rely on my Stats to insure a hit. Within that range, thanks to my increased reflexes and sight it is near 100% accuracy, but outside that scope I was forced back to the novice marksman that I was.

The NPC saw that I was a bad shot and ran in the dense jungle knowing my chances of shooting her within there was near zero. She believed that she had me beat, and she would have if she was my first opponent that I met on the island.

By killing two of her fellow NPCs, not only did I gain two additional chips I acquired two cases of BIM as well. The cases of unused BIM were both Timers. Half set to explode immediately after one second and the other half kept with their counters unset.

Running out of grenades early on, on the gangster looking NPC, I finally had my chance to play Btooom, the life and death game where we only fought with BIM.

I couldn't see the woman NPC with her hiding in the jungle, but I didn't need to or use my own radar that reveals that I am looking for her, and so she puts her guard up. After my Ghoul and Ki enhancements all my senses had increased leaps and bounds.

Within sight, I could see a pin drop across the rooom. Hearing was more difficult to master, but I learned from Aqua how to focus on specific sounds and shut the others out. I was unable to completely shut out the many sounds of the world, but I could find the one thing I trained the most on being able to find no matter the chaos of the battle field... Breathing!

Shin: ...From seven o'clock that sounds like Hikari breathing, staying still waiting in position. So that leaves the haggard breathing from three o'clock... There!

In that direction I threw one of the 1 second Timer BIM with full force. At the speed that I could throw the BIM, that in itself was a deadly weapon. Unfortunately I didn't get a direct hit, yet...

\- *Explosion*!

NPC: What the hell!? Why does he have guns and BIM as well!?

Shin: Your the second to ask that today, so you can do the same as him and go die!

I could see the NPC now running away from the first fiery explosion of the Timer BIM that I threw , and I now threw another BIM at her. The second didn't kill her, but she was definitely effected. While running away from the second explosion, the resulting shock wave blew her off her feet and hit a tree head first when she slammed into one. She kept going despite it all bravely, but she was obviously dizzy.

Either from the explosion or hitting her head, that didn't matter much. This was a chance

Shin: Hikari! She is coming towards you. Take her out!

NPC: Like I would fall for that obvious lie! Go burn to death!

Then with the watch on her wrist the NPC activated the rest of her Remote Control BIM that she had hidden in the area. Shin wasn't directly hit, but the repeating explosions kept him from following her. She really believed that she was in the clear... Up to the Moment that small, black ball like object that came flying and hit her face.

It was the very same type of BIM that was used to corner Shin just in a previous fight and and Hikari gained possession of after killing an NPC, the Homing BIM. From the moment that she registered the BIM, it hit her face and the women NPC knew her fate.

\- *Explosion*!

All that was left was a fiery, smoking, headless corpse of NPC that fell to Hikari's newest BIM

After our latest battle for chips, Hikari and I decided to take a break. It was already around noon time, so it was perfect, but our greatest reason was simply that we were tired.

I may possess great stamina, but that doesn't change the fact that physically and mentally, I have have experienced four life and death battles in less then eight hours. Hikari who had fought three such battles after meeting up with me didn't even have my stats. Both physically and especially mentally, she was worn out. More so than I. It was definitely the right time to stop for a break.

Hikari set up her newly acquired and few Remote Control BIM around our make shift campsite and I made sure to be on the look out for anyone attempting to sneak up on us with my enhanced senses.

It wasn't completely a relaxing time as we would have wished for, yet we both knew better to not let our guard down. In fact, it was because the two of us were now murders who specialized in catching other off guard and killing them that we didn't.

It at this time that Hikari asked about our current situation.

Hikari: So how is our progress in your opinion, Shin?

Shin: I think we are doing very well so far. We both have enough chips for tonight's midnight execution and plenty of BIM at our disposal.

Both Shin and Hikari were really were doing very well so far. Not even half a day has gone by and they were in a favorable position

Shin was in the possession of three chips towards the main quest to collect 8 chips and had also acquired a large number of Timer BIM×14 by defeating two NPCs. Shin hadn't reached the half way mark in his chip collection, yet he had a good number of a single type of BIM.

Shin: ( Well, this is good enough for now. As for Hikari she is doing even better then me ).

Hikari was in the possession of four chips towards the main quest to collect 8 Chips and has gained a wide variety of BIM after defeating two NPCs. Remote Control×3, Cracker×3 and Homing×3.

Her collection of BIMS were less then Shin's, but she had gained a wider variety of BIM and had reached the halfway mark for in her chip collection.

Shin: How fortunate for you Hikari. Because that last NPC women had already killed a NPC or Player, she had an additional Chip on her. Defeating her has now given you a total of 4 Chips, so you're now at the halfway mark on the very first day.

Hikari: Hmm, praise me as much as you like, but I won't share any of my Chips with you. In fact, shouldn't you feel frustrated that I, a girl with few enhancements has surpassed you, the creepy Otaku with high end enhancements? You tool ( How am I a tool? )?

Shin: Oh, I recall that I did much of the leg work to get all of our Chips if you remember? And by legs work, I mean shooting down BIMs and literary using my legs to jump away from fiery deaths! Should I get a thanks, and also, you already used your five insults for the day. That last one was against our promise.

Hikari: Really? I don't count the one for when we were still back in the Terminal Lobby, so that last insult I used was still good... Creep.

Shin: ... ( This girl... Absolutely, middle school girls ARE THE WORST! Adult women like Aqua are definitely 10,000 times better... I wonder how she is doing ).

But whatever the case, I am glad that Hikari had a positive recovery from these last few battles ( Little too well if she has the strength to insult me ).

Then as Shin was about to bring up what they should do for the rest of the day, they heard loud sound from above. Shin was already on alert and activated his radar, yet nothing was picked up by the scan. Then the Shin and Hikari looked up and found the cause for the the loud rumbling in the air.

It was a plane.

Hikari: It looks similar to the plane that brought us here to the island. Could it be...

Shin: Yeah, I believe it is. I know we just started our break, but we can't let this chance slip by. Let's go Hikari!

The two quickly packed up their supplies that they took out and quickly retrieved Hikari's Remote Control BIM that she spread around the area as they left in a hurry as fast as they could. The reason was that both Shin and Hikari knew what the plane above them meant.

They recognized it as the plane in Btooom that will drop down supplies by parachute for the players to have. Thus, another stage of the real world Btooom game and God's mission began.

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 5.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 1.

12:01 P.M

Players Alive: 13/15.

NPCs Alive: 126/150.

Btooom Soldiers Inactive: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Inactive: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. More battles have been starting all around the island.

2\. More bugs have been found in the program.

3\. As planned, the first supply drop will being at noon. More battle, more battles and more bloodshed! Hahahahahahaa!


	34. Chapter 34

Around Noon of Day 1 of the real world Btooom Death Game, a lone NPC stood before a large tree with a face full of glee.

NPC: Yes, I am the first one here! I hope there is good food and water inside!

This male NPC earlier noticed that planes were flying over the island not ten minutes ago.

He tried to wave it down thinking that he could be rescued, yet it neved slowed down even the slightest. When his hopes of of rescue and leaving the island was lost, he found new hope.

He noticed that the plane dropped something down by parachute. It was then he remembered that their would be scheduled supply drops by the ones organization this awful death game.

The NPC hadn't eaten since lunch of the previous day, so he was very eager to get to the supply drop... So much so that he ignored the fact that he was never told about a supply drop. Then as of compelled to go after the supply drops the NPC left his safe hiding place and began his journey.

The NPC ran for miles and miles without stopping to get to the nearest drop point that he was able to spot and found it.

Hanging from the from a parachute that was caught by a branch of a tall tree was a large case. Seeing the case, the NPC knew that there would be food, water, clothes, medicine and other goods that would be extremely useful to him or any player on the island.

NPC: My luck really is turning around! Just thinking of all the troubles that I have experienced... These supplies are mine! But first...

The NPC was excited to be the first one here, yet he wasn't stupid.

He had been attacked twice so far since the death game began. He was especially concerned that while he was attempting to get the case from up the tree, he would be attacked. He also had very few BIM left and had nothing to show for it. Being attacked now would be the worst so he acted with extra careful.

The NPC focused strength into his left hand and activated his radar.

There were indeed other players coming towards him and the case, but luckily for him they were at the very edge of his scan. If he hurried now he could retrieve the case of supplies and escape.

It would be dangerous, but his hungry won out over his reason. It was at that moment that he was about to climb up the tree tha the heard a sound under his feet at the base of the tree.

\- *Ping*!

A white flash of light later... The NPC was no longer in this world.

Hiding within the dense jungle and coming out to check that their victim was indeed dead, Shin and Hikari sigh a breath of relief. Neither one of them wanted to execute a dying man like before ever again.

Yes, the ones who had killed that NPC not even a minute ago were Shin and Hikari. The plan they hatch was Shin's idea, an idea straight out of the Oda Nobutaka play book.

The truth was that it was Shin and Hikari who first found and made it to the drop site where the parachute carrying the case full of supplies fell. The parachute was caught on a tree branch and would take some time to take it down. Hikari was worried that others would be coming any minute, but that was when Shin had his idea on how to mKe the best of the situation. .

Shin had Hikari set one of her Remote Control BIM by the base of the tree and the two left to go hide. Shin immediately knew that anyone wanting to get the case would have to climb the tree and would naturally step over the hidden BIM to climb up the tree. When someone, an NPC did tried to climbed up the tree, believing that there were the first one's there Shin had Hikari detonate the hidden BIM, killing the NPC.

Hikari: Your plan really worked Shin! He fell right into it.

Shin: Hm, I know. The call me a master of the battlefields in my past life.

It was a smart plan and one originally thought up by Ryota former best friend Oda in the Btooom manga. Of course, I wasn't going to tell Hikari that since I wanted the credit. I wasn't that interested in the middle school girl with a 1-2 year age difference from me, yet that didn't mean that I hated having a younger girl being impressed with me.

Hikari: I geuss we can call this a success. I was doubtful that anyone could be foolish enough to not check for traps. Serves him right!

Shin: My plan had a high chance of success on the first day here on the islandd. The pople here are still unaware of all the little tricks out there, so you don't have to mock the man in death. Actually, just don't mock him. We also don't have a lot of time before other NPCs arrive.

Shin did a quick scan with his radar and was frightened about what he found.

Ten.

There were ten NPCs rushing towards them and five of the them were very close. Within the next minute the two of them would be surrounded on all sides by enemies.

Shin no longer had the time to climb the tree, so he pulled out his gun and began firing rapidly up the tree. He was aiming for the belts connecting the case the to the parachute so that the case would fall to the ground and it worked.

Shin quickly grabbed the case full of supplies. It should have been quite heavy, but with his stats the case weighed little to nothing. Then with Hikari by his side they ran away into the jungle, with multiple NPCs on their tails.

It took over an hour of nonstop running and hiding, but Shin and Hikari managed to escape safety from the NPCs tracking them for the supply case. They, Hikari mostly, was exhausted and covered in mud from avoiding the NPCs throwing BIM and dangerous wildlife, yet for the moment they were both safe.

Hikari: Do-do you really think that we lost them? They, they could be just hiding.

Shin: I doubt it. To hide from us they would have had to stop moving to avoid radars, but since we kept running like our lives depended on it they shouldn't be anywhere near us and I doubt they know about radar canceling. Just in case... Hikari, check the area out with your radar.

Hikari: Why me? You have a radar as well.

Shin: Yes, but you have more chips then me, so yours will be more effective. Just try it out and see if anyone is nearby.

Hikari: Ok.

Hikari raised her left hand where her chip was implanted and activated her radar function.

The reason Shin had Hikari use her radar and not his own is because her radar naturally become more effective. The range of the radar will naturally expand by the number of chips that a person has on them. Hikari had five now and Shin was at three, so her radar when turned on had far more range and effectiveness then his own since she had two more then him currently.

Hikari: ...Nothing. Shin, I didn't find anyone on the radar. What now?

Shin: I think the two of us should take a proper break this time, but I don't want to do it here. We don't have to keep running, but we should keep walking till we cam find an ideal spot to rest.

Hikari: Alright. Were there any in the manga that we could use now?

Shin: Yeah, but I don't want to resort to them now. There are many people on the island looking for a comfortable place to stay, ans I bet that they will be willing to kill for it, and there is only the two of us. I want to wait for when there are far less NPCs and Players on the island that I would have to compete with for a good housing location.

Hikari: Worried about real estate prices?

Shun: Who wouldn't be when the the price could be death.

Shin: How are you feeling?

Hikari: Like I have been walking for twelve plus hours, wait, I have, so I am not doing that great thank you!

Shin: Don't bite my head off. Still, if you are your normal sharp mouthed self, then you can't be that tired. Lets keep walking.

Hikari: ...Fine.

On our way looking for a place where the two could rest, Shin looked over at Hikari.

Physically he saw that she was okay. Dead tired, but okay. Yet what Shin was truly worried about was her current mental stability.

If Shin were to trust what he saw on the surface then Hikari has adjusted well. She is capable of killing people, NPCs without hesitation anymore and she no longer looks lile she is about to cry after every battle, and nor was she shutting off her emotions and is just going through motions like before.

This should should be a good thing, yet he has definitely noticed something off about Hikari. Hikari had a sharp mouth, especially when it had to do with himself, but lately he has been seeing a different side to her.

Shin noticed that she has begun a hateful habit of sneering and looking down at her dead opponents. She is calm and collected during a fight and doesn't make mistakes with the timing of her attacks, yet once the enemy is dead and on the floor you could see and hear the contempt that she has for the fallen foe.

If it is just at that level then it is fine if that is her way to cope with everything. It isn't like I have that much respect for the dead. It really is fine, but I have to keep a watch out so that it doesn't become worse. If I woke up one day and I saw a mini Aqua in Hikari, then I might just shoot myself.

And on a different subject, when did I start acting like her older brother. When ever it was... That fact that I am teaching my little sister bad habits like killing people, and then praising her for it means that I failed somewhere along the way, right? Well, I was a little brother originally, so no one can blame him for getting it a little wrong. I definitely won't, bit still...

Shin: *Sigh*!

Hikari: What is wrong?

Shin: Nothing. Just... Non blood related sibling relationships are much harder then they look then on anime.

Hikari: ...What the hell are you on about?

Shin: Like I said its nothing. By the way, when we find a place to rest how about we make that place our temporary base of operations and call it a day?

Hikari: Why? There is plenty of daylight left..

Hikari was right.

Hikari may have five chip and I had three, so we could both survive the next few days without worrying about the midnight execution, yet that wasn't a good enough excuse to call it quits.

There was still plenty of time in the afternoon to hunt for chips long as we had her laptop, and today was an important day to get as many chips as possible before the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders begin showing up, but I had an important reason for wanting to call it a day.

Above all else, I want want to have Hikari rest for the day. Today is indeed their best chance to get chips, but I wasn't willing to risk her mental state breaking any further. What Hikari had to do today was necessary, yet I found that isn't enough of a reason to keep pushing her after all.

Hikari's life is very important, but so is her psychological state, maybe even more. There wasn't any point in just surviving if you lose your mind or become cold bloodied... At least that is the choice that I made for the both of us, even though I hadn't said as much out loud.

Shin: We need to prepare early is all. It was early morning, but I remember it being very cold. We could freeze to death at night if we aren't prepared. We have also been up awake for who knows how long, not counting the losing consciousness when we entered that beam of light.

Hikari: ueah, but I can keep-

Shin: I doubt that, but that is just one reason. I am tired as well, so this is perfect timing. By the way, have you ever camped out before?

Hikari: I am a computer nerd/hacker. Do I look like an outdoors girl to you?

Shin: No, but you look hot with the dirt from the jungle and sweat staining your-

Hikari: WE'LL REST ALRIGHT, SO SHUT UP PERVERT!

Is pervert better then being a creep or otaku... With such thoughts on my mind we went out and search for a place to set up base for the end of Day 1.

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 6.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 1.

1:48 P.M

Players Alive: 12/15.

NPCs Alive: 119/150.

Btooom Soldiers Inactive: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Inactive: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. The supply drop was successful. Many of the players fought over their only lifeline for food and water like fools, hahahaha!


	35. Chapter 35

At the temporary base camp, Shin and Hikari decided to call it a day around evening.

The two had spent hours looking for an ideal place to rest for the day where they can avoid other people, and that was when they found a certain cave.

It could hardly be called that because the cave wasn't to deep, but they found a way to make it more spacious. Using up all of the few Implosion type BIM that Hikari won from her last victim, they were able to create more room within the cave.

They couldn't risk making a fire pit since the light and would draw unwanted attention at night, both human and animals alike, but they had warmth already covered. In the backpacks that they had, among the items that Shin exchanged for everyone were heavy blankets and for light they had small solar powered lamps ( Charged up earlier on in the day ).

Shin didn't go as far to consider what would they have done if they found themselves in a barren ice land for their mission, but if it was just a cold night on a island then they were all covered. So far, his only mistakes with preparations was that he didn't get heavy firearms or enough food for an extended period of time.

They also had the supply case.

Not only was there food and water inside the case there was also clothes ( Btooom logo goods ), camping tools and other survival tools that Shin didn't think of, like a simple flashlight.

Combined with their own rations and supplies that they brought with them, Shin and Hikari now had enough to sustain a relatively good life style on the island for at least 4-5 day. If in the next few day they were to recover another supply case then they would be set for all seven days of the mission if it is only the two of them.

Shin: Now all that is left are Chips and BIM. Hikari, how many Chips and BIM do you have again?

Hikari: As of right now, after that last NPC who fell for my trap I now have five Chips. As for BIM, I have Remote Control×2, Cracker×2 ( During our escape we used one ) and Homing×3. I had three Implosion BIM, but we just used those up for expanding the cave. You?

Shin: I still have three Chips. As for my BIM they are all Timer BIM×14.

Hiakri: Is it just me, or am I the only one using BIM here?

Shin: You not wrong, but that can't be helped. It was already decided that you would be the one we would have get the most Chips. The Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders begin to show it will be much harder to acquire Chips, and between the two of us, I have the better shot of getting chips during that time. That is why I am conserving my BIM.

Hikari: You mean to abandon me? So that I can safely stay in this cave with eight Chips while you go out and gather more alone in the upcoming chaos?

Shin: That... Isn't definite, yet that is what I am hoping for. Is that a problem?

Hikari: ...No.

Hikari probably understood my underline meaning.

That by myself, I could gain more chips alone then with her. It was true in a way.

Hikari as an ally benefits me greatly with her information source by hacking into the islands security, but on my own I don't have to worry about protecting her in the field. No matter what actions that I have taken, I had always put Hikari's safety first above all else. It was also me who distracted our opponents so far, so that they wouldn't discover her till it was too late, with her gaining most of the chips in the end.

By myself, I am confident that I can get all eight chips. It's my current plan to quickly have Hikari acquire all eight chips by tomorrow, and on Day 3, I will head out alone get my own chips. Also, if it is possible I will see about getting the 100 Points and D rank reward for Btooom Soldiers and 500 Points and C rank reward for Btooom Commanders.

Hikari : Shin.

Shin: Yes.

Hikari: When was all of this decided?

Shin: By me a while back in my head. Why?

Hikari: ... ( No words where said, yet her eyes told me that she just used her sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth insult of the day that she does not have, all in her mind ).

Hikari: How do you think the others are doing?

Shin: Do you mean our original group, the new members or the rest of the newbies?

Hikari: The first two. According to my data over forty people on the island have already died. I don't really care about the other newbies who decided not to trust us, but by now they are all probably dead. My concern is for Aqua and Misaki, and also the newbies who decided to follow us Saki, Kampa, Zero and Shuai.

Shin: I feel the same. It wouldn't surprise me if they were already dead. As for our team, they are probably doing okay.

Hikari: To bad we can't contact them with the communication phone.

Shin: Yeah. Who would have expected that Tyrannos were also jamming all transmitted signals on the island. In the manga it just said there was no reception.

Hikari: Isn't it obvious that there would be some kind on interference at work. Tyrannos couldn't well risk the smallest chance that someone would pick up a random signal with their cell phones ( Than why not take them, yet that is besides the point ).

Shin: I geuss you're right. Really, how are they doing?

I was worried, but not too worried about them.

Aqua and Misaki were as well equipped as the two of us, so they should be okay. Saki, Kampa, Zero and Shuai... Three out of the four have military experience in one field or another, and the fourth has a gun and knows the story of Btooom at the very least. Long as nothing unexpected happens ( Hope not on Day 1 ), we should all make it out of this okay.

As for the other newbie, like Hikari said most are probably dead by now, or will be dead by the end of today. I would really be surprised if any one of them had gained one chip and make it pass the first Midnight Execution of the mission.

Hikari: That reminds me.

Shin: What?

Hikari: When I first broke into the island's security system, I saw something strange. Early on in the day I saw that several players in a corner area of the island all disappeared, meaning that they all died within the first hour or two. I forgot about it with everything going on, but remembering it now, I am concerned. Like their could be another threat on the island.

Shin: Like a secret boss? Possible, but unlikely so you shouldn't over think it too much. It was probably her.

Hikari: Her?

Shin: Aqua.

If there was one person on the island who could track down several NPCs within the few hours of the mission and defeat them all without pausing, that was the strongest member of our group, Aqau.

Aqua is is both part Werewolf and has Wolverine genetic mutation enhancements, both of which snould have great senses of smell, sight and hearing. Finding multiple NPCs should have been a piece of cake for her even without a radar. I bet that right now, she is most likely relaxing with with a cigarette after gaining all required eight chips.

Hikari: I geuss you are right. No one else could have done it.

Shin: Of course! Aqua is amazingly strong. By now, she probably has more then eight Chips.

Hikari: Why do you look so happy? If she does start looking for more then eight Chips, that means that there will be less Chips for the two of us and the others to find. There are only so many NPCs with Chips on the island to begin with and other Players outside our group will be hunting them down.

Shin: I geuss you're right. Let's try to collect the remaining Chip that we need by the end of Day 2. While also observing the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander that will appear tomorrow, we will finish up everything by the end of the day. With that said... Let's go to bed. I am beat.

Shin and Hikari were just about to go to sleep.

The two finished hiding the entrance of the cave they were sleeping in with leaves and branches and as an add on percussion, Hikari set Remote Control BIM so that in a emergency they can be activated to kill any potential intruders that come close to the entrance. There was a risk that the explosion could casue a cave in, yet it was risk worth taking for their immediate safety.

Shin: Good night Hikari

Hikari: Good night Shin... Shin.

Shin: Yes?

Hikari: ...You, Your not going to sneak over here in the middle of the night are you? Unable to control your disgusting otaku impulses you-

Shin: GO. TO. SLEEP!

And with that, Hikari and Shin went to bed, or should have.

Shin was still awake and just watched as Hikari slowly went to sleep. He definitely wasn't seeing this as an chance sneak into a girls bed again. He was just happy to see that the day and Hikari's hardships had ended

Shin: What sneak over while she is asleep? Maybe Aqua, but not this middle school brat. Besides which, I am dead tired as well.

Shin wa tired from all of Days 1's events:

1\. After a great/traumatic night together with Aqua, he was brought to his second mission in the world of Btooom.

2\. Shin saw that it was a fifteen man, non plot driven mission and that God had messed with the mission.

3\. Shin wasn't able to unite all the New Players as a leader should have. He was able to gain the trust of four of the New Players, but they and his original three comrades were all separated.

4\. Shin began to kill for chips. Killing NPCs not caring if they deserved it or not, and teaching Hikari to do the same. It left him with a bad felling in the pit of his stomach.

5\. Day 1 went moderately well, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this was only a prelude to a even greater terror. This alone kept him from fully enjoying tje game called Btooom on the island.

Shin: Hell, like I have the energy to even be thinking about sex.

Shin confirmed as much as he watched over the sleeping Hikari.

He noticed that she was moving a lot in her sleep and could hear faint crying. Shin knew that he had to force Hikari to kill for her to survive and dosen't regret it, but it wasn't a nice thing that he did nonetheless.

A certain tiger like gundam seed character said that anyone is capable of killing another person and getting used to killing as well. Shin agrees with this opinion and believes that anyone who feels different is an idealist fool. What he did for Hiakri was the only and best thing he could have done to keep her alive, not just for today and this mission, but future missions as well, yet...

Shin: Shit! This is one part of this world that... That I just can't stand. Just let me enjoy the game in peace.

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 7.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 2.

12:02 AM

Players Alive: 11/15.

NPCs Alive: 101/150.

Btooom Soldiers Inactive: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Inactive: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. The first day of the 7th Real World Btooom has concluded.

2\. At noon tomorrow the elite Btooom Soldiers and Commanders will become active.

3\. The bug in the security system has been identified. One of the participants of the game must have had with them tools to borrow into the system. We are unable to force this unidentified person out of the system, but fear not. Our elite warrior have already been ordered to track this person and DEAL with them, and as such the rules of non interface will be kept. Whaaaa, great fun this is!


	36. Chapter 36

The morning of Day 2.

On the second day of the real world Btooom game and God's mission, Shin and Hikari were staying in and not going out immediately to hunt for chips.

Today was the day that the mysterious Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander would appear, so they couldn't carelessly go out as they did not know what time they would be arriving. The mission only stated that one unit would appear per day starting the Second Day and up to the Sixth Day..

Shin had already suggested a realistic plan to get the remaining of their chip requirements, so they also weren't in a rush to go out. Taking a mourning to rest their bodies and minds for the future battles to come, each did whatever they liked. Afterwards, once they have gotten a grasp of the enemies abilities and movement patterns they would avoid them today and gain their remaining chips. They both agreed to deal with the enemy tomorrow.

Hikari who loves computers and wanted to do something productive, tried to borrow deeper into Tyrannos Japan's system covering the island. She hoped that she could get real time information on the NPCs rather then just an hourly location update.

Shin on the other hand was relaxing in a different way. The otaku who had acquired the power of Ki Energy was doing his morning training exercises.

Later, once Hikari finished up her own business on her laptop she decided to watch what Shin was doing... And if asked, the fact that he didn't have a shirt on and was sweating in the morning sun had nothing to do with her decision to watch him for an hour or sol

Shin thinking to himself recently that long as it didn't wear him out, he should train as much as possible. Not only does training increase stats like in certain Virtual Reality themed novels ( The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor ), he has found that since becoming a One-eyed Goul, it allowed him to recover quickly.

To sum it up, no matter how much Shin wears himself down he can recover in no time, and this allowed him to increase his training time and push his body further then what is recommended for the normal human body.

It was a effective training straight out of manga ( Biscuit Krueger's advance Nen training, The wonderland from Witch Hunter Manhwa ( More mental and skill training ) and recently revealed in the Tokyo Ghoul Re manga itself ).

Shin had also recently discovered that for whatever reason, his ghoul mutation and Ki Energy matched up well together since his Ki's recovery speed after being used up has become noticeably faster. He knew that he was no martial arts genius, so before they left for the mission he asked Aqau what the reason could be ( And maybe to see if I really am a genius ).

Aqua said that some abilities turn out to be extremely compatible together. She then went on to tell him that although it was a mistake on her part on how she discovered it; her Wolverine genetic mutation, Werewolf genetic mutation and Nen/Aura whole enhancement worked almost too well together.

According to Aqua it was to the point that when she transformed imto a full wolf, all of her mutations and enhancements would automatically melded together and give her outrageous power. The power was amazing to say the least, but she would go out of control and has to basically self brainwash herself to get herself to do simple task.

Shin then learned from Aqua that though not to the same extent, his own One-eye Ghoul mutation and Ki Energy compliment each well, so he gained a boast of power when he used Ki, and when the day comes he can truly use his ghoul side's power he will see a noticeable spike in his ability.

Hearing this, Shin has become even more adamant about his Ki training which is all well and good, yet from an outsiders prospective like Hikari, he just looked foolish. In silence, she watched Shin punching the air, stomping on the ground, doing spinning back flips... And what she can only describe as him trying to preform the Kamahameha.

When it got to the point that Hikari felt compelled to speak up, she couldn't hold back her insults. Thirty minutes later and four of her creepy/gross comments already used up for the day, Shin began to tell her his reasoning for what he was doing.

Shin: All of those moves just now wasn't me trying to look cool ( 49% true ) or playing around ( 20% was ). There was a purpose behind it.

Hikari: Other then looking like you caught your second wind of Eighth Graders Syndrome?

Shin: How did you know about the first-, no never mind. I was trying to see if I could use Ki techniques.

Hikari: Ki techniques? You mean from the exchanges?

Shin: Not exactly. I have been been trying to learn Ki based skills without exchanging points or rewards for the skills from God.

Hikari: Without exchanging points... Is that even possible?

Shin: I don't know. I asked Aqua, but she wasn't certain either.

Hikari: Then why are you even trying? Isn't it a waste of time?

Shin: I wouldn't call it a waste and I have two reasons for attempting this. The first is because although these are fictional techniques from literature, I now in possession of the power called Ki, which comes from the same fictional world. By that logic and not even bringing up being a half ghoul into the mix, I am now very close to a fictional character right now. And as such-

Hikari: You should be able to learn techniques and other skills from books just like the characters.

Shin: Correct. If my guess is correct then all the skill exchanges that God offers us are just a way to skip the learning and practicing phase of acquiring techniques. Basically, we skip the training arc in mangas for learning new moves or power ups, and directly learn the techniques no matter how difficult they would be to learn in real/fictional life.

Hikari: I see. Then... If I ever tried to learn magic... Long as I had magic power, Mana or whatever, I could learn different spells?

Shim: It is a possibility yes, yet so far I have come out short on this cheat, no, I mean breakthrough.

Hikari: What is the reason?

Shin: The reason was that I was a normal person before all of this. As you know the practical concept of Ki and Magic is unfortunately lost in the real world that we hail from. They are foreign elements that we have acquired here in another dimension and our doing our best to master.

The best comparison that Shin can come up with are Warlocks from the Witch Hunter Manag.

In that world, magic exist alongside Ki and other supernatural powers, but in this world only females can gain the power of Mana and use magic. Mana there is considered a type of poison that drives peopel mad along with being dangerous to the body, but only the female body can withstand Mana to some extent. Warlocks are male witches who have by chance gained the power to use Mana, but there is a major difference between Witches and and Warlocks. While Witches know how to manipulate Mana and use Magic from the start, Warlocks start at zero and takes hundreds of years of practice to get at the level of a beginner.

Shin: Maybe it really is like teaching someone to breath. Humans just breath and it doesn't matter if one doesn't know the technical steps of breathing, they can still breath just fine in the end.

Hikari: So it's that difficult. If it's that hard then maybe you can only rely on the skill exchanges from God, but you said that you had two reasons for trying this out, right? What is the second?

Shin: The second reason is simply cost efficiency. All skills cost at the very least a D rank reward and offensive or any other skills that vastly improve combat ability cost C rank rewards and higher. Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movment would be useful to have, but need C rank rewards. I would need a windfall of Points and Rewards like in my first mission to to properly go down the path of martial arts ( And god knows how much for magic and other powers ).

Hikari: And what about that embarrassing Kamehameha sequence from before? Do you think that you can replicate that kind of move as well?

Shin: Maybe ( And it isn't embarrassing, but cool! ). I have High Level Ki after all, so it should be possibe to emit Ki. I wasn't trying to replicate it essentially, but trying to emit Ki outwardly as opposed to just strengthening the body internally as I has been with Ki.

Hiakri: Why do you need to learn that now?

Shin: I don't really for this mission, but this is preparation for the future. I felt that I would like to have a long range anti spirit/magic attack. My Na Ring and Ki are close and extremely range atracks, so are basically useless if I can't get close a my opponent. This is a counter measure.

Hikari: Are long range atrack skills expensive?

Shin: Oh my god yes. The powerful ones lile Kamehameha, Ryuseiken and Hadoken are very powerful skills, yet need C and B rank rewards and tons of points. If I can I want to do everything in my power to avoid that kind of spending for a single attack, I will.

There were many exchanges for skills in the support category.

They were all amazing, but were expensive as buying a sports car whils having college loans just so you could impress women. To master the path of the martial artist and reach almightyness, I would need a fortune of points and rewards just for the low level skills.

Ki Blast -

Rating 60.

The basic Ki blast from one's hand that shoot outward from the palm. 1000 Points and a C rank reward.

Spirit Gun -

Rating Rating 70.

A concentration of energy channeled into the index finger and shot out like a bullet. Requires Spirit Energy or Ki. Requires 2000 Points and a C rank reward.

Spirit Wave -

Rating 94.

The user turns the entire body into a catalyst of energy, creating a powerful flow of power within the body and released as a devastating wave of energy, or focused into a single punch or kick. All of the body's energy is used up afterwards. Can also be used to heal. Requires 4500 Points, B rank reward and B rank energy or higher.

Seikuken -

Rating 60.

Combining physical martial arts and Ki to control the space around the user into a spherical shield. Requires 1500 Points and a D rank reward.

Ryusui Seikuken -

Rating 77.

The advanced form of Seikuken. Reduces Seikuken inwardly into a thin layer above the skin to dodge enemy attack at the last possible second. While active, greatly increases Reaction Speed and reduces stamina consumption. Requires 2600 Points and two C rank reward.

Feathered Steps -

Rating 70.

Ki is circulated within the body in a special path that makes the body lighter. Requires 2000 Points and C rank reward.

Zamaken Ni-no-Tachi -

Rating 80.

Cut a demonic spirit behind a person without injuring said person. Requires 3000 and two C rank rewards.

Soul Crushing Strike -

Rating 71.

Matching physical moment and Ki circulation to create an exceptional powerful Ki strike. A ki strike that can deal internal damage as well as crush bones. A proper SCS cause a small sonic boom when unleashed, an explosion directly in front of the extended fist. 1500 Points and C rank reward.

Ki Injection

Rsting 84.

Allows Ki to be concentrated in the Palms and injected into a particular spot on another person's body. This enables treatment of most wounds to a certain extent and an temporary increase in life energy. Requires 1600 points and a C rank reward.

Ultrapowerful Violent Palms

Rating 83.

Concentrate your current ki within your hands, then you can utilize your hands to performs palm strike. A palm strike has enough power to rupture your opponent's Ki/other internal energy itself. Requires 1500 points and two C Rank Rewards.

Invincible Divine Body

Rating 89.

Condenses and concentrate all your ki into your body and release a tremendous aura. The aura protects you heavily from attacks even strong as an lightning bolt. Your body not only become more endurable, but your body also strengthen to the point when your body can break through steel. Requires 1900 points and two C Rank Reward.

Penetrating Force

Rating 71.

Rather than an attack itself. It's a technique to transform and condense to enable your Ki to easily penetrate to the hardest of defenses. Support technique. Requires 2200 points and C Rank Reward.

Linear Drive

Rating 80.

Concentrate Ki in the body to rush forward and deliver impact or move to an area within sight in an instant. Requires 2100 points and two C rank reward.

Instant Movement -

Rating 78.

Is a basic foot technique to move from one place to the next with high-speed movement. Ki or magic power is used to jump from point A to point B as quickly as possible. 1700 points and two C rank rewards.

Ki Contract

Rating 42.

Inject Ki into an object or living thing, forming a contract. The contract grants wisdom, and can increase attributes of strength, agility, speed, and will power and allows the user to temporarily control said object or being. If contract is formed with a being with strong enoug willpower, they have the chance to reject or rebound the effect, weakening or controlling the user. 1000 Points and two D rank reward.

Shin believed that he was strong enough to defeat any NPC on the island as he was, but if the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander that are to appear today were especially strong, he would have liked to be prepared as much as possible. If he could just learn one skill manually before then he could face them in his best condition.

Hikari: Well, keep it up. Had any luck on unlocking your ghoul abilities? The Kagune?

Shin: None at all. I don't even have the faintest idea of how to use my Kagune. If not for my great healing factor, I would have begun regretting my choice of this genetic mutation.

Hikari: Alright then. It will almost be noon soon, so... How about we go out and hunt for chips? Or... Are you fearful of the Btooom Soldiers and Commander that should be arriving today?

Shin: Not really. Have you found any trace of them on your computer?

Hikari: Not yet.

Hikari kept checking the laptop for clues, but nothing.

They could only assume that they weren't here on the island yet, or that maybe they just wouldn't show up on the system. Whatever the case, it was almost Noon and they would soon enact Shin's plan.

Shin's plan was simple.

Many if not all the NPCs on the island need supplies to survive on the island. That is why NPCs will flock towads the supplies being dropped down by parachute. This will even include those who already captured their own yesterday.

Just one case isn't enough for even one person to survive on for a week. That was why there were going to be many NPCs for them to pick off and acquire the remaining Chips that they need for the main quest.

Hikari: This is a good idea. There is also a chance that we could reunite with the other Players as we are hunting for Chips around the supply drops.

Shin: That's what I am also hoping for too. In the event that the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders are too strong for the two of us to handle, joining up with Aqua, Misaki and the rest and combining our powers together will give us the best chance at taking them down with the least risk.

Hikari: That is our best solution to survive this mission. We will be able to leisurely defeat them at our own pace. But first, we need to gain our NPC Chips first and foremost. Especially you Shin.

Shin: Me?

Hikari: You need five more Chips while I only need three. You need to work hard if you don't want to die, so hurry and catch up with me.

Shin: ...So annoying.

Not having the energy to even waste on Hikari, the two of us left the cave. Once the planes that pass over the island drops the valuable supplies by parachute and touch down on the island, the fighting, the killing and death game will restart.

At noon at and right on schedule, multiple airplanes flew over the island.

Moments late, supplies were dropped by parachute over different locations on the island. The NPCs saw that and began to race after them.

The first one to find and keep one would have an advantage over the others. That mentality was also exploited both Players and NPCs alike. Both needed eight chips for there purposes, so this large gathering of chips was an ideal time to hunt.

Among this group of hunter, Shin and Hikari were lying in wait.

Hikari: They are starting to move. I see at least four NPCs heading to a supply case to the East, and the supply case to the West I see five NPCs already battling it out.. Which should we go after?

Shin: ...Lets start with the East group, and then if the battle for the case to the weat is still going on we will head there next. This is our chance! Even if each one of them has just one Chip we will both have enough to complete one objective of the Main Quest!

Hikari: Ok then. Let... Shin? What's wrong.

Shin: There is another plane flying over the island. The rest of the planes dropping off supply cases had already left. What's this plane trying to do?

It was then with my enhanced vision that I saw.

The door of the plane up above in the clear blue skys opened and something other then supplies was dropped out of the plane. Soon after the doors were opened, a six man team had parachuted down to the island.

Hikari, using binoculars she had taken out from her pack saw the team parachuting down and making it to the island and before she could get out a word, I was pulling her by the arm and running away. Hikari kept asking me what was wrong and to stop, but I wouldn't.

I absolutely wouldn't.

Shin: Fuck what the hell is this!?

Shin and Hikari returned to the cave not long after leaving. Hikari had tons of complaints towards Shin who dragged her off like a little child, yet Shin stayed quite the whole time, so seeing this Hikari left it alone for now.

An hour later or so later...

Hikari: ...No good. An hour has already passed and the Btooom Soldiers and Commander are not showing up in the system. If they don't show up on the security system, then that means that Tyranno Japan might have anticipate that someone might hack into their system. I will have to be extra careful for when I dive into the... Shin! Are you listening?

Shin: No. I'm not. I need time to... Just leave me alone for a while, ok?

Hikari: ...Fine. Still, I wish you tell me what's wrong.

Shin: ...

The reason why I dismissed Hikari like that wasn't because I wasn't interested in what she had to say. I just wasn't calm enough to discuss ideas. Even now, I was still drawn to the direction where the Btooom Soldiers and Commander.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't look away I coild feel their presence. The reason for this was simple... Fear.

I could barely make them out, yet the exact moment that they touched ground, I was overcome with a almost crippling level of fear to the very core of my being. The best way I could describe it... It was like how people react to a strong spiritual pressure in Bleach.

It was such a certain fear of death coming from that group that left me nearly unable to breath. If not for the fact that Hikari was there, I would have been paralyzed where I stood till the moment that they found and killed me if I didn't feel the immediate need to get her to safty.

I had never felt something like this from the undead in H.O.T.D or from any of the NPCs that I've fought so till now. Those battles weren't easy and I nearly died a few times, yet they were opponents that I must have knew subconsciously that I could defeat even without Hikari's assistance... But not these guys. They were genuine agents of death.

The only time that I had ever felt such a strong sense of death was from the time in the H.O.T.D mission when Aqua transformed into a large wolf, yet even then, it wasn't like she was activity trying to kill him. At that time it felt like madness rather then killing intent and it was aimed at everything around her, but not this.

Though not as powerful, their killing intent wasn't random like Aqua's at that time... Theirs was solely focused on me and all the humans on the island. Whether Player or NPC, I knew that they were all going to be killed if nothing was done soon.

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 8.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 2.

1:19 PM

Players Alive: 11/15.

NPCs Alive: 98/150.

Btooom Soldiers Active: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Active: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. The Unit 1 composed of the elite Btooom Soldiers and Commander have arrived on the island on schedule at noon.


	37. Chapter 37

After returning to the cave, Shin was silent for a long time and they never did go after the NPCs moving towards the supply case.

After Shin calmed down, he and Hikari went back out just to scout. For the moment and from a distance, it was decided that they should go watch and see how the Btooom Soldiers and Commander fought as a way to gather information. Hikari thought it was shame that they wouldn't get any more chips, yet Shin deemed it more important to find out more about the enemy.

The jungle obstructed a lot of their vision, but they were able to make out what the enemy looked like with Shin's enhanced vision due tohiz Reaction Speed stat and Hikari's binoculars. There were in total six of them. Five Btooom Soldiers and one Btooom Commander leading them.

Shin: There they are. Towards 11 o'clock.

Hikari: I see them. Wh-what is with that look? They look like they are right out of a Sci-fi anime.

Shin: You do realize that we are in an anime, right?

Hikari: It is hard to remember when you are fighting for your life.

Of the six, five of them who they could assumed to be the Btooom Soldiers where equipped with redish/orange armor that Shin felt looked similar to what the Btooom online avatars in the game wore in combat, but a slimed down thinner version. And the one they believed to be the Btooom Commander wore armor as well. It looked more like the original armor in the manga/anime, yet much nicer and a darker shade of red.

There was also something strange that stood out about them. Shin and Hikari also noticed that attached to their hips were metallic gun looking objects. It wasn't a handgun like the one's they had and were larger, but not the size of an assault rifles or machine gun.

Shin: I really hope that isn't a gun.

They should be thankful that they are not.

If they had such weapons then the advantage that Shin, Hikari and the other Players had by having handguns would be reversed instantly, yet... When Shin gazed upon the tool he felt fear all the same.

Hikari didn't have Shin's ability to sense danger, yet she too felt something was off about the gun on their hips. In the world of Btooom and on this island, BIM aren't just the main stream but are the only weapons allowed to be ueed. In other words, bombs are the main theme of Btooom, so how could they let anyone on the island armed with guns? Players, they are the exception and not the rule since they are outsider to the world of Btooom.

Shin agreed with Hikari, yet also realized something. He should have noticed this abnormality and should have reached the same question as her, but he was too distracted to think straight. The fear that has taken grasp of him wouldn't let go, or forget the threat that was going to come after them soon.

Shin then decided that after taking a good look at the enemy they should retreat to safty. It would be disastrous if they were spotted by a random enemy radar check. It was then when they could no longer see the enmey they heard it...

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Shin: Do you hear that? Explosions. They must be fighting with the NPCs with BIMs.

Hikari: I'll check it on on the computer. Luckily, we have just passed the hour mark and... Although the Btooom Soldiers and Commander still aren't showing up on the the system, yet I can still geuss where they are. Multiple NPCs in the area are fighting it out in the areas where the supply cases dropped like we hoped, but...

Shin: They are being picked off.

The sounds of fighting didn't even last a whole ten minutes altogether.

Once the explosions stopped, both Shin and Hikari were dead certain that the Btooom Soldiers and Commander had won in the end, yet still shin was confused.

According to him, he heard over 40 explosions go off. Hikari doesn't see how that is strange, but Shun explained. He believed with an almost certainty that most of them came from the enemy. His reasoning was that he didn't believe that anyone could fight back for long against that any of Btooom professionals/assassins sent by Tyrannos Japan or give them a hard time.

Hikari still didn't get it, so he said it in clear precise words... That they were all screwed. What that large number of BIMs going off would mean is that the five Btooom Soldiers and single Commander used up more then half their BIM in that one battle.

Each individual on the island starts off with eight BIMs of a single type type. There are six enemies in total, so 6×8=48. If all forty or so BIM that went off were from there side, then what does that mean? It means that in just one battle they used almost all of their BIM and let themselves vulnerable for the remaining of the game.

Hikari then suggested that maybe like themselves and the other players of the game, the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders can take the BIMs of the defeated, but Shin disagrees. The players are bound by a rule that says that they can't take or use the BIM and equipment of Btooom Soldiers and Commander even if they defeat them, so it is a strong possibility that they are bound by a similar rule to keep the game/mission balanced. Also, for a group meant to sweep up the island of Players and NPCs it is too inefficient of a method to kill off every person on the island.

It is only a geuss, but Shin can only conclude that they have more then 8 BIM each. Hikari then looked wide eyed at Shin and saw what the fear on his face meant. That the enemy could continually bombarded their opponents with bombs till they kill them, no, turn them all into burning human ash with the others. Now Shin and Hikari realize how not only are they worth 100 and 500 points, but also rank rewards that should be normally be hard to acquire.

Shin recalled that Aqua said that in the movie Alien, that the non queen alien monsters was worst 500 points and had no reward. Shin and Hikari can only conclude that the Btooom Soldiers and Commanders are opponents that God has specially created here in this world and gave them abilities outside the technology of this world, so as an special reward God is adding in rewards for defeating them.

Shin: It isn't an impossibility and why wouldn't he? God had sent dozens of opponents for us that could quite literally, burn down the island a few times over with an assortment of infinite BIMs as their disposal? If there weren't any high points and rank rewards for defeating them, then to entire game mission would be unbalanced. Damm, I never thought about this way of thinking before. God won't send players into an impossible mission, but he could potentially balance out an outrageously difficult mission with outrageous and equal spoils of war!

Hearing all of this, Hikari suggest that they should just ignore them.

The only person who they absolutely had to kill was Ryuta Sakamoto. Ignoring the tempting points and rewards for defeating the Btooom Soldiers and Commanders when they don't have the power to do so should have been the right call, but Shin strongly disagreed.

With an upset face that showed how cornered they were, Shin says that they can't and shouldn't ignore the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders like Hikari wants. Like what they talked about on the plane yesterday they will target the NPC and to the point where none of them will be able to meet God's first objective of the Main Quest to gain eight chip ( Not including there own ) from NPCs.

What is worse is that even if they can get 8 Chips while avoiding them, come Day 7 when they have to face Ryota Sakamoto with an unknown 6000 Points and B rank reward level battle potential, there could be up to twenty-five Btooom Soldiers and five Btooom Commanders there to protect him.

Shin: And that... Is the absolute worst case scenario that must be avoided. Not even Aqua, no not even with her and all the surviving Players and NPCs left on the island would we be able to win against the ultimate army of Btooom assassins lead by their leader!

There was silence for a long time.

Shin was just gazing in a certain direction the entire time and no matter how much Hiakri tried to speak to Shin he wouldn't respond, so she opened up her laptop.

She wanted to surprise him with any kind of good new. She had been trying to dig deeper into the system and gain real time data instead of just an hourly update. So far her efforts hadn't pan out, yet she discovered something that she felt she had to tell Shin.

Hikari: I might have found something.

Shin: ...Is it the enemy?

Hikari: I don't think it's them. There are four Chips moving around the drop points, but like how we are earlier... By their movements, I think that they were surveilling the Btooom Soldiers and Commanders and knew about them in advance. They might be allys.

It was as Hikari said after Shin checked her laptop himself.

There was a group of four moving together an hours walk from where they currently where and while looking back on past records, this group had been traveling together for hours, no since yesterday.

It was only Day 2, so Shin thought that it was unlikely that anyone would form groups and a large one at that so soon in the game. Not impossible, yet unlikely that one would last in this environment with the possibility of betrayal... Unless you are a player. On the island only Players didn't have any benefits of killing off their own like NPCs because Players were bound by the rules set down by God.

Hiakri: What should we do?

Shin: ...We will abandon this place and go after this group of four moving together.

Hikari: Why leave?

Shin: This base is too close to the enemy for my taste. If they find us while we are hiding out here in this cave, they can bombarded this place with BIM and cause it to collapse with us inside. It is too dangerous to stay here.

Hikari: So we will go after the four man group?

Shin: Yeah. I don't want to deal with any of this missions group of newbies, but if it is a group of Players from our side who are still alive... It could only be Aqua, Misaki, Saki, Kampa, Zero or Shuai. There is a high chance of a group of four on Day 2 being together and checking out the Btooom Soldiers and Commander from a distance could be any of them.

Hikari: And on the off chance that they are NPCs or the other newbies?

Shin: If they are the newbies who didn't follow us back on the plane we have no need for them and, so we'll ignore them and move on. If they happen tombe NPCs though...Then that is four more valuable Chips which will fall into our laps. Hikari, lets go! Allies or enemy, we can't stay here. We'll go after them!

Well, we found them.

A half hour of tracking through the jungle later after we left the cave/base behind, we caught up with the group of four chips and their holders moving together.

At the last moment Hikari warned me that they might have already noticed us and are preparing for a fight.

We would have done the same thing if we found a group trailing behind us on the day the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander appeared, so it was within reason. Especially if they really were our comrades, who most of them have military experience.

What I was about to do would really give us away if they were NPCs and not Players, but what the hell. I was in no mood to play the waiting game and if they are the enemy and try to runaway I'll kill them all. I've felt depressed since the arrival of the Btooom Soldiers and Commander anyways, so I can hope for a fight to relive my stress.

\- *BANG*!

I took out my gun and fired a gunshot into the sky.

10-15 seconds later, the two of us heard a gunshot from their side as well. The only individuals on the island who possess firearms are the Players, and specifically the Players that I personally bought/handed to. These two gunshots confirmed that we were all Players. Even if someone was killed and had their gun stolen, it was unlikely that anyone could understand my actions and so quickly beside a Player.

And I was right.

Coming towards us now out of the thick cover of the jungle and revealing themselves were our comrades. Our new comrades to be specific. That was how Hikari and I were reunited with the group of four newbies Saki, Zero, Kampa amd Shuai.

Our group of now six had found a temporary place to rest and to discuss our past and future actions.

The Btooom Soldiers and their Commander were definitely the immediate threat, but first we needed to understand what we have all experienced. It may lead to clues on to our current problems.

Saki: Then if you like I'll start off.

Saki than began by telling the story of their Day 1 till now on Day 2.

Saki, Kampa and Zero were able to quickly met up with each other. The three were just as blind in the dark night sky as the rest of us, but they all at one point our another had parachute training. Even in that darkness they were able to make sure they were at the very least in the same general area when they touched down on the island.

Together, they decided to take advantage of the darkness of the early morning and go lookingfor NPC's and chips ( So hard core ). By helping each other, they were able to each gain one chips to survive the Midnight Execution before the light of sunrise made an appearance ( So hard core ).

From there the three decided to use the rest of the morning to find everyone else and potentially look for a good base of operations. It was around that time that they discovered Shuai with his parachute stuck in a tall tree similar to Ryuta Sakamoto when he first arrived to the island. Saki didn't like how long it took to get him down, but it would have been to pitiful to just leave him there.

Then the group of now four were able to obtain supply cases when they dropped down to the island around Noon. It was an excellent chance to also get the chips from NPCS going that way, and although Shuai with his low stamina slowed them down they were able to gain both chips and supplies.

Saki's group wanted to gain all 8 chips ( ×4 ) by the end of the first day, but it was harder then they expected to find anymore. I might have been in the same position as them if not for Hikari's laptop. My last chance could have been the time of the supply drop. They stopped trying to look for chips around evening when Shuai finally acquired his first NPC Chip.

They were really disappointed that they couldn't get any more chips, but luckily for them and to my surprise, an actual group of NPCs working together attacked their camp site. It was unexpected even for Saki for their to be a large group battle on the very first day, but it wasn't like they were unprepared for a fight.

They possessed several Remote BIM that were already spread out to protect the camp and the enemy were quick dealt with. The battle could have turned out badly if they had let their guard down, but not only did they didn't, they were able to gain even more chips that night.

The next day, Day 2 which is today, they didn't have a need to quickly go out for chips and rested like Hikari and I had. There plan for later was also the same as mine. Attack the NPCs going for the supplies dropped on the island and gain the remainder of their chips, but once again like us they were met with an unexpected threat.

The Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander had arrived to the island and although they never got too close to them to see them personally, they all saw their handy work as they watched them burn down an area of the island to kill any NPC or Player that they could.

And that was when they met up with the two of us. Hiakri and I quickly explained what we have gone through and that we haven't seen any of the other Players on the island.

I also made sure to tell them that we saw the enemy fight from a distance as well, but we visually saw them. Saki and the others were very interested, but it wasn't that great of information.

Besides only making out there appearance, the only thing that we knew was that they had more then the average number of BIMs and possibly special equipment as well. I could still remember the gun like object on their hips that made me shake with fear on first sight.

Now that we were all caught up, Saki moved on to our immediate issue of survival.

First up was our food supply.

Saki: We weren't able to pick up any supplies today, but yesterday our group captured two cases filled with supplies. There was food, clean water and clothes inside. If we ration what we have right now without going out for more... Between the six of us this won't last another day.

Shin: You don't have to look at the two of us like that. We have our own case from yesterday as well. We won't cut down on your food supplies.

Saki: I didn't exactly mean it like that. So did you leave it back at the cave you were talking about? If so we can take the risk of going out and retrieving it.

Shin: No. I have it on me right now. I took everything with us when we left the base since it was too close to where the Btooom Soldiers and their Commander were seen last fighting.

Shuai: Where?

Hikari: It's inside his Na Ring.

Saki and the others were confused since originally Aqua forbade be about talking about things like this at first, but times were desperate, so I knew she would understand that there was no need to keep hiding things.

A display would be better for words, so I channeled Ki into the Na Ring to take out yesterday's case we gained and the other supplies that I brought along from the Terminal Lobby. Everyone was shocked as they saw my magic trick I just pulled right in front of their eyes, especially Saki.

Saki immediately inquired about the Na Ring and when she learned that it's a item created by Xiuzhen and costed a fortune to exchange it from God, she got very excited. She took my hand into hers and studied the ring. It was embarrassing for a woman like Saki to hold my hand and what made it worse was that Hikari looked upset. Why? Were they all jealous of my cool ring ( Strange thing for a man to say, but it was just that cool )?

Saki: It is really a item from Xiuzhen? It's really a real item from Xiuzhen!? God, I have guessed this type of items existed from historic documents, but still... Hahaha, so they all originate from this dimension! If I can crack the secret of this technology, I can't imagine how much we humans can advance.

Saki ignored the weird looks from everyone, he continued with an zealous expression on her face.

Saki: Did you know? We actually unearthed some items that can't be explained with our current level of technology from our own and other countries. They no longer have energy in them, so we couldn't activate them with electricity or other kinds of energy. From analyzing the materials, we deduced that there once existed an advanced civilization, yet the years that this civilization appeared was strange. These items range from over ten thousand years ago, to a thousand year ago. There's such an advanced civilization hidden within our society and we never realized it. Do you think this is possible? So the researchers are separated into two parties. One party believes the items were created by aliens that hid in our civilization. I very much disliked this kind of analysis, attributing every unexplainable phenomenon to aliens. This attitude towards research is very unlikable. The other party thinks these items are created by the mythical Xians or Gods. Even though this is equally hard to believe, at least people from this party still look for clues through ruins like I do. Moreover, they actually found some indirect evidence!

Saki is usually expressionless and calm, but now she stood up and looked at everyone in excitement. She was really into this subject, but interrupting her was the cool Mercenary Kampa..

Saki: Do you know what this means? It means the advancement of humans are not limited to technology, even though this kind of technology is also natural science, but they have broken the limit of external (Physical) science. This is the most advanced internal science!

Kampa: External science and internal science... Do these have anything to do with our current situation? I'd rather have the food and water from that ring.

Saki: ...Forget it, you won't understand it. Anyway, cracking the secret of Xiuzhen will be the next biggest step for humans after genetic constraints.

Hikari and I looked at each other with a bitter smile.

Even though Saki was usually calm and rational, she was more of a researcher then a soldier. Once Saki encounters a field she's interested in she will be more fanatical than anyone. Just like she wouldn't let go of my hand right now!

Shin: Since we have enough food and water, what's your plan? Even if you want to research Xiuzhen, you will need enough points to exchange for those items. That would take tens of thousands of points and many rank rewardsmand we have to survive to earn those.

Saki: Ok then. For now... Everyone say out loud how many chips you have so far and your total BIM count, both type and numbers. For the purpose of deciding our next move.

Hikari: Next move?

Saki: Yes. We need to know if have room to spare, or none at all when we eventually confront the Btooom Soldiers and Commander. If it is the former then they could avoid them for the time being and observe their moments and fighting patterns before confronting them, but if it is the latter we will attack them directly to learn of their power and if at all possible defeat them.

Hikari: What did you actually have in mind? Even though I don't know you that well, I do not believe you are the type to bring up subjects like this and have no opinion of your own.

Saki: You are correct. I believe we have two plans of action. We will effectively give up hunting for NPCs today, so that we can all observe the Btooom Soldiers and Commanders in shifts starting from now, and into sunrise the next day. Then, before the next unit of enemies arrive to the island around Noon of Day 3, we will take out the first unit of Btooom Soldiers and Commander with the information that we had gathered.

Shuai: What about the latter? For what reason would we confront them right now without a proper plan?

Saki adjusted her glasses, while all the while looking at Shuai intensely. He wasn't supid enough to not notice this, but he kept quite for now.

Saki: The latter doesn't mean that we will absolutely face them, but it will be highly likely that they will attack. What I mean by no time... Is that we don't have enough Chips to survive the Midnight Execution to go for such a passive strategy. I am not just talking about todays, but tomorrows as well. With my former strategy, some of us could still get injured and will be unable to go after anymore chips for the rest of Day 3. With the latter strategy, we could focus on going after NPCs for their Chips and avoiding the Btooom Soldiers and Commander, but I wouldn't advise this since the enemy might come after us if we make a scene. That is why instead of risking our lives on the off chance that they attack us while we are gathering Chips, we will take the initiative to attack them. So the deciding factor is...

Shin: Whether we have enough Chips to survive Day's 2 and 3's Midnight Execution and the battle potential of our BIMs, right?

For a while after all the facts were laid out to bare no one said anything. Ten minutes pass like this, and finally Saki spoke up to get our strategy session moving again.

Saki: So okay everyone... Won't we all show each other our hands? Afterwards, we will decide if we will attack and gamble on victory, or plan out or attack!

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 10.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 2.

4:03 PM

Players Alive: 8/15.

NPCs Alive: 74/150.

Btooom Soldiers Active: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Active: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. Unit 1 have begun the extermination of all players on the island. After an initial sweep, they will immediately turn their focus to terminating the person(s) who has infiltrated the system on the island. Continued.


	38. Chapter 38

Saki: So okay everyone... Won't we all show each other our hands? Afterwards, we will decide if we will attack and gamble on victory, or plan out our attack.

As Saki had asked us, we had all taken out our BIMs and told each other the number of chips that we have gained thus far.

Shin - Three Chips.

BIM×14: All Timer BIM.

Hikari - Five Chips.

BIM×7: Remote Control×2, Cracker×2 and Homing×3.

Saki - Four Chips .

BIM×16: Remote Control BIM×10 and Cracker BIM×6.

Kampa - Five Chips.

BIM×11: Blazing Gas BIM×5 and Homing BIM×6.

Zero - Five Chips.

BIM×20: Remote Control BIM×11, 1300°C Flammable Oil Splashing Flame×7 and Timer×2.

Shuai - Two Chips ( Embarrassingly said that he only got his from a NPC that was almost dead from being eaten by some animal and has yet to gain another yet ).

BIM×9: Barrier BIM×6 and Homing BIM×3.

Saki: Shin, you only gained three Chips?

Shin: Yeah. It is kinda on the low side, huh.

Saki: Yes, but Hikari has five Chips. That is the same number as Kampa and Zero. Did you prioritize Hikari over yourself?

Hikari: ...

Shin: ...You don't have to say it like that. It just ended up that way ( And it isn't like I regret helping Hikari at all, so stopping making her feel bad ).

Saki: Alright then. Now that we know our Chip count and battle potential, lets decide the course of action. With the former and safe which I believe has the highest chance of success... Wouldn't work and disadvantage Shin who is at three chips and Shuai at two.

Saki's Plan 1:

The group would effectively give up hunting for NPCs for the rest of Day 2 to avoid drawing attention to themselves and observe the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander in shifts. From now and into sunrise the next day.

Then, before the next unit of enemies arrive to the island around Noon of Day 3, take out the first unit of Btooom Soldiers and Commander fully prepared after knowing their full capabilities.

What places Shin at an disadvantage is that if he is injured in tomorrow's potential battle, he could die in a different way. If he gives if hunting for chips and goes after the enemy, and afterwards if he lives, but is unable to fight for more chips... Shin will die by the hands of the Midnight Execution of Day 3. Shin has high healing ability thanks to being part ghoul, yet a truly bad injury could take more then one full day to heal.

This plan had more disadvantages then advantages for Shin, yet there was still hope. As for Shuai...

Saki: Still, despite it not being a good plan for Shin and Shuai, I want to go with the plan to wait and observe. The plan to attack now just to save two members of the group when there is a good chance of us wiping out, isn't something that I want to go along with or advise for the rest of you.

Shuai paled when he heard this.

The only one among us who would definitely die today if he doesn't get at least one chip by the end of the day was Shuai.

Saki's Plan 2:

This plan would have us go after the NPCs while ignoring the Btooom Soldiers and Commander or attacking the enemy head on as is, without more intel on the enemy. We would prioritize chip collection, but there will be a good chance that during our search or any battle with the NPCs, could have the the enemy come after us. Risking a fight against the enemy is too high a risk, but for those who don't have enough chips for today, they have no choice but to go out today.

The one and only person here who absolutely has to risk going out not to spy, but search and fight for chips is Shuai alone. Both Saki and Shuai knew that no one here was going to take the risk and go along with him. Not even myself. This was a result of being a hasty formed team with more newbies then experienced veterans.

At thia rate I could just see this going where Shuai would have to go out alone while the rest of us stay here and prepare to spy on the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander. It.. It was the right thing for the group, yet... I didn't like how Saki had manipulating everyone.

It also wasn't just for this situation either. Among the six of us, Shuai was the least useful member. Saki never said it straight out, yet she was trying to kick out the dead weight Shuai so that later they wouldn't have to worry over him making a mistake. What Aqua said on the plane was right. Smart people can be dangerous.

Shin: Wait! I have something to say.

Saki: What is it?

Shin: Your idea to wait, watch and then take action isn't wrong, but no one is stating the other risk that come with this plan.

Hikari: Such as?

Saki thought that she was so smart, but years of reading manga and watching anime may have made me an otaku, yet it also gave me wisdom and a unique insight that others lacked.

Death games, card battle and war themed works, I have seen them all and know that plans have a tendency to not work out in practice. A good strategy is only perfect once you acknowledge and plan out the flaws of the plan. I then began to tell them the flaws of the first plan.

1\. The Btooom Soldiers and Commanders may be equipped with very wide radars since they are a special existence to kill alll the people on the island, so they won't be able to spy on them.

2\. There is no guarantee that the second unit of Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander will arrive noon of the same day like with unit 1. The Mission only states that once a day a new unit will arrive, not every day at nooon, meaning they could arrive at midnight tonight or during their planned battle tomorrow if they follow the former strategy to first gather Intel and then strike.

By pointing out the flaws in Saki's favorite plan that disadvantaged Shuai and me, I gained his trust, but I felt bad. It wasn't 100% that I wanted to protect him,

Among us all, I am the most afraid of the enemy. I hate to admit it, but I don't want to fight them at all. Also, compared to a lack of information it is more of a risk to give them a chance to call for backup, and I can honestly say our chances of winning will be zero.

If it wasn't for this risk, I definitely would have seriously considered abandoning Shuai. Whether I actually would... Is something that I would never know, at least for the moment.

Saki: Everything that Shin said is true. More then anything else, a back up unit of Btooom Soldiers and Commander is something that should be avoided at all cost and is the worst bad end for us, yet... I still believe we should go with the plan to wait.

Shuai: Are you that desperate to get rid of me!?

Saki: You misunderstand. This isn't about you. For the group and for myself, I will always choose the option with the highest chance of success, or survival in this case. I believe in probability over all else when ever I can.

Kampa: Most people try to in real life, but number aren't the only factors in battles, or wars. You can be surprised what the underdogs can do when pushed into a corner by a stronger force than themselves. I have been on both sides of this, so I know what I am talking about.

Saki: I understand that as well. That is why I also believe that there is no such thing as zero percent chances of failure or survival. Despite what the rational side of my brain tries to tell me, there are no absolute walls in this world that humans can't overcome.

Shin: I wouldn't know about that. I seemed to have been overestimating the power of my stats thinking that I can defeat any opponent since I made my exchanges. Now... I don't even know if I believe that we can win even if we combine our powers together.

I told Saki my honest feeling on the matter, yet what she said next threw me for a loop.

Saki: Then if you can't belive in yourself or your comrades, then why not the power of human evolution? Just from looking at you now, I can see the power of your stats increases, so if you could unlocked the Genetic Constraint on top of that then...

Shin: Genetic Constraint?

Genetic Constraint

Human evolution?

Everyone looked at this scientist said to study OOPArts as she indulged in her thoughts.

Saki: Are you that worried that you can't fight a proper battle. That you can't defeat trained soldiers armed with unknown numbers of BIM and other weaponry as well? You shouldn't underestimate human potential.

Shin: So what? You are saying that I could defeat them? Maybe even by myself? I am a high school dropout with no training. I can beat an average person, but-

Saki: It isn't impossible. Like I said I will choose the path with the greatest chance of survival for me and the group, but I also believe that there are no absolutes forces in the world that humans can't bring down.

Shin: You mean this Genetic Constraint thing?

Saki: Of course. The Genetic Constraint... This is the highest technology in our world. China is a bit ahead of us, but our country is still ahead of most countries in the world. The US and European countries might not know more than us about this.

Hikari: I am a hacker in real life and I have never heared of this Genetic Constraint on any database.

Saki: That isn't surprising. It isn't just the world's greatest power, but it's our greatest secret as well. Only because of a fateful encounter in my youth did I hear of it and decide to devote my life to studying it. In the ancient ages when our ancestors were still apes, no, it was even before that, the dryopithecus... There was a missing period of time in our archaeological studies. Nothing indicated why apes evolved into man. Don't trust textbooks that said it was gradual evolution over millions of years. Let me tell you, the latest genetic studies show that this evolution only took 120 years. Not several million, not even several thousand, it's merely 120 years. Humans evolved from dryopithecus to the early man, australopithecus. From the oldest single cell organism to multi cell organism, to invertebrates, to reptiles, and gradually evolved to the modern human, our history is indicated in our genetic code. Do you know what appeared in our genetic code during those 120 years? Let me tell you, it's a constraint. Yes, it was a constraint, our evolution exploded only for 120 years, then it was sealed off due to various unkonwn reasons. After that, from the early man to modern human, our evolution was actually minimal. To the point that we didn't even evolve a bit for the past tens of thousands of years. Definitely, you can say that our technology is evolving, that we are more advanced that people tens of thousands of years ago, but this is only an accumulation of knowledge. It has nothing to do with biological evolution. Our evolution has come to a complete stop!

The theory of evolution by Saki ( Don't know last name ).

She didn't care for the shocked expressions of everyone around her and continued.

Saki: This dimension, I am not talking about Btooom or this new experiment by God to send us into the worlds of manga and anime, but the overall dimension... I've seen this before. Except that I didn't understand it's meaning at the time. In a certain ruin where we found a human skull in a cave, our country actually found a tablet with words carved on it. We translated most of the words and it basically said, 'When human evolution comes to a stop, horror will unlock human's Genetic Constraint again, to restart the advancement of evolution. The message was left by people named, 'The first group of humans to unlock their Genetic Constraints'. Perhaps this dimension really existed since the ancient times.

Shin: Alright, you got me curious. What happens when we unlock the Genetic Constraint? Humans become supermans without even having to exchange items from God?

Saki: Yes. You probably heard this line, all things in their beings are good for something. According to our genetic code, there are no weaklings in the human race. Every person is supposed to have a speciality and his speciality is guaranteed to be among the most talented. In fact, some can achieve it through training, such as sports, or memory, or wit. Removing the Genetic Constraint will allow us to choose our speciality depending on the situation. You can be a genius when you need to think, have unparalleled strength when you need power, and during battle... You can become a super warrior that can survive no matter what happens, even if everyone else died, you will live.

Shin: ...

The Genetic Constraint.

Saki's words were shocking to the others.

Humans that can alter their speciality at will and be able to survive through any situation were pushing the limit of the potential of our species.

If what Saki said was true, then that was a power that I desperately needed. I, who had lost all confidence in myself, that I could overcome this world and survival to one day become OP and return home... A talentless person like that needs that kind of power.

Saki: Being able to solve any difficulties, have the mentality to never give up, and survive through any situation! This is our evolution after removing the Genetic Constraints! Just think about it. Apes reached this limit and became human, then what will humans become when we reach it?

Zero: How do you unlock the Genetic Constraint? Training? With drugs or something else?

It was surprising that the quite Zero spoke up, but I geuss that this was just that interesting of a topic to discuss. Saki then said he was half right. It needs a certain substance, but it isn't something that one could get.

Saki: It needs a substance similar to the epinephrine hormone that can only be produced by the human body. The crucial point is... It's poison. You probably heard of stories like a mother lifting a car to save her son. This actually happened, but what you may not know is that this woman died soon afterward. Scientists found a micro amount of this substance in her blood stream. Therefore it's impossible to unlock the Genetic Constraint with outside help... At least we can't do it with our current technology. You can only work towards it yourself. Of course, we don't even have a direction on how to do so right now. Anyway, I suspect that this dimension is related to Genetic Constraint. It might even be the creation of the first group of humans that unlocked their Genetic Constraint.

Kampa: You think ancient apes predicted the horror movies we will watch? And all those Sci-fi weapons that you can exchange, you think they can predict everything?

Saki: Perhaps aps can't, but what if the thing they created has created artificial intelligence? Computers won't die. They can record our horror movies then make us experience them, until we die or break the limit to unlock the Genetic Constraint. Then we will be able to earn enough points to leave. What do you think of this hypothesis?

Shin: I am no scientist, but that does sound convincing. The Genetic Constraint. Because of this you don't not believe that any obstacle is impossible to overcome.

Saki: That is right, but I am no optimist. I believe in hard facts in the end. That is all, yet... I am forever unable to disregard the 1% chance of a miracle.

When Saki said that last part... Her usual coldness disappeared and was replaced with a kind smile. Whatever the Genetic Constraint means to her, it wasn't pure academical.

Shuai: This is great and all, but even if it is true, we can't bet our lives on this 1% miracle. We still need to choose a path to take, yet after hearing Saki's options and Shin's criticisms, I don't know what we should do anymore. Attack now or take our chances tomorrow after gathering more intelligence? Well, since I only have two Chips you all know that I need to go out there with or without you.

Hikari: I may had an idea.

Shin: What is it Hikari... Oh, that is it!

Shin had completely forgotten, but luckily Hikari hadn't.

Hikari then brought up that it may be possible to go after other NPC safety instead of moving around aimlessly like Saki was worried about and being attacked by the Btooom Soldiers and Commander.

From Hikari's backpack, she took out her laptop and explained to Saki and everyone else how she was able to hack into Tyrannos Japan's system on the island.

As a result, she is able to potential track down every NPC and Player on the island and hunt for chips more effectively. It is unfortunate that she can't track the movements of the Btooom Soldiers and Commander, but with the laptop they can very easily gain chaips from NPC without roaming around carelessly.

Saki became excited after hearing this.

Saki: This is great. Why didn't you mention this earlier?

Shin: Sorry. I forgot about it.

Saki: You shouldn't forget these kinds of life saving methods, so with that kind of information don't in the future. Now, do you know what this means? We can far more effectively gather Chips and long as we are careful, avoid the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander at the same time. We may even be able to predict the enemys next target and ambush them. No, we are not even limited to just two course of actions now.

Shin: Go on then. The more plans the-

It was at that moment when there newly found hope was distinguished by despair and death.

Shin and the others had felt that a radar locked on them, but it wasn't like anything that they have ever felt before. This scan from a enemy gave a opressive pressure of a beast that threatened to devour their prey whole.

Zero went out to scout and confirmed their worst fears had come true. The Btooom Soldiers lead by their Btooom Commander were here and heading straight for them.

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 12.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 2.

4:25 PM

Players Alive: 8/15.

NPCs Alive: 69/150.

Btooom Soldiers Active: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Active: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. The culprit has been found and tarvet has been marked. Along with the culprits froup they will be eliminated from the game. Hahahahaha!


	39. Chapter 39

They were found.

Shin, Hikari, Saki, Kampa, Zero and Shuai immediately felt it. The radar scan that they all reacted to came from the enemy. The Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander had found them.

Without even needing to say anything to each other, the six man group of Players immediately fled together to escape the threat of the enemy, also a six man group.

To immediately escape, Kampa threw three of his Blazing Gas BIMs that had a wide AOE which would hender enemy pursuit as the group were escaping.

They ran, ran and ran some more, but they couldn't escape. Even after an half an hour just running away they couldn't escape the enemy. One of the main reasons was-

\- *Explosion*!

\- *Explosion*!

\- *Explosion*!

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\- *Explosion*!

\- *Explosion*!

\- *Explosion*!

\- *Explosion*!

\- *Explosion*!

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\- *Explosion*!

Was because they were constantly being attacked as they were escaping. The Players were being chased and bombarded with Cracker type BIM that rained down from the sky. The sheer number that didn't stop for even a minute sadly proved that a Btooom Soldier and Btooom Commanders possessed far more BIM than the Players or NPCs held.

Hikari: Isn't this kind of attack insane!? They have been throwing BIM at us nonstop for who knows his long and not only have they not run out, but we haven't even once seen them. Where are they attacking from?

Zero: I just did a radar scan five minutes a go and it said they were chasing us from over 800 meters away!

Shin: Is that even human!? Who has that kind of throwing strength besides me or Aqua?

Saki: Shin, didn't you mention that they had gun like equipment on them? Could they possibly be grenade launchers?

Shuai: Grenade launchers?

Saki: Yes. Grenade launchers are weapons they instead of regular bullets, shoot out bombs over distance and with accuracy surpassing the normal person. If they are using those kinds of weapons then it doesn't break this world's setting of fighting with bombs.

Grenade launchers.

Hell, of it is like this why not give them rocket launcher author, I mean God?

Kamap: That is a problem in and of itself that they can attack us from that range with BIM, but isn't there something else of concern we need to discuss?

Shin: Like What?

Kampa: How are they following us. Don't you think it is strange that after that one radar scan, they hadn't done another one again, yet they can accurately tell where we are going and hitting us with BIM? And with this hail of bombing going on there's no way that we are leaving behind proper tracks for them to follow. The dirt and busses have been uprooted and burned to ashes.

Saki: Kampa makes a good point. Just how are they not only following us, but are accuracy sniping us with BIMs from such a distance?

That was a good question.

It is impossible to physically see or track us through this jungle, so how are they keeping up with us? Kampa had even used up all of his Blazing Gas BIM to hold them up, but nothing. They still kept following us.

We have been running at full speed all this time and most of us, Shuai and Hikari ( Who is slightly better off thanks to the few stat increases that she did make ), won't be able to keep up this pace. If we were all going to make it out of this alive we were going to have to loose them eventually, and it had to be sooner rather then later.

Shin: I really wish Aqua was here, but since she isn't it is up to me to and all of us to...

It was then as I was pondering a way out of this mess that I saw it...The possible reason that we couldn't loose the Btooom Soldiers and Commander.

It was Hikari's chip.

I, who was the only one running of the left side of Hikari saw that something was off with her chip. Her normally blue IC Chip that all Players have... Has mysteriously turned purple.

Shin: Why purple?

I was confused, but slowly I was beginning to figure it out. My idea was that it was a mix of colors, so something had unnaturally mixed with Hikari's chip

I then remembered that the armor of both the Btooom Soldiers and Commander were a red shade. NPC chips are green, Players are blue and enemies Btooom enemies like them could possibly be red though it is just a geuss.

When red is mixed with blue... The new color is purple! That means that the red chip enemy mixed something with the blue chip Player Hikari. If I had to geuss what is happening now...

Shin: ...Damm it to hell!

Shuai: Wh-what is it!?

Shin: Escaping is pointless. We can't escape like this!

Saki: Why?

Shin: We have been marked from the beginning, or at least one of us has. Hikari's blue IC Chip has been marked by the enemy's Chip and is now dyed purple. They are tracking us through her marked Chip!

Hikari: They're what!?

In a panic, Hikari looked at the chip on the back of her left hamd and finally saw that it was now the color purple. She then quickly said that the last time that she checked it was definitely the same blue chip as everyone else's.

Saki: That's it. It must have been that radar scan earlier. At that time they marked one of our Chips. That way, there was no longer any need to continuously scan the area for us any further. Also, this bypassed the biggest weakness that a radar scan has.

Shin: The way it not only tells you where your enemy is, but also gives you away as well?

Saki: That's correct. Even if it is not one's exact location, it tells your opponent that they have been found and are close by. With this new type of radar... Radar Marking it now possible! With just one scan it is now possible to indefinitely keep track of your opponent and if there is no set time limit for this marking... Then no matter where you are or how much time passes you will know where the your opponent is at all time.

Shin: ...

Hikari: ...

What a scary trap this is.

What one should be afraid of here isn't that your enemy can keep following you, but that they don't have to. You can run, run and run some more till you are blue in the face, but your enemy can follow at an easy pace. Also, a person that is marked can't ever stop and rest in peace because at any moment, without using a single scan of the radar, the enemy can find and sneak up on you when you are your most defenseless.

This was the worst type of trap in a game like Btooom!

Zero: What then. If they will keep following us indefinitely like this... Should we cut off her hand?

Hikari: Kyaaaa! What are you saying!

Hikari looked at Zero and the others in fear and stopped running. We didn't have the time to stop, but we had to now.

Shin: No one is cutting off hands here! What is wrong with you?

Zero: It is better then losing her life. Also, she can't keep going with the group if she is marked like that. They will just keep following us.

Shin: Then what about the rest of the mission for Hikari!? If only your own Player Chips can collect the Chips of others, then the fact that she no longer has the hand where her own chip is, won't that mean she can't collect them anymore? In the manga and anime of Btooom, you are considered a normal person, not a player in the death game if you no longer have an IC Chip. God might view Hikari as having zero chips at tonight's Midnight Execution even if she keep the hand with her.

Kampa: I understand your concerns, but it's no good. Long as she is marked she is a liability to the team and you yourself, Shin. I've also wondered why it was only her that was marked? If we were all marked then no matter what we do to trick them, they will always know where we all are at all times. That is why I believe that they can only mark one person at a time, yet more importantly only one of them is capable of making other people. Most likely the Btooom Commander is the only one who can mark others.

Saki: Kampa may be right that it may even be both. Only the Commander can mark other NPCs and Players, and only one at a time at that. On the plane it was discussed that God would never place Players in an absolutely impossible mission, so the ability to mark every NPC and Player on the island at once is too much of an advantage for that statement to hold firm.

Shin: So what!? So we should abandon her for the team? What the hell kind of team is that!?

Saki: That... Can't be helped. Hikari's value to the team might actually be the highest right now if she is capable of tracking all the NPCs and Players on the island. She is someone I would normally never give up and fight to keep her alive at all cost, but it is impossible to save her now.

Shin: Why is that?

Saki: It should be obvious already. Anyone who is marked is fated to be left behind and killed by the enemies behind us. There actually may be the possibility that killing the one who marked Hikari will umdo the tracking mark, but... We all no longer have the advantage. Even with my earlier plan to attack the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander today, we only had a chance at victory if we had the advantage of a sneak attack. That option is now off the table, so now...

Shin: Wait! Don't just write her off!

Shuai: Hey! Where is the person in question? Hikari is gone.

Shin only noticed now that Hiakri was gone.

She had left without him realizing it because of the pressure of the entire situation.

Shin: ( Fuck! ).

Cursing himself inwardly, Shin did a quick scan to find any nearby chips, and the enemy group of six not too far away and a peraon with a chip is running away from both enemy and the Player group.

Saki tried to stop Shin, but now ignoring the others who were ready to leave Hikari behind to save themselves, he chases after her.

Shin would never forgive himself for letting anything happen to Hikari and especially if it was somewhere he couldn't see, so he ran after her with all the strength that he had.

Shin: Wait!

Hikari: No! Let go!

After Hikari snuck away from the group after realizing that the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander were after her as a result of being marked by them, Shin finally was able to catch up to her.

Hikari had a large head start and was giving it her all in running away, but after Shin tracked her down with his radar scan and with his great physical enhancements, he soon caught up to her. Hikari still tried to resist Shin who just wanted to help her, yet she couldn't escape his grasp powered by over 400 and close to 500 stat points of Muscle Density.

Hikari: Let me go, Shin! You must know that they are tracking me right?

Shin: That is why I came after you. Really, are you an idiot? Did you really expect that you could win alone. You are so weak that you couldn't even outrun or break free from me right now. Do you want to die?

Hikari: Of course not, but... You heard what the others said, right?

Hikari raised her left hand for me to see. On the back of her hand where he blue IC Chip should be, had now been dyed a sinister colored purple chip.

The Btooom Commander or someone else in the enemy unit had marked Hikari's IC Chip, so it was no longer possible for her to escape the notice of the enemy. Hikari could run all the way to the other side if the island and hide, but the enemy would still be able to find and come for her.

Hikari: With this... Long as my now purple Chip is marked by the enemy escape is pointless and my existence will endanger those around. It will endanger you Shin, so before that...

Shin: And what? You were going to sacrifice yourself to save me? Screw you! Not after all the time I have spent helping you. I've invested four chips into you I could have kept for myself. Your life isn't your own. Your life belongs to me!

Hikari: You, you're a idiot! Also, couldn't you have said that better?

Shin: Sorry, but I am a gross otaku bastered. There, I said it for you. Shit! I, I don't need a middle school girl like you to look after me. It should be the other way around.

Shin let go of Hikari and paced a sort distance away.

Shin was angry.

Very angry.

He couldn't believe the nerve of Hikari and above all he was ashamed of himself. His own weakness and fears that lead Hikari to believe that after everything they have been through, that he couldn't protect her even if it was the truth.

Just recalling all the moments of cowardness that he had shown Hikari ever since the Btooom Soldiers and tneir Commander had came to the island, he... He...

Couldn't forgive himself.

Shin: Fuck! Do I really look that unreliable!? That... I can't even save a single girl? How can I even pretend that I am the goddam Main character!

Shin became more and more angry.

He kept striking his fist against a large tree and...

\- *BANG*!

And then the large tree with the thickness of three fully grown men was cracked where an imprint of Shin's fist was. Shin and Hikari then looked on at the sight with their eyes wide open as the tree fell over as it was now unable to hold it's own weight thanks to the damage he inflicted

Hikari ran over immediately forgetting her fears and anxieties. She touched the fallen tree and then Shin's hands. They weren't even scratched from his fist constantly banging against the tree till it fell over.

Hikari was astonished about the event and said as much.

Hikari: When...When did you get so strong Shin?

Shin was surprised as well and so he didn't know how to answer.

He then tried and punched at another tree with all his strength this time. This time the whole tree snapped in half and was knocked back to the ground. After the loud sound of a tree falling over, Shin looked at his fist in disbelief at what he had done.

Shin: How is this possible? I wasn't even using Ki just now. With this kind of strength I could kill a man and send him flying like Luffy. When, when did my power level increase so much!?

Hikari: Cut the nonsense Shin! Maybe... Perhaps you have beeen holding back, but you weren't conscious of it this whole time. In a very short period of time, with no training to reach your current level ( Not Dragon Ball )... You have been unconsciously held yourself back at your new found great strength.

Is that really the case?

I had been fighting with my life on the line and have been even using Ki Energy strengthened legs to jump away from explosions, yet was I really holding back all this time?

From a different perspective, the only time since I have been of this island and have feared for my life was the Btooom Soldiers and Command came to the island.

I was superior to my opponents in physical ability and had always held the advantage as the attacker sneaking up to an unsuspecting NPCs. Even with BIMs almost killing me... Have I ever really felt like I was about to die? Hell, I was shooting them down and jumping ways away to safety thanks to Ki strengthened legs. If I had to be honest... Not once was I in any real life and death battles.

Looking back now, in my many spars with Aqua I might have been holding back.

I may of known in my head that Aqua was stronger than myself, but in my eyes she was still a girl. As a male in modern society, I was never into hurting women or others for that matter before coming to this world. Only in Btooom or towards the end of High School of the Dead have I ever allowed my morality to fall so low, if it isn't nonexistent already.

I might have been holding back without realizing it. Also, Aqua did mention that I wasn't using my strength properly. Holding back and not knowing how to wield my new found prowess, I have been operating at a level far below my full potential.

It was no hypothetical Genetic Constraint, but I could be doing better, right? I should be able to fight better. Also... I should hold the power to protect my own life and Hikari's life as well long as I am willing to take the risk.

Shin: Hey, Hikari. How powerful would I be if, without holding back, I added Ki to my attacks?

Hikari: How should I know. Wait, what are you getting at?

Shin: Maybe, just maybe... My fist could crack open the armors of the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander. There is a good chance that since this world is BTOOOM their armor may be resistant to BIM explosions, but maybe not the fist of a human who could bust open trees, and when you add Ki energy into the mix...

Hikari: Are you insane!? Juat because you've found that you can knock over a tree you now have the confidence to take them on?

Shin: Yeah. What of it ( Well, I do realize how shallow minded I am )?

Hikari: What of it? You were definitely more scared of them then anyone else, so why?

Shin: ...Hikari. I am actually a very simple himan being. I am still scared, but long as I have some form of confidence I can fool myself that I can win.

Hikari: Do you actually believe that you can win?

Shin: Why does that matter now? Even if we didn't have to defeat them for the sake of the mission, I have already decided to defeat them and protect you. There is nothing more to think about.

Hikari: ...

Shin: Hikari, I am definitely strong enough to protect you from the Btooom Soldiers and the Btooom Commander leading them without dying. This mission and anything else God can throw at us, I will overcome it all. Besides, they are not worthy enough opponents to me to even think it would be okay to be killed by. That's why... Please don't runaway from me again when I say that I can win... And I am saying that I can win.

Hikari: ...Fine, but please promise me that... That you will not die. Can you?

Shin: With or without the promise, I never had any intention of dying till I become an OP main character, but... If it make you feel better, I promise not to die today.

Hikari: Can't your promise last longrer then one day?

Shin: I'm not good at thinking ahead. I'll leave that to you or Saki. For now... Let me go kill five Btooom Soldiers and their Commander for now as that is all I can handle. For that goal, please listen exactly to what I am about to tell you. I have an idea... Or just a stupid way to die.

Hikari: Why not a smart plan?

Shin: I'm not smart. I am now a High School dropout, but I am still better you, the middle school dropout.

Hikari: That's right... We're going to die, huh?

Shin: At least not without a fight.

Following behind Shin and Hikari who were currently running away through the jungle not too far to be attacked, but at a distance that they could attack them with the newly developed BIM support weapon, the BIM Launcher, were the five Btooom Soldiers and their leader the Btooom Commander.

They were a trained unit of soldiers personally picked by Tyrannos and those who sponsor them in the shadows, and they were confident of their victory.

Not only did they have the girl responsible for the hack into the security system that they were asked to specifically look for, marked with Radar Marking which will last for twelve hours, and if she decides to use the computer later they will also be able to track her with that as well.

Her fate was good as sealed and anyone who stayed with her would die as well.

It was then that they noticed that the computer has been turned on and that it is moving in a different direction then then the girl that they marked. This meant that they somehow realized that they were after the computer and were trying to divert their attention.

Now they had two choices to make.

Go after the girl or the laptop.

The laptop which has excess to the system should be the priority, but if the girl finds another means of borrowing into the system then going after just the equipment would be meaningless.

The Btooom Soldiers looked towards their unit leader, the Btooom Commander and he only took a single minute to come to a decision.

Shin: Shit! Not all of them came after me and the laptop.

After a quick radar scan I was able to confirm as much. Of the six Btooom Soldiers and single Btooom Commander, he could only find that one of them were coming his way.

Shin: I know what Hikari must be thinking... This really was a stupid plan.

Shin went over his failed plan in his head.

It began when he was chasing Hikari after she left the group of Players.

Shin began to ask himself why Hikari?

Was it really random?

Out of the six of them; Hikari, Kampa, Saki, Zero, Shuai and Shin himself, why did the Brooom Commander just choose Hikari? There was nothing to be gained from thinking about it if it was random, but if it really wasn't random... So with that train of thought he began to think under the assumption that it wasn't.

For Hikari to become a target for the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander it would mean that Tyrannos Japan themselves want Hikari dead. And if there were to be a reason as to why she was singled out... It would have to be because of what she did.

She hacked into the security system on the islamd so that she could know where the all NPCs and Players were on the island. It wasn't real time information and couldn't differentiate, but it definitely gave her an overwhelming advantage that no one else had by using Tyrannos Japan's technology against others.

Hikari was the target because in a way, she altered the story of Btooom by having such an overwhelming advantage that Tyrannos Japan took notice, and so she became God's or the manga Btoooms number 1 target to to get rid of.

Like what Shin did in H.O.T.D, Hikari created unknown ripple effects that came back to bite them in the ass.

It was then after understanding the situation, Shin came up with an idea and after meeting up and convincing Hikari they began the plan.

Shin would turn on the laptop that the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander could be potentially tracking besides Hikari herself, and begin traveling in a different direction then her. This way they will be forced to just choose one target or split up.

Either would have been fine with Shin, but he actually would have preferred if they all chased after Hikari. If they did and could somehow trick them into believing that he was somewhere else, he would have been given the greatest opportunity for a sneak attack and kill them all, or at least the Btooom Commander who is possibly responsible for marking Hikari.

Shin: So nothing in life goes the way we want it. Then I guess there is no point in passively waiting here any longer.

Then Shin turned off the laptop and began to run in the direction of the single enemy who came after him.

Before Shin split up with Hikari in the jungle, he made Hikari promise to keep running while he diverts/take out the enemy that go after him. That was the plan, but now it was only one step from ruin. Not only were five enemy assassins gunning for Hikari, it was unlikely that she could keep running indefinitely like she was.

Among all the players that Shin knew of, she was only superior to the average college graduate exchange student Shuai. If it was anyone else sure, but if it is Hikari who has already been running for about a straight hour... She wouldn't last another.

Shin's only hope now would be to quickly dispatch the single enemy coming his way and surprise attack the rest as they are following Hikari. It could work. He had turned off the laptop, so unless they used a radar they wouldn't be able to find him, and even if they did try it Shin was prepared.

\- *RADAR SPREADING OUT*!

Shin: There it is!

Shin activated his own radar at nearly the exact same time as the enemy.

Shin's radar and the enemy's collided with each other and on and canceled each other out.

It was the technique that the protagonist Ryota Sakamoto first showed in his battle against the serial killer kid. When two radar are used at the same time they cancel each other out. And the best part is that you can't even tell that it is happening without giving it any thought

Shin didn't have Ryuta skill at timing when to use a radar, yet he had a skill that Ryuta's doesn't. He instinctively feels the very existence of the Btooom Soldiers and the Btooom Commander.

To Shin, they were the embodiment of death and fear itself and did nothing to hide it, and their radar scans were extentions of themselves.

Like when Shin first felt that oppressive feeling when they first scanned for them, he could feel with his very skin when the enemies radar was approaching and when it did, he would respond with his own radar to cancel it out.

Shin continued doing this till he could feel that the enemy was close.

At least 100 meters away ahead of him within the jungle. Then, without hesitation he threw four of his Timer BIM set to detonate immediately towards to where the fear was at its strongest. There still some distance away, but with Shin's immense strength he could throw the BIM over long distances and with speeds comparable to top level MLB pitchers or maybe faster.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The four BIM Shin threw all hit their intended target and exploded. The fiery explosion cleared out the area in front of him and he was able to finally see the enemy before him, the Btooom Soldier.

The Btooom Soldier was definitely fazed by the damage, yet the enemy's armor was barley scratched by the explosive power of the four BIM. Seeing this, Shin confidence that he could punch his way to victory had decreased by a lot.

Then after the Btooom Soldier had recovered from his initial recoil damage, he took out from his left arm attachment a Cracker BIM just like the online Btooom players could. Shin noticed that though he took a BIM from one of his eight slots, he still had eight BIM in the attachment.

Shin: Great. A Btooom Soldier with infinite BIM and myself with 10 Timer BIM left... This looks promising.

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 14.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 2.

5:31 PM

Players Alive: 8/15.

NPCs Alive: 69/150.

Btooom Soldiers Active: 25/25.

Btooom Commanders Active: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. Nothing new to report.


	40. Chapter 40

Shin took a deep breath, suppressing the terror he was feeling as he faced the Btooom Soldier.

Due to anxiety he was feeling, for a while all he could hear was his own heartbeat and that of the Btooom Soldier infront of me, and then gradually, it seemed like could felt the little movements of blood vessels.

It was a strange, scary yet wonderful feeling.

Unexplainable, but Shin was enlightened a bit, as though he's one step away from unlocking the Genetic Constraint that Saki talked about. Unfortunately, this condition didn't last long.

The depression from how his plan was failing and that even alone, this one Btooom Soldier had an aura of power and death around him that threatened to overwhelmed him. For there to be even more enemies ahead of him had completely shattered his confidence.

Shin: Still... I can't runaway just because my opponent is stronger. I made a promise after all.

The first to make a move was the Btooom Soldier.

From his arm attachment which held his infinite amount of Cracker BIM, he swiftly inserted dozens of BIMs into the BIM Launcher. Then raising the gun he began to fire BIM rapidly.

In no time at all, bombs began to rain down on Shin ( Shouldn't I have named this a BIM machine gun? ). Shin jumped away in time and where he was just standing was blown away from the explosions. All that was left was scorched earth and flames.

Seeing this, Shin now knew that a frontal confrontation with the Btooom Soldier was impossible. Not only did he have the firepower of the BIM Launcher which had rapid fire capabilities, but also armor that could withstand direct explosion from multiple BIM.

Shin kept running around the enemy wnile thinking of a way to turn the situation around. To win now, he had to first hide and strike from the enemy's blind spot. BIM were ineffective, but if his fist which could crush trees, then maybe something could happen.

Even if you are wearing armor or a bulletproof vest, you can still receive damage. Using the latter as an example, a shotgun at pinpoint range could bruise muscles, break bones and cause internal bleeding which could all lead to death even with body armor.

That was armorShin was counting on.

Shin then threw four more Timer BIM at the Btooom Soldier. The armor protected the enemy as expected, yet this was only a distraction. Shin immediately went into hiding in the surrounding jungle.

The Btooom Soldier who recovered from the explosion immediately used his radar in a attempt to find him, but it was to no avail. Shin could sense the the enemy's scan before it reached him and counter attacked with his own radar. Like before the two waves hit and canceled each other out.

The enemy was shocked that Shin could pull off radar canceling like a pro, but the enemy was very much mistaken. He was no Ryuota Sakamoto. All that it was is that Shin was overly sensitive to death and fear, which was why he could feel the enemies radar coming towards himself.

It was impressive in a way, but...

Shin: This trick won't last much longer. If the enemy can't see me with the radar he will begin to guess where I am. Let's end this quickly!

The key was whether or not Shin could reach the Btooom Soldier without being hit with a rapid fire assault of Cracker BIM. He needed a distraction, so he made one.

First, Shin threw two Timer BIM at the enemy and with each throw Shin would move to a different position immediately to avoid a counter attack. His attacks did little to no damage, but the Btooom Soldier was now under the impression that Shin was going to fight this battle at a ranged distance.

If the enemy suspected that Shin was going to rush him and fight at close range, the enemy would prepare to immediately bombard him with BIM. Shin could only avoid the BIM Launcher barrage from a distance. At close range he wouldn't be able to avoid the attack and would die.

With the first part of his plan complete Shin moved into the next.

From the sky dozens of solid objects fell on top of the Btooom Soldier. He was scared that they were all BIM and such a number could actually injure/kill him, yet they weren't. They were rocks. It was a common tactic in the real world Btooom game to throw rock instead of BIM to make your opponent believe that they are bomb. It was a childish prank, but one that became deadly when a certain type of BIM is added into the mix.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The Btooom Soldier was knocked off his feet due to a certain BIM detonating under him.

It was the Timer BIM. By mixing in a Timer BIM that can delay it's explosion with decoy rocks and thrown at the opponent, they would believe that all of them were fakes, but in reality they will let their guard down and that is when the Timer BIM will go off.

Shin: Chance!

Shin ran out of the hiding of the jungle and made a straight line for the Btooom Soldier. Shin had only hoped to distract and disorient the enemy, but not only did he loose his balance and fell, so did his BIM Launcher. The deadly weapon had fallen from the enemy's hands and landed a few feet away.

This was Shin's chance and it was now or never. Even if he had to break his hands in the process he would defeat his armored opponent to death no matter what. But as it turned out Shin was too naive and inexperienced. Shin was no battle genius and his thoughts were too focused on the victory before him to consider a counter attack.

Not to the extent of Shin who possessed the One-eye Ghoul and Ki enhancements, but the Btooom Soldier was someone as well who possessed power greater then the average man thanks to the enhancements that the armor offered. The he saw Shin at the very edge of his vision which had been enhanced by the futuristic armor he was wearing and reacted. Not from the BIM Launcher, but with his own hands he threw a Cracker BIM at Shin.

Shin saw this at the very last second and reacted. Throwing himself to the side Shin manage to avoid a direct hit, yet this was within the Btooom Soldiers expectations. He had seen first hand Shin's extraordinary physical prowess and reaction speed with the way he has been avoiding his attacks, so he knew Shin would avoid the BIM long as he saw it and dodged.

The enemy didn't throw the BIM with the aim to hit Shin directly, but to land directly in front of him. The explosion would occur before Shin could fully escape and blow him away with the shock wave... And that is exact what happened.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Shin was blown away by the explosion. It wasn't a direct hit, bet the shock wave impacted him hard and was slammed hard into the ground. If not for the ringing in his ear he would have lost conscious.

The Btooom Soldier who saw that his attacked worked smiled. He smiled as he looked down at Shin crawling on the ground trying to get up.

The enemy and now Shin as well knew that it wasn't like in the movies.

When a real human being is caught in a explosion, even if it isn't a direct attack they will still be effected and can rarely juat walk away. The shock wave and the loud sounds can both cause damage, and at its weakest can still stun a person.

Shin who had always perfectly dodge BIMs with his strong legs enhanced with Ki never knew this and was feeling real pain on the island for the first time and was unable to move.

The enemy Btooom Soldier picked up his BIM Launcher and pointed at Shin. A simple BIM would have suffice, but he wanted to be sure that Shin would die, and at this range, he wouldn't be able to escape. As he was about to squeeze the trigger and finish Shin off for good, he and Shin then both heard a loud sound off in the distance.

What saved Shin in the end was the Btooom Soldier becoming distracted.

Behind him the enemy he looked off into the distance and Shin followed his line of sight and they saw a large cloud of smoke falling in the distance. It was the smoke of the Blazing Gas BIM falling into the forest far away and destroying all wild life.

Shin imagined that the gss touching, devouring Hikari alive and turning her body into something unrecognizable and devoid of life...

Shin: ...Hikari.

At that moment Shin's eyes lost all light.

The feeling of despair and anger overwhelmed him. Despair at the image of the deformed burning body of Hikari after getting caught up in the Bruning Gas BIM and the anger at his own inability to help her.

It was over.

If they had already caught up enough to start shooting BIMs at Hikari, then if she wasn't already dead then she would be soon. They were also miles ahead of him, so even if he ran there now it would be to late. Shin knew this, but...

Shin: Nooooooo!

He still ran forward.

Without even caring about the Btooom Soldier in front of him, Shin charged recklessly forward.

The Btooom Soldier was surprised by this action, but it wasn't like he left himself open. The Btooom Soldier readied his gun, the Btooom Launcher and aimed directly at Shin and opened fire without hesitation, yet Shin dodged in a way that the enemy didn't expect.

Shin jumped.

Without even thinking about it Shin channeled his Ki into his legs and jumped far higher and farther then he ever had before. Far above the head of the Btooom Soldier and breaking Olympic records he landed over 50 meter away, Shin successfully escaped the enemy.

Shin reaction speed saved him.

To Shin, he felt like the whole world slow down to a degree that he has never experienced before and was fighting against the very world as he was running to Hikari's aid. Shin should have had amazing physical fitness, yet with ever step he took he was using a great deal of energy.

It wasn't that Shin was slow, but the rest of the world was at a standstill and were attempting to hold him back after gaining immense power. The ground, air and even his own clothes forces were at work all around him to have him slow down. Even his own body was tearing up.

Shin never experienced this type of phenomenon before, but he didn't have the resources to contemplate what was happening to him. All he knew was that his body could now move, better then ever infact, ready to react and fight to a degree that could ever imagine.

Shin wanted nothing more then to keep going , catch up with and save Hikari, but there was someone still in his way.

\- *EXPLOSIONS*!

The Btooom Soldier behind him had yet to give up his chase.

Although he couldn't keep up with Shin now, he was by no means too slow that he would lose sight him. His Btooom Armor not only offered a great level of protection, but enhanced his muscles and reaction speed.

Just by giving it his all he could still follow behind Shin who was still within range of his BIM Launcher. Shin took out his gun and fired round after round at the enemy to hinder him, but the enemy kept following right behind him.

Shin: Ahhh! Persistent guy. I'll kill you later, so just get left behind!

That was what he said, but Shin knew better.

Even though he just wanted to ignore the enemy behind him, Shin was no longer that foolish. His mind was in a mad rush, as combat instincts surface to his mind as he was running, yet he was calm enough to judge the situation accurately as if his anger and panic where not getting in the way of his ability to think.

Shin went over what he knew about the enemy while running.

Btooom Soldier -

An assassin sent in from Tyrannos Japan to kill both NPCs and get in the way Players like himself and Hikari. Their armor looks thin, yet is surprisingly durable. While not completely ineffective, possess shock and heat resistance to greatly lower the damage from BIMs and explosions. Bullets appear ineffective, yet there were noticeable dents in the armor... Can be exploited!

The enemy Btooom Soldiers have the advantage in destructive power and range with infinite ammo BIMs from his arm attachment and BIM Launcher, but were below Shin's own physical power even before the current sudden surge of strength. CQC... Can be exploited!

Going over all of his information Shin set his plan in motion to quickly end the life of the Btooom Soldier following behind him. As another wave of BIMs from the Btooom soldier was being aimed for his back, Shin ran straight into a tree with no signs of moving around it.

To Shin, as he was about to reach the tree the air felt as condensed as liquid. He could step on the air as he jumped at the tree at full force. Then turning around in midair and using the tree as a springboard, Shin kicked off the tree and jumped towards another.

What the Btooom Soldier saw was that Shin kicked the tree with enough force to split it in two and fly through the air like a bullet. He could only watch as Shin jumped/flew from tree to tree as if ricocheting and fly past him. The enemey couldn't even turn around before a rain of bullets hit.

Still, the Btooom Soldier was confident that he could withstand this level of damage. He had no idea where the player got a gun from, but bullets were incapable of penetrating his armor... At least, that was befor what happened next that is.

\- *CRACK*!

Shin's bullets were all precisely aimed at a single point on the Btooom Soldier. The Btooom Soldiers BIM attachment case.

Long as his opponent had that Shin realized that he could just keep on summoning an infinite amount of Cracker BIM. It was his hope that aiming for a single point of the Btooom Soldier's armor could either forcefully detonate the BIM inside or lose its function to bring out anymore BIM.

And Shin's plan worked flawless.

The BIM attachments was heavily damaged and caught on fire. The Btooom Soldier was forced to throw it away so it wouldn't harm him. Shin was disappointed that the attachment didn't explode, but was glad that he no longer had the ability to bring out anymore BIM.

As Shin then stopped jumping from tree to tree and he lands not too far from the Btooom Soldier in his blind spot. Shin prepared to immediately confront him at close combat.

Shin: ( All he has left our the few BIM in his Launcher now. Still, my gun is unable to land the decisive blow, so mid or long range combat should be avoided. I don't know how yet, but I have to defeat him in close combat.

Shin then jumped at the Btooom Soldier while in the enemy's blind spot. He swung his fist at one of the least thick pieces of armor protecting him. His fist almost broke from the impact, but it was the Btooom Soldier who was more seriously injured as his entire body was lifted into the air and was slammed hard against a tree.

Shin recalled his earlier conversation with Hikari.

Shin was definitely holding back his strength and now in her current condition, he was a beast and the Btooom Soldier was his prey. A fist shaped dent was even left behind in the enemies armor from Shin's attack.

Shin seeing the damge he gave the enemy believed like this he could beat the enemy to death despite it's armor, but combat was never that easily against a trained fighter. As expected of a Btooom Soldier, an assassin with the skills to hunt down ever person on the island, he hadn't given up yet.

As Shin was going in for the kill, the Btooom Soldier getting up from the heavy blow threw, not shot, a BIM at Shin. Shin was expecting for him to fire the BIM Shooter, but at some point in their clash the enemy took out a BIM from his gun to throw.

Shin was caught completely off guard.

For Shin who was running at full speed to slam a fist into the Btooom Soldier face, it was impossible to dodge with even his reflexes. So instead, Shin raised his handgun and shot the Cracker BIM on its trajectory towards him.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Shin couldn't avoid the explosion, yet he avoid the BIM going off right on top of him. He was blown away by the shock wave which caused his entire world to reverberate. His bones vibrated harshly and blood was pouring down his head. He hit his head against the dirt ground and almost fainted, but knew if it was asphalt or metal flooring then his head would have split open.

Fighting with his life on the line, Shin once again realized the key between the two of them. His armor is not only durable, but protects the entire body. If not for that kind of defense then his attack from before would have killed with the fist itself or on impacting the tree at the speed the enemy hit it.

The next time Shin advances of the Btooom Soldier he knew it has to be for keeps. He won't make the same mistake again and can avoid any BIM the way he was now, thrown or otherwise, yet if the enemy attacks just right after he attacks with an explosion, he would die or be unable to continue fighting 100%.

For that reason Shin didn't immediately get up. He used his gun fire at the Btooom Soldier, with the aim being the ankles of the enemy to cripple moment.

To confirm his success was the sight of blood escaping into the air. Then enemies right ankle was done for and so he could no longer runaway. Shin could definitely run away now and head to Hikari, but he won't. Not taking the chance of a surprise attack later, Shin is determined to kill the Btooom Soldier .

The Btooom Soldier usees the Btooom Launcher to fire his few remaining BIM at Shin, forcing him to evade the incoming atracks. The BIM were shoot accurately and took into account Shin avoiding them, but it wasn't enough. By this point Shin's mind and body moved on autopilot.

A near infinite well of animal instincts and combat experience that couldn't have belonged to him rose to the surface. He would dodge to the side, roll forward and backwards, sidestep and back flip his way out of harm. And when he couldn't do that, he would shot down the BIMs well before they made it to him.

Then his time came and jumped at the Btooom Soldier. Shin was at the very least sure that his BIM Launcher had run out of ammunition. It was now or never.

Shin: Die! ( I had to kill the Btooom Soldier here and now, yet... I still had no idea of how to do so ).

My fist is strong, even more so than I ever could had hoped, and so if I were willing to break them against the enemies armor then sure, I could kill the man, but... Every bone on my body was telling that I would die if I fail to kill on the first strike.

I, I needed to somehow... Something to crack open, no to bypass the enemy's armor and deal fatal damage. The only thing that could do that is... Oh my god, was I really going to try a technique I've always failed at? ).

Yet he had no choice and could only bet on a miracle.

Shin's fist slammed down on the helpless Btooom Soldier, but the enemey wasn't worried. In fact, he was smiling. In his hand was his very last Cracker BIM. Once he goes flying after Shin fails to break through his trusty armor like before, he would immediately throw the BIM straight at his face... It was too bad though that he wouldn't get that chance.

What Shin threw just now wasn't an ordinary punch. It was a fist empowered with Ki for sure, but was that all? Shin's physical moment and the Ki circulation within his body were perfectly untied, and a miracle was born of the fusion of the two forces.

When Shin's fist slammed into the chest of the Btooom Soldier and explosion of Ki occurred. Armor, bone and flesh were all torn apart not just by the exceptional Ki strike that he pulled off, but by the sonic boom detonating in front of his extended fist.

Soul Crushing Strike!

That was the technique Shin used to take the life of his first Btooom Soldier.

Matching physical moment and Ki circulation, Shin created an exceptional powerful Ki strike. The specialty of this Ki attack was not only could it allow him to easily crush flesh and bone, the Ki strike could also deal internal damage as well and that was what he was counting on.

Internal damage that ignores armor.

Along with a Ki powered punch that forcefully dug right into the armor of the Btooom Soldier, a Ki explosion that rips apart and causes internal damage. The former caused the chest to cave in and the later tore the heart apart, causing other organ damage.

With or without the other, the results were the same and when the Btooom Soldier fell to the ground after receiving Shin's makeshift Soul Crushing Strike to the chest, he was already dead with an unactivated Cracker BIM in his hand. As Shin looked down on his former enemy, he noticed that he still had his smile that confirmed his victory.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, BTOOOM SOLDIER CHIP - 100 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- SKILL MASTERY REWARD!

WITHIN 70% ACCURACY YOU HAVE EXECUTED THE FOLLOWING SKILL - SOUL CRUSHING STRIKE! ONCE YOU RETURN TO THE TERMINAL LOBBY YOU CAN EXCHANGE FOR THE COMPLETE SOUL CRUSHING STRIKE SKILL FOR 1/10 OF ITS POINT VALUE AND D RANK REWARD!

Shin: ...Shit! What are you smiling about? I won! At least let me enjoy this...Damm, whatever. At least now I can finally-

Just as I was about to take out a hemostasis spray from the Na Ring, my whole body went into a seizure.

A painful and paralyzing sensation starting from the internal organs, like countless ants crawling on them, then pain spread to the bones marrow, and then it moved along with the blood to the skin.

Immediately afterwards, all I could see was whiteness. Juat like the time at the end of H.O.T.D I felt as if I was at deaths door and was about to die.

( Saki: Just think about it. Apes reached this limit and became human, then what will humans become when we reach it? Needs a substance similar to the epinephrine hormone that can only be produced by the human body. The crucial point is... It's a poison. You probably heard of stories like a mother lifting a car to save her son. This actually happened but this woman died soon afterward. Scientists found a micro amount of this substance in her blood. )

Shin: This, This is... The Genetic Constraint.

Shin recalled Saki's words on the Genetic Constraint.

Shin didn't know if he accidentally unlocked this Genetic Constraint, but he knew that he is struggling on the brink of death at this very moment just like the the mother in the story. They both wanted to protect something and realized great strength, yet that very same strength was more deadly to them than anything else.

The seizure of the internal organs became stronger, and Shin started to bleed through his mouth and nose. Then his lungs also started to have seizures. He could hardly take in any air as he opens his mouth struggling to breath.

Shin: ( I, I can not die here. My own dreams aside I... Have to get back to her... Dammit. I even went ahead and promised her that I wouldn't die and return. If.. If she is still alive, fighting desperately till I come back then how can I justify dying first? Like, Like hell I can! ).

Life and death.

Survival, dreams and the desire to protect.

Those powers conflicted with each other within the being known as Shin Kazama, and the results...

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 15.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 2.

5:48 PM

Players Alive: 8/15.

NPCs Alive: 68/150.

Btooom Soldiers Active: 24/25.

Btooom Commanders Active: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. The first Btooom Soldier has been defeated... Unexpected, but the rest of Unit 1 has corned the hacker culprit and will soon be dealt with.


	41. Chapter 41

Shin: ...I'm alive?

Once again, caught in the battlefield of life and death Shin had come out on the side of the living.

Right after defeating his first Btooom Soldier Shin had collapsed due to the fact that he had just unlocked his Genetic Constraint for the very first time to defeat the enemy, and had just going through the recoil of doing so. To Shin, it felt like his body was breaking down from the inside out.

In the end Shin was unable to breathe due to the seizures of his lungs, but what saved Shin in the end was Ki Energy. Before he lost consciousness he filled his longs with Ki to heal himself. After passing out, Ki had healed the lungs and stopped his seizures. Five minutes later he was sitting out blood in an attempt to breath again.

Shin: Who knew that my desperate idea would work out and thank god, not this world's God, that I am alive.

Able to finally breath normally again, Shin stood up and examined himself.

Shin needed to hurry and catch up to Hikari and the enemies chasing after her, but it was no good to embarrassingly die on the way there. Whether it was the hemostasis spray or something else that needed to be used, he had to recover enough to face five more enemy assassins, one of which, their leader is stronger then the rest.

Checking himself over, Shin felt totally exhausted, but compared to the hell like pain a few moments ago this was heaven. Shin didn't know how to describe what just happened. When he was on the border of life and death, he felt something unlocked within him.

The combat became smooth and and the precision of his movements was within a millimeter, and every bit of energy spent for those actions went without waste.

The combat instincts had no compassion or fear. If he really has to describe it with a phenomenon similar to SEED Mode from Gundam Seed, The Gamer MC's 'Gamers Mind' or having reached the Terminal Horizon in Black Bullet ( Just not that level of reaction speed ).

Of course this had to be the Genetic Constraint that Saki talked about. Evolved human beings that can survive through any extremes. This also explains why it was so painful afterward, that was probably the side effects from the substance generated from unlocking the constraint.

The pain comes and goes quickly, yet I could manage. I felt that I was gradually recovering my energy and the feeling of unlocked Genetic Constraint is also subsiding.

Shin: Perhaps the poisonous substance is being decomposed by my body. My enhanced Cell Vitality and Immunization Strength were what probably had saved me. During it all, it prevented the substance from totally unlocking the constraint.

Shin was glad that he didn't die, yet I was a little disappointed.

When Shin imagined that if he could keep that state active at all times, or could turn it on or off, with those combat instinct he would be capable of defeating any foe.

Shin: Ah, this was no time to be getting full of myself! I have to quickly heal... Huh?

To his own surprise, Shin had recovered a lot by now.

He noticed his wounds from the battle were healing and was surprised. The strange thing was that after a while his bleeding, torn muscles and burned skin were quickly healed.

The speed of his healing was simply too amazing. It seems like the genetics of the One-eye Ghoul was working well. Maybe it could also be because he used his remaining Ki at the last moment to heal his lungs so he could breath, he was better at healing himself now.

Shin's Ghoul mutation and Ki energy did seem to work well together, and so on the verge of death he learned how to rapidly heal specific parts of his person with Ki Energy, which brought out the extreme healing factor of a ghoul.

Maybe if Shin tried, like Ken Kaneki, he could imagine himself rapidly fixing a twisted arm or leg like it was nothing. It would hurt like hell and spend a lot of Ki, but Shin didn't believe that he couldn't do it... Or at least not completely.

Shin: Can I survive if I lose the lower half of my body in an explosion... I would rather not lose my lower body now that I can put it to use... I wonder how Aqua is doing. Ah, that's enough foolishness!

Shin didn't even need to take out anything to heal himself from his Na Ring anymore, so he focused his mind back on the task at hand.

To meet back up with Hiakri and save her!

If the fighting was still going on, then they must have moved quite far away. Shin couldn't see or hear anything past the island's dense jungle filled with wild life, but he didn't need to. On the thin road between life and death, his sence of danger and understanding it had improved greatly. He no longer needes to see or hear death, or smell blood to knew where they were most congested.

Shin: The sense of danger is moving further away. If they had killed Hikari then they would be running back over here to back up or avenge their comrade. She is still alive! Lets go!

Shin ran to catch up to Hiakri and the enemy, but he was in such a rush that he failed to notice something important. His own appearance. After unlocking his constraint, Shin had partially awakened to his Ghoul mutation and then having come so close to death, so close that he could touch it, in some way he had an awakening of sorts.

Like Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul, after this awakening his hair had lost its color and was now pure snow white. Shin also didn't know that when he was in Unlocked Mode earlier his left eye had become black and his irises blood red.

It would be a while till he noticed these changes himself... But he would be happy about his new cool appearance.

Shin ran like a madman once he was recovered enough now that he knew Hikari was still alive.

Just a level or two below, his speed has almost reached the limit. The feeling of the air becoming dense was coming back again, yet he was not in that unlocked mode yet.

If he had to describe it, it was like being in the zone, ones best physical and mental state in sports. In wasn't the same level when one is faced with death to enter that unlocked mode, but right now, Shin could rival the protagonist of 'Koroko no Basuke' and 'Baby Steps'.

To simplify it, what was happening now was that he had for the first time discovered how to go from normal to max. It was something that Biacuit Kruger taught Gon and Killia who were full of potential, but didn't know how to bring it all out at once.

Shin: God, what happen here? Blazing Gas BIM are no joke.

Shin ran into the area where the jungle had been destroyed by the Blazing Gas BIM that he saw fall from the sky earlier and what set off that unlocked the state he was in. All the trees, plants and animals nearby were decayed by the BIM attack.

Then while running through all of it Shin discovered a corpse.

Shin: ...Well, it has decayed by a lot, but it isn't Hikari. It also isn't another NPC/Player. The armor it's wearing means it a Btooom Soldier makes it obvious as well.

In the foreat destroyed by the Blazing Gas BIM, Shin found a dead Btooom Soldier. It was decayed despite his armor protection and from the the blood oozing from the mouth, the enemy was shot in the mouth before the gas fell.

Shin: Way to go Hikari. Even I didn't pay attention to the fact that the mouth was the only unprotected area of the enemy's armor... I can exploit this. Now I have to hurry up and-

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Shin: Shit! It came from over there!

Shin quickly ran in the direction of the explosion.

Shin was inwardly glad. Explosions and any signs of fighting is proof that Hikari was still alive and hanging on for him to return. Hikari had already defeated one of them, so his job will be much easier when he finally catches up.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Shin had finally caught up to Hikari and the enemy after another round of explosions. Hikari was leaning against a tree covered in blood and was surrounded by Btooom Soldiers and their leader the Btooom Commander.

Hikari was coming closer and closer to deaths door like Shin once was, but unlike him she wasn't awakening to her own Seed Mode. The enemy watching this, as she was losing hope and to avenge their comrade, they were enjoying every minute of it.

The Btooom Commander, not knowing that Shin had caught up to them and so unconcerned to watch their backs, pulled out a Timer BIM and threw it gently over to Hikari. As it landed a few inches from where she was leaning against tree, the Timer BIM began it countdown. It was set to go off in five seconds three had already passed.

Shin: No!

At that moment Shin entered Unlocked Mode once more. He sprinted to Hikari as fast as he could, but he wasn't going to make it in time. As the timer of the BIM was at 1, Shin kicked the ground with as much Ki as he could, and disappeared.

\- SKILL MASTERY REWARD!

WITHIN 70% ACCURACY YOU HAVE EXECUTED THE FOLLOWING SKILL - INSTANT MOVEMENT! ONCE YOU RETURN TO THE TERMINAL LOBBY YOU CAN EXCHANGE FOR THE COMPLETE INSTANT MOVEMENT SKILL FOR 1/10 OF ITS POINT VALUE AND A D RANK REWARD!

For the first time successfully, Shin had executed the Instant Movement foot technique. After kicking the ground with Ki he reappeared right beside Hikari and picked her up in a hurry.

Then as the Timer BIM was detonating and were caught in the explosion, Shin once more focused Ki right in front of his feet and kicked the ground, executing Instant Movement once more to escape and landing over 10 meters away to safety.

Once they had fully escaped the blast Shin with worry called out to Hikari.

Shin: Hikari! Are you alright? Talk to me!

Hikari: ...

Shin found that Hikari was out cold just as the enemy were comprehending how he appeared out of nowhere and pulled Hikari to safety.

One second later, it was the Btooom Commander who acted first. He threw not another Timer BIM, but a Cracker BIM at Shin/Hikari. Without even using his BIM Launcher he could throw the small projectile over 100 MPH at them.

Shin had no chance to dodge it normally while carrying Hikari in his arms, so he escaped with a third Instant Movement, and not stopping there he kept running away from the enemy with his new skill. The Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander gave chase, but they were unable to keep up with Shin constantly using Instant Movement to escape them.

Shin: Are they still following? Ah, that's right. Hikari is still marked.

After setting the unconscious Hikari down, Shin looked back behind him. Shin had temporary put a good amount of distance between them and the enemy, but long as Hikari's IC Chip was marked escaping would be impossible. To truly be safe...

Shin: I have to defeat them here and now. Hikari, wait for me here!

Then determined to defeat the enemy Shin ran back to face the enemy who he could feel were moving towards them. Fighting with Hikari nearby would be a mistake now that she is unconscious, so he choose to meet them head on.

Two minutes later, Shin was face to face with the enemy. The three remaining Btooom Soldiers and their Commander.

Shin: Couldn't you have given up? No response? Well, begging for you lives now wouldn't save you!

Shin used Instant Movement to charge at the enemy Btooom Commander. If possible, defeating the strongest of your foes will make the battle go smoother and with his new found speed they were no match, so Shin made the decision to attack the enemy leader.

This was a mistake.

Already hidden in the area were a few Remote Control BIM that the Btooom Commander set before Shin arrived and now activated. Explosions enveloped the entire area in an instant, yet both sides were somewhat safe.

The enemy were wearing armor with powerful resistance to explosions and Shin had Instant Movement to escape at the last moment. Still, both sides were temporarily the stunned from the numerous blast, yet there was one among them that came out without a scratch and was already leaving ground zero behind.

The Btooom Commander who was inside the protective triangle shaped energy shielding of the Barrier BIM had escaped and was heading towards Hikari. Shin noticed this, cursed and followed behind.

Shin: Fuck! Timer, Cracker, Remote Control and and now Barrier! Just pick one!

Shin was finally beginning to see the true ability of the Btooom Commander.

That not only did this enemy possess the BIM Launcher and a suit of armor that greatly strengthened the man within, but that he could wield infinite amount of BIM of the five types that his subordinate Btooom Soldiers held, but he wouldn't be able to face him just yet.

Blocking his path to the Btooom Commander who prioritized killing Hiakri over him, were the three Btooom Soldiers.

Shin: Get out of my way!

Shin knew they weren't going to just obey, but he was upset despite being having the calmness of being in Unlocked Mode. Shin for some reason just knows because of the battle tactics and instincts of the Unlocked Mode that he didn't have much time to waste here.

From the earlier attacks from when they were still partied up with Saki and the others, Shin knows now that if he doesn't defeat them all in thirty-eight second, then Btooom Commander will be in range to snipe Hikari with the BIM Launcher.

To save Hikari, Shin must win and kill the three Btooom Soldiers within 28-30 seconds to catch up with the Btooom Commander with Instant Movement.

Shin: This isn't Apocalypse Alice amd inside a Labyrinth, so don't give me a time limit!

Shin roared and began the attack.

Shin: One verse Three. At least your side have even the odds.

Shin begins his fight against three Btooom Soldiers.

He only had thirty seconds defeat all three of them if he wanted to catch up to the enemy Btooom Commander who was on his way to assassinate Hikari. First, Shin took only a second to look at his own condition and then the enemies, yet in his current state in Unlocked Mode that was all Shin needed.

Shin: ( I feel just a little exhausted, yet my injuries from that last fight are all but gone with a few exceptions. The main problem is Ki. About 40, no 30% of my Ki is left. 30% is still a lot since it is Advance Ki, but it won't last me too long with these two new skills of mine. Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement. If I keep the use of Instant Movement to at a minimal then I can use Soul Crushing Strike a few more times before running out of Ki ).

Shin felt that he is definitely using more Ki then necessary for his techniques, but it couldn't be helped fow now. Until he can actually exchanges the right way to use his skills he would have to live with it, and he still had more problems on top of that.

Shin's right fist was done for and will break after one more Soul Crushing Strike. Another added bonus to not exchanging for the proper skill was that the attack itself harms his hands and the hand he used to kill his first Btooom Soldier was damaged. Now, when Shin took into account the conditions of his hands and Ki reserves he could guessed that he can also only use Soul Crushing Strike four more time before both hands cease function. so he can only spare one attack on each foe.

Shin: ( Now for the enemy. If I can only spare one attack for the three here and the Btooom Commander up ahead, I can't make a single mistake ).

Shin was able to geuss the potential threat of the three before him now by recalling the Btooom Commander. If Shin geuss was right and that he couldn't us all eight type of BIM ( His gut instinct/ fear of the worse case scenario ), but the same of his comrades he could geuss the enemy's tactics.

Shin: ( So far I have seen from their team Blazing Gas BIM, Cracker BIM, Timer BIM, Remote Control BIM and lastly Barrier BIM. THAT IS ALL FIVE. Now, I've already defeated the Cracker BIM user and it is a long shot hit, but if the Commander used those Remote Control BIM himself instead of a subordinate that could mean the enemy Hikari killed was the Remote Control User. So the three Btooom Soldiers here are the users of Timer, Blazing Gas and Barrier type BIM!

In that instant Shin completed his battle strategy and attacked.

Shin: First is you!

Shin's target was Barrier BIM user of the three Btooom Soldiers.

The reason was that the Blazing Gas user can't risk of getting his teammates involved at close range even with their armor, so offensively, the Timer BIM user is the biggest threat, but he choose to get rid of Barrier BIM user.

With the Barrier BIM's protection is the only way they can use Blazing Gas at close range. If they use the Barrier to protect themselves, Shin came to the conclusion that he would die or the fight would take too long if he had to avoid AOE bombs like Blazing GAS.

Also, a defensive BIM would needlessly lengthen the fight as well, which is what Shin didn't want. That was why Shin used his reserved Instant Movement to swiftly approach the enemy and strike with Soul Crushing Strike. Shin was too fast for the enemy to respond property, so they could only watch as he killed the Barrier BIM user in a single blow, having guessed that the Btooom Soldier with the least bloodlust held the defensive BIM.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, BTOOOM SOLDIER CHIP - 100 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

Shin: Next is...

\- *DING*

Shin jumped away with Instant Movement the very moment he heard that sound.

Where he just stood a Timer BIM exploded. The enemy couldn't react fast enough to save their comrade, but they move immediately afterwards thanks to their training and enhanced reaction speed. The very moment after Shin killed, the Timer BIM user threw a BIM set to go immediately off. If Shin was not in the unlocked Mode then he would have died there.

Now, Shin was angry.

He had to use up another Ki consuming techniques when he didn't want to and his anger was visible on his face. So much so that the enemy took a step back once they saw his face, that of a furious white haired man with a pitch black left eye and red iris.

Shin had yet to notice his changed appearance, yet in the eyes of the enemy they saw a demon that no amount of training could help them cope with.

Shin now ran in a straight line to the Timer BIM user. The demon that they feared was approaching, so abandoning the years of experience as a soldier that he had accumulated and recklessly fired at Shin with the BIM Launcher.

Shin: ( Is this guy an idiot? ).

That was what Shin had thought when the enemy opened fired at him. Sure, Timer BIM can become a powerful weapon, but it didn't suit the BIM Launcher. The BIM Launcher and Timer BIM are better suited for sniping from a distance, since unlike Cracker BIM they don't go off immediately unless you set them up that way. The enemy didn't, so Shin was well away when the Timer BIMs exploded.

Shin: You would have been better of throwing them like before!

Shin in an obvious manner raised his right arm to show that he was about to punch the enemy. The Timer BIM user who had seen Shin's power up close was very aware its threat, so he raised his arms to defend.

Shin: Stupid!

Shin had faked a normal attack as the powerful Soul Crushing Strike to throw off the enemy. What he did, instead was tackle the enemy down to the ground and forced the muzzle of a handgun into the enemy's mouth.

Shin: You can thank Hikari for the inspiration.

\- *BANG*!

Shin without hesitation pulled the trigger of the handgun that was in the Timer BIM users mouth to kill him.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, BTOOOM SOLDIER CHIP - 100 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

Shin: Fifteen seconds have passed by. I can make-

Shin who had experience fighting and three Btooom to date felt that he could defeat the last Btooom Soldier in the time remaining with ease, but what he was seeing confused him. He was watching as the last Btooom Soldier who used Blazing Gas BIM shoot countlessup into the air with the BIM Launcher. It was only after it was too late did he realize the enemy's intent.

Shin: What is... Shit! He is trying to take me down with him?!

Yes.

Shin believed that the Blazing Gas BIM user wouldn't use his BIM long as Shin kept a close enough distance to him. Blazing Gas BIM have a wide AOE, Area of Effect damage as the toxic gas spreads in all direction, so even when up wind, it was ill advisable to detonate one in close quarters.

That was the correct assumption, but that depended on the notion that the enemy wanted to live. What Shin didn't know was that the suit of armor that the enemy wears also alters their minds.

Normally it would only be used to increase their reaction speed, but there was secret setting that none of the people wearing it knew about. That when corned and there is no hope of survival, the suit will brainwash the user and give them one final order... Take the enemy down with you.

That was why after the Btooom Soldier shoot dozens of Blazing Gas BIM into the air that will spread out throughout the area, the Blazing Gas user tackled Shin to the ground to hinder his escape as the fog of toxic gas fell to the ground below. Shin was able to push the enemy grappling him with all of the his strength, with a close range Soul Crushing Strike, but it was too late as both of them were caught in the gas.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, BTOOOM SOLDIER CHIP - 100 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

Shin: *Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*... I, I didn't know forcing a suicide will still reward points, or maybe it was the punch.

Shin had survived being submerged in the Blazing Gas.

Shin kept his eyes and mouth closed and ran out of the gas to avoid as much damage as possible, yet he was still damaged. One eye was unusable if not gone and his skin was burned black for the most part. Yet other then his shirt also being burned off he came out fine, which was very surprising.

Shin: God, what hell is up with that suicide bomber? Just how much time did I lose.

According to Shin's internal clock which was perfect to the millisecond in Unlocked Mode, after escaping from the Blazing Gas the entire fight took 35 seconds. Shin didn't even have time to curse as he started to run. The only saving grace was that thanks to saving the use of one Soul Crushing Strike, Shin had the extra Ki to run all the way with Instant Movement.

Shin barley caught up to the Btooom Commander as he was about to fire off a BIM with the BIM Launcher in the area where Hikari should be resting soundly asleep. Shin fired rounds with his handgun to get the enemy's attention and stop him. Shin then dodge a rapid fire of a Cracker BIM counter attack and jumped towards the enemy leader and final foe.

Shin: Your opponent is me Commander!

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 17.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 2.

6:10 PM

Players Alive: 8/15.

NPCs Alive: 66/150.

Btooom Soldiers Active: 20/25.

Btooom Commanders Active: 5/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. ...Three more Btooom Soldier hage been defeated. The Btooom Commander will now engage this unexpected threat and KILL the hacker without fail!


	42. Chapter 42

Shin's flying kick hit the Btooom Commander squarely in the head.

The kick even in his Unlocked State did little to no damage against the enemy's tough armor, but the force of the kick still blew the enemy away and even knocked the BIM Launcher out of his hands. This was more then enough to secure Hikari's safty for the moment.

The Btooom Commander quickly recovery from Shin's attack and faced him. He wasn't going to let Shin get another surprise attack on him. Not just in equipment, the Btooom Commander was a much higher level opponent the the Btooom Soldiers Shin had just defeated. He focused all of his attention on to Shin, yet that is what he wanted all along.

Shin: ( Great. His sights are only on me now and has forgotten about Hikari. Long as I don't have to worry about protecting her, I can easily win this! ).

Shin said so with confidence, yet the odds weren't with him.

Shin had exhausted almost all of his Ki and worn himself out in the Instant Movement sprinting to make up for the lost time as a result of his fight with the Btooom Soldiers. Now, against the Btooom Commander Shin had less then 10% of his Ki left and was worn out.

Shin, with his broken right hand ( To get the last Btooom Soldier off him ) only had enough Ki for one last Soul Crushing Strike to kill the Btooom Commander and hardly any Ki to strengthen his body, if he failed he would have to fight with two almost unusable hands and no Ki.

Shin: Just one shot. That is all I need!

Shin began his attack.

Shin ran circles around the enemy and fired off shoots from his handgun looking for an opening to exploit. The Btooom Commander just tightned up his guard and stood with his back against a tree. It looked like Shin was pushing him back, but he wasn't going to be fooled.

Shin: ( This was just supposed to be a small distraction and your acting like you are on the ropes. That armor obviously looks thinker and cooler the the Btooom Soldiers and guns did little to no damage. I won't be fooled to charge in twice! ).

Shin observation was correct.

If he were to attack now, the enemy Btooom Commander would have detonated any number of BIMs at close range even if it meant taking damaged as well. Like Shin suspected, an Btooom Commander's armor had 238% more defensive capabilities the an Btooom Soldier's armor.

Not just that. The armor of the Btooom Commander raised the wearers battle potential to an extent that he could match Shin physically if not for his Ki. Rushing in carelessly would only spell doom for Shin, yet because he could only display his full power in CQC, Close Quarters Combat, he had to move in close at some point and fast before he ran out of Ki to strengthen his body and couldn't use his final attack.

It was as the Btooom Commander gave up pretending to be helpless and began throw countless number of different types of BIM at Shin did he figure out a plan of attack.

Shin: ( Damm! What can I do? What can I do... That's it! If guns don't work then use something bigger and harder to attack ).

Shin put away his handgun and placed his full focus into running away and dodging attacks. Just as the enemy Btooom Commander began thinking Shin had given up or gone mad, something hard impacted his shoulder hard and threw him off balance and fell to his knees.

The atrack came from none other then Shin, and what he just thrown at the enemy and was picking up from the ground when he found them were rocks. It was an idea that Shin came up with early on after killing his first NPC.

Shin had noticed that his ability to throw rocks were comparable to cannon fire with how high he could throw them in the air and their accuracy wasn't bad either. He had considered there use as weapons as an substitute to handguns, but forgot about it ( Hikari threw a grenade at me immediately after I had the idea ).

Now that Shin had remembered and knew that small bullets couldn't do the job, he switch to large rocks that had more surface impact against the bullet proof armor of the enemy. Even if not a bullet, the throwing speed of the rocks was comparable to bullets and because they were larger, the Btooom Commander was forced back with every hit and had no choice but to stop attacking and protect himself.

Shin: ( This is working. I'll attack! ).

Just as Shin was about to go in for the attack, the enemy Btooom Commander made his moved first. Reaching imto his BIM attachment while protecting himself from rocks, he pulled out a single BIM and without throwing it he turned it on.

The BIM was the Barrier BIM that was now protecting him.

Shin: ( Shit! What a useless struggle. Once the Barrier BIM loses power I will swift move in with one last Instant Movement and attack. For now, I'll just keep throwing... ).

Shin made a mistake.

He didn't think deep enough into the meaning of the Barrier BIM. He just thought that the enemy would take this time to recover and prepare to throw a BIM for the counter attack. The enemy Btooom Commander went beyond Shin's expectations and charged at him while the Barrier BIM was still up.

Shin wouldn't be able to hurt the enemy now, so he was going to escape, but without Instant Movement he couldn't avoid being caught up in the enemy Commanders second attack the he launched. The Btooom Commander threw 1300°C Flammable Oil Splashing Flame BIM all around Shin. Large walls of flames surrounded him from the left, right and behind him, and in front of him charging like a mad bull was the enemy.

Shin: ( Do you want to push me into the flames and burn me alive? And shit, did you have your own sixth type of BIM? You might as well be allowed to use all eight along with Homing and Implosion BIMs, half assed author/God! ).

Now just seeing that the enemy had a sixth type of BIM, Shin saw the enemy Btooom Commander's intention and knew he was trapped. Running through flames only work when in reality when there is a body of water to dive immediately into afterwards and jumping would make him too much of a target to be shot down with another BIM.

Shin: Fuck!

Just the same as the enemy, Shin charged at the Btooom Commander at full speed. Just as they were about to ram into each Shin extended his clenched hand for an attack.

Shin: Soul Crushing Strike!

Shin's Soul Crushing Strike hit head on against the enemy Btooom Commander's Barrier and he was blown away, the enemy's shields cracked, yet still held, but the the Btooom Commander was still blown backwards by the monstrous force of Shin's Ki attack.

Shin: Serves you right! Baka!

Shin: Fuck! I am screwed.

Despite Shin provocation Shin didn't stay to fight.

With no Ki left or a powerful weapon ( Only had a few Timer BIM, some grenades left over and a handguns in him/Na Ring ) he had no means of defeating the enemy Btooom Commander while he wore that armor. Right now, Shin was just running aimlessly while trying to think of a plan of action, yet he wasn't given the peace of mind he needed to come up with a good plan.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The enemy Btooom Commander who must have recovered his BIM Launcher, began barraging Shin from a distance as he followed after Shin. Cracker, Timer, Blazing Gas and 1300°C Flammable Oil Splashing Flame BIM ( Mouth full ). The attacks were incredibly fierce, but loud as well. Shin was worried of the noise had woken up Hikari who was knocked out.

Shin did a quick scan with his radar. He saw that Btooom Commander was not too far behind him and from the direction that he remembered leaving Hikari she was moving about.

Shin: That girl! Coming here to help now wouldn't do any good for either of us. Please just stay hidden and... Wait! What was that?

After a scan to see the positions of the enemy and Hikari, Shin felt a reaction on the very edge of of his radar scan.

Shin: This... This is it! If my luck is good then I can make a comeback!

By accident, Shin had found what he believed to be the key to victory. It only had a 1/8 chance of succeeding, but if it did work out then he was 100% sure of his victory.

Shin continued to run away from enemy Btooom Commander chasing him and endured the rain of BIM from above, as he made his way to the small reaction he had. Shin then activated a second scan and found what he was looking for 50 meters ahead of him in the jungle.

Before Shin now was a random NPC. The NPC knew he was found with an enemy's radar, but was surprise by how fast Shin arrived. Thanks to Unlocked Mode Shin was incredibly fast even without using Instant Movement or relying on Ki.

And before the NPC could take out a single BIM to attack, Shin threw all of his remaining Timer BIM ( Set to immediately go off ) and grenades at the NPC. The NPC was killed a without being able to do anything under the large blast of explosions

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, NPC CHIP×3 - 30 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin: Great, but I can't rejoice now.

Shin was glad for the windfall of chips, but he was definitely not in the mood to rejoice.

What he did care far more about right now and was more delighted to find that the MPC had three Bim bandolier cases on him. Shin quickly found and looked through them. Shin discarded two near full cases of BIM, and with a smile found the type of BIM he was looking for and left with them

Shin: These are the only BIM that can kill the Btooom Commander. If this doesn't work then I can only greet the god of death ( Soul Eater or Bleach? ) with a smile knowing I had did my best.

The enemy Btooom Commander was surprised to see Shin run back to him and fight.

The Btooom Commander knew of the injuries to his hands ( Right hanging motionlessly ) and could see the exhaustion on his face. He had no idea where the guys superhuman strength emerged from, but it was obvious with one look that it was fading and fast, yet it was Shin who knew this better then anyone else.

Shin had a plan that could win against the Btooom Commander, but it wasn't like he had the energy for some grand plan. Only Shin's left hand barely functioned and more importantly his Unlocked Mode or whatever it was was coming to and end, and fearing the recoil he went through before he had to, no neeeded to end the battle quickly.

The Btooom Commander didn't know what Shin was up to, but he wasn't going to take any chances with him. Despite appearing like any other high school age kid, Shin who possessed strength comparable or if not greater then he, who wore the armor that strengthened himself many times over, was responsible for the destruction of his Unit 1. He could only rely on himself now, so he wasn't going to wait and see what trick Shin had up his sleeves.

The Btooom Commander opened fire on Shin with the BIM Launcher who was just ran at a straight line at him. In response, Shin ran forward with the very last of the strength that he had and dodged the attacks any way he could while not stopping making his way forward.

One mistake would cost him his life, yet it seemed like all story protagonist, Shin possessed the luck of the devil to survive as he was now within reach of the enemy Btooom Commander. He tightened his left fist with much difficulty amd raised it as if he was going to strike down the enemy. Seeing this the enemy Btooom Soldier stiffened up.

He had no idea how, but he saw how much power Shin's attacks held first hand. He had earlier charged forward and was shielded with a Barrier BIM to push Shin imto a sea of flames, but with just one punch blew him away and put a large dent in his shield. He also imagined that it was this one attack that killed his comrades despite them being equipped in their armor.

Once the enemy began fearing what would happen if that attack came into contact with him... He reacted instinctively to save his life. The Btooom Commander stopped firing at Shin and took out and activated a Barrier BIM to defend. Shin's special attack was scary, too scary, yet he knew from experience that the worst it could do to the barrier was put a dent in it.

The enmey was right. Shin's Soul Crushing Strike couldn't hope to break through the shield at its current level, but...

Shin: Baka! Like I have the Ki for such a thing. Die!

\- *SLAP*!

The enemy Btooom Commander was confused.

Anyone would be if they saw what happened. The moment that Shin's fist was about to impacted the energy shield of the Barrier BIM, his fist opened up and *Pa*, he slapped the shield with his palm. It was only after Shin immediately escape to the side did the enemy Btooom Commander see what Shin had done and what was placed against the his shield.

Implosion BIM.

An Implosion BIM was activated and sucked in it's surroundings, effectively sticking to the the enmemy shield. It was one of the three types of BIM that Shin acquired by killing that last NPC, and he had gained a total of three such BIM. Implosion BIM wasn't like a normal BIMs that explode like a Cracker and Timer BIMs, but causes an implosion that anything caught in its detonation would collapse/erased from existence. The Implosion BIM unfortunately has a limited range, yet as far as he knew there was no BIM with as much destructive power and could potentially break through the Barrier BIM.

That was Shin's plan. Taking a lesson from Gon from HxH, Shin had bet on the fact that after seeing and experiencing the power of his Soul Crushing Strike, any enemy would fear it and automatically protected themselves the best way they could.

For some they might pointlessly raise their arms to guard, but what the Btooom Commander did was activated the Barrier BIM. It was the better choic, but still a mistake as Shin had hoped that the enemy would use the Barrier BIM. Shin had bet his life on this geuss and won as his purpose was to attached the Implosion BIM to the shield of the Barrier BIM.

Shin: But I am not done yet!

\- *SLAP*!

\- *SLAP*!

Then for good measure as he was running around the enemy, Shin stuck two more Implosion BIMs on the rest of the sides of the triangle shaped barrier for good measure. When Shin was done he escaped and watched as he saw his own handy work.

The enemy Btooom Soldier was trapped in a cage of his own making with three Implosion BIM about to activate. The Btooom Commander tried to escape or throw away his Barrier BIM, but it was too late as the Implosion BIMs had gone off. Shin watch as the enemy was eaten alive by the implosions of the three BIMs.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, BTOOOM COMMANDER CHIP - 500 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

Shin: ...I...I, I did it! Hahahahahahahaha! Take that! I won against you asshole! Look, the protagonist wins in the end so don't feel too-

Hikari: Shin!

Interrupting shin's embarrassing victory cry was the girl who feel unconscious and just woke up due to all the bombs going off, Hikari. Shin was a little upset that his long awaited victory speech was interrupted as he hadn't even hone through half of it, but he was soon overcome with happiness and accomplishment after seeing her.

Shin: I won. I really defeated the enemy and saved Hikari.

Shin was happy for two reasons. The first was that he had overcome his first trial as a battle manga ( or anime, novel and game ) protagonist, but what he was even more happy about was seeing Hikari. She was a little injured, blood running down the side of her head, but she was fine and even moving around. As a comrade and friend, Shin was happy that Hikari was alive and well, but this signified something more to him.

In real life, Shin had not accomplished anything worthwhile.

He failed everything he had ever attempted and later stopped trying all together, and could only console himself in the world fiction. Now... He had finally accomplished something. Shin ran, fell, burned, poisoned and was almost killed by god who knows how many BIM explosions, but he picked himself up time and time again and overcame his limits and... He kept his promise to Hikari to protect her and defeat the enemy.

It was Shin's first real, his first true victory in ever sence of the word. Once he realized this the joy he felt was so great that he couldn't even stand up and fell over. Hikari who saw this thought something was wrong and ran over to Shin... And before Shin did, she saw something right next to him.

Hikari: Shin! Get away!

Shin looked over confused to where Hikari was pointing desperately and panicked as well as losing all color in his face. What Shin didn't notice was that right before the Btooom Soldier was killed by the three Implosion BIM, he threw a Timer BIM that landed right under Shin's feet.

It didn't matter how did Shin missed it all this time as he was basking in his victory, so all he needed to know was one thing. That this was a parting gift from from the Btooom Commander, no, for all those Shin had killed so far, even if they were evil or not. It was a message from all of his victims telling him to join them all in hell.

The Timer BIM was set for 10 seconds and Hikari and Shin only realized its existence till it was at ... Then 0.

\- *BEEP*!

Shin didn't have the time or strength to escape and was caught up in a fiery explosion.

The last thing Shin saw was Hikari's face which expressed her despair, powerlessness and longing. Then... The world turned to white nothingness.

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Report 18.

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 2.

6:27 PM

Players Alive: 8/15.

NPCs Alive: 66/150.

Btooom Soldiers Active: 20/25.

Btooom Commanders Active: 4/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 1/1.

Daily Minutes -

1\. ...Unit 1 has been wiped out. A single player who for some reason we have no information about, defeated them singlehandedly. Caution will be given to future Units 2, 3, 4 and 5 when they are deployed. Also, further reports will be stopped temporarily... The higher ups have said that this is tedious to read.


	43. Chapter 43

DAY 5.

Shin: I'm alive... Really, I am glad and all, but isn't this getting repetitive?

Saki: If you can joke first thing after waking up you should be okay.

Shin: ...Saki.

Shin had just woken up and to his surprise Saki was by his side.

He got up, and his body was aching all over, but he was fine over all. If he needed to fight or runaway he was good. Shin was surprised by himself that those were his first thoughts when he just woke up, but didn't give it much thought afterwards.

Shin: What day is it? I don't know how long I have been out, but... It shouldn't still be Day 2. The last thing that I remember was the flash of a BIM going off, and here I am. And I am in some room with you, Saki.

Saki: That's right. Today is Day 5. You've been out and unconscious for two and a half days.

Shin: Two and a half days! Then isn't this mission almost over?

Saki: You should be thankful that you had woken up at all. From what Hikari told me and judging by your wounds you were directly hit caught in the explosion of a BIM. Your lucky to even be alive right now.

Shin: Your right. Sorry, but could you fill me in on what has been going on. It is Day 5 and I have no idea where I am or what has been happening in my absence.

Saki: I planned to tell you from the start. I've heard what happened to you and Hikari after you split up.

Shin: Don't you mean casted out?

Saki: Maybe if you two would have wait for the decision of the group. Can I continue?

Shin: Sure.

Saki: As I was saying, Hikari filled me in and the others about what happened after we... Went our different ways, so let's start from after the surprise BIM.

Saki than began to explain what happened afterwards.

After it was starting to get dark towards the end of Day 2, Saki and her group found Hikari carrying on her back the unconscious Shin ( I have to thank her ), who at the time was half burned alive. At first they though that Shin was a corpse and already dead, especially with his hair now the colored white ( I only now found out about this. I looked in a mirror and found that... I looked cool ), but Hikari insisted that he still had a faint heart beat ( Double thank you for not declaring me a dead at the scene ).

Hikari then went on to explain how Shin defeated the Btooom Soldiers and the Commander. She didn't see everything, but knew it was Shin who saved her, but at the last moment hot caught up and a explosion. They agreed and thought something was off when the explosions died down and came to check, but with the additional fact that Hiakri's IC Chip returned to its original blue color, it meant that at the very least the Btooom Commander had perished.

Then coming to an agreement that it was safe to take them back into the group, they all went to look for and found shelter and during this time they ran into a NPC, and Shuai killed him, and so he was able to survive Day 2's Midnight Execution.

The shelter was the large building that the main characters found in the original Btooom manga/anime. It was where Ryuta rescued Himiko, the main heroine of the story, was kidnapped by two enemy player of the real world Btooom death game.

That was where Shin was currently residing.

Hikari remembered what Shin said about now this place could be targeted by NPCs, but Saki claims that would be most welcomed for a chance to more gain chips and with their numbers they could properly protect this base of operations. They even had a lot of Remote Control BIM hidden around incase of an emergency.

Also, Shin's original worry was needless since the enemy turned out to be far more effective killing machines then they imagined. No matter what the group of Players do to stop them, almost all of the NPCs were going to be wiped out by the enemy Btooom Soldiers and Commander.

Then Day 3 of the next day came and so they decided on a course of action.

While Shin was asleep and recovering, it was decided to ignore the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders for the moment and the gain NPC Chips they needed. With what they now knew about the enemy and without Shin who created a miracle once more, it was unlikely that they could win over them no matter what plans they laid out.

In the end, the enemy Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders of the following days never did attack them like before to the groups surprise. Saki concluded that for one, what they really wanted Hikari and her laptop, but now there was no reason to do so, so they were no longer a priority target for the enemy.

Shin: Why is that?

Saki: This. You probably didn't realize you still had it on you, but it's ruined beyond repair. Hikari and I confirmed as much ourselves.

What Saki had taken out and showed Shin was a destroyed/melted piece of machinery that was once Hikari's laptop. Saki doesn't know when or how, but it was very likely that the laptop in Shin's backpack was damaged from a Blazing Gas BIM and other BIM explosions.

Shin recalled that he was indeed caught in the AOE explosion of the Blazing Gas. Shin placed Hikari's laptop in his backpack instead of his Na Ring when he turned it off. At the time he was fighting he did indeed still have his backpack on, and if it wasn't destroyed then, the Timer BIM going off would have finished it off.

Saki thought it was a shame to lose such a valuable tool, but it was for the best since without the power to protect it it was more of a liability than an asset. And so, without the computer or any of them being marked like Hikari was, they were able to hide from the enemy

Shin: That is great, but where are the others? You were able to hide, so they must be alive, right?

Saki: They should be out looking for NPC Chips right now. A lot of NPC along with the Players were killed while you were out. Not more then thirty people are left on the island and I am being generous with this assumption. It was hard to find Chips, but luckily they were successful for the most part. We all have met our eight Chip requirements with the exception of you who should have at least five, and Shuai before he went out was at six. About now they all should be out there trying to find his seventh and eight chip right now.

Shin: Then I must be lucky. I actually have six Chips right now, so I am happy that I woke is today. If I was one day later in waking up I would be hard pressed to find one more Chip by the end of the day to avoid a potential death by Midnight Execution on Day 6.

Saki: So you have six Chips then? That is great. Hikari was worried about you from Day 3 since last she knew you had three Chips.

Shin: The very last NPC that I killed during my battle with the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander turned out to be an NPC with three Chips on him.

Saki: Then you were very fortunate Shin. The enemy Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders have all but wiped out all of the NPCs and the other newbie Players far as I could tell. We all had a very hard time getting the last few of our Chips.

Shin: I wouldn't call it fortunate that right after I acquired three more Chips I was hit with an BIM explosion at point-blank range, but I see your point.

Saki then asked Shin about his condition and how was he feeling.

She had heard from Hikari how it was Shin alone who dealt with the Btooom Soldiers and their leader the Btooom Commander, yet she wasn't able to get any good intel from her. Shin said it wasn't that big a deal ( Not now anyways ) and even said that Hikari was able to kill one, but the one Saki was interested in was Shin ( Even though she isn't a cool beauty like my Aqua or cute like my Hikari, Saki isn't a bad looking women who wheres glasses... Why am I focusing on the glasses? ).

Shin downplayed his victory by just saying that he reckless charged into the enemy unit, yet Saki wouldn't let him forget that he defeated them all practically alone,

Saki: Luck or otherwise, you are our most powerful asset in the group. Even if it was luck, if it could turn around that kind of desperate battle then it is the must welcomed weapon.

Shin: Really? Weren't you and the others more then willing to leave Hikari behind to be killed, and I went after her despite it being bad for this so called group? Can you really count on me, or should I say can I really count on you all?

Saki: You can keep bringing it up, but I don't feel guilty for my choice at that time. I choose the best course of action for the group, so I won't apologies.

Shin was still a little upset about what happened, but he didn't say any more since her decision was right. Also, if it was anyone else who had been marked by the enemy, that person wasn't a comrade who he survived a mission with and wasn't Hikari who he said he would protect... He might have abandoned them.

More so then ever recently... Shin realized that he doesn't want to die, so if it happened again he couldn't make any promises about teamwork and that kind of stuff. He would like to, but no matter how much he like manga and anime worlds like Btooom and playing the hero, he wasn't that naive anymore.

Saki: So how long will it take you to recover? All of your horrible burns had miraculous healed and I can't find anything else wrong with you, but... Not too long ago you were still sweating a lot and breathing heavy. According to Hikari, you have the genetic mutation of a One-eyed Ghoul and have Ki Energy whole body enhancement, so my knowledge of medicine... May be limited to say the least. Even if I specialized in medicine I don't think I could have helped you.

Shin: I would be surprised if you did. As for my condition... Physically I'll manage. My Ghoul side has an amazing healing factor and if I were to combine it with the healing properties of Ki, I could completely recover by the end of the day, but if you are asking me to get into another fight like before today, then count me out.

Saki: Why?

Shin: I have just learned that Ki is much harder to recover then what I hoped for. It recovers quickly when you still have some, but now I used it all up in that last fight it is slow to recover. Recovery might go faster if I meditate, but I am at 30% right now. If I have to go through all that again... I at least need between 60-80% to be at optimal fighting conditions. That won't happen today sorry to say.

Saki: That is a shame. We need you as out main fighting force to guarantee victory and the safety of the team.

Shin: Well sorry, but I can't act as the meat shield for you all today. We can try again tomorrow.

Saki: Alright then.

Shin: ...That was a joke.

Saki: ...I was just going along with you.

Shin: ... ( Did she really want me to be the MEAT SHIELD? ). So were there any signs of the others? Aqua amd Misaki.

Saki: Unfortunately no. So far we haven't seen them, but I suspect that they are alive.

Shin: That is great, but how can you be certain?

Saki: The fact that we are all alive and well.

Saki's reason for why she believed that Aqua and Misaki were still alive was because the number of enemy assassins on the island should Btooom Soldiers×15 and Btooom Commanders×3, but they have seen less then half that number moving around the island. Saki just couldn't fathom that despite hiding for days and being careful, that they have not once come across the enemy, so someone must be fighting amd defeating them in their groups's place.

Shin: Well, it can't be just Misaki, so I can only assume that it must be Aqua. Not only is she stronger then me, her Robocop Auto 9 with infinite ammo has an Armor Pircing round option, so she could kill them off from a distance. She also has her Adamantium Claws from her Wolverine Genetic Mutation with which she could easily rip apart the armor of the Btooom Commander which was especially tough.

Saki: She is that powerful?

Shin: You bet she is? Among all the Players the one with the highest chance at surviving this is Aqua ( And above all she is my women, so men out their keep your distance if you don't won't to be hurt, in a variety of meanings ).

Shin hopes that Aqua won't mind him telling the newbie Saki about her abilities, but they just didn't have the room to hold back such information. Doing so now might lead into a friction between the veterans and the newbies who have shown themselves to be capable.

Saki: I see. Then it will become imperative that we join up with her. Your not in your best condition, so-

Shin: Saki.

Saki What is it?

Shin: I have a question that relates to our battle potential.

Saki: Such as?

Shin: Saki... Would you mind telling me more about the Genetic Constraint?


	44. Chapter 44

Saki: Why would you want to know more about the Genetic Constrain? Before it didn't even sound like you believed in it.

Shin: I didn't, but the thing is... I, I think that during that battle on Day 2 I might have unlocked it.

Saki looked at me with surprise on her face. I didn't know if she believed me or not, that I tapped into the sealed potential of man and have taken one step towards the next evolution of man, but I still told her how I believed to have come to experience it.

I told Saki that when I was about to be defeated by a Btooom Soldier and saw the signs of a Blazing Gas BIM that might have killed Hikari, and imaging that scene, I went into what I called an Unlocked Mode.

Moving in ways I never dreamed of, able to come up with battle tactics left and right and for the most part relying on instinct to fight, I defeated enemy after enemy all the way till even the Btooom Commander was defeated once and for all.

I didn't leave a single detail out as I told Saki what happened. Saki then needed a minute to process all that I have told her.

Saki: That... Indeed match what I was once told and discovered by myself through years of research. Amazing... It really exist!

Shin: I thought you said you believed in it?

Saki: I do and I have even seen someone who has entered that Unlocked Mode when I was a child. The memory was so vague that sometimes I believed that it didn't happen... Do you mimd if I tell you a story.

Shin: What story?

Saki: The story of how I first come to learn of the Genetic Constraint, not in this world but the real world. It is the reason that I became a scientist and arrived to this point, here in this dimension that to my surprise, is a world that encourages Players to release the Genetic Constraint.

Saki than began the story of her life.

It began in her youth not unlike Shin's own, her back story was anything, but ordinary.

When Saki was ten years old her father and mother took a trip together to the beach. Saki even back then was considered a genius and had perfect grades in school, so this trip was sort of a reward for her. Her parents were normally very busy and worked a lot, so this simple trip to the beach to the beach meant a lot to Saki.

Too bad it would be her last. Saki and her family would get caught up in an incident that would later be known as the Misty Beach Massacre.

Officially, it began in the afternoon at the beach when it was must packed.

Baffling all weather reports, a large and dense fog covered the beach within the span of a few minutes. Those not caught in it were confused and tried to enter the fog, but for some strange reason the fog would repell all outsidera.

The fog wouldn't let anyone enter or leave and cut off all forms of communication, including sound. The police were called in, but by then it was too late. The Fog quickly dispersed moment after they arrived and what the police found terrified them.

Bodies.

Countless dead, bloodied bodies of the many tourist enjoying the beach far as the eye could see. Some to this day it was some mass chemical bombing, but not only didn't it explain the fog, the conditions of the bodies didn't match up. The tourist were torn apart as if they were attacked by wild animals or monster, and there was something else that happen thst disproved this theory.

Only the bodies of adult tourist were spread out over the entirety of the beach, but there were no kids. Children, kids and teenagers, they were no where to be seen. Not only was it a mass murder, but it turned into a mass kidnapping as well.

This is where Saki version of the events begins.

According to her no one died because of the fog that enveloped the area. It just stopped her, her family or anyone else from escaping or communicate outside the fog even with a phone. A few minutes after all the tourist began to panic in mass, those two showed up.

Two men in heavy clothing by the way of the ocean from a large boat at sea came and walked onto the beach. One man was skinny and unremarkable except that he looked to be a westerner and not Japanese, yet the other drew the attention of Saki and others since a constant stream of foh was pouring out of his sleeves.

? ( Fog Man ): The barrier has been set up. If we hurry those guys won't notice till it is too late.

? ( Skinny Man? ): Ok, but hasn't the organization been to ambitious as of late. If the other two forces joined hands then...

? ( Fog Man ): We aren't paid to question orders. Besides, we both know that we do not have the FREEDOM to disobey the organization after making the deal, so hurry up before anyone annoying shows up. Just make sure you keep enough reasoning to not kill the test subjects or we will be killed bynthe higher ups.

? ( Skinny Man? ): Fine... Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaa!

The Skinny Man's body slowly began to expand greatly as he yelled to the heavens. Arms, lags, torso and head, everything began to expand. His skin tone became red and his bullging veins were visible from a distance ( I won't even say which Batman Villain this was like ).

The now formerly Skinny Man then began his rampage. Ignoring the children to young adults, the monster began to kill every living thing in sight with his bare hands that can rip human beings apart. So unable to escape all the adults and elderly were killed. This included Saki's parents who died right before her eyes.

Then once all the adults were killed Saki saw something odd once more. The color of the Fog changed colors and within one minute Saki had lost full control of her body. Saki couldn't move around much, yet she was able to see that the other children were in the same shape as her.

Saki then heard the Skinny Man, whose body had deflated bqck to normal, was breathing heavily, and was talking to the Fog Man.

? ( Skinny Man? ): Hahahaha... To bad you were unable to do that from the start. Even now I still feel bad after doping. Could have saved me a lot of trouble.

? ( Fog Man ): You know as well as I that the hypnosis fog is only really effective against humans who are still young and has little effect on adults.

? ( Skinny Man? ): It is still such a hentai like power as always. Whatever, I am beat. Just tell the kids to move their asses to the boat. I'll call over the captain to come closer.

From there Saki had a huge gap in her memory. Last thing see recalled was stepping into the cargo hold of the boat with the other children and nothing more after.

The next time she would be aware of her surroundings would be three months later and when she woke up from her memory blank she had felt different... Or a better way to say ot was that she felt less.

Saki used to be a very bright and happy girl, but that girl had died with her parents. The cause wasn't just the incident itself, but something they did to Saki while she was captured. It was only much later that she understood it wasn't that she was emotionless, but it just took a lot more effort and stimulation to feel happy and other such positive feelings, yet at the time Saki felt like she had become a robot.

Along with being given strange medicines and a few of surgeries, what they, the people in white lab coats who had kidnapped Saki and the other children who looked after them, they had them undergo simple and other times strange test.

There were even combat lessons mixed into the many lessons that her kidnappers had the children take, all of which Saki was told she excelled at by her teacher/captors. As far as Saki could tell her captors for whatever reason were preparing them, her and the other kidnapped children for something that until recently she couldn't figure out. Her best geuss was that they were trying to build up an army of superior child soldiers, but soon it didn't matter what they were being prepared for... As everything came toman abrupt end.

A whole year went by and it was around this time Saki was beginning to accept this strange new life of hers, and that was whwn her life was changed again. One day an lone intruder broke into the institute that saki and the children were kept and raised.

Chaos soon consumed that place and that was when Saki knew that this was her chance. Although Saki had lost a lot, shd no attention of spending the rest of her life here or wait till the day she finds out what the people here were preparing her for, and it was the right choice. Her captors realized that the man came here to either rescue the children and not wanting to give them up/leak any information, they killed all the children. Saki who escaped alone learned of this later.

As Saki was making her escape she saw the conflict between the lone man and her captors... And she was stunned. The intruder, a single man with a katana killed many people who were all armed with the latest weapons with ease.

Also, there were individuals with special powers like the ones who kidnapped Saki fighting the intruder, but they were being pushed back. The way the man fought as he dodged every attack and kill his enemies with a single swing of his sword that had no wasted movement mesmerized her. The enemy were very afraid of the man and she heard on of them shout in a panic.

?: Damm, is he... That guy is in Unlocked Mode! What the hell is someone who has unlocked the Genetic Constraint is here? This isn't even a priority base for the organization.

?: Stop talking and fire! Unlocked Mode or not, he is still part human. We just have to- Ghaaaaaaa!

It was the first time Saki heard the word Genetic Constraint or Unlocked Mode.

The intruder soon killed everyone and then after discovering Saki, he took her away. A few days later the police found one of the kidnapped children from the 'Mist Beech Massacre'.

Then, just like when she was originally kidnapped her memory became foggy afterwards.

Saki later suspected that the man asked her questions about who she was, when was she kidnapped, who did she think those people were and what they made her do, and afterwards tried to use some sort of technique that makes on forget memories, but Saki had always had a very good memory and what ever her captors did to her improved her mental capacity, so she eventually remembered everything later.

The Saki remembered what happened afterwards as well, like asking for the man's identity and questions about her kidnappers and the Genetic Constraint. The man with the sword was secretive, yet believing that Saki would soon forget everything and that she at least deserved to hear the answers, the man told her a few things. Half of it was muddled thansk to the memory loss, but Saki definitely remembered the explanation on the Genetic Constraint.

Saki was free at last, but only physically. Her mind and what was left of her heart was always drawn back to that mysterious incident. Saki kept looking for signs that it was all real, that she wasn't imaging it all.

Saki became a scientist who studied OOPArts, items said to have once held power and technology beyond the current civilization, she even affiliated herself with the military and government to find clues on the Genetic Constraint, the next stage of human potential but most of all him, the man who saved her and those like him who could unlock their potential and fight with amazing abilities.

Unfortunately, in the real world Saki didn't come very close to her goal.

What Saki told us earlier on Day 2 was all that she has found out. That short speech amounted to her whole life's work and recently she had hit a dead end she knew not how to overcome it. And so, despite not believing that nothing is impossible, she was about to give up and was considering ending it all...

Saki: That was when I came here. This place... Is definitely connect to that event and my own research. I just know it is! And Shin, meting you here, finding that someone and recently here that had unlocked the Genetic Constrain... Had really renewed my beliefs and desire to live. Thank you.

Saki saidmthis with a rare smile thwt took Shin by surprise. Saki wasn't a beauty like Aqua or cute like Hikari, but strangely enough that made her stand out all the more ( Like Aki Tomoya said, even plain looking girls have their own charms ).

Shin: No problem. For whatever it is worth you are sort a comrade.

Saki: Sort of, huh? Well, that is good enough for a working relationship like this ( If this was a job I would quit or file a complaint to HR ). So what did you think of my story?

Shin: It was really out there. If not for me being in this sort of place, I would have said that you made it up and used/stole the idea to write an light novel based on it. I am only guessing here, but you think that there is some connection to what happened to you in the real world and God's Dimension where the two of us are in right now?

Saki: More so then think, I am certain. Since, since the moment I woke up here I have felt that I knew about this place somehow. That... This place, if you don't mind an unscientific conclusion, gives off the same aura as those men with power that I met in the real world.

Shin: Could they have escaped from here? When you choose 'Back to the Origin' you can return to the real world and with all your abilities and items.

Saki: I am unsure, but I do have one clue about-

\- *SCAN*!

Both Saki amd I felt it. Someone had activated their radar to find the two of us.

Shin: Were you moving at all just now?

Saki: I was a little. Sorry.

Shin: It is fine. If they thought to use a scan they must have suspect that other people were nearby, but to be sure that wasn't some kind of code from Hikari and the others who went out, right.

Saki: No. Hikari, Kamap, Zero and Shuai are Supposed to activate their radar for four consecutive scans. That was juat one, so...

Shin: An enemy.

Even before Shin said this, Saki took out multiple switches from her pocket.

The were for the many, many Remote Control BIM that she and the others set. Once we find the enemy she can activate nearby BIM and blow up the enemy and even if she fails I can finish where she started. I had run out of BIM, but more then ever I was confident in my fighting ability and the oppressive feeling that the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander held... Wasn't there.

The two of us were ready for a fight, but what we heard next changed our minds.

Misaki: Hey! Are there any friendlys inside!?

Misaki?

I immediately recognized Misaki's voice and activated my radar. There wasn't just him, but another person standing right next to him. Now, the fact that 7/8 members of our team has been found and with process of elimination, the most likely person who could be with Misaki who had survived all the way to Day 5 could only be... And hoping that it was I ran out ro meet the two of them. First there was Misaki, alive amd in the flesh, and standing next to him was-

Aqua: Yo. It has been a while.

Shin: Aqua!

Misaki: Hey, don't forget about me.

Shin: Ah, yes. It... It is good to see you too Misaki.

Misaki: What is with this difference in treatment?

Aqua: I am a beautiful women in the prime of her youth and you are a biker thug.

Misaki: Former, and I was never a thug! I just rode bikes.

Shin: Same difference.

Misaki: You...

I was happy.

The two who Saki and I had thought were possible enemies were in fact Aqua and Misaki. I was glad to see that they, especially Aqua, looked unharmed.

There was so much that I wanted to know like where were they, had did they survive, do they have enough chips and how did they find us, yet... All of these important questions were trumped by a much bigger and glaring issue at hand. Even Saki who so far has been silent has been looking at IT.

Shin: ...Aqua

Aqua: Yes ( Playing at not knowing what this was about ).

Shin: What is that?

Aqua: It's a house warming gift.

Shin: ...Huh?

What was curious as to the sight before his eyes.

What he wanted to know why was a house warming gift, were three NPCs that were dragged by a rope who were gaged and blind folded.

Shin: What is that?

Aqua: It's a house warming gift.

Shin: ...Huh?

Misaki: Just explain it properly, Aqua. Just saying, 'house warming gift' won't cut it.

Aqua: I'm sure they can understand my attentions.

Saki: No. Even with my IQ of 220 I can't grasp the full meaning.

Aqua: Fine! I'll start from the very beginning, but explain to me what you have been up to first. Like how did your hair became white?

Shin: Fine ( My girlfriend to be is so bossy ). Long as I can know why you brought three NP- ( Avoided a potential spoiler ), I mean enemy players are here.

It was then after Saki and I explained what we have been through, Aqua and Misaki then began to explain their adventure on the tropical island where the real world Btooom game takes place.

DAY 1 - Aqua and Misaki landed on the other side of the island away from where Hikari, Saki, Kampa, Zero, Shuai and I landed. It was in the area Ryuta ended up after the failed helicopter escape.

Aqua was able to acquire all eight chips by the end of Day 1. Like I originally imagined, Aqua was able to use her enhanced senses to find and hunt down NPCs without even needing to rely on the radar. Aqua's two genetic mutations, the Wolverine and Werewolf genetic mutations allowed her the ability to track her prey in a variety of ways.

That was how Aqua found the NPCS, and not giving the enemy anytime to prepare themselves she was able to swiftly take them out. That's my Aqua. Not disappointing at all, yet on the other hand Misaki was only able to gain one chip and barley survived the Midnight Execution.

DAY 2 - On Day 2, Aqua and Misaki finally met up. Aqua saw that Misaki didn't have a lot of chips, so they teamed up to get more chips. Lucky for them, because on Day 2 they were on the other side of the island they didn't encounter the enemy Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander like we did and could hunt down NPCs in peace.

DAY 3 - By the end of Day three Aqua had helped Misaki acquire his remaining chips and they still had not encountered the enemy. Unfortunately for me, I was lied up in bed recovering from a Timer BIM going off right under my feet.

DAY 4 - On Day 4, Aqua and Misaki who both gained 8 chips each and decided to hunt down the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders at last. Still, I was unconscious.

Day 5 - By Day 5 today, Aqua had defeated a total of ten Btooom Soldiers and three Btooom Commanders ( That is my Aqua, but I am so jealous. That is 2500 Points, 10 D and 3 C rank rewards! ), and Misaki actually defeated two Btooom Soldiers with her help.

The two then choose this time to look for the others of our group since they had cleared up a lot of the enemies and with Aqua's amazing tracking ability it didn't take much time for the two of them to find us, while also capturing the NPCs that they crossed by. They brought them, instead of killing them for the points themselves, so that if any of us were lacking chips we could fill our quota.

I was amazed that Aqua really could defeat so many of the enemy singlehandedly.

I did something similar and it almost killed me in the end with a fiery explosion, which downed me for two days and three nights, and here she is with hardly a scratch on her.

I was glad that she wasn't hurt at all, but Aqua admits that while physically she is okay, she is tired spiritually. She had used up almost all of her Nen/Aura fighting the last two days with tough opponents like the Btooom Soldiers and the Btooom Commanders.

Saki: Shin said something similar about Ki. Is it really that hard to recover? Also, is this Aura different from Ki? They are both life energy yes?

Aqua: It's the same, but it is also different as they belong to two different worlds of fiction, but forget about that for now. Now to the main part, Shin how many Chips do you and Hikari have?

Shin: I have six as of right now and Hikari should have collected all eight by now.

Aqua: That is good to hear. Shin, kill two of these NP-, no I mean two of these guys ( Avoided a potential spoiler ) to get the last of your Chip requirement.

Well, being told to execute two tied up, blind folded people/NPCs wasn't something that a high school student could hear and not think, Wow, and the said NPCs weren't taking it calmly either.

As if they were saving up their energy this whole time they tried to escape, but Aqua too quickly knocked them out in response and broke their arms and legs. It was heartless, but it wasn't like I cared to let them go either. My life or yours, I'll take mine any day of the week.

Aqua: Go ahead and kill two Shin. We'll save the third incase Hikari comes back and needs the last.

Shin: ...Sure.

\- *BANG*!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, NPC CHIP - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, NPC CHIP - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED.

I killed the two of the NPC that Aqua and Misaki brought by putting bullets into their skulls and that was it. With this I was finally able to wrap up the second objective of the Main Quest.

GOD'S MISSION

BTOOOM, 15 MAN MISSION.

NON STORY PLOT.

MAIN QUEST:

Objective 1 - Deafeat Ryota Sakamoto by the end of Day 7.

Objective 2. Complete!

Base Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

Combat Mission Reward: 1000 Points and D rank reward.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points

2\. NPC Chip - 10 Points

3\. Btooom Solider Chip - 100 Points D rank reward.

4\. Btooom Commander Chip - 500 Points C rank reward.

5\. Ryota Sakamoto's Chip - 6000 points and B rank reward. Can be shared by more then one person, but in that situation contribution will become a factor and points/rewards split.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 for a Player killing a Newbie Player. A New Player is a New Player till they go on their second Mission.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. D-ZERO - Any player with 0 or negative points at the end of a mission after all calculations are finished, will be killed, no exception.

4\. Midnight Execution - At midnight at the end of every day Players with less then 2 Chips will killed. This number will increase by 1 for every following day till Day 7. If by the end of Day 7 and the Main Quest is not complete, all Players will be killed for failing the mission.

5\. Chip Depletion - Starting Day 2 and ending Day 6, a unit of 5 Btooom Soliders and 1 Btooom Commander will appear on the island to kill both Players and NPCs. When an NPC is killed by someone other then a Player or NPC, that person chip is destroyed and can't be recovered.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Mission Information.

1\. A defeated/killed party's chip will be absorbed into a Player's Chip. The Chip from Players Chip can't be transferred/taken under any circumstances, including in death.

2\. With the only exception being Ryota Sakamoto, a defeated party's chip will go to the person who delivered the killing blow.

3\. The number/types of chips collected will increase the effectiveness of a Player's Chip Radar.

4\. A Player can't use the BIMs of another party, but can use them if they are dead and personally killed the the other party. Also another's BIM can be used if activated and disarmed. Also, a Player can't take the BIM/tools of a Btooom Soldier/Commander even if a Player kills them.

TOTAL SCORE: Pending.

I now had all eight IC Chips ( There were no BIM because the three NPCs ran out ).

With this I can just focus on defeating the enemy and prepare for the arrival of Ryuta Sakamoto on Day 7. And Aqua was here as well. Even if she wasn't in her best condition, together there isn't any foe we can't defeat.

Saki: Aqua, I have a favor to ask if it isn't too much trouble.

Aqua: Like what?

Saki: It is likely that Hikari and the others have already collected eight chips each, but would it be alright if I gain custody of the last NPC.

Aqua: ...Long as Hikari has all eight chips then it is fine and long as it isn't for yourself.

Saki: Of course. My asking you is a decision for the group.

After that, Saki then asked Aqua if they can speak in private and Aqua agreed, and together they went somewhere for a secret talk.

Afterwards when they came back, I asked Aqua what was it that they talked about. Aqua only said it wasn't her concern if Saki has her own methods to deal with the mission, long as it has nothing to do with her and the other veterans, and didn't explain more.

Shin was confused as to what Aqu meant, but it was around that time when Hikari and the others finally returned. Since the time on the plane together, it was the first time all eight of them were together again.


	45. Chapter 45

They were all together again.

The four original veteran Players of Team Japan: Shin, Aqua, Hikari and Misaki.

Then there were the four newbie additions to the team who were still trying to survive their first trial: Saki, Kampa, Zero and Shuai.

All eight were together to face any problem that would come their way, and the first issue for one member of the team, the veteran Player Aqua had was about the strange sight before her eyes.

Aqua: Shin.

Shin: ...Yes.

Aqua: Why is Hikari holding on to your arm ( Against her small chest ) and smiling?

Shin: That is what I want to know. Who knows why she is so clingy?

Aqua: ...What, did you take her virginity on the island or something?

Shin: No!

Hikari: No!

What Shin knew about the current situation was this.

He had just heard that Hikari has been taking care of him all the time after he was injured in the explosions and would only go out to get her necessary chips for the day and quickly return to his side. With little to no sleep, Hikari kept looking after him and you could see the bags under her eyes even now ( Feel Guilty ).

Shin was very touched, but still doesn't get why Hikari is like this.

Hikari: I, I lost all hope after being marked by the enemy, and it was Shin who said that he would protect me, and he did so covered in blood and against all odds. He almost died in an explosion in that battle. I was so worried that Shin, the only person who has ever gone so far for me would die... And seeing him now alive and up like this... I can't even explain the feelings I'm having right now, but... I just know that I don't want to part with Shin and want to help him in return however I can. Even if he asked me to die together with him, I... I might just do it.

Aqua: You really made an impact on her didn't you Shin?

Shin: ...

Well, you could be a dence protagonist and still realize that Hiakri may have feelings for me. Maybe... Is it the Suspended Bridge Effect.

The suspension bridge effect is when you drop your loved one off a suspension bridge so they'll be yours forever, never to be anyone elses. Ah, wait that isn't it. What am I Monokuma? The real Suspension Bridge Effect is... Well, if you take out the dying part you get the picture.

Aqua: Well, isn't this nice. You have a cute girlfriend.

Shin: What? Are you jealous?

Aqua: Not at all. I have no attention of being in a relationship with anyone long as I am in this fantasy world.

Shin: ...Right.

Shin liked the thought that Aqua was jealous, but was disappointment that she clearly meant what she said. Shin's gaze then natural went over to Hikari who was still next to him.

Shin: ( Do I like Hikari? More then a friend or a girl that I want to protect, but as a women of the opposite sex? ).

I didn't know even after asking myself, so I began to considers my feelings for Hikari.

I always did say that I wasn't interested in a middle school girl like Hikari, but in reality there was only a 1-2 year difference between us. That was the same age difference between my own parents and they got married and had children.

What about her appearance?

I'm not too shallow of a man to judge soly on looks ( Author LOL ), but Hikari is definitely good looking. Not as mature as Aqua and I couldn't imagine her as such even after growing up more, but she had her own appeal. Hikari was definitely a cute girl that any man would ( I did ) want to protect. She isn't at the loicon level, but she would definitely keep that youthful appearance for a long time.

Also, although she doesn't wear glasses as much since she enhanced her Reaction Speed ( Includes vision. She now only wears them when on the computer ), I liked her in them ( I wonders if I have now developed a glasses fetish, along a with a muscle fetish ).

Shin: ( Hikari's personality... Leaves much to be desired, but we definitely have good chemistry together. Maybe even better then when I am with Aqua ).

As I was really considering Hikari as a possible girlfriend/harem candidate when...

Hikari: I'm really begin to like Shin more... Despite him being an gross, otaku bastard and ( The rest of Hikari saved up insults since Day 3 to Day 5 have been redacted due to abusive language not fit for our viewership ).

Hikari said with a bright smile on her all of this.

Shin: It is decided. I was definitely mistaken ( Sixteen Year Old Middle School girls named Hikari ars the worst ).

Saki: Alright everyone. Now that we have conversed with each other after meeting all up again, I am sure that you might have an idea, but I would still like to make it clear. Could we all tell each other how many Chips, BIMs and the types of BIMs that we have. There are only two days left and at least a dozen or so enemies we must still defeat, so we need to know our overall battle potential.

Then just like before Saki ( Proposed by a leader no one voted for. Isn't the leader after Aqua stepped down me? When was the coup and why did no one tell me that I have been overthrown!? ) had us all call out how many chip we collected and BIM supplies.

Last time we did this it looked like a few of us were going to be ejected from the group, so why isn't anyone saying anything. Whatever the case we still did as Saki asked.

Shin -

Eight Chips.

BIM×0: None.

Aqua -

Eight Chips.

BIM×15: Remote Control BIM×15 ( Aqua said she only kept Remote Control BIM that can be used to set a perimeter and threw away the rest. She said the rest didn't match her fighting style ).

Hikari - Eight Chips.

BIM×13: Remote Control×5, Cracker BIM×5 and Blazing Gas BIM×3.

Misaki -

Eight Chips.

BIM×0: None (Threw away all of his since bomb fights didn't match his style. He just either shot his opponent or beat them to death. So cool ).

Saki -

Eight Chips .

BIM×11: Remote Control BIM×11.

Kampa -

Eight Chips.

BIM×19: Blazing Gas BIM×7, Homing BIM×3 and Remote Control BIM×9.

Zero -

Eight Chips.

BIM×18: Remote Control BIM×8, 1300°C Flammable Oil Splashing Flame BIM×2 and Timer BIM×8.

Shuai -

Seven Chips.

BIM×6: Barrier BIM×2, Homing BIM×2 and Implosion BIM×2.

Shin recalled he used all the Timer BIM he once had and only took the Implosion BIM off his last NPC during that battle with the Btooom Commander. Also, the three NPCs that Aqua and Misaki brought here didn't have any BIM on them when they were caught. Probably used up in past battles just to survive ( Far too pitiful ).

Anyways, they all confirm that they have eight chips each which is enough to compete the second object of the main quest and avoid future Midnight Executions, with the exception of Shuai at seven chips. Who knows how many NPCs were left on the island, so he has to work hard these last two days if he wanted to make it.

Saki then asked for us to take out our BIMs and trade. Shin knew what she had in mind was a simple gimmick in Btooom. It was where we could exchange BIMs for optimal preparation. Long as the original player activities the BIM and another player deactivates said BIM they gain ownership of the BIM.

So we than began to swap BIM and when Kampa ended up with each of every one of the eight type of BIM, Kampa and all the rest of the Players heard a voice in our minds. It was the dignified yet emotionless voice of God.

For the newbies they were startled, but the veteran group had at one time or another heard this voice in God's Lobby.

\- QUEST TTEM OBTAINED!

ENABLED TO EXCHANGE THE BIM SERIES OF SCI-FI WEAPON ONCE YOUR RETURN FROM THIS MISSION. FOR A PLAYER TO UNLOCK THE BIM SERIES REQUIRES D RANK REWARD.

Shin: Quest Item?

Kampa: What just happened. As soon as I picked up that last BIM that voice sounded in my head. Who was that?

Hikari: That was God, or whoever is calling himself as such. God is a ball of light who brought us here, and is in charge of our exchanges and entrance to the missions.

Shuai: God... It said something about a Quest Item, but what is that? Like the ones found in RPG games?

Shin thought that Shuai made a good point.

Quest -

In role-playing video games, including massive multiplayer online role-playing games ( MMORPGs ) and their predecessors, MUDs, is a task that a player-controlled character, Party or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward. Rewards may include an increase in the character's experience in order to learn new skills and abilities, loot or treasure, in-game currency such as gold coins, access to new locations or areas, or any combination of the above.

The above is the Wiki definition from the last time I checked, but it was only now thst I realized that us Players here follow a very similar set of rules with our Main Quest, Side Quest, Points and Ranked Rewards.

Quest Item -

Also sometimes called key items. They are items different from regular items you can use in a game. I don't know how they relate to this world, but Quest Items fall into two types in games. An item that must be recovered to complete a quest or an item that is needed/used to complete a quest.

Saki: It said we can now exchange BIM once we return from the mission. Could you not exchange these Sci-fi weapons originally?

Shin: Who knows. I spent a lot of time looking over the many, and I mean many items and enhancements before and after I made my own choices, but I never came close to looking through them all. Aqua?

Aqua: We probably couldn't if they turned out to be Quest Items.

Hikari: Do you know something. You don't look too surprised.

Aqua: This isn't my first time seeing a Quest Item. God will put some items inside the missions as Quest Items and these items can't to be exchanged from God under normal circumstances. Spells from a magic book and some Sci-fi/Magic Weapon wield by a main character. I don't know why some items turn out to be Quest Items and some don't, but what I do know is that they are very useful.

Aqua was right.

I remember there being Type Moons Fate's weapon that belonged to Saber, Excaliber. There was also World Trigger's Kuga Yuuma's Black Trigger ( Currently unnamed ). There were many such items like those, but now that I'm thinking about it now some were missing. The Metal Vessels from from Magi and the Pactio Artifacts from Negima are just to name a few.

Aqua: Quest Items should be sought after because they are normally rare and powerful, but this time around they aren't that impressive.

Shin: BIMs aren't?

Aqua: Don't get me wrong. BIMs are very convenient and versatile. If we had those in High School of the Dead then the mission would have went a whole lot easier, but that isn't my point. Gaining access to BIMs are a good thing, but they are still lacking compared to most Quest Items.

Hikari: Then what is an impressive Quest Items?

Aqua: I never got to see any of the benefits since a team member was the one who found it, but he was killed before the movie ended. The Quest Item back then was a spell book. It was filled with countless offensive spells that normally would cost C-A rank rewards if you could get them through God's exchanges, and if you knew the language within the book you could acquire the spells free of cost. If not then just a thousand points to learn any spell.

That really is useful.

It is too bad I can't undertake the magician route early, but this times Quest Item isn't too bad. BIM make not be Thunderbolt, Fire Blast or Solar Beam ( I know that isn't magic but Pokemon... Can I get a Pokemon? ), but BIM are more versatile then the grenades that I exchanged for. Also, it didn't say just BIM, but BIM series, so wouldn't that include the weapons and armor that the enemy has been using?

I can't wait to check it out once the mission ends!

Saki: Alright now. Lets settle down from the subject of Quest Items and move on to our immediate, life threatening problem at hand. I do believe that these Quest Items will become very important, but if we all don't make it out of this mission then we won't get to see the benefits.

Misaki: So what is are immediate problem? The final enemy on Day 7?

Hikari: I think she means the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander.

Saki: Actually, I meant both. To not face the highest difficulty possible of Day 7 when we face Ryuta Sakamoto we need to defeat the remaining enemies on the island once the last batch of Btooom Soldiers and their Commander arrives on the island, yet we also can't ignore preparing for the final battle.

Kampa: I get the first part, but how will we be preparing for the big boss fight?

Saki: ...Shin or Aqua. One of them will have to stay out of our expected battle with the enemy tomorrow.

Shin: Huh?

Aqua: ...

Saki begins explaining her grand master Five Step Plan to everyone for the final enemy sweep tomorrow before the final boss Ryuta Sakamoto appears.

Step 1 - They would confirm the position of the enemy. Saki believed that it was highly likely that the few Btooom Soldier that Aqua, Misaki and I hadn't killed from Day 2 through Day 5 would join up with the final unit of Btooom Soldiers lead by a Btooom Commander.

Step 2 - One of the Player would approach the enemy and notify them that they were nearby with a scan. This person would then lightly attack the enemy and then immediately run away and hopefully the enemy would follow after. This Player would effectively become the bait to lure the enemy into a trap.

Step 3 - Then from a distance either Aqua or I would follow behind the enemy. This job entailed picking off any of the enemy who stray behind or stop chasing. It would be bad if not all of them fell into the trap Saki has planned. Now, this Player position could only be filled by either Aqua or I because we had the ability to face the enemy 1 on 1 and because were extremely sensitive to the enemy's presence. Only we were capable of fighting the enemy, and predicting and applying Radar Canceling with the highest chance not messing up once so as to stay hidden for long as possible.

Stsp 4 - With the bait in front and Aqua or I in the back, we would lead the enemy into the trap, and if the one in the rear ighting stray enemies is to be discovered they would breakthrough the enemy and joining/protecting the bait while making sure to every radar scan from spreading to far. If they believed that there was one ally there could potentially be more, so Aqua or I were there to prevent any of them from finding any of our teammates.

Step 5 - After the bait passes by where the trap was set and the enemy walk into it, Saki and the others who are hidden nearby will detonate our mass of forty plus Remote Control BIM hidden right below them and have them taste the largest AOE explosion imaginable. Saki is aware of of the toughness of the enemy Btooom Soldiers and Commanders armor from what I have told her, but with the power of forty plus high powered BIM she didn't think that any of them would survive the blast unless they had a Barrier BIM. And if they did, Saki was confident that they would be badly injured and could be easily picked off.

Kampa: It is a pretty solid idea you have there. The lone bait will be danger for more then half the operation, but this has a very high chance of working.

Saki: Of course. Long as we have the element of surprise and are the first to attack this is a rather simple plan that any of you could have thought of. This was my original plan for what I had in mind for Day 3 before we were ambushed on Day 2, and now that we now know their full capabilities and they are at their limit manpower wise there are no flaws with this plan like before.

Zero: Yeah, but who will act as bait? You said that both Shin and Aqau can't participate in the plan. Only one of them, right?

Saki: That is correct. The roles of the bait and rear attacker will be very demanding, and though the chances are low we could also have to fight a battle if we don't get them all in the blast. Even if we win the battle today there is no meaning if we can't win the war tomorrow. Ideally, Shin and Aqua who possess the highest combat potential in the team need to be fully rested for the battle against Ryuta Sakamoto on Day 7, but we at least need the rear attacker in my plan to work, so one of them has to take that role while the other will rest up for the final battle.

Shin: So who will it be? Me or Aqua?

Saki: Shin, you have just recovered from a BIM explosion and your recovery has been remarkable. You should be in near perfect shape by tomorrow operation unlike Aqua who has been fighting the enemy since Day 3 to Day 5 today nearly by herself ( Misaki looked upset that his existence was forgotten ), so I would like you to take up this role. Are you up to it, or would you rather have Aqua take your place?

Shin: Do you really need to ask? I'm effectively leaving the dangerous role of being the main combatant to face the final boss to Aqua, so how can I ask her to do more? As a man, I can't let a girl do everything no matter how capable she is.

Aqua: How cool... Not. You just don't won't to be the one responsible for defeating the powerful final boss, Ryuta Sakamoto, right?

Shin: Come on, can't it be both? It isn't like I'm going to be absent that day. Also, isn't it too soon for me to face the last boss? I'm only on mission two here.

Aqua: The little faith I had in you is gone.

Hikari: Your the worst. Otaku scum.

Misaki: So unmanly.

Kampa: You blew it in front of the women young man.

Zero: Not the best.

Shuai: Lame.

What the hell is this!?

Why am I being bashed by everyone, including the silent Zero? I'm right, right? Like in a ten stage game and your at level 20, how would you feel to face the level 100 final boss that early?

Shin: Whatever! Let's just move on, okay? So Saki, if I or Aqua can't be the bait then who will? Not only is it dangerous, but it will acquire a lot of running to avoid the enemy sniping from their BIM Launchers.

Saki: Don't worry. I have the perfect person in mind. The one who is going to be the bait will obviously be Shuai here.

Shuai: ...Wait, what?

Shuai who had been silent for the most part in our battle planning... His face went completely white.


	46. Chapter 46

Everyone looked toward Shuai in shock.

This young man had a common face, average physical abilities and no specialty. Simply put a good for nothing normal young man, kinda like I was before going through my first mission as the protagonist and enhancements. If Saki didn't mention him, no one would had thought about him deliberately. He was just like air. He had that kind of presence and value to the team.

Shuai's mind went blank for a moment after not understand what he was being asked to do, And then a few moments later he suddenly yelled at Saki.

Shuai: Why me? Why should it be me? There are so many people here. Everyone wants to survive through this mission, so why do I have to die? You wanted me dead from the beginning. If there's one less person sharing the food, you can live for a little longer and because I have no enhancements or a military background you think I am a liability. That's why you want to kill me, right?

Saki: No, I don't have the intention to kill you. Even though the risk for being the bait is high, but you are the most suitable choice. Everyone else here is stronger than you. Aqua, Shin, Misaki and even Hikari are veterans who are stronger then you and they have experience. I can plan our next moves easier with them. Zero's close combat and sniping skills are exceptional. Kampa is skilled at various guns and even limited to handguns he is still a force to be reckoned with as you have seen yourself when we were gathering NPC Chips. Tell me, of what use can you be to us?

Shuai lowered his head in silence. His face got redder and redder and veins surfacing on his hand. Saki continued in a calm voice.

Saki: If it's under normal circumstance, everyone has something that they are talent at. I won't judge anyone with numbers and abilities. I won't be a utilitarian person like now. But you have to understand our current situation. We are fighting against death, any mistake can cause everyone to die here. You are the unnecessary one here Shuai. During these last five days it has been Kampa, Zero, Hikari and I who have been doing all the work and allowing you to get you required Chip amount to survive each day's Midnight Execution. If not for you we all would have beenin a better position not just with Chips but food as well. Deep down, don't you feel ashamed? If you want our group to accept and treat you equally, you have to show us your worth. Otherwise what difference are you from the seven other New Players that died out there?

Saki argument had some merit, yet I finally couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up.

Shin: No, I don't agree with your words. I was a normal person when I first got here. I got my current abilities through enhancements, so why is he unnecessary? Everyone is like this in the beginning. If you give him the chance to live through a few more mission from God, he will become a dependable comrade.

Saki remained her calmness and spoke up.

Saki: But... Does he have that chance? To be accurate, do we have the chance to survive this mission? Even given the same amount of points to enhance, the six of us will still be much stronger than him. Also, don't try to take his place. Everyone has their own responsibilities. You are our biggest reliance in this mission after Aqua and the both of you have been a great help to everyone here, but you've worn yourselves out fighting. If possible, I don't even want to you fight till the final battle on Day 7. Or do you want to save one person and let the rest of us die?

I was very angry.

I myself knew how extremely scared of dying I was. Especially since he now had things he wanted to do and things to protect unlike in the real world, so must live on no matter what.

At the same time, I understood that feeling of going against death face to face. Even after seeing the full potential of my own physical abilities, I was still on the brink of death. Then was there even a slightest bit of hope for a normal person like Shuai?

Seeing me like this Hikari was about to come over, but it was Aqua who placed a hand on my shoulder, gaining my attention.

Aqua: Since this is a matter that's really between the newbies, I can't say I care either way, but it doesn't look like you or Shuai agree with Saki just deciding for everyone. Let's do it the old fashion way. We will vote, that would be the fairest method. Shin! Don't be emotional. Even if you don't consider about our lives what about you own life and dreams? Are you willing to risk them for someone you too have not acknowledged as a true comrade? I won't.

I finally lowered my head and sat down in resignation at Aqua's words. Seeing this, she spoke in a low voice that only I could hear.

Aqua: Let me also say this. Shin, you were and still are different from Shuai and the rest of them. Time and time again with your reckless behavior you have succeeded one way or another, and have risked your life for not just your own entertainment, but the lives of your friends. Even without enhancements... I acknowledge and accept you.

Shin: ...

Aqua: Since I do feel that way and let you become the leader of us veterans let me tell you this. Don't become a savior. Saving everyone, especially the unnecessary ones will lead you down the path of self destruction.

Saki then sighed after seeing that neither me or anyone else was against the idea of a vote.

Saki: Then we will start the vote. Those that accept my plan to have Shuai act as bait for the enemy while the rest of us pick them off from behind raise your hand.

We all did as we were asked and the results were clear.

The result was five votes for and three against. Saki, Kampa, Zero, Misaki and Hikari voted for the plan. Shin, Shuai and surprisingly Aqua voted against the plan.

That decided Shuai's fate. Either conform with the plan to be a bait to gain the group's acceptance, or leave the group without any food or water, and he also won't get any protection. Shuai would be forced to go out on his own, find his last NPC Chip and somejow find a way to stay alive on an island filled with Btooom assassins.

Shuai looked extremely emotional.

Zero and Kampa stood next to Saki silently. The two of them had their hands behind their backs and in their hands were guns in case Shuai goes wild. When everyone was thought he was going to burst, he took a few deep breaths and calmed down. He looked at Saki with hatred and spoke.

Shuai: Ok, I will be the bait. Just like you all wish for, I will be the bait!

They all felt a shiver from the hatred in his eyes.

Though I didn't even need to see the person's eyes to feel the hatred coming from Shuai. Afterwards. Shuai kept his head down the whole time. After the voting, I walked over to a corner and sat there in silence.

Hikari walked over towards me after a while. She didn't really know what to say, but to her surprise I decided to speak first.

Shin: Hikari, are you also afraid of dying?

Hikari: Uhm… Yes, I am afraid of dying.

Shin: I am also afraid of dying, everyone is afraid. I.. Though I understood this in the last mission, but I didn't. No one is really safe in this place, so why do we have to push the dangers over to someone else? The rest of us will only be safe for a little longer. It is as Aqua said and that I have yet to see Shuai as a comrade, but whoever can best accomplish this mission should go instead. I am afraid of death, but I don't want to see those around me die.

Those were my honest thoughts.

Despite enjoying in a sick way that I am in the world of Btooom, I am still afraid.

Despite the dangers in H.O.T.D, I was pretty much going with the flow. I nearly died, but I was enjoying the ride as an bystander, while leaving the difficult parts to Aqua. Now that I have the power to fight, to fight for my own life and knew of the dangers that come with a life and death battle like the ones in manga... Most likely my fear is winning over my joy. Still, despite that, I don't want anyone to die juat because I was afraid.

Aqua was right. I don't see Shuai as a comrade yet, not do I for Saki, Kampa and Zero, but I still don't want to see them die. At the very least, we all spent nights under the same roof and have talked to each other. Even more, while I was unconscious they took Hikari in and looked after me.

I don't want to see any of them die and I have the most power and experience with fighting the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander after Aqua. If... If there should be a bait, someone who can face multiple enemy combatants then shouldn't it be me?

It was then when I was in deep thought that Hikari interrupted me with a serious face.

Hikari: I think Saki is right. If this is under normal circumstances, then you are correct. But we are not facing normal circumstances. You know just as well as I do that we are going against death on this island… How can we afford to protect a useless person without anything in return?

I remained silent for a while before speaking again.

Shin: ... I can't refute what you said. Yes, perhaps you and Saki are right. But I still wish everyone can bond together even though I would never be caught dead giving a speech about friendship and comrades ( I hate those anime ). Everyone can do our best to survive, and not the strong will oppresses the weak. If we had encountered the same situation in our first mission, how would we all feel? Won't we hate everyone and this world ( I would, despite this being the fantasy world of my dreams. Like how the Hero of the Shield came to hate the sword and magic world he was brought to despite being an otaku )? And if Shuai really comes to hate us and this world, can we really count on him. If it was me then I wouldn't.

Hikari: What do you mean. Shuai agreed to the plan and didn't leave the group.

Shin: You need to watch more survival oriental manag, Hikari. In these types of situations it rarely goes as smart people like Saki and you plan. Right now Shuai has no hope for the world and now can't trust us since we are basically offering him up to die. What would you do Hikari if you were in his place?

Hiakri: I... Don't know. When they suggested leaving me behind on Day 2 when we were being chased, I didn't give much thought about them before leaving. I was... More worried about you Shin, my comrade dying because of me.

Shin: ...Thank you, but what you need to get is that Shuai has yet to develop such a bond with with anyone here. His answer and yours to being left behind are vastly different if I had to geuss. Even the protagonist of Guilty Crown got pushed down and left behind by his friends just because of the way he treated them when he had their best interest at heart, while hating the harsh choices he had to make. Just because you make the correct decision doesn't mean that you made the right choice.

Hikari: ...

I then explained to Hikari what could potentially ho wrong.

1\. Shuai could sneak off and hide to the end of the mission.

2\. Try to kill us while we have our guard down for forcing him to be the bait ( Maybe with a BIM/bomb ).

3\. Or maybe while he is acting as the bait as planned he warns the enemy that this is a trap even knowing he himself could die by doing so.

Shin: Depending on how he is feeling, long as he could get the chance to laugh at us in the end Shuai may even be content with us all dying together on this island.

Shin: Saki.

Saki: What is it?

I had finished talking to Hikari and went over to Saki. I had also just finished speaking with everyone else and all that was left was Saki, the one who came up with the plan for Shuai to act as bait.

Shin: I have come up with a compromise.

The Na Ring contained an abundant amount of food.

Food, water, bread, cheese, jerky, and some snacks, rich in both quality and quantity. They also had the cases from the supply drops. Even though they had all been eating a good amount of food everyday, there was also enough water to last them a day or two. But just to be safe, they split the food and water into eight portions.

Everyone received enough to last the last two days of the mission. Saki placed Shuai's portion out for him and explained what would happen now.

Saki: This is your portion. As long as you proved you are useful to this group and not a burden to us, then the food and water here will belong to you. Furthermore you will also become a member of our group.

Shuai: ...Gezz, how wonderful of you.

Saki: Your welcome.

Shuai: ...

Shuai took the food and water silently and with his head down. Then he moved to the side and started eating by himself. The others also wanted to ignore Shuai since the whole situation was akward, but Shin and Saki went over to Shuai who was eating alone.

Shuai: What do you want? You have another idea on how to make the bait more effective?

Saki: Possibly, but not in a way that would change the plan by much. Shin came to me earlier and suggested an idea.

Shuai: An idea?

Saki: A compromise.

Saki then explained.

Earlier, Shin went around to Saki and the others while Shuai went out for a walk ( Followed closely behind by Zero so he didn't run ), and they all came to an agreement. By doing this for the team and risking his life by acting as bait, the rest of the team will offer Shuai 100 points worth of goods from each of them once they get back to the Terminal Lobby.

Shuai: Why did you suggest this? Do you feel sorry for me?

Shin: Not enough to take your place if that is what you are asking ( I lied ). While Saki's plan isn't wrong, it is wrong to send you out there without motivation not just to live, but to live for the team. You might not understand, but 100 points from each of us can go a long way. You can't use these points to enhance yourself, but you could get some very good tools to aid in your survival. Also, if it is possible for us to pool in our points together we could even get the Progressive Knife from Eva.

Shuai: That is nice and all, but isn't this what you would call a bribe?

Shin: So what? We aren't friends yet and I don't think of you as a comrade, but anyone who will risk there life for me and my comrades, willingly or not, will become a comrade to me. So even if not today or tomorrow, I want you to be my comrade and friend. I am not doing this to be nice either. It is because I honestly believe that teamwork could be the key to surviving in God world and these missions. One thing that I also realized from my first true battle was that one man's power is limited. If the others were by my side things would have went a lot smoother, and even if only Aqua it is needles to say how easy the battle would have become. My power might be great, but if not used correctly then it is meaningless, yet ( Oh my god, I really am giving that speech ) as a team me, the veterans, the newbies and your own power... What can't we accomplish?

Shuai: ...Fine. So is the speech over?

Shin: Yeah, but was the last part necessary? That was embarrassing enough.

Shuai doesn't say anything after that, but he stopped looking at Saki in the others with hate.


	47. Chapter 47

It was close to midnight as Day 5 was nearing its end.

A few of Team Japan's members were already going to asleep to rest for the big day tomorrow, but there were a few who weren't. They still had things to think about and to try out before the battle of Day 6 arrives. Shin was one of them.

Shin had walked out of the complex they called their base along with Aqua. He had asked her for her opinion on his battle potential. Shin had recovered a lot faster then he had expected both physically and spiritually, so he wanted Aqua, the only other Player on the island to solo the enemy opinion on his new techniques.

During the battle on Day 2 when Shin rescued Hiakri and defeated unit 1 of the Btooom Soldiers and Commander, he had stumbled onto two new Ki techniques. The offensive Ki skill Soul Crushing Strike and the speed Ki skill Instant Movement.

Aqua: So what are these Ki attacks that you've learned? Will they be helpful?

Shin: I hope so. They came in handy when I was fighting the enemy and I honestly can say that without them, both Hikari and I would have died that day.

Aqua: Then show me. I may have Nen/Aura and not Ki, but I should be the only person on the island that can give you advice about this stuff.

Shin: Alright then. The most terrifying thing about the Btooom Soldiers and Commander in my opinion is their armor and BIM Launchers. The armor not only grants high protection ability, but enhances the the abilities of the person wearing it to the extent that they are almost a match for me. The Btooom Launcher on the other hand is dangerous as well. It allows the enemy to not only snipe there targets with BIMs, but also has a rapid fire mode where they can be shot out quickly and in large quantities. Now, the technique that allowed me break through the enemy's armor is this!

Shin went into a standard martial arts stance that he has seen in manga and anime to start with. He than began to draw out the Ki Energy from the center of his body, the navel and allowed it to match the flow of the power within his physical body.

Shin then he raised and pulled back his left hand to his chest and matching Ki with physical moment, he extended his arm into a punch as he released his Ki through his fist.

A near perfect Soul Crushing Strike was executed and as proof, an explosion of Ki detonated in front of his fist as a sonic boom. Aqua who watch this with wide eyes as air and Ki brushed passed her from the explosion couldn't help but be impressed.

Shin: ...It isn't as strong as the one I used in battle, but this is the Soul Crushing Strike. I have been practicing this since I had acquired Ki in secret and only just recently I could finally use it. Not only is it an exceptionally powerful Ki attack, it also delivers internal damage as well. In the end, I didn't get to try it out on the Btooom Commander, but I was able to one hit kill the Btooom Soldiers with this attack in spite of their armor. I am confident that even if it is their leader who receives the blow he will die from the external or internal damage from Soul Crushing Strike. Its only weakness is that I'm not skilled enough to send out continuous Soul Crushing Strikes in a rush. If I could I'm certain no one could stand back up again.

Aqua: ...You don't have to worry about not testing it on the Btooom Commander, Shin. If that kind of attack lands then you are dead unless you guard yourself with Ki or something similar. I wonder if even a 'Ko' Aura attack is that power. And you said that you just learned this skill recently? You never exchanged for it?

Shin: Yeah. I could only call it a fluke as to how I learned this, but I did manage it. Also, I received a message from God about Skill Mastery. It said that long as one could master a skill within 70% completion, I could exchange for the complete skill back in the Terminal Lobby for 1/10 the price and will lower its rank reward cost to just a single D rank reward.

Aqua: Wow, who knew? With Nen/Aura, I can't learn generic techniques like you can. Still, that is a great skill. With that Ki strike and my Adamantiunm Claws, with or without being equipped in Aura, we can tear apart the enemy's armor like it's cheap paper. How about Instant Movement?

Shin: I can use that as well. I came upon it when I was rescuing Hikari and it is my answer to avoid BIM attacks. Not even the Btooom Commander could keep up with me at that speed.

Shin focused Ki to the front of his feet, kick the ground and and touch down without slipping.

From point A to point B, he jumped ten meters in the blink of an eye. If Aqua didn't have such high Reaction Speed, she would have need to at least channel Aura into her eyes for 'Gyo' or she wouldn't have been able to keep up with Shin's fast movement.

Aqua: ...Fast.

Shin: That is it!

Aqua: What do you want me to say? You are very fast. If you are capable of maintaining that level of speed then then normal projectile weapons won't be able to hit you. How's the Ki cost?

Shin: ...It isn't the best. To constantly keep it up with my level of efficiency will drain my Advance Level Ki. Soul Crushing Strike also isn't the best. It's my guess that the remaining 30% of the Skill Mastery has to do with Ki consumption, so I am using far more Ki then needed for the techniques. That is why until I can exchange the full skills from God, I will have to really micromanage my Ki output.

Aqua: Just asking, but are you sure that you have enough Ki for the final battle on Day 7? Your Ki recovers quickly while you still have some, but if you use it all up this late in the game it may nout recovery in time. Make sure that you take care in tomorrow's operation.

Shin: I'll keep that in mind.

Aqua: Still, your amazing Shin. You would normally overlook them for powerful Whole Body Enhancements and Genectic Mutations, but Skills are powerful when used right. You use up an energy or stamina, but skills allow you to fight at levels beyond your normal abilities.

Kamap: You guys are doing some interesting things. Sorry for interrupting you two. We heard a loud sound and came to check it out.

Shuai: ...

Kampa, and surprisingly walking behind him was Shuai.

They came up reacting to the noise I was making by practicing my techniques. I asked was it chance that they were together, and Kampa said that it wasn't. Kampa, seeing that Shuai hadn't attempted to run away has earned him some of his respect. That was why just before coming up here to the roof Kmapa was teaching Shuai some survival tricks he picked up in the mercenary guild.

Kampa: So you guys could use such interesting techniques. It, isn't that just right out of your Japanese Manga.

Shin: Do you read manag?

Kampa: No, but... My seven year old son does. He loves things like that. His favorite manga is called Parasite.

Shin: That... Is a very good managa with a good anime adaptation. Still, you should have him reader some lighter manga like Naruto or One Piece first.

Kamapa: I'll keep that in mind when I escape this place... If I escape this place. Heck, I might not make it out of this place alive, this place is ( Cursed in Russian ).

Shin: Stay calm ( Have no idea what curse word was that, but from the context it wasn't nice ). You and all of us will make it out of this place alive if we work together. Aqua and I can defeat the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders long as we are in good enough shape, so if tomorrow's plan to sweep up the last of the enemy is a success and can face just the final boss on Day 7, we can definitely win!

Kampa: That is some confidence you have there. I am a mercenary who has been to many lands to fight, but weren't you before all of this just your regular Japanese youth? Aren't you scared?

Shin: Of course I am, but long as I have some form of confidence to rely, I can inflate my ego to overcome the situation. If you said there was a 1% chance that I could end global warming, I will fool myself into believing that it is true even if it is a lie by saying I am the 1% that can save the world.

Kampa, Shuai and even Aqua gave me a strange look.

They didn't know that I was lying about having confidence in surviving this mission, yet looking at me wasn't going to do them any good. It wasn't like I knew either if I was even going to live pass tomorrow... But I wouldn't give up, and especially if I am not alone.

Shin showed off his new skills only a few more times since he needed to reserve his Ki, and when the others had a grasp of his techniques one of them asked a question.

Kamap: So can Aqua use those same techniques as you Shin?

Shin: I don't think it is possible.

Kampa: Why?

Aqua: Unfortunately, I can't. While Shin exchanged for Ki, I exchanged for Nen/Aura.

Shuai: Is there a difference?

Aqua: They are both life force energy, yet they are from different world of literature and have their own distinction with few similarities. Nen is more specialized then Ki. Learning Ki would make one stronger whoever they are, but Nen brings out an individual's potential to a higher degree then Ki can, but it could turn out to be non combat oriented. Still, if I use 'Gyo', the Nen technique to channel more Aura into one or more places of the body, or 'Ko', cutting off Aura from the rest of the body into a single location, I could do something similar. A Gyo punch could be extremely lethal for those without special powers, I normally use my claws though, and channeling Aura into the legs/feet I could run at a speed that could somewhat keep up with Shin's Instant Movement speed.

Shuai though quite, was still impressed.

As an exchange student from China who came to Japan, not only should he had the chance to read HxH, China is the home Wuxia. Ki and martial arts should be his home field ( Was that racist? Didn't mean it to be. Like how all Japanese men know karate, stereotypes are rarely, if ever true ).

Kampa on the other hand looked back and fourth between Aqua and I for some reason. Did... Could he tell that we have slept together? He most have caught on to how Aqua was taking flirtatious glances my way ( HIS IMAGINATION ).

Kampa: Isn't there an easier way for you two to increase your battle potential.

Shin: Like how?

Kampa: Like applying that special power of your, Ki or Nen, and adding it to your guns. Wouldn't that make your guns stronger?

Shin: That... Isn't a bad idea! Why didn't I consider this possibility? There is chakra manipulation in Naruto and other mangas that use similar ideas. What do you think Aqua?

Aqua: It is definitely possible. For Nen/Aura that technique is called 'Shu'. You would enfold your Aura around a tool to bring out its natural properties. My Auto 9 was already so powerful, so I never attempted it or felt the need to, but it should definitely be possible for me. As for Ki, it's not the same, yet it is still similar to Aura. You should be able to do it as well.

Then after confirming with each other, Shin and Aqua tried it out. They allowed their Ki and Auras to envelope around normal handgun to start with. They both noticed an increase consumption of energy, yet it was still manageable, more so for Aqua then Shin. They then both aimed for the nearest tree within the jungle and pulled the trigger.

Two different results came out.

Aqua's bullet clearly left her hand gun at an accelerated speed and struck the tree before here. The bullet drilled into the tree and came out the other side. This showed that Aqua's bullet had comparable power to an armor pricing round being fired. The Auto 9 of Aqua's already had such a bullet, so if she combined the two the results should be great.

Shin's result on the other hand turned out differently. The moment that Shin pulled the trigger his Ki that had covered the handgun weakened from the recoil and the muzzle of the handgun exploded. Shin bullet never even made it out.

Kampa: Why were the results so different?

Shin: I have no idea. Rank wise, my Advance Ki is stronger then Aqua'a Mid Level Hunter Nen/Aura. I don't understand.

Aqua: It could be affinity. Remember Shin, with Nen, ever user has a specialty and are bad at some applications of Nen as well. I am an Enhancer Nen user, so I should be better at strengthening myself and tools, and get better results then others ( Killua was better then Gon who was a natural Reinforcement type, but that might just be because Killua is more skillful even if they are both the same level of talent, while in turn Gon had far more aura then Killua ). I have also been practicing Nen since it was at Low Level Nen, so I am better at using my powers then you are as well.

Shin: That could be it. It might also be that I am not very talented at this. It was only because I was in a do or die situation that I even learned Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement.

Maybe if I knew more about the structure of guns it would help. In Fate Stay, Shiro Emiya couldn't, "TRACE ON!" if he couldn't understand a swords basic structure and what it was made of, like the Gold Archers sword for example.

Shuai: ...Maybe you were just aiming too high for your first try.

Shin: What do mean?

Shuai: Well, maybe instead of strengthening the whole gun you should just trying adding Ki to the bullets. I don't know about performance, but the cost may even go dowm.

Shin: Just the bullets... I'll try it out!

Now just enveloping the bullets of his handgun in Ki ( Took out a spare from the Na Ring to replace the busted one ), Shin pulled the trigger of the gun and fired repeatedly at a nearby tree.

It wasn't perfect, but the success rate for firing Ki strength bullets was 3/10. Also, the power and speed was just about half of having the whole gun reinforced with Ki, but Shin was still happy witht he result because the Ki cost was far less for just strengthening an entire gun.

Shin thanked Shuai, but he said that he only helped since it would improve his own chances of survival. Either way, Shin was glad to see that Shuai was coming around as a member of the group.

They were calling it a night after testing Ki reinforced bullets.

Shuai and Kampa went down first and just as Shin was about to follow, Aqua stopped him. Shin was confused and a little excited that Aqua might be calling him for a midnight meet up between lovers, but the talk they had didn't go in that direction.

Aqua: Shin. There was something I've been meaning to ask you.

Shin: What? Did you... Want to ask me to do stuff here and now under the light of the moon to-

Aqua: Fool! Stop messing around, Shin! This is about the mission. Focus!

Shin: Fine... What is it.

Aqua: I am curious. I was able to defeat the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders fairly easily, but that was me. Even seeing these new skills you have happened onto, I can't see you defeating an entire unit of them alone.

Shin: Hikari was there and she defeated one of them.

Aqua: 5 out of 6, big difference. Maybe you could have defeated the enemy grunts, but it should have been impossible for to take out the Btooom Commander alone. What really happened that day?

Shin thought about it for a second and saw no harm in telling Aqua the truth. He only didn't do so because Shin still had a hard time explaining the state that he was in that allowed him to take out unit 1. Still, Aqua was his comrade who asked for the truth, so he told her what happened.

Shin also mentioned that after he woke up earlier today, he and Saki both discussed it and came to the conclusion that he unlocked the Genetic Constraint.

Shin told all of this to Aqua, and... She began to stare daggers at him.

Aqua: ...The Genetic Constraint.

Shin: Ye-Yeah, or that is what Saki calls it. I know it sounds made up, but it is true. When I was fighting the enemy something really unlocked within me. In spite of the danger of the situation, I was able to remain calm ( Like The Gamer ) and operate my body on a much higher level. Also, I know that I am not some battle genius, yet combat tactics just kept surfacing in my mind and I was able to execute them flawlessly. Like I was operating on instinct alone.

Aqua: ...I see. Yeah, that is definitely the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint.

Shin: The First Stage... Wait, you already knew about it?

Aqua: Know about it? Not only do I know about it, I have unlocked it as well.

Shin: You have?

Aqua: Up to its Second Stage.

Shin: Second Stage? What is that? Saki never mentioned stages.

Aquav That is only natural. I don't know how she found out about it, but it would be unlikely that she has any real information about it. Not that I am that much more informed on the subject. I am only going on what little I've heard and my own experience in Unlocked Mode, which is what I call that state we enter.

Shin: Why have you never mentioned it before?

Aqua: Should I have? The Genetic Constraint isn't something that you can learn normally. Only by experiencing unending terror and possessing a will to overcome it and survive at all cost can one normally awaken to it, so even if I told you about it would it have done you or the others any good? In fact, if you were told about the fact that such a concept is real, you or someone else may have done something stupid like risking your life and thinking that you could go into Unlocked Mode.

Shin: I see you point. Still, I have definitely been in that state before and I may need to tommorrow for the plan. That feeling... After the Unlocked Mode ends is... Terrifying to say the least and I almost died, but it is what also kept me alive till now. My point is that, I don't know how to go into that state again of my free will and I hope you can tell me how.

Aqua: I wouldn't advice you to try going into Unlocked Mode in this current mission anymore. Your One-eyed Ghoul Genectic Mutstion enhancement has a strong healing factor, so maybe you haven't noticed, but your genetics are breaking apart as we speak.

Shin: They are what?

Aqua: It is the price we pay for first unlocking the Genetic Constraint. Saki told you that story about the mother lifting the car to save her child, right? That is a perfect example of what is happening to you. There is poison inside you that is destroying your genetics. A normal human being would have died by now, but we are different.

Shin: In what way?

Aqua: Our stat increases and genetic enhancements. When you've unlocked the First Stage you must have seen the true potential of your mind and body. We are no longer regular humans, so we had a high chance of surviving the unlocking of the First Stage. If not, if this were to occur in our first missions without enhancements and couldn't receive medical attention within minutes, you and I would have died and you still are Shin. If you go into that state 1 or 2 more times without having God heal your genetics... You will 100% die.

Shin: One or two times more, huh. Then long as the plan works tomorrow and we face no one other the Ryuta Sakamoto afterwards, I should be fine. Please teach me.

Aqua: ...Impossible.

Shin: Why? I understand and can deal with the backlash, so-

Aqua: It is impossible. It just is. Maybe with training you could one day turn it on and off, but at first it doesn't happen that way. Only in the face of terror, true death would you be able to go into Unlocked Mode. Just give it up for now. Only with training, or unlocking a higher stage will you gain control over it.

It was disappointing that Shin couldn't go into the Unlocked Mode of his own free will, but learning about it first hand from someone who knows what he went through put Shin at ease. Shin was about ready to call it a night and rest for the plan tomorrow, but Aqua stopped Shin once more.

Aqua: Wait.

Shin: What is it this time? Ah, are we really going to-

Aqua: No! There was one last thing I wanted to tell you.

Shin: What?

Really? I know she said thst she didn't want to be my girlfriend, but.. After facing such terrors and death, even I want to be embraced, no, I mean to embrace a women to calm down. I would even concede to just handholding at this point.

Aqua: It is a warning. You are entitled to know this since you have unlocked the Genetic Constraint just as I have. Once three individuals, past or present on this team unlocks their Genetic Constraint, that team will awaken.

Shin: Awaken?

Aqua: Yes. Once there are three or more who can enter the Unlocked Mode... Things will become a whole lot more difficult. Since Team Japan has begun anew after its last wipe, I am the first and you are the second Shin. I don't blame you our anyone else when it happens because it is very likely such individuals will arrive at that point in this world of terror. It also doesn't matter if either of us die long as the team doesn't wipe out. That day will come.

Shin: What will?

Aqua: ...I can't say now, but... I will say this. While there are only two of us who have unlocked the Genetic Constraint... We should become as strong as possible for the future battles ahead.

Shin: ...

Leaving those parting critic words like the man from the Matrix, Aqua left the rooftop and leaving me here with my thoughts. Reinforced Ki bullets, Genetic Constraint and mysterious parting words. With those out of the way the end of Day 6 arrived for me and us all


	48. Chapter 48

Day 6, afternoon.

The plan had begun.

As per his role, Shuai left the group and headed out alone to where Zero had earlier spotted the enemy. Once we confirmed that Shuai hadn't run away ( Glad he didn't see us spying on him ) the rest of us went off to fulfill our own roles.

Sak, Kampa, Zero and Misaki went off to prepare the trap we needed to construct to defeat the enemy.

Earlier in the morning Saki and the others had found the ideal spot to set the trap. Once it was set up all that would be left would be for Shuai to bring the enemy over the trap and they will set off the mass of Remote Control BIM to kill the enemy once and for all.

As for Hikari and Aqua, they stayed at the base. Aqua's role was to recover as much as possible for the final battle of Day 7, so she couldn't go with everyone. Hikari was to guard/keep her company, but the person in question didn't like it.

Hikari wanted to help Shin and the others fight, but because she had lost the advantage of her laptop and was only slightly better then Shuai, the bait, in a fight, so Shin didn't want her to come along this time around and used looking after Aqua as an excuse. Hikari really didn't like it, but Shin was adamant about it, so she complied this time. For better or worse because Shin saved her life Hikari had a higher opinion of him... Though she would still badmouth him without hesitation.

Now as for the protagonist ( Self proclaimed ), Shin followed after Shuai from a distance.

Shin's role was to follow the enemy after they chase after Shuai and pick off any stray enemies that he could and as instructed by Saki, doing so in secret. Also, if Shuai was to abandon his role or warn the enemy in any way that endangers the team... Shin was to take him out ( Shoot his legs to avoid killing him ). Shin didn't like the second part of the assignment, but he acknowledge the importance of it.

Shuai was able to spot the enemy up ahead of him. Given binoculars in advance, Shuai was able to spot eight Btooom Soldiers and at the center of their formation was their leader, the Btooom Commander.

With this they were able to geuss that once the six members of the fifth and last unit of Btooom Soldiers and Commander touched down on the island, the three Btooom Soldiers that Aqua had failed to kill from the previous days who ran away from her ( Before the armors told them to fight to the death ) had met up with and joined the new unit five.

Seeing them, all nine of them... Shuai was scared.

Shuai was scared of that he was here in this world, what would happen if he failed, what would happen if he succeeds and everything else he could think of. He was forced into a battle he didn't want any part of and was forced into it by none other then God, and more recently his own so called comrades.

Shuai was no coward and he could acccept his reality quite fine. If it absolutely had to be done and it was for himself and the team then maybe he was willing to take this risk, but the fact that he was forced into this never let him truly stay calm.

Sometimes it would get so bad thst he would consider running away or rebelling against Saki and the others for forcing him to risk his life here and now, but... What was keeping him sane was that Shin came to his aid. He didn't offer to take his place, yet what Shin did was offer him hope. He couldn't fully understand being given points, but as small as it was it gave him hope.

Shuai was paralyzed with fear, but remembering Shin's kindness or whatever, it was made him move.

Shin: He started the attack.

Shin watched as Shuai began the plan.

Shuai threw numerous of the flashy 1300°C Flammable Oil Splashing Flame BIM towards the enemy camp. His aim was way off, but the ensuing fire spreading within the jungle caught the enemy's attention.

\- *SCAN*!

The oppressive radar scan of the enemy spread throughout the area. It was the scan of the Btooom Commander that once marked Hikari and threw them all into despair. The scan missed Shin who had stayed perfectly still and caught hold of and marked Shuai who was already running away.

Now that Shuai was marked, he had no other choice but to follow Saki's plan whether or not he wanted to. He now had to run around the island and lead the enemy to the trap Saki and the others were setting up, and as they had all hoped the enemy soon followed after him.

Shin: Now it is my turn. Don't die on me Shuai!

Shin was responsible for killing the ones following Shuai that strayed from the pack for whatever reason. Shin ran behind the enemy without notifying the them. It was when he could see them off in the distance directly through the jungle that... A shiver ran down his spine.

Shin had forgotten.

Shin's body trembled as he looked at the terrifying appearance of the Btooom Soldiers and Commader from far away as he ran behind them. It reminded him of his traumatic experience where he nearly died by a BIM explosion. Especially the Btooom Commander who was the one responsible and gave him the most trouble during the battles of Day 2.

It was a fluke that Shin survived the last time, so he couldn't imagine being able to take another explosion like that and living to tell the tale no matter how much he enhanced himself. Even if it was possible to one day make his body as tough as steel, that day wasn't today.

Shin: (This... It is this pressure... As if my whole consciousness is gone. All that's left is fear and those instincts that allowed me to survive ).

Shin felt something unlocked within his body once more and knew that he was in that state again, that once more he had unlocked the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint. Countless instincts appeared on his mind. Among them included instincts on many ways to use Ki Energy more efficiently.

Shin let his instincts take control over his body and Ki distribution within himself and the result was notable, and the entire process took only a blink on an eye. He felt stronger then ever before and knew how to wield both the muscles within his body and Ki energy to a higher degree. It was as if his instincts had reached a new level after fighting the enemy and going through a near death experience.

When the Ki Energy crossed over Shin's back near the waist, he felt something, an additional power from whatever his Ki had crossed over against that then added onto his Ki circulating within the body. Shin had an idea what this additional power could have been, but let it go for now as he had a job to do. With this new found power Shin believed that he could quickly deal with the strays of the enemy pack chasing Shuai.

Shin: And there one goes.

Shin noticed as the enemy Btooom Commander ordered one of the eight Btooom Soldiers with a hand signal to leave the group.

From what he could tell, the now stray Btooom Soldier was going move around and attack Shuai from an unexpected direction. The enemy would probably attempt to sneak atrack Shuai with a single soldier. Even if he failed he would be slowed down and the main group would catch up and kill Shuai.

Shin: Like I'll let you!

Shin stealthy followed behind the stray Btooom Soldier. Meaning to find Shuai or the anxiety of being alone must having gotten to the enemy, the Btooom Soldier used a radar scan to search for Shuai, yet Shin canceled it out with his own scan.

The enemy was confused and tried another scan, but it was canceled out again. Now frightened the Btooom Soldier kept sending out scans, but each and every time we would come out empty.

The enemy was not picking up Shuai or his comrades who should be moving and in range of his radar, and he finally realized that he was in trouble. Separated from enemy and ally alike, he was alone and vulnerable. The fear had now taken ahold of the enemy Btooom Soldier and stopped running to grasp the situation, but...

Shin: Chance!

Shin saw his opportunity to take out the enemy and took it.

He swiftly used Instant Movement steps to jump forward and reach the enemy with speed he never thought possible. Having gained experience, his ability to use the Ki skill Instant Movement improved greatly. In no time at all he had taken the enemy's back before he knew that he even had company.

\- SOUL CRUSHING STRIKE!

Shin's right fist slammed into the back of the enemy Btooom Soldier. His fist crushed the enemy's armor and snapped the spine. The enemy was already dead by the end of the attack, yet if he had survived then he would have forever lost the ability to walk.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, BTOOOM SOLDIER CHIP - 100 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

Shin was actually startled by his own destructive power. He had only now just realized that just like with Instant Movement the effectiveness of all of his Ki related skills had gone up by 10-15% and realizing this... Shin was filled with confidence.

Shin felt stronger then ever before and after that last attack he felt that no one other then the Btooom Commander was even worth considering as an enemy anymore. Long as he had Soul Crushing Strike to attack with and Instant Movement to avoid and approach the enemy, then there was no reason why he couldn't win.

Shin: No, I can't let my guard down just because of my good performance so far. That is what lead me to almost dying who knows how many times. One enemy at a time... One enemy at a time... Okay! From here on out I'll thin the enemy Btooom Soldiers and commander's ranks!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, BTOOOM SOLDIER CHIP - 100 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

Shin: That is the second.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, BTOOOM SOLDIER CHIP - 100 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

Shin: Now three down and six more to go!

A half an hour of running after Shuai and the enemy, one after another Shin took out the enemy without alerting them that there was even a threat running behind them.

The enemy Btooom Commander had ordered one of the Btooom Soldiers to check on Shin's first victim who had been no word from or had attacked Shuai, and another to try the same strategy again thinking that maybe they deserted, but he was growing suspicious.

The Btooom Commander knew that the suits could compel one to to sacrifice one's life to kill the enemy, but that was only in extreme circumstances when that person believed that they were going to die 100%. Running from the enemy just because it was dangerous didn't go against Tyrannos Japan's failsafe in their armors. If it happened once or twice then it is in the realm of possibility, but three times was impossible.

They were all soldiers trained by Tyrannos Japan to handle any situation that could occur on the island. For so many of them to run off before confronting enemy retaliation was 100% impossible. The Btooom Commander was beginning to think that this chase was some kind of trap, and Shin as well knew that their chances of leading the enemy into the trap were decreasing.

Shin: They are bound to notice that this is a trap, but there is nothing I can do. I already killed three of their comrades, so there is no helping it. Lucky, Shuai is right before the goal.

That was right.

After thirty minutes of running Shuai was definitely reaching his limit, but he was right before where the trap was set and the enemy had yet to notice Shin was right behind thanks to constantly interrupting the enemy's scans with Radar Canceling. The plan has gone off without a hitch and long as Shuai kept running for just another half mile then the enemy who were chasing after him would fall into the trap.

That was what Shin believed, but life never goes the way one wants. As Shuai was at the end goal he tripped over a tree truck in these final moments. Shuai in a panic tried to get up, but he couldn't. His leg was either sprained or broken, but whatever the case Shuai felt despair. Currently, he was actually right above where they hid the massive amounts of Remote Control BIM in the ground.

And additionally, the enemy was right behind him, but what Shuai and Shin, and those who noticed from afar what had happened... What they feared the most wasn't the enemy, or the BIM underneath. What they feared was Saki.

Shin: Shit!

Shin ran forward at full speed.

He could tell that Saki wasn't heartless, but she isn't the type to hesitate either and she must certainly be watching them all of this now that they were so close to the trap.

Shuai who can't run out of the blast zone... Even if he can somehow stay alive under the enemy attack, Saki will 100% detonate the Remote Control BIM once the enemy is fully within the blast radius of the trap. Saki will do it even if it means Shuai's death and a negative 1000 points for herself for killing a newbie. She definitely won't let this chance slip by to defeat the enemy.

If Saki doesn't and the enemy realize that they stepped into a trap and run away, then the plan would fail and they would have to face six elite enemies. Among them all, if they lost the element of surprise then only Shin could hope to make it out of it alive.

That was why before Saki detonates the BIM, Shin used Instant Movement to pass the enemy and reach Shuai. The enemy couldn't react in time as Shin passed them and reached Shuai's side.

Shuai: Shin!

Shin: No time. Just hang on!

A volley of BIM from six Launchers attacked Shin and Shuai where they where, but they had already escaped with Instant Movement. Shin only used one Instant Movement step to escape the blast and ran with Shuai on his back.

The purpose was for the enemy to still consider following after them, and it worked. By appearing in front of the enemy, Shin had revealed what they thought was the entirely of the enemy trap. That because Shuai fell and hurt himself, the Players plan to quietly pick them off from the shadows while they are distracted failed.

Now full of confidence, the enemy quickened their pace in their pursuit of Shin and Shuai... Not realizing till after the fact that they stepped into a landmine field of Remote Control BIM under their feet.

Saki: *Switch*!

Kampa: *Switch*!

Zero: *Switch*!

Misaki: *Switch*!

\- *EXPLOSION*!


	49. Chapter 49

In the resulting explosion made up of dozens of Remote Control BIM, of the six enemies who fell into the trap three died. Once the large cloud of dust and smoke began to disperse the Team Japan members who had hidden away to detonated the BIMs revealed themselves.

Saki: I can see three enemy left. Two Btooom Soldiers and the Btooom Commander. The first two are heavily injured, yet the Commander doesn't seem to be that hurt.

Zero: Are you sure we took out three of them? I didn't get any notification that I killed one when I detonated my switch like how you get for killing NPCs.

Saki, Kampa, Zer and Misaki split the switches for the Remote Control BIM between the four of them. It was Misaki who suggested it since if only one of them detonated the BIMs then only that one person would get the points for defeating them.

Saki and the others thought there wasn't any point, but Misaki who knew the importance of points and rewards through the existence of Shin, couldn't give up this chance to gain more. And since it would look greedy if only he detonated the BIM he made this suggestion. That was why they split the switches between themselves and left who gets the points and rewards to chance.

Saki: I am certain we killed some. I was told that I received 100 points and a D rank reward from that voice.

Kampa: I also received two such notifications saying that I earned 200 points and two rank D rewards.

Misaki: Damm, I didn't get any like Zero. Well, least we know that the corpses over there are real and not pretending.

Saki: Then let's preceded with the next step. Shin will take care of the Btooom Commander and we will handle the weakened Btooom Soldiers who survived the explosion... Where is Shin?

They all looked around, but couldn't find him. They saw Shin escape with Shuai, so he wasn't caught in the blast. It was then as they were looking around they were noticed by the enemy.

Zero: They spotted us!

Kamap: Shit, and that Btooom Commander of theirs looks fine after all of that. Without Shin we may not even survive against the Commander and he still has two Btooom Soldiers at his side even if they are hurt. Now what?

Saki: ...We will engage the enemy. Shin is definitely alive, so lets not worry about the enemy leader and take out the Soldiers to lessen his burden when he gets back. Be cautious of the Commander, but don't needlessly face him. If forty plus BIMs didn't damage him, then our guns won't be much use.

The four players then began to fire at the enemy with their handguns and throw the occasional BIM they had left on them.

Normal bullets and BIMs would be useless again their armor, but they took too much damage from the explosion and so the enemy had to hide for cover. With the exception of the Btooom Commander they had lost their prided defense, so they were forced to hide and attack when there was an opening... In other words for the first time they were made to play Btooom on the same level as the players.

It looked like things were going the Players way, but then the Btooom Commander took command. From his BIM attachment he handed off a couple BIM to the Btooom Soldier and they all activated them. They were Barrier BIM.

With them activated they were able to march through enemy bombardment and were able to dominate the battle with their BIM Launchers.

Misaki: Damm shields! How can a bomb be a defensive weapon!

Saki: Well in Btooom-

Misaki: I wasn't looking for a real answer!

Kampa: This isn't good. It looks like our weapons can't break through those shields of theirs. We have to retreat and regroup!

Saki: No! There isn't any point since they aren't going to run out of those BIM. And if we leave now then we will lose our one chance to defeat them once and for themall before Day 7. What would be the point of everything we have done till now?

Zero: Before happens we will be killed. We should do as Kampa says and-

\- *CRASH*!

It was at that moment that Shin reappeared.

After getting Shuai to safety, Shin returned to the battle and hid himself, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. He had his eyes set on the Btooom Commander and waited for his chance.

He waited till the energy shield of the Barrier BIM died down and before the Btooom Commander switched it out for another, Shin attacked. With Instant Movement he closed in on the enemy Btooom Commander and crashed into him.

Shin then continued to drag the enemy, and himself away from the others.

Shin didn't want to rely on or worry about the others. Besides, his job was to only take care of the Btooom Commander, so the Soldiers were Saki and the others responsibility. Shin had nothing against them, but after forcing Shuai to play the bait for whatever their reason, if they couldn't handle two weakened enemy Btooom Soldiers, then they deserved to die. That was there job after all.

Then after moving moving far enough away from his teammates and the Btooom Soldiers that he didn't have to worry about them, Shin threw away the struggling enemy in his grasp and drew his gun. The Btooom Commander hurriedly got himself back on his feet, but was immediately sprayed with a hail of bullets.

Shin had taken out two handguns and opened fired on the enemy Btooom Soldier. The enemy thought that he could take the attack even without taking out a Barrier BIM, but found that he was mistaken. Little by little, his armor was being chipped and dinged.

Shin was currently spraying the enemy Btooom Commander with bullets that he had infused with Ki Energy. He had a hard time infusing the bullets with Ki last night, but in Unlocked Mode not only was almost every shot a success unlike last night, the power of the bullets had increased

The Ki infused bullets didn't have definite killing power, but as time was passing the damage was becoming more and more visible. Shin still had to discard the destroy guns from recoil, but within a minute Shin had almost shattered the enemy's armor and would need little more to break it taking another pair of guns out of his Na Ring, Shin renewed his attack.

Sensing the danger the enemy Btooom Commander began his counter attack. He rolled out of the barrage of bullets and hid behind a thick tree. Five seconds later he came out of hiding and fired at Shin with his BIM Launcher.

If the others could see this then they would have thought that Shin was done for there, but they would be wrong. Shin jumped backwards as he was almost hit with explosions, but this was just Shin not fighting the shock waves from the explosions of the BIMs that detained in front of him. He was lessening, if not fully nullifying the damage from the blast.

Shin was in peak condition now that he wasn't exhausted or had run out of Ki from multiple down hill battles. In Unlocked Mode Shin could see, hear and even smell his enemy movement and he had also had gained plenty of experience fighting the Btooom Soldier and Btooom Commander to date, and battle experience in general.

Shin: ( If it's like this then maybe I could fight an entire unit by myself. To bad this is the last day I'll see them. And here I was just evolving into an battle manga MC ).

Shin was getting so confident in himself that he was slapping the BIMs coming at him away before they even exploded. Before they even started a detonation sequence they were already thrown away from him.

When he could see the firing rate of the BIM Launcher closely, he found that they were much slower and easier to deal with then BIM. Shin just casually approached the enemy Btooom Commander step by step and the fearful enemy stepped backwards till he corned himself against a tree.

Shin: Lets just end this. Soul Crushing Strike!

Shin's fist flew towards the Btooom Commander like a spear flew into the enemy's chest armor and exploded. Shin's fist busted through the armor and into the enemy's flesh. The impact was so strong that the Btooom Commander was smashed into the tree behind, and then embedded into the tree.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, BTOOOM COMMANDER CHIP - 500 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

Shin: 800 Points and two C rank rewards ( 1C + 3D's ). A good days work if I do say so and it wasn't close to dangerous ( For anyone but me ). Maybe if the battle over there isn't finished ( Ended quickly over here because I was too good ) I can get a solid 1000 Points. Let's go get more points, no I mean backup my-

Shin was was about ready to return, but with that feeling of fear that drove him to this point long gone thanks to his victory, the effects of his Unlocked Mode began to fade and he was slowly beginning to experiencing that great pain.

The first time he had left that mode of his the pain was great that he passed out and almost died from being unable to breathe. The second time he wasn't aware of it because he was knocked out by a BIM explosion, but suffered the effects as a fever that didn't break till the day he woke up. And now it was the third. The backlash wasn't as bad now that he had gotten used to it and could stay conscious now, but his body couldn't handle it.

Shin now firmly believed that what Aqua said was true.

The Genetic Constraint unlocks during danger and terror, but a normal body couldn't bear the power that comes with it. Even with his enhanced physical abilities as a ghoul, his right hand suffered a comminuted fracture from using his Soul Crushing Strike that had become more powerful then ever and the backlash he was feeling now was making the injury worse. And following that would be the unbearable pain. What if this happened to a normal person?

Shin: This really is like a double edged sword, and it has to be under a life threatening situation and experiencing terror for the constraint to unlock for just a little while. This is the human's final struggle against death. Still, at least a few good things came out of this fight. Not only did we all come together as a team to defeat the enemy, I might have discovered a way to possibly use bring out the Kagune... I'll try looking into it-

Before he could finish that sentence, that feeling of death spread from his internal organs throughout his body. He started to have seizure and fell over.

The pain rendered him unable to even open his mouth. His muscles felt like they were ripping apart and he soon passed out.

As soon as Shin had recovered enough to stand and walk, he made his way back to his comrades. He didn't think he was out for a long time as the position of the sun had not moved by much ( Forgot to buy/exchange for a watch ), but he knew it wasn't just for a few minutes, so he dragged his weary body back.

To Shin's surprise when he got back to where the others were fighting the two remaining Btooom Soldiers, the battle was already finished up.

Shin was worried that his delay thanks to the backlash of unlocking the Genetic Constraint would cause him to be late to help everyone. He was happy to find that they were all alive, but felt guilty when he saw their state. They had not all come out of the battle unscathed.

The first Btooom Soldier defeated was surprisingly defeated by Shuai. After finding his way and limping over to where the battle was, Shuai got a lucky shot in. The enemy was distracted by Saki and Kampa, so he never saw him coming. Shuai had by accident shot a bullet in the head of the Btooom Soldier whose helmet was cracked from the earlier explosion.

The second and last Btooom Soldier they would ever see on the island was defeated by a team effort of Zero and Kampa. Though not a good of shot as Kampa with handgun as he is a sniper, he was able to accurately destroy the enemy's BIM attachment.

When the enemy, already wounded and having lost his greatest weapon of infinite BIM was corned with no hope, he attacked/was forced to attack. In one final move he used the remaining BIM he had on him and turned himself into a suicide bomber and his target was Zero.

Misaki saw this and tackled the enemy down a hill, and '*BOOM*!'. The battle was over. Misaki lived and saved Zero, but he had lost an arm to the explosion of the final Btooom Soldier.

Shin: You had it rough Misaki. Are... Are you alright?

Misaki: I won't know till the adrenaline wears off and we luckily had have the hemostasis spray, so I'll say NO! I lost an arm, so I am not ok! Well, at least it was my non-dominant hand that was lost.

Shin: Sorry. It looks like even though I fought the commader you all had the harder time.

Kampa: That sounds very sarcastic coming from you Shin. Just look at what you have done to this guy. Damm, if I didn't know any better I would think this is the work of some monster.

Saki, Misaki and the others wanted to see what happened to the BIM Commader that Shin faced, so he showed them back to his remains. They were all shocked by what they saw. The Btooom Commander who was dead and dripping blood from the wound that killed him, was still embedded into the tree Shin left him in.

Misaki and the others who thought the enemy knew how strong they were even when injured. Even a 40 BIM landmine trap had only a 50% chance of killing a Btooom Soldier and the Btooom Commander that Shin fought was barley damaged in the blast.

And for Shin to be able to punch a hole into that strong armor and slam him into a tree like that... Made them see Shin in completely new light. They heard that he defeated an enemy unit alone, but seeing it up close was different.

Shuai: This is incredible! How did you do this with your bare hands?

Shin: It was a Ki skill that I picked up.

Misaki: You have to teach me this. With it I could kill dozens of them by myself.

Shuai: Me too.

Shin: Sure, but it isn't as easily as it looks. Besides, but Misaki would need his arm back first.

Misaki: Screw you!

Saki: Whatever the case good work Shin, everyone... Especially Shuai.

Shuai: ...

Saki: Till the very end you didn't try to runaway from your responsibilities and proved yourself as a member of the group. I won't apologies for forcing that taskk on you, but-

Shuai: It is fine, so drop it. I... Still don't like you much for nominating ( Forcing ) me into the role of bait, but now that it is over and looking back on the effectiveness of the plan, I can say that it is necessary. Fuck, who wouldn't want to live? I have definitely been relying on everyone to survive till now, but now that is over. I still won't act as bait ever again, but I'll do my fair share from now on.

Saki: That is great to hear.

Shuai: Just pay me my 100 points when we get back. You can afford it since you killed an Btooom Soldier back there.

Saki: I was hoping you would forget about the deal with everything that's going on.

Shuai: Like hell I will! A deal is a deal, so... Lets all survive till the very end so you and everyone else can pay me back in points.

That was by far not a good reason for us to live ( Debt ), but Shin and the others believed that it wa this just Shuai's way of telling his teammates to survive together with him.


	50. Chapter 50

When Shin and the others got back to their base of operations, they were greeted by Aqua and Hikari who had stayed behind. The group who had return had gone through a lot and wanted nothing more then to rest, yet what they saw shocked them.

The two who greeted the group were in a middle of a fight... If you could call Aqua pinning Hikari to the ground while she fruitlessly tried to get back up a fight. Hikari was trying her hardest, but she was powerless against Aqua's strength.

Misaki: What the hell is going on.

Shuai: Yeah, why are the two fighting... Shin?

Misaki, Saki, Kampa and Zero had no idea what was going on or how to approach this event, yet one of them were was smiling.

Shin: Could this, could this be... The legendary cat fight where two girls fight over the protagonist!?

Aqua: No.

Hikari: As if!

Shin: ...Well, your already here and if we can just add some mud then-

Aqua: Shut up!

Hikari: Baka otaku!

Shin learned that Hikari had asked Aqua for fighting tips so she can become useful, or at least protect herself. She had to rely on Shin to get most of her chips and she only killed a Btooom Soldier by luck. Hikari wanted more strength as to not become a burden, so she went to Aqua for advice.

Aqua said getting enhancements and weapons would make her more powerful, but she first must become strong enough to use them. And even if she isn't a fighter, she can train herself to give her the confidence to act whatever her role is, because that is what training is. More so then building oneself up physically, training helps to build oneself up mentally as well.

Shin said that Hikari shouldn't try to become a fighter, but a support role, but she gets angry that he is fine with Aqua fighting despite the danger. Shin is confused, and Aqua said that if his goal is a harem, then his goal is far, far off.

Shin: Why is that? I've played enough ero, I mean gal game the I could rival The God of Conquest, Keima Katsuragi.

Aqua: ...I think you have your answer.

Shin: ...

It soon began to rain heavily on the island after the sun went down.

Although the mission wasn't over Team Japan had a mini celebration of sorts. Over the last few days they had acquired enough food to last for days and with tomorrow's Day 7 being the last day of the mission whether they lived or died, they decided to stuff themselves and be ready to fight the final boss at full power.

Most, if not all of the NPC, newbie Players and enemies were dead ( We are probably the only surviving Players left ), so they didn't need to be alert as they had been, and so they had fun. There wasn't much to do except talk and eat, but that was more then enough for all of them to relax and lift their spirits after everything that they have been through the last six days.

Hikari and Misaki ( Misaki was loopy on pain killers they they found in an earlier supply case ) listened to the interesting war stories of Kampa and the people who Zero has been asked to off ( Soem names we knew and that frightened us ).

And having done his part as the bait, Shuai was being escorted by Saki to deliver him one of his prizes... His final chip/NPC he must kill to complete one of his main quest objectives so he can live through Day 6's Midnight Execution.

As for Shin and Aqua, they were siting down and resting. Aqua needed her full strength for tomorrow's final battle and Shin although not hurt was worn down both physically and mentally due to the pain of unlocking his Genetic Constraint for a third time.

Shin: So how are you recovering? You got to spend the day resting... And to embrace Hikari in a sweaty-

Aqua: Don't make it sound so perverse, Shin. How about you? You went into Unlocked Mode for a third time, right?

Shin: That is right, and I am more worn out then I imagined I would be. The battle was a piece of cake after going against the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders enough so many times, yet this Genetic Constraint is killing me.

Aqua: It probably is. Like I said before your genetics are breaking down and you are only standing because of your Cell Vitality and Immunization Strength being so high due to being part Ghoul. If not then I bet you wouldn't be able to stand on your own.

Shin: It is nice to know that I'm lucky.

Aqua: You definitely are. We only have one battle left and if it is juat one more time in Unlocked Mode then you should be okay, but is there anything specifically wrong with you?

Shin: I might have over done it with the last Soul Crushing Strike that I used to kill the Btooom Commander. My right hand feels... Numb, if not almost completely paralyzed, but it isn't anything to worry about.

Aqua: How is that not something to worry about?

Shin: It is my none dominant hand, so I can still fight. Also, if I do end up going into that state again I might be able to force it to move before it all becomes useless flesh.

Aqua: Well, hopefully you won't have to push yourself too hard. I don't know how powerful this Ryuta Sakamoto is, but with me there and fully rested you can leave your back to me. Rest assured.

Shin: I don't know how I feel about my girlfriend protecting me from the big bad final boss, but thank you anyway.

Aqua: I am not your girlfriend. Also, if it makes you feel better you can take a BIM to the face for me to prove your manly pride.

Shin: Sure, yet I'll rather not. One near death BIM explosion is enough for one mission.

Aqua laughed at Shin and to his surprise sneaky grabbed his hand. Shin was overjoyed by this show of affection on her part, yet...

Shin: Can't you hold my other hand that is not numb to the touch of a beautiful women?

Aqua: No. If I used your other hand you would enjoy it so much and would lose control and attack me here and now.

Shin: Come on! I promise thst I won't. This is just torture.

Aqua: Nope.

Shin: ...Sadist.

Aqua: What was that?

Shin: Nothing! Nothing at all.

Shin and Aqua were enjoying themselves so much at that time that neither realized that Hikari was watching them from across the room. She had a complicated expression on her face, yet she never intervened. Then the party came to an end soon after.

Day 7 and the day of the decisive battle, 2:58 A.M.

At this time most of the members of Team Japan were asleep after an exhausting day. The only one up was Zero who was on look out duty. While so far the enemy has always arrived around noon with the supply drops, but with the earlier fear Shin once held, that the mission never stated when the enemy arrives they needed at least one of them to be up and on look out duty.

With the exception of Aqua and Shin who needed as much rest as possible for the final battle, Saki, Kampa, Zero, Hikari and Misaki drew lots to see who would keep watch at night in two hour interval. Saki's turn finished almost an hour ago, so it was the second turns person, Zero to keep watch for any enemy moment.

The rain had lighten up by this time, so Zero was able to see the surrounding area and night sky to some extent, and for a assassin who specializes in sniping it was good enough. Zero was even given cutting-edge binoculars by the veteran Players group, so he was well equipped to spot any enemy moving in the middle of the night. It was as he was thinking that he should only have one more hour left on his shift that something caught his eye.

In the night sky as the clouds were parting and the light of the moon was beginning to illuminate the island Zero saw a plane flying towards the island. Zero became immediately suspicious about the plane.

Zero: Is that a stealth plane?

It wasn't more about the time of day that it currently was, but how it approached the island.

The plane was much smaller then any of the cargo planes that they seen so far and it made almost no sound as it flew through the dark skys. It was also painted a dark grey, so in the rain and darkness, if it had been anyone other then Zero who was on guard, including Shin and Aqua with their enhanced vision, no one who have spotted the stealth plane approaching the island.

When the plane was finally flying over the island Zero saw something jump out of the plane and the plane itself fell into the sea. Soon as that something jumped out of the plane, descending 5,000 feet and touched groud on the island there was a surprisingly moment within Zero's own base.

Not less then ten seconds passed by and someone had arrived on top of the building where Zero was on watch. Covered in sweat and with a look of upmost seriousness in her eyes was Aqua.

Aqua: Zero! We are getting out of here. Whatever this is has already spotted us and is moving towards us at a inhuman speed!

Then coming out the front entrance of the base in a panic with as serious look on his face was Shin.

Shin was just asleep till not fifteen seconds ago on a couch and suddenly he was wide awake and had run out the base. Shin had felt the same killing intent as Aqua, that something very, very dangerous had arrived to the island and everyone here was already spotted by the enemy.

What Shin and Aqua had felt wasn't just a new enemy's arrival to the island, but a radar scan that covered the entire island. But what was different this time was that no one other then Shin and Aqua had felt it. It was in fact a radar scan that doesn't alert the other parties that they have been spotted by the enemy. It was a cheat like ability, but as it was only held by the one and only one enemy, so it didn't violate God's shitty sense of fairness in the least.

Shin: If I wasn't so sensitive to these things I would have missed it, yet... What is this oppressive feeling that I'm am getting. Far more so then any of the Btooom Soldiers or Btooom Commanders when I first felt them, this feeling of death and terror is many times more stronger.

The last time Shin was so overwhelmed by an enemy presence he was too controlled by his fear to do anything else but run away, but now after all his battle experience with the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commmaders he was able to act to welcome the enemy. But still...

Shin: What is this guy? If it wasn't still so far away I might have already gone into Unlocked Mode due to fear. Is this... Really the final boss Ryuta Sakamoto?

Hikari: Shin!

Shin: Hikari, and everyone else too.

Aqua and Zero had begun to wake everybody up, told them of the potential danger and they all agreed to leave. Most of them weren't used to a night battle, so they would be disadvantaged if they fought the enemy before sunrise. After quickly packing away anything of importance they ran out the front and into Shin who was already outside.

Shin: Aqua. Do you think think that its him?

Aqua: Yeah. No doubt about it. This has to ne the final boss of this mission that we must defeat to complete the Main Quest before today's end, Ryuta Sakamoto!

Saki: I don't have such a sensitivity to danger like you two, but are you sure that it is Ryuta Sakamoto.

Aqua: Who else could it be? This is already Day 7.

Hikari: I think she means that something is strange. I've heard about the Manga Btooom from Shin and Saki, so I have to agree that something doesn't match up.

Misaki: Like what?

Shin: You mean that Ryuta despite being the MC, is still a normal human in the Manga?

Saki: That is right. Ryuta Sakamoto is a very skilled, if not the best Btooom player in the world, but he is still human. If we look at his abilities in the Manga and compare it to the danger that you and Aqua feel, then it doesn't match. Maybe Ryuta could defeat a single Btooom Soldier with his skills, but the Btooom Commander and an entire unit of enemies that have been coming to the island every day since Day 2... I don't feel that he possess that much of a threat to us from what you told us about him.

Shin: True... But we havd been dealing with the Btooom Soldiers and Commanders who wete not in the original story, so maybe-

Aqua: Whatever the case, we need to stop analyzing the situation and get out of here. Ryuta Sakamoto or whatever it is, it is moving extremely fast through the jungle and heading our way.

Saki: Alright. Lets retreat. The inside of the base is perfect to fight with BIM and sneak attacks, but our enemy may have the power to bring down the whole building with a single BIM being a last boss and all. I don't like it, but we should abandon this place. Is anyone marked by the enemy by the way?

We all looked at ou IC Chips and confirmed with each other.

Shin: No. My Chip is still the same blue as always.

Aqua: Nope.

Hikari: Not this time.

Misaki: Not me.

Kampa. I am good.

Zero: No.

Shuai: All fine here.

Saki: Great. Looks like this long distance radar scan that Aqua warned us about can't mark us. For the time being lets runaway. If after an hour or so the enemy keeps chasing we will stop running and face the enemy despite the disadvantages before our condition gets too bad.

Shin: Alright everyone. Lets go!

The rain had picked up again as they made their escape into the dark and raining jungle.

Shin and Aqua were placed in the rear to respond to any surprise attack and Misaki and Kampa lead the group further into the jungle. In the middle Hikari and Saki were helping Shuai whose foot was injured in an earlier fight keep up witht he group.

Shin kept looking back to see something, but it was no good. The jungle was tooo dark for him to possibility see. He was jealous of Aqua who had enhancements that could allow her to see and act in the dark, having the Werewolf bloodline and Wolverine mutation. Shin had all but given up trying to spot the enemy, and that is when it happened.

In the time of a split second, a streak of lightning lit up the entire island and in that instant Shin spotted what he thought to be the enemy.

On top of a hill over 5000 meters away stood a lone figure. Shin couldn't make out this person's appearance, yet Shin had felt such a feeling of death and dread from the that figure that he almost went into Unlocked Mode due to fear.

Shin tried his hardest to suppress that feeling because he knew if he did that would be the end. His Unlocked Mode, no matter how helpful it is, was breaking down his body and the next time he went into that state he knew it would be the last. Even if he didn't die right away he would lose his ability to fight for the remainder of the mission. They were currently running away, so he didn't want to go into that mode and waste it now when the enemy was so far away.

This turned out to be the right call for the team and Shin himself, but a mistake at the same time for one of the members of Team Japan. If Shin had gone into Unlocked Mode then he could have reacted in time for what was about to happen next.

The figure in the distance, not with a BIM Launcher or any other tool, threw a BIM at 500 MPH from over 5000 meters and it struck one of the members of Team Japan, and Shin who couldn't react in time to do anything could only watch in horror.

Zero: Ghaaaaaa!

To Shin's shock a 1300°C Flammable Oil Splashing Flame BIM struck Zero's upper body and was set on fire. Kampa and a limping Shuai quickly put the fire burning him out, yet Zero was critically wounded.

Shin: Zero!

Hikari: Is, is he alright!?

Kampa: It isn't good, but he's not dead yet. It isn't good to move him carelessly through the jungle in case of infections, but we have no choice. Saki or Hikari help me out.

Shin: Alright! Let's-

Aqua: Shin!

Then as Kampa and Hikairi were caring the burned Zero it happened again.

The next enemy attack came. A Cracker BIM was thrown by the enemy and aimed at Shin this time and he was unable to react as he was distracted by Zero's injuries. Right as the Cracker BIM could strike his face though, Aqua grabbed it and it detonated within her hands.

Shin: Aqua! Are you...

Aqua I'm fine! Thanks to covering my hands in Aura it is only a light flesh wound, but damm this guy is a monster to throw BIM so fast and over this distance. Is he even human.

Aqua was right to complain.

The enemy had thrown that BIM with such speed, range and precision that you could call it true sniping and it raised the danger of BIM battles up to a new level.

Thankfully, Aqua had caught the BIM to save Shin, but she didn't come out of it completely unharmed. She called it a mere flesh wound, yet a lot of her flesh was almost blown off. Her hand was still usable, but even with the protection of Aura, if she didn't have strong adamantium covered bones and the genetics of a Werewolf the impact would have broken, if not blown her hand off.

Saki: Aqua can you see the enemy? It is too dark and the rain is obstructing sight as well.

Aqua: I can see him clearly through this darkness. One, if not both of my genetic enhancements may be allowing me to spot and sense the enemy.

Shin: Lucky you. I can only spot a figure in the distance when there is lightning cutting through the skys.

Saki: ...Aqua, could you-

Aqua: You don't have to manipulate me to do so, so stop Saki. I'll fight the enemy alone. You all escape by yourselves.

Shin: Alone? Why!? If we have to fight, then I'll-

Aqua: You can't come with me. I have to go to put pressure on the enemy, or the enemy will continue to snipe us with BIM till we all die as we are running away. Some one has to distract the enemy. Also, you won't be much help if you can't even protect yourself then how to you expect to help me and not be an liability in a fight. Just focus on protecting yourself and the others as you make your escape. If you come with me shin we could definitely win, but more than likely everyone else will die!

Shin: ...

Aqua: Don't be that way. I'm not going to die, but...

Shin: But?

Aqua: But... You will be absolutely be jealous afterwards over the amount of Points and rank rewards that I'll get for defeating the big bad final boss alone. 6000 Points and B rank reward. If you thought I was sexy with B rank Wolverine and Werewolf mutation, then you will lose yourself after seeing me when we get back to the Terminal Lobby.

After saying this Aqua disappeared into the darkness of the jungle in the middle of the rain. Shin wanted to desperately go after her, but if he left the others they would certainly die if something else happens in their current condition, so he didn't.

Then morning came.

They found a place to hide out and not only did the mission not end like they had hoped, but Aqua had yet to return as well. Ryuta Sakamoto was not defeated last night and Aqua's whereabouts are unknown. It was the worst possible situation to greet the morning sun of the final Day 7.


	51. Chapter 51

Late morning of the final Day 7.

After the surprise attack by the enemy last night, Aqua never came back. To hold off the enemy she stayed behind while the rest of us escaped. Aqua was our most experienced Player and also the strongest one amongst us all. Maybe the newbies didn't have that much confidence in her, but for Hikari, Misaki and I she was our pillar of support in our very first mission in High School of the Dead, so not having her around was a heavy blow for us.

Also, in last night's battle Zero was critically injured. Saki who had medical experience told us... That it was very unlikely that he would make it. We had hemostasis spray and medical kits, but what we had on hand wasn't enough to save his life from such server burns.

This news along side Aqua's disappearance had a clear effect on our group morale. Since we were able to find temporary shelter and set up a camp of sorts, we couldn't find the motivation to do anything. Not to look for Aqua, find some miracle cure for Zero or just to find the final boss Ryuta Sakamoto and kill him already to end the mission which would answer all of our problems.

That was what I wanted to do, but my guilt for not going into Unlocked Mode was weighing on my heart. If only I had hone into Unlocked Mode I could have reacted in time to save Zero.

It was at this time that my turn to look after Zerk arrived. The one before me, Hiakri, when I passed her she told me that Zero was conscious and I should speak to him. Saki also informed us that doing so could keep him alive for as long as possible since human contact is a wonderful medicine of its own. I was worried more about Aqua then Zero honestly, but I could see Zero, so I went over and talked to him.

Shin: How are you doing... Is probably a stupid question to ask, right?

Zero: Your are right about that... I can tell that I am nearing my end.

Shin: Don't say that. If... If we defeat Ryuta soon we can-

Zero: Don't! I know you have to face him today, but you shouldn't charge in recklessly. Have Saki come up with a plan and- *Cough**Cough**Cough**Cough**Cough**Cough**Cough**Cough**Cough**Cough*...

Zero went into a long coughing fit. Hearing him on his death bed reminded me of the time wereebbI almost died at the end of H.O.T.D, yet at that time Aqua saved me. Now, he was in pretty much the same situation I was, but I was powerless and could do nothing.

Shin: ...

Zero: Shin... Will you listen to me for a bit.

Shin: Of course. I already failed as the so called leader by letting Saki take command and let you and Aqua get hurt in my place. The least... The least I can do is that.

Then zero began his telling his back story. It was once again more interesting then mine own, and like Saki's it was out there... But more in a weird way.

Zero: I... Have a little brother, but... He is also a girl... but he's also my little brother.

Shin: ...What?

According to Zero, he was born in a family belonging to an Chinese mafia in America. When he was was fifteen years old, his father was killed, the mafia was annexed by another mafia and his mother went and became the woman of that mafia's boss, who was also a Chinese American.

Zero couldn't forgive her.

As far as he was concerned his mother betrayed him and betrayed his father. Then with rage in his heart Zero felt he had to seek revenge. He his identity for over ten years and trained the skills as an assassin... And then... he went back.

Zero: Sarcastically, that woman already died eight years ago but she gave birth to a boy for that man. And that man... Raised the boy as a girl to commemorate the woman. He grew up with long hair and wore dresses, just like a pretty little girl. And the most sarcastic thing was... I fell in love with him on first sight.

According to Zero ( Who either looked it up or went to therapy that obviously failed him ), in science they call it genetic sexual attraction. Two people who are blood related get attracted to each other instantly as a result of not growing up together and only finally meeting each other as adults. There are many cases of it happening ( I remember that my cousin who watches Law&Order: SVU once felt the need to tell about an episode about it for some reason ), but Zero never thought it would happen to him. Zeo couldn't forgive them or himself... So he fell back into what he knew best and so he kill them all.

Zero: The process was smooth. Mafias are not assassins. They can bully civilians, but give me a sniper rifle and enough distance, I won't be afraid of anyone... However after I killed him and my little brother, I found a diary that belonged to that woman. In it she wrote about my father, mother herself, that man I killed... And that my little brother was actually my father's child. She was already pregnant that year and she passed away from depression after giving birth... But everything was already too late. Everything was already over... I pressed the button to activate a bomb on my computer that I had prearranged and also the YES button to God's message when it appeared not taking it seriously. Then I got transferred here.

Shin: ...

Zero: *Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*! I... I heard about the human creation of Misaki's. I... I thought that I could bring him, her back. That could I will try my best to live on... For her. Give her another chance at life. I wanted to protect her as her big brother like I shouod have! Watch her grow up, then... let nature take its course about him living as a male or female. Perhaps she isn't the little brother of my memory, but she could have been what I could live for.

Shin: Zero, what are you sayin? You can still live for her. Once we get back to the Terminal Lobby you will be able to make your own human. Misaki even made and brought back his girlfriend with his memories of her. You can do the same thing and bring back your brother or sister, or whatever, but first you have to live through this. I may not have known you for long and I hadn't been the best comrade, but I can change. I'll become stronger, so won't you give me another chance to show you that I can have your back, and you can have my back as well. I also haven't seen your sniping skills yet either... As my comrade don't die on me and everyone else.

Zero smiled, but didn't say anything for a while. I thought that maybe he had gone to sleep... Or worse. I got up seeing as there really wasn't anything that I could do for him and my time was also up. I would let Saki look after him in my place as she was next. And on my way out I heard Zero speak.

Zero: Shin.. You are a good guy. A fine man despite your age and tendency to go off about mangas and anime. I... I wished we could have fought to the end, to death with a brother in arms in this mad world, yet it looks like it came to soon for us. Well, that is life as well and... This was a much better way to die then I originally planned back in the real world, having made some last minute friends and comrades and all, so... Thank you.

Shin: ...I haven't done anything worth thanking me for.

I didn't say anything more after that and nor did Zero, and so I left and had Saki look over Zero.

A few hours later after meeting with Zero one last time, the remaining five members of Team Japan met... Shin, Hikari, Misaki, Saki, Kamap and Shuai came together to discuss their next and perhaps final plan of action for the reminder of Day 7.

Saki: I believe it is in our best interest to attack the final enemy Ryuta Sakamoto now.

Shin: Your right, but there is still some time left in the day. Do you mean right now?

Saki: Yes. we need to not only fight this last boss, but also find him before it gets too dark. I am sure that none of you here want to have another go at him the the darkness of the night, do you?

Kampa: I agree with Saki. Not enough of us are skilled for fighting a night battle. We have even avoided them so far through Day 1-6, so none of you have the experience either. It would just leave us all to getting wiped out against this level of opponent.

Hikari: So in the end, our dead line is not midnight tonight for the final execution, but sundown. That leaves us with... Five to six hours, maybe seven at the latest. If we also have to find him then Saki is right, we don't have the time to waste here.

Saki: Now that we are agreed we will leave immediately to find Ryuta Sakmoto, but we need to address one last issue before we go... Who is stay here and look after Zero and who is going to participate in the final battle?

Everyone's minds blanked out all for a second to process what Saki said, but they soon understood what she meant. None of them believed that Saki meant who would look after the wounded Zero. She herself said that he wouldn't make it, so the issue at hand here was how many of them could continue to fight and not be a liability to the team.

Shin - Their strongest close range fighter who has unlocked the Genetic Constraint, but Ki not at full capacity.

Hikari - A good shot and isn't injured, but not that really physical strong.

Misaki - Strong and has defeated Btooom Soldiers, but had lost an arm in an explosion. Is able to move about, but has been going in and out of a fever for some time after their quick escape through the rain and jungle.

Saki - Smart and healthy.

Kampa - A skilled mercenary and in perfect shape.

Shuai - An average joe who had sprained his leg the day before and is worn out from running for his life for two days.

Saki: Looking over at us all, Misaki and Shuai are the most injured and it is questionable if they can help. Hiakri can shoot a gun, but is pretty normal over all. I myself am no great soldier but I have gone through the training and I am an excellent marksman as well. Kamap is a skilled mercenary who may be in the best condition among all of us. Lastly, Shin is our only hope to defeat Ryuta since after Aqua as he is the only one who can keep up with them.

Shin: How do you know that I can match up with the enemy?

Saki: Well, it is better to think that you can than you can't, Shin. It's because if you can't then we have no hope of winning the coming battle. Your participation is an absolute variable for us to come out alive.

Shin: Great.

Saki: Don't worry. Myself, and hopefully Kamap will come along to give you support fire. Our bullets and the few BIM we have left may not injury the opponent at all, but at the very least we will serve as an distraction to the enemy.

Shin: That is... Reassuring. Well Kampa are you fine with this? I'll say it upright here and now. I won't lie to you. You, Saki and anyone else including me will possibly die in this battle.

Kamap: Don't worry. Even if it is dangerous I would rather face it then hide here in the jungle. Besides, it's not even an option for me not to participate since I can still move. No matter how many Chips that we have now, we will all be killed by midnight tonight due to the very last Midnight Execution! This is our last battle with our fates on the line, so how can I miss it?

Saki: That is three down ( Not even asking me ). Now... What about you three.

Saki then looked towards Hiakri, Misaki and Shuai. They then immediately answered Saki, and one of the three answers matched up with what Shin expected to hear.

Hikari: I am coming along.

Misaki: I am going.

Shuai: I'll stay behind.

Shuai explained his reason for staying. He was an average man, can't really shoot a gun skillfully, had no a BIM left and had hurt one of his leg, greatly lowering his maneuverability. Shuai had also badly hurt his hands when they were putting out Zero who had caught on fire. If he came he would only get in the way and so he will volunteer to look after Zero even if it was unlikely that he will make it. .

Misaki who had lost an arm and was getting worse now that he had a fever said he would go no matter what. It wasn't that he thought he could do much more then being distraction, but he didn't want to sit on his ass while the others fight so he wants in. Shin understood Misaki well enough now that he was the head strong type not willing to wait around for danger and death.

Some of them were still worried about his fever, but Saki said that if they pump him full of whatever medicine that they hadn't used on Zero yet then he should be fine for one last battle. It is a real possibility that all this medicine could become fatal later on, but if what she heard from the veterans is true then God can heal him before anything bad happens to him. They just had to win this last battle first to return to the Terminal Lobby where God is of course.

With those two settled on...

Shin: So why do you want to go? You won't be much help, so can't you wait here with Shuai?

Hikari: The same can be said for Misaki and he is going.

Shin: We are only bring him because if we left him behind he would run after us and mess things up.

Misaki: Hey!

Hiakri: You have nothing to worry about from me. I won't do anything stupid like Misaki here. I just want to see this battle through to the end after everything we have been through.

Misaki: Can you stop-

Shin: Shut up Misaki we are talking. Now Hikari, that doesn't change thing. You still won't be able to help out much, if at all. I would want to stay behind here if I wasn't needed or if I was you.

Hiakri: ...I am fine staying on the sidelines and not taking part in the final battle.

Shin: Then why do you want to come along?

Hiakri: It is for Aqua. I don't believe that she is dead after last night's enemy raid. She must just be injured somewhere on the island and is resting. It is impossible for someone like Aqua to die so easy... And she is important to you, right? You can leave her to me!

Shin: Hikari... Alright. Fine you can come along. Just try and stay out of danger.

Shin was happy that the first person who mentioned Aqua, Hiakri had said that she should still be alive, and not dead like the others had believed. Even Shin himself had somewhere in his heart had half given up, but those words renewed his faith that Aqua was alive and that they could all live through this. Shin honestly felt that and just to here those words from Hikari now, helping her to stay alive up to this point despite all the dangers and when logic dictated that it would be better to abandon her, he definitely felt that it was worth it.

After a quick strategy session at the camp they all left to the final battle of the mission.

On the way they did make an attempt to find Aqau so as to add her to the groups battle potential, yet so far there has been no progress on that front. It was when depression and tiredness was plain to see on Shin's face, Hikari approached him.

Hikari: Shin. How are you feeling?

Shin: How am I? The best I am going to feel till this mission is over and done with.

Hikari: It isn't a big deal and there is nothing wrong with it, but you don't seem to be enjoying yourself like you did in H.O.T.D, Shin. Is it because of the danger?

Shin: There is that, but it might of been that with the main characters on our side back then, I ended up feeling like I was one them and I knew the plot well on top of everything else, so... I ended up having a lot of fun being apart of the story. This mission is just God trying to wipe us out as far as I am concerned. Also, this mission has me depressed for a lot of reasons, but first and foremost it showed me that I was lacking in a lot of ways. I managed to get this far out of sheer luck, but if I had a firmer grasp of my Ki and my Ghoul mutation we wouldn't have all suffered as much. If I had mastered them and was capable of unlocked this Genetic Constraint at will on top of my other abilities then Zero and Aqua wouldn't-

Hikari: That is enough Shin. You have done the best that you could have, haven't you? You were and still are a stupid otaku, but you have done so much more then Misaki and I. This doesn't just include this mission Btooom, but our first mission in H.O.T.D as well. Back there the two of us couldn't really react to what was going on and just went with the flow and followed Aqua's instructions when she handed them out, yet you didn't. You fought with the best of them as a normal high school student, never stopped thinking, way on how to improve the situation and above all else you made your own choices.

Shin: A lot of bad ones.

Hikari: I don't know about that and maybe you did, but it was something that Misaki and I were incapable of. We weren't able to take chances and make decisions for or own lives due to fear. We are still kids in a way. Even now... Even with a smart planner like Saki with us and a powerful pillar of support like Aqua with us, Misaki and I, even if he doesn't admit it see you as our leader.

Shin: Leader, huh?

Hikari: Yes, so that is why cheer up already and start acting like your otaku self again. Make stupid comments, sexually harsh girls ( When did I ever do that? ) and never stop believing that you can't overcome anything this world has to offer. Manag, Anime, Visual Novel, games and Light Novels. Heaven or Hell, this is your dream world, right? Your at your best when you are being you, so stop acting like a serious manga protagonist.

Shin: I kinda want to be a manga-

Hikari: You aren't cut out for it, so just be yourself. If you do I bet that if we meet an author on one of these Missions Worlds one day they would do anything to write a light novel about your life.

Shin: Wouldn't that be an autobiography?

Hikari: He'll fuge some details.

Shin: Hey, your talking about my life story here!

Hikari: Not my problem.

Shin: ...Really, middle school girls are the worst.

As we continued our search to find Ryuta Sakmoto, and hopefully we cross paths with Aqua, Shin thought about the coming battle and his current condition.

Shin: ( This is bad. Can I really make it through this day ).

Shin had been hiding his true condition from the others. He was their only hope of coming through this final battle alive, so he couldn't tell them the others that just standing and moving like he was, was taking everything that he had.

The truth was that Shin was reaching his limits physically. Not because he was tired, but because he was hitting the limits of his genetics. Like Aqua had predicted, because he had unlocked his Genetic Constraint, his genetics are breaking down slowly, but surely and he was dying. Before now what had been keeping him going was the healing factors of Ki and his Ghoul mutation, but that was coming to an end after going into the Unlocked Mode three time since Day 2.

It began yesterday when Shin's right hand that he used for his last Soul Crushing Strike to kill the Btooom Commander. It had started to become numb, but now his entire right arm was nearly completely immobile. His arm could move a little, but he wouldn't be able to hold a gun or make a fist to atack with it any more if he isn't in Unlocked Mode.

Additional, Shin had become extremely fatigued all of a sudden and was beginning to black in and out of consciousness and could barley walk straight, but he was doing his best to make it to the final battle. Shin was confident that if he goes into Unlocked Mode one last time he would die soon after from his genetics breaking down, but in that last sprint towards death he would be able to fight one last time at full strength. Afterwards... If he doesn't get healed by God in the Terminal Lobby he would die way before the final Midnight Execution ever could.

Shin: ( Once more. If it is only one more time then I can do it. I'll win and we will all go home! ).

Then, the time of the decisive battle came.

The five of them moving together as a group had all gathered eight chips, so their radars were especially wide and covered large areas in their sonar sweeps. And Shin's radar, who had gain seven NPC Chips, seven Btooom Soldier Chips and two Btooom Commander Chips had the greatest range of all. With just a few hours of walking around the island their radars were able to cover the entire island, and they picked up a response.

There were only two possibilities now that all the NPCs and newbie Players hace died on the island. It could only either be Team Japan's final opponent Ryuta Sakamoto or their teammate Aqua.

Of course this didn't mean that one of the them had perished, meaning Aqua since the mission had yet to end. Their radar scans only pick up moving targets, so if Aqua was not dead but alive, but just not moving then they wouldn't have picked her up in any of their scans.

A half hours of walking later they had found their answer as to who it was. In a large clearing Shin, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa and Saki, the five of them had run into enemy. Long before even arriving Shin could feel the danger as they were coming closer and closer to the final enemy, and there he was... But deep down he was still wishing that it was Aqua, but no, it was the enemy that they must defeat.

The last boss of the Btooom mission given to them by God, and the one they had to defeat for the second mission to come to a close and return to the Terminal Lobby,

Ryuta Sakamoto.

Sitting crossed legged on the other side of the clearing from Team Japan as if they were keeping him waiting . Not hiding or taking any kind of defensive action yet. He just sat there.

Shin: Hikari.

Hikari: I know what you want to say, but no.

Shin: So you won't leave after all?

Hikari: Of course. I had yet to find Aqua, so how can I do nothing when the one we must defeat to live is right there? So for good or bad, I'll stick with you to the end.

Shin: What are you my wife?

Hikari: Wife!? As, as if baka otaku!

Shin smiled foolishly as Hikari hit him, but inwardly he was worried. Hikari's punch didn't even faze him, so he had to wonder how long will she last in this fight, yet he didn't tell her to leave. The reason he didn't was because whether now or later, this battle was going to decide if they leave this island alive or not. The smart thing might really be to face this head on like Hikari believes.

Shin: When did I become so protagonist like? This mission must have really matured me.

Hikari: Like that is possibke, and shut up Shin. This is the final battle remember?

Saki: Cool it you two. We are going to meet him head on, so remember the plan.

Shin: But more importantly stay alive everyone. There isn't any point to this if any of us die.

Saki: We can only give it out all, but be prepared that chances are that most, if not all of us may die.

Hikari: ...

Misaki: ...

Kampa: ...

Shin: ...Lets go. This is the final battle everyone!

They steady walked to up to the clearing without hiding since it was obvious that the enemy had spotted them a long time ago. When they were directly ahead of the enemy without stepping into the clearing yet they could clearly see what their last opponent looked like.

Btooom Lord, Ryuta Sakamoto.

Ryuta Sakamoto wore a sleek black armor resembling the BIMs they had used and had the words 'BTOOOM LORD' engraved on the chest that wasn't visable at night during his attack, and just like the other enemies so far he was wearing a helmet that covered his face. No one could see his human face underneath, but Team Japan were didn't need to see his face to kill him, and so he finally stood up and stared at them... Waiting for the battle to commence.

Shin: Is he injured?

Shin noticed countless cuts in Ryuta, the Btooom Lord's armor.

The armor around the left hand/arm had been pealed off ( Unfortunately the BIM attachment was a belt this time and not connected to the arm ) and three small adamantiume claw sized holes had pierced into the enemy's chest. There were all clear signs that this enemy had really fought with Aqua last night and it wasn't a fight that he got out of unscathed, yet... Shin felt that something was very off about this foe but he couldn't pinpoint the cause for this feeling.

Shin: I don't know what this ominous feeling is... But I am glad about one thing. I am happy that Dead or Alive, Aqua had put up a hell of a fight. Those injuries are proof of her struggles and our hope that this enemy is beatable. Aqua, she has gotten us half way there to the finish line, so now in her stead, I will finish this battle once and for all!


	52. Chapter 52

\- TEAM SAKAMOTO, YOU WIN!

Ryuta: I really am unbeatable in BTOOOM, aren't I?

BTOOOM!

This game has sold over three million copies worldwide.

It is an online game that doesn't use guns, only bombs called BIM. You use eight types of bombs, or BIMs, as the situation dictates and use sonar to find enemies while remaining out of their sight. That is how you win this game.

Team Sakamoto 1: Btooom!

Team Sakamoto 2: Wow, Sakamoto...We are keeping up with the number two team in the world!

Ryuta: That is right. We are going to become number one in the world. Don't get satisfied here.

Team Sakamoto 1: Yes!

Team Sakamoto 2: Yeah!

In real life I am twenty-two, and I still don't have a job of my own and I am not in college either.

I hang around at home all day, or what others would call living the life of a NEET, but... In the World of BTOOOM! my strength is second to none. My greatness is recognized and I am truly peerless.

I was even able to get married... Though it was only within the game's virtual world of course, yet my feelings were definitely real for her. I was content. Here, in this wonderful place... It never dawned on me that I just used BTOOOM! as an outlet till it was too late.

Gemu: Ryuta, sorry for keeping you waiting for so long.

Ryuta: No problem. This is a job interview, so I can't really complain. I can only be grateful for this opportunity. Thank you for this chance.

Three months ago, the online BTOOOM! game went down for maintenance and was soon indefinitely shutdown.

There were many rumors going around that Tyrannos Japan was soon going to come out with the sequel for BTOOOM! which would have expanded combat and new types of BIMs. To the average gamer this would only be a minor inconvenience when they would soo be able to play a better game, but for those like me this time was nothing but despair.

Much like a professional gamer, I spent most of my days playing BTOOOM! with a passion, but with a new game or is it is discontinued there are problems. The game that I and the other top rankers played everyday was gone, so they had a lot of time on their hands.

Even though BTOOOM! wasn't a game you played for money, there was a void when it was gone. I spent all of my time and my youth on this game since it came out. Also, I wasn't a NEET in the game, but the greatest player in the world. Having lost both my passion and identity... And even having lost contact with my online wife, I was lost.

It was at this time of depression in my life that I received a phone call that I was waiting for since the beta test of Btooom! that I was a part of. Yes, it was the long awaited call from Tyrannos Japan about a job opening. At the time, I believed that this call was a godsend in my time of darkness.

That even if I had to stop playing games everyday, I could join society with my head raised high as an employee of the famous game company Tyrannos Japan. My mother when she heard this news cried and hugged me for the first time in a very long time and my step father congratulated me as well.

I... Only then did I realize how badly I was treating them, and I then swore to myself to do my best, find my own place, and let my mother enjoy her life with her new husband who had time for her unlike my father who loved work more then his own family.

Also... Maybe, just maybe if I can become successful enough and if I could meet her in real life... I could ask her to be my wife not just in virtual space, but in the real world as well. Heck, maybe start a family of my own with her as well. A family unlike mine where we each lived in our own worlds and had completely separate lives despite being one family who lived in the same house. I held those thoughts as I stepped into my dream company to acquire my dream job.

When I went in for my final interview I spokem with Gemu Shusaisha the game planner of Tyrannos Japan. I never liked him very much, but I showed my respect for him... At first. We were in the middle of talking about health and other benefits of the job when he brought up a special project that the company was working on. Yes, it was the real world BTOOOM! death game.

Gemu explained that they were going to kidnap unexpecting individuals who were out casted by their familys and peers and throw them on a tropical island in the south. On this island they would be given real BIM and radars that Tyrannos Japan were able to recreate from the game and with those, they will be made to fight against each other.

At first I thought this sickening plan was a joke or an idea for a realistic looking game, but as it turned out this was all real and that they have even just finished their third test trial on the island. This meant that people in the dozens, maybe even in the hundreds have already died for a game that would one day be revealed to the public.

And what anout me? Tyrannos Japan wanted me, one of the top BTOOOM! players in the world who lead the top rank Japanese team to look over the game and even participate in the game to gain a feel for it. I would also end the games by killing the players on the island when they wanted to move on to the next game. I was firmly against this plan or to even participate in this insane idea, but what Gemu said as I was about to walk out the door stopped me from leaving.

Gemu: Don't you want to return to your throne?

Ryuta: What do you mean?

Gemu: I mean what I said. Without BTOOOM! you are just another NEET and if you leave this building you would have no choice but to continue that life... All without Btooom to take pride in.

Ryuta: What is your point? Even if that is true I won't become a murder!

Gemu: Then don't think of it like murder. You are just playing your beloved Btooom! game again. Just for real this time. As you help us discover bugs within the game you will play BTOOOM! for real. Not staying behind a computer screen as just a NEET, but as the true, peerless warrior that you thought yourself to be. Yes! You will become the king, no the lord who reigns over the real world BTOOOM! game. Btooom Lord, Ryuta Sakamoto!

Ryuta: ...

The truth was that I was a weak man and with the loss of my favorite game and being jobless... I choose to accept this offer. I had already told my parents that I basically had a job already and would be soon moving out. To tell them now that he came back home empty... They would either be disappointed in me once more... Or give me one of those fake smiles as they tell me to try again, but just to aim lowerer next time.

Ryuta: ...I, I'll accept this offer for now. If your game is boring, I'll just go to the cops later.

Gemu: I don't think they would bother with us for certain reasons, but feel free to leave if you are disappointed, but I doubt you will be disappointed with this game. IT IS BTOOOM AFTER ALL!

And that's how it happened.

So I sold my soul to live my life as a king who reigns over the island where BTOOOM! is played in the real world. As the Btooom Lord Ryuta Sakaoto, I will reign over the island of the death game, and in exchanged I'll offer up my body, mind, soul and all of my humanity if I had any left.

Ryuta: I had nothing else in my life other than this. This was the right choice. It was right, wasn't it... Himiko?

\- Flash Back, Day 7, before leaving camp.

Saki: Alright everyone. Lets go over the strategy once before we depart. It isn't complicated, so it only meeds to be said once.

Back before Team Japan left to search for Btooom Lord Ryuta Sakamoto and Aqau if she was alive, they had a strategy session to figure out their roles. Normally, they should have gone over their plans dozen times for good measure since when your lives are on the line and you can't ever be too cautious, but they had so few cards to play that there wasn't any point. The attack group only had Shin, Hikari, Misaki, Saki and Kampa, and half of them were injured after all

Saki: Kampa, you will locate all of the enemies hidden BIM and shot them so they go off to cause them to malfunction or detonate them early so they are not a threat.

Kampa: Leave it to me. My mercenary days aren't for nothing. I can spot a landmine, in this case a Remote BIM buried underground even if six months have passed since they were set. I can also set some off so that they will hit the enemy when he is least expecting it.

Saki: That is better then what we could have ever hoped for. The enemy will definitely lay some traps for us. Very likely in the enemy's battle with Aqua he was badly hurt. There is no other explanation as to why he has yet to attack us without our strongest member present. If he is anything like me he would have definitely set up traps where he is resting incase we attack him. If we allow the enemy the terrain advantage then we have no hope of winning. That is after Shin, Kamap will be are most important asset in this final battle.

Hikari: What about us?

Hikari meant Misaki and herself. Between the five of them, Hiakri and Misaki were at the end of the line battle potential wise. One had lost an arm and the other was only slightly stronger than average girl.

Saki: If you two should decide to join us then you will be given a responsibilitys as well. You will run around.

Misaki: Just that?

Saki: Yes, and if you can try to shoot the enemy as well. You two will run around in areas that Kamap has deemed safe and distracted the enemy with your moments and attacks, while doing your all to avoid his attacks. Even if the enemy sees you as insignificant threats to him, but if you keep it up long enough the enemy will pay you more attention and if we are lucky he will slip up when he does.

Hikari: I am fine with that, but... Isn't that acting as bait?

Shin: ...

Misaki: ...

Saki: I won't say that it isn't, you don't have to stare daggers into me. Your roles can be said to be nonessential at best. If you feel yourselves getting tired or are in to much danger to continue feel free to run away into the jungle. It is also fine not to come back, but if you do then try to stay hidden as you attack. This will give the enemy even more pressure. Just don't force yourself to do too much and make a mistake that will cost all of us our lives. This is the most important part that I must stress.

Misaki: Alright!

Hikari: Ok.

Saki then turned towards Shin, their ace combatant.

Saki: Shin, your role is something that you should already know, but let me say it out loud anyways. You will defeat the enemy, Ryuta Sakamoto.

Shin: You make it sound so simple.

Saki: It has to be because we have no other option. You are the only one on the island now ( Killing off the red haired veteran already, aren't you? ) who can win over the enemy. Kampa will take care of the Remote Control BIM, Misaki and Hikari will distract the enem and you, and you Shin will defeat Ryuta in a one on one close range battle. Use your speed technique to close in on the enemy and hammer in that offensive technique of yours. I don't understand the full capacity of the enemy's abilities, but your speed is clearly a cut above conventional opponents and the power of that Soul Crushing Strike shattered the armor of the Btooom Commander and killed him in in one blow. No matter how advance Tyrannos Japan's technology is here in this world I can't imagine that they have taken into account to put in defenses for Ki attacks.

Shin: So I'll rush in like a fool, throw punches wildly like a moron and if one hits then we'll win? Simple, yet I see no flaws with the plan. So what will you do Saki? Command from the rear or help Kampa?

Saki: No, I am no coward who hides behind others without reason. My own role will be to take care of the BIM.

Shin: Take care of as in...

Saki: Shoot them down once thrown.

Shin: That is impossible! That guy throws BIM faster then a professional ace baseball pitcher. I doubt that I can keep avoiding them forever even in Unlocked Mode. He might even have a BIM Launcher that can fire BIM rapidly. How will you-

Saki: It is simple. I just have too. After Kamap, I am the best shoot and I am confident that I can successfully do it 7/10 times long as I can visual see the enemy making the motions to throw a BIM. And this isn't so much as for you, but the others. Kampa who is disarming hidden BIM, and Hikari and Misaki acting as bait are all in incredible danger. Without some kind of defense they will all be killed. In reality, only you have the power to face off against this final enemy. Our presence is merely to up the chances of your victory as much as possible. We are all depending and offering our lives for you.

Shin: Still, shouldn't I still go alone? If it is just me, I might be able to pull something off.

Saki: That isn't a good enough reason, Shin. Aqua isn't here, so we only have you. All of our roles are to give you a higher chance of surviving, and that is because if you die it is all over for us all. There will be no second chance even if we run away or regroup. We are betting everything on you. If you don't want us to die then defeat the enemy, Ryuta Sakamoto as fast as you can without dying.

Shin: ...I understand.

With that the plan was firmly set and the five of them left for the final battle.

\- The Final battle, Team Japan's five members vs Btooom Lord Ryuta Sakamoto. The battle between the two sides gauged each other for over a minute without making a move.

Both sides were injured from previous fights, so the one to make the first move had to be the one to gain the advantage in the battle without failing, or they will just be wasting precious energy that they couldn't. This stand still felt like it lasted for hours for those who were there, yet everything suddenly with a bang.

\- *BANG*!

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The one to make the first move was Team Japan's Russian mercenary and gunner Kamapa.

To the enemy Btooom Lord's surprise Kampa, dual wielding with two handguns was accurately shooting at the Remote Control BIM that he had set earlier as a trap for the Players. Shot after shot, Kampa's bullets hit the hidden BIM and they erupted from the earth in a fiery explosion.

Those Remote BIM that the enemy has set beforehand were a trump card for an emergency. He would have set them all off at once if he was ever pushed to far by the enemy. For his plan to be discovered so soon and was being undermined infuriated him.

Smoke from the continuous explosion of BIM detonated by Kamap covered the entire battlefield of the clearing, and as soon as Kampa was visible he had become the Btooom Lord first target. Half the BIM he had set were gone and he wouldn't let the other half go so easily.

Swiftly with practiced movement the Btooom Lord took out a Cracker BIM from his belt and was about to throw it when a gun shot from the other direction from Kampa hit the BIM in his hand and it went off.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The explosion didn't damage the Btooom Lord thanks to the armor he was wearing, but he was knocked off balance and his knee touched the ground.

Saki: Now!

Shin: Instant Movement!

Instant Movement.

Waiting for his chance and already in Unlocked Mode due to the immense pressure the enemy was giving off, Shin sprinted on top of the earth and through the clouds of smoke like a bullet. Moving with Instant Movement Shin had rushed to the enemy and was now in front of him.

Shin: Soul Crushing Strike!

Soul Crushing Strike.

Gathering Ki and perfectly syncing it with his physical body Shin's fist extended like a spear to strike down the Btooom Lord in one shot, yet it didn't go as planned. The enemy Btooom Lord was able to completely keep up with Shin's speed and saw/sensed the threat of his extending fist despite having no basis for it. He raised his good right hand and brought it to meet Shin's fist.

\- *CRASH*!

Shin: A miniature Barrier BIM!

To Shin's shock from the enemy's wrist deployed an energy shield to block his Ki attack. It wasn't as complete as the Barrier BIM, yet it had enough defensive power to allow the Btooom Lord to get away with just being blown away, yet not injured.

The Btooom Lord rolled backwards due to Shin's Ki attack but soon recovered and jumped backwards over 100 meters to escape Shin. Then in mid air he released a rain of BIM down on top of Shin. Shin escaped the large blast with Instant Movement, yet he was upset.

Shin: ( It should have been expected since he survived fighting Aqua, but he could really keep up with me while I am using using Instant Movement. And what not only does he have infinite BIM, probably all types as well, he has an energy shield as well ).

Shin analyzed the enemy capabilities and found that they really were leaps and bounds above the his previous enemies. Despite its sleek and small frame, the Btooom Lord's armor offered far more defense and power then the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders, and the armor had more gimmicks as well.

Shin: Really a lord of Btooom, huh? Shit, don't try acting cooler then me, Ryuta!

Shin renewed his attack, but was cut off by a sudden wall of Blazing Gas. Shin stopped before running into it, yet a cold chill went down his spine. His instincts were warning him to run for his life and he listened.

Shin then jumped back with Instant Movement to avoid what he knew was coming. The Btooom Lord took out the 1300°C Flammable Oil Splashing Flame BIM and threw it into the cloud of Blazing Gas, summoned the Barrier BIM around himself and watched. The 1300°C Flammable Oil Splashing Flame BIM detonated in the cloud of Blazing Gas and the area became a sea of red flames in a wide area explosion.

The Btooom Lord was fine thanks to the Barrier BIM protecting him, yet Shin was not so lucky. He avoid the flames, but the shock wave from the large blast impacted him and was blown away and fully out of control as he flew in the air. Then in a natsy landing Shin crashed into the far off jungle outside the battlefield.

A normal human would not have survived such a fall, but the Btooom Lord was taking no chances with Shin after he displayed such inhuman fighting capabilities without wearing a similar armor to his own. The Btooom Lord was about to take out more Blazing Gas and 1300°C Flammable Oil Splashing Flame BIM combinations to finish him off, but he was interrupted by Team Japan's attack.

From two different directions suppressive fire hit him. Hikari and Misaki who had so far not participated in the battle began their attack after seeing Shin blasted away into the distance. Believing and having no other choice but to believe that Shin was alive and would come back, the two of them attacked the Btooom Lord to stop him from attacking Shin again.

Unfortunately, like they already knew normal bullets and the like had no effect of the enemy Lords armor. It was unnecessary for him to even acknowledge such an insignificant attacks that didn't leave even a scratch on his armor, and the enemy calmly reacted to their attack.

Taking out serval dozen Homing BIM from his belt the Btooom Lord released them into the air and set them loose on Hiakri and Misaki. They had no means of counter attacking, so they could only run away. Then as they were about to land, a spray of bullets destroyed the Homing BIM coming after them.

Saki and Kamap who had better aim then the average person shoot down all the Homing BIM. Hiakri and Misaki were grateful, yet the situation had not changed, and was in fact even worse. The Btooom Lord now knew the position of all four of the remaining members of Team Japan, and planned to take them out once and for all.

The Btooom Lord could throw BIMs over 500 MPH, and with all of them so close and no obstructions in the way there was no hope that they could escape.

Shin: Is that what you believed asshole!

From up above the Btooom Lord and striking him with a flying kick to the head was Shin.

Shin recovered from the fall much faster then anyone expected and quickly returned to the battle. Shin didn't come out of the fall unscathed as his right arm was twisted badly ( Like Garden of Sinner's Shiki in her fight against the physic girl who could twist and bend things with her mind ), but Shin kept going despite the pain and loss of blood.

In Unlocked Mode Shin could tolerate/ignore his injuries and thanks to his One-eyed Ghoul mutation he could force himself to keep going despite injuries that would immobilize a normal human no matter how strong they were. Also, his right arm was never much use to him anyways and was glad that it wasn't his dominant left arm and hand.

Then Staying hidden and waiting for his chance Shin made his move once he he saw it. Gathering as much Ki as he could and using Instant Movement in combination, he jumped from the tallest tree that he could find and shot himself into the air and skys above. Shin was confident that the Btooom Lord wouldn't be expecting an aerial attack.

It was a shame that he couldn't atrack with Soul Crushing Strike, but his kick was still empowered with Ki Energy. That, on top of the gathered force of the kick from dropping down on the sky on the Btooom Lord's head did a lot of damage to the enemy.

The Btooom Lord was blown away by Shin kick and left side of his helmet was busted open. For the first time they were able to see the true face of the Btooom Lord after he pulled himself up from the ground. It was the face of the main character of BTOOOM!, Ryuta Sakamoto. The mission stated as such from the beginning, but this was the first time that they confirmed it was really him.

Shin: So we finally get to see the man under the mask. Your not ugly, but I still wished that my kick caved in your face.

Saki: What are you waiting for? The enemy is bluffing by standing up!

Saki assessment was correct.

Shin's kick to the head wasn't critical, yet had left him disoriented. Getting up was basically all he could do to stop Shin and the others from immediately following up an atrack, yet to his dislike Saki saw through it.

Hearing Saki's conclusion Shin sprinted to the Btooom Lord with Instant Movement and prepared the Soul Crushing Strike to defeat him once and for all, but the enemy surprised Shin again.

Shin was expecting and made plans to deal with a Barrier BIM or mini energy shield, yet the Btooom Lord in his desperation actually sent a punch of his own towards Shin.

The enemy's arms were slightly longer then Shin, so his fist hit a split second faster in the dual exchange striking his face and held enough force to make Shin's Ki attack miss his target.

Instead of a fatal blow to the head, Soul Crushing Strike struck the Btooom Lords shoulder. The blow was enough to distort the armor, yet it wasn't an absolute critical blow like it had been all the other times before when Shin's sure fire Ki attack skill landed.

There was a great difference in power between the two punches, yet they were both strong enough to blow Shin and the Btooom Lord back. The Btooom Lord then quickly used several Blazing Gas BIM as cover to avoid Shin coming after him, yet his concerns were unnecessary.

Shin had stopped in place after getting punched by Ryuta and and kept staring at his left hand that struck the Btooom Lord. Shin had felt that... Something off.

Shin: ( What is this? This strange felling... Whenever I use Ki to attack him, I feel a chill down my spine. I hit him, but I didn't at the same time ).

Shin felt like this was something gravely important, but he didn't have time to understand it even with his accelerated speed of thought in Unlocked Mode.

The Btooom Lord exited out of the fog of Blazing Gas recovered and ready to fight, and in his hands were two BIMs of unknown designs, different from the eight types of BIM that appeared in the manga and what Team Japan had used and fought against so far on the island.

Shin: A trump card in the final hour, huh? How protagonist like, but don't get full of yourself Ryuta. I still have one card left to play as well!

The appearance of the two new and unknown BIMs of origins received a response from Team Japan.

Saki, Kampa, Hikari and Misaki immediately began to shoot at the Btooom Lord. There bullets were completely ineffective against the enemys's armor as all the bullets were repelled. They knew this beforehand, but the point was was to distract the enemy to give their ace and hope, Shin a chance to attack.

Shin decided to ignore the odd feeling that he was having and charged at the enemy. Shin was carefully about a Blazing Gas BIM smokescreen like before, but he didn't worry about it as much. He remembered that he had once survived the Blazing Gas with minimal damge, and if he were to channel his Ki around his skin he was sure that he could get away with even less damge. There was worry of another large explosion due to a combination of BIMs, but long as he could exit the Blazing Gas and kill the Btooom Lord before he ignited the cloud then it was a needles concern.

To Shin's shock the Btooom Lord decided to ignore Shin. Jumping away from Shin's rush, in mid air he threw one of his two new BIM towards Hikari. The enemy's attention was to destroy Shin's support group who were making it impossible to kill Shin.

Saki tried shooting it down, but unfortunately she missed. Hikari was already running away out of fear by the time the BIM was drawing near her and when she was lucky enough to avoid a direct hit-

\- *HIGH PITCHED NOISE*!

The BIM detonated, yet there was no explosion right away.

Hiakri who was still running away turned back to see where the BIM had gone off, there was now a small white sphere of light contracting and expanding in the air, then three seconds later there was a wave of light spread in all directions and hit Hikari's back.

Gravity Pulse BIM.

Instead of an explosion, a BIM that released a shock wave that ignores solid objects and hits soft body targets. A perfect BIM to use when you opponent is hiding behind solid buildings and trees.

The wave hit Hikari as she was running amd she fell over in a nasty fall. Her body kept rolling around all the way into the far off jungle bushes. She hadn't died, but she had definitely suffered a head concussion and broken bones all around her body.

TEAM JAPAN - HIKARI UNABLE TO CONTINUE.

Shin: Hikari!

Shin who saw this and unable to do anything to save her, in a fit of rage ran to the Btooom Lord with Instant Movement and attacked with Soul Crushing Strike. The enemy's guarded in time with his energy shield, but the power of Shin's Ki attack was so great that he was blown away and this time he was injured. The devise deploying the shield was damaged beyond repair by Shin's Ki attack.

Shin was going to follow up another attack, but a fog of Blazing Gas got in his way. Shin ran straight through the fog since it wouldn't hurt him if he was prepared, yet the Booom Lord was gone.

Shin: Gone? Where is here!?

Misaki: Kampa!

Shin: What!?

Shin turned around to find the enemy Btooom Lord fighting against Kampa.

Kampa was firing at the hidden Remote Control BIMs in the earth to slow him down, but the enemy powered through it all. Once an opportunity showed itself the Btooom Lord threw a Gravity Pulse BIM at Kamap.

When Hikari was hit with a Gravity Pulse BIM she was running away, so her injuries wers lighter than the should have been objectively, yet Kampa was not fortunate as he was standing still. The BIM detonated right in front of him and he was blown backwards. Kamap came to a stop when he collided with a far off tree. The impact broke his back and spine, so he was no longer capable of fighting.

TEAM JAPAN - KAMPA UNABLE TO CONTINUE.

Misaki: You bastered!

Saki: Wait! Don't charge in recklessly!

The one armed and exhausted Misaki ran up to the Btooom Lord in a rage, but the enemy was well aware that he was coming and had already prepared a BIM for Misaki. Just as the enemy was about to make his move-

\- *BANG*!

Saki fired her gun at the Btooom Lord.

Normally gun fire was no threat to him, but Shin's previous kick to the head had revealed an opening in his helmet for Saki to exploit. Saki couldn't kill him and only got an eye, yet that was more then enough to stun the enemy long enough for Misaki to get close.

Misaki's fist too drove into the Btooom Lords exposed face and sent him flying with all of his strength. He didn't posses as much Shin, yet he had enough power and the talent to use it to badly bruise the enemy's face.

Misaki: Take that asshole bomber!

Shin: Misaki! Your sleeve!

Misaki: !

Misaki looked at the sleeve of his one good arm and found a BIM stuck to him and paled.

Implosion BIM.

Misaki: Shit!

Miraculously, Misaki with one arm got his shirt off in time, but he wasn't in time to escape harm. The Implosion BIM didn't kill him, but the implosion devoured his last good arm. Armless and blood rushed out of his wound, Misaki passed out.

TEAM JAPAN - MISAKI UNABLE TO CONTINUE.

Shin: Misaki!

Shin final caught up the the Btooom Lord, yet he was able to claim one more victim. Without Kampa to warn/detonate Remote Control BIM hidden beneath the earth, Saki ended up in the range of one of the last few still left unknowingly.

\- *BEEP*

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The Remote Control BIM went off and the blast hit Saki. Saki lost a leg from the explosion and suffered from severe second degree burns, and was in and out of consciousness.

TEAM JAPAN - SAKI UNABLE TO CONTINUE.

Shin: Damm! How dare you ignore me!

Shin was completely fed up.

Hikari, Misaki, Kampa and Saki, also Zero and possibly Aqua were victims of this enemy. It was never a possibility to end things peaceful since it was there mission to kill the Btooom Lord, but Shin wanted nothing more then to kill this enemy.

A Soul Crushing Strike hit the Btooom Lord, yet the enemy moved at the last second to have it hit the shoulder of his bad arm. Once more the enemy was blown away by Shin's power, yet he wasn't going to stop there. Shin quickly followed after the enemy with Instant Movement as he wasn't even going to wait for him to hit the ground before sending in one last Soul Crushing Strike into the Btooom Lord's skull.

The enemy Btooom Lord was well prepared as he had taken out several Timer BIM set to immediately go off. With Instant Movement Shin could always avoid them, yet that wasn't why he took them out. The Timer BIMs all went off while the enemy was holding them, and both the himself and Shin who was chasing after the him were hit by the blast.

The enemy Btooom Lord's armor protected him, but Shin was not lucky.

Shin fell backwards hard and dislocated his shoulder. Shin was taking too many hits with bombs and wouldn't be surprising if he had some internal bleeding on top of everything else, but that didn't stop Shin in his Unlocked Mode. Ignoring the pain, not being even aware of the pain, Shin relocated his shoulder with force as to not be a hindrance to him. Shin then got back up... But it was too late. Shin was one step slower the his enemy, the Btooom Lord.

Two of the second new type of of BIM that the Btooom Lord held were thrown at Shin. Shin felt death from the BIM and jumped back, but his lack of Ki at this point to use Instant Movement proved near fatal.

Energy Blade BIM.

The BIM detonated like other BIM, but instead of an explosion eight thin blades of light zoomed outwards in all directions.

Six of the blades missed Shin since he had jumped away at the last second, but two of the blades hit their mark. Shin two legs from the kneecaps down were cut off with one blade and his only usable left hand was cut off by the second energy blade.

Shin fell to the earth unable to stand or atrack the enemy anymore.

TEAM JAPAN - SHIN UNABLE TO...

Shin: ...Shit!

That summed up Shin's feeling in a single word.

His left arm and legs were cut off by a never before seen BIM and his right arm that was useless to begin with was already a mangled mess. Additionally, there was a massive loss of blood and and taking BIM after BIM attack Shin was worn down to his current state.

Unable to fight or even move.

Shin: Well, it isn't like he is much better shape either.

The Btooom Lord was in horrible shape even before the final battle and now he was in worse shape then ever. A damaged arm, a clawed out chest, a half crushed helmet, shot out eye, bruised face and multiple hits from Shin's own Soul Crushing Strike.

All in all, The Btooom Lord Ryuta Sakamoto was just in just as bad shape as Shin, but unfortunately for Shin he still had the ability to move and attack. In spite of his own injuries, the enemy Btooom Lord approached Shin wjo had fallen to the ground confidently as if he had already won this battle and. He wasn't wrong to assume so looking at Shin's current state.

The enemy Btooom Lord then took out a Timer BIM from his belt and threw it over towards Shin. The Timer BIM landed right besides Shin's face and whether it was coincidence or intentional, Shin could see the timer counting down with the corner of his eye.

\- 10!

Shin: Wh-what is with you guys? Always looking down on others from above. Viewing the last moments of a dying human being before they die. Is this that fun for you?

Btooom Lord: ...

\- 8!

Shin: Whatever. Anyways Ryu-, I mean Btooom Lord. Do you happen to know what a ghoul is? I happen to be one, though One-eyed as I might be. Impressive right?

Btooom Lord: ...

\- 6!

Shin: They are an amazing and badass race, you know. You can stab them in the stomach, twist their leg into a bloody mess and some can stil even keep going after having their heads blown off! They are just amazing and near immortal, the higher rated ghouls are.

Btooom Lord: ...

\- 3!

Shin: Unfortunately, I am not yet at that level as a ghoul due to a lack of stats in Cell Vitality, but maybe with Ki... I believe that I can make it work one way or another. Though I have no proof and have not tested it out yet. My point being Mr. Btooom protagonist man is this...

\- 1!

Shin:: Don't fuck with me!

Btooom Lord: !

\- ZERO!

In that fraction of a second before the Timer BIM went off Shin channeled Ki through his body towards a certain location.

It was to his ghoul organ near his waist, the Kagune. The Ki Energy forced its way in and mixed with the organ to cause a powerful reaction, which in turn caused a great surge of power within Shin to well up. Then half of that new found power went straight towards his mangled right arm that was badly twisted in his earlier fall.

The twisted arm twisted back into place and repaired itself. It only took an instant, but for Shin his life force, Ki had dropped dangerously low and along with it experienced such great pain in the healing of his arm that he almost died of shock.

Shin: Soul Crushing Strike!

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Shin then struck the ground with Soul Crushing Strike to jump away from the Timer BIM's explosion, but his last ditch effort to live was not over yet. The explosion had temporarily hidden Shin, so this was his one and last chance to attck the enemy in his weakened state.

Shin: Go!

With the other half of his Ki/Ghoul power within his Kagune something emerged.

Around his back at the waist his skin was discolored black and from there four blood red tentacles sprout out. For the first time Shin had summoned his Kagune and he wasted no time to admire it and used it right away.

Then empowering the tips with the very last of his Ki Shin ordered his Kagune to strike through the dust cloud brought up by the Timer BIM's explosion amd strike his enemy, the Btooom Lord. The four Kagune tentacles moved swiftly and left the enemy no time to counter attack.

Btooom Lord: Gahhhhh!

All four Kagune tentacles stroke true and pierced the Btooom Lord's chest and ran him through. Then lifting him into the air, Shin's Kagune threw his defeated enemy away like it wa something filthy.

Shin: I, I told you... I told you not to fuck with me!

Shin: I, I won.

Shin was happy that he had won, but he was fading fast.

The Shin had lost a lot of blood and had exhausted his Ki, pushed the limits of his Ghoul side to the brink, but the biggest problem was the genetic breakdown from unlocking his constraint for a fourth time as his Unlocked Mode was wearing off now that the danger he was facing was gone.

Everytime after unlocking the Genetic Constraint, aside from the pain he could feel that his whole body was breaking down. It was almost impossible for a normal organism to unlock the Genetic Constraint because big alterations in genetics were in themselves fatal to the organism. Shin had already gone into Unlocked Mode three times before and against the Btooom Lord, he unlocked the constraint into a deeper state than the previous three times for a fourth time.

Shin knew he didn't have much time left. Critical injuries, loss of blood, genetic breakdown, any of those could erase him from this world. If he won the battle, yet he was already more than half way toward death.

Shin: But why haven't we returned to the Terminal Lobby?

Shin used his Kagune tentacles/new legs to pull himself up into a sitting position and looked around, and like he said they have not returned to the Terminal Lobby and were still on the island where BTOOOM! takes place.

This was a serious issue for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one was his teammates. Hikari was knocked out from a explosion, Misaki lost another arm from the Implosion BIM and was bleeding out, Kampa broke his back against a tree and Saki was caught and lost a leg in a BIM explosion and although it wasn't as bad as Zero's case she was suffering from second degree burns.

Shin: All them were still alive, but it is going to get worse for them if they don't get repaired by God.

Shin was then looking around for any reason why the mission hadn't finished and eventually found the obvious reason why the mission had yet to finish. Btooom Lord Ryuta Sakamot was still alive... If that was the right word for it.

The Btooom Lord had gotten back on to its knees after Shin's final attack hit him.

The Btooom Lord's armor was in tatters, had lost an eye compliments to Saki, taken many Soul crushing Strikes to the body and most noticeable of all was the large hole in his chest as a result of Shin's Kagune pricing through it. It was a through and through, so you could see through to the other side.

Shin: He.. Can't be human. Was that the odd feeling I was having? I didn't get any reaction when my Ki ( Life Force ) struck him becausehe wasn't alive?

Saki: He... He must be an android, no cyborg since he is still bleeding. A true being with both organic and biomechatronic parts.

Shin: Saki! Are you okay?

Saki: No, but I am alive for now, but don't lose focus Shin. The Btooom Lord, Ryuta Sakamoto is still alive!

Ryuta: I can't really call myself alive anymore, but I guess that is more or less correct, although I won't be able to function much longer.

Shin: ...

Saki: ...

Shin and Saki weren't imaging it. They had heard, heard for the very first time the Btooom Lord, the main character of BTOOOM!, Ryuta Sakamoto speak.

Ryuta: Co-congratulations players. You are the very first to to defeat the Btooom Lord who reigns over this island... You should feel proud for pushing me this far.

Saki: ...

Shin: This is cool and all and I really don't mind the whole villain wrap up speech since this is my first, but please keep it short. Some of us are DYING here!

Ryuta: ... Me. Me the villain? Screw you. I am the Btooom Lord. The king of this island. Don't mess with me lowlife!

Shin: Right back at you false king! Didn't you just lose to us lowlifes?

Shin was amazed, having but more then anything scared right now.

The enemy obviously didn't have the ability to fight back now even with the revelation that Ryuta was a cyborg, yet Shin couldn't let go that there was something behind these last words of the enemy and he didn't need to be in Unlocked Mode to know that something was coming.

Ryuta: ...Me. Lose... BTOOOM!.. BTOOOM! is my life! My very last pride! I, I gave up on my family, the real world and... A life with Himiko! That is why so long as I am alive, so long as this is BTOOOM!... LIKE HELL WILL I LOSE TO ANYONE!

It was then that the sleak, black remains of the Btooom Lord's armor began to light up. It was also then that Ryuta stopped talking and all signs of life within were beginning to fade.

Shin: Shit! It couldn't be that right?

Saki: What? What is going on?

Shin: It is that! That what every egotistical villain does when they don't want to admit that that they lost. SELF-DESTRUCT!

The enemy Btooom Lord Ryuta Sakamoto was going to take his own life to kill Shin and the others. They had no idea how large the blast would be, but that hardly mattered when they were so close to the the source and were all badly injured.

God will send them back to the Terminal Lobby when Ryuta's life comes to a true end, but what would get them first. The blast or the recall home, they didn't know, but the mood in that situation was anything but, 'We have nothing to worry about'.

It was as all those there who were still conscious were beginning to lose hope when-

\- *HOWL*!

Shin: That howl... Aqua!

Rushing through the jungles of the island and reaching the clearing where the final battle was held, was without a doubt Aqua in her full wolf form. The large, adamantium furred beast with gold eyes filled with madness passed by the fallen members of Team Japan and reached where Shin and Ryuta were.

The great beast gave Shin a fleeting look and rushed at the enemy. The adamantium monster wolf bit into the neck of the Btooom Lord Ryuta Sakamoto, and escaped with his body and ran off. The armor of the Btooom Lord lights were becoming brighter and brighter with each passing second and was about to enter the very last phase of of it's self-destruct sequence.

Shin who saw all of this happen in the span of five seconds wanted to go after the monster wolf, Aqua, but couldn't. His Ki was all used up, the strength he received from his Ghoul side had run out, his body was reaching the limit from unlocking the Genetic Constraint and he had lost over half the blood in his body.

All these injuries could kill any strong man instantly, so there was no way Shin could do anything at this time. Shin didn't have the energy to move a muscle. Even just closing his eyes made him feel exhausted. He wanted to both desperately go after Aqua and runaway from the blast, yet he could do neither, and could only look on as the explosion as it enveloped Aqua, and then approach him and the rest of Team Japan in a white flash.

Shin: Aqua!

\- *EXPLOSION*!

!

GOD'S MISSION

BTOOOM, 15 MAN MISSION.

NON STORY PLOT.

MAIN QUEST:

Objective 1. Complete!

Objective 2. Complete!

Base Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

Combat Mission Reward: 1000 Points and a rank D reward.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points

2\. NPC Chip - 10 Points

3\. Btooom Solider Chip - 100 Points and D rank reward.

4\. Btooom Commander Chip - 500 Points and C rank reward.

5\. Ryota Sakamoto's Chip - 6000 points and B rank reward. Can be shared by more then one person, but in that situation contribution will become a factor and points/rewards split.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 for a Player killing a Newbie Player. A New Player is a New Player till they go on their second Mission.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. D-ZERO - Any player with 0 or negative points at the end of a mission after all calculations are finished, will be killed, no exception.

4\. Midnight Execution - At midnight at the end of every day Players with less then 2 Chips will killed. This number will increase by 1 for every following day till Day 7. If by the end of Day 7 and the Main Quest is not complete, all Players will be killed for failing the mission.

5\. Chip Depletion - Starting Day 2 and ending Day 6, a unit of 5 Btooom Soliders and 1 Btooom Commander will appear on the island to kill both Players and NPCs. When an NPC is killed by someone other then a Player or fellow, that person chip is destroyed and can't be recovered.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Mission Information.

1\. A defeated party's chip will be absorbed into a Player's Chip. The Chip from Players Chip can't be transferred/taken under any circumstances, including in death.

2\. With the only exception being Ryota Sakamoto, a defeated party's chip will go to the person who delivered the killing blow.

3\. The number/types of chips collected will increase the effectiveness of a Player's Radar.

4\. A Player can't use the BIMs of another party, but can use them if they are dead and personally killed the the other party. Also another's BIM can be used if activated and disarmed. Also, a Player can't take the BIM/tools of a Btooom Soldier/Commander even if a Player kills them.

TOTAL SCORE:

Base Survival Reward 1000 Points +

Combat Mission Reward 1000 Points and D rank reward +

Seven NPC Chip 70 Points +

Seven Btooom Soldiers 700 Points and 7D = 2C and 1D rank rewards +

Two Btooom Commanders 1000 Points and 2C rank rewards +

Ryuta Sakamoto [ Contribution ] 4400 Points and B rank reward +

Current Points 1503 Points =

TOTAL CALCULATED SCORE: 9673, 2B, 1C and 2D rank reward.

Tyrannos Japan: Game Planner Gemu Shusaisha's Daily Report ?

Real World Btooom Game, Hard Mode - Day 7.

7:05 P.M

Players Alive: 7/15.

NPCs Alive: 0/150.

Btooom Soldiers Active: 0/25.

Btooom Commanders Inactive: 0/5.

Ryota Sakamoto, Btooom Lord Inactive: 0/1.

Daily Minutes -

?. Game Over. The first trial run of the real world Btooom game Hard Mode has ended with a win for the players unexpectedly, and even more unexpectedly the island was heavily damaged in Ryuta Sakamoto's self-destruct that we were going to use once the project goes public to get rid of him later on when he served no more use to us. Because too many unexpected factors took place this week it was decided by the higher up to return to the original format of the game, or maybe even cancel the project entirely... Really, who were those people.


	53. Chapter 53

Shin: Am I... Am I even alive after that?

Shin whispered this as he was coming in and out of consciousness.

The last thing Shin remembered was that he and the rest of Team Japan had fought the final boss of their mission, Btooom Lord Ryuta Sakamoto. They had miraculously won thanks to Shin awakening his full Ghoul mutation and the Kagune, but the battle didn't end right away.

The prideful Ryuta not wanting to lose activated the hidden self-destruct sequence of his armor, a small scale nuclear blast, and at the very last minute before it went off, Aqua who had went mission in the early morning and the only one able to move at that time, dragged Ryuta off into the distance and then...

Shin: If I am alive after that blast then this should be the Terminal Lobby. Aqua... She... Can't be dead, right?

Currently Shin couldn't move around at all due to his injuries. Not even his head.

Shin knew that explosion back there wasn't at the level where one could survive even if one was a chimera ant king like Meruem. Just in one battle alone Shin took many life threatening injuries and had exhausted his Ki and Ghoul powers, and Aqua took on that final explosion.

When Ryuta blew up he technically died, so they all should have all avoided the blast. In Shin first mission, Aqua was mere inches away from devouring him, but they both returned to the Terminal Lobby safe and sound. The fact that he was here now meant that only the light of the explosion should had reached all of them and maybe not the blast itself. Aqua got hit at point blank range, but they are transported to the Terminal Lobby instantly. There is more then a good chance that-

Misaki: Hey! Hurry up!

Shin: Misaki?

When Shin was beginning to go insane with worry he heard the voice of his comrade and friend Misaki. Armless and being held up by a crying Mokoto he was yelling with all his strength at the ball of light they called God.

Misaki: Fuck you God! Hurry up and repair all of our bodies… Huh, the points? Deduct them however you want and hurry up asshole! We are all dying!

Shin could vaguely hear Misaki's almost intangible shouting, yet it was definitely him. Among the group that had returned victorious, after Shuai who did not participate in the final battle due to a leg injury, Misaki was the least hurt member after the final battle even after losing both of his arms sadly enough.

Then having seen that as no one was in the condition to ask God for repair, Shuai looking around the room confused as this was his first time here and shocked by his teammate's bad conditions, Misaki took it upon himself to tell God to repair them.

God was hesitant to allow another Player to use someone elses points, but with a counter argument that no one could speak up and were going to die at this rate, God choose to make an exception.

Suddenly a warm sensation enclosed Shin, Shuai, Misaki and the others who were unconscious. It was the pleasant, hot spring feeling that Shin went through when he survived his first mission, but this time the feeling was more overwhelming. Shin's whole body felt cozy and comfortable, yet it didn't last long. After the comfort came extreme pain. This pain stimulated him to wake up despite being on the verge of death.

With God having fully woken Shin up he looked around the room for the first time. This really was God's dimension and the Terminal Lobby were they just were seven days ago. The large platform, a floating sphere of light, and the darkness to the sides. All of it came as a must welcomed and familiar sight after the horrors he and the others had been through.

This place was the only safe place in the world for them once they left to enter the world's of manga, anime, video games and novels that wanted nothing more then to kill them.

Shin noticed that as everyone was receiving repairs the lights enveloping them were different in intensity. He and the others were floating in a beam of light shot from the sphere. There were six other dimmer beams. Shuai was floating in the dimmest one because his injuries weren't as critical with just a sprained ankle from the day before. Then it was Hikari, Misaki, Saki and Kampa.

Shin was looking around desperately for the one he wanted to see most and after looking around in a panic he found it. There was the luminance of Aqua's beam was just above his own.

Aqua who was burned all over and was unconscious held injuries that looked to be the worst of all the Players, and the light of her repair was brighter then Shin's own. He could imagine that if Aqua wasn't in her full wolf form covered in adamantium fur to take the blunt of the damage then she would have died instantly.

Shinv Wait, six?

Shin was so happy that he, Aqua, Hikari, Misaki and everyone else were alive and well, but this lead him to forgetting something. That there was one more member of their team who was missing and should have been with them getting repaired. Shin counted again, and yes there were only six others there with him in the Teminal Lobby.

Zero wasn't in the platform with them all.

That assassin and sniper didn't make it. This made Shin feel sick to his stomach as he bit his lip in frustration. Only those that survived could come back to this dimension, so that confirmed that Zero didn't make it in the end.

Shin had known and passivity known that others Players had died in each of his two missions so far, but Zero was the first Player he thought of as a comrade to die on his watch. Saki kinda took control in the middle of the Btooom mission, but...

Shin: Wasn't I supposed to be the team leader? In Aqua's stead, I was supposed to protect the newbie Players. I may have cared little for the others, but Zero was a valuable comrade that I fought with and could have been useful to the team in future battles... Some MC I am.

Shin felt guilty about Zero's death, but one could say that he didn't have the room to spare for others. Aqua may have been the most injured, but Shin was hanging on to his life by a thread as well.

Shin then looked at his own body after another jolt of pain hit him from the repairs. The pain was subsiding, yet it was still unbearable. His legs was gone, the left arm was gone as well and his skin was burned black from running through Blazing Gas and all the other types of BIM and there explosions that Shin had to endure being rained down on him in the final battle.

One mistake and Shin would have died ten times over.

As Shin repairs continued he saw his muscles were wriggling like they were alive. Under this beam, his muscles and bones were growing back in visible speed to the human eye. He didn't want to look at his body anymore. The visible grow of muscles, bones and organs disgusted him even while being a half Ghoul himself. When he repaired his body with God it only took an instant, so even if the trade of was intense pain he would have taken it.

Shin looked down beyond his body and saw that everyone other Aqua and himself were already fully healed and one of them, Hikari was looking at him with teary eyes. Shin felt embarrassed like a soldier returning from war and his wife greeting him after a long time in front of his fellow soldiers.

Shin: Really, it isn't like I came back from the dead. Just like half way down the river styx at best.

Shin waved at Hiakri and the others to show that he was wasn't just floating there. When he did so, Shin realized for the first time that he thought of them all as friends and possibly even family.

Shin: It has been too long for me to know for certain, but is this what it feels like to return home? Well, it isn't a bad feeling.

The repair process took longer for Shin and Aqau. The other five... Hikari, Misaki, Saki, Kampa and Shuai had all been healed to perfect condition.

When Shin and Aqua were at a half way point in the healing process Aqua had regained conscious, yet she wasn't startled. It appeared to Shin that this wasn't her first time being healed by God from a near dead like condition.

Aqua wasn't saying anything, so Shin spoke out to her first. He had a lot that he wanted to ask about like what happened to her after they went separate ways, how did her fight with the Btooom Lord Ryuta Sakamoto go, did she lose, where was she all that time and how did she appear at the very last minute and save them. Shin had a lot to ask, but his first concern was to ask...

Shin: Are you okay, Aqua?

Aqua: That is a funny thing to ask when I am being repaired by God and you yourself are in just a bad condition as I am, but to answer your question, I am fine more or less.

Shin: That's great to hear. I was very worried about you since you didn't defeat Ryuta or come back. Did you lose? How are you still alive if you did?

Aqua: That sure is a lot to answer and it's a long story, but I'll start from the beginning if that is alright?

Shin: Go ahead. Neither of us are going any where.

Then Aqua began to explain what happened to her on Day 7.

To hold back the enemy Btooom Lord and final boss Ryuta Sakamoto, Aqua stayed behind as the rest of Team Japan escaped to safety with the near fatally injured Zero. While the rest of them were impaired by the darkness and rain, Aqua with her Wolverine and Werewolf mutations enhanced her five senses and gave her the edge in a night battle. Even if the enemy possibly held night or thermal vision in their armors, Aqua would still be able to outdo them.

Aqua bravely fought a deadly battle with the Btooom Lord and actually held the advantage for a while after going in Unlocked Mode, enabling her to fight at a much higher level, one that was above the enemy. She believed could win, but she made a mistake.

Aqua had already incapacitated one of the Btooom Lord's arms and she had thought that she finished his off by stabbing him in the chest with her adamantium claws, but to Aqua's surprise her opponent didn't die or stop moving. Like Shin and the others, Aqua had not figured out that Ryuta Sakamoto had become a cyborg.

Aqua's final attack failed to kill him, and he counter attacked with the combination of BIMs that sent Shin flying into the jungle in the final battle, and at close range. Badly hurt, bleeding and terribly burned, Aqau was about to transform into her full wolf form in a desperate move, but the enemy Btooom Lord had run away in a retreat because of his own injuries, and Aqua soon fell unconscious thanks to her own.

Aqua: And that's what happened. When I had woken up next the sun was already going down and your final battle was underway. I made my way there since I had healed by a lot after that nap ( I wouldn't call that a nap ). When I reached where you were all fighting I found that you all had barely won, and before all of you I sensed the danger coming from Ryuta and took action. I gave myself a simple order to take the enemy away in my wolf form and to ignore everything else. Even I didn't exactly expect for him to self-destruct. And when I came too...

Shin: You found yourself here in the Terminal Lobby being repaired by God. Honestly, Aqua, I am surprised that you are even alive after that.

Aqua: So am I, but luckily my full wolf form is covered inflexible adamantium coating. Also, I'm always in Unlocked Mode and using Aura when I'm in wolf form. Without all three I would have been blown to ashes even if we we're transported back here a second later.

Shin: I'm glad that you weren't. Your my emotional support and love interest after all.

Aqua: Shut up! I am tired.

Shin thought it was natural that Aqua really must have been tired.

Aqua had fought the boss of the mission alone, transformed into her draining full wolf form and was hit with something one could call a miniature nuke, if only for a second before being transported back the Terminal Lobby. That was why more so then anyone else the true MVP of the BTOOOM! mission who had contributed the most in the final battle was Aqua and Aqua alone

Shin: You should get some rest later then. No need to invite me to your room today... Maybe tomorrow would be for the best considering what you have been through.

Aqua: I wasn't and that is some nice consideration on your part.

Shin: Your welcome. I'm one who puts the needs of womwn first after all. Also, I am happy to see that your are alive and somewhat well... And I wanted to say that I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help you that much in this mission. I really believed that I had become strong enough to watch your back and even when I gave it my all you had to save me, us in the end again. Shameful, right?

Aqua: Can you stop it with the pity party, Shin? I don't blame you for anything. In fact, you have done far more then I ever imagined you could. Your progress with Points, rewards and the Genetic Constraint far surpasses my own by the time of my second and third missions, so you did very well.

Shin: ...

Aqua: And if you still feel sorry about something then just become stronger over these next ten days of rest and return the favor later.

Shin: Alright. I'll promise to do better next time... You know what Aqua?

Aqua: What?

Shon: I, I might actually love you... Despite your bad personally and commitment issues.

Aqua: What the hell kind of confession is that?

Shin: It can't be helped? I am pretty half-assed.

Aqua: Stupid otaku.

Shin: Please don't start taking after Hikari now. I'll really die if you develop such a-

Hikari: Shin! Did you say something?

Shin: No! Nothing at all!

Aqua: Smooth. Very smooth ladies man.

Shin: Shut up!

Still, I meant what I said.

Aqua was probably my first love, but just saying so normally won't have an effect on her. That is why it is better to joke about it, while at the same time telling the truth and laying out the ground work. My first wife to be was skittish about this kind of thing, but that is what makes her cute.

The repairing process took a full two hours.

My repairs took the longest, everyone else's finished in under an hour and even Aqua had regained consciousness and had been healed and exited her light a half hour ago. As my repairing finished, the beam suddenly changed from sunlight color to a green light.

I didn't know why, but I kind of understood that this was God switched from healing my injuries sustained from the Btooom mission from my many battles, to repairing my broken down genetics. Aqua said this would happen, but even without that heads up I would have understood.

After unlocking the Genetic Constraint my body had been exposed to a very small amount of poison that could kill a person, time and time again. Overall, I had gone into Unlocked Mode four times, so if not for my high healing potential I would have died already according to Aqua.

In that state a lot of information rushed into my head. Even though I could only reach this state during combat, it was still an amazing power and thanks to it I was able to defeat the final boss and survive the second mission.

If it is possible, if I could reach that state under any circumstance, like when I'm thinking, deducing, and coming up with plans wouldn't I become OP? Whatever the case, when I can reach that state at anytime I'll become an almighty human super soldier... Not to be mistaken for the pilot of the AGE-2 Gundam.

I then looked down below from mid air as the beam had lifted me up and saw the others discussing their points and rewards, with Misaki being the loudest. He was hugging his girlfriend/human creation Mokoto who had came out when we returned, and was currently spinning her around. Mokoto hit him for embarrassing her in front of others, but Misaki was too happy to care.

Misaki: Shit, that was a close call but we also made a huge profit. 1000 points from the basic reward, 100 points from each Btooom Soldier, 500 for each Btooom Commader, 1000 points and rank D reward from completing the combat mission and in the final battle against that guy we all got contribution points ( Except Shuai ). You really do have to take risks for profits, but with so many points I am OK with it. Haha!

Mokoto: Misaki! Calm yourself down. Also, don't risk your life just for some points like this is a game. Your life is more important than that.

Misaki: I can't help but be happy and I would never risk my life or yours for no reason. Shin got over 10,000 points and some rewards last time and became a god damm monster who crushed that Ryuta guy. I may only have 3040 points after my repairs, but I am sure that I can soon catch up to him and get 50,000 points to return home. Then I'll introduce you to my sister and we will get married.

Mokoto: Ma-Married! Really, Misaki you sure know how to talk big. Just please come back safely from these missions first. That is what I care about the most.

Misaki: Mokoto...

Then as Misaki and Mokoto went off into their own lovely dovy world, the others discussed their points and their repair cost.

Hikari: Speaking of after the repairs. How many did you all get? I now have 2640, and my repairs took 330 points when I originally had 2970.

Shuai: I have 2150 points and two D rank rewards after repairs. Plus, I have the 600 Points you all owe me in goods for acting as bait.

Kamap: I have... 2665. Not bad I guess.

Saki: I made 3070 points on the mission, but my body repair cost 107 points, so I am now at 2963. Does it cost so much normally?

Aqua: Repairing a part of your body doesn't cost much, like if you lost an arm or a leg and need to repair them, that is cheap and that was why Shuai who hurt his leg cost so little points. The thing is and what I once explained to the others is that if your life is in danger and you don't know where to repair, you will need to use the whole body repair function. It will repair every little problem that you have, but it adds up to a lot of points when you don't tell God what exactly what to patch up. Misaki knew this, but there was so much wrong with us and little time to act, so he asked God for the full body repair for us all. It is also why Misaki's was so low since he knew what was wrong with himself. Still, you have it easy with just over a hundred points. I used 1245 thousand points for my repair this time around.

Hikari: My repair cost over 300 hundred points. I only have about 2640 points left. And this also included that 100 points from explaining the rules to the newbies. It takes too many points for repair. If not for my two D rank rewards then I would be crying right now. I'll still might.

Aqua: Just be content with it. Mission like this where God changed the plot or ask us to defeat an opponent in the Main Quest usually ends in a wipe, and we have seven people who survived. Do you really think it's that easy to get the rewards? If not for me who injured the final boss Ryuta and Shin finishing him off we would have all died. I would have in that final blast if my fur in wolf form wasn't coated in adamantium.

The mention of the name of the main character of Btooom turned their faces pale from their near death experience, but we survived in the end and this was the most important thing.

I then closed my eyes and connected to God. A big list of rewards was listed in my brain. 1000 basic points, 70 points for seven NPC Chips collected, 700 points and 7 D rank rewards from killing seven Btooom Soldiers, 1000 and two C rank rewards for killing two Btooom Commanders, 4400 points and B rank reward for my part in defeating Ryuta Sakamoto, 1000 points and a rank D reward for the combat mission.

Other than these, there was also the line 'Breaking the genetic limit', but besides that there was nothing strange. It should relate to the Genetic Constraint, yet aside from those words, there was no explanation.

Shin: Whatever it means, I now richer by over 8000 Yen, I mean dollars, no I mean points. I should be able to get a lot of goood... Wh-what the hell is this!

Shin got excited from just looking at his huge amount of points and rewards that rivaled his miraculous first mission, but when he looked at the amount of points he had, he was dazed.

Only 7573 points were left.

Shin remembered having about 1500 points left from the last mission and he gained more then 8000 points from the mission. He had 9673 total points in all, so that meant his body repair cost over two thousand points. 2100 points to be exact. This made him laugh bitterly. You can imagine how critical his injuries were. He felt lucky that God could still save him from that.

Shin: Anyways, I geuss just being alive and having made seven thousand plus points is satisfying enough.

Shin disconnected from God and enjoyed the healing process inside the green light. It took over an hour for his genetics to heal before he was lowered to the ground.

Once on the ground, Misaki put Shin in a head lock and told him not to worry them. Hikari hugged Shin's arm and began crying while insulting him. Shin didn't know if Hikari really liked him as a friend or a man, but could guess that he worried her either way.

Shin then saw Aqua standing a distance away. He wished she came over and hugged him as well, but she must have read his thoughts as she turned her head in embarrassment and went off to her room. For Shin, seeing just that filled him with happiness, but Hikari who saw his stupid expression-

Shin: Aww! Why did you pinch my arm?

Hikari: No reason.

Shin: ...If you say- Aww! Why did you do it again?

Hikari: Because you are an otaku baka!

Shin: ( God, middle school girls thst you were just warming up too are the worst! ).

Misaki: Ok, ok. At least pay attention to where you are if you want to make out.

Shin: We aren't, and I really don't want to hear that from you.

Misaki: Whatever. Anyways, I am leaving. I just want to rest for today, so don't come looking for me till tomorrow.

Hikari: I am going to turn in for the day too. If you have anything to say, wait till tomorrow morning. The trial this time was too dangerous and I am probably scared and tramutize for life.

Aqua: See you.

And with that Hikari, Misaki and my soon to be wife Aqua left the platform and went into their rooms. All who were left were Saki, Kampa, Shuai and myself. Three of which were still newbies, so they were confused as to what to do now in this strange environment.

Shin: You know how to activate your room right? Use your imagination to design the room. Other people can't get in it without your permission. Oh right, about the points… Wait till tomorrow. We will discuss how to use those points with Aqua and the others. If we had powerful heavy firearms in that mission then we wouldn't had so much trouble against the enemies excluding the boss and wouldn't have taken so much damage before the final battle. Saki and Kampa, with your military experience are definitely better than me in this field, so we will be counting on you two for advice. We will discuss how to deal with future missions tomorrow. Don't use your points yet, but feel free to use your free human creation as you like ( I didn't ).

Then as Shin was about to leave Saki called out to him.

Saki: Thank you... For this time.

Shin: You don't have to thank me. In the end we all did what we had to keep living. I'm no saint either. Also, you gave us strategies and in the final battle you saved Misaki with your gun. I don't know by how much, but shooting out the eye of the final boss and taking away some of his vision must have helped me win in the end one way or another. As comrades we all did our parts and risked our lives, so we shouldn't thank each other for every little thing. Gon and Killua don't.

Saki: Maybe, but what I meant was thanks to you... I have confirmed that the Genetic Constraint and information about that event of my past were indeed real and I wasn't crazy to spend my life pursuing it. Thank you again... Now I no longer have any regrets.

Shin: I don't believe I did anything that great, but... You're welcome. Well, I'm turning in. See you all tomorrow.

Shin then left Saki, Kampa and Shuai and returned to his room.

Then not even having the energy to walk to his bed he crashed on his couch that he made by the door. Shin was so tired that he missed to the true meaning of Saki's words, and he wouldn't understand till it was too late.


	54. Chapter 54

After parting with Saki and the other, Shin went over to his bed and went straight to sleep. He wasn't just tired, but worn down to his very soul. On the entirely of the mission, the one who did and went through the most was Shin.

Day 1 - Shin parachuted off a plane, tracked through a tropical island's jungle, had to fight NPCs armed with bombs and all the while protecting Hikari ( Who I had to force to kill people ).

Day 2 - Shin came face to face with the enemy Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander for the first time, who had had pushed him so far near death's door that he unlocked his hidden potential like a manga protagonist, the Genetic Constraint. After a fighting draing battle and coming out on top he was hit with a explosion at the last moment.

Day 3 - Shin was out cold and half Dead.

Day 4 - Shin was still out cold and barley escaped dying.

Day 5 - Shin recovered from his injuries and reunited with his comrades, but he had to plan out his next battle against a large group enemies who nearly killed him.

Day 6 - Shin partook in the plan to finish off the remaining Btooom Soldiers and their Commander on the island, won, nearly died from going into Unlocked Mode for a third time and made his way back to to base, yet this was only a preamble to the final battle.

Day 7 - They were attacked in the darkness of night and rain by the Btooom Lord Ryuta Sakamoto. Zero was badly injured, they lost contact with Aqua their strongest Player, had to run through the jungle in a rush to escape, later in the evening had on last fight against the Btooom Lord and saw his comrades all almost die in the enemies self-destruct, yet were saved by Aqua in the end and lived, but had lost their comrade Zero in the end.

Shin was exhausted both physically and mentally from everything he and the others had gone through, and so he passed out. He went to sleep, but against his body telling him thst he needed a well deserved rest, Shin found himself waking up three hours later.

Shin knew what the reason he couldn't rest peacefully was. One was that the death of Zero, his comrade dying, and the rest of his teammates almost dying haunted and didn't allow him to properly rest. Shin had seen others die before, in both the real world with his parents and in this world from seeing other players die, or at least knowing that they did, but this time was different.

Shin: Zero was different. I may not have seen the exact moment, but I saw why he died with my own eyes. A flaming BIM to the face. Also, he was someone I considered a comrade in this world even if he was the quite type who kept to himself.

For Shin, Zero's death showed that not just players he didn't care about, but even his own comrades could die in this world. Killing other or himself almost dying never made him so aware of death in God's Dimension then right now... And knowing personally someone who had died brought back back memories of his parents.

Shin: Yet if only I was so normal. This other feeling is disgusting.

What Shin meant was the other reason that he couldn't sleep peaceful and woke up, unable to go back to sleep.

Maybe even more then all the danger and death he experienced, what occupied his mind above all of that... Was excitement. Now that all the dangers had passed, Shin's true nature that Hiakri said he should accept, not knowing the true depths of his soul, was that he very much enjoyed himself on the mission.

Thinking about it now, Shin couldn't get over the fact that he was in one of his favorite manga/anime BTOOOM!. Shin went to the island of the death game was played and fought on, fought others with actual BIM, used radars to find his enemies, fought Btooom armored assassins not seen in the manag/anime and in the end he faced off and battled it out with the suited up and deadly Btooom Lord and main character of Btooom, Ryuta Sakamoto and he won.

The normal citizen in Shin who grew up in modern times was scared, frightened over what he had to go through... And yet the otaku in him was thrilled. Not so much in High school of the Dead, but in this Btooom mission he, from an objective standpoint he was the protagonist. If not for him ( Swelled head ) Team Japan would not have made it out alive.

Shin: It isn't like I am forgetting about my own mistakes or Zero... But wasn't I the coolest!? I, I can't even believe that guy back there using Soul Crushing Strike, Instant Movement, a Kagune, and on top it all that Unlocked Mode warrior was really me. Hahahahaha! This place is the best! Just a few good enhancements and I could square off against Ryuta Sakamoto the protagonist of BTOOOM! even when he was powered up by God. If the me from one month ago knew what I have accomplished he wouldn't believe it. I became a protagonist and lost my virginity to a hot redhead women who is also my main heroine at the moment. When the the day my harem is complete, all three of my life goals will be realized!

Yes, Shin was aware that he was a broken human being and was scum, but even thinking so in his mind, he was unable to hold back the smile on his face.

My good mood/internal conflict continued on as I heard the sound of my dooring being knock. Someone was outside and calling for me.

Shin: Everyone should be asleep or in their room relaxing after that tiring mission no matter how much fun, no I mean dangerous it was. Could it be Aqua? After a week had passed since we last spent the night together, have her desires for my body lead her back to me? Definitely that is it! Ah, I should have given her permission to enter my room. That way she could have attacked me in my sleep. What a mistake.

Unable to keep calm from the events of the mission and the possibility of a night call from Aqua, I jumped out of bed and raced to the door. Before opening the door I ran my hands through my hair, now white for good measure, and then I opened the door and was greeted with a different kind of surprise.

Shin: Hikari?

Hikari: Ah, hi Shin... How are you doing?

Shin: I'm fine, but did anything happen?

Hikari: No. Why?

Shin: We just got back from the BTOOOM! mission. Everyone should be resting in their rooms and it is also kinds late. What is it that you need?

Hikari: I didn't need anything. It is just that I was worried about you is all is all.

Shin: Worried? Me? Why?

Hikari: Why... I, I just was is all! Stop interrogating me, otaku baka ( I can't tell if you are really worried about me at all ).

Shin: I see. Well, I am fine as you can see. My repairs went ok and I am just thinking about a few things before going to sleep.

Hikari:That is great, but what were you thinking about ( What, are you my girlfriend? I geuss I can't say that, right )? The mission?

Shin: Ye-yeah. I was going over the the events of the last few days ( And I can't say that I was reliving those moments for entertainment, can I? ).

Hikari: That is normal. I... Can't get rid of those dangerous and surereal events that keep playing in my mind. I, you, we all almost died so many times and... We had to kill people that we didn't want to, NPC or other. I, I never liked the real world that much, but I never wanted to go back so much as I do now. I want to see my mother and father, so badly that even if I had to face my past crimes afterwards, I would be okay with it.

As Hikari resistance fell apart remembering this weeks past events, she leaned in to hug me and began to cry. This just reminded me that despite normally acting so stubborn all the time, I had forgotten that she is just a normal girl in the end.

Hikari, to get back at those that wronged her and her family and couldn't be punished by the law became a hacker and ruined their company with her skills. Then becoming infected with what ever made Light Yagami, Kira, she continued to damage other companies that harmed innocent people.

Hikari went on a crusade of sorts, but in the end she was a sixteen year old girl, so when her crimes were traced back to her and her home... The guilt of her crimes and the knowing that the police were closing in on her drove her to answering YES to God and came here to this dimension.

And then during the Btooom! Mission Hiakri was forced God, and by Shin, to kill people to live. Hikari had harmed others with her hacking skills before, but never as directly as taking a gun out and shooting them, or killing another human being with bombs. They were supposedly NPCs and it was all to live just another day, but those events reinforced Hiakri's feelings of guilt.

Shin: ( Now, as for why she came to me and not her fellow female comrades like Aqua or Saki... ).

The reason was that during these last seven days, more then ever Shin had become her pillar of support. Shin protected Hikari from harm, taught/lead her to kill others to live for good or bad, never abandoned her and was the main force behind Team Japan winning in the final hour against the last boss.

Shin: ( Hikari may really have grown to have fellings for me as well. She came here in desperation to be comforted by me if my geuss is right. Not Aqua or Saki her fellow females or anyone else, but me ).

Shin thinks carefully about what he can do for her, and feels that there is nothing he can do since what they felt during the mission were different and to an extreme degree. Hikari is scared and depressed while Shin is excited and full of energy when he recall the week's events.

Shin is willing to admit that anything he says now to cheer Hiakri up, like he feels the same or that they have to do their best, would be deception on his part and he definitely realizes that he won't be forgiven for it if she later finds out his true nature. Shin thinks about what he should do for her now since he decided to make her his responsibility early on during the last mission and...

Shin: ...It is kind of appalling in a different way, but I can live with it. Also she can just hit me later.

Hikari: Shin? What are you...

Hiakri was already leaning against me, so she had no time to react to me embracing her, leaning down to the same level as her and pressing my lips against her in a kiss.

Hikari was surprised by my sudden action, yet she didn't resist much. She couldn't brake free from my arm strength anyways, but she didn't try too hard to get free either. After playing enough Gal/Eroge enough times you learn the difference between slight shocked/yet willing, and forced into and trying to escape... Hopefully.

The kiss lasted a whole minute and we stopped because Hiakri was out of breath, and I looked at her face... I lost control.

My previous excitement in my chest from the mission, my uncertain feeling for Hikari and the kiss with the cute cute forced me to make a move despite not wanting things to go that far so quickly. Without waiting to hear Hiakri ask why I kissed her, I scooped her up and carried her princes style in my arms.

Hiakri: Wh-what are you doing!

Shin: Sorry Hiakri, but I am just a stupid otaku. I can't think of a way to make you feel better emotionally, but I already decided to take responsibility for you here in this dimension even if it is only for my sake. So now that I have made up my mind, I am unable to hold myself back from wanting to have such a cute and sharp tongued girl ( which tasted sweet by the way ) by my side. This is way too fast even if you were willing, but I hardly care at this point. I am going to take you into my room now, so if you don't want to or not now, then I'll will understand and you can forget about all this. I'll still look after you as a comrade and friend if you choose to do som or hate me later like I promised, but if it is okay with you I would like to do so in a relationship. Some men can be friends with cute and beautiful women, but unfortunately, I'm not one of them. I want to monopolize you Hikari, so...

Hiakri's face was completely red after hearing my words.

Hikari: ...Isn't this too sudden. Well, I... Am not too unwilling, but-

Shin: Ok. That sounded like a yes to me. Lets go inside!

Hikari: Wait! How is that consent?

Shin: The fact that you haven't runaway, hit me and came into a man's room in the middle of the night is consent enough to me ( Doesn't apply in reality people ). If you want to blame someone then blame yourself.

Hikari: Stupid otaku! Just how did-

I kissed Hiakri once more to her from talking and once more she didn't resist my advance. Taking that as a second sign of consent, I carried Hikari into my room. I am aware that taking advantage of Hiakri emotions as this time was wrong, but I am more aware that I am not a good person... But Just so long as I do my best afterwards for her then I can live with this sin of taking advantage of a weak girl in her moment of depression and fear.

Early in the morning, or what passes as morning in the Terminal Lobby, Hikari left Shin's room before anyone had woken up. As Shin watched her go, he had to wonder if he was too impulsive last night. He definitely liked her and meant every word he said to her, but he was too hyped up from getting coming closer to his dream of being a protagonist to think straight.

Shin: This is a totally different situation with Aqua. This time I approached Hikari. Also, that was definitely her first time, so even if I didn't want this, this is serious. I wonder why I wasn't content with just being normal friends with her?

Shin didn't know why he acted and why now as he only had geusses, but he quickly let it go since the die had been cast. What he has to worry about now is how he would break the news that one of his life ambitions is to create a harem ( Which will include anime characters at some point once I decide on some ) and along with his relationship/non-relationship with Aqua.

Shin: Well, it should work out one way or another, and I shouldn't feel too bad ( Proud ) about taking her first time so selfishly. There is only a 1-2 year difference between us. In Japan the age of consent is thirteen and it's cool long as I visit her parents one day to ask for their daughter... Best not to mention the Harem part too soon to them since I'll look insincere about my intentions. Anyways, in America what we did is cool in 30 of the fifty states ( 3/5's win! ), so I have that going for me as well... Why am I bringing up America here?

Shin: Ahhhh, what a wonderful day it is. It is still early, but you can just tell today will be better than the last!

Shin was in a annoyingly good mood for two reason.

1\. He had returned from the dangers of the Btooom mission with lots of points and rewards, so he will be able to make amazing exchanges to God today, so he was very much looking forward to that.

2\. Shin had made his feelings for Hikari clear when she came to his room to talk, kissed passionately and carried her off to his bed.

Shin: Being with a good woman and having something to look forward to in the future it just... Makes the whole world go round, doesn't it? My spirits could only be higher if Aqua had joined us in bed last night. We could have bullied Hikari together.

Shin's confidence in himself has soared to the heavens, and reached into the Cosmos, passing the Pegasus constellation. Shin had acquired stats, enhancements, an older red haired kinda girlfriend, a protagonist victory over a villain and another maybe girlfriend who is younger then himself.

Shin was on top of the world when he thought about how much has he changed since he had first entered this dimension, but there was one issue now that he had to deal with and it was better to deal with it now then later so no one get more hurt later on.

Shin: I should still talk to Hikari now before the others are up. It is best to define the relationship with her before others get involved.

With purpose Shin left his room, into the Terminal Lobby and over to Hikari's room. Like he had suspected most of his comrades were in their room resting from their exhausting mission, yet one person was outside their room.

Shin: Saki?

Saki: ...

Standing on the platform and under the ball of light which was God, Saki with her eyes closed. Saki had a smart mind, so he suspected that she wanted an early start to go over all the exchanges. Shin looked forward to this since Saki had a different, yet practical view on things that the others lacked.

Aqua was serious and an experienced Player of the Mission Worlds that they go too, yet Shin suspected that at her core and before she changed due to the effects it had on her, Aqau was originally an airhead type women ( Well, I still like her. Both her forceful side ( Cool ) and her airhead side ( Cute ) ). That was why having smart people like Saki was invaluable.

Shin called out to Saki, but her concentration was so great that she couldn't hear him. Shin was going to call out to her again, but he decided against it. Shin didn't know why, but he felt that it was better not to approach her now.

Shin: I can always see what she has figured out later.

Shin then choose to ignore Saki and make the rest of his way to Hikari's room.

Shin knocked on her door first, but he had not gotten a response. He tried again, but still nothing. So in the end he tried to open the door. Their room didn't let people they didn't want to into them, yet they would make an exception to those those the owner doesn't mind entering their rooom. To Shin surprise the door did infact open and he walked.

Shin: Can I take this as a sign of consent for future meetings in the in her room? Ah, don't get distracted Shin. You are here on a mission!

Shin had never been in Hikari's room till now. He had been in Aqua and Misaki's room for one thing or another, but not in Hikari's room. Aqua's room was that of an adult and wasn't exactly girly with guns lying all around the floor of her room, so it didn't have a real girls feeling from it.

Hikari was a sixteen year old girl and he was her seventeen year old boyfriend ( According to him ). Shin was nervous to enter a genuine girls room, but what awaited him shocked him more then finding Aqua's room filled with gun rather than make up and clothes like it should. What he saw was Hikari rolling around in her bed, hugging a pillow and in a fit of excitement.

Hikari: Kyaaa! I can't believe that happened last night. It hurt at first, but... Ahh, I can't even say it! Who would have expected that that otaku bastered could be so forceful and manly like that? He even said things straight out of a drama or book... 'I've decidedto protect you', so cool!

Shin: ...Maybe I should go ( Also, was I really like that last night? I should work on that and look into some popular romance Manga for inspiration ).

Shin was walking backwards out of the room to avoid having Hikari know that he had seen her, for both their sakes, yet he had yet to exchange a stealth skill, so he made a sound during his escape.

Hikari didn't miss this noise. She shot up from her bed and saw Shin sneaking out. Hikari blanked out for a few seconds before she realized that Shin had over heard her recent, or maybe the even more embarrassing rambling of hers.

Then Hikari, her face was dyed red with shame and she fainted on the spot.

Shin: I, I didn't hear anything, ok. I had just that second, that second I walked into your room.

Hikariv ...You promise?

Shinv I swear ( Already lying to my girlfriend ).

Hikari: Fine. So what did you want?

Shin stayed in the room till Hikari woke up five minutes later. When she saw Shin, Hikari hid under her bed sheets, but Shin was able to eventually get her out.

Shin told a small white lie that he hadn't seen or heard anything that Hikari said, but she obviously didn't seem to believe a word he said, and for good reason, but was willing to move on from that embarrassing, kinda manga/anime embarrassing scene.

Shin: I came over here to talk.

Hikari: Talk... About?

Shin: Us obviously. You kind of left after we had-

Hikari: You don't need to say it out loud! Last night... Was unexpected... And my first time too. I was embarrassed, so that was why I left.

Shin: I figured as much. I did kinda come on a little strong last night.

Hikari: A little!? Did I even have a choice in the matter? Thst was almost border line-

Shin: Don't say that! I admit that I pushed you onto the bed, but after a while you got really into-

Hikari: Shut up! What do you you... Your mistaken. 100% mistaken you loser ( First ), creep ( Second ), lame ( Third ), egotistical ( Fourth ) otaku bastered ( And fifth insult ).

Shin: ...Do you feel better?

Hikari: A lot. What did you want to talk about again?

Shin: Yes, I wanted to talk about us and our future. Hikari, I have something to tell you. But you first have to promise me to remain calm. Ok? We kind kinda got into this fast, so-

But before Shin could tell her his real reasons, Hikari reached her own conclusions and began to cry.

Shin: Hikari?

Hikari: Is it about a break up? We.. Weren't exactly a couple, but at least for me, no matter how it happened was my first time. You also... But it's like they say? Once the guy get the girl's body, he will change his heart. I thought you were going to be with me even if it wasn't said out loud. If you are going to break up, then you don't have to say anything. I don't want to hear those words from your mouth.

Shin: Wait wait wait! What is this web novel like misunderstanding? It isn't what you think Hikari. I don't want to break up with you.

Hikari: You don't?

Shin: Yes. Even if I hadn't said it exactly, I do want to be with you and I want you at my side as my girlfriend. In fact, I came here I came here to define the relationship.

Hikari: I see... Ah, but it wasn't that I was worried. For a otaku loser like you, a good woman like me is the best that you can hope for as a girlfriend.

Shin: That is nice of you to say ( Middle School girls are not cute, even if she is cute while acting all that ).

Hikari: So what exactly did you mean by defining the relationship? Like coming out to the others later, or keeping it secret to not effect how we act on the mission?

Shin: It isn't anything too complicated... I just want to clear up some things about myself.

Hikari: Yourself. Like what? Ah, is it the STDs!?

Shin: Fuck no!

Then desperately, Shin began to explain that it isn't a disease that he absolutely didn't have that he wanted to talk about, but his own goals that he had set for himself to accomplish her in God's Dimension.

1\. Shin's first goal was to become OP, an Overpowered Protagonist who has enjoyed and experienced everything that this world has to offer. The good and the bad together.

2\. To one day go back to the real world. To go back to the real world after doing his very best to become special in God's Dimension, and go back to prove to himself that he has changed from the loser otaku that he once was.

3\. Lastly and not exactly as important as the first two, but Shin wants to create a harem. A harem full of beautiful women who he loves and who love him back, which may or may not be filled with anime characters human creations as well.

Shin main point was to tell her his third goal.

To create a harem, not just have one girlfriend. It was a dream he had since even before he came to this dimension and the time he learned about human creations. It was a dream that many otakus have probably had, yet none were able to fulfill in their life time. It was a privilege that only anime protagonist were allowed to have.

Shin: Now I am basically one of them. A protagonist. I understand that in real life it may be hard to make it work, but I am confident that I can make it work.

Hikari: ...

While Shin was taking on and on, Hikari was looking at Shin with a look of disgust. Her feelings were as clear as day, yet Shin had yet to notice as he was on his rant about harems and anime character girlfriends.

Shin: So what do you think? It is a pretty good goal for myself, right?

Hikari: ...Disgusting.

Shin: Huh?

Hikari: Gross, disgusting and creepy! Shin, how can you honestly think of creating your own harem of girls, no sex dolls to play with? Don't you have any shame? Also, you kind of already have me, so why the hell do you need another woman(s)?

It was an age old question that many a women have asked men who cheated on them, or those who didn't want to become too serious and not to become exclusive,

Shin: I, I kinda get that it is a little much to take in, but there is a reason why I am being honest about all of this with you.

Hikari: What? You actually thought that I would agree to all of this?

Shin: I was hoping that you would, but... It isn't like I need you permission, right?

Hikari: What...

Not looking at his now furious girlfriend in the eyes, Shin explained that he is only living for his goals right now, not to return to the real world anytime soon. That is why it would sadden him, but he was more then willing to end things with Hikari if she can't accept him.

Shin: I honestly like you Hikari and my desire to be with you has only become stronger after sleeping with you, but this is something that I can't back down on. I am sorry that I didn't tell you earlier, but that is the only thing that I will apologies for. Wanting to protect you. Wanting to be with you. All thos feelings are real no matrer what if you agree to become my girlfriend or not.

Hikari who looked like she was confused and on the verge of tears spoke up.

Hikari: You have yet to make a human creation yet, but... Are you, are you dating Aqau already?

Shin: Aqau?

Hikari: Yes. I can that you two get along well and... You were worried sick over Aqua on Day 7 of the mission, so I kinda just assumed that you liked her. That was why last night came to me as a surprise.

Shin: ...No, I am not dating Aqua, but I wouldn't mind.

Hikari: Do you really like her that much?

Shin: Well yeah. It wouldn't be a lie to say that I love her ( Never say that to a girl, and especially to one you just had sex with and have only said that you only 'liked' ).

Hikari: !

Hikari Route: BAD ENDING. Please restart from last save point... If only.

Hikari pushed Shin out of her room after using more then her five days worth of insults and shut the door loudly, yet Saki who was still spacing out going over the exchanges didn't hear the argument.

Shin: Was I too honest? I didn't like the idea of leading her on without telling her the truth. Well, I could have been gentler or smarter about it.

Hikari: Hey, Shin.

Shin: Hmm?

Hikari just as soon as she had kicked Shin out opened her door again. Hikari still looked pissed off, yet she was nervous as well.

Hikari: Can... Can you give me some more time to think about? It, it isn't like I am agreeing your idea, creepy otaku, but it isn't like we are in the real world or anything. We can talk about this later... When we both get theweb 50,000 points to go back to the real world... Baka!

Hikari then close her door loudly again after saying that.

Staring at Hikari's door, Shin admits to himself once more he isn't a good person and left, while wondering how do protagonist do it.

Shin: Really, why does the story always just fades out to weeks/months/years later to say that it worked out on way or another? Also, how do parents fit in? Do they approve? How unfair is it to be a main character and protagonist in the real world?


	55. Chapter 55

From the time Hikari left my room, I went to hers and back to my room, and from there taking a small nap in my room, it was already 12pm... Probably.

I saw there were already a few people standing on the platform. Saki, Aqua and Misaki stood in a circle, it seemed like they were discussing something important. Considering Saki's personality, it was possible that something might have happened.

Shin: New look?

Saki had changed to a new pair of glasses as if she needed a new pair to see through the fog of the TV World and dressed in white lab coat over casual clothes ( Is she a self proclaimed mad scientists or his red haired assistant who doesn't feel conformable without a lab coat on in the lab ). It looked normal, but the cold and expressionless face gave me a different feeling from normal. It was as if she was both the Saki that I knew, and a different Saki at the same time.

Shin: ( Maybe her persona changes with her look ).

Aqua and Misaki didn't change much, but they both changed to new clothes. When they saw me coming over, they waved me over. Saki was the first to speak.

Saki: So Shin is here. Then once Kampa, Hikari and Shuai arrive I will let you know my analysis. There is much that needs to be discussed.

Then within the next five or so minutes everyone had come out. Kampa and Shuai were both discussing about their lives in the real world before all of this and seemed to be getting along nicely.

Hikari cam out of her room last, but immediately ran away. She thought that everyone knew that she was no longer a virgin since they were all looking at her, and ran back to her room with her fade red and half in tears. With a sigh, I volunteered to go get her and explain that they were just looking at her because she was the last to arrive... Then a good ten minutes later of convincing and soothing a sixteen year old girl, we came out of her room and joined the others.

Saki saw that the seven of them were all here and began.

Saki: I found three problems, first is human creation… According to the conditions, it seems like you can even create a God. Because it's not limited to race, age, gender, ability, as long as you can imagine it, you can create anything. I tried it yesterday but there are actually hidden limitations… Oda!

Ten seconds or so later, a huge man came out from Saki's room. He stood besides Saki without moving. His face was emotionless and cold like Saki's, but for some reason a certain feudal lord came to mind

Saki: Originally I chose an Org and demon, but God didn't give me any response. It seems like living beings non native to Earth are not available or I might have to possess those genetic mutations myself. So I chose human next. Height max out at 2.5 meters, I didn't test gender, it's not relevant to combat ability. Age is set at 22 when a person's physical ability is at their highest. Ability wise, I originally imagined an all powerful god, but God didn't create any life. So I gradually decreased his ability, I also tested the genetic mutations and bloodlines you can exchange from God, none of those can be created as of yet. So I assume it can only use humans as a blueprint, but like I said I haven't fully explored it yet. Then I imagined the limit of a human, and gradually reduced his ability. When he was about twice the physical fitness of a normal person, God created him. At the same time I also gave him the experience and personality of a special agent, with a bit of tactical thinking ability. Basically that's it. Because he looked strong and I wrote a paper about him once in college, I gave him the name Oda...

All of us, myself included were secretly laughing. Little did they think that Saki would choose such a famous name like-

Saki: This's not the key point! He doesn't even look... No, never mind. The point is that he can also get enhanced! I tried to let God give him a point of intelligence, and God actually did enhance him. Do you know what this means? It means that the being you created can definitely go into the missions! It only takes 500 points to create a fighter twice as strong as a normal person. Then the rewards from one missions can give you two more such bodyguards. You were all wrong! The free human creation God gives you isn't to create women for sex. It is so you can protect your life, to give you a chance to create a bodyguard! Why do so many people die in this world? Especially the physically weaker people like Hikari or Shuai are more likely to die if not protected by people like Shin or Aqua. I think it's because a lot of people use the first 1000 points to enhance themselves, then use the free human creation for a woman or someone to cook and clean for you. But what can you accomplish with 1000 points?

Saki was right there.

I had a good amount of points, plus 1500 points or so left from my first mission, but I saved them instead of using them on myself. It was much better to save them up and get a whole package enhancement, Genetic Mutation, Sci-fi or magic weapon.

The first two could give me thousands of points worth of increased stats for cheap long as I had the rewards, and a good weapon could directly increase my fighting potential. It was incomparable to simply a slight boost in stats. This was also the reason why I was beginning to rethink importance of stats.

My ghoul mutation would probably become stronger with a higher Cell Vitality or Immunization Strength, but unless you could increase a stat over 1000 then you weren't going to see yourself matching or outdoing even low level manga and anime character.

Saki: 1000 Points? Can it double your attributes, or teach you how to fight and live through a war zone? Why not make two or more loyal and powerful bodyguards instead! God actually gave you hints early on, how to survive when you are still weak. That's bodyguards! Such is a mortal's wisdom. The inferiority of human nature which is so sad to see.

Misaki and Aqua clearly disliked Saki's tone, and it was in fact Misaki who spoke up.

Misaki: So what if we are mortals' wisdom? So what if I fucking created a woman? I would rather see Mokoto one last time then just meaningless survive just one or two missions. I am still living very well and it will just get better! What... What do you know!

When things we getting out of hand and was about to envelope into a fight, I stood in front of Misaki and stopped him.

Shin: You aren't ridiculing us out of boredom right? You don't seem the type. Perhaps you may be right, God gave that gift for us to make a strong bodyguard, but that's only your opinion. A geuss at best. What if the bodyguard can't follow you into the missions? Even if he can get in that beam of light can you guarantee that he can help you survive? When we enter the missions, we have to stand inside a beam of light about one meter in diameter, how many people do you think can fit inside it? Maybe just one or two, but I highly doubt that you can bring an entire army with you on the mission.

Saki: Your reasoning ability is getting more capable and has reached a higher realm, Shin. I don't have any intention of ridiculing you, but have you thought about why the missions have a limitation of twenty people? That's because a team needs different types of talents. If everyone's direction of growth is on enhancing their body, they can of course increase their survivability in the missions, but at the same time the team's abilities will lack diversification. Remember what we discussed on the plane in the Btooom mission? That if our number of teammates increase the difficulty of the missions will go up. If we encounter special situations, it will likely cause the whole team to wipe out if we lack the ability to handle the increasing difficulties.

Then Saki took out a bag and opened it. The bag was filled with tools and little gears. She pointed to them and told us there purpose.

Saki: Aside from finished products, you can also exchange these tools and materials from God. In other words, if you have the relevant knowledge and ability, you can create those high cost items with minimal cost. You can even get around the limitation of ranked rewards. But do you have this kind of knowledge and ability? Definitely no! People with these kind of talents are usually physically weak and has no means for combat. Then how are they going to survive the beginning? The only answer is bodyguards. Similarly, that size of the beam that you just mentioned can just about fit two people in. In other words, why did God only offer one free exchange to create a bodyguard? That's because you can only bring one into the missions. This is God's hint! People with special talents also have means to protect their lives, this is probably what God tried to tell us.

When I heard this, I could only say that I was amazed, and everyone else was as taken back as well. Saki had deduced all of this with so little information. Not even Aqua our veteran Player had thought of all of this.

I am unsure if we can make magic weapons or tools like Magic Attack scrolls, but Sci-fi weapons are just advancements of our real world technology, despite the insanity of some, but in the end they are within the realm of possibility of mankind one day creating them.

This kind of ability... You can only describe her as non-human and I am glad that she is on our side. If she was an enemy and you gave her access to this room then she would become the wors opponent to face.

Saki: So these twenty people should include all kinds of talents. I have been pondering how God chooses people for the missions. Other than being disappointed at the real world, God can actually also choose people with talents at every field. Yet there are people from young to old, people with real talents to housewives. God actually doesn't know who's more suitable for missions. That's why it selected people of all kinds and then let them go through natural selection. Perhaps this is the intention behind having newbies every time. So in order to let those people survive, the first human creation must not go to waste. A special agent bodyguard that's twice as strong as a normal person, I don't have to tell you how useful he can be in Sci-fi missions right? This is the first thing I wanted to say. If I die in the next mission, then when newbies join in the future, if they are craftsmen or worked in other non laborious careers, you can tell them the correct usage of the first human creation. And not creating woman for sex, but to survive.

Misaki was about to lose his temper again after being told over and over that he made his girlfriend Mokoto for just sex, but I intervened.

Shin: Perhaps you are right, but I don't agree that creating a woman you could love will be useless in for surviving these missions. Mental support tends to be more useful than physical support. And God never stated the usage of the first human creation. In other words, this choice has infinite possibilities, no one can say with certainty that their hypothesis are correct, but I will tell the future newbie what you have found out so that they can survive their next trial.

Saki: Long as those who survive the next mission does so. By the way... Why haven't you used your free human creation for a woman for sex.

Misaki: They are not for sex!

Shin: Calm down Misaki. Anyways, as for me it wasn't for any great reason like not looking at women as things... I just couldn't decide on which anime heroine to create first.

Saki:

Hikari:

Aqua:

Shin: What? I'm getting closer to a decision.

Aqua: Shin, just shut up.

Shin: ...

Kampa: What's the second thing that you found wrong?

Saki actually smiled to everyone's surprise. She took out seven printed documents then handed them out to us all to look at.

Saki: These are the things you can exchange from God that I categorized. There are four categories. I wrote down the descriptions and functions of some practical items from low levels to high levels. Of course, some functions are just my guesses. This is the second thing, organize the exchange system. So we can know what we can exchange and better prepare for upcoming situations. This is also another speculation that I have. Perhaps we don't need to appear in missions with high death rates. God's probably wants us to experience dangerous situations and force us to evolve in danger. It's only because manga, anime and novels with a high death count are the most dangerous, that's why we will be experiencing a lot of them.

Shin: You mean like in BTOOOM! God has the power to change the settings around, so we could end up in a manga that didn't have a high death rate, but realistically should have.

Saki: Bleach or Naruto would be good examples. The fighting is very fierce and some people did die, but I was always under the impression that the authors were far too afraid to kill off their characters for whatever reason ( They were popular so magazines didn't want them dying or the author would hesitate to do so ).

Shin: Ah, I know what you mean. In bleach so many characters should have died in in the Aizen/soul society war and in Naruto only villains were allowed to die ( Except like Neji and the Third Hokage ).

Saki: That is right. God might make a story that in real life to suit younger viewers, change a single detail and throw us into a modified plot. Also, we should prepare for not just supernatural and magic stories, but sci-fi ones as well. Btooom didn't really go that far with just BIMs, but a real sci-fi story could wipe us out if we lack heavy firearms.

Hikari: Like what?

Shuai: Ghost in Shell, Cowboy Bebop, Psycho Pass, Blue Gender, Edge of Tomorrow, World Trigger ( Trigger ON! ), Zetman, Rockman, Mass Effect, Mahouka koukou no rettousei ( Love the light novel, but it lacked shounen elements and the MC was too OP in a world were effort meant very little and enemies never thought outside the box/Lacked a Kiritsugu Emiya view on how to face magicians. Could call it sci-fi since magic is just another science in that universe, but is a stretch ), Casshern Sins, Gantz, God Eater, Halo and some of the Final Fantasy Games ( A fantasy based on reality ).

Shin: I geuss we can count the Eva and Gunfam series out as they are too out there with mechas and all.

Saki: I hope so. Even if there is a new type enhancement here, those stories would require a whole different set of skills to survive. Of course God probably won't put us in a truly hopeless situation. But to prevent this from happening, I suggest that we equip ourselves with three weapons. Close combat weapon, rapid fire weapon, and heavy firearm.

We were then made to look at Saki's handout.

Saki: For close combat weapons, I suggest magical weapons. To be honest, I don't like to watch supernatural horror manga, anime, novels and I especially not into video games or movies. Bcause they have no scientific basis, I won't waste my brain cells on things that can't be explained. But the problem now is we are very likely going to face such magical and paranormal enemies on our missions. And in order to survive through them, I suggest a magical close combat weapon, that can both deal with normal life forms and also supernatural beings. Shin, you did very well on this point with the Na Ring. It lacks a effect on normal opponents and wasn't much use in Btooom, but your ring included support ability of a dimensional bag from games and can attack supernatural opponents as well. Given your physical fitness, this is almost a perfect choice, so you should continue down the close combat martial arts route that have been. You also have a type of Kagune that is useful in CQC and mid range combat. You should have a lot of points, so you should get a powerful Sci-fi weapon this time around or a magic weapon useful against any kind of opponent.

Shin: Thanks for the advice. I have been feeling my limitations in the last mission. I'll look into it.

Saki: Good. Now, rapid fire weapons are and should be used against enemies in masses, like zombies and your basic minion type monsters, goblins and skeletons that you see in games. For heavy firearms, I suggest Kampa get the M41A Pulse Rifle that has both the advantages of rapid fire and destructive power. The M41A Pulse Rifle is a pulse-action, air-cooled, selective fire assault rifle chambered for10×24mm Caseless ammunition, and has an attached grenade launcher, and if you are skilled enough to not get caught up in the blast you will become a force to be reckon with. This weapon is secretly in testing stage in the real world, but no one has come close to a finished model to my knowledge, yet God already has the finished product, but I wouldn't suggest getting anything too expensive since you also need to increase your stats. No matter what the great weapon you have there is no point if you gett killed easily, so increase your Muscle Density and Reaction Speed if you can.

Kampa: Alright.

Saki: Ok then. Now, as for everyone else, I don't suggest you buy any heavy firearms. Because your ability in handling weapons are horrible with the exception of Aqua with military training and Hikari who has talent with shooting. Aqua has her Auto 9 Robo Cop gun with infinite Ammo, so she is fine, but for Hikari, I wouldn't suggest that you become a gunner.

Hikari: Why is that?

Saki: You may have talent, but I believe that you would serve better in a support role with your abilities as a hacker with your skills with computers. If you really need to shoot for self defense I would suggest just borrowing Aqua's gun when she will be fighting at close range. As for the rest of you you're better off spending the points on special bullets for the rapid fire weapons. Like the new type of depleted uranium ammunition. Basically that's it for choosing weapons.

Shuai: How will those of us not suited for close combat fight supernatural enemies? Your suggestions only cover for Shin, Aqua and maybe Misaki.

Saki: Ah, I almost forgot, so let me add one last thing. Those normal and Sci-fi weapons can also damage supernatural beings. You just have to use magical bullets, but those will cost more than normal bullets as I have heard from Aqua. In fact, I've heard that she already figured out a way around that, right?

Aqua: Correct. My human creation not only cooks and cleans, but knows how to make low grade magic bullets. Of course I didn't know how to make them, so he couldn't do it right away either, but I had him learn to make them during the ten day breaks that we have and when I am on a mission.

Saki: Then I should apologies then. I said that you only use your human for menial task, but you-

Aqua: Don't apologies. It was only after my third mission did I come up with the idea and I forgot to have him learn anything else.

Saki: ... ( Saki was definitely thinking airhead just now ).

All of us were definitely praising Saki right now in our heads.

The way Saki approach everything was real professional. Aqua, Hikari, Misaki and I never thought about these things before. It was as if she had trained for this her whole life.

Saki's ideas increased their chance of survival by a lot. Even though she didn't like some of her methods, but she was really a genius.

Then Kampa took a look at the document and addressed a concern of his.

Kampa: But unlimited ammunition version of these guns are all expensive. We don't have that many points to exchange them. And the unlimited ammunition version of that M41A Pulse Rifle that I should get needs a rank D reward and 1000 points. I can afford it, but...

Saki: When did I say anything about unlimited ammunition weapons? Remember the first thing I said? Other than bodyguards, you can also exchange tools and materials from God. Gunpowder is very inexpensive, 1 point can get you one ton of high quality gunpowder. Bronze and other metals are also very inexpensive. I can exchange the materials to assemble a workshop and manufacture bullets in mass. Even though we won't have unlimited ammunition, but as long as it isn't the worst possible situation, we should have enough bullets to deal with it. Those magical weapons are expensive, even though we can't create these items, we can at least exchange some bullets with magical properties to deal with possible situations. This is the second thing I want to say, our standard equipment. With this we won't all need magic weapons if we expand on Aqua's magic bullet manufacturing operation.

We all exchanged a look to each other and I could see the delight in our eyes.

As long as they can live, even if it was just hope, that was enough to make them feel delighted. The higher the chance of my own and everyone's survival meant that I was getting closer and closer to becoming an OP protagonist. I already have two girls conquered... For the most part.

Shin: Then continue Saki. You're really amazing and if it wasn't for you we wouldn't be able to come up with these ideas, so continue to give us surprises. What's the third thing?

Saki: What I found, I found the option to go back to the real world... Even though it's only temporary and you have to pay a high price. But this is a way to confirm whether we entered this world with just our conscious or whole bodies. Also, we can confirm whether we can bring these things out to the real world, and bring our enhanced bodies back… Yes, I found the option to go back to the real world!

The third point was more shocking than the other two combined.

Everyone stared at Saki with craze excitement. After all, anyone who experienced such terrors, no matter how disappointed with the real world he/she was, or how much they loved becoming a character in a manga, anime, novel or video game... That person would lust for the real world and not stay to suffer without an end somewhere in their hearts.

We all looked at Saki with doubt and began asking her questions.

Shin: You plot too much, I'm suspicious of whether you have something up in your sleeve. How do we get back to the real world?

Saki: I'm not forcing you to do anything and this is no trick. It's your freedom to choose whether you want to go back. Aqua, you never looked at the Days Exchange category carefully, right? It's in the Entertainment section. I checked it yesterday and found that not only can you exchange for days to live in the previous mission worlds, you can also go back to the real world.

Aqua: We don't need you to tell us thst. Anyone can go back with 50,000 points or what, do you think any of us have the points? Are you trying to tease us or what? The only one here who is crazy enough to stay and give up on a chance to go back to the real world is this guy here.

Shin: Who is that?

Hikari: She means you, otaku baka!

Shin: Ah...

Saki: Can you all stop fooling around? Now, did I say that you can go back completely? At where you exchange regular days, I found a Record Function. It recorded Halloween 1, Saw 3, The Grudge, Halloween 4, Predator 1, High School of the Dead and our last mission BTOOOM!, for a total of seven missions, five of which were before God changed the rules and invited you into the world of manga, anime and such. And other than the five horror movies and the two manga/anime there's also another world. The real world!

Aqua turned slightly pale when she heard these names. Most likely those are...

Aqua: Those are all the missions I've experienced thus far, so why is there a record? What about the ones before those? I had comrades in my first two missions that said they had been to Bio-Hazard 2/Resident Evil 2, Aliensu and The Mummy.

Saki: There are no records of anything before those seven. God probably deleted them. After all, you are the only one among us that survived seven missions. This is not the key point. The key point is you can unlock the these worlds. After you unlock them, you can go into any of them, including the real world! You use a rank D reward to unlock a world in the records, then you can exchange for days to live in that world, but you have to spend five times as many points, that is you have to pay the high price of 50 points a day ( 10 points a day in the previous world they just experienced. Any other world needs 50 points a day and the D rank reward ). In order to go back to the real world temporarily, you need a rank D reward and a lot of points.

Everyone fell into silence.

Aqua had already told us about the rarity of the ranked rewards and I am living proof of what they can do for a person. If I didn't exchange my Ki whole enhancement and One-eyed Ghoul genetic mutation, then where would I be and would any of us have survived BTOOOM!.

For something that directly concerned their lives, how can anyone just use it up so easily? Furthermore, not only did you need a rank D reward, you also needed a lot of points. The cost was too high for just going back for a few days. Also, Aqua was right. I had no interest in going back to the real world any time soon.

Hikari: So you want one of us to go back to the real world to confirm the truth? Whether this is a virtual reality or our entire bodies have been pulled into this world?

Misaki: What do you mean?

Hikari: I don't know if you ever thought about this world. I gave it some thought before and I have two hypotheses. One is our consciousnesses were transported here and our bodies are still in front of the computer. This is the theory that Aqua denied right away when we first arrived in this dimension. Second is that our bodies were transported here along with our consciousnesses. I've learned from Aqua who heard from her human creation that no matter how much time we take on our missions, when we come back, only a day has passed in this dimension. In other words, God can control both space and time.

Saki: Hiakri is correct. That is like a real god, but the important thing isn't that. I too was always wondering if only our consciousnesses are in this world, then the enhancements and everything else could be just illusions. This would be like a virtual reality game. Similarly, our bodies will go into a vegetative state. If we don't confirm it as soon as possible, then our bodies might become ruined.

Shin: I think I understand what you're trying to convey. If our bodies are in this world, then we can forget about everything in the real world before we have the points to go back. We just have to focus on surviving. But if only our consciousnesses are here, then nothing can be brought back to the real world, and our bodies are also in danger. And in the worst case scenario we might as well want to forget about the real world where we are brain dead and are dying, too just stay here.

Misaki: Who would want to stay here!?

Shin: I know you are worried about your little sister, but you also have Mokoto here to consider. What if... Retuning to the real world means you are unable to bring her with you? You would have to effectively watch her die a second time.

Misaki: The... That's...

Shin: Living here with Mokoto and hoping for the best for your sister might be the right choice as well. These worlds are hell, but we just have to go somewhere else that is peaceful to live out our days there. With 50,000 points used in just a safe part of the previous Mission World BTOOOM!, we could enjoy 13-14 years of peace. Actual money and gold flows out like water from a sink long as you have a few points, so you could live a great life in peace with the woman you claimed that you wished to marry.

Misaki: ...

My words really must have had an effect on Misaki since he stopped talking. I was going to say something to him, but Saki interrupted me.

Saki: Hikari was right that we need to check out the real world, but... It doesn't just have to be one of us that gets to go.

Aqua: What do you mean? You want all of us to waste points and D rank rewards for a short break in the real world? Being that wasteful would endanger everyone other then Shin and I in the next mission.

Saki: I didn't mean for it to sound so wasteful. What I discovered is that there is actually a group voyage option in the Record Function. If one Player here pay a C rank reward then other Players can apply the points for the days spent in the real world. If say you payed one C rank reward the rest of us could combine our points for a total of 250 points, we coild all stay in the real world for five days. That is kinda too short for my taste, so we will all pay together 1500 points and either you or Shin who have an abundance of rewards will pay the C rank reward. This way we can stay in the real world for one whole month!

This was a tempting offer if we could all go back to the real world for an entire month.

Not all of them all them were like me and had left things behind in the real world. Hikari has her parents, Misaki had his little sister, and during Day 6 of Btooom in a conversation with Kampa, he said that had a family, a wife and a three year old son waiting for him in Russia.

For them, after returning back home from this dimension, putting their affairs in order comes as to a close second. No one wants to say it out loud, but we are all aware that we could die at anytime here. It is better to be prepared then to believe everything will work out one way or another.

We all then quickly agreed to Saki proposal, but Aqua who was the only one thinking straight came up with one condition.

Aqua: Wait a minute. None of us had exchanged anything for our own survival yet and going back to the real world is a luxury. If only, and only after we increased our battle power to the fullest and if we had any poimts left over we will go with the plan to return to the real world. If not then neither Shin or I will pay for the C rank reward.

Aqua made this decision, not bothering to get my opinion, but I agreed with her, and everyone else agreed with her once she pointed out the obvious. Aqua was probably more afraid that one of us would want to dish out more points to stay in the real world longer. Everyone in this room did have more then 2000 plus points to their name after all.

Shin: But isn't something off?

I said this when no one else was listening as they were immersed in talks about returning home to the real world, so I was only talking to myself.

Shin: This group voyage to the real world... Sounds far to good to be true. I just checked it out myself that it was true, that with a C rank reward a group could go back, but isn't this for too convenient of a offer? It... It is like God want us to be able to temporarily return to the real world, and in groups at that. I haven't seen or found any other exchanges so far that clearly state that you could pool points and rewards like this.

Yet, I then decided to hold back my suspicions to myself. I had no proof to suggest otherwise that this is anything more than a good deal, but still... I chose to keep an open eye on our journey back to the real world.


	56. Chapter 56

Everyone wanted to immediately return to the real world right away, but Aqua's words made them hesitant. Going back was a luxury for them, and only if they all could scrap the rewards and points to go after they make themselves stronge as possible. There was no point in returning to the real world for one month, only to die once they get back.

Due to the amount of points and valuable ranked rewards they earned this time in BTOOOM!, everyone had the opportunity to exchange for great stat enhancements or a higher tier weapon. Even Shuai who was absent from the final battle had two D rank reward and 600 ( From the Players ) points to spare in addition to what else he earned in the mission.

Everyone was in deep thought about what they should get, yet we had already decided on positions. Like Saki suggested we all shouldn't take the same enhancement paths as each other.

It was a good idea and without needing to discuss it in depth we had a general idea of what we wanted to do and it didn't conflict with each other. In the end, our positions were split into four groups ( Oddly similar to a certain Manga about a border agent and an alien neighbor in black armor ) and they were the following:

ATTACKER/CLOSE RANGE FIGHTERS - To fight up close. To fight/distract the enemy while fighting up clsoe and are responsible for defeating enemies to protect the team.

1\. Shin: Ki Energy, One-eye Ghoul genetic mutation and Na Ring.

2\. Aqua: Nen/Aura, Wolverine genetic mutation, Werewolf genetic mutation and Robo Cop Auto 9.

3\. Misaki: Undecided.

GUNNER/MID RANGE FIGHTER - To fight from a distance. To either support those fighting up close, or to decisively defeat a enemy with a powerful attack.

Kampa: Undecided.

Saki: Undecided.

SNIPER/LONG RANGE FIGHTER - To fight from long distance away. Defeats the enemy from a distance or has an ability that can't be used from close up.

Shuai: Undecided.

SUPPORT/OTHER - Has a role that helps team members or plays another role outside of battle.

Hikari: Undecided.

Once positions were decided we went our own ways to decide our enhancements. Saki thought the we should decide together, but Aqua and I were against it.

Position were one thing, but our points and rewards belonged to ourselves, so choosing something that increase your survivability or the teams could only be your own choice. I for one wouldn't get something that I wasn't confident that I could use, or use for other and not myself.

Shin: Now... What should I buy from Ebay, no I mean God's store this time? I have 7573 Points, 2B, 1C and 2D rank rewards to spend after all. My first priority should be... A good weapon. I can make myself stronger with more stats and skills later if I have the points, but I critically need a good close range weapon.

Those battles against the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders in the last mission taught me an important lesson. I wouldn't have been a match for them if I hadn't unlocked my genetic constraint, and doing so takes a lot out of me.

I just talked to Aqua about it and she said it will start to have less of a effect on my body now that God had fixed my genetics and I am building up a tolerance for it, but it isn't good to keep relying on it. To face future dangers I need a good weapon. One that even if I wasn't in Unlocked Mode, I could defeat opponents like the Btooom Soldier and Btooom Commanders with.

Shin: And since I am apparently a close range fighter... A sword, or fist type weapon would do me good since I fought that entire mission pretty much bare handedly. A sci-fi gun would be cool as well, but it has to be a sword for close range combat.

Also, another issue for me is that it's a weapon that doesn't make me weaker over time with its use. A weapon that doesn't drain my Ki Energy, or makes Ki Energy more efficient to use would be nice. My Na Ring is great, but if the opponent isn't supernatural/magical then it is useless in a fight and it will also drain me of Ki.

And as I attend to go down the martial arts path as well, I will be exchanging for skills from God that will drain Ki already. Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement were amazing, but they drained my Ki by a noticeable amount with each use.

Shin: So weapons... Lets look them up. Also, I should look into armor for protection. Thanks to being a Ghoul I can heal from a lot of wounds, but it drains me and hurts like hell. With a higher 'Defense Stat', I can fight longer as well.

I then asked God to bring up suitable equipment for me, and since this was important I filered it so that it will show up to B rank weapons/armor/tools.

Sapphire Dite -

Rating 50.

A portable, retractable weapon fulled by Ki and increases the efficiency of Ki. Has a preset sword mode and Ki thread mode. Requires 2000 Points and D rank reward.

Adamant Dite -

Rating 74.

A portable, retractable weapon fulled by Ki and increases the efficiency of Ki. A weapon with a variety of forms including swords, lances, bows and guns. Requires 2500 Points and C rank reward.

Light Saber -

Rating 70.

The formal weapon of a Jedi Knight. A blade of pure plasma is emitted from the hilt and its said to be able to cut through anything. 2000 points and two D rank rewards.

Shin Adamant Dite -

Rating 61.

A portable, retractable weapon fulled by Ki and increases the efficiency of Ki. A high quality dite in the shape of a Katana. Requires 1700 Points and C rank reward.

Captain America's Shield -

Rating 60.

A shield that is physically indestructible under normal conditions. It is able to absorb all kinetic energy and transfers very little energy from each impac. Requires 2000 Points and D rank reward.

Thor's Hammer -

Rating 91.

The hammer of thor from Norse mythology. Can summon lightning and can be called back if throw/leave your side. By expending large amount of energy one can summon lighting storms. 9200 Points and two B rank rewards.

Iron Man's Suit, First Movie -

Rating 83.

The suit of armor designed and worn by Tony Stark in Iron Man 1 Movie and equipped with a variety of advance weaponry. Requires 7600 Points and B rank reward.

Sword of Kusanagi ( Naruto ) -

Rating 70.

The legendary sword of Kusanagi. Has a very charp edge, the blade can extend and can be controlled with telekinesis. Requires 1700 Points and two C rank reward.

Hestia Knife -

Rating 93.

The knife given to a young adventure by the goddess Hestia. The strength of the Knife is equal to the stats of its chosen wielder. Requires 3500 Points and B rank reward.

Black Demon Series Weapon -

Rating 80.

The strongest cursed gear containing rank 1 demons sealed within. Highly lethal to vampires and undead type monsters. Requires 2000 Points and two C rank rewards.

Key Blade -

Rating 75.

A mysterious weapon used to seal and unlock barriers. Especially effective against creatures born from the darkness of human hearts. Requires 1500 Points and C rank reward.

Broad Legged -

Rating 66.

A great sword once held by the Terror of Death. Requires 1100 Points and D rank reward.

Barbarian Armor -

Rating 75.

The standard armor of the Hero of the Shield which carries his essence. Greatly increases the wears defense against physical, spiritual and magic attacks. Magic Repair Function: Can repair itself over time and if destroyed can be recreated for 210 Points and D rank reward. Requires 2100 Points and two C rank rewards.

Elucidator -

Rating 64.

The primary weapon of the hero of SAO. This sword is a demonic monster drop from a boss on the 50th Floor. Requires 1500 Points and D rank reward.

Wind Spirit Boots

Rating 78/100

Magic boots blessed by wind spirits. Passively increases moving speed by 15%. The skll "Slide" is attached to the boots and becomes usable. Requires 2200 Points and two D rank rewards.

Dark Repulser -

Rating 69.

A one-handed sword, created by Lisbeth for Kirito out of a Crystallite Ingot, which was obtained from a special quest and the second weapon for the hero of SAO. Requires 1600 Points and two D rank rewards.

Night Sky Sword -

Rating 77.

A Priority 46 Divine Instrument-class long sword of the hero of SAO and Personal one-handed sword in Underworld. Requires 2100 Points and C rank reward.

Kanshou and Bakuya -

Rating 69.

A 'married' twin sword set representing yin and yang. Requires 1800 Points and two D rank reward.

Emperor Qin's Sword -

Rating 90.

In the ancient times there lived an emperor that was both kind and known to all under the heavens. His saber was named Long Quan but in the midsts of a fierce battle, it snapped in half. The broken pieces were then buried into the ground, staying there for countless generations. At last the broken sword has been unearthed and still contains the vast powers of the emperor. This sword would be known to the future generations as the king of swords and after the previous owner of the sword as Emperor Qin's Sword. This sword can not be broken and is Soul Bound to its user. Special Skill, Kill For Blood: For ever life that this sword takes a random state of the holder will increase by 1%, Cap 50% for any one stat and resets every twenty-four hours. Sword can evolve to a higher rank by offering an A rank reward and 8000 Points. Requires 5000 Points and B rank reward.

Shining Darkness -

Rating 90.

A two-handed sword used by a hero who fought under Hero Maban. Shining Darkness has special abilities that can be used when fighting the forces of darkness. Increases the holders stats and damage dealt when dealing with enemies with the Demonic Attribute. Special Skill, Shining Darkness: A knockdown technique used against the demonic forces. In order to use this skill, the sword needs to be charged with the demonic energy, either from the user or stolen from enemies, and the subsequent explosion will overpower the darkness. The damage depends on the amount of demonic energy charged. Once used collected demonic energy is reset and one hour cool down time. Requires 7500 Points and B rank reward.

Shin: They are all great and all and especially the last two, but none of them are calling to me... Wait!

Those were just a few among many great and amazing weapons, but towards the very bottom two stood out and called to me. One was the sword of one of my favorite protagonist in a sequel of a great manga, which 150% lives up to its predecessor. The other was a piece of armor that I never heard of before, yet it reminded me of my favorite Korean light novel protagonist Ark and his profession Dark Walker.

Gravity Blade -

Rating 77.

A pure black katana created by an evil mage. This sword is a blade with the ability to increase its "gravity", or, more accurately, weight. Doing this increases the relative power of the blade's physical strikes on an opponent. Located on the hilt of the blade, under the guard, is a dial which has a "heavy" and "light" setting, flipping the dial in either direction allows any user, to alter the blade's weight, heavier for increased power, lighter for ease of use. The gravity blade is able to talk to it's master telepathically and give combat advise. This sword was originally created to help those connected to "3-A", but God has made sure that it's master will be recognized as such. As a special bonus as a magic weapon, God has allowed Gravity Blade the ability to slash spirits and other nonliving entities, yet there will be no additional damage like with Blood Energy's corrosive properties or Holy Magic's purification power. A seal has been placed on the Gravity Blade and with an A rank reward it can be lifted. Requires 2500 Points and two C rank rewards.

Lesser Fenrir Coat -

Rating 89..

Thin, flexible black armor with the shape of coat. Made from the the fur and leather of a direct decedent of the monster wolf Fenrir. High durability and resistance to physical force, magic, spiritual attacks and Psyche Force. Passively increases Muscle Density, Intelligence, Mental Capacity and Immunization Strength by 10%, and Reaction Speed and Cell Vitality by 20%. Darkness Attribute Bonus: Passively increases all stats by an additional 30% at night or inside caves/tombs. Magic Repair Function: Can repair itself over time and if destroyed can be recreated for 300 Points and a D rank reward. Requires 3000 Points and B rank reward.

I choose the Gravity Blade since it can be used on both normal and abnormal opponents, and doesn't drain my Ki. Also, the seal sounds suspicious. It must because UQ Holders is still a new manag and the protagonist has yet to bring out all of it's mysteries. Shining Darkness and Emperor Qin's Sword are badass, but I won't have enough points afterwards for skill a or armor.

As for the Lesser Fenrir Coat it offers great protection and passively raises my stats ( I feel like Ark ) and despite being a B rank item it can be repaired if broken with just a D rank reward. How OP is that! Also, I will feel closer to Aqua since she is part wolf... Hope she won't mind I am wearing one of her potential bretheren.

Shin: Ok, I made my first two choices!

To buy the sword I had to break one of my rank B rewards to three C rank rewards for a total of now 4C, and I spent 1B and 2C's for my purchases to buy both the Gravity Blade and Lesser Fenrir Coat.

Shin: I'll buy these two first. 5500 Points, 1B and two C rank rewards gone in a flash... I definitely want to cry. At least they fit my criteria to a T.

Once I told God my choice the points and rewards were taken and I had my two new toys, I mean weapons in my hands. A Kirito level cool dark coat materialized in my hands that had the crest of the white full moon on the back and on top of the coat was the pure black Gravity Blade in the sheath from the color pages of the Manga.

I downed on the black coat and instantly felt my power increased. It felt different from when I had God enhance myself since the power up didn't come from my natural strength, but another tool. Just wearing this coat gave me a rush of power, and it was basically day all the time in the Terminal Lobby, so I couldn't imagine what it is like during the night.

Then I preceded to tie the sword to my hip ( God, I felt lile Kenshin Himura, except I'll won't be using this sword to not kill anymore ) and drew the sword from the sheath and held it in my two hands. It felt light to the touch, but one flip of a switched it could weigh as much as 100 busses and if thrown you bring down a large building or magic barrier with its weight alone.

Shin: I geuss we are partners now Gravity Blade.

GB: ...

SHIM: Ahh... I guess you really are shy, huh. Touta called you Sidestick when he didn't bother to learn your real name. Could you introduce yourself.

GB: ...

Shin: Fine... I'll call you GB from now on. Great name right? Looking forward to working sith you GB.

GB: ...Baka.

Shin: What!

GB: ...

Shin: ...You better watch yourself GB.

Now that I was done talking to my antisocial sword, I placed GB back into her sheath and turned to my next set of exchanges... Ki skills!

Shin: I now have 2,073 Points, 2C and 2D rank rewards. During the Btooom mission I learned Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement by accident and gained Skills Mastery for them. Now I can exchange them to cheap. I could use them well enough, but I doubt that I can master the more advance techniques for them without a deeper understanding of the skills.

Soul Crushing Strike -

Rating 71.

Matching physical moment and Ki circulation to create an exceptional powerful Ki strike. A ki strike that can deal internal damage as well as crush bones. A proper SCS cause a small sonic boom when unleashed, an explosion directly in front of the extended fist. 1500 Points and C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 150 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Instant Movement -

Rating 78.

Is a basic foot technique to move from one place to the next with high-speed movement. Ki or magic power is used to jump from point A to point B as quickly as possible. 1700 points and two C rank rewards. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 170 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Shin: One tenth the price and a reduction in rank rewards I can feel happy with getting away with 320 points and two D rank rewards.

I made the exchanges to God and two scrolls that looked like they came right out of Naruto appeared in my hands and on first contact they disappeared. Then a large amount of new information about the two skills came rushing into my head. It was a short headache and it took a while for me, a full twenty seconds to calm down, so I can organize the new information. It was basically what I knew about the skill already, but ways to improve the power, speed and Ki efficiency even more was added to my knowledge.

Shin: Now that this is out of the way I can focus on my final exchanges for new skills.

They were the many enhancement belonging to the skill category.

I took a look at top tier enhancements before, and some of them were skills from Wuxia. Like a QingGong that required a rank A reward and a huge amount of points. In comparison these skills that I am considering were of a lower tier and it just happened to be usable.

Ki Blast -

Rating 50.

A basic Ki blast shoot outward from the palm. 1000 Points and a C rank reward.

Spirit Gun -

Rating Rating 70.

A concentration of energy channeled into the index finger and shot out like a bullet. Requires Spirit Energy or Ki. Requires 2000 Points and a C rank reward.

Spirit Wave -

Rating 94.

The user turns the entire body into a catalyst of energy, creating a powerful flow of power within the body and released as a devastating wave of energy, or focused into a single punch or kick. All of the body's energy is used up afterwards. Can also be used to heal. Requires 4500 Points, B rank reward and B rank energy or higher.

Seikuken -

Rating 60.

Combining physical martial arts and Ki to control the space around the user into a spherical shield. Requires 1500 Points and a D rank reward.

Ryusui Seikuken -

Rating 77.

The advanced form of Seikuken. Reduces Seikuken inwardly into a thin layer above the skin to dodge enemy attack at the last possible second. While active, greatly increases Reaction Speed and reduces stamina consumption. 2600 points and two C ranl rewards.

Zamaken Ni-no-Tachi -

Rating 80.

Cut a demonic spirit behind a person without injuring said person. Requires 3000 and two C rank rewards.

Soul Crushing Strike -

Rating 71.

Matching physical moment and Ki circulation to create an exceptional powerful Ki strike. A ki strike that can deal internal damage as well as crush bones. A proper SCS cause a small sonic boom when unleashed, an explosion directly in front of the extended fist. 1500 Points and C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 150 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Instant Movement -

Rating 78.

Is a basic foot technique to move from one place to the next with high-speed movement. Ki or magic power is used to jump from point A to point B as quickly as possible. 1700 points and two C rank rewards. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 170 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Void Instant Movement -

Rating 85.

A movement technique and an advanced form of Instant Movement. Instead of using a fixed surface, the practitioner simply uses 'air' (space) as a foothold. Requires 3000 Points and two C rank reward.

Ki Injection

Rsting 84.

Allows Ki to be concentrated in the Palms and injected into a particular spot on another person's body. This enables treatment of most wounds to a certain extent. Requires 1600 points and a C rank reward.

Ultrapowerful Violent Palms

Rating 83.

Concentrate your current ki within your hands, then you can utilize your hands to performs palm strike. A palm strike has enough power to rupture your opponent's Ki/other internal energy itself. Requires 1500 points and a C Rank Reward.

Invincible Divine Body

Rating 89.

Condenses and concentrate all your ki into your body and release a tremendous aura. The aura protects you heavily from attacks even strong as a lightning bolt. Your body not only become more endurable, but your body also strengthen to the point when your body can break through steel. Requires 1900 points and two C Rank Reward.

Penetrating Force

Rating 91.

Rather than an attack itself. It's a technique to transform and condense to enable your ki to easily penetrate to the hardest defenses. Support technique. Requires 2200 points and C Rank Reward

Linear Drive

Rating 80.

Concentrate Ki in the body to rush forward and deliver impact or move to an area in an instant. Requires 2100 points and two C rank reward.

Diamond Rebound -

Rating 70.

A defensive Ki technique to harden the muscles and repelling attacks away, or even back at enemies. 3000 points and C rank reward.

Tornado Step -

Rating 65.

A foot technique that allows one to summon air currents and jump far distances while also blowing away those nearby with a strong gust of wind. Ideal for quick escapes. Rating 4000 and two C rank rewards.

Dou Ki Armor -

Rating 73.

A defensive technique where Ki is used to create a defensive armor around the user. Grows substantially with the level of the users Ki energy. Requires 5000 Points, B rank reward and Intermediate Level Ki or higher.

I was now looking over Ki Techniques to increase my arsenal.

I wanted to get a defensive technique like Seikuken or some shield, but my new armor will suffice for now as added defense. What I needed now were techniques that I can use at a distance. I am an close range fighter, but it would be stupid of me not to have one ranged atrack to rely on in an emergency.

Shin: I'll get the simple Ki Blast Skill for now. It is weaker then Spirit Gun, but I have a few ideas to improve the skill now that I know about Skill Mastery.

I made my choice to God and another scroll, a very thin one to show how not special it was came to me. It vanished and the information for the skill came to me.

It was an all too basic skill, but what I really wanted was the knowledge on how to emit Ki outwardly. If my idea pans out I could end up with a pretty amazing skill.

Shin: Now, once more... I am broke. 753 Points and 1C rank reward. Rewards mean very little when you don't have the points to use them and I'll rather not break them to get low grade D rank items. I geuss I'll use my remaining 750 to increase my... Ahh, that was right! I still owe Shuai 100 points! I should be glad that I didn't spend till I was at zero.


	57. Chapter 57

Shin: Hey... Come on. It will be alright.

Hikari: I'm, I'm not sure.

Shin: Hey, you can trust me, can't you? I promise you that it won't hurt at all.

Hikari: Like hell it won't!

Shin: Don't be like that. Once, just once I want, I need you to show me how it is done in real life. This is my request of a lifetime!

Hikari: Don't waste it on something like this!

Shin: ...Fine. I guess I'll just ask Aqua to do it instead.

Hikari: ...Wait!

Shin: What.

Hikari: I... I'll do it okay! This will make you happy right, Baka otaku?

Shin: More then you can ever know.

Hikari: Ok then... I'll do it if you insist.

Shin: Thank you Hikari. I know this should just be your decision, but I am sure that both of us will enjoy this. Now... Let's PERSONA!

Once I had finished my exchanges to God, I decided to go show off and see what everyone else had gotten. Half of them were finished like I was, but I first went to Hikari who was not done.

Hikari was to be our group support role, so she needed a exchange to match this position. She was very skilled with computers so at first she wanted something to enhance that, but there was no certainty that she would be able to showcase her skills as a hacker criminal.

Like we had all realized early on Hikari's computer skills were restricted to worlds and settings that had networks like BTOOOM!, but such skills would become useless in worlds like Naruto ( Main Naruto ) and One Piece where the world wasn't up to that level of technology on a wide scale.

In apocalyptic stories like H.O.T.D, where within a few days all electronics were disabled/destroyed in the panic Hikari's abilities would be effectively sealed. If our mission back there started after the EMP incident over Japan then she would have had no hope of being useful.

To rely, or more like spend her 2640 ( 2540 after payying out Shuai ) points on something she can't depend on for any mission would not be an advisable idea. Hikari knew as much, but since Hikari was only especially skilled with computers she was in a delima.

That was where I came in and gave my two cents to Hikari. Using my vast knowledge of manga, anime, visual novels, games and novels, I ran a check through my mental database for characters she was similar to, and came to a conclusion.

Shin: Isn't Hikari similar to Fuuka from the masterpiece of a work that has yet to be surpassed, Persona 3? Fuuka liked putting together computers and other tools, and in the future her Persona abilities expanded greatly with computers. Even Rise admitted that Fuuka was the better support Peraons user in the Arena.

That was it.

If Hikari acquired a Persona, personality wise, she is very likely to be a support type like Fuuka. And if her Persona doesn't have great support abilities for any reason then her Persona should compensate with decent combat power.

I gave my opinion to Hikari that having a support type Persona could fit into her role as a support and enhance her computing abilities as well possibly, but she was a bit against it at first. Even a non otaku like her knew that in Persona 3 you had to use a gun to shoot oneself in the head, and that was scary ( Even Yukari was scared at first ).

Still, I got her to get it in the end. I wasn't proud ( That proud ) of it, but my enthusiasm to see a Persona won out over allowing Hikari to make her own choices. Once convinced, we filtered out God's exchanges for the Persona series section and looked through a few.

SEES Evoker -

Rating 80.

A gun shaped tool that when pressed to the head and the trigger is pulled to summon one's Persona, the mask to protect oneself and a familiar to control. Can not be shared with others. Allows access to Psyche Force. Requires 2000 Points and two D rank rewards.

Persona Taror Card -

Rating 70 ( Author's predigous ).

A tarot card that when crushed will summon one's Persona, the mask to protect oneself and a familiar to control. Allows access to Psyche Force. Requires 2000 Points and two D rank rewards.

Full Analysis -

Rating 80.

Display detailed stats of an individual. Can also see skills, resistances and weaknesses, but take much more observation to reveal of those who resist the scan unconsciously or consciously. Requires 10,000 Points, two C rank reward and support type Persona.

Support Scan -

Rating 65.

Displays the conditions of allys in depth. Requires 6000 Points, C rank reward and support type Persona.

Third Eye -

Rating 90.

A passive ability that forewarns danger and effectiveness of plans with probability. Requires 12,000 Points, A rank reward and support type Persona.

Healing Wave -

Rating 70.

Constantly heals a target with healing magic over time. Requires 8000 Points, two C rank rewards and support type Persona.

Escape Route -

Rating 78.

While inside Tartarus you can escape back to the Terminal Lobby. In the real world or Mission Worlds the user will be able to find ideal escape routes. Requires 9000 Points, two C rank reward and support type Persona.

Persona Link -

Rating 80.

Enables one to talk to other Peraona users over any distance long as they are conscious. Requires 4000 Points, C rank reward and support type Persona.

Wildcard Enhancement -

Rating 95.

The Persona users ability to summon multiple generic Persona from all arcana. Vastly increases Intelligence and Mental Capacity. Requires 15,000 Points, A rank reward and awakened one's Persona.

Anti Shadow Weapons -

Rating 50.

Weapons that deal extra damage to Shadows and supernatural beings created from the mind. Requires 1000 Points, D rank reward and awakened one's Persona.

Mitsuri's Bike -

Rating 53.

A 'Special' bike with magic resistance. Requires 500 Points and D rank reward.

The Dark Hour -

Rating 100.

The ability of a Persona user to enter the Midnight Hour with others and summon Tartarus at 12 AM. A dimensional training space for Players to explore for one hour per day. Monsters defeated within will randomly give out Points and Rank Rewards for defeating them. Can only enter the Midnight Hour in God's dimension and excessively entering the Midnight Hour will negatively effect the Players health. Requires 25,000 Points, A rank reward and owner must have awakened one's Persona.

Hikari: Hey, Shin, instead of the gun to my head, can't I get the tarot card version? They do the same thing.

Shin: No! It has to be the gun or nothing. Persona 4 was a fine successor to Persona 3, but it can't match up to Persona 3's story and characters ( The murder in P4 was pretty half assed in the end ). Besides, rather than smashing a card, who wouldn't rather stick a gun to one's head and pull the trigger to summon one's Persona?

Hikari: Everyone!

Shin: Not everyone, and the answer is no. Get the gun. 2000 Points and two D rank rewards. Get it!

Hikari: Fine already, I'll get the gun! You Happy?

Shin: Very.

Hikari: ...

Hikari gave me a, "Why do I like this guy again?" look, but never did say it out loud. Then Hikari exchanged for the 2000 Point and two D rank rewards SEES Evoker. The gun materialized in her hand and there it was. The symbol of SEES and Persona 3! And then after giving her a few instructions on how to use it...

Shin: Now say it like like I told you.

Hikari: ...Persona.

Shin: Louder!

Hikari: Such a... Fine. Persona!

Hikari pressed the muzzel of the gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Then a blue light and blue flames enveloped her and her Persona appeared right behind her.

Hikari's Person's name was Adrasteia, and liked what we had hoped it was a Persona with support capabilities. Hikari had no instructions for it now and it disappeared in a blue flash and then she fell to the floor exhausted. I quickly moved over to her side, yet she said she was fine and only a little worn out mentally.

Shin: Are you sure that you are alright, Hikari?

Hikari: I'm fine. Just a small headache. I just didn't expect it to drain me so much was all, but... It was really incredible. All my five, no six senses were expanded and a flood of information came rushing into my head. I bet I really could use it to not only for surveillance and see through enemies, but also tap into networks as well. The only problem is that I am still lacking. Most likely in some stats.

Shin: Is it mental Capacity or Intelligence? Personas seem to be related to Psyche Force.

Hikari: It is probably both. At my current ability I don't think I could summon my Persona more then 2-3 times before passing out. And I wouldn't be able to keep summoning it either.

Shin: That is bad. In the Persona series, some characters pass out and need weeks of rest to recover after awakening their Persona the first time. It seems to be a side effect.

Hikari: I wish you told me that first. Whatever the case, outside of my share for the trip to the real world, I should increase my Mental Capacity and Intelligence with the remainder of my points, but it is still amazing Shin. I am lacking a lot of the skills, but it says with a support Persona I have two preset skills, Enemy Radar and Game Mapping. Enemy Radar allows me to spot hostile enemies within range of myself and registered allies. Game Mapping allows me create game like maps of what my Persona can see and relay that information directly into another person mind... It's kind like an app one can bring up when lost. If it didn't take such a toll on my head this would be the absolute best ability.

Shin: I agree, but for now you should rest in your room... I can escort you if you-

Hikari: I refuse! You are not likely to stop to taking me to my room and leaving. Just go check on the others.

Then watching my second future wife leave to go rest in her room, my first wife to be Aqua came over to speak to me about Hikari's exchanges after seing the grand entrance of her Persona. Then after giving her a brief explanation she seemed to understand and gave me her thoughts.

Aqua: A rear support Persona, huh?

Shin: Is that a problem?

Aqua: No, in fact I would say that it was a very good choice, but it is shame that she lacks the points to really bring out it's full potential at this time.

Shin: What do you mean? Do you mean the support skills for Personas?

Aqua: That to, but I didn't mean the Persona itself. Remember that she now has access to Psyche Force. From what I know it takes a real talented individual with a good brain to use it to its full potential. With Psyche Force the corresponding skills Hikari could create detail maps for us of an area and download that information into our heads, and brainwash NPCs with low level Intelligence and Mental Capacity. The Psyche Force path cost a lot of points, but it is worth it. In the future, Hikari becoming the core of the team is very much a possibility.

Shin: That's great, but wait. Are you really saying that Hikari can brainwash others?

Aqua: If she gets the right skill and has the potential then yes she could. If it wasn't for the fact that it was unlikely that it could work on the strong enemies on the missions like bosses it... In your words it would be too OP as it were.

Shin: I had no idea. If you could control the actions of others in missions... That would really be cheating.

Aqua: And it doesn't just end at brainwashing. A skilful Psyche Force user could even help out their teammates. For example, there are some skills where even if you exchange for it are hard to master. Talent still plays a part when using skills like Ki, Nen and Psyche Force. If Hikari was skilled enough she could use her powers to help you, Shin, use a Ki skill you are unable to use well, or even better, enhance it to perfection. Now, if Zero was still with us then Hikari could extended his sniping range by guiding his aim even if he himself couldn't see the target originally. It's even better then when soldiers have the advantage of real time satalite surveillance to back them up in the field.

Shin: That already sounds too OP. Why didn't you mention this earlier?

Aqua: I didn't want to just tell people that they could brainwash others and have them make that exchange for kicks ( Didn't want the story to turn NTR ). Also, Saki would have insisted that one of us, or more likely herself get such a useful skill set.

Shin: Is that a bad thing?

Aqua: It could be. Saki is the smart type who is far too logical at times. Give her that kind of power and if she had the potential for it... Really could end badly, because only those with high Mental Capacity, will power or have unlocked the Genetic Constraint could resist her.

Aqua didn't say anything more, but I got the picture. If Saki was an evil villain then she could turn everyone here, other then Aqua and I into puppets to attack us. That kind of worst case scenario could end for a wipe for our Team Japan, and now...

Shin: ...That kind of power is in Hikari's hands.

Aqua: I don't know what has been going on between you two, but you better make sure to be nice to her from now on. That is, if you don't want to reach the worst BAD END.

Shin: ...I'll keep that in mind. I'll definitely keep that in mind like my life depends on it ( To avoid reverse NTR ). So should we keep this info to ourselves?

Aqua: You can do what you want because in the end my worry may have turned out to be needless. I was just worrying about a worse case scenario.

Shin: So you are not worried?

Aqua: I am, but... Shin, try looking up Psyche force skills. Don't get it, but just take a look.

Shin: Okay.

I closed his eyes and connected with God. Then navigated to the psyche force section, but as soon as I chose one of the techniques I heard God's voice in my head giving me a warning.

\- Your body can't sustain Psyche Force. Unable to learn psyche force techniques. Please make sure your mental capacity is over 3000.

Shin: What the hell!? There is a 3000 Mental Capacity restriction just to learn Psyche Force. What is that?

Aqua: Mine was 3400. People who can enhance their Mental Capacity and use Psyche Force and skils are very rare, and in our group, I could had only imagined Saki learning them easily. It really came as a shock that Hikari gained a support type Peraona. For her to develop a support type and not the more common combat type showed that she has the potential for Psyche Force. She shouldn't even have over 200 in Mental Capacity yet.

Shin: Then it was good that I made her get it, huh?

Aqua: Yeah, but. It has its its ups and downs... We'll save that talk for another day.


	58. Chapter 58

Aqua had not yet finished making a decision for her enhancements, so I skipped Aqua for now and went over to check on someone else. My next stop had me talking to Misaki.

Shin: So have you chosen what you wanted to get?

Misaki: Yes I did. I had 3125 Points, 1C rank reward at the start. I broke the C rank reward back into into three D rank rewards and after my repairs I had 3040 points. I then spent each reward on three skills. Two of One Piece's Haki skills and a Pyrokinesis skill. All together 2700 points and all three D ranl rewards were spent to get them.

Color of Armaments Haki -

Rating 70.

The power of Haki to create a force of life energy similar to invisible armor around the user. Allows you touch and harm non physical beings with will-power alone. Substantially increases Muscle Density and Mental Capacity when active. Requires 500 Points and D rank reward.

Color of Observation Haki -

Rating 70.

Also called Mantra, is the Haki force of spiritual power. Allows you sense the presences of others even if invisible, and even feelings. Substantially increases Intelligence, Mental Capacity and Reaction Speed. Requires 700 Points and D rank reward.

Pyrokinesis Master -

Rating 53.

The ability to summon and manipulate flames with one's mind. One's emotional state is a factor in the power of this skill. Controlling preexisting flames will reduce the burden on the user. Requires 1500 Points and D rank reward.

Shin: Haki and controlling flames, huh?

Haki is a concept from the popular manga One Piece.

In One Piece, Haki is a mysterious power that is found in every living being in the world and it is not that different from the normal senses.

However, most people do not notice it or fail to awaken it. Broadly, there are two types of Haki common to everyone, given the proper training; however, there is a third type that only a certain group of "Chosen ones" are said to possess. In simple terms, Haki is an ability to sense spiritual energy ( Observation ), use life force ( Armament ) and overpower enemies ( Mind/Will Power ).

The Color of Armament is one of the three types of Haki and it deals with offense and defense. In the manga, at its basic level allows one to hit those who are normally immune to damage like Luffy's rubber body or Logia type devil fruit users who are made of the natural elements such as fire and ice. Haki also lets you reflect back attacks, and at higher skill levels one can harden parts of the body with Haki for additional damage dealing.

The Color of Observation is the type of Haki that allows one to sense the presences of others. In combat this is used to increase ones perception and predict enemy attack and find hidden opponents. Also, once skileld enough one can read minds and feel threats from long distances.

Pyrokinesis is noteworthy power held by espers. There are many good examples of people who hold this skill can do, but famous instances are regular large scale fires that sweep town and burning people alive. In fiction, the espers who have this power are normally hot head and have hard times controlling their emotions, and Misaki fit this to a T, but such emotions if mastered can enhance the power of this skill.

So after spending 2700 points and all of his rewards Misaki was left with 340 points. That was enough to pay Shuai his 100 and 200 points for the trip back home to the real world.

Shin: Haki I can understand since it increases your combat ability in general and against the paranormal, but why Pyrokinesis? Are you a fan of arsonist?

Misaki: No! I just thought that controlling flames would be powerful. Also, I had a thought.

Shin: What?

Misaki: If I could later get the Fire Dragon Slayer Genetic Mutation and I have Pyrokinesis Master on top of that, won't my ability to control flames be very powerful? Your Ki and Ghoul powers match well, so why not Dragon Slayer and Pyrokinesis Master?

Shin: ...

Misaki: What?

Shin: No, it is nothing. I just never realized that you were this smart Misaki. As your leader, you've impressed me greatly.

Misaki: Shut up, and why do you sound so arrogant, leader? I bet I'm now far more powerful than you are.

Shin: Huh!? You want to bet on that? I'll give you one free shot on me and see if you can even knock me out with that flimsy fist of yours.

Misaki: Your on!

Shin was confident in his abilities, but he made a mistake in believing that Misaki couldn't hurt him just after getting his exchanges. Shin had forgotten that in a fight Misaki was exceptionally strong before and was much stronger now.

Misaki had covered his right hand in flames and sent it crashing into Shin's stomach, but there was more to it then that. The Color of Observation showed Misaki where Shin was weakest and The Color of Armaments gave Misaki additional power to hurt him. Now topping that off with the flames conjured by an esper and the result... Shin was sent flying across the platform and slammed into a wall.

Shin: ( ...Did I take on more then I can chew )?

Despite saying that, Shin was fine to Misaki's and everyone else's shock who saw the event. Sure, Misaki's attack was powerful, but for the current Shin it wasn't so much of a threat that he would have been forced into Unlocked Mode.

Even while caught off guard Shin instinctively jumped backwards to soften the blow and thanks to his new Lesser Fenrir Coat he was still wearing, most of the damage didn't successfully penetrate through and his already high stats that were also passively increased by the coat as well. Thanks to the combination of Shin's newly developed instincts from unlocking his Genetic Constraint and armor, he was able to stand back up just fine not even ten seconds after slamming into the wall.

Shin: Well, you didn't win, but you at least broke one rib... Let's just call it a tie, okay?

Misaki: ...Are you even human still!?

Shin: I am a half ghoul after all. This kind of damage will heal by today even if I don't have God heal me. Also, my coat is B rank equipment from the exchanges, so you can't underestimate my defenses.

Misaki: Are you a monster!?

Mokoto: Misaki!

Mokoto who happened to see the whole thing ran over to Misaki. Misaki was embarrassed that he couldn't really hurt Shin, but she didn't see it that way and said that he was amazing. Then, after an awkward moment they kissed each other.

Shinv Yeah. Please continue to act like I'm not here.

Then Shin feeling ignored and jealous that his girlfriend would kiss him in public, but his own won't, so he went to sulk in his room before coming out later to check on the others.

Shin: So what did you get Kampa?

Kampa: I gave it some thought, but I choose to go with Saki's suggestion the M41A Pulse Rifle. Rating 69. Cost 1000 and D rank reward for the infinite ammo version. I already tried it out in Aqua's training center since we could recreate Sci-fi weapons, and I found that it matched me well. Still... Maybe I am lacking power.

Shin: How so? Is it the gun?

Kampa: No, this is definitely a fine gun, but I keep imaging that if Zero was here I feel that his sniping ability would surpass my gun wielding power in the field. And so, since I survived and he didn't then it is my responsibility as a professional mercenary to surpass him in however way I can.

Shin: That's very admirable of you. We all should become stronger for the dead so as not to make the same mistake as we all did, letting such a valuable member of the team die like that. If I was stronger, I know that he would still be here.

Kampa: Don't beat yourself up over it. To me, and probably to Zero too we see this world as nothing more then a mission. We were more cut out then anyone to be here. It's because we both knew the truth of the battlefield field. That anyone can die, and even if it is your best friends corpse you have to step over it, or use it as a shield to survive to come back home safely. So him dying the way he did... He expected it to happen one day and definitely came to terms with it despite any regrets he may have had.

Shin: Kinda harsh.

Kampa: I know, so let me put it like this. Zero is the lucky one since he was able to escape this hell dimension and go to heaven. In fact, I bet he is laughing at us for not suiciding already.

Shin: Hahahaha! That actually makes me feel worse seeing as that is true, but back to the subject at hand, you feel that you are lacking power?

Kampa: That is right. I can't make up for Zero's absence in a long distance fights with my skills, but I can become someone who can kill the enemy in one blow despite any kind of defense that they might have. If I have that kind of power then I can become the pillar of the team along side you and Aqua who are incredibly strong in close combat ( No denying that ).

Shin: Do you have thoughts.

Kamap: Yes I do. After the next missing I plan to see if I can get a potable Plasma Cannon. You know, the ones they have in spaceships. I still have some points and a D rank reward, but for now I am going to use them to increase Muscle Density and Reaction Speed.

Shin: Why? You plan to carry all that around? I don't think even Aqua or I could carry that kind of equipment with us.

Kampa: I don't plan to ask. My idea is to get something similar to your Na Ring and Aqua's RPG Bag. That way I can carry it as a whole, or in small parts that I can put together later. I was thinking of the Plasma Gun and fighting like the terminator.

Shin: The terminator.

Kampa: It is my son's favorite movie.

Shin: Isn't he three?

Kampa: Isn't he something? It both brings me pride and sadness that he has made him his idol.

Shin: I see. Then may I make an suggestion?

Kampa: What?

Shin: I was looking through the Sci-fi weapons before the Btooom mission and I found the perfect weapon that might fit you if you have the points.

I then showed Kampa where the certain Sci-fi weapon was in the exchanges that I had my eyes on for myself.

SigMaxiss Rifle -

Rating 79.

A large hand-held beam cannon developed from the Diva-class's Photon Blaster Cannon. Requires 5000 Points and B rank reward.

Blustia Cannon -

Rating 89.

Referred to as a 'Miniature Photon Ring Ray', the Blustia Cannon is a weapon attachment for the SigMaxiss Rifle to dramatically increase its power and range, allowing it to take out large targets and obstacles in one shot. In order for the weapon to fire, a significant amount of charge time is needed and has a one time use before needing it to be repaired. Can be repaired for 800 Points and D rank reward. Requires 10,000 Points, B rank reward and SigMaxiss Rifle.

Unicorn Gundam Beam Magnum -

Rating 80.

A highly customized beam rifle designed with an energy condenser. The power output in a single shot is the equivalent of 4 regular beam rifle shots at the expense of an entire E-cap battery. A support kick stand for recoil has been attached. Needs E-cap batteries to fire. Requires 4000 Points and two C rank rewards.

GN Bazooka -

Rating 81.

The single most destructive beam-based armament currently employed by the Gundam Meisters in season 1. Is solar powered and requires charge time. Requires 4000 Points and B rank rewards.

Kampa: ...Why all Gundam?

Shin: Does that matter ( And why not? ), so what do you think? They are powerful and in a possible price range since it uses up bullets/batteries like you couldn't believe and has a cool down time as well. It lacks rapid fire, but anyone hit once with with is dead!

Kampa: Hmm... I was never a fan of Gundam ( A sin ), but if I have the points later I'll check it out. I am going to practice some more in Aqua's training room. Do you want to join me? I could teach you a few shooting tricks.

Shin: Maybe the next time when I get a cool Sci-fi gun. For now I am going to look around and talk to the others.

Kamap: Alright comrade ( Said that in Russian for some reason ).

Shin: So are you enjoying all of these goods?

Shuai: More so then I expect to. It was almost worth being forced to be bait. Still, don't do it again.

Shin: Alright. By the way... What were all those things that you had us all exchange for you?

Just now Shuai had made his decision of his enhancement path and at the same time had all of us buy him tools for his new profession... As a shaman. Not the exact kind from Shaman King, but more traditional and less giant sword slashing although he could maybe go that route later on.

Shuai had chosen to get a shaman type power whole enhanced.

Low level Shaman Power Enhancement -

Raring 65.

Applicable in missions that require contact with the supernatural. The power of a shaman allows one to contact spirits and elementals, and make contracts with them. Has access to Soul Energy. Requires 900 points and D rank reward.

According to Shuai, Shaman Power will allow him to call on and be able to summon on missions low level spirits and elementals. He will also be able to communicate with the undead and gain information from them.

Shuai: Do you see how great that is?

Shin: How so?

Shuai: You see, if we can communicate with ghost and the recently dead then we can gather information in ways we never could before. If I had this in the last mission we could have summoned the spirits of a defeated NPC and gain information about the Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander without facing them directly.

Shin: Or maybe we could have used that power on the enemy themselves after defeating one and gain information about Ryuta Sakamoto before we were ambushed.

Shuai: Now you are getting the idea.

Shin: Wait, do NPCs even have souls?

Shuai: Who knows, but in some fantasy novels it says that only humans have souls or everything in creation has a soul/life force ( Please, don't make me question the meaning of life anymore ).

Shin: That doesn't sound like an answer.

Shuai: I just became one with the Spirits ( So Eights Grader Syndrome ), so give me a break. Anyways, it's also possible for me to summon natural spirits, elementals to my side to fight with... But they won't be able to do that much at my current power.

To demonstrate Shuai summoned an elemental on the spot. It was a fire elemental apparently and it looked like a red light that size of a firefly. I couldn't see anything other then the light, but Shuai said that it was a small fairly like being the size of a grain of rice.

Shuai: This is the best I can do as I am now. Unless I raise my Shaman Power to a higher rank or just get the ( Elementalist ) Enhancement it won't get any better. I could also try exchanging for a Personal elemental, but...

Shin: It is expensive?

Shuai: Don't even mention it. Powerful or useful elementals or ghost cost over 4000 points and C rank or higher rewards.

Shin: I geuss you won't be becoming the Shaman King any time soon.

Shuai: You don't have to tell me that. To make a contract with the The King of Spirits needs a S rank reward and 75,000 points and Shaman Power has to be all the way up to the rank A Grand Master, and that cost-

Shin: By no means was I expecting a real answer Shuai. So what were the tools we got you were for? The one you made me get was some wired stick that cost the full 100 Points from what I owed you.

Shuai: Tools of the trade, Shin. Tools of the trade. You will juat have to wait and see. As for the rest of my points, I'll just use them to enhance myself. I need to survive and I won't be too powerful till I get more points and rewards for my enhancement path.

Shaman Power.

Unexpectedly it seems to be a great enhancement with as much potential as Hikari's Persona with support capablities. Shuai really made the right choice in going down the Shamna King route. I just hope that he doesn't become the radical environmentalists like Hao and try to erase humans from the face of the planet.

Shin: By the way why did you choose Shaman Power in the first place? Don't get me wrong, it is a very amazing enhancement, maybe even better then my own in a lot of ways, but... Shaman is pretty out there. Did you like Shaman King or Tokyo Ravens?

Shuai: I do, but that isn't the reason. It is because of my father.

Shin: The one who wanted you to work for him back in China after college?

Shuai: That is the one. To me he is the pure embodiment of our capitalist society amd I always hated that he had so much expectations for me to follow his path. That was why I choose to to become a Shaman. An occupation that is outside main stream society and will anger him to no end knowing that his son has joined their ranks. Hahahaha!

Shin: ...Please don't destroy the world ( Also, someone bring back Shaman King Flowers! ).


	59. Chapter 59

Shin: Why a sweatshop?

Saki: Because it's efficient. Also, don't call it a sweatshop. Those are illegal.

Shin: Then what is that!

Saki: A workshop.

Shin: ...

To understand my reasonable confusion you needed to understand what had Saki used all of her points on. To all of our surprise, Saki had used little of her points for herself in the way Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai and I had done. Despite having some idea that we need to think of the team first, we still choose things that we thought would increase our own survivability as well... Yet Saki didn't and used her points solely for the team.

Saki had started up her own sweat, I mean her own manufacturing plant with the help of help of two Human Creations, Oda and a new one costing her 500 points since it is her second, Arnold ( Don't get me started about seeing those two working on a makeshift assembly line... It just brings tears to the eyes ).

The purpose of Saki's new little business was to cut out the middle man and make our own weapons instead of allowing God to charge us an outrageous fee for the finished product that cost 1/10th the price to make. Like Saki had said earlier it was possible for us Players to make the Sci-fi weapons and low level magic tools here in the Terminal Lobby long as we had the knowledge to do so.

According to Saki, like the high class food and wine that we eat and drink here all the time, with just that one point that we use on food we could also acquire gun powder, iron, steel and and other materials in in large mass. So long as we had the knowledge and skills we could potentially make our own items for cheap.

Unfortunately, among the seven of us only Saki had the know how, so only she could do this. Of course it wasn't like she was an expert either. She found that within the exchanges, oddly under Entertainment were books on how to make bullets, guns and even swords and other such weapons, including of the magic variety were available in books that cost little to nothing.

This was a great find, but most of the good stuff really needed the mind of a specialist to grasp and without a deeper understanding of magic it wasn't possible to make even low end magic tools/weapons. Saki could only manage to make simple bullets, both high end normal bullets and low level magic bullets, but with the help of her two human creations her manufacturing speed increased leaps and bounds from what she can accomplish by just her self.

Saki's first human creation Oda was in charge of making magic bullets while the other was in charge of making normal yet high end bullets and guns. The two absorbed the knowledge on how to make them surprisingly well and because of the way she made them they would need very little sleep... Like a sweatshop. Saki herself said that she would help them both out while in her spare time and will attempt to make Sci-fi weapon.

Saki: Magic bullets for supernatural foes, Next-Gen bullets and armor piercing rounds for normal and heavily armored enemies like the Btooom Soldiers amd their Commander. Even if we are limited to modern weaponry for the next few missions we can have an edge in battle and survive!

Shin: I see. You really are impressive Saki. You took Aqua hobby and made it into this in one day, but aren't you worried.

Saki: How so?

Shin: What do you mean how so? You used all your points for all of this, right? You had 3070 Points and two D rank rewards. Your extra human creation helper was 500 points, you owe Shuai 100 points, your share for the trip to the real world should range from 200-300 points, bought a wide variety of expensive magic bullets and tools to see if you could make them yourself and you bought enough goods to go to war in the Middle East to bring peace to the land once and for all. You still have the two rewards, but do you even have the points for yourself now? Looking at this I can't even imagine that any of your 3000 plus points are still left.

Saki: ...Please don't too worry much about me Shin. I am betting on the fact that if we all do our part for the team then we can all come back alive.

Shin: I now you believe that nothing is impossible, but this optimism isn't like you, Saki. No matter how much we prepare we can all still be wiped with one mistake, or if God raises the difficulty high enough.

Saki: Thanks for your concern, but it'll be fine. This team... Isn't that weak. Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai and especially yourself Shin. All of you are amazing and dazzling. There's no possibility that you will lose to the monsters within the missions, or the false God that governs this dimension. Have some faith.

Saki said so and went back to work. I just stood there and watch her for a while.

Shin: What is this... I don't know what this odd feeling is, but something isn't right. I haven't known Saki for that long, but I'm positive something is up. I just have no proof. Maybe I am just over thinking things and Saki does have a plan to survive. Lets just hope so.

Now, after everyone else... Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai and Saki used their points and rewards to the fullest, Aqua was finally ready to make her own exchanges.

Shin: So have you finally decided on what to get?

Aqau: Don't say it like we were on a date at the mall and you were waiting for me to choose a dress to buy ( If only my first wife to be would go on a date with me at all ). In the end, I end up with even more points and rewards then you, and I even have 1A and 1D rank reward from my previous missions. Now that I have the points I can get something amazing this time around.

That was right.

I had forgotten because of everyone else, but Aqua was the main event in this exchange session of ours. After the BTOOOM! mission was concluded, the MVP Aqua had total TOTAL SCORE 11,431 Points, 2A and 1C rank rewards. Her repairs cost 1245 Points, so what she had left to spend was 10,186 Points, 2A and 1C rank rewards.

In both points and rewards she bested me and everyone else by far and now looking back now, we all came out with a good amount of points and rank rewards. Not counting me who ended up with 9000+ Points, everyone in Team Japan had somewhere between 2000-3000 or so points and a few D rank rewards as well. Aqua was definitely the MVP, but as a whole the BTOOOM! mission was a successful and beneficial to everyone.

Shin: You ended up with as many points as I did last time and you even have 2A rank and 1C rewards. What will you get? Can I watch?

Aqua: Your making it sound perverse again, but I do know what I want to get. I am going to advance my Werewolf genetic enhancement to A rank and have Nen also move up to the B rank version as well. I'll also get a good magic weapon since I am lacking on that front as well. My Auto 9 has been a good partner to me so far, but it is lacking even went I use low level magic bullets with it... You can have it if you want.

Shin: Really!?

Aqua: Yeah. The weapon I have in mind attacks at a range and is useful against both normal and over worldly opponents. You on the other hand lack a ranged weapon and there is no longer any point in getting unlimited ammo model guns with Saki's master plan. So do you want it?

Shin: Yes! But is it fine not to give you anything in return?

Aqua: This isn't White Day. Just take or should I give it to Misaki or Shuai?

Shin: I'll take it!

Then aftter Aqua gave me her Auto 9 RoboCop Infinite Ammo Model gun, with a look that said 'Too Simple Minded', Aqua began her exchanges worth thousands of points and high level rewards.

Elder Werewolf Genetic Mutation -

Rating 94.

Applicable to most missions. Has the ability to transform into a werewolf, increasing stats substantially temporarily. Owner may be affected by the instincts of the werewolf bloodline. While under the light of the moon all stats will greatly increase further and so will magic related skills. Requires 3300 Points, 1A rank reward and High Werewolf Genetic Mutation.

Upper Class Hunter Nen/Aura -

Rating 91.

Applicable to missions that require close combat. Potentially has very high growth, but because of the specialist nature of Nen is very limited ability wise. Requires a rank B reward and 2700 points.

Aqua finally had the points to get the the high level exchanges for the B rank Upper-Class Hunter Nen/Aura whole enhancement and the A rank Elder Werewolf genetic mutation, and all together she spent 6000 Points, 1A and 1B rank rewards.

A beam lifted her into the air and particals of light enter her like it once did for me when I got my own enhancements, but hers laster much longer and the light was much brighter. One could just tell that Aqua was getting something incredible, yet towards the end I saw something strange.

The faint image of Aqua's full Wolf form overlapped with her own. This strange event didn't last too long and finally she was done. When Aqua had finished and was back down to the ground forty-five minutes later... I felt a truly overwhelming force coming from Aqua.

Instinctively I knew that she was far more powerful then before and now held a power surpassing even that Ryuata Sakamoto by far. It was too the extent that if Aqua attacked me, no, if she just turned her killing intent towards me I would have gone into Unlocked Mode here and now.

Aqua: So how do I look?

Shin: As sexy as ever, though your skin is more fairer then before...Did your bust increase a little? Come here so I can-

Aqua: Do you want to die?

Shin: Sorry. Still, you do look and feel far stronger then before.

Aqua: Really? It is kinda hard to tell when you get the genetic mutation enhancements. I'll have to check later just how much stronger I am. Both my Werewolf side and Nen/Aura.

Shin: Do you need a sparring partner?

Aqua: Sure... If you don't mind me testing out how powerful my full wolf, adamantium armed, berserker and improved upon wolf form really is? I'm sure that you recall how powerful it was before.

Shin: I'll pass then... What about a weapon? You said that you had a weapon in mind already to get to replace your Auto 9.

Aqua: I am about to go exchange for it now. I had read this one light novel before it ended up an anime, and I found that I liked magic weapon of the protagonist. It is practical yet powerful, and in the novel even a powerful wizard was crippled by the gun. The novel and anime is called Fate/Zero. Have you've heard of it before?

Shin: Have I... Have I heard of it before! Who hasn't? It is a grave sin to not have read the novel or watch its anime adaptation.

Aqua: Don't freak me out like that and why are your eyes now shining? Whatever, just wait a moment to get the magic item in question.

Aqua then closed her eyes to contact God and found the magic weapon that she has been waiting to get.

FATE.

It was from the famous Type Moon Fate series about historic heros fighting together with Masters/Magicians. Fate has spanned into Visual Novel, Manga, Anime, Light Novels and even video games on a variety of platforms to date and its popularity is still growing. .

Fate/Zero began as a novel and was the prequel to the original and famous Fate/Stay Night Visual Novel. Fate/Zero offered back stories of the three heroines and other characters who would appear within Fate/Stay Night, Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel, the three main story lines of Fate. Fate, is the "oneself as an ideal". The second one, Unlimited Blade Works, is "struggling with oneself as an ideal". The third one, Heaven's Feel, is "the friction with real and idea".

Fate/Zero.

Compared to the original Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero had more of a seven Masters and seven Servants battle feel, instead of one or two masterminds controlling a corrupted Holy Grail War ( Although it was still very much so corrupted. The Fate series is dark as a whole, but Fate/Zero is more serious as very few characters can be said to gave even a nice ending to look back on... If they lived that is, and Aqua exchanged for the weapon of the main character of this story.

Thompson Contender Mystic Code -

Rating 97.

The Mystic Code and gun of the Magic Killer when he used magecraft in battle against another magus. Can fire regular bullets with extremely high penetrating power. Special Skill, Origin Bullets: By absorbing Mana, Ki, Nen/Aura, Psyche Force or other energy, one can fire Origin Bullets. Origin Bullets 'Sever and Bind' magic power within an individual, permanently crippling them. A Player will need a whole body repair and three times the points for God to heal them if injured by the Origin Bullet. The performance of an Origin Bullet is greater when the magic power in the target is at its strongest, but has little to no effect on those without Mana/Magic power of any kind. Requires 4000 Points and two B rank reward.

Aqua: Ahh, look at this. 186 Points and C rank rewards. Damm, and I also owe Shua 100 points, so it is really 86. I don't have the point for the trip, so I have to be the one to offer up the C rank reward. Just my luck... Shin? What's wrong?

Shin: I can't believe you got one of the actual Type Moon Magic Codes, but one from Fate/Zero!

Aqua: Is that bad?

Shin: That is amazing! And not only did get the weapon, but you read the Fate/Zero novel. That...That is so hot! What was your favorite scene?

Aqua: What is with... Whatever. It was when Kiritsugu fought and defeated Kayneth with his magic code. It truly showed that if you were overconfident and lead around by the enemy, you can end up a bloody mess on the floor.

Shin: ...I wonder if this is what love is?

Aqua: Are you a idiot... Whatever. Just come with me.

Shin: Okay, but why are we going to your... Ah ( Isn't this very familiar ).

Aqua: My room ( I AM RIGHT! ). Why, do you not want to come?

Shin: ...Lead the way.

Once more Aqua had brought me to her room and having no self control or resistance after selling my soul to her, so I followed behind her obediently. Aqua had also just gotten a power up so I was worried that it would be repeat of last time, yet I still couldn't turn her down. This was the choice I made after selling my soul to her for her wonderful and still improving 34D body.

Shin: I really am a weak man. I need to get more stats.

Aqua: What was that?

Shin: Nothing!

Eight of the ten free days in the Terminal Lobby passed by in a flash.

Team Japn had used that time to master their enhancements and relax from the last mission. A lot of them wanted to leave for the real world right away, but Saki wanted more time to make her goods and have Shin and Aqua bring them to the real world with them with their subspace Na Ring and RPG Bag.

They asked why asked why did they need them now, but Saki just said for in case of an emergency. Aqua agreed, yet also lent her her butler who knew how to make bullets, normal and magic, to help Saki speed up the process.

Shin also used this time to train.

After exchanging the proper skills for Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement, Shin had felt that they now consumed a lot less Ki then before. Before when he learned the two skills with Skill Mastery he could use just fine, but they required 5-10 times the required Ki and didn't have as much control over them as he does now.

Shin had also discovered that the amount of Ki energy of Advance Level Ki was actually a lot more then he realized and could even be a little wasteful in a fights now. He never knew that his level of Ki was 20-30 times more then someone who had Intermediate Level Ki, and it should have been obvious, but his level of Ki was in fact for the purpose of using rank C and B level Ki skills.

That is why if Shin had gotten the proper Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement skills from God from the start he would never had come close to running out of Ki in the Btooom mission... And this fact shocked him to a great degree when he finally realized this.

Shin: Fuck! If I only had a few more thousand points in some rewards I wouldn't have suffered as much. Hell, if I didn't get both Ghoul and Ki to B rank then I could have gotten those skills after the High School of the Dead mission.

Shin had also used this time to practiced sword swings now that he had exchanged for a sword from the exchanges. Although Shin went and exchanged for a sword instruction manual with a recommendation from Saki who had gone over the exchanges in more detail then himself, yet he didn't believe himself to be skilled or talented. Shin did believe though that of he could just cut someone with up close with the speed of Instant Movement combined with a sword slash they would be cut in half, but he was no sword master.

Shin: I wish I had actual technique so I wouldn't have to rely so much on brute strength, but there is nothing I can do about it for now. Long as my opponents can't keep up with my level of speed I should be fine. Who knows. In Unlocked Mode, it might turn out that I have the the instincts of a sword master.

Shin practiced with the Gravity Blade weight control magic as well in his sword training sessions. Shin's strength could be called even inhuman, but he wasn't at the level of a superhuman like Touta so he couldn't swing the sword around above Gravity Blade×10,000, and if he was in a fight he would have to lower it to ×200 so he wouldn't be slowed down by the weight.

Shin: As I thought, the characters from Manga and Anime are monsters when compared to normal humans. In some stories, even trash mob characters would have 1000 points in every stat. Hell, Jack Rankan probably had 100,000 stat points in Muscle Density, and has the highest level of Ki Energy on top of that.

In the end, Shin found that it was better to just change the weight right before his slashes make contact with his foe and switch back to ×0 gravity afterwards. He was disappointed that he couldn't master it like the Manga's protagonist could, but just swing it around wasn't meaningless. Just performing simple sword swings with the increased gravity of the Gravity Blade was a good work out on its own.

Shin: I geuss even with stats and skill exchanges, actual training is the most useful cheat of all. Lets work to become stronger GB!

GB: ...

Shin: ...My own magic sword won't even give me face!

Shin began practicing with his Ghoul abilities after coming to understand them in the last mission in BTOOOM!. It took a while, but Shin was able to call out his Kagune from his back, around the spine, and control it as if the four red tentacles were his arms or legs ( A natural, yet still creepy feeling ).

During this time Shin had also learned two ways to bring out his ghoul abilities in battle. The first is to let his Ki cross over his back where the Kagune, the predatory organ of a Ghoul is located, and the second is to fully release the Kagune from his back.

With the first method, which did not exist in the manga, his Ki and Ghoul powers mixed together as one and greatly increased the power of ones body in a sudden boast of power and speed, and most importantly didn't reveal Shin to be as a Ghoul ( Which will be important depending on where I am. Like the real world or a mission with a hate on for monsters... Let's just hope they don't take notice of the one black eye with red iris ).

This technique allowed 60% of his One-eyed Ghoul mutation to combine with Ki and this method was discovered in his second bout with the enemy Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander on Day 6 of the BTOOOM! mission. Shin felt at his strongest, or maybe his most confident when he combined Ki and his Ghoul powers as he can bring out the best of both, yet Aqau gave him a warning.

That untill Shin advanced furthered in the Genetic Constraint, that not to exchange for just a single higher tier versions of his enhancements. She explained that while that they may work together well now, that might not be the case in the future.

Aqua: Without perfect control of the body, mind and spirit, the current two forces within your body will begin to conflict with one another. Luckily, Ki and One-eyed Ghoul are of the same rank, but Shin, if you evolves either the One-eyed Ghoul to A rank or Ki Energy there can be a bad result. The Ghoul side might try to devour your Ki or the reverse might happen if Ki become dominant. The worst case would be that this battle within kills you, you becomes a monster or will lose one of your powers permanently.

Shin: I see. Wait. Then if I have complete control of my body, can't I gain more genetic mutations and types of energy, same or otherwise?

Aqua: It is possible, but you need your stats to also be able to handle the burden for your body. You don't want to explode, do you?

Shin: ...Is that a real possibility?

Aqau: I almost did once. My powers match really well together, yet if I let my guard down they try to fuse and mutated me into... Something. I lack the ability to control such a thing now, especially after raising Werewolf mutation to A rank, so I reject it. If I had to geuss what my powers are trying to turn me into, it would be something similar to my full Wolf form and it would be one that I can't return back from.

After Aqua gave Shin this advice he took that warning too heart.

Now, the second and latter method to use a Ghoul's abilities is to fully released the Kagune and summoned his full 100% strength as an One-eyed Ghoul. Even without bringing out Ki Shin could wield strength far above the average human.

Like an arm or leg he could control the Kagune tentacles, a total of four as of now, to attack, defend and move around for him as extended legs like an insect, or Doctor Octopus from the Spiderman universe. Shin so far had a great deal of control over the Kagune, but lacked the delicate touch.

Since Shin's type of Kagune allows one to reach out to others he had the thought of carrying his comrades around, hurt or otherwise, and save them from an immediate attack. He even thought to about travel/scale up a building with his comrades, but after seeing Shin destroy a rock he had grabbed in Aqua's training field by accident, both he and his comrades knew that he needed more fine tuning.

Shin at one time had lessons with Aqua and Saki to learn more and control the Genetic Constraint, but this front didn't show much progress.

Shin could not enter into Unlocked Mode of his own free will and always needed a real stimulus, death, as an activation key for it. Saki had discovered some records about unlocking genetics in the exchanges, but Shin had no idea what it was about ( I failed science/biology class twice ).

Aqua, who had reached the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint wasn't much help either. Like Shin, Aqua was the instinctive type who went into Unlocked Mode because of a need and not a want, so she was clueless on just how to help him ( My airhead girlfriend ).

Shin wanted to go into that state any time that he wanted. The reason outside of pure combat was what Saki once explained to them on Day 2 of the last mission, that you could become talented in almost anything that you wanted.

In Unlocked Mode, Shin kinda expected that he could master the sword through instinct alone, but he wanted to become a genuine master swordsman even if he wasn't in that state, but he would take it whether then leave it. Also, being able to think up complex plans and other such skills could come in handy on the missions.

Shin: But it isn't perfect. Since going into that state, it would mean that I am in a life or death struggle and that isn't something I can rely on... That is the Genetic Constraints one flaw besides deathly intense recoil. I couldn't use it in a normal fight or outside of a fight at all.

Ideally, what Shin wanted was to be able to use his sharp mind in Unlocked Mode to not just come up with last ditch plans, but real battle strategies, so he could match Saki and to learn new skills as he trains to further explore Skill Mastery. Unfortunately for Shin til the very end he made no progress as the final night before the trip to the real world came.

Shin and the others were invited to enjoy a meal at Aqua's place, with the meal provided by her Butler. Everyone was enjoying the meal... Untill towards the end, when Hikari brought in a surprise. Hikari, taking a break from her Persona training made a cake for everyone. She especially wanted Shin to try it out since it was chocolate, his favorite kind of cake that she learned about him recently, yet...

Shin: Do I have to?

Hikari: Yes!

Shin: Fine...Ghaaa

Shin ate a fork full of Hikari's cake and in spite of his Immunization Strength, he passed out from eating it on the spot ( Too much like an anime! ).

Hikari: Shin!

Aqua: He must be playing around. There is no way that a simple cake could knock someone out with his...

Misaki: Aqua is down as well!

Aqua not believing what she saw tried some of the cake as well and passed and the light had disappeared from her eyes, and she definitely was not in Unlocked Mode.

Saki was amazed that Hikari's homemade cake had effectively taken out two of their best fighter with the highest stats and most enhancements ( Shin: ...Bravo ). Saki wanted to study it's applications, but Hikari quickly threw it away in the trash and ran away crying.

Shin woke up the next day somewhat okay and disappointed that he wasn't able to sleep with anyone last night, and left his room. Today was the day of their voyage to the real world.

Shin: The real world, huh? I guess I had to go back sooner or later.


	60. Chapter 60

Plot - "Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live... A real life?"

The world changes when you click YES.

In God's dimension, you have to keep getting stronger, keep evolving to survive one horror movie after another. Do you kill everyone in your way to reach the end as a lone king? Or fight along with your comrades and survive through the support of friends?

Everything was just for staying alive. Until you find the secret of God's dimension. Who is the real enemy?

Terror Infinity - Side B

In a new experiment to push man to evolve, God has decided to send people into the worlds of manga, anime, light novels, visual novels and video games.

Compared to horror movies, such worlds shouldn't be as terrifying and should be easily to return from, but... You would be very, very mistaken.

Welcome to Side B of God's Dimension.

The Story so far -

Shin Kazama, an otaku disappointed in his life chose YES when God asked if he wanted to know the meaning of life and wanted to live a real life, and was transported to God's Dimension of horrors and terror in the new experiment.

Team Japan had survived their second mission BTOOOM. They had ten more days in God's Dimension to prepare for the next mission, but to their surprise one of the three newest players to Team Japan, Saki the military scientist, had come up with a startling discovery... That though temporarily, it was possible to return to the real world.

Hearing this and then after spending their points and rewards in preparation for future battles, are now about to take a trip to the real world to put their affairs in order. The day for the exchange to the real world has arrived for Shin, Hikari, Misaki, Aqua, Saki, Kamap and Shuai.

The eighth day of rest in the Terminal Lobby and the day of the voyage to the real world. Team Japan would pool together 1,500 points and a single C rank reward for thirty day stay in the real world.

Everyone was excited to be able return to the real world after the terrors and near death experiences that they have gone through, even if it was only for a short time... But there was one exception among them that didn't necessarily feel the same.

Shin: Ahhh, I so don't want to go back to the real world. If this wasn't a group trip where we had to pool our money, I mean point, I could have stayed behind.

The idea of returning to the real world for Shin waa depressing to say the least.

Shin likes, or finds purpose in God's Dimension and the Mission Worlds because they gave him a chance to grow and become someone special, but in his mind Shin still didn't believe that he had changed that much as he lacked the confidence to face the real world where he failed in once.

The only reason Shin was going along was because everyone else wanted to go and after making their exchanges to prepare for the next mission they all lacked the points and rewards for a long stay for just themselves, so it ended up as a group trip that was mandatory ( Although only I would look at this trip as a chore ).

For a full thirty days in the real world to do whatever they want and needed to do before coming back, they all needed to pitch in 200-300 points and Aqua paid the C rank reward for the group voyage. If it wasn't for the shortage of points Shin would have opted to stay behind, but since he was one of the ones paying 200 points for the trip he couldn't back down now.

Shin: Well, there is a bright side to all of this. With thirty days in the real world I can get three times the normal mission breaks to train and master my Ki and Ghoul mutation. Also... I can clear up some debts while I am there in the real world as well.

Thinking so, I was starting at my Na Ring on my finger when Aqua approached me. I greeted her and it looked like she came to ask me about something.

Aqua: I saw you come back from God and placing something in your ring not long ago. You exchanged something at the last moment?

Shin: You saw that?

Aqua: Yeah, so I was just curious. It wasn't a secret or anything, right?

Shin: No, it wasn't. I've just exchange some bars of platinum was all. My... My family if you can call it that aren't rich. My uncle and aunt just have enough from their jobs to get by and they also have a daughter to take care of. If these things can be brought back to the real world, then this is the least I can do for them since they took care of after my parents passed away.

Aqua: You seem to be awkward about this subject. You didn't like them?

Shin: Not the case at all. They just weren't what I thought of as family, but more closer to that of caretakers. Still, I just thought about using this chance to to thank them for what they have done for me. Ah, but don't worry Aqua. The day we get married you will absolutely be family to me.

Aqua: Shut it. In any case was the platinum the only thing that you exchanged?

Shin: For them yes, but not for myself. Last night I realized that I never just increased my stats alone before. That didn't sit right to mem so earlier I used my last 400 points to increase four of my stats.

Aqua: You did. Just 400 points worth of stats isn't worth the exchange in my opinion. You would have been better off saving the points for a future exchange.

Shin: Your probably right, but who doesn't increase their stats when the option is available. Light Novels where the protagonist is told that using stat points on their characters isn't effective is bullshit. Of course higher stats are better.

Aqua: Is that all you think about when your alone? Stats?

Shin: What else is there except you?

Aqau: ...

Aqua left without saying a word. Wanting to forget the awkward moment, I checked my stats one last time with God. Just looking at my amazing stats like this always bring my mood back up.

PLAYER SHIN'S STATS:

Intelligence - 209 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

Mental Capacity - 265 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

Cell Vitality - 610 [ +20%, +30% At Night ]

Reaction Speed - 462 [ +20%, +30% At Night ]

Muscle Density - 489 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

Immunization Strength - 685 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

My current stats after training and this last power up were so. Reaction Speed 462, Muscle Density 489, Intelligence 209, Mental Capacity 265, Cell Vitality 610 and Immunization 685.

Reaction Speed and Muscle Density stats were more then four times stronger than a normal person, and Cell Vitality and Immunization Strength were six and pushing up to seven time the average man. Also, while wearing the Lesser Fenrir Coat my stats increased by a further 10-30% more.

Shin: I can't help but fall in love with myself with when I have such amazing parameters, but next time I should focus on just Cell Vitality and Immunization Strength. Those two directly relate to my One-eye Ghoul mutation. The higher they are, the more I can bring out it's potential. The other stats will probably just have to increase from now from future enhancements.

After finalizing an enhancement path, I went to go check on someone.

Before it was time to set off I decided to check on Saki and her weapons development. Saki had used up almost, if not all of her points and rewards into this little project of her and every time I came to visit her illegal sweatshop, she would have more and more to show me.

Saki was able to make a lot of things, but her main focus were modern and low cost magic tools for us to use on the missions. Her goal was to have us avoid spending points needlessly on every little small thing. Handguns and low grade magic bullets were on the cheap side of exchanges, yet if you kept getting them for every mission you will see the bill piling up.

I would have to imagine it was like doing taxes every year and fainting from having found out how much you spent on food or clothes in that one year. Probably the reason why some people earnestly develop vegetable gardens in their backyards or kept chickens to raise for food.

In the eight days that Saki and her two human creations had on this break before the next mission she was able to devote in mass the following :

1\. Modern Guns - Handguns, Sub Machine Guns and Hi-Spec bullets.

Instead of wasting points on unlimited ammo guns, Saki thought it was more effective to make our own bullets since the materials to make them could be acquired for cheap. After after a long period of trial and error she was able to make them, along with the latest weapons.

In the future, she say it would be a good idea to look into exchanging from God a top of the line 3D Printer, but since it cost a lot, 10,000 Points and B rank reward, ( Bbecause you can make weapons in mass for cheap ) so till we all have the freedom with points and rewards ( Which is way down the line ) we should stick to manually making them.

2\. Magic Tools - In the end, it was impossible to create most of the magic tools that God has in the exchanges, not even mentioning the one that need ranked rewards, but Saki made progress on two fronts. Low grade magic bullets and talismans.

Magic bullets were simple since they just needed to etch a small magic circle and basically followed the same process as regular bullets, but needed slightly different materials. Saki had a hard time with Talismans, yet found a solution with Shuai help. Shuai didn't know it at first, but as a Shaman he could bless certain items and they would be infused with his power. Saki's problem was that even if she made exact replicas of them, they lacked the magic power to do their job. With Shuai's help though Saki found the solution to her troubles.

Shuai was then forced to stay and make Talisman and take part in other small experiments with Saki. He complained a lot, but he was happy that Saki was relying on him more as a team member.

3\. A computer - To our surprise Saki was able to make a laptop computer for Hiakri as it was to replace the one that she lost in BTOOOM. As a hacker, Hikari's abilities shined the most long as she had a computer and a world that had the networks for her to break/sneak into.

The computer Saki gave to Hikari wasn't the same computer that Hikari exchanged for 100 points, but a top secret, portable computer still in the beginning development stages in the real world, but God had completed it here and could be exchanged for about 1000 points. It was the best top of the line portable laptop once could get in God's Dimension without spending rank rewards. There were more advance computers that didn't need rewards, but they were too large to carry during the missions.

And was that all?

Saki had handed Hikari a dozen such laptops in case they keep breaking. We were all shocked since they all should have costed together more then 10,000 points, but Saki had found a loop hole. Saki never actually exchanged one from God, but just made one her room.

Like weapons, long as they are not magical then it is possible to recreate anything within one's room, and from there she made copies. Saki and her human creations then made exact copies of the hardware of the computers, and just made copies of the software with a simple Memory Stick and uploaded them into the self made computers.

Shin: I would be the first to say that I was worried when Saki used all of her points and reward on everyone else except herself, yet looking at her work now I can say that it was... Almost worth it.

Saki: Ah...

Shuai: Please let it... Just end.

When I went to check on them before the trip, Saki and Shuai had stayed up the good part of these last few days and had exhausted themselves. They were just lying against the work tables covered with bullets and unfinished products.

Shin: This vacation is really going to be a vacation for them in a lot of ways... There is also no way I can back out of this now. Also, will my Na Ring and Aqua's RPG Bag be enough for all of this... I should seriously start investing in getting another ring the next chance I get.

All exchanges, training and are preparation to leave were over and done with. I could only look at our group that was about to depart to the real world with pride since from eight days ago there an amazing improvement. It was unlikely that any of us would face any dangers in the real world, but if any of us had to fight then we were an impressive team ready to combat anything that should get in our way.

TEAM JAPAN:

ATTACKER/CLOSE RANGE FIGHTERS - To fight/distract the enemy while fighting up close and our responsible for defeating enemies to protect the team.

1\. Shin: Ki Energy, One-eye Ghoul genetic mutation, Na Ring, Gravity Blade, Lesser Fenrir Coat and Robo Cop's Auto 9 with infinite ammo.

2\. Aqua: Nen/Aura, Wolverine genetic mutation, Werewolf genetic mutation and Thompson Contender Magic Code gun.

3\. Misaki: Observation and Armament's Haki, and Pyrokinesis.

GUNNER/MID RANGE FIGHTER - To fight from a distance. To either support those fighting up clsoe or to decisively defeat a enemy with a power attack.

Kampa: Infinite Ammo M41A Pulse Rifle.

Saki: Guns? ( Enough to wage a war with ).

SNIPER/LONG RANGE FIGHTER - To fight from a far distance. Defeats the enemy from a distance, or has an ability that can't be used from close up.

Shuai: Low level Shaman Power.

SUPPORT/OTHER - Has a role that helps team members or plays another role.

Hikari: Support Type Persona.

Shin: If it is like this, whether it is the real world or mission world we won't lose.

Aqua: I won't go that far, but this is the most impressive team that I have been apart of after going through seven missions so far. Anyways Shin, the others are ready. Lets go.

Shin: Alright.

Aqua, Hiakri, Misaki, Saki, Kampa and Shuai and myself were all gathered in the platform of the Terminal Lobby. Packed and ready to go, Saki who was the best at these tedious tasks went over one last time what we will do once we make it to the real world.

Saki: One last time then. After we make the exchange to vo back we should find ourselves in the location that God sent us that message on the computer and choose YES to. From there we will contact each other once we make it back and confirm that we all made it safely and that there was are problems. Does everyone remember where you all were before coming here?

Shin: Yes. I was in my room.

Aqua: I remember.

Hikari: I was at my school.

Misaki: Same as Shin. In my room.

Kampa: Some café. I don't remember the name, but I can find my way around no problem.

Shuai: An apartment near my old college.

Saki: Good. Then after going back we will check up on each other by phone, and from there it will be free time for the next two weeks. Go home, hang out with families and friends, but mostly importantly make sure of your two objectives in this down time are complete. We will compare answers at a later time.

Misaki: Sheesh! We remember already. You don't have to keep bringing it up.

The objective Saki meant was for us to confirm two things.

1\. Check to see if our enhancements, items and humans creations ( Only Misaki is bring his ) can come with us to the real world. This was to prove if 'Back to the Origin' exchange was true when the time come that we have 50,000 points arrives.

2\. Suspect everything. Through the knowledge of how Mokoto, Misaki's human creation was based on his memory and not the person herself, Saki suspected that we could all just be going to a fake world like .D and BTOOOM! that is just based on our memories.

If just one person went to the real or fake world, if it is based on memory then it was unlikely that one person could discern the truth, but with multiple individuals with their own sets of memories of the world around them, it'll be easier to see the truth.

I have to add, it is very possible for God to make copies of each other and send us to exclusive world based on our memories, but if we have to even suspect that then you have to wonder if the real world that we each have always known and experienced till now was a Matrix of some sort. It just never ends once your think is on that line of thought.

Saki: Two weeks. After two weeeks passed and we have settled or in the middle of settling all of our real world affairs, we will all meet up once to compare notes. I'll choose a place within a few days of us arriving in the real world. That is about it.

Shin: Ok then. Lets all make the exchanges and get this show on the road. Next stop... The real world!

Previous World Voyage - Able to visit and spend time anywhere in the the previous Mission World. Requires 10 Points per day. A D rank reward is required to permanently unlock that world or any other Mission World.

Real World Voyage - Able to visit and spend time in the Real World. The Player will appear at the location where they were before being transported to this God's Dimension. The Player will have to return to this location once the duration of the trip is over. Requires 50 Points per day and D rank reward unlock the world. Future visits will only require 50 Points per day.

Real World Group Voyage - Able to visit and spend time in the Real World. The Player/Players will appear at the location where they were before being transported to this God's Dimension, or may choose to another Player's Entry/Return Point to use. The Player will have to return to this location once the duration of the trip is over. Can also use another Player's location to return to the real world and return back to God's Dimension. Requires 50 Points per day and C rank reward. Points and rewards can be pulled for this exchange for multiple Player voyages.

Special Voyage - Able to choose any spot in the real world as one's starting point. Like when mission are finished, Player/Players will automatically be recalled back once time runs out. A countdown will be visible on the player's watch. Requires 100 Points per day and B rank reward. Points and rewards can be pulled for this exchange for multiple Player voyages.

We all choose the the second option and pulled our points and rewards. Aqua paid the C rank reward and the rest of us put up 200-300 points, for a total of 1500 points. Then once the exchange was finalized, 20 beam of light just like when we all go on mission were shoot down by the ball of light, God.

\- Enter the beams within thirty seconds. Target locked. Beginning teleportation to the Real World...

Hiakri held onto my hand tightly in the final moments before we entered the beams of light. I didn't question why as I already had an idea why she was acting so nervous, so I said nothing and just held her hand tighter.

After communicating with God, they all finally exchanged for time in the real world and walked over to the beams and... And blank.

Everything in front of Shin flashed for a moment, then he fell into a half awake state. Time passed by, perhaps it was just a blink of an eye or perhaps it was took very long. By the time he woke up Shin was standing inside his old room at his uncles house.

This was the place Shin slept and called home since the accident that tool his family, so this was the real world, and beside him... Hiakri who was holding onto his hand was gone and so where the others. They must have all appeared where they were all taken from originally. Shin was hoping that if he held onto her that she would appear with him because...

Shin: I never did bring over a girl to me room before. Well, there will be chances later.

Shin didn't want to admit to anyone he was nervous about coming back, so he joked to himself. He then took a deep breath to relax and took in his surroundings. Shin looked out the window saw the backyard of the house. The weather was sunny, a flock of pigeons flew by, the peaceful atmosphere and the the voices from the the neighborhood kids.

This was the world he grew up in. A place without monsters, zombies, or BIMs. A place without the endless horrors he had come to both love and fear. The peaceful and dull world he hated, yet was somewhat glad to see again... Yet this world didn't feel familiar. Not because of what Saki feared, that this was a virtual world or anything, but because it belonged to his previous life. After struggling in the horrors, he finally came back reborn, or at least different. As Shin was looking around his room with surprising longing, some information from God appeared in his brain. This was the information God gave him to tell him the rules of visiting the real world.

\- RULES FOR RETURNING TO THE REAL WORLD FOR PLAYERS:

1\. WITHIN THE THIRTY DAYS IN THE REAL WORLD, A PLAYER CAN NOT MENTION ANYTHING PERTAINING TO GOD'S DIMENSION TO AN OUTSIDER FROM THAT REALM AND HAD NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF, OTHERWISE HE/SHE, AND EVERYTHING THAT BELONGED TO THEM WOULD BE ERASED.

2\. AT THE END OF THIRTY DAYS THE PLAYER/PLAYERS MUST COME BACK TO THIS ROOM, THE ENTRY/RETURN POINT, SO GOD CAN TRANSPORT THE PLAYER BACK. THERE WILL BE A NINETY MINUTE WINDOW STARTING FROM 10:30 AT NIGHT WHERE THE ENTRY/RETURN POINT WILL BE ACTIVE. AT THE SAME TIME SAID PLAYER MUST BE IN CONTACT WITH EVERYTHING THAT BELONGED TO THEM, OTHERWISE THOSE ITEMS WOULD BE LEFT IN THIS WORLD. IF THE ITEM COULD ONLY BE OBTAINED FROM GOD'S DIMENSION, THEN IT WOULD BE ERASED.

3\. ADDITIONALLY, AS THIS IS A GROUP VOYAGE TO THE REAL WORLD, PLAYERS MAY ALSO USE THE ENTRY/RETURN POINT LOCATION OF ANOTHER PLAYER TO RETURN TO GOD'S DIMENSION. IF SAID PLAYER HAD DIED IN THE REAL WORLD THEN THAT LOCATION WILL BECOME INOPERABLE.

Shin: That means I can't say anything about that place, must come back here in thirty days, and must be holding onto all my exchanged items. I can also use one of the others locations to return to the God's Dimension which is convenient... So this...This means that I am truly back.


	61. Chapter 61

Real World Day 1/30 -

Shin's Room.

Shin's room was filled with everything that he remembered and looked to be hardly been touched in his absence. His old book shelf was still filled with Light Novels, Anime Blue Ray cases, and Mangas. Video games were scattered over the floor, his favorite protagonist and heroine figurines on desk by the computer along with a Gumpla model. The posters of his favorite protagonist from anime and mangas alike were hanging on the wall and ceiling by his bed.

Shin: This is definitely my old room. In all of Japan there could only be 100 otaku filled goods of this quality. Who else has an RX-78-2 Limited Edition Gumpla personally signed by both Yoshiyuki Tomino and Toru Furuya? Not many since I had to go to the end of the earth to get this.

Shin never made an exact model of his room back in the Terminal Lobby.

He loved all the things in his own personal space, but when he first tried to, he stopped himself because it all reminded him of the real world. The room was also the symbol that he was only an otaku who admires, yet could not could become a protagonist himself.

Shin: Maybe I should just take 1 or 2 things back with me as keep sakes. Especially my Lala hug pillow who I had my first kiss with. I hope Aqua and Hiakri won't be jealous... Or freak out over. Is this what they call a love affair?

It was then as he was only now just considering just making her himself ( She could also invent things for us, though it'll go out of control immediately after she does build something ), the door to his room opened. This household only had four living residents, so with Shin on the other side it could only either be his uncle, aunt or her.

Chika: ...Onii-chan

Shin: ...Chika.

Safe to say it wasn't his actual sister. Shin's real sister died in the car accident along with his two parents. The one calling him onii-chan was his distant cousin and child of the uncle and aunt looking over him, Chika.

Chika, who hasn't seen Shin in weeks froze on the spot... And to Shin's surprise she began to shead tears and ran up to and hugged him. He never expected such a strong reaction from her, and neither was he happy and turned off by the surprise gesture of his cousin.

Shin: Chika? What's wrong?

Chika: What do you mean what is wrong!? I, I haven't seen you in such a long time. Last time my parents or I saw you, you were up in your room after returning to school. We thought that you sneaked out later and was either abducted or... Whatever the case I am happy to see you.

Shin: Me to Chika... Me to.

While trying to calm her down Shin imagined that the thing that she was about to say, but stopped herself was that he had runaway. It was no big secret that Shin felt like he was a stranger in his relatives house. For Shin, his family that died in the car accident was his only family. Chika and her parents were just distant relatives to Shin, with an emphasis on the word distant. They made attempts to get Shin to open up, but he always kept to himself and stayed in his room filled with otaku goods and just stared at the computer.

Shin: ( Also, I never really did like Chika that much. Her presence... Is bothersome though I never said so to her face before ).

Shin recalled what he knew of Chika.

Chika, 16 years of age and the only child of Shin's uncle and aunt.

A perfect straight A+ student who excelled at everything and anything she did, whether she put in the effort or not. Chika had friends parents, admires, was beauty and great at anything that she tried. In other words, the perfect scientific example of a riajuu. The very opposite of Shin who is an otaku and was never great at anything that he tried.

Shin also knew that other then his inferiority complex, he had another few reason for not liking Chika. Chika not only had no interest in his own hobbies, she kept pestering him to throw them away all the time. Shin is honestly surprised that she hadn't taken the chance with his absence to throw away all of his otaku goods in his room ( Thank God, not that one, but a real and good one that she hasn't ).

The other reason that Shin didn't like Chika was because of one word, 'Onii-chan'. Unlike Shin who makes no effort to approach or like Chika, she trys to get closer to him and call Shin onii-chan. Shin was originally the younger brother to his deceased sister, but when Saki makes such attempts to say that she is her brother and reverse, that Chika is his sister... Shin can at times barley hold himself back from telling her off and to never call him that again.

Shin hadn't done so to date since it would be wrong to hurt her feelings and make things more awkward around the house, but before he was taken to God's Dimension he felt he was getting closer and closer to saying those words. Still, Shin didn't hate Chika, but he didn't love or like her that much.

To Chika, Shin was like an older brother since they grew up together in the same after the accident, yet Shin saw her as nothing more then an annoying cousin and despite being beauty her own right and nothing close to legally being wrong with looking at her as a women, I've never felt attracted to Chika... Even though this is the goddam setting of 1/3 of of Mangas and Anime.

Chika: Where have you been? You left your cell phone at home and we couldn't find any trace of you even after the police got involved. Also... What is with your appearance? Did you leave home without telling anyone to only to go to one of those cosplay events? You also look much more handsome than ever before. Are you wearing makeup?

Shin: My appearance? Also, of course I am not wearing any makeup! Just what are you... Ahh!

Shin had completely forgotten how he looked like now and what he was dressed in.

After his his initial enhancements Shin had become more muscular and better looking, but it didn't end just there. He forgets if he isn't in front of a mirror, but after unlocking his Genetic Constraint in combination of his ghoul mutation his appearance changed even more.

Like Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul, after going through a traumatic event like unlocking his constraints and coming inches to death's door, Shin hair color changed to that of pure snow white. According to bit Hikari and Aqua he now has sad, yet cool loner look ( Which is a compliment ).

Also, what Chika noticed were the clothes Shin was currently wearing.

Shin was still wearing his Lesser Fenrir Coat as if he was going on a mission instead of going to the real world as he forgets to take it off since he like it so much. In middle school, Chika remembered that Shin once dressed up as some black clothed swordsman ( Kirito ) for an event, so that was why she mentioned cosplay.

Shin: This isn't cosplay, but... I'll explain later, but are Uncle and Auntie home? If I explain things I'll like to take care of it all at once, and not over and over three times.

Chika: They are still at work. They took a lot of time off to look for you, you know? They are back at work now and are even putting in overtime to just keep their jobs.

Shin: Ah... Sorry. I'll apologies to them later. There isn't a need to tell them to come home right away, so we can just wait. I need to make a call now, so we can-

Chika: What do you mean make a call and brushing me off like that!? I was worried Oni-chan! Where were you?

Shin: I'll explain as much as I can later.

Chika: But-

Shin: No buts about it! Just... Just wait till your parents come home.

Chika: ...Fine! I don't care, but you better explain yourself when they get home!

Chika then stormed off to her room and slammed the door so hard Shin flinched.

Shin: Really, how nostalgic. She used to do that whenever we got into fight about me being an Otaku and runs off when she loses. Just that about her is a little cute, although if it was Hiakri it would have been better.

In the time between Shin last spoke to Chika and when her parents finally got back home, he was able to get into contact with five of his six comrades.

Saki - The preplanned update saying that he arrived and so far I've nothing unusual has been noticed and that he still had all of his enhancements that he exchanged from God, both items and genetic mutations ( Tested Ki, Kagune and Na Ring multiple times in his room with the door closed ). Saki confirmed the same on her end and she hanged up. Saki was not much of a talker.

Kampa - He made a scene when he appeared within a closed and locked internet cafe, but luckly or unluckily no one saw him just appear out of thin air and just assumed that he broke in to rob the place. Kampa stood out a he was a Russian foreigner armed with guns ( hidden in a bag, but still... ), so he ran away in a hurry. He expects to be able to lose the police within a few hour and get on a plane to Russia ( I laughed hearing that part. I was not worried about him getting into trouble with his experience as a mercenary ).

Misaki - A short update saying that he was home and waiting for his sister to come home from after school activities. His human creation Makoto successfully and safety came with him, so Misaki was happy to discover that she really wasn't an illusion.

Shuai - He found himself in his apartment near his college. Similar to Kampa, the time he was in the other dimension was short and he lived alone, so no one was worried about him being missing, which made him happy and sad ( I bet he wishes he had a girlfriend or two like me ).

Aqua - She just gave a short response that she was homeless since it had been months since she left for God's Dimension, so she went without paying rent at her old place and her stuff ( Nothing that she cared for ) was thrown away as well. Aqua was currently staying in a hotel room. Shin offered her a place to stay at his place, but Aqua refused and said that she was fine. Aqua then hung up as she was saying that she was going out for drinks... And Shin found himself wishing that she had invited him ( In the real world I was underage, but in the Terminal Lobby we drank the finest beer and wine like it was water ).

Shin was relived that his comrades were safe and sound back in the real world, but there was just one thing troubling him.

Shin: Why hasn't Hiakri made contact yet? I hope nothing is wrong.

Chika: Onii-ch-, I mean Shin! My parents are back and they want to speak to you. Now!

Shin: Fine, fine, I'm coming down now.

Putting aside Hikari for the moment Shin had to now deal with his uncle and aunt, and explain to them what has been going on with him.

Shin: How does one go about telling other that they were chosen by God to become the hero of this world? Well, I geuss that I have to wing it.

When Chika's parents finally returned home and learned that Shin had turned up back home, both his uncle and aunt had called for him to come down for an emergency family meting ( Most are normally held because of me for one reason or another, so it was oddly nostalgic ).

Shin, Chika and her parents were gathered around a table in the living room after patting Shin down to see if he was hurt as they were really worried about him. Having not heard a word from him for so long it wouldn't surprise them that he was kidnapped by organ traffickers and that he had lost a kidney or lung. Shin's uncle started the conversation after he assured him that he hadn't been cut up ( For his organs at the very least ).

Uncle: So Shin... To start with where have you been these last few weeks? We had no idea where you were and you've made no contact with any of us.

Aunt: That's right. Your wallet, clothes and hug pillow were all in your room. If you had runaway you would never forget to bring Lala-chan 2.

Shin: The thing is... I didn't have time to bring anything ( And how do you her name and why do you assume I would have brought it if I ran away? ).

Uncle: Why is that?

Shin: Well, I was kinda kidnapped in a way.

Uncle: What!?

Aunt: What!?

Chika: Is that why you look like a street punk?

Shin: Who the hell is a street punk ( I already pit the coat in the Na Ring and am wearing regular clothes )!?

Aunt: Was it a cult? Did you escape? Dis they make you dye your hair white?

Uncle: Shin, please explain just what exactly has been going on.

Shin: ...

Explain... How the hell can I explain what I have been through.

1\. I clicked YES to a computer message and ended up being abducted by something claiming to be God.

2\. When I woke up I found myself in the world of one of my favorite Manga ( That should just stop being on hiatus ) High School of the Dead. I was tasked to protect fhe main character along with some comrades. Aqua the the mature and badass beauty, Hikari the cute sixteen year old glasses girl and wanted hacker, and Misaki a delinquent who may have lead a biker gang.

3\. I somehow survived being turned into a zombie and killed by a large silver wolf monster, and found my way into the heart of another dimension with the ball of light in the middle we call God.

4\. I acquired a lot of points to exchange with God and gained powerful, manga like powers and tools.

5\. Lost my virginity to 34D ( The best phrase ever ) veteran Player Aqua, yet she won't admit that she is my girlfriend!

6\. My next mission sent me to the world of BTOOOM, a world were futuristic bombs reign supreme with my newest comrades Saki, Kampa, and Shuai.

7\. Fought mercenaries equipment with power physical enhancing suits of armor and bombs, and I have unlocked the hidden potential of man within myself called the Genetic Constraint.

8\. Along with my comrades I defeated the Main Character of BTOOOM and avoided his last ditch self-destruct that probably blew up the island with what I could only call good fortune and dumb luck.

9\. And currently, I found myself with some free time, so me and my comrades choose to have a vacation in the real world and here I am.

None of the above is believable and would get me committed if said out loud, yet I am not even allowed to say that much. God has forbidden me from speaking about God, his dimension, the missions and exchanges to outsiders. Maybe I could somehow tell them somethings that I can and show them proof. For example: Like Ki Energy, Na Ring and Kagune to freak them out ( Especially the latter ), but that would lead them to asking more questions that I can't answer. I have to come up with something that is convincing and won't allow them to ask questions.

Shin: To start off with... I can't tell you the whole truth.

Chika: Can't tell the... What the hell is that!?

Aunt: Watch your language.

Chika: But... I was worried all this time.

Shin: Sorry, but for very important reasons I can't tell you or anyone what I have been through. What I can tell you that I am safe ( Lie ). It, what happened to me was forceful, yet I found what I want to do in life, or at least for now anyways. Also, before you ask I wasn't brainwashed by some cult or anything like that ( What someone who was In a cult would say ).

Uncle: ...Seeing you now, I can tell that you have changed a lot, but not just your outside appearance. You always looked depressed these last few years, yet you look full of life now. You... Coming here after the accident you never seemed to fit in here, but as your uncle I wish you could tell me, and all of us more, but if you can't then you can't.

Chika: Wait, what? So your letting it go? If I disappeared for weeks without any word and came home, you wouldn't have any questions for me?

Aunt: We definitely would, but if it is Shin it is okay.

Shin: How so?

Aunt: To tell you the truth you are pretty lazy Shin. I had no idea what your future was going to be like with such a indifference to your future like you once had. This worried both your uncle and I, and kept us up many nights, and so I just alway assumed that we would have to pair you up with Chika here so you will be taken care of.

Chikai: What?

Shin: Huh?

Marriage?

What nonsense is that? And with Chika at that. Is she supposed to be my default heroine? If both Aqua and Hikari dump me, if I hadn't killed myself immediately afterwards, Chika would appear and we would get together fairly easily. Nice in theory, but no thanks.

Uncle: My wife is right. You have become so unmotivated that recently we were already planning the ceremony out in detail for once you both graduate school. Still, it is pathetic for a man to be 100% taken care of my by a women. Ideally, the ratio should be 40 - 60, and for you 30 - 70 exception can be made.

Just, just what do these baka parents see me as?

A lump of laziness with no potential and needs a women to take care of them for the rest of their... Actually, that isn't that bad an offer, but that isn't the point. I was never that bad, and if I am, don't hand your only daughter and child to that good for nothing.

Uncle: So Shin... It seems that you have found something you want to do. Can't you tell us anything about it? At least to make Chika feel better.

Shin: Well, ( We're just discarding the marriage talk from before, are we? ) In a way I have sorta become the protagonist in a series of events I have no control of. I also have friends I can trust and I, we face challenges together. To sum it up... I am Ichigo Kurosakifrom Bleach ( Just not a Soul Reaper, yet ).

Chika: Can't you be serious for once?

Shin: I am being serious here. I am living such a life now, but unfortunately I can't stay here for long. I could be gone up to 1-2 years, but it is very likely I could also not be coming back.

My cousin Chika didn't seem to want to accept that kind of answer, but thankful my uncle and aunt calmed her down. I didn't know just how accepting they were of this half assed explanation, but they seemed to be under the impression that I was never at home here and wouldn't hesitate to take the first opportunity to leave home no matter how it happened. They werre right, but there is no reason to confirm it for them since they did take such good care of me all of these years. Wanting to move the conversation on to something more cheerful I reached into my pocket.

Shin: Uncle and Auntie, I know that wasn't a very good explanation, but I will be fine. In fact, I am already very well off in what I decided to do with my life, so... I decided to pay you back for everything.

Uncle: Pack back?

Shin: I know that the insurance and the rest of my families money ran out two years ago, but you supported me and my exorbitant life style with my otaku goods. I found out not too long ago, by accident and was considering getting a job, yet luckly and in my new workplace I am very, very rich. Here.

Pretending to take out of my pocket, but actually summoning from my Na Ring's subspace, I took out several cut down pieces of Platinum ( Compliments to Aqua's Adamantium claws before leaving the Terminal Lobby ) and as if it wa spare change, I dropped them onto the table. Uncle and aunt inspected them and found them to be real.

Aunt: Wh-What on earth is all of this?

Uncle: Shin, where did you get all of this? Even if you have some suspicious job, how much of an advance is this? Do you have to work for them for the next year without vacations?

Shin: No. Lucky for me what I am doing now pays almost too well to equal out the risks involved. I still have more to give you in fact.

Chika: Really Shin what have you been doing since you left home?

Shin: Nothing special ( Other then jumping into the world's of BTOOOM and H. ). I took a break from my new work to give you all this. Uncle and Auntie no longer have to think about money for the next few decades and you can send Chika to any college in the world that she wants, and have enough for a savings for her on the side. Money aside, you all raised me when I had no where to go and took me in. Even when I was distant to you all each of you treated me like family. If I couldn't return the favor when I have the power to then how can I call myself a man.

Uncle: Shin.

Shin:c Yes.

Uncle: How you obtained this money is legal, right? I won't accept it if you have done anything criminal. Even by accident.

Shin: Uncle... I have a perfectly clear conscience. Even if I can't tell you how, I can proudly say that I earned all this with my own ability. If you want we can even go to my family grave and have me tell them that I acquired all of this without breaking any laws or hurting anyone ( That wasn't trying to kill me first ).

Uncle: ...There is no need. If you are that serious then I won't say anymore. I'll gladly accept this.

Aunt: You really have changed Shin. You've even become more handsome than when I last saw you, and now you have money and pride in yourself. Maybe I should be begging you to take Chika then the other way around. In fact please do take her off our hands.

Chika: Mother! Isn't this kind of tallk too-

Shin: ...

Chika: Ne-never mind! Anyways, if we aren't going to get any real answers from oni-, I mean Shin, we should just start preparing for dinner.

Aunt: Your right about that. Since we are apparently rich now why don't we order something expensive to welcome Shin's return home.

Uncle: Why not go out then?

Aunt: I want Sushi.

Chika: I want Lobster.

Uncle: Fine. So I have to find a place that delivers first class Sushi, Lobster, King Crab and... Shin what do you want?

Shin: ...Why all seafood and your going along with-, never mind. Just get me a combination of all of that and fried rice on the side

Ah, I had forgotten.

Uncle, Auntie and Chika were these kind of people. They really are good and honest people, so only realizing this now meant that I was not. Even if the accident and suddenly living with a new family was part of the reason, for me to not have tried to get closer to them... Is a regret that I will always have.

Shin: Maybe in the future I'll get another chance.

After dinner I returned to my room with a stomach stuffed with seafood. The three of them were so excited about coming home, and worried at the same time that I haven't been eating right they forced feed me a lot of the food that was delivered.

Shin: It was so-so compared to the stuff we get in God's exchanges, but wasn't bad. Man, I am so sleepy now. I should just go to bed for today.

Recently, I've been spending a lot of my time training as I prepared for the mission, so this really was the first time I got to relax while knowing nothing bad was going to happen anytime soon. I still long for the missions where I can be the hero, but... The real world can be a paradise as well if you let it be.

Shin: Though the old me would have scuffed at such an idea. I should call Hiakri before turning in. I never got to talk to her in the end.

I took out my phone and called up Hiakri. I wasn't worried that anything had happened to her so far, but it was only now that I realized that I was mistaken. This world may not have zombie or BIMs, but it isn't like the world is in peace or that there is no crime.

Shin: And I sometimes forget, but Hikari herself is an internationally wanted criminal hacker. Hikari enhanced herself, but she has taken a supporters role, so the authorities may have captured her. What if... What if a survivor of a criminal organization she has ruined took her hostage and wanted to do this and that to my cute Hikari? Like they tie her to a chair, pull up her shirt to just below the nipple and, and with a feather they begin to tickle her... Like hell I'll let some criminal use my Fantasy Plan 42, Tickle Torture Play! I haven't even gotten to do that yet!

I was aware that it was nonsense, yet I still went there in my mind. As my mind was going into an even more inappropriate place my call finally connected to Hikari. Hikari didn't say much and said she was fine... But I could tell something was not right in the depressed and worried tone in her voice. So I ran out of my room, out the house doors and hopped onto my old bike leaning against the house. Then as I was about to leave my Aunt caught going out the door and asked me what I was doing so late at night.

Aunt: Shin, where are you going?

Shin: To pick up a sharp tongued, yet a bad liar of a middle school girl.

Then without saying anymore, I speed off on my bike to Hikari home.

Authors Note:

I said Hikari's Entry/Return Point was the school she went to, but due to a future plot and convince at the end of this arc, I've decided to officially make it her home instead. I won't be going back to rewrite the first chapter because it is such a minor detail that needs to be rewritten. It's more troublesome than me being lazy.


	62. Chapter 62

Late at night.

On the swing set gently rocking herself back and fourth was the middle school girl, or former middle school criminal hacker girl Hikari. She had just left her home and was had nothing to do so she went over to the park she used to visit as a little kid.

Hikari: I must still be a little kid to come back here just because I am depressed. Also, why didn't I just tell Shin? For whatever it is worth the otaku is my boyfriend.

Hikari sighed to herself. She was kicking herself over for not telling Shin what was going on with her when he called. She had ignored everyone elses calls till now and when she finally found the courage to speak with someone, and Shin at that...

Hikari: I lied to him. I said everything was a okay and not to worry. Why didn't I just tell him? He may be a stupid, indecisive otaku who pushes girls down onto bed, but...

Shin: Hikari!

Hikari: Shin?

Shin had saw Hikari as he was riding his bike to her house. He had felt that something was wrong with Hikari when she finally checked in with him over the phone, so he immediately left home and rode his bike to see her because he was worried about her.

Hikari lived one hour away from Shin by car, but with his inhuman physical condition and almost wreaking his bike, he made the trip a little over a half an hour. Shin parked his bike that was almost done for and walked over to Hikari once he spotted her.

Shin: Are you okay, Hikari? Why are you in the middle of a park at night. It's dangerous.

Hikari: It can't be more dangerous the zombies or the Btooom Lord we faced before. You didn't need to come over to check on me.

Shin: Even so your fighting ability isn't the best, Hikari. You can never be sure about that a criminal with a feather might-

Hikari: Feather?

Shin: Ah, it isn't anything important. Still, why are you here in the middle of the night? Why aren't you home?

Hikari: ...

Shin: Did something happen?

Hikari: ...My parents.

Shin: Your parents?

Hikari: My parents... Are not home.

Shin: Then where are they? Are they out?

Hikari: ...They, they were relocated by the government.

Shin: ...

Shin sat on the swing next to Hikari and heard her story. Once Hikari was done expliani explaining Shin was shocked, but if he had gave it a little more thought about her circumstances then he wouldn't have been.

Shin: So your parents are in some kind of witness protection program?

Hikari: Yeah. Before I was abducted and brought into God's Dimension, the authorities were getting close to finding out my real identity. Yet when they finally closed in to arrest me, I was already gone.

Shin: Okay, but why did they take your parents?

Hikari: They were made targets in my stead. When I saw my house up for sale and couldn't find my parents, I looked it up online. 'Middle School Hacker', was in all news headlines. The media got wind of the authorities failed arrest attempt and made it a hot topic. A few days later the police got word that the survivors of organizations that I had harmed, more specifically the criminal ones, they were found to be making threats towards my family now having found out my real identity. Their lives were in danger and they were the parents of a hacker genius with who knows how much information that could be used for good or evil, so they placed them in witness protection.

Shin: So if you ever come out of hiding...

Hikari: The authorities could use my parents as a way to force me to turn myself in. I found a lot more details online, but that sums it up well enough.

Shin: ...

That was... Wow.

Hikari's back story was already something being a genius hacker and all, but now it reached all new hights. A few more details and it would evolve into a full blown conspiracy themed light novel. Add in a hero of justice who would recruit Hikari into his side then you would have an amazing story... But I couldn't tell her that and had the good sense not to.

This wasn't a Manga or Light Novel for Hikari, but real life. Hikari's real life. She has been deemed a criminal by her country, other criminals are after her and her parents are gone. The life that Hikari has known and built up till now was gone, and possibly gone forever.

Shin: So what do you want to do now? With your hacking ability you should be able to locate your parents through police files and emails. Saki even made that Hi-Tech computer for you, and she herself is a government contact you can use if you want ( Though sometimes I forget that ). You can do it right?

Hikari: I can, but...

Shin: You don't want to?

Hikari: I do want to see them, but do they really want to see me? I... They never knew about any of the things that I did and I disappeared out of thin air once the authorities came looking for me. Such a child... Who would want to see them again.

Shin: You can't think that way.

Hikari: How can you say that!? They do hate me. Or what, there are no parents who hate their child in this world? Turn to any new channel and you'll see that the world isn't that perfect.

Shin: ...You're right. The world isn't such a nice place were such good belief holds true for everyone, but it doesn't matter Hikari. I don't know and you don't know how family feels right now, Hikari because you have yet to face them. That is why you have to see them to confirm the truth. You'll keep thinking about it otherwise and worry yourself to death if you don't.

Hikari: How would you know?

Shin: Well, I wondered for a long time if my family hated me for being the only survivor in an car accident that kill them.

Hikari: Shin... You, that just can't be true. Also, your situation is still different from mine. That had nothing to do with you, but this is all 100% my fault. I uprooted their lives and abandoned them because of some grudge that I had that went way out of control. The result... Is this. Maybe this is a good thing.

Shin: How so?

Hikari: Me never seeing them again could be my parents blessing and my punishment for my past crimee. I don't believe the God in that world is the true god, but sending me to that world... That hell dimension must be...

Divine retribution.

Justice.

Karma.

Hikari probably meant one of those kinds of words to explain everything that happened to her. Her guilt won't allow her to just forget everything and move on, or try to fix it to make things better.

Shin: Hikari.

Hikari: What?

Shin: I'll make you a promise.

I then leaned over and hugged Hikari. There was no impure attentions behind it. It was just something that I needed to do if I were to ever allowed to call myself her boyfriend at this moment. If I didn't do this now then I would have really just been playing around with her all this time.

Hikari: Shin.

Shin: Once we have escaped God's Dimension for good lets go look for your parents together. Even you don't want to look for them now then that is fine. I, I personally don't believe in a higher existence and that world's God is no true god, but if you believe that world is your punishment then overcoming that place with me will be your redemption. Afterwards, you can be free of everything, your past included and face this world proudly and harem or not, I want to live to see that day myself. We will go together to your parents and explain as much as we can.

Hikari: Do you think they will forgive me?

Shin: I don't know, but that will just be another turning point in your life, and so what if they don't. You will have me, your sister wives and the comrades we escape that place with by your side. We can even do what this one protagonist did and live our lives on a privately owned island with his women. We can definitely get the funds for this on the other side

That's my dream.

Aqua, Hikari and my many, many more wives/anime heroines. We are all on my island in the south, maybe can be the same one from BTOOOM for the heck of it and enjoy the sun, fresh air and swimsuits. No BIMs flying around would be sad, but our it would have been dangerous for our future kids as well ( Who should be mostly girls ).

Hikari: Wait wait wait! And where did the sister wives and buying an island come from?

Shin: That isn't important, so what do you say?

Hikari: ...It can't be that easy.

Shin: It can be. For starters you will come back home with me, so I can introduce you to my relatives.

Hikari: Aren't we moving too fast!?

Shin: How so? We already share a bed.

Hikari: That was one time!

Shin: I don't play around with women in that way, Hikari. I don't desire some superficial real world harem that don't care for each other. Even if I am with many women, I will definitely devote my life to them since I am asking them to share a great man like me.

Hikari: ...

Hikari gave me a 'Why are you acting so high and mighty' and 'Ah, I forgot Shin was this type of human garbage', kinda look. Then after a few seconds she began to cry in my arms for a while. As she did I had to wonder how did I come up with sich lines, but maybe it meant I was boyfriend material... Or becoming more of a protagonist.

Shin: Whatever. Either one is cool.

Hikari: What was that?

Shin: N-Nothing. Anyways Hikari it is getting real late now, so lets go home to my place, but before then... I have to now tell you something.

Hikari: What?

Shin: This isn't anything that you have to be a part of, but there is something that we have to do here in the real world now that we have the chance to with our powers.

Hikari: Such as?

Shin: ...Taking care of the criminal trash who dare to bother us.

After picking up Hikari and speaking to her for a while to make sure she was okay, Shin returned home on his bike with Hikari sitting/hugging him from behind ( I wish her breast were larger, but I can't say that can I? ). Shin couldn't ride as fast like he did when he left home with Hikari and his bike was falling apart as well, so it took them more then an hour and a half to make it back to his place.

Shin and Hikari got off his bike, which comically fell apart at that moment, and entered his home with Hikari by his side. Shin opened the door and and entered, and found that his family were sitting by a table all together as they were waiting for him to return home.

Shin: Don't tell me that they thought that I left again?

Hikari: What is wrong?

Shin: Nothing. Let me introduce you to my family. They are the ones who took care of me after the accident.

Then Shin began to introduce Hikari to his family. They were more worried why he left in a hurry and also brought back with him a young girl ( Especially Chika ), but they stayed calmed to hear him out... All except his cousin. Chika kept muttering to herself, ' Onii-chan brought home a women, Oni-chan brought home a women, Oni-chan brought home a women, Oni-chan brought home a women' under her breath and if not for Shin's enhanced hearing he would have missed it and he wished that he did.

Shin: ( What, is it that surprising for me to be with a girl? ).

Shin then began to explain that Hikari was someone he met in his new life away from home and that for certain reasons she has no place to stay. Then being the generous man that he was Shin offered to have her stay with him. It wasn't much of an explanation, but Shin has been like that since he had returned, so they were used to it, whether they liked it or not and so they didn't pursue the matter much.

Aunt: So what exactly is your connection to our Shin? You don't have to tell us how you met each other or what you have been doing, but Shin here is a loner NEET till recently ( How rude! ), so it comes as a shock that he would bring anyone over, especially if it is a cute girl like you.

Chika: Yeah! What are you to my oni-chan ( I thought she was embarrassed to say that in front of others )?

Hikari: M-Me? I, I am his friend of sorts...

Chika: Of sorts?

Shin: She means girlfriend.

Chika: ...

Hikari: Shin! Ah, don't mind him. He made a pass ( Slept with ) me, but I turned him down since he has commitment issues ( That I want a harem ).

Shin: I wouldn't say that ( I want to commit with her, I just also want to be committed with other women as well. What's wrong with that? ).

Chika: ...So your not dating?

Hikari: Not in a million years ( Arrow to the heart ). Just good friends.

Chika: ...Just friends. Good, so I still have a chance with oni-chan.

Shin: Huh? What chance is that?

Chika: Hee!

Chika wispered that last part to herself, but my hearing was above average after my enhancements. Still, I really had no idea what she was going on about. Never have and probably never will.

Chika: It isn't anything important! So Hikari is staying over then?

Shin: Yes, if Uncle and Auntie allow it.

Uncle: If she is a friend of yours then of course she can. Besides, it would be rude to send off such a small girl this late at night.

Aunt: Also, you paid enough money recently in platinum to have her stay for the rest of her life. Just...

Shin: Just?

Auntie placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a pleading look with her eyes. She was old, but she had not lost her good looks from her youth, so this had a profound effect on me as I was weak against women.

Aunt: Please don't forget about Chika, Shin. To sum it up using your words, don't discard the childhood friend and cousin character.

Shin: Huh?

Chika: It is nothing, and Mother please shut up. And Hikari.

Hikari: Yes.

Chika: You can stay in my room. Unfortunately, we lack a guest room for you to stay in. My bed is quite large, so we can share it.

Hikari: Okay. Please take care of me.

Shin: Wait, Hikari can stay in my room. It makes the most sense, right?

Hikari: In what world!?

Chika: No way!

And like so, Hikari got to stay over at my place, and my dream of bringing a girl over to my house and showing her my room was forever left incomplete.

Shin: Fate, why must life be so filled with injustice and so, so unfair to those trying their best in life. I, I just always wanted to have a riajuu moment and have a girl in my room once in my life. I know that you already gave me so much by giving me power, but was something so small so much to ask!.

Hikari: ...Baka.

Real World Day 2/30 -

It was the next day after returning to the real world and I was currently at home with Hikari. We were alone in the living rooom, not my room since it was banned ( And Hikari wanting to follow household rules abided by them ), about to talk about a sensitive matter.

Not anything pertaining to God's Dimension, Mission Worlds or enhancements, but a matter concerning the the real world and a real world issue they had to face. That was why I waited till Chika left for school and her parents to go to work.

Chika's parents still wanted to work for now despite the money that they had now. They didn't hate their jobs, but didn't love them either. Later on they will quite their jobs and said they will go into early retirement.

They discussed it late last night and said they will go on vacation /honeymoon that they didn't get to have when they first got married due to financial troubles they had. Afterwards they will use their new found freedom to find jobs and hobbies that they can enjoy.

Shin: But really, what is that? They all now have enough money to do whatever that they want and they still want to work.

Hikari: It makes sense. I've read that when adults retire from work they feel empty inside since they spent a good portion of their lives working hard almost everyday to just get by. Men go golfing and women join book clubs or do charity work. I've actually heard from a school friend once who has an older father. The father didn't know what to do with himself and just sat around watching TV shows they never cared to watch before, tried to get more involved his children's lives, or just slept a lot.

Shin: Wow, I guess I understand, but those are hobbies to occupy their time, and what they are still doing is working. Even without ADW, it is a acknowledged fact that, 'To work is to lose'. Those who can get by in life with the least amount of effort are the winners in life. Not fancy doctors or lawyers who think success equals money and sleeping with random woemn. Having fun, living a full filling life with loved ones is true happiness. And everything else is just meaningless .

Hikari: ...Shin, you've put way too much thought into that. Anyways, don't we have things to discuss?

Shin: Ah, yes we do. We need to discuss how are we going to take care of those threatening you and your family in real life.

The issue at hand were those threatening Hikari and her parents and Shin's future in laws.

The reason Hikari's parents went into witness protection are because of all the threats they were getting from the individuals and groups Hikari hurt in her time as a criminal hacker taking down corrupt companies, and some of those held ties to criminal groups as well. Leaving those kind of people alone any longer wasn't something thst Shin was going to have.

Hikari: Are we really going to do this? This feesl like increasing my sins even more.

Shin: Not at all. You made some mistakes in the past and I don't know if you were 100% justified in all of your actions, but this is different. People are threatening your parents, Hikari. In a month we will have to go back to those dangerous missions, so we have to deal with this here and now.

Hikari: ...But.

Shin: But nothing. This doesn't just effect you, but me and the team as a whole. With your parents potentially in danger can you honestly promise me that you won't be distracted once we head back to God's Dimension? You are the one and only core support member of Team Japan, so if you make a mistake it will effect everyone. As a friend, boyfriend and team leader I can't just do nothing while such a possibility exist, Hikari.

Hikari: ...

Shin: That is why we have to make sure that no harm will come to your parents before we return to God's Dimension. Didn't we all agree to make arrangements in the real world so that we don't have to keep coming back here? That is what we are going to do. Also, we can't keep affording to pay the points and rewards to come back to the real world to check up on them every mission.

Hikari: ...

Shin: Hikari, these are the people who were part responsible for driving you into a corner and winding up in God's Dimension, hardly some divine punishment that you think it is. They are also a real potential threat to your family long as they are live and are allowed to do as they please. Forget the law for the moment. We are no longer citizens of any country any more after stepping in that God's Dimension is what I believe. Just think of it as diplomatic immunity, or justified self defense to protect your family. Pick whatever makes you feel better and let's get to work.

Hikari: ...That is so messed up reasoning Shin, but... Ok. I'm in. I, I may not have the right to see my parents after all that I have done, but I won't let any harm befall them, especially if this was originally my problem to bear. I'll ruin anyone who tries to harm them!

With that, Hikari and I came to the decision to destroy all those who try to mess up our real world lives. This was more about revenge than justice for the two of us, but none of that mattered. All that did matter was that we make this side peaceful for the sake of our none peaceful lives on the side.

Real World Day 4/30.

After making a rough draft of their plans to take revenge on Hikari and her families enemies, Shin and Hikari decided to move their base of operations. A day later, They rented a hotel room three prefectures away from his home to work at during this time. They made a flimsy excuse to Shin's relatives and left his home temporarily and said they would be back within a few days.

Shin: Was it really necessary to move so far away?

Hikari: Of course. How do you think I got caught? I always did my work at home, so when someone got even remotely close to me by looking over the networks, they found me. If I did my hacking else where then, I wouldn't be in this mess. I no longer wish to be the criminal hacker that I was before, but I still learned an important lesson about not leaving breadcrumbs to your home. I should actually be thankful that it was the police who found me and not someone that I've wronged in the past.

Shin: So this is a precaution.

Hikari: Don't underestimate the enemy, Shin. I did and some policy computer crime unit found where I lived. You don't want this coming back to your family, right.

Shin: Of course.

With that made clear they began formulating the plan.

Through her investigations by hacking into law information agencies and noteworthy sources of information that hackers like Hikari are privy to, she found eight organization outside the country and three organizations within the country and there locations. All eleven of the organizations that she tracked down Hikari discovered that they were the ones's threatening Hikari's parents.

As per the plan, Shin will take care of the three organizations within Japan and physically erase them from this world, while Hikari damage those in foreign countries with the hacker skills that she had developed thus far and with the help of her new high tech computer exchanged item to bring them to ruin.

Hikari: Shin, will you be fine alone? Unlike me, you plan to get rid of your targets in the real world with force. Won't you call the others for help? This might only be a personal fight, but still-

Shin: That is out of the question Hikari. This is their down time from the missions and this is our problem ultimately like you said. We can't trouble them with this as what we are about to do is technically illegal ( More then technically ).

Hikari: But they should be armed. Two of the groups looking for me... Have an aggressive reputation to say the least. One of which is even are known to keep armed and highly trained bodyguards on them.

Shin: No problem, Hikari. Normal people with guns... How can that even compare to the zombies from High School of the Dead and the Btooom Lord from out last mission? If this was a mission from God's Dimension than this would be a One Man Difficulty Mission at best, so I am more then up to it. Besides, I am armed and dangerous as well.

Saying so, Shin activated his Na Ring and took out his gear. Shin had taken out his trusted Gravity Blade ( A.K.A GB ) that can increase its weight and striking power, the Robo Cop Auto 9 given to him by Aqua with infinite ammo and multiple type of bullets, and lastly the Lesser Fenrir Coat that gave him great protection and increased stats.

Shin: I also have the sub machine guns, grenades, and bullets Saki made in the Na Ring ( Am I becoming more of a military otaku lately ). Is there a need for me to be afraid? If they were aware that I was coming for them than they would be scared to deatha and some even planning to turn themselves in to the police ( Not like that would stop me ).

Hikari: Hahahaha! Your right, Shin. I hate to admit it, but you are very strong despite being a gross otaku at times. Normal humans, even twenty highly trained special agents wouldn't be able to take you on. Just make sure to hide your face when you go on your killing spree.

Shin: It is great that you understand and why we are on the subject are you sure your own identity won't be comprised?

Hikari: Of course. We will hide our identify both in the real world and cyberspace by blaming everything on someone else. I will leave some clues here and there that is was some foreign terrorist organization is responsible for everything.

Shin: And that will work?

Hikari: Absolutely. This isn't a tv drama. If you give the police a suspect like 'Dangerous Terrorist', they aren't going to look into whether they really did it or not since they are already guilty of other things. Jack Bauer isn't going to find some clue or witness that says otherwise and going to come find us. The word 'terrorist' is too powerful. The authorities or anyone else won't believe that they are telling the truth that they are innocent of this one, or eleven or so crimes.

Shin: They'll just lock them up or kill them for their past crimes, is that it? Wait, you can't name anime characters, but you know who Jack Bauer is?

Hikari: Who doesn't know him? Also, how will you get around? Luckily your three targets are spread all across Japan, but it will take hours by train and you don't drive.

Shin: Don't worry about that. I plan to buy a bike tomorrow. I'll use it for this operation and dump it later. Still... It is unfortunate.

Hikari: How so? You want to keep it?

Shin: No, I just think it is a shame that I can't use a better bike is all. I wished that I had the points to exchange for the bike from Fate/Zero that Saber magically customized or the Persona 3 bike the MC rode on in the first movie.

Hikari: Are you a baka?

Shin: Really? Well, it is fine if I am because...

Hikari: Kyaaa!

Shin pushed Hikari down on the bed inside the hotel room and locks lips with her in a passionate kiss. They hadn't done anything since that first time, so he was more then ready to start up again. Hikari faced was dyed red with embarrassment, but as a girl who had lost her virginity recently and liked Shin, she didn't resist his advance despite her harsh words.

Shin: Even if I am like this you like me anyways, right?

Hikari: Baka, Stop! Your making a perverted face.

Shin: Sorry, but I was born with this face and God had it redone. I can't be faulted can I?

Hikari: Baka!

And like so time passed.

Real World Day 5/30.

Shin bought a bike as planned the next day. It was the same model as Saber's bike from Fate/Zero but less magic to his disappointment and left to face his newest enemy... but not before stealing another kiss from Hikari who came to send him off.

Shin: I'm going.

Hikari: Just go otaku pervert!

Then after receiving the worst send of from a wife to be before getting to work or war, Shin left to do what he had to do for Hikari's and his own sake.

Shin: My second wife to be is so cute at time when she can't be honest... and that's why I won't forgive them. Those who try to hurt what is mine... I'll kill them all!


	63. Chapter 63

Real World Day 7/30 -

In an abandoned warehouse that was normally used as the base of a criminal organization dozens of screams could be heard within the building. The criminals that inhabit the warehouse were the dangerous kind that you wouldn't want to come across on a dark night, yet right now they were running from a lone masked man in a dark coat swing a sword. One by one they were all cut down and when they fired their guns at him, the bullets bounced off as if they were hitting metal, which surved to only freak them out more.

Criminal: A, A Demon!

Criminal: St-stay away!

Shin: Die!

One after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other and after the other once feared criminals fell to their assassin's blade and were unable to escape alive. Less than ten minutes after the entire affair began the battle was over and done with.

Hikari: Shin, are you almost done?

Shin: Yeah. I just have to kill this last guy here.

Criminal: Ghhaaaaaa!

Shin: ...*Sigh of relief*. That should do it. I'm finished here Hikari.

Hikari: Good work. Now that the trash has been dealt with hurrt up and escape. I have been blocking 110 calls in the area, yet their screams may have attracted unwanted company.

Shin: Alright. I am going now.

Needless to say, the assassin leaving his crime scene with a black sword dripping blood with his face covered in a mask was Shin. And talking to Shin over a headset phone and offering him support as he takes out the criminals threatening her own family was Hikari.

Shin: Two down and one more to go.

Shin got on the bike that he bought recently left the scene of the crime... Which unfortunately was not his first time doing so. Shin had begun the operation to take out the criminals threatening Hikari's family. Shin had already dealt with two of the groups threatening Hikari and her family by destroying all of their base of operations, and now there was just one target left for him to take care of.

Shin: I wonder if I should feel more about killing real human beings, but I don't. Also, they were human trash to begin with, so it's hard to even feel bad about cutting them apart with my sword... Although it was too bloody for my taste and wished I could say that I would never get used to it ( Kill one of THEM a few times and you'll get used to gore to say the least ).

About killing criminals, people, real life people and not NPC, Shin didn't feel very bad about killing them. They were bad guys for one, and whether they were real human beings or not they meant to harm his second wife to be Hikari and her family, so he could only see them as the enemy. A mindset that he has acquired from participating in God's Dimension and the Mission Worlds.

As Shin saw it, Hikari and her family were being threatened by those criminals that he killed and on top of everything else, they weren't the type to just let them go with a beating or talking to... With all the bats and guns that Shin found on them. Additionally, although he has yet to meet them, as Hikari man an attack on her and her family was an attack on his pride as well, so he killed them all.

Hikari was initially against the killing part, but since BTOOOM, she has been growing accustomed to death and has learned techniques to cope with it... Like sneering at those that she has killed. Additionally, the ones that Shin were killing turned out to be her and her families enemy.

More so then Shin could could have believed, Hikari constantly bad mouthed the enemy and cheered Shin on when he fought and finished the criminals off with his sword, Gravity Blade. Shin was a little concerned about that, but seeing himself covered in human blood made him realize that he was not one to talk about morality at the moment ( I basically killed them with my sword just for the practice after all ).

Shin: That takes care of the second base of operations. Hikari! There is still light out today, so let's finish of this last one and call this affair over with. Send me a map with your ability so that I'll have the directions.

Hikari: Okay, but wouldn't you prefer just to download a map app on your phone? My Gaming Map is isn't very detailed yet.

Shin: Its fine, Hikari. A game map type app that I can bring up with my mind is way cooler than any phone map I could download. Who cares about practicality and nonsense like that when you can use a video game map to get around?

Hikari: Baka! Whatever, I'll send it over now, but just don't get lost again.

Shin: I'll won't, so stop worrying. The first three times had to do more with me now being used to the road than the map.

Hikari: ...

Shin: This is the place?

Hikari: Yes. I doubled and then triple checked and that building is the last den of villains within the country who are a threat to my family.

Shin was confused and it was to be expected when he looked at his final target with his eyes full of confusion and doubt. The last place Shin was meant to raid wasn't some shady building or warehouse like the others before, but a tall skyscraper in the city. To the public it was a famous defense attorney law firm, but in reality it was a den of criminals according to Hikari... Though a lot of them were just normal attorneys who weren't aware of what the top was doing in the shadows.

This times targets were only the senior partners. Hikari had discovered that one of the first companies that she brought down was backed up by this law firm, and in fact they were the true ring leaders. Hikari who wasn't as good of a hacker as she is today, so unfortunately she had missed them and their involvement, yet they did not overlook her nor forgot.

All this time they have been looking for Hikari with revenge in mind, but the funny thing was that if they weren't activity looking for Hikari now and along with her family, Hikari would have never have discovered them and sent he sword of dark justice and boyfriend, Shin to kill them today.

Shin: Still, I'll only aim for the partners. I have to be extra careful not to involve normal people, so I can't just go on a killing spree like before. I'm no monster after all, so I'll feel bad about hurting innocent, or at least unrelated people.

Hikari: Shin, I am sending you an updated game map of the building amd placing markers on the targets so you can find them. The map still isn't too accurate, but it is better than nothing.

Shin: Great, but are you sure?

Hikari: Yes. We don't want them getting away right?

Shin: Yeah, but you have used your Peraona a lot today and yesterday ( Kinda my fault for enjoying the game map ), all the while taking care of the criminals overseas with your hacking, right? Aren't you pushing yourself too much?

Hikari: Whose fault is that, Shin? Anyways, you are right. Once I update your map I'll probably pass out afterwards from overusing my Persona abilities. I'll leave the rest to you.

Shin: Fine, but-

Hikari: Shin.

Shin: ...Yeah.

Shin could feel a change in Hikari's tone over the phone, so he knew that Hikari wasn't her weak and timid self right now, but the hacker and Player who had undergone many obstacles including death. What she was about to say was said with the upmost seriousness.

Hikari: I discovered something while I was looking into this law firm. They, they were in the process of making plans to bribe the police and send professional assassins to... Kill my parents and me if I was with them.

Shin: ...

Hikari: I, I don't care if they come after me for my past crimes, but I won't forgive then or anyone wanting to hurt my parents. So I am sorry to ask you this in my place Shin, because I am weak... Please kill them. If not for me then for my innocent parents.

Shin: ...Ok. Please send me the map and have a good long rest. Once you wake up I should be back with you and everything finished. Afterwards we can do something more fun than this since this was supposed to be a vacation of sorts. Hey, what do geeky, former middle school girls like anyways? You're a girl, so you still like ice cream, crepes and shopping, right?

Hikari: Shut up, baka! I am done with everything on my end, so now it is your turn. I am updating the map now.

With that said, Hikari then sent Shin an updated map of the law firm and the targets he must take out with her Persona Adrasteia. As always Shin was taken back by the usefulness of support type enhancements.

At her current ability Hikari can't actually see Shin due to how far he is away from her, but those who have downloaded the Game Map App beforehand are connected to her.

Hikari's Persona Adrasteia can still make new maps of places within a certain radius, with Shin himself, not Hikari at the center. Using that logic, Shin imagined that long as he downloaded the Game Map beforehand, even if he was on the other side of the world the map would still function like normal.

Once Shin received the updated Game Map, the phone connection Shin had with Hikari was cut by her. Hikari's ability with her suppor type Persona has been increasing, but after a few uses a day she would wear herself out and pass out entirely.

Shin: Hikari really has been working hard these last few days. That's why once she wakes up everything will be over and done with. Now, for those up in that skyscraper daring to hurt my wife to be and her family, causing her so much sadness, I'll kill them all!

Before heading inside the law firm Shin put on the disguise he had using on his killing sprees so far to hide his identity. Over his body he wore his Lesser Fenrir Coat and to hide his face he wore a plain white mask. Shin while thinking up disguise seriously considered many ideas, one of which was a mask just like Ken Kaneki's from Tokyo Ghoul, but decided against it.

Shin: It really is a shame. Putting aside that being too much and copyrights, if I were to be spotted by the media it could have the news saying a otaku had gone mad and started slashing people at random in a prominent law firm. Otaku culture is already under attack by the normals who didn't understand what true art was. Calling it bad for morales and whatever else they like. Fuck! I should kill them all while I am at it... Psych! Whatever the case, I shouldn't do any anything too flashy that might being harm to the otaku community. Compared to murder and theft, such a sin can't be forgiven.

Done talking to himself, Shin entered the skyscraper and ignoring all the looks he was getting by business men and the like because of his outfit, he walked a straight line to the elevator. That would lead him to upper floors the the law firm are on.

According to Hikari's Game Map that was still functional even after she had passed out, Shin had four targets to take out and they were currently working between the nineteenth through twenty fourth floors which the law firm rented out.

The front desk security guard of the building saw the suspicious white masked man wearing a coat, Shin, moving to the elevator and attempted to ask him to stop. The guard was suspicious of Shin, but he was so confused he had only wanted to ask what was with the getup and who he was, but Shin wasn't playing around.

When the guards hand touched Shin's shoulder in an attempt to get his attention, Shin, he immediately grabbed that hand and broke it. Next, then and there while the guard was screaming in pain on his knees a kick hit the side of the man's face, knocking out the guard out cold. Shin looked down at the guard who was still alive and sighed in relief.

Shin: Good, he's still alive. If I had come her first and not learned from previous experience at the other criminal dens, I would have killed the man without meaning too. As I thought Ki alone is enough.

Shin had learned over the last two days while fighting criminals that he was incredibly powerful as far as normal human beings go. With just his stats alone Shin was stronger then the average man or fighter, but add Ki into the mix, Ghoul Mutation and his Lesser Fenrir Coat and Shin would turn into a beast.

Shin recently on more than one occasion experienced had when he kicked or punched someone without the intention to kill them ( Well, not yet ) he gave his opponents critical and near fatal injuries. That was why after much trail and error Shin decided to forgo his Ghoul side and Kagune which are overkill ( And make me stand out too much) and rely on just Ki and his coat that increases stats and offers increased defense.

In reality, just the Lesser Fenrir Coat that increased his already high stats was enough, but after experiencing being shot in the leg ( Hurt like hell! ), Shin wanted the healing factor of Ki present at all times.

Shin: Like I said earlier I am no monster. I won't kill someone if it doesn't benefit me or they don't attend to harm me or one of my comrade. So with that said... Everyone get the fuck away if you don't want to die!

More security guards came at Shin, but they were all blown away with one or two moves. The businessman who were nearby and saw this inhuman display of strength were stunned and when one of them finally managed to scream, they all joined in and ran away. This was good for Shin, yet he felt no pleasure from frightening innocent people away ( I am like Kodaka Hasegawa that way ).

Now with no one to interrupt Shin, they all either escaped or were on the floor knocked out, he made his way to the elevator and pressed the button for up. Shin's plan is that once he gets up to the nineteenth floor he will start going up by using the stairs as he doesn't want anyone trapping him inside once he really starts to make a scene.

In the elevator, Shin listened to the music coming from the speakers and felt annoyed.

Shin: Come on already. How slow can this be? And at least use the Fate Extra elevator music, so I can get pumped up. Not this boring crap!

Shin bitched about it, but he should be fortunate that it is moving at all. Without Shin knowing, if Hikari hadn't hacked and disabled the security measures in the building beforehand he would have been in real trouble. All the guards hadn't been taken out by Shin, so it was a real possibility that someone could have frozen the elevator with him inside like he feared. There was also the possibility that the people upstairs could have been warned and would have tried to escape, but all Shin cared about was a BGM. Well, that is the kinda person he was, and so Hikari knowing Shin by now thought ahead.

The elevator door finally opened up and Shin had arrived to the nineteenth floor. According to Hikari's map implanted in to his mind, his first target was down the hall from the elevator to the left, in what looked to be a restroom stall, but because of the low level of detail on the map he couldn't be certain.

Shin: Alright then. Let the hunt begin!

Shin words were playful, yet he was dead serious about ending everything as quickly as possible. That was why Shin ran straight towards his target without hesitation, passed confused lawyers and made his way to the restroom.

Guarding on two sides in front of the door to the restrooms were to Shin's surprise two men dressed in black suits. Shin was wondering who they were and was about to preceed to the restroom through them if they got in the way, but he quickly noticed two two things within the moment their eyes met.

1\. Hikari's Game Map quickly registered the two as enemies.

2\. They had immediately pulled out guns without waiting to speak to Shin and opened fired at him.

Shin: Shit!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

Shin unfortunately took the bullets head on, but luckily the bullets were aimed for his torso, so they bounced off his Lesser Finrir Coat ( Impact still hurts like a bitch! ). The force of the bullets would have pushed back a normal man, yet Shin stood his ground and only flinched for a second before responding back with his own attack.

From the subspace of the Na Ring Shin took out his new and trusty magic sword, Gravity Blade and slashed at the two body guards in front of him. The two guards were in shock since they saw the bullets not even faze Shin, in within that small opening Shin attacked.

Shin: Gravity Blade, Twenty Times Slash!

Shin didn't possess the fine skill with a sword two cut down two human bodies, but by increasing the weight of the slash, the special magic propertie of the Gravity Blade and combined with his inhuman strength through stats, Shin hacked and slashed through the two guards in one single motion.

Blood splashed everywhere and dirtied the hall outside the the restroom doors. Behind Shin a random lawyer saw the whole thing and screamed. That person then informed everyone else, and panic all to quickly swept through the office as they tried to escape from the white masked swordsman=Shin.

Shin: Gunshots, swords and cut in half bodies will do that, so I guess there isn't any more point in doing this quietly.

Shin was never much for the safe and silent type battles, so he more then welcomed this situation. It may not have been one of God's Mission Worlds, yet this was still a final battle in a way for himself and Hikari. That was why Shin didn't hesitate to do what he did next.

Shin: The target must have heard all the commotion I made just now and prepared themselves for a fight. Don't want to get shot while checking stalls, right?

Shin also didn't want to waste anymore time on this floor, so picking out a few choice items from Na Ring, Shin opened the door to the restroom slightly and without even taking a look around he threw in a half a dozen grenades inside. Shin then took a few steps back and awaited the result.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

\- ONE OF FOUR MASTERMINDS DEAD! ( Shin's self-made notification in his head ).

Hikari's Game Map showed that the man inside the restroom no longer gave of a response, so that confirmed for Shin that the man inside was dead.

Shin: Great! One down and three more to go. Now where were they? I hope that they didn't escape like cowards and... There!

Shin reconfirmed the positions of the three remaining targets, and made a rush for the stairs. To his surprise the targets weren't scared off by the explosions and tried to escape down stairs, yet actually went up to the the twenty-third floor. Two of his targets had moved up to that floor and the third never bother to leave his office on the twenty-fourth floor.

Shin: Well, fuck me. They are either confident that they are safe, or they think that I'm not a threat worth escaping from. For looking down on me when your not even at the level of the Btooom Lord, I'll definitely won't spare your lives!

On the twenty-third floor.

Body Guard 1: Stop him! We can't let him kill anymore of the bosses!

Body Guard 2: It's no good. We can't stop him!

Shin: Then get out of my way if you don't want to die!

Once Shin moved to the twenty-third floor of the building, to his surprise the entire floor was filled with over a dozen bodyguards dressed in black suits. They were all highly trained and were carrying handguns and definitely knew how to use them ( Am I in the Matrix? ).

Shin was taken off guard by their presence because there was a flaw with Hikari's Enemy Detection and Game Map that he just noticed recently. Unless Hikari's registered them beforehand enemies won't appear on the map registered as such, and Shin can only register them if he visually sees them.

That was why Shin was originally taken off guard by so many threats to his life, but he wasn't total off guard. Shin had already run into two body guards who didn't hesitate to open fire on him. Since then, Shin wasn't in Unlocked Mode yet, but his mental state was in a kill or be killed mode. He had gone through many battles thus far, so Shin had slowly but surely developed into a warrior with the mind set to match.

Shin: Guns, bullets and normal humans... Are very welcomed.

Shin had faced Zombies and BIM wielding assassins in futuristic armor, so normal and easy to understand fights came as a relief for him. Shin had close to 500 Reaction Speed in stats, so he could easily follow the bullets flying at him from the bodyguards. With Gravity Blade in his hands, Shin blocked and deflected all the bullets aimed at him away as he made his way through to the enemy.

Shin had the Reaction Speed to see and follow speeding bullets and the Muscle Density that gave him a body that could keep up with those reactions. Put the two together, the bodyguards who only feel that what they were seeing couldn't be real, a man in a mask swing a sword and cutting down bullets in mid flight.

In the end, the body guards couldn't stop Shin's advance as he made his way through the halls and cut down the two ring leaders on this floor of the building.

Shin: Ok, let get to the next floor and finish up this-

GB: Behind you!

A voice shouted to Shin and fully trusting in it he turned around and around to block a spray of bullet from a surprise attack. Shin was sensitive to danger, but there was so much killing intent in the air that he was couldn't notice every little thing without being in Unlocked Mode. It was proof that Shin was still new to combat and had a ways to go to become a stronger and experienced warrior. That was why he was very thankful for the warning from his trusted new magic sword that saved his life.

Shin: Thanks GB! I owe you one.

GB: ...

Shin: Whatever, be that way! I'll still make sure to sharpen you later and clean off the blood.

So far, Shin sword the Gravity Blade, GB for short only spoke to him when they were alone and in danger, and even then she ( Was a female voice ) only gave short replies to his annoyance.

Shin: Forget my cheeky magic sword for the moment. These guys won't stop firing will they? Like this I can't breakthrough to the next floor.

Shin could cut the enemy down when he could get close, but if they retreated, or came together it was hard for him to take them out. Shin had the option of using the speed of Instant Movement to pass by/swiftly kill them, but he was worried about getting hit with a stray bullet while moving at high speeds.

Like many experts that criticize high speed techniques that are found in manga and anime, the one about not being able to keep up with the sudden speed increase was partially true. Shin had the reaction speed to not run into a tree or wall while moving, but he didn't have the capacity left to dodge high speed bullets like he could normally. For that reason Shin didn't want to use Instant Movement while they were shooting bullets at him nonstop. Needing a second to think Shin ducked into an abandoned office to regroup.

Shin: Normally, I would have mave found some way to break through. Man, if I'm not in Unlocked Mode things progress slowly... Well, lets just change tactics for a bit. Swords are the best, but to take out these guys needs a little more variation, and lucky my first wife had provided me such a tool.

It was then that Shin finally took out then infinite ammo Auto 9 he received from Aqua back in God's Dimension after she choose to switch to a new magic gun. It was his plan to take out the remaining bodyguards from a distance with the Auto 9 with its variety of bullets.

Shin never got to see all of the Auto 9 functions back in H.O.T.D or BTOOOM because he couldn't keep up with Aqua's movements in combat, but after she gave the gun to him she explained and demonstrate for him during a training session.

Aqua explained that the Auto 9 is a heavily modified Beretta M93R machine pistol which features a longer barrel with an enormous compensator/flash-hider shaped like a casket, plastic grips, and a taller rear sight to match the raised front sight ( Was never a military otaku, so I had to Google every word in that sentence after I received the gun. I didn't want to look like a noob before the militaristic Aqua ).

Typically, this weapon is fired in a 3-round burst mode, but the gun also had a 7-round burst and a fully auto version mode. The main standard ammunition are huge 50-round magazines, but being an infinite ammo model their was no need to change magazines. With the 7-round burst you could get three trigger pulls before reloading. The slide lock was disabled so the pistol wouldn't stay open after it was empty.

The Auto 9 from Robocop had six different types of rounds -

STANDARD ROUND: The standard normal bullet. .

ARMOR PIERCING ROUND: The advanced armor piercing round which is be able to penetrate kevlar vests and the titanium armor.

FLECHETTE ROUND: A pointed steel projectile, with a vaned tail for stable flight great for precision shooting.

HIGH EXPLOSIVE ROUND: High-explosive rounds are capable of making a one inch hole in cold-rolled steel plate ¼ inch thick.

NON-LETHAL ROUND: A bullet designed to incapacitate a target rather than kill.

SEEKER ROUND: The ammo could lock on to their targets.

Shin: This isn't a Sci-fi gun that shoots lasers, but still a high end gun nonetheless. Six types of bullets is already a lot of variety and is the infinite ammunition model, so it is definitely OP. If I add something like Ki to strengthen the gun further than there is no need to exchange for other more powerful larger guns in the future.

Admiring and seeing the reason Aqua exchanged for such a useful weapon, Shin mind came back to the problem at hand. Breaking through the enemy. Shin threw a handful of grenades out the door of the office that he was hiding in, and after the explosion he used the flames and smoke as a cover to charge at the enemy and when they finally notice Shin the Auto 9 was already raised.

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

Bodyguard: Ghaaaa!

Shin: Hahahahaha! What a great gun this is. I might choose to become a military otaku after this!

Taking full advantage of the three round burst and the seven round burst of the Auto 9, Shin disposed of one enemy after the next swiftly and with ease. The bodyguards trying to take take out Shin were overwhelmed by Shin's rapid fire attacks and the fact he didn't need to reload at all unlike them.

The guards were pushed back and hid behind the wall of the office, and whenever they did peak around and stick their heads out they were welcomed with a gunshot to the head. Using the Flechette Round for accuracy Shin killed any and all who decided to stick their heads out. And fore those who didn't dare to even do that-

\- *EXPLOSION*!

...Were blown away.

Either killed or crippled all together, they were knocked back by the destructive power of the High Explosive Round. Since they were just hiding behind walls without coming out anymore Shin blew hole in the walls with this new bullet to force them all out into the open.

Shin then aimed and fired at the chest of a particular tough looking bodyguard with normal rounds, yet while he did take a few steps back the man didn't die and even returned fire. Shin used Instant Movement to escape as an emergency measure and tried something else.

Shin: It didn't go through! Body armor, huh? Then take this!

Shin switched to the Auto 9's Armor Piercing Rounds and opened fire at the large man. He had aimed for the heart of the toughest looking bodyguard from before, and with ease the bullets cut through the man's vest and destroyed the heart, killing him instantly where he stood.

Lawyer: Kyaaa! He has a gun and killing everyone.

Lawyer: Run!

To Shin's annoyance there were still civilians on this floor and they were using this timing to to make an escape. Shin still had the moral compass to not want to involve ordinary people in his and Hikari's fight, at least not to kill them, yet he still had no problem at aiming at taking aim and opening fire on them.

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

Shin: They should be grateful that I switched to Non-Lethal Rounds. They would have died if they were caught in the line of fire. Be grateful.

Bodyguard: What the hell is this!? He killed everyone and even opens fire on normal people. This guy's a monster! We aren't getting paid enough for this

Bodyguard: Let's get out of here!

Two of the enemy bodyguards who were still alive decided to pack it in and leave, but Shin was in no mood to let them escape after all the trouble they gave him and delaying him from reaching his last target. Also, on closer inspection Shin's Lesser Fenrir Coat was shown to be scarred by a countless number of bullets. None of the bullets penetrate Shin's coat/armor, yet if he hadn't been wearing it he mostt certainly would have died during this fight.

Shin: Like I am letting you go now!

Shin switched over to the final Seeker Rounds that the Auto 9 possessed and let them loose on the enemy. The fleeing guards were already turning a corner by then, but the rounds still followed after them. When Shin knew that it was over when he heard their deathly screams. Shin sighed with relief and began walking up to the final floor of the law firm.

Shin: ...As I thought, guns are cool, but swords are better. Next time I should get a wide AOE sword skill that can cut through walls and split the enemies in two.

Shin went into his own world as he walked forward through an office littered with his victims. Most of the damage was caused and above all started by Shin... yet he could only think about his next skill to exchange for and hurrying up to return to Hikari. Shin had arrived back to the real world with thoughts that he had yet to change, but for better or worse... he had as he paid no mine to pool of blood on the floor and smell of gun power in the air.

Shin: Yo! You didn't leave despite all of the noise that I made on the way up, so does that mean you were waiting for me, or expected that I would foolishly die on the way here? If it is the first than sorry, but I prefer women over men. I can't spare that much time for you.

Ring Leader: Pl-please! I, I don't know anything and I haven't dome anything wrong. This is some huge-

Shin: Mistake? Misunderstanding? Was that what you were going to say, right? Well, I don't think that I have made a mistake. And even if I was wrong, a good person wouldn't of have been as guarded by so many professionals bodyguards, don't you think?

Shin looked behind him to confirm that fact.

To make his way up to the office of the final ring leader on the twenty-fourth floor, Shin had to take out dozens of bodyguards between the nineteenth through twenty-fourth floors. The Prime Minister of Japan or the U.S President aside, no normal upright citizen or business man who have so many professional bodyguards to protect him and his colleagues... Not unless they weren't upstanding individuals who felt the need to protect themselves due to the results of their own actions.

Ring Leader: Why, why are you doing this? Did someone hire you to kill me? Then I'll pay double, no triple if you spare me, and if you kill the bastered who sent you here. Then I'll-

\- *BANG*!

Shin without hesitation shot a bullet into the ring leader's right hand to make him shut up. The ring leader just looked at the new hole in his hand for a moment before registering the pain.

Ring Leader: Gahhhhhhhh!

Shin: I care shit for your dirty money. Also, my income for a single job is far more then you would make in your life time if I converted it to money. Even if that wasn't the case you can't buy me, trash!

Ring: Wh-Why not!?

Shin: My cute, sixteen year old glasses wearing second wife to be has already paid me with her virginity, her second and third time ( before I left ). Wouldn't I be the worst scum not to take responsibility for her and clean up her messes? I take care of the women that I love. More importantly, she is also a comrade who has risked her life for me at times, so... Die.

\- *BANG*!

A single bullet from Shin's Auto 9 penetracted the skull of the ring leader, killing him instantly. Shin considered the idea of making it all last longer and give the villain threatening his Hikari much more pain, but he didn't have the time or a real desire to do so ( I'm no sadist ).

Shin then noticed that he had wasted so much time as well now hearing police sirens screaming outside the open window of the ringleaders office. They were way up on the twenty-fourth floor, so to be able to hear the sirens said a lot about how many police officers had arrived to apprehend the masked swordsmen and gunman.

Shin: This is bad. I have to get out of here. Lucky the building next to this one isn't too far. If I use Instant Movement with a running start, I should be able to jump over to-

And then it happened.

To Shin's shock a man, one of the surviving bodyguards rushed into the office he was in, and in the man's hands as hard as it was to believe... Was a flamethrower ( Why flamethrows again? This isn't H.O.T.D, right? ). Shin instinctively feeling fear went into Unlocked Mode and shot the man in the head with the Auto 9 without wasting any time, but the bodyguard's fingers still managed to pull the trigger of the flamethrower and it went off.

Shin was hit by the flamethrower spray, but luckily he had already entered into Unlocked Mode, yet this lead to a new problem. While in Unlocked Mode his body prioritized immediate survival over everything else, so automatically he had jumped back with Instant Movement to escape the flames, but not fully accounting for the the force he jumped back-

Shin: Fuck!

...Shin's back slammed into and broke the window of the office, and he fell out through the window out into the open world twenty-four floors up. What he was going through, in the air and falling to the ground after falling out a window or railing must have been the fear of a lot of men and women, but in Unlocked Mode, despite his mistake Shin was calm and composed.

Shin, he pulled out and stabbed Gravity Blade into the wall of the building he fell out of. Nearly tearing apart his arm he held on for as long as he could as he slid down while slowing himself down. Before his arms broke, Shin retracted the blade from the wall and ran down the building with Instant Movement just like how others could run up building and walls in fiction. And then from there he jumped off as he was losing traction and landed on top of a car... Hard!

\- *CRASH*!

Shin: I... I am so exchanging for Void Instant Movement the next chance I get. Also, thank god for this coat. Without it I would have broken my back.

Saying so with a pained smile on his face, Shin laid back on the smashed hood of a car.

The police and paramedics that were on the ground and were about to raid the building where the mysterious masked swordsman has been reported to be on a killing spree in the law firm saw something fall from twenty floor up and slam into the hood of a car.

They were confused and moved closer to the wreckage and saw a man in a white mask and dark coat had fallen. They presumed the spree killer had committed suicide, so they were not in a rush to pick up his remains to focus on helping the living, so they missed the fact that five minutes later the body of the masked man had disappeared ( I needed the time to recover ).

This event where a man wearing a white mask and dark coat wielding a sword had walked into a law firm with the intent to kill came to be well kown all across the nation. Over 40 plus men and women were kill, but strangely most were bodyguards and not lawyers, and the corpse of the culprit who committed suicide to avoid capture disappear while surrounding by the police made the event all the more strange.

Shin had left the scene of his own crime while the police and medics and were helping others. Hikari gave him hell afterwards since he was caught on a camera phone as he ran down a burning building that caught fire with a sword in his hands.

Thus, ending Shin and Hikari's little revenge episode.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favourite/Comment.

I can't logical explain why there were so many hired guards in the law firm or a flamethrower, so please don't think about it too much. Maybe they had a headquarters on a higher floor or whatever or planned to burn down a building. And if there are any loose ends... Just remember that the author is second rate and is doing his best to write a First Rate Fan Fiction.


	64. Chapter 64

Real World Day 8/30 -

The day after we had cleared up those who wished to harm Hikari and her family, we decided to pay a visit our comrades and see how they are adjusting back to the real world. Of those we could only visit the few who didn't live to far away.

Those like Aqua, Saki and Kampa ( Russia ) lived too far away and would require a plane to reach them and since we were going to meet up in a week or so anyways there wasn't any point in making the effort for a long trip. So that just left Misaki and Shuai for the two of us to visit as they didn't live more then 1-2 hours away from my home by car or bus. Additional, Shuai said that he was going to be occupied today, so by process of elimination that just left visiting Misaki at his home.

Together Hikari and I made our way to Misaki's home. He lived in a upper class apartment building to our surprise. We rang the door bell and a few moments later Misaki opened the door with a fed up look on his face. Hikari and I weren't stupid so we understood why he was upset.

Misaki: What the hell have you two been up to since you got back?

Shin: Ahh... Playing at vigilantes of justice and love.

Misaki: Don't screw around with me when I saw you running down a building on the new!

Hikari: I geuss we did draw attention to ourselves, but Misaki, for certain reasons it couldn't be helped... Probably.

Misaki: I don't even know who here is the bigger influence on the other. You two aren't wanted are you?

Hikari: I hacked into the police database and found out that we aren't. They don't know who or how to explain the events. They saw Shin, or the man in the mask who killed all those people die by jumping off a building, so Shin's serial killer persona isn't technically wanted as he is confirmed dead. They just don't know who took his body is all, but they aren't putting too much resources into finding out who either.

Misaki: ...As a former biker gang leader, maybe I don't have the right to comment on adding the crime of hacking to your... Just come in already.

Then with his permission Hikari and I entered Misaki's home.

Originally, Misaki lived in this an apartment building with his sister before finding himself in God's Dimension. His father and mother divorced for silly reason and so they live with only their mother, but she works a lot, so must of the time it is just Misaki and his sister at home.

That was why Misaki was the most desperate of us all to return home. His mother was a workaholic and paid little attention to her children. That was why he was so worried about his sister, and as Misaki was explaining all this I had a question.

Shin: The why did you join a biker gang if you had to look after her?

Misaki: It is shameful to admit, but it wasn't till my parents divorce and... The incident with Mokoto ( The real one, not the human creation he meant ) and I was trying to leave that old life behind did I realize how much I had been neglecting my little sister... Just like my worthless parents. That was when I decide to live for her in my parents stead who were to busy to look after, or even care about their children.

Hikari: Is, is it really that bad? Weren't they worried about you when you up and disappeared?

Misaki: Huh, them? Not at all Hikari. In fact, my mother hasn't been home in all this time and even when my sister kept calling her to say that I hadn't come back in days and weeks, she didn't do anything other then send her some money to take care of herself. That's horrible, right? Even I was outraged and almost went to go strangle that women.

Hikari: You absolutely should have! That just wasn't horrible which it was, it was inhuman. It was also child neglect. What are you going to do about this?

Shin: Do about?

Hikari: Well, Misaki can't leave his sister with such a shameful excuse for a mother... No offense Misaki.

Misaki: None taken. I've said far worse about her and to her face before at that.

Shin: Then how about your father? Can't he look after your sister while you are on the other side?

Misaki: Him? No way in hell. That man is enjoying his batchelor and child free life too much with the mistress he had on the side when he was married, which I hardly blame him for having since his wife was a man hater piece of work to say the least. Anyways, that new women of his hates us as she can't look at us without being reminded of our mother, an insult in itself, and last I've heard they are getting married and she is already with child. There isn't any place for either of us there and nor would I leave her there in that environment. My sister will either me treated as shit by both the new wife and possibly her child, or my father will just ship her off to some boarding school were he won't have to think about or see her till she is a grown adult, if that.

Hikari: Then what will you do?

Misaki: Well, for the time being I contacted a company that provides professional housekeeping and childcare for the rich, and have come to an arrangement. They are the best in the area and will send someone to look after my sister as a stay in maid or housekeeper or something like that indefinitely.

Hikari: Isn't that stuff for the rich? How can you afford it?

Misaki: No worry. Like Shin did, I used my left over points to exchange platinum bars. This service is expensive, but in the worst case scenario that I don't make it back, they can look after her for the next ten years. By then she will be off to college.

Shin: By worse case, do you mean...

Misaki: I die. I have every attention to return to the real world permanently along with Makoto, but I... I can't fool myself after that last mission. I lost my ability to fight and even move in the final battle against the Btooom Lord. In the end I had to leave our survival to both Aqua and you, Shin. I may have gotten some good exchanges this time around and I'm good in a fight, but I'm not invincible and I don't believe that I have Shin's talent for staying alive either. The next mission or the one after, I can very well die. Knowing that... I can't leave my sister unattended to or with those kinds of parents.

Misaki had a look of resolution on his face. More than anyone else he wanted to return to the real world, but he understood how high a hurdle that was.

Misaki: So what have you two been up to? From the news, I don't know what went down other then Shin going insane with a sword.

Shin: Don't look at us like that. It is easy to explain what went down.

Shin and Hikari than began to tell Misaki the events that lead up to their plan to deal with the individuals who were a threat to Hikari. During the explanation Misaki looked half fed up that the two of them went so far, and half pissed off at those wanting to harm Hikari and her family, so much so that he then became angry that they didn't include him in the plan. In the end Misaki didn't really say anything like what they did was wrong, yet that just showed Shin that Misaki has changed since entering God's Dimension.

Shin: What about you Misaki? Other then making arrangements for you sister what else have you been up to? Also, where is Makoto and how did you explain her presence to your sister ( A exact copy of a girl who had died walking around with you )?

Misaki: Nothing as major as what you two have been doing, and about Mokoto... It wasn't as big as a deal as I feared it would be.

Shin: Really

Misaki explained the following.

Misaki had a touching reunion with his sister after being gone from weeks, tear and hugs and that sort of thing, and then he brought in Mokoto who had been waiting outside. At first this freaked out his sister since she knew Mokoto as her brothers childhood friend, and even went and cried at her funeral last year. Misaki had a very hard time from stopping his sister from chanting mantras over and over to appease Mokoto's 'Spirit'.

In the end, Misaki got away with an half assed lie that the Mokoto in front of her had become an angel and come back from heaven. He also said that he was the one to go pick her up and that is why he was gone so suddenly at that.

Shin: And she bought that?

Misaki: Yeah. My sister was somewhat religious and seeing Mokoto once more after death... She had no other choice than to accept that she was an angel. How else could she process everything? Also, I am not allowed to tell her the truth about anything pertaining to God's Dimension.

Hikari: Where are you sister and Mokoto now?

Shin: They are in my sisters room play some game. Before Mokoto passed away she was like an older sister to her, so they both get along well even now.

Shin: So everything worked out in the end.

Misaki: I geuss, but... My sister has been praying to Mokoto as a divine being, and she has been getting really into religion with a passion and zeal that I have never seen in her before.

Hikari: Is that bad?

Misaki: Not at all. It izn't bad, but...

Shin: But?

Misaki: As a future career path which do you think is better; a Nun, Monk, or Shrine Priestess? Last night, my sister seriously asked me that question with a straight face.

Shin: ...

Misaki: ...

Shin: So how has your training in this off period been going for you, Misaki?

Misaki: Training?

Shin: Yeah. We're here for an entire month before our next mission, so we have to use this time to prepare. You yourself have even acquired three new enhancements this time around, so you especially need to learn to master them to the best of you ability. They are also low level enhancements at that, so only when they're truly mastered and are working together will they truly become a great asset on the battlefield.

Misaki: What, you two train everyday?

Hikari: Not as much as Shin who even trains his body on top of his enhancements, but yes. When no one is around I summon my Persona Adrasteia. I unfortunately can't keep it out for long and it wears me out, but the time in between that I can use my Persona has been getting shorter. At my current pace of growth, by the time of the next mission I can summon Adrasteia five times in one day for three minutes of activation. It doesn't seem like much, but what I can do in that short amount of time more than makes it for it.

Shin: I have been training my Ki Energy and Kagune mutation in secret in my room. With Ki, I just meditate while circulating Ki in my body to find new ways to improve its efficiency and new applications I can use Ki for. I have also been practicing the control of the tentacles of my Rinkaku type Kagune for more delicate task. Progress has been okay so far.

Hikari: Don't listen to Shin, Misaki. He has just been breaking cup and plates all day in his spare time.

Shin: I replaced them, so no harm no foul. So Misaki, how has your progress with Haki and pyrokinesis been going?

Misaki: ...The same.

Shin: So no noticeable growth.

Misaki: No, not exactly.

Then Misaki began to explain his dilemma. It has always been Misaki's plan to train in this one month off time in the real world, but with one thing after another... He had forgotten to train the past week since he has been back. Misaki had been enjoying and spending so much time with his little sister and Mokoto that he had forgot to train his new abilities or even workout his body. Going to place after place with his sister to make up for lost time, and going on dates with Mokoto, like a couple should, Misaki had just let his training and thoughts of God's Dimension be forgotten.

Hearing this, Hikari seemed to understand how Misaki put off his training to make the most of his time here in the real world as she might have made a similar choice if she thought her own parents would ever forgive her, but Shin was angry at Misaki for his negligence.

Misaki: What's the big deal if I don't train here in the real world? This is my long awaited break to spend with my sister and Mokoto in a world where fiction isn't trying to kill me in unimaginable, horrible ways. What is wrong with just... Forgetting that place for a while and enjoying the present?

Shin: Nothing in principle, but Misaki, you have become too lax here. Your're acting like you have finally escaped that dimension for good, and are not here on just a one month break. Ten days after each mission and this one month trip to the real world, it isn't wrong to enjoy them, but you can't forget one thing.

Misaki: What?

Shin: We are not done yet, so we can't fool ourselves that we are. Let me tell you the story of a certain swordsman from a light novel, Misaki.

Hikari: What are you going on about now?.

Shin: Just shut up and listen.

Shin scolds Misaki by telling him the story of Kirito from Sword Art Online.

Kirito, he was the best swordsman in the death game Sword Art Online. He would eventually go on to free all the surviving players from SAO, a virtual reality death game. Kirito was a hero with amazing sword skills and a powerful inner spirit that allowed him to challenge the very rules of the game with willpower alone, but after returning to the real world his troubles were not yet over. He would get dragged into more events and would have to fight with his life and the life of his loved ones on the line, but there was a problem.

In the words of a certain red eyed enemy of his, who summed up Kirito's problem saying that he had breathed in too much of the stink of the real world and forgot all the trials he once went through to enjoy the real world. That was why after returning to the virtual world and having to fight against a strong foe again, Kirito's sword skills had deteriorated, as commented upon friends and foes. As he was now, Kirito was still better than the average man or a skilled warrior, but those who knew him at his best, both allies and enemies alike said he wasn't at the same level as before. He would do well in most virtual reality games, but he could no longer become the best, or more importantly the hero of SAO. Even when battles in virtual reality held serious consequences in the real world, he wasn't able to return to his old self that thrived in a life and death environment after having become accustomed to peace in the real world.

Misaki: ...

Shin: The moral of the story is that if you get too relaxed and lose your edge, when you really have to fight again, even if it is for your own life or that of a loved one, you won't be at your best. It isn't just physically, but more importantly, the mentality of it as well. Fighting instincts and battle experience can be lost over time if not honed constantly. We are only here for a visit, not forever, so don't become too lax and forget the horrors that we have to face once more. Our battle is truly a long one after all.

Misaki: I, I know that!

Shin: Do you? Then at the very least train in your down time to master Haki and that wrist flamethrower that Saki made you to go along with your Pyrokinesis skill so that you won't wear yourself down by creating your own flames. I won't say don't enjoy yourself, but we are no longer citizens of this world. Not till we all acquire the 50,000 Points to leave that place once and for all!

Hikari: Shin, you don't have to be so blunt. Also, don't worry about what he said too much. He is just worried about you is all.

Shin: Who is worried about this guy? I just don't want him slowing me down later is-

Hikari: Shut up, Shin. I am trying to make you come off good, so keep quiet.

Misaki: Thanks Hikari, but Shin is right. Til I saw you on the news and come here, I had forgotten about everything. I wanted to forget everything about that place for as long as possible... Thank you. I'll keep this in mind.

With our visit to Misaki pretty much over with, Hikari and I were on our way out with Misaki showing the way to the door.

Misaki: Thanks for coming over... And I'll make sure not to forget that I have to return to that place and prepare myself accordingly.

Shin: Alright. I didn't want to sound so high and mighty, but I am kinda the leader.

Misaki: And who decided... No, never mind. Also, sorry that I didn't have any snacks or drinks for you two.

Hikari: No problem. In fact, I'll be disgusted if a biker punk like you could greet others properly.

Misaki: It is former, and shut up!

Mokoto: What is going on. Ah, its Hikari and Shin! How great to see you.

Mokoto, Misaki's human creation had come out of a room and right behind her was a small girl. A cute girl of about ten years old had followed behind Mokoto shyly. This girl had to be Misaki's little sister that he kept going on and on about, but...

Shin: So cute.

Misaki: Huh?

Hikari: Shin is right. She is so small and cute, like a little princess... But how? How can this be that ruff-neck, biker trash named Misaki, have such adorable sister?

Shin: Maybe he kidnapped her.

Misaki: Fuck off you two! This is my little sister Ren. The pride of my life next to Mokoto.

Ren: My name is Ren.

Misaki: Cute right!? Could there be a better girl in the entire world then Ren?

Mokoto: Is that so? It is good to know where I stand in the eyes of my boyfriend.

Misaki: Mokoto... You can't compare you two. Mokoto is Mokoto and Ren is Ren.

Mokoto: ...

It looked like Misaki had yet to master the art of controlling... Handle... Whatever the word is, he wasn't up to the task of having two women in his life like I could with Aqua and Hikari. I should give the poor sap some advice later.

Ren: Are you two my brother's new friends that he has been with these last few weeks?

Shin: Ah, yeah. My name is Shin and this here is Hikari my girl-Ahh! Don't hit me for calling you my girlfriend. Aqua is bad enough and she hits harder.

Hikari: Shut up Shin! Anyways, my name is Hikari. It is nice to meet Misaki's sister after all this time.

Hikari and I then greeted the shy girl kindly, yet she seemed to want to say something to us rather than hear our names. It was only when Misaki and Mokoto were distracted by a fight they were having that she speak up again.

Ren: ...I, I don't know what my brother has been up to, but it is dangerous, right?

Shin: ...

Hikari: ...Why would you say that?

Ren: Sometimes brother looks very scary at times. In a dark room he just sit in a chair with a frightening look. He is almost always fearless, yet since he has been back this has been happening everyday. Brother won't say anything about what he has been up to or where, but I can tell that it is dangerous. That is why... Please protect my brother!

Shin: ...

Hikari: ...Shin?

Misaki's little sister was smarter then I took her for. There was no way Misaki could have told her anything, but Ren had deduced that whatever he was up to was dangerous and that it wasn't over yet. Ren wanted some confirmation that everything will be alright, asking from us, from me, that Misaki would be okay. Just saying that it will be alright would be irresponsible since in that dimension their is only death waiting for you. Still...

Shin: ...I, I promise. Misaki, I'll look after him for you.

Ren: Really? Thank you!

With much reluctance I said something I shouldn't have and accepted Ren's request, but I don't regret it. This time around I intend to be a proper team leader. I won't let what happened to Zero in BTOOOM happen again just because I wasn't strong enough.

Misaki: See you guy later. In one week we are meeting up, right?

Hikari: Yes. Saki had yet to tell us a location, but she should be getting in contact with us soon.

Shin: One week then. Now the two of us are leaving. The next time that I see you don't say something like you forgot to train, okay?

Misaki: I won't forget. I don't want to listen to another lecture where you use anime character as reliable examples.

Shin: ...

?: So Team Japan has returned to the real world, have they? And you say that the current team is not on our side, right?

?: Yes. There's no doubt that the previous team wiped during some mission, and that the current Team Japan is made up of random civilians. They also don't seem to know anything about us. What would you have me do now that I made contact with them?

?: ...Nothing for the moment, but keep investigating them to see if they are useful and acquire their real world information while you are at it. Blackmail can sometimes be a double edge sword, but we don't have much choice. I don't like it, but it's better to see if they can be brought over to our side. Recently, creating long lasting new teams has become near impossible with the new format. We have lost more than half of our other teams in God's Dimension as well because of this fucking change... The smart thing to do would be to use them as stepping stones to reorganize our forces.

?: And if they prove unlikely to conform to our beliefs or threats... Can I proceed with the original plan?

?: Yes, if they won't join us, then just wipe the current Team Japan and we'll just have to start from scratch, even if it's troublesome. I'll leave the timing to you.

?: Yes, I won't fail.


	65. Chapter 65

Real World Day 9/30 -

In an upscale, single person apartment there stood three individuals.

Shin - The leader of Team Japan.

Hikari - A veteran Player of Team Japan and Persona user with high potential in Psychic Force.

Shuai - A new member of Team Japan who is acquired Shaman Powers.

Shin and Hikari were currently looking down at Shuai, who was kneeling on the floor of his apartment. Somehow or another, Shuai had gotten a black eye five minutes ago in an event Shin just wants to forget about, but had to bring up again.

Shin: Shuai.

Shuai: ...Yes?

Shin: What the hell were you thinking and how did it come to this?

Shuai: Hahaha, things just happened. It couldn't be helped.

Shin: ...I guess it is okay then. No one was hurt.

Hikari: Like hell it is okay! Do you know what you did?

Shuai: ...I already apologized.

Hikari: Just once wasn't enough! Seppuku. I demand that he perform seppuku!

Shin: No one is doing that! Really, just how scared were you?

The reason Shin was fed up, Shuai prostrating on the floor and Hikari's anger, goes back to an event that began fifteen minutes earlier.

University A

A Normally prestigious school has been experiencing a rash of... Strange incidents. And on a certain day, Shin and Hikari decided to visit the school that Shuai school he was enrolled in before visiting him at his apartment.

Shin: So do you really to come to this school?

Hikari: I do, or did at one time. I lost interest in school after... You know?

Shin: Becoming a hacker genius? The police and criminals coming after you? Or do you mean being abducted by a mysterious being calling itself God and being brought to another dimension where you normally die once on a daily basis?

Hikari: All of the above, but enough about that. I've seen enough of the school. Lets get to Shuai's apartment already. Seeing what could have been is depressing and... For some reason this place ... Is giving me the creeps. Like a chill is in the air.

Shin: Yeah, your're right. Something is definitely off about this place. It's not God's Dimension level strange, but it feels like my skin is crawling. Also, there are very few people around despite it not being the off season or holiday. Maybe something happened.

Security Guard: Hey, you two! Don't you know that the school is closed? Please leave the premise immediately.

A security guard approached Shin and Hikari to inform them that the school was temporarily closed. Shin asked if something happened, but for the guard that was a very hard question to answer for a variety of reasons.

The guard then hesitantly told Shin and Hikari what had been happening around the college recently. It started two days after Shin and Hikari returned to the real world according to the security guard.

Lights in empty classrooms would flash on and off.

Cars in the car parking lot would start up and their alarms would keep blasting during classes.

In the restrooms when students looked into the mirrors the images would be freakishly distorted.

Pipes within the walls would burst and forcing a few classrooms to be unusable till they are repaired.

And at night when students are leaving they would hear strange sounds and ghost like figures disappearing when a person turned back around.

These incidents had even gotten the medias attention in a different way then the man with the sword on a killing spree and even forced the school to temporarily shut down due to all the problems going around. Officially, the reason the school was temporarily closed was because maintenance issues, but the students and teaching staff knew better... That the reason for everything was because of something paranormal.

Shin: ...

Hikari: ...

Shin: ...What the hell is this guy doing?

Shin and Hikari knew who to blame for these string of hauntings and so they went to visit the culprit, Shuai, for another reason then just to check up on him because they were bored.

Hikari: Do you really think that this is Shuai's doing?

Shin: Who else can it be. Do you happen to know another Shaman who can control spirits? I don't.

For that reason and knowing what Shuai was capable of, Shin knew who the culprit was. Back in God's Dimension in the Terminal Lobby Shin and the others got to see what Shuai could do after acquiring his Shaman Power enhancement. Shuai was capable of controlling low grade spirits and elements to, for all intents and purposes, pull off pranks.

Shuai could move small things like furniture around, levitate small objects and by sending his spirits into electrical appliances he could cause them to malfunction. At first glance there is little worth to Shuai's enhancement, but in the proper setting, better tools and tactics to go along with them, Shuai's powers could come in handy.

Shin: You saw it as well Hikari. All those strange events going on around here were the same things that Shuai showed us before, but just on a much larger stage.

Hikari: Do you think he has been training and that is what this has all been?

Shin: Too much training I say. Misaki completely forgot to while Shuai went overboard. Damn, why can't my comrades act more responsibility?

Hikari: Is that for you to say Shin? Or should I call you, Mr. Masked Murder swordsman? They are just following the example of their leader.

Shin: I get the point, my cute hacker sidekick.

Hikari: Cute... Baka!

Shin: ( Hmm, definitely cute. Why didn't I realize as much before we were in an relationship? ).

Shin: Anyways, lets visit Shuai to learn the truth of what is going on. If he doesn't have a good explanation in the end, I may have to punch some sense into him.

Shin: What the hell is this?

Hikari: Shin! Another group is coming around the corner!

To understand what was going on.. Was that they were being attacked. Now five minutes back...

Shin and Hikari came to visit Shuai who had rented an apartment near the university he just graduated from and found out about the rash of hauntings. Not knowing what is going on they tried to confront him at his apartment complex, but the two of them had noticed that something was off.

Shin: What is this?

Hikari: Ahh, I am getting a headache, Shin. Was is with this space.

Shin who had unlocked his constraint and Hikari who possess a Persona were able to immediately feel that the space inside Shuai's apartment building was off, or warped for a better word. Shuai had in fact turned the building into a boundary field that summons ghost and low level elementals.

They were basically harmless, but along with pulling pranks if they touched you the person would feel temporarily ill, something similar to sea sickness. Additionally, the ghost and elemental would keep respawning till the magic item used as the catalyst was destroyed or just moved from where it was set up. Shin wasn't aware that Shuai had such a power, but it was Hikari who actually remembered buying that item for Shuai that allows him to set up a boundary field within a closed space.

Hikari: Hiiii! I can't take it anymore! Even if they can't really hurt you it is still creepy. Shin, do something! Your my boyfriend, right?

Shin: Why only now are you willing to call me that? Whatever, just keep following behind me!

Shin and Hikari were currently attempting to break through Shuai's boundary field and reach his room on the upper floors of the complex. So far, neither one of them have been hurt, but constantly confronting ghost wasn't good for the mind and if they did managed to touch you, you would feel like shit for the next 2-3 minutes.

Hikari: Shin! Another group is coming around the corner.

Shin: Thanks! I am on it!

Their pace from going from one floor to the next was slowing down thanks to the ghost attacks getting in their way, so they had decided to take this seriously. Hikari would summon her Person Adrasteia to detect the ghost in advance and relay that information to Shin, and then Shin would deal with any of the ghost and elementals that came after them.

Shin: Shit! Why do I have to breakthrough a haunted house in the middle of the afternoon AFTER leaving God's Dimensions of HORRORS!?

Shin wasn't in the best mood, but their was one fortunate thing about his troubles. This gave him the chance to try out his magic weapon/tool that so far, he had only been using as an storage subspace.

The Na Ring.

Most of Shin's comrades see it as a convenient bag to store items in another dimension, but most of them and almost Shin himself had almost forgotten that the Na Ring also functioned as a magic weapon that was powered by Ki to use against the supernatural.

When the see through, yet scary group of three ghost came into view Shin channeled Ki into the Na Ring to activate it. A forcefield of sorts covered Shin's left hand where the hand was, and he slammed his clenched fist against the ghost in front of him. The forcefield came into contact with the ghost and all three were torn apart and destroyed in one move.

Shin felt delighted whenever he got to see the long awaited effects of the Na Ring, but he was also disappointed as well. It was because the ghost that Shuai summoned were not ghost he acquired from an exchange or found, but false and flimsy existences made up on the spot.

Shin remembered that the item that he exchanged for Shuai allowed him to create spirits from the last thoughts of the dead and give them shape, so what they were facing weren't real ghost, but mindless and fake NPC like images of ghost that could at worst only someone a slightly bad cold.

Shin thought that it was still an interesting skill, but with or without the Na Ring, long as he waved a hand empowered by Ki the ghost would fade away without even harming him or Hikari, so Shin still didn't know just how effective the Na Ring really was.

Shin: This would had been a bit more fun if Shuai had a descent ghost by his side, but like this... It's so tedious. Let's just end this already.

Hikari: Stop trying to make things a game and get depressed when it doesn't turn out to be fun, baka! Look, that room there should be his. Kick it down!

Shim: Yes, yes. Anything you say boss lady.

The two of them had made it to the floor of Shuai's apartment and after finding the door Shin didn't hesitate to kick it down as instructed by Hikari. When they looked inside they saw that Shuai, the man responsible for their troubles was sitting down in a chair with a bowl of cereal and watching a baseball game.

This normal scene was so normal and opposite of what was going on in the hallways that Shin who had entered somewhat into a battle mindset had frozen up oj the spot, and seeing Shin, Shuai did as well, but the person who came up with me didn't hesitate to enter to the apartment and walk over towards Shuai.

Shin: Hikari?

Shuai: What are you two-

Hikari: Shut up Shaman King nerd!

\- *BAM*!

Hikari didn't slap, but punch Shuai with enough force that both he and his chair flipped over onto the floor ( Well, Hikari did go through some minor stat increases as well ). Seeing this, I didn't know what I enjoyed more. Watching my girlfriend hit Shuai for all the troubles that he put us through, or that she knew what Shaman King was.

In the end I couldn't decide.

Shuai explained himself as he was getting up from the floor and rubbing the black eye Hikari gave him.

Shuai said that he training his powers and remembering all the times the students of University A messed with him because he was Chinese, so he wanted to get back at them all... And just got out of control. Shuai had already stooped his pranks recently, but the school was still closed down for the rest of the week.

As for his apartment building, he was training earlier at setting up boundary fields, but he got distracted by a game on tv, so he forgot to undo it. Shin was impressed that his boundary fields could still function when he wasn't consciously keeping it up, but Hikari wasn't impressed all. Hikari was about to hit Shuai again, but Shin stopped her.

Shin: Well, at least this one is training in a way. Can't we just let this go?

Hikari: Let it go! This guy needs a good beating! I almost pissed myself the first time I saw one of his ghost!

Shin: Come on, and don't say pissed. You already gave him a black eye, so lets call him scaring you even.

Shuai: I really am sorry Hikari.

Hikari: Fine, but if you do this again Shuai, I will make a fake Facebook profile that says you are looking for a roommate for your asshole, and preferably his name should be Fat Di-

Quickly shutting the sharp mouth Hikari's mouth, and said good bye to Shuai ( Who was now cowering now ) as I dragged Hikari out of the apartment, putting today's events to a close.


	66. Chapter 66

Real World Day 11/30 -

It still wasn't the day for Team Japan to meet up just yet. It also wasn't possible to meet up with Aqua, Saki, and especially Kampa as they didn't live nearby, so Shin together with Hikari spent this time training their abilities.

Shin brought Hikari to an abandoned factory where he used to play in as a kid, pretended to be the heros of his favorite Mangas and Light Novels. The place was well away from any residential areas or shops, so there was little to no chance of begin interrupted making it an ideal location for the two of them to train. This was especially important to Shin who wanted to practice using the Ghoul's Kagune, and for Hikari to practice her Persona abilities.

Hikari: Hey Shin, are you sure that it is okay to keep disappearing like this? Won't your family get worried about you? You have only just got back after all and you disappear every other day.

Shin: It should be fine, right? My Uncle and Aunt are still working and Chika has school. Unless we are spending the night here they won't be worried about us going out everyday. Also, after lecturing Misaki before I can't neglect my own training when I havd the time... Unless you do want to stay the night and do some-

Hikari: Shut up and get back to your training! Can't you think of anything other then sex?

Shin: I can, but I can't help it when I am in the same space as such a cute girl like you, Hikari.

Hikari: Baka!

Then having ignored Shin's advances, Hikari proceeded to work on training her own abilities and to not worry about Shin for the moment. Hikari wanted to lengthen the duration and the accuracy that she can use her Persona, Adrasteia. If she could have used her powers longer then she believes that Shin wouldn't have been blasted out a window by a flamethrower wielding man, twenty plus floors above the ground.

Shin: Hikari doesn't say it out loud, but she was probably worried about me. Really, how blessed am with such a caring and cute girl by my side. Having such a cute and hardworking girlfriend is so satisfying. I wish Aqua would show more of her 'Dere' side, but at least she isn't too much of a Tsun... Anyways, lets start out with Ki. At my current stage of ability, in combat I rely on two Ki techniques, the offensive Soul Crushing Strike and the foot technique dfor increased speed Instant Movement.

Soul Crushing Strike -

Rating 71.

Matching physical moment and Ki circulation to create an exceptional powerful Ki strike. A ki strike that can deal internal damage as well as crush bones. A proper SCS cause a small sonic boom when unleashed, an explosion directly in front of the extended fist. 1500 Points and C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 150 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Soul Crushing Strike is my strongest offensive Ki skill at this time. Soul Crushing Strike not only increase the power of a punch empowered by Ki, but also deliveries internal as well as external damage. I don't know how far it will go against supernatural or magical opponents, but against regular and Sci-fi enemies, those wearing armor like the Btooom Soldiers it was a very lethal technique.

Also, I could imagine that even against monsters, long as they are more biological then mythical then I would be able to damage them. And back to mythical otherworldly opponents, if Ki and Soul Crushing Strike isn't enough then I can add in the offensive properties of the Na Ring magic weapon to improve its power.

Shin: Soul Crushing Strike!

\- *BOOM*!

The power of Soul Crushing Strike was indeed powerful as it caused a sonic boom when preformed correctly. Also, during the attack I activated the forcefield of the Na Ring as well and as I hoped, this proved that the two could work together.

Shin: Still, I know the power of Soul Crushing Strike, but I haven't had the chance to test out the effectiveness of the Na Ring against ghost or magic creatures, and I don't think Shuai's ghost friends count since they are so weak. I can only geuss how effective this new combination of the Soul Crushing Strike and Na Ring will be till I try it out in the next mission.

I could only wait for a mission that either has ghost or magic, so leaving this aside for now I moved on to trying to improve another skill. The first thing I did was to take off my shoes and finding a clear path without anything that was going to stab into my flesh... Although nothing could since my body after going over 400 stat points in Muscle Density made me immune to such things.

Shin: Grasp the earth, grasp the world.

Channeling Ki in front of my feet I was able to jump a good good fifteen meters in the blick of an eye and came to a stop without skidding away. Not only had the distance that I could jump outside Unlocked Mode increased a bit, but so had the speed I could move at.

Shin: ...Still, it isn't good enough.

That was what I confirmed when I looked back to the large dust cloud behind me where I kicked the ground. The Ki skill that I had just used to move so fast was Instant Movement.

Instant Movement -

Rating 78.

Is a basic foot technique to move from one place to the next with high-speed movement. Ki or magic power is used to jump from point A to point B as quickly as possible. 1700 points and two C rank rewards. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 170 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Instsnt Movement, it is a speed technique that allows me to jump forward distances by kicking the ground with Ki or magic, and having as much as Advance Level Ki allowed me access to this amazing skill.

The effectiveness of Instant Movement lied in allowing me to move short and long distances, and possibly escape danger quickly spoke of itself. In fact, it wouldn't be much of an argument to say that it was my best skill. Not just in speed, it increased by attack speed as well since I could jump at a enemy and smash my fist into them. Even without a Ki skill such an attack would send them flying across a room and into a wall, but combined with Soul Crushing Strike I could easily punch through the chest of an enemy.

This speed technique was amazing, yet to my disappointment I knew that I wasn't using it effectively enough. In the new manga and sequel to one of my favorite manga and it itself is my new favorite manga, UQ Holder, a character and martial artists by the name of Kaito revealed the secrets and inner working of Instant Movement. Kaito explained that there were tricks and secrets to Instant Movement beyond just focusing Ki to one's feet and kicking the ground.

1\. The first is the arch of the foot. With the arch of your foot you grasp the ground under you and supplement your physical body with the power of the earth. I have been doing that since I learned the technique, but it isn't at a level anywhere close to being acceptable.

2\. Then there are the toes. In Instant Movement their is the Entrance ( The kick off the ground ) and the Grip ( Then landing ). When you touch the ground you need have flexible toes that can bend to converge all the vectors. Doing so allows one to not waste any oppower and not have it spread out.

3\. Next is to leave everything behind you to achieve the fastest speed possible. My best guess is that the mindset os important. To not hesitate to jump forward without any cares since at the speed which you move at using foot technique can be scary. I myself am not confident that I could be fine if people are shooting at me while I am moving so fast, so a good example of what not to do would be worrying about stray bullets and hesitating to use Instant Movements.

4\. The last is returning the power that you borrowed from the ground and return it to the world. Now my best geuss as to what this is means that Instant Movement performs better when no excess energy is left after each step you take. Ideally, if performed perfectly the end result is a Instant Movement that makes no sound or dig up the ground when you kick it, and being able to move much farther then ten meters with one step.

Shin: But really, how do they expect me to master this skill. Half of it is nothing less than some crazy logic from Manga and the other half is philosophical. Also, do I really have to brush me teeth using my feet like them?

And though I said that, following those instructions really did help to improve the speed and distance that I could move with Instant Movement. As I am now it has improved by more the 50% from when I initially exchanged for the skill, and if I was in Unlocked Mode the improvement would be over 300%.

Shin: Well, practice makes perfect I geuss. I won't see any immediate improvement since I am no genius, but I should keep at it. I'll focus on improving Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement later today, yet for now my main priority is to improve the Ghoul's Kagune from the One-eyed Ghoul Mutation and also that.

After saying so I began my attempts to master my Kagune.

After the first time in BTOOOM!, bringing out the Kagune has become almost second nature to me. From the back of my waist four blood red tentacles emerged and wrapped around me. Having more limbs should freak a normal person out, yet they really felt natural and better yet empowering ( Maybe that means that I am not normal anymore... Whatever ).

Maybe more so when when I strengthen my body with just Ki, my physical strength spiked greatly. Being a Ghoul didn't allow me any skills like Ki did, but the physical reinforcement could be called a skill as it is. A punch from me could crush the skull of another person and I could climb up walls and jump from building to building swiftly.

Then there was the Kagune and its four tentacles themselves. To demonstrate, I ordered my Kagune to pick up random pieces of discarded electronics that I found early and began stacking them like a tower. It was one among many exercises that I have been doing to increase the control that I had over them, and one similar to what Naruto did to master his Nine Tails's Chakra limbs.

Other excersises that I did included juggling and at the very limits of my Kagune's length range I would have them pick up large yet easily damaged objects.. Stacking things was to have a better grasp of my control, juggling was to practice multitasking and reflexes, and and picking up was to practice to move more delicate things without breaking them like human one day so that I do not squeezing them to death like a tomato... But with far more gore.

Shin: It's hard, but kinda fun too.

I lost myself in these task because it turned out to be more fun then you would imagine. It was like downloading pacman onto your phone for the hell of it and end up playing the game for hours, yet one person here didn't understand my sense of entertainment.

When Hikari was done practicing with her Persona she looked over at me smiling as my Kagune tentacles were juggling over a dozen objects and looked towards me in disgust. I found nothing wrong with it, but I wasn't a young girl watching a tentacle monster/boyfriend mess around instead of being serious.

Hikari: Gross! How can you have so much fun with those red things?

Shin: What is gross? This is cool. Look what I can do.

I then ordered my Kagune to coil around Hikari who was over twenty meters away from me and bring her over to me. Hikarii struggled at little, but she didn't have the Muscle Density to break even a Shining Scales type Kagune known for their brittleness. Once she was in arms reach I brought her in for a kiss which she accepted, but quickly started badmouthing me.

Hikari: Let go you pervert! Disgusting! I'm not into Japanese tentacle porn.

Shin: Neither am I as it's kinda out there, but...

Hikari: But?

Shin: But isn't grabbing cute girls from afar is cool ( Am I developing the mind set of a hentai villain? I've never liked those, but I never understood the pleasure and power of having tentacles. Really, what right do girls have to disobey me? I should just use my Kagune to have my fun and... ).

Hikari: Pervert! Criminal in the makings!

Shin: ...No comment. I may be unknowingly walking closer to the dark side, Hikari. How could this happen?

Hikari: Wasn't getting a Ghoul Mutation a sign that you weren't normal to begin with, Shin? Also, just let me go!

After Hikari calmed down, realized their wasn't any point in resisting my advances ( I really am becoming a villain... I'll think about it if being an OP protagonist doesn't work out ). Then after being released from my Kagune and patting herself down, she asked about my progress.

Hikari: So how are your new Ki Energy attacks coming along.

Shin: It is going so-so. You can see for yourself.

Then after finding an appropriate target a distance away, a trash can, I raised my non dominant right arm and aimed the palm of my hand towards the trash can.

Shin: Ki Blast!

From the palm of my hands Ki gathered and became a fist sized ball of green light. That ball of light then quickly flew from my hand and hit the distant trash can.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The trash can on impact with the ball of Ki expanded and blew up the trash can in a fiery explosion. I still couldn't get enough that I could fire Ki like in Dragon Ball, yet...

Shin: ...It really isn't that practical, huh? What do you think Hikari?

Hikari: Well, it might have some worth against an otherworldly opponent, but to be honest it isn't that powerful of a technique. You might as well have saved the 1000 points and bought 1000 points worth of grenades or an assortment of BIMs. They would be more powerful and useful in a fight then what you just showed me.

Shin: I thought as much as well. I could make it stronger by adding in more K and having Advance Ki Energy helps, but to make it really powerful would consume a lot of Ki. I might as well have gotten a more powerful skill that would consume less Ki like Spirit Gun then just a regular Ki Blast.

Hikari: Then why did you get it then? Not enough points?

Shin: No. I purposely got the weakest skill that emits Ki I could find just so I could learn how to emit Ki. Destructive power wasn't in mind when I exchanged for this skill, but I am still a little disappointed that it's this weak when it was worth 1000 points and a D rank reward.

Hikari: For what purpose did you need to know how to emit Ki?

Shin: To take advantage of Skill Mastery.

I then began to explain to Hikari my thoughts of the matter Skill Mastery.

Skill Mastery, it was a loophole in the system to take advantage of the skill categorys in God's exchanges. All skills and techniques cost a lot of points, at least over 1000 for the most basic skills and rewards. With those that directly increase one's fighting potential like Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement will cost C rank rewards and higher to exchange from God.

If your enhancement path relies on skills like Martial Arts and Magic, one would need a large fortune of points and rewards to become powerful. That was why if not every mission was rewarding as the Btooom mission we just came back from or my first mission in H.O.T.D, it would take a long time and a lot of risk taking to gain even a handful of skills at your disposal. That is where Skill Mastery comes in.

Skill Mastery, after talking to Aqua and Saki, combined with my own experience with it, we found that it was a way to obtain skill exchanges a fraction of the price that it should be. As it turned out all skills, no matter how fictional that they were could actually be learned without exchanging them from God.

The best way to say it, is that if a normal person who has never been to God's Dimension but somehow was born with Ki, and if that person spent their lives working at it then they could learn Ki skills, or make their own Ki skill with enough experience. Also, if one studied the books or scroll that contain the knowledge of skills then one could learn them as well, though in that case effort and hard work would become a factor in it unlike how God would just downloads the information into a Players head.

The point that I was trying to make is that when a person happens upon a skill without making the exchange, and is within 70% accuracy of replicating the skill, God will reward that person for their efforts. The full skill that they almost perfected will be available to be exchanged from God at 1/10 the Point cost and a single D rank reward.

Hikari: So what you are saying is that it is a way to cheat God.

Shin: You don't have to phrase it like that, but yes that's right. Long as you can replicate the skill to about 70% you can go back to God and exchange the actual skill for 1/10 its price and D rank reward. Now, what I was trying to do with Ki Blast was to recreate actual Ki skills that fire Ki by using the skill as a base to start from since I didn't know how to actually emit Ki. I already found a few low level Ki attacks that emit Ki and strike opponents from a distance like Ki Blast, but or powerful and useful in a fight.

Ki Blast -

Rating 50.

A basic Ki blast shoot outward from the palm. Requires 1000 Points and a C rank reward.

Shin: Ki Blast. That was the basic skill I started off from. By adjusting the shape, density, and weigh of the Ki blast, different types of Ki bullets can be created is my theory. By discovering these skill on my own, I can get the full skills for 1/10th of the price and D rank rewards once I return to God's Dimension with enough points. I had found four Ki skills that were similar to Ki Blast and low level enough within the exchanges that it was worth trying to see if I can recreate them. So far I had gotten two of the four down and I am making progress on the rest.

I then went on to explain to Hikari the skills I was attempting to learn with the Skill Mastery short cut.

Ki Bullet -

Rating 62.

A normal physical bullet of condensed Ki from the palm. Can strike both physical and non physical opponents. Requires 1500 Points and C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 150 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Hollow Bullet -

Rating 77..

A Ki bullet that expands on impact, decreasing penetrating power for explosive power and causes more damage to flesh. Requires 1800 Points and C rank reward.

AP Bullet -

Rating 74..

A Ki bullet with high penetrating power and designed to break through the defenses of hard opponent. Requires 2000 Points and two C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 200 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Far Bullet -

Rating 79.

A weightless Ki bullet designed to attack spirits and the soul. As a side of effect of hitting those with a physical body as well, they may be temporarily unable to move or use otherworldly powers like Ki and Magic. Requires 2200 Points and two C rank reward.

Hikari: That is amazing Shin, but I have one question. If you have already reached 70% completion to achieve Skill Mastery then why bother exchanging for the full skills from God?

Shin: Good question. From what I experienced with Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement is that even if the power and speed of the techniques themselves don't improve that greatly after exchanging the skill from God, the Ki consumption will go down by a lot.

I then told Hikari that it wasn't until recently did I come to understand how much Ki that I had with Advance Level Ki which needs a b rank reward to acquire, but during the Btooom mission where I had yet to exchange them yet those two Ki skills drained me like you couldn't believe. Even when my proficiency while using Ki improved leaps and bounds by the end of the mission, yet still I couldn't use those skills 10-20 times before running out of Ki. Now, the consumption is so low I can use them indefinitely with the regeneration speed of my Ki Energy as fast as it is.

Shin: That is why it is overall better to just exchange the skills after achieving Skill Mastery. Overall, that last 30% probably has to do with Ki consumption.

Hikari: This... Really is an amazing discovery and I wish you would have told be about them sooner. Maybe if I looked i to more support type skills before leaving for the real world I too could have tried learning them through Skill Mastery.

Shin: Sorry, but it wasn't till just recently that I made any progress here with Skill Mastery. Next time, when we return to the the Terminal Lobby I'll give you some pointers.

Hikari happily agreed to Shin's suggestion for help, but he himself didn't think much would come from it.

The real reason Shin didn't tell her or the others much about Skill Mastery is because it was a fluke that he managed to discover and taka advantage of it. Shin only stumbled onto it because he was in Unlocked Mode and was incredibly desperate at the time.

Additionally, Shin's ability to grasp the way to control his Ki to the level that he can even attempt to manually learn skills without God's help was because his skills and knowledge improved every following time that he went into Unlocked Mode. Also, he was placed into one desperate battle after the next that forced him to improve quickly, or to die trying. Without those, evvn if Aqua knew about Skill Mastery and told Shin about it he would have made no progress at all.

Shin: It really was fortunate in a way that the difficulty of the BTOOOM mission was as high as it was. We all barely made it back, but because of that environment we all all grew to an incredible extent. Whether it was physically or mentally we had all improved. God's goal may very well be evolution... But unfortunately the path to evolution that he has set up for us is filled with nothing but death and despair. Well, I get to go into the worlds of Manga and Anime, so I shouldn't complain too much.

Shin was overall happy about his growth and so went back to training for the rest of the day and in until it was time to meet up with the rest of the team for the two week deadline. Shin planned to come back here every day to become stronger for himself and for his comrades.

Shin, he wanted to try mastering the more advance forms of of Instant Movement and Soul Crushing Strike, but his priority right now was to increase his mid and long range attacks against the supernatural and magical, so he didn't have time for additional assignments.

Chika: Shin Onii-chan?

It was one of those time that Shin was in the the factory training his Ki atrack and blasting things with Ki from a distance that his cousin Chika had saw what he was doing. Chika was always suspicious about where did Shin and Hikari, his possible girlfriend went to everyday, so she followed them from a distance, but never expected to find what she did.

Chika than ran away from the scene and whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Hikari wasn't practicing with her Persona at that moment, so neither of them ever knew that they were seen by Shin's cousin.


	67. Chapter 67

Real World Day 15/30 -

Two weeks passed by in a flash since Team Japan returned to the real world, and it was now the day for all of Team Japan members to meet up in the real world. Saki had come up with the idea to meet up at the beach, not the one Saki was abducted from of course, but a different one.

The purpose was to discuss any odd details that they all have noticed since they had made it back to the real world and to figure out if this really was the real world or a detailed virtual world, yet it was also a vacation they could take.

It came as a surprise that Saki would want to relax at the beach, and a quite popular beach resort at that, but no on complained. Thanks to Shin's having spoken to everyone about training none of them went a day without preparations for future battles.

A few days at the beach.

It was a novel idea for those who experienced life and death battle left and right, so without hesitation they soon gathered at the beach that Saki suggested... Not knowing that fate was guiding them to their next trial and new chapter within their battles.

Shin, Hikari and Misaki had decided to come down together by train since they lived close to each other, as compared to the rest of the team. Shuai did live close, but he had informed everyone that they would half a day late in arriving due to something coming up at the last minute.

Misaki thought of bringing Mokoto and his sister along since they were heading to the beach and not a zombie filled city or island where it rained bombs, but with it being a Team Japan meeting he decided against it... And got hell for it since he was going to the beach and they weren't. Misaki had to promise to take them to the beach another time, but not knowing when that would be upset him, and so he was quite the whole train ride there.

The group of three left in morning and the whole train ride only took three hours, so they arrived at their designation around noon. They disembarked the train and were greeted with the cool winds and bright sun.

Hikari: Ahh, thank goodness that it is over! My legs are numb from sitting for so long.

Shin: Then you should have walked around some on the train.

Misaki: Never mind that, but... Don't you feel that something of off about coming to the beach at this time of the year?

Shin: Well, thanks to those born before us this is just that kind of world we live in.

Winter had just come to an end, but thanks to global warming it all too soon became warm enough to consider going to the beach to relax. This was a serious problem for humankind, but for those who risk their lives in the many worlds of Manga and Anime, they had all lost their concept of reality.

Shin: Anyways lets just forget about the reason for the nice weather and and just enjoy the nice weather.

Hikari: Shin is right. Let's head for the beach house we will be staying at. That is where Aqua, Kampa and Saki should be waiting for us.

Misaki: Alright, but is everything alright?

Hikari: What do you mean?

Misaki: Well, it is none of my business, but aren't you normal more harsh with Shin, but recently you haven't been biting at him as much. I just thought that it was kinda-

Hikari: Who, who likes this kind of otaku pervert!?

Misaki: I never said anything about-

Hikari: Shut up! And Shin, stop laughing already!

At the beach house ( Named The Beach House ) Shin, Hikari, and Misaki made their way there and waiting inside and sitting in the lounge were three of Team Japan's members. The veteran Aqua, and the two new additions to Team Japan Saki and Kampa.

Aqua: Great. You are all here. Now all that is left is to wait for Shuai.

Kampa: Yeah, but why didn't he come down with you guys again, and is late at that? It isn't like he had to take a plane from say, Russia and make his way to a foreign country's beach resort alone.

Misaki: Don't be so ticked off. I heard from him that people were suspecting him of being responsible for the rash of hauntings ( True, and they heard him through the walls practicing his techniques at night ), so he was kicked out of his apartment building. Had had to take care of a few things and put his things in storage or send them back to his home in China. He should be here within a few hours.

Kampa: Harsh.

Hikari: Not harsh enough. That fool got what he deserved for scaring people half to death.

Saki: Yet I heard that you and Shin had been busy with your own pranks... That didn't leave your victims half dead.

Aqua: Let is go Saki. Shin had already explained to us their reasons for drawing attention to themselves and if you ask me he and Hikari is justified. Lets move on from this subject.

Hikari: Thank you Aqua.

Aqua: No problem Hikari. By the way...

Hikari: Yes?

Aqua: Why is Shin frozen in place and not saying a word? Also, he just keeps looking at me.

Hikari: Shin?

Shin: ...

The reason that Shin wasn't saying anything and why he was staring at Aqua was for one simple reason. It was because of the clothes she was wearing. Normally, and what Shin has gotten used to was that Aqua normally wore clothes comfortable to wear or fit for a fight. To sum it up very militaristic with little to no femininity.

Aqua never technically never wore men's clothing, but it was far from women's clothing that men would stare at, and only drew the attention of men because of Aqua's own high specs as a young, yet mature women with a 34D body. That was why Shin never cared or thought about what Aqua wore because she could make even prisoner clothes look sexy, but what she was wearing now took his breath away.

At this moment Aqua was wearing a emerald green one piece sun dress and had a wide hat on to protect her face from the sun. It wasn't something strange for a women to wear when exposed to the harsh rays of the sun and looked great on women, but for Aqua to be wearing such a thing held double, triple ( No, a Twin Drive GUNDAM OO ) level impact which left Shin speechless. Hikari saw the look on Shin's face, looked at Aqua and then herself, and felt pissed/jealous that Aqua could grab his attention like that. Aqua noticed that Shin couldn't take her eyes off her and realized why. Then confidently she spoke up.

Aqua: What, is it so strange for me to wear a dress Shin? I may not wear skirts, but I am still a girl. Even I like girls clothing. I just normally prefer comfort and practical than what looks pretty.

Shin: I get that, but it's just too much of a image change from what you usually wear. Like, the White of Mar and the Black of Venus. They are opposites, yet when they come together a miracle that time itself lowers it to is born.

Hikari: ...What the hell is he on about?

Aqua: Who knows.

Shin didn't care for what they had to say and kept admiring Aqua in her sun dress and then his eye sight lowered down to her legs. Like Aqua said she didn't like wearing skirts, so Shin had very few times to admire her strong and beautiful legs ( Unless in bed ), but the dress that stopped just above her her kneecaps. Strangely, Shin cared more for her legs then then what laid under the dress.

Shin: ( Really, I can't help but be drawn to her beautiful, flawless and strong legs. It's only at times like this that I can understand why that one protagonist wanted to kiss the back his girlfriends kness ( Amagami ).

Aqua senses Shin's killing (?) intent and backs away from Shin.

Then coming earlier then expected was Shuai. Had had made it just in time as the group was relaxing in the Beach Resort's lounge and were discussing their experiences thus far. They did as Saki suggested to see if this was really the real world and after talking it out till Shuai arrived they arrived at the obvious conclusion that this really was the real world. Then as they were about to head out to the beach for some long awaited fun, Saki gathered them all to ask them if tomorrow they would like to go somewhere with her.

Shin: Where?

Saki: ...It is a place here in the real world where I believe there is a connection to God's Dimension. Yes, a place where we could possibly learn all that there is to God and our missions!

Shin: Haaa! What a beautiful sight. The blue skies, white sands and fresh ocean air. Even if we have to thank the world slowly dying to see this kind of scene at this time of the year, you won't hear me complaining.

Shin and the rest of Team Japan went to the beach to relax after Shuai's arrival. It wasn't the vacation season, but because of the good whether and it being a weakened there were more then enough people who came to enjoy the beach and the ocean.

Shin: This really is surprisingly nice. If I had friends before all of this and never went to the beach, I would definitely be missing out on something good ( Like, who likes go to to the beach and amusement parks alone? Some might, but I'm not that brave ). And there are just some amazing things you can't appreciate without seeing it in person.

Misaki: Shin, who are you talking to?

Ignoring the valid question of Misaki, Shin kept his attention to the people running around and enjoying themselves... Specifically the females. Girls in in revealing and sexy bikinis and one piece swimsuit could be seen and appreciated where ever one turned their head.

Shin had always thought that it wa strange that women wouldn't hate, but enjoy wearing such revealing swimwear that is hardly any different from underwear surface area wise, some even more daring than that, but now that he was out here with them he couldn't remember why had had a problem with it. Shin now knows that underwear is erotica which seduces others, while swimwear are liberation that draws the admiration of others. It isn't just about sex here. Women just want to be free of the restraints of society and run around freely.

Shin: Yes. This the true meaning of Persona 5. Women in clothing are slaves to the rules of society and true emancipation lies beyond the horizon in swimsuits! The path of the Arcana is the path of justice!

Kampa: ...Is he alright in the head?

Shuai: Maybe it is heatstroke. Maybe the missions have finally got to him.

Misaki: No, he was like this all the way in High School of the Dead. There's no helping him.

Shin: Shut up! Can't a man enjoy the beach to the fullest.

Hikari: Shin! Are you coming?

Shin: Yes! I am coming now!

Misaki: He is hopeless.

Shin: Don't hate just because you couldn't see your girlfriend in a swimsuit.

Misaki: Then stop reminding me asshole!

Then leaving the men of the group behind Shin ran into the water to meet up with the girls. Already in the water and waiting for him were his two girlfriends and future wives to be ( Saki stayed on the beach under a parasol reading a book ).

One was Hikari.

Hikari was in a surprisingly bold one piece swimsuit. Hikari was more innocent and cute then sexy, but she looked she was definitely no child. Whether it was because she had been with a man or the swimsuit itself, Hikari had the faint aura of a women that drew the eys of the men around her ( Hey! She is Mine! ).

Then standing next to Hikari was the veteran Player Aqua.

Aqua was stunning all the men around with her 34D body in a sexy ( Did I say sexy ) blue bikini. Her well toned body, strong personality and the natural energy that she emits captivated those who were nearby, including women ( Slightly better, but she is still mine ladies ). Men who were peacefully swimming by her drowned from the shock of her beauty, and those guys with girlfriends who still looked at Aqua were given death stares by their partners.

Shin: Ahh, and both of them, their bodies and heart and bodies belong to me and me alone! Can a man be any luckier?

Aqua: Hmm, what was that?

Shin: Ah, nothing! Nothing at all ( Don't want to get hit again ). Come on already let's go swimming. It is a beautiful day and two beautiful wowmn are by my side.

Hikari: Baka!

Aqua: Are you sure you won't join us?

Shin: Yeah Hikari. It'll be fun.

Hikari: No. I am not muscle brains idiots like you two. I am going to rest under a tent after all that playing around.

Aqua: Weak.

Hikari: Shut up! Just enjoy your stupid contest... With just the two of you!

To understand what they were talking about you need to go a minute back.

Shin and Hikari were watching Aqua show off he swimming skills. The freestyle stroke, the breaststroke, the backstroke, the butterfly stroke, sidestroke, the trudgen, and the combat swimmer stroke and etc. Everything that Aqua did was professionally done and it showed them that Aqua really was once a promising star in swimming competitions.

Shin and Hikari enjoyed watching Aqua swim through the ocean like a mermaid, yet Aqua's smug look that said, 'You can't copy this' ticked Shin off. And so, Shin challenges Aqua to a swimming contest. Aqua agreed and Hikari who had no hopes of matching the two monster, both in stats and literally were the two strongest in Team Japan, Hikari bowed out before the competition began. Now alone, Shin and Aqua went out further into the ocean and decided on the goal of their competition.

Aqua: Alright then. The first one to make it to that buoy out there is the winner. It should be more then two miles out from here.

Shin: Two miles... No problem. You may have the swimming experience, but you still shouldn't underestimate me Aqua. I may be still lacking in stats compared to you, but my enhancements won't lose to yours. Bring it!

Aqua: Oh, aren't you the confident one. How about we make this interesting?

Shin: You mean a bet?

Aqua: Yes. That way the contest will be more exciting for me when I win.

Shin: Aren't you the confident one here now. Fine, so what should we bet for? Money and material rewards mean little to us Players. Do you want to bet points instead?

Aqua: I'll really feel bad after I win, so no ( Fuck! She doesn't even consider the possibility that I'll beat her ). Let's see... How about if you win I'll agree to officially become your girlfriend?

Shin: Really! So I can introduce you to family and friends as my girlfriend?

Aqua: Yes, but do you even have any friends Shin? Still, it isn't a big deal since I am going to win in the end.

Shin: Your on! So what do you get if you win Aqua?

Aqua: You don't need to know that yet. Ah, by the way Shin.

Shin: Yeah?

Aqua swam closer and closer to Shin till she was leaning against him with her own chest pushing against his body. Shin was confused by Aqua's advance on him and when she brought her face close to his ear...

Aqua: You can't hide it from me.

Shin: Huh?

Aqua: I know that you took Hikari's virginity recently behind my back.

Shin: ...Huh?

This psychological and preemptive atrack on Shin tripped him up and taking advantage of this Aqua pushed Shin away and made a dash to the goal of their little contest. Shin lost a full ten seconds due to this as he didn't expect such a sneak attack from Aqua. Shin was embarrassed and confused if Aqua was really upset about him making moves on Hikari or was she just messing with him, but whatever the truth was it he had to first chaste after her. Shin's enhancements gave him great strength and he was never a bad swimmer, yet Shin couldn't catch up to Aqua no matter how much he tried.

Shin: Shit! I know that she is former professional swimming, but does she really have adamantium covering her bones? Just, just sink and become my women!

Aqua: Refused baka!

Shin tried his best, but with Aqua's swimming talent and head start Shin had no chance of catching up and lost the contest. Then on the way back to shore Aqua spoke to the dejected Shin. Aqua told him that she doesn't mind that he has other women whether they are a Human Creation or a real women, and kisses him in the middle of the ocean. Then feeling excited she says that they should find a secluded place to have fun on the beach

Shin: Have fun? Ah, you mean... Wait! Isn't that too advance for me? Public places... I, I am not-

Aqua: Your refusal is rejected. Also, I never did name my prize for the contest earlier.

Shin: So was that your plan from the start... Haa, please be gentle.

Aqua: Refused.

Shin: ...Just lead the way dammit ( Big breast... Are very, very dangerous is what a great man once said and he was right ).

Then being dragged by Aqua we swam back ashore. I lost my chance to make her my girlfriend and for the foreseeable future I was once more kept as her plaything. It wasn't that bad, but a man needs more. Just five or more wives won't cut it, and... I want to be the dominant one in this relationship sometimes too.

Hikari: ...Shin. Why are you crying, yet look happy as well?

Shin: No reason. Just... Relationships between the opposite sexes are confusing to say the least. Also, a man's pride is worthless.

Hikari: ...I have no words.

Aqua: Don't mind him Hikari. Shin is just feeling down that he has lost in a variety of ways just now.

Shin: Did you have to say a variety of ways out loud!?

Hikari: ?

After picking himself back up from his defeat(s), Shin went over what he thought of Saki's revelation and proposed plan for the group. Earlier, Saki said something about gaining more information about God' Dimension and about a certain island.

Saki: The truth is, Shin... I left something out in the story I told you about before when we were on the BTOOOM mission. The rest of you probably don't know, so I'll start from the beginning without leaving anything out this time.

That was what Saki said.

Saki tells them the same story that she had told Shin, but she had left something out that she never told him the first time around. It was that the one who had saved her from her kidnappers had mentioned an island on the phone to a comrade and she had remembered hearing coordinates to that island. It is mostly his or what ever group the the belongs to base of operations. The man was going to make an attempt to erase Saki's memories, so he probably didn't think it mattered if he spoke of sensitive details in front of her, yet that was a mistake. Never expecting that Saki's good memory which wouldn't let her forget so easily.

Saki said that she had tried going this island before, but for some reason she always ended up passing it by, even when she had set her boat to auto pilot. She had then concluded that some type of supernatural barrier was erected around the island that turns people and anything else away from the island. Shin then asked Saki how can they get to this island if they do decide to go. Saki then told Shin that she believes that there is a condition to be let in.

Shin: Condition?

Saki: My best guess is that one must been to God's Dimension. It is my belief that there have been Players who have survived that dimension after going through the same trials we are going through right now and may have formed their own communities away from the rest of society. Or else having a whole private island for one person and a large barrier that can turn others away wouldn't be necessary without a important reason.

What Saki said made sense and the rest of the group were interested in a group of people who had survived God's Dimension and the Mission Worlds, but Aqua for one wasn't convinced so easily.

Aqua: Are you sure that we should go? There may be hostile groups as well since you were kidnapped as a kid by a peopel that kills in mass.

Saki: I am aware of the risk, but I still believe that it is worth the risk since we desperately need information about God's Dimension if we all want a better chance to survive that place. They are people who have likely survived God's Dimension and have gone through the same trials that we are going through. To gain information from such a group... Is more then enough reason to risk our lives.

After saying that, Saki's idea of gaining advice on how to survive was too tempting to pass up, so they agreed to go tomorrow after they enjoy the beach. Saki had probably knew from the start that they were going to agree to this investigation, so she then informed us that the mysterious island in question is less than a half days boat ride from the beach they were currently at. Shin was worried that something may go wrong, since he doesn't have a track record that says otherwise, but he believes that his team is very strong.

TEAM JAPAN:

ATTACKER/CLOSE RANGE FIGHTERS - To fight/distract the enemy while fighting up clsoe and our responsible for defeating enemies to protect the team.

1\. Shin: Ki Energy, One-eye Ghoul genetic mutation, Na Ring, Gravity Blade, Lesser Fenrir Coat and Robo Cop's Auto 9.

2\. Aqua: Nen/Aura, Wolverine genetic mutation, Werewolf genetic mutation and Thompson Contender Magic Code.

3\. Misaki: Observation and Armament's Haki, and Pyrokinesis.

GUNNER/MID RANGE FIGHTER - To fight from a distance. To either support those fighting up close or to decisively defeat a enemy with a powerful attack.

Kampa: M41A Pulse Rifle

Saki: Guns? ( Enough to wage a war with ).

SNIPER/LONG RANGE FIGHTER - To fight from a distance. Defeats the enemy from a distance or has an ability that can't be used from close up.

Shuai: Low level Shaman Power.

SUPPORT/OTHER - Has a role that helps team members or plays another role.

Hikari: Support Type Persona

Shin: Yeah, I'm just worrying too much. What could go wrong?


	68. Chapter 68

Real World Day 16/30 -

The next day Shin and the rest of Team Japan, after enjoying a day at the beach the packed up and made preparation to go to the mysterious island where their is potential information about God's Dimension.

Early in the morning before the sun had come out they left where they stayed the night and found a place to rent a boat. Saki rented the most expensive boat with the latest equipment using money that she exchanged for in the Terminal Lobby. The boat wasn't famous actor party at sea large, but closer to successful businessman with a hobby large boat as there was enough room to stretch their legs and rest comfortably.

To get to the island by boat would only take at most half a day, so they didn't need to bring much with them, but to be prepared Saki had already acquired enough food and clean water to last them two weeks. Shin was impressed yet worried at the same time about the possibility that they would need all of this, but he just let it go for the moment.

Hour and hours pass by as the boat carrying Team Japan sailed through the clear blue water of the ocean and right before the sun began to set in the late afternoon they were near their designation. In the far off horizon they could now see the shape of an island in the distance.

Saki: We are dropping anchor here.

Shin: Is that it?

Saki: Yes. I have made it this far before, so I know that over there is the island in question.

Kampa: So how far were you able to make it before you suddenly realized that you had passed by the island? You did say that once you started to approach the island and you suddenly found yourself away from it, right?

Saki: That is correct. I believe... That another 200 feet from where we currently are should be where it happened. Last time I attempted this I made detailed logs of my trips. Well, does anyone here feel that something is off?

When Saki proposed this question there were to unexpected results.

Saki and Kampa couldn't notice anything, but many of their groups members could. Shin, Aqua and even Misaki could feel that something was strange about the island as they either had high Mental Capacity or skills that enhanced their perception.

Hikari and Shuai could feel this better then the others. The reason was because Hikari had unlocked her Persona and Shuai has Shaman powers. Because of this they were able to identify the source for the strange feeling that that most of of them were feeling.

Hikari: Are you guys blind? Can't you see that?

Shin: See what?

Hikark: That dome of course. It is covering the entire island and the surrendering waters.

Shuai: Really, I can't see it like Hikari can, but I can tell what it is. It is a Kekkai barrier. It is similar to the boundary fields that I can put up, so I was able to tell what it was, but... It is something far more larger, stable and of a vastly higher quality than anything that I can do.

Saki: A barrier... It must have the function of turning others away if that is the case.

Shin: How lucky you two. I can't see a thing. I just feel something off in the air.

Aqua: Try looking again Shin, but this time try adding Ki energy.

Shin: Ki?

Aqua: Channel Ki into your eye and you should then be able to see it. I started to using Gyo to channel Aura to my eyes once Hikari and Shuai talked about about a barrier, and now I can see it.

Shin: I see. I'll try it out.

Then doing as Aqua instructed Shin focused the Ki within his body into his eyes. After doing so he was able to see what Aqua and Hikari were able to see. It was a dome. A gigantic, green, dome shaped shield could be seen through their eyes and like Hikari said it completely shielded the entire area around the island, including its waters.

Saki: Hikari. Can you use your Persona ability to check out the dome.

Hikari: I cam, but what should I be looking for?

Saki: An entrance. Any kind of opening around the island if possible. I considered the possibility that just being of God's Dimension could allow us entry, but since some of of us still can't see the Kekkai then it it possible that we could still be effected by it.

Hikari: Alright. I'll see what I can find.

Saki: Also, Shuai, since you say it is similar to one of your abilities try to see if you can break it down.

Shin: Is that a good idea? It would 100% look like we are breaking into their house.

Saki: I don't want the people on the island to see us as intruders either, but we can't go back after coming this far. Any potential risks are worth it to make it to that island.

Shuai: So what should I do?

Shin: ...Do as Saki said, but even if it is possible to break it don't do so without my go ahead. Understood.

Shuai: Right. I'm on it.

Then Hikari summoned her Persona Adrasteia and Shuai took out his tools and they both went to work. Ten odd minutes later they both stopped what they were doing to report their findings.

Shin: So how was it you two?

Shuai: Impossible. I don't have the tools or the spiritual power to even hope to break down this Kekkai. Even if I did it would take me hours, no days to tear this monstrosity down. Who ever made this thing is a real master, or monster.

Shin: Well, it's a shame, but it wasn't like I was thrilled about the idea of breaking down the door. How about you Hikari? Have you found a way in or did you come up with nothing like Shuai did.

Hikari: Hmpth, who do you take me for? Of course I found a way in.

Saki: Reall!?

Saki excitedly asked about this entrance through the barrier, and after recovering from her exhaustion from using her Persona Hikari began to explain what she found. Around the dome shaped barrier she found a small hole or entrance. It looked deliberately made like that instead of it being a fault of the Kekkai since the size of the hole was perfect for a boat like theirs to travel through.

Misaki: So what are we waiting for? Lets set sail to this entrance.

Hikari: There is no need. The barrier is in fact revolving clockwise. I don't know why, but thanks to that the entrance should be pass us by in.., five minutes. There is no need to unnecessarily chase it.

Saki: Alright then. We'll wait here and then sail through it once it arrives. I'll pull up the anchor.

Then waiting five minutes the boat sized rip in the Kekkai appeared to them and they began to sail through it. Hikari had to actually guide them in since this entrance was hard for others to see ( Probably requires Psyche Force to find and Persona is pretty close to it ). It was only after they entered the space inside the dome did two of them feel that something happened.

Aqua: Shin. Did you feel that?

Shin: ...Yeah. Someone on the island is definitely watching us and that person isn't normal. Nothing feels strange, but they definitely aren't looking at us any tools. This isn't a skills like Hiakri's or Shuai's either. With just their own eyes they can see us from way out here.

Aqua: I can tell as well. Tch, I was half hoping that Saki was mistaken or this was a friendly bunch, but with this oversized barrier and this pressure, even if it is lacking killing intent... Whoever is on that island is a genuine monster.

After passing through the entrance and sailing for a short while the boat carrying Team Japan made it to the island. After finding a place to dock the boat everyone disembarked from the and walked onto the beach of the island

Shin: So this is the mysterious island, huh? Well, it has that creepy, 'I am going to die here vide', but still quite beautiful.

Hikari: Shin can't you be serious for a for just a second? Stop acting like an otaku.

Shin: My persona is that of the otaku. Take that away and I'll become just another shadow.

Hikari: ...Should I be happy or embarrassed that I know know what you are talking about?

Aqua: Hey, baka couple! Stop messing around and focus.

Saki: Aqua is right. Who knows what dangers we might face here.

Hikari: Hey, why are you grouping me together with-

Shin: Let's begin looking around everybody. And Hikari, the rest of us are going ahead, or are you going to guard the boat?

Hikari: ...I am coming now!

Team Japan didn't have a designation in mind and weren't so compelled to just walk straight into the forest of the island, so they walked around its perimeter which was all beach. Half an hour later of walking as the sun was beginning to set in the distance, the seven man group found something.

Shin: This is?

It was a man made construction of a large Japanese gate the Torii with long, long stone steps leading up the island. The steps lead straight into the heart of the island and through the dense forest, so none of them could see the top of where the stairs lead.

Shin: Should we see where these stairs lead? We could still circle around the island, but I'll doubt we will find something like this.

Saki: Right. Alright then lets-

Aqua: Get down!

With an abrupt waring Aaqu pushed Saki away in time. Where her head just was a metallic object had passed and cut through the air. The object pierced the the white sands under their feet and saw once it came to a stop was a knife, but more accurately-

Shin: A kunai!

Kampa: Watch out everybody. There are at least two presences hiding within the forest.!

Aqua: I located them as well. They are coming out now!

Showing themselves and walking out of the forest, onto the stone stairs and descending down the steps were two individuals. They were both cloaked and wearing white mask ( Copycats ), yet Shin and Aqua could hear the rustling of armor underneath.

Shin: They kind of look like anbu ninjas from Naruto.

Aqua: Focus Shin! They may be dressed strangely, but they aren't just cosplaying here. Just one look at them and you can tell that they are not ordinary.

Aqua was right.

Shin could also tell what Aqua meant. Although they were dressed strangely they were not normal human beings. Shin couldn't say how yet, but without a doubt the two were looking for a fight and were definitely capable of giving them one. Even shin with his limited experience in battles could tell this much.

Talking was useless.

The two individuals had already revealed their intent clearly. The masked enemy to the left raised their hands and revealed thick metallic claws ready to shred apart whatever they made contact with. The other masked individual to the right drew a real steal and edged sword, the Japanese Katana and pointed at us.

The two of them clearly didn't want to talk things out like civilized people, so Team Japan respond in kind as none of them were push overs.

From the Na Ring, Shin quickly brought out and dawned his Lesser Fenrir Coat and then took out his own Japanese Katana yet also magic weapon Gravity Blade. It wasn't night, so the full effects wouldn't be seen, but the coat raised Shin's base stats and the Gravity Blade was a straightforward weapon that increased the striking power of slashes using gravity magic.

By Shin's side Aqua and the others had made their own preparation and were ready for what was to happen next.

Aqua: Shin and I will handle them. Kampa shoot them if the come close. Misaki focus on protecting Hikari and Shuai if they get close. Shuai and Hikari keep watch to see if reinforcementa are on the way. Saki-

Saki: If possible... Please don't kill them. If this can be resolved peacefully later we should make the extea effort now, so we don't regret it later.

Aqua: We can try, but that depends on the enemy. If they are strong enough opponents we can't hold back against, I really can't make such a promise. I value my own life above all else after all.

Shin: I agree with Aqua. I'll take the one one of the right with the sword. Auqa, can you take the metal claw ninja?

Aqua: I don't think I'll lose against such a weapon, so don't worry about me... They are coming!


	69. Chapter 69

Aqua was the first to separated herself from the team. She didn't know what to expect from her opponent, but she didn't want to risk them getting involved.

Aqua: Come! The one with the metal claws. If you're not afraid then be my partner here for a bit.

Ken: ...

Aqua kept a cool facade, but was relived that her opponent feel for her taunt so easily. The masked man with metallic armored claws equipped on his hands first took a few steps towards her and rushed at her. A claw came in closer and closer to Aqua's face and when her opponent came within a few inches... Aqua vanished.

Ken: What! Telaportation?

Aqua: No, but to think you were just a brat. Don't scare me like that!

Ken: !

Before Aqua's opponent could react she had reached his back and a kick was sent and slammed into the man's sides. Aqua was a little surprised by the resistance that her kick received, but who was she? Aqua had just gotten herself an A rank genetic mutation, so her already high stats had reached a new level and she could reveal more of the power of the Werewolf bloodline without even transforming.

The kick Aqua had used on her opponent sent him flying meters away and into a crash landing on top of the sand of the beach. Aqua looked at her opponent, a kid by the sound of his voice, who had picked himself of the floor of the beach and she sighed to her self.

Aqua: Not only was he a brat, but because of what Saki said I held back too much. Still, who would have guessed he would have that as well? This island here really is full of mysteries.

Aqua said as much as she observed her opponent. Not only did he stand back up and was ready to continue after taking a blow that have sent even strong men to the hospital, he became stronger then before. The reason for this sudden change... Was because Aqua's opponent began to bring out Ki Energy.

Similar to what Shin does himself, Ki that was stored within the navel started to spread and wrap itself around the opponents entire body, empowering the body with Ki to become stronger, but there was more. Aqua observed how her opponent's Ki seeped into his metallic claws. It was the Ki manipulation technique that Shin and Aqua discovered on their last mission, and in Nen it is what it what peopel call Shu.

Aqua's masked opponent quickly gathered Ki into his legs for increased speed and leaped at Aqua. Both of his metallic claws were aimed to rip out her throat, yet despite having the ability to move away, Aqua stood her ground.

Aqua brought up her two hands and caught the metallic claws of her foe. The force of the the jump and the strength of the masked man pushed Aqua back, sliding across the sands yet to the masked man's surprise Aqua was perfectly fine. Despite grabbing the metallic claws empowered by Ki and his full force tackle there wasn't a scratch to be seen on her hands.

Aqua: So you are the strength type, huh. Like Misaki you don't need high stats to showcase your strength... But you are still lacking. Shin's Ki and my own Nen is much stronger and we wouldn't have simply jumped in against a stronger foe without a plan.

Aqua began to exert more of her strength onto the the masked man's metallic claws. With the strength of her Werewolf bloodline and adding Aura on top of it...

\- METAL DISTORTING!

Ken: Gahhhh!

The claws were bent out of shape and nearly crushed the boy's hands. The masked opponent quickly jumped backwards and kneeled on the floor of the beach in pain. He was able to take off his weapon from his hands and saw the bloody flesh within.

Aqua: You should be grateful. If it was a normal human being those hands would be done for, but since you have Ki and whatever else you have up your sleeves they should heal in no time.

Ken: You Bitch!

The masked man attempted to stand back up, but Aqua had kicked him in the gut and the man threw up whatever he had last eaten and acidic juices mix with blood. The masked man stared at Aqua with hate in his eyes, but with the maks still on his face Aqua could only imagine what face her opponent was showing her.

Aqua: Sorry for being so rough, but recently there has been a boy your age in my group... Who has been getting full of himself recently. Also, he has been showing off his new... Whatever, I don't care.! Well, the point is here that I won't kill you, but I am going to render you unable to move as I take out my pent of frustrations on you. That is why... Sorry.

Aqua reached out her hands to the helpless masked man and...

At the same time and on the other side of the beach Shin had felt a cold chill run down his spine despite the warm weather and the intense fight that he was currently in.

Like Aqua who had faced off against one of the two masked men, Shin had faced off against the other. His opponent wielded a sword instead of claws like the other masked man and together with Shin's own sword the Gravity Blade, their battle had developed into an intense sword fight. It was Shin's first sword fight, but he couldn't be to excited about it since he was on the losing end.

Shin: Strong, and god your fast. Won't you cut me a break!.

Kaiyo: ...

Shin: So does that mean go die?

Shin has a far more amount of trouble against his masked opponent then how much Aqua had against her masked foe.

Where as Aqua's opponent strengths lied in physical strength and dominating his foes, Shin's opponent strengths lied in speed and precise moments. Shin had become a much better fighter after unlocking his constraint multiple times and living through a few life and death battles, yet Shin was still far from skillful and in a sword fight that weakness was clearly shown.

Shin's masked opponent was definitely a skilled swordsman and never let Shin catch his breath since the battle began. Within Shin sword fight his enemey they slashed at each other, used feints and locked blade over and over again, Shin was only able to keep up with his opponent due to his Reaction Speed stat being so high and his natural instincts kicking in. If not for those two he would have been killed over a dozen of times by now.

If Shin was willing to kill at all cost he could possibly fight and defeat his opponent a number of ways with his many enhancements, but since he didn't want to make enemies here on this island Shin held back. Still, with every clash of their swords he was coming closer and closer to his Unlocked Mode. At that point he might not have the room to hold back like he is doing.

Shin: ( The real problem here is that sword. If I could just grab it I could break or throw it away, I could just punch him and it'll be over and done. This masked guy is fast, but I can tell from the times we locked blades he isn't too physically strong for someone with enhancements. It is just that energy around the sword that'll burn my hands ).

Shin could tell that with his B rank level enhancements he could quickly over power the masked opponent in front of him with force if needed. Even grabbing his opponents sword as it is being swing at him is possible for the current Shin... If not for the red energy emitting from the masked man's katana.

From the masked man's sword, a clear red aura of energy was present, but it wasn't that the sword itself was a magic weapon. The masked man was channeling this energy into the sword similar to what Shin is even doing now with Ki. From what Shin could tell the blood red energy around the opponents sword did more then allow him to clash swords with his high quality magic weapon empowered by Ki.

Shin discovered this early on when after the first few clashes of swords between them when he saw something shocking. A steam was rising up from a scratch on his Gravity Blade. Shin was shocked that something could even do that to his sword, but fully discovered the properties of the masked man's red energy when he pushed Shin against the pillars of the stairs leading up the island and slashed at him.

Shin successfully rolled away from danger yet saw what happened to the pillar the opponent's katana slashed into. It melted. Along with being cut the pillar was melted and a cloud of smoke rose up. It was then that Shin discovered the corrosive nature of his opponents atracks and countered it by enveloped his own sword in Ki to counter the blood red energy.

GB: Can you stop playing around already.

Shin: GB!

Kaiyo: !

The masked swordsman jumped back after hearing a voice coming from Shin Sword the Gravity Blade. Shin was surprised that he finally had room to breathe again, but understood how shocking it must be for his opponent to see a talking sword.

Shin: GB, are you okay? That red aura off that sword was able to scratch you.

GB: I am fine. Anyways, that red aura of energy is called Blood Energy. It is a characteristic of the vampire race and the source of their magic. Blood Energy is corrosive by nature and it is even possible to use that power on magical entities and items like myself. I hold no special powers outside of the weight control gravity magic, so please continue to provide me with Ki to increase durability and slashing power.

Shin: I'll do just that. Anything else, like say a way to beat Blood Energy?

GB: There are, but nothing that you are capable of using currently. Just don't let it touch you and your flesh won't corrode. Just one thing though.

Shin: What?

GB: Stop messing around with a straight out sword fight! Your no sword master, so stop trying to act like one. Just overpower the girls already. You won't kill her.

Shin: But I really wanted to win with just... Wait! Her? That's a girl?

GB: Focus! She is coming!

Shin watched as his masked opponent, a girl according to his magic sword, dash towards him.

Realizing that not only did her opponent have a magic sword that could talk, it had discovered the origins of her powers and ways to counter act it. Not wanting to give them any time to come up with a plan she went in for the attack... Yet Shin was already gone.

Shin had used Instant Movement to maneuver around his opponent. Shin had to hold back on his offensive Ki skills, but he could have used Instant Movement to out speed his masked opponent. He hadn't so far simply because despite the dangers of their sword fight he was enjoying himself too much.

Shin: Back stab!

Kaiyo: !

The maksed swordsman turned around and blocked Shin's sword slash in time, yet when their blades clashed she had her own sword knocked out of her hands by the sheer force of Shin's attack. Shin had used the Gravity Blade's magic to increase the weight of the sword at the last second to ×300 in his attack.

Still shocked after losing her weapon a second sword slash came at the masked swordsman. The Gravity Blade simply passed by her face but a second later her mask fell apart cut diagonally in half, revealing her face. Then Shin approached the now weaponless and unmasked womena and spoke.

Shin: Sorry for that, but my sword was nagging me to end this. It wasn't thwt you were so weak I could win at anytime, but just because my weapon is better then yours. I also yelled out because I didn't want to cut you. Also... Your very pretty. You shouldn't wear a mask. Women swordsmen are hot.

Kaiyo: You!

Shin's opponent revealed hidden knives and lounged at him, but Shin had already expected something like that after taunting her. Shin used Instant Movement once more to arrive behind her and hit her neck with the hilt of is sword, using enough force to knock her out and fall to the ground.

Shin: ...Wow. Till recently I always thought that doing that in real life was fake. I am glad that Kampa showed me otherwise.

GB: Aren't you happy that you won?

Shin: Not at all. This girl was clearly the better swordsman here. Just trying to keep up with her almost made me go into Unlocked Mode. I wanted to win using the least power necessary. Revealing Instant Movement and your magic with the possibility of us being watched right wasn't a good idea.

GB: You thought so far ahead. Sorry, I thought you were just messing around.

Shin: Of course not. That was like 70% enjoying the sword fight and the remaining 30% not wanting to reveal my strengths. I know what my priorities are.

GB: ...

Shin: So that was hard, but not unreasonable hard. Anyways I won and didn't kill her like you asked Saki.

Saki: Thank you Shin. Both you and Aqua didn't kill them, so their might still be hope of us learning from the peopel here on this island.

Shin: If you say so. Still, I'm not liking our chances anymore if their idea of a welcome to our island is to send two assassins to kill us. There weren't weak. If Aqua and I weren't here someone could have possibly died.

Hikari: I agree with. By the way, Shin.

Shin: Yes?

Hikari: Why are you holding the female assassin you were just complaining about like that.

Shin: Th-That's...

Hikari was not happy that after coming back from his death match against one of the two masked assassins that attacked their group, then finding out that his opponent was female and pretty, Shin had come back carrying his unconscious opponent in a princess carry.

Shin: Well, I was treating our hostage or whatever she is carefully. That's all. There is no ulterior motive here, Hikari.

Hikari: Then is she were a he, would do the same thing?

Shin: God no.

Hikari: Baka!

Shin: ...

Shin turned his attention away from his second wife to be who was looking at him like he was cheating on her, to check up on his first wife to be and how she was doing ( Kinda funny, right? ).

Shin had already seen that Aqyua defeated her masked opponent before he did, but was shocked by the condition of her opponent was left in. Unlike the girl who Shin simply knocked out, the masked assassin who turned out to be a boy was beaten black and blue by her. Looking at the poor man... Shin felt another chill travel down his spine.

Shin: You really didn't hold anything back, did you Aqua?

Aqua: Aren't you mistaken? He would be dead if I didn't hold anything back. I just made sure that he wouldn't be able to get back up is all. This guy was no match for me, but was definitely physically strong and possesses Ki just like you, Shin. He could easily recover from just a light beaten. So how was your masked enemy?

Shin: My opponent turned out to be a girl. She was a skilled swordsman and although not Ki, she possessed a different power.

Aqua: Not Ki. Then what?

Shin: Blood Energy. According to GB, I mean the Gravity Blade, Blood Energy is the power of a Vampire race. Most likely she is in possession of the Vampire genetic mutation. They are both probably Players from God's Dimension since they both have enhancements.

Aqua: I don't know about that, Shin.

Shin: What do you mean?

Aqua: Saki hypothesized that the people who live on this island are survivors of God's Dimension, so aren't they too weak? Don't get me wrong Shin, my opponent wasn't weak in the slightest since I was just too strong, but they aren't at a level where they had the power to survive dozens of missions, safe up 50,000 points and come back to the real world after risking there lives in that hell dimension. How was that girl you defeated?

Shin: Now that I think about it I would have to agree with you Aqua. Sure this girl was strong, but at best her enhancements were at the D-C rank level. I aslo felt that despite being a strong swordsman she lacked the experience to deal with me. I went along with a sword fight with her, yet despite being an amateur and relying just on my stats che couldn't deal with me decisively. She definitely lacked a Players mental fortitude and probably has never been in a true life or death. No Player of God's Dimension would ever lack that kind of thing, and if they did they surly wouldn't have made it back to the real world.

Aqua: Your right. Using an example... The Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders from the last mission. They too held greater than average power due to their armor, but they had a live or die mentality that allowed them to keep fighting even when overpowered by us. You couldn't let your guard down without unexpectedly receiving a BIM thrown to the face ( Like I did ). Also, when you look at the two of them don't you feel a resemblance.

Shin: Ah, now that you mention it...

Shin then carefully looked over their two unconscious enemies. Shin could notice despite the bruises to the males face, the male maksed assassin looked very much like the female one that he had fought. It would be easy to say that they could be brother and sister, but Shin felt it was something more.

Shin: Are theae two twins?

Aqua: that would be my geuss, and that is what's so odd? What are the chances of two siblings both appearing in that dimension and coming back alive?

Shin: I would say... Impossible. Let's consult with Saki and the others to get their opinion.

Shin and Aqua then began to share their experience and worries with the rest of their group. Listening to what they had to say Saki mentions that she might have an idea for what Shin and Aqua were concerned about, but they had another and immediate problem at hand.

It was whether to stay on the island to try and learn the answers for their many questions, or call it quits and leave while they can. Kampa and Misaki made the argument that despite the advantages of learning what the people on the island knew, they had harmed two of their people even if it wasn't their intention to do so.

It would be hard to explain what happened and especially if the two that they defeated lie through their teeth that they were the ones who were suddenly attacked, so they thought it was best for them to leave. Saki was for staying, and as they were discussing further about whether to stay or leave... Company arrived.

Sozin: Well well, what a impressive lot of kids. You took out Ken and Kaiyo fairly easily and without killing them. I am both impressed and thankful for that, so how about I respond in kind.

Shin: ...

Aqua: ...

Shin and Aqua looked over in a panic and found that silently walking down the stone steps leading deeper into the island was a man in monk clothing. The man had a bold head like most monks do, yet even with no hair he was obviously a very good looking man, but that wasn't what drew Shin and Aqua's attention.

Shin and Aqua were both still in a post state battle mode from the previous fight, so their fives senses and sixth sense for danger were on high alert, yet neither of the two noticed the monk till he began to speak. Additionally, despite smiling and freely walking down the stone steps the monk had not let his guard down, no it was more accurate to say there were such concept as an opening to exploit against this type of opponent from the beginning.

Sozin: I can tell one way or another that you mean no harm by coming here and it was because of my foolish grandchildren that attacked things escalated as they did, yet because of that your guards are too up for a peaceful talk. Especially the two over there who have unlocked their constraints. They far too wary of my presence because of the power I hold.

Saki: Shin! Aqua!

Shin: ...

Aqua: ...

Sozin: It is no use. Just telling them to disarm and talk things out now will have no effect on them. Their instincts are screaming at them to not let their guard down no matter what. That is why... I'll end this quickly.

Then not ten seconds later Team Japan that has survived the dangers of High School of the Dead and BTOOOM! were wiped out...


	70. Chapter 70

The Team Japan's ten second battle against the monk Sozin and Shin watched from start to finish as both he and Aqua were taken out.

The one to move first was Aqua. Already the Second Stage of the Unlocked Mode after the appearance of the monk she rushed at the monk.

Holding nothing back, summing the full strength of her Werewolf mutation and lunged at the monk. Aqua knew if she even attempted to not kill the monk in front of her she would be defeated easily, so she didn't. Aqua was about to grab the monk with an arm expanded twice it size and stab the man in the heart with her adamantium claws when-

Aqua: Huh?

Before Aqua even realized it she had been tossed into the air. Aqua had been thrown by the Monk and before she could even touch the sands of the beach she was kicked in the head and sent flying away.

Aqua landed back on to the earth and as if she wasn't fazed by the kick, and back into a stance about to pounce right back at the man. The pain of the blow wasn't enough to hurt her by a lot thanks to her am adamantium bones, yet as soon as Aqua tried to get back on her feet she stumbled over and fell unconscious.

Shin: Aqua!

Sozin: You seem to gave hard bones, but all you have to do is ignore them with an internal attack.

Shin: Bastard!

Saki: Shin wait!

Shin was vaguely aware that Saki had said something, but it was too late. The threat of the monk, how effortlessly he defeated their team's strongest fighter and for that personto be his beloved Aqua, Shin snapped. Unable to forgive the man that hurt Aqua Shin in the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint attacked.

Shin used Instant Movement to close in on the monk and slashed down the Gravity Blade. The sword was already at 500 Times it's normal weight and additionally Shin added Ki to reinforce tphis sword further. Shin didn't care how strong the man was as he believed there was no way for the monk to block this attack, but he was proven wrong.

Sozin: A horrible sword slash, but you made it up with your speed and power. Not bad.

Shin: ...

Shin was frozen in place in disbelief. The monk he was fighting han caught Shin's full power attack with one hand, no with just his fingers as if he was Aizen from Bleach. Shin after just one exchange with the monk knew that he was no match for his opponent and there strength, speed and experience were too far apart. It was to the extent that the instincts unlocked in the First Stage screamed at him to runaway or summit to the man before him to survive just one second longer.

Shin then in the back of his head remembered how Saki wanted him to stop and for a moment he considered it, but he also recalled the image of Aqua falling to the ground moments ago. Doing so renewed Shin's courage and was about to attack once more... But it was too late.

Not missing the moment of hesitation in Shin the monk countered with an attack of his own by sending a fist into Shin's guts. The attack was not only like a steel beam rammed into his stomach, but an infusion of Ki from the monk assaulted Shin as well.

Sozin: You should never let uour guard down for a moment in battle... But the speed you recovered from the despair of realizing the difference in our standings is beyond commemorable.

That was the last thing Shin recalled before passing out.

Shin: Where am I?

Shin said this after regaining conscious.

The last thing that Shin remembered was the all too short fight with the monk that owned both Aqua and himself in no time at all. When he was losing consciousness he had assumed that it was all over. With both Aqua and Shin down for the count who could possibly fend off the man in monk clothes, and those two kids if they ever regained consciousness?

Shin: There is no way they Hikari and the others could have won that battle, so does that mean we were spared? Then are we prisoners of war? Not good. A handsome guy like me won't make it with my purity intact in jail!

Aqua: Shut up Shin your are too loud! Ah, my head is still spinning from that kick to the head.

Shin then hearing that voice got up and took a look around. He was in a large Japanese style room. There was no furniture of the like to be seen, but the bags of supplies that Team Japan had brought witht them to the island were in a corner of the room. And in another corner of the room and massaging her temples with a scowl on her face was...

Shin: Huh. Aqua... Aqua! Your alive!

Aqua: I said keep it down! Of course I am alive. Who can kill me?

Shin: Not counting the kick ass monk or a silver bullet, then nothing I geuss.

Aqua: If you can talk nonsense like that then that means you are okay and that fake monk didn't hit you hard enough ( So harsh, but I'm glad I can once again hear Aqua speak of her disappointment in me... Wait, does that make me a M? ).

Shin: Speaking of that, what happened back there on the beach and where are we now? And where are the others? If we were captured then why weren't we restrained?

Aqua: About that... I can answer some of your questions. After the two of us were taken out by that monk things didn't escalate further. We have Saki to thank for that.

Shin: Saki?

Aqua: Yeah. The monk that attacked us didn't target anyone else after Saki spoke up. The monk said that he didn't want a fight to begin with, but it couldn't have been helped.

Shin: How so?

Aqua: It was because of us. In Unlocked Mode we were especially sensitive to danger and monk was more dangerous then any monster we have come across as of yet. You felt it too and couldn't calm down, right? The monk saw this and came to the conclusion that words wouldn't reach us, so...

Shin: He said screw it and knocked us out since it was a bother to reason with us.

Aqua: Basically yet. From there, Saki and the rest let the two kids we captured go as a sign of good. The kids apparently made a scene and wanted to kill all of us, but the monk, their grandfather apparently scolded them and sent them off somewhere.

Shin: Wait. They were that man's grandchildren That monk looked hardly any older then Kampa or Saki. At best he could be in his mid thirties if he ages very well.

Aqua: I know, but we can get to that later. Saki and the monk then spoke at length and the monk, his name is Sozin by the way ( Should I be thankful that he wasn't the Fire Lord? ), invited us to his home at the summit of the island. That is where we are right now. The monk Sozin, despite claiming that he trained as a monk lives in a large house alone, with the addition of those two kids.

Shin: Ok, I am almost fully caught up, but where are the others? They are okay, right?

Aqua: Don't worry they are all fine, Shin. Kampa and Misaki carried us up those steps as we were still unconscious amd were lead by the monk to his home. Then after placing us in this room, the others were allowed to do as they like till the two of us wake up. Then afterwards it was decided we would talk about everything. I woke up first and heard this from Hikari who was looking after us. I volunteered to wait for you to wake up since I wasn't in any mood to move about with this headache. That Monk's kick of that was kind of like your Soul Crushing Strike and did internal damage that ignored my flesh and bones.

Shin: Are you okay, Aqua? I got hit with something similar, but not in the head like you.

Aqua: I'm fine. It isn't that bad since the monk held back, but my head is still rattling a little. Really, if he wanted to he could have destroyed my brain, Killing me with ease despite my resilient body. That was a good lesson. I'll exchange for a skill to counter this the next chance I get, but for now... Let's go.

Shin: Go where?

Aqua: Like I said the others were waiting for the two of us to regain unconscious. Now that we both are awake it it time we discovery who that man is, how in the hell does he have the abilities that he possess, this island, those kids we fought and anything else we can think up.

Aqua got up despite still having a headache and moved towards the door of the room. Then as Shin was following Aqua out she stopped and looked back at Shin.

Shin: Aqua? Are you alright?

Aqua: I'm fine... It's just that I want to apologies to you is all.

Shin: Apologies to me? For what?

Aqua: For losing to that monk. Truth be told we had no chance against him even if we knew about his existence beforehand, but that doesn't change the fact that I lost. You once said that you gained courage that I, a Player stronger than you was around and could do his best in God's Dimension because of that. I... I am sorry for letting you down.

Shin: Aqua... There's nothing to apologies over. We did lose, but what I rely on you isn't just your strength, but your presence as well. I never thought of you as unbeatable, Aqua, so long as you are alive and you are still the strong woman that I know and love than I am fine. I am just thankful that you are alive after that because... I don't have what it takes to make it in this dimension if someone like you dies on the way.

Aqua: Shin... What is with that emotional stuff just now? Love? No confidence? Aren't you embarrassed as a man to say that crap out loud?

Shin: What... You, you are the one who started it! Your the one who felt bad for losing and felt like they had to apologies to me.

Aqua: That's... That's is that, and this is this! How does one thing have to do with the other?

Then not given Shin time to make a comeback Aqua left Shin behind in a hurry.

Shin: What is that. And the way she phrased that... Aqua obviously has been wanting to get back at me for that promise feom before. How childish!

In another room of the house on top of the island were the rest of Shin and Aqua's teammates. They entered the bare living room which only had one sofa, a few chairs and no TV. Inside the room they found Hikari, Misaki, Saki, Kampa and Shuai around the room and sitting in the chairs. Also in the room and giving Shin a small fright once he saw him, was the monk from before Sozin.

Shin recalled the sort lived and one sided fight from before on the beach with the man and shivered. The monk looked harmless and was smiling as he greeted Shin and Aqua and apologized for earlier, but it was too late. Shin could 100% no longer see this man as a kind monk just living on a island, but a wolf in sheep's clothing who could defeat both Aqua and himself with just martial arts.

Shin: ( This guy... He also used Ki in that fight and possessed internal damaging techniques like my Soul Crushing Strike. This monk Sozin is definitely connected to that dimension. Well, we can only ask and hope he tells us what we want to know. It isn't like the option of force exist here with this monk who took both Aqua and I us out in no time at all ).

Shin and Aqua spoke to their teammates for a moment to see if they were really okay, and then final got down to business and directed their attentions to the monk.

Sozin: It is nice to meet you two. Let me introduce myself. I already did so for your friends here, but let me start over since you were not here ( Since you KO'ed us ). My name is Sozin. I am the master of this island and... As you may have suspected a survivor of God's Dimension. You are all from that place as well, but have yet to be freed correct?

Shin: That's...

Saki: It is okay Shin. Our restriction stated by God is that we are unable to talk about God's Dimension to outsiders who have never been there. Other Players and survivors of that dimension are an exception and we can talk to them.

Shin: I see. That's great to know. Well, my name is Shin and I am the team leader of my group, Team Japan. The woman next to me is Aqua, our most veteran Player and you should know the rest of us, right?

Sozin: I do and it is great to finally speak to you... It just, I got the feeling that Saki was the leader of your group.

Shin: Hahaha. I get that. I was more of an elected, no one else wanted the job leader. Saki here though can be considered the brain of the group, so maybe that is why.

Aqua: You definitely lack a leaders aura, that's for sure.

EVERYONE: That's true.

Shin: How mean.

Sozin: You have a nice group there leader Shin.

Shin: You think so? I am about ready to make some trades.

Then with pleasantries and jokes out of the way they got down to the main point. Shin then began to explain his team's reason for being on the island and to visit the monk.

Shin: Then let me summarize my teams reason for coming here to the island. As you have just heard we are all Players from God's Dimension. We were all transported to that dimension after despairing over our lives in the real world, but for the most part we all want to return home. That is why so far we have been doing are best to survive the missions we are giving, using the points and rewards to become more powerful and one day hope to save 50,000 points to go home, yet even with enhancements the missions we are made to go on are not easily in the slightest. Our last mission taught us all this. That was when a new member of our group, Saki here said that she might have some information about possible survivors of God's Dimension. People who have overcome the Mission Worlds and are enjoying their lives in peace back in the real world. This kind of information couldn't be ignored or delayed confirming. If this proved to be true that their are survivors of that dimension, that it's actually possible to survive, then we needed to meet these people. That was why we decided to come here to this island for information after putting our real world affairs in order.

Shin made it seem that it was the plan from the beginning to come tonthe island, and not Saki's scheme she threw at them at the last minute. Telling the full truth would make it look like Team Japan were an easy going bunch who came here for the hell of it... Which they were, but Shin didn't want Sozin to know this so he told half truths and lucky no one on his side pointed this out.

Shin: My team and I never intended to start a fight with any of you here on the island, but we couldn't not come and check this lead out. The possibility of gaining more information about God's Dimension and practical tips about enhancements and ways to surviving the missions... These are currently the things that we desperately need if we are going to keep going on missions and survive as a group without losing anyone else. So do you mind if we ask you some questions? God's Dimension, the Mission Worlds, exchanges, God or what calls itself that, your own experiences and more about your community of survivors. I know this is a lot to ask all at once, but... Please. Won't you help us out.

Shin then bowed his head to Sozin. The other members of Team Japan who knew Shin would never imagine him bowing his head to anyone, but it couldn't be helped. In Shin's opinion he was a half-assed leader who couldn't do much, but at the very least he wants to show his sincerity to the monk. Shin never wants to see one of his comrades die like Zero because of his lack of ability to protect them.

This was especially true for Aqua and Hikari who he has developed feeling for. Shin deep down loves God's Dimension and the missions that they are sent to since he can act out the role of a protagonist, but... If Aqua or Hikari were ever to die he didn't know what would happen. All he did know was that something within himself would changed for good... And so not knowing if this change would be good for him or not, but for the moment Shin choose to believe that it wouldn't be for the better.

Sozin: ...Raise your head boy. I like your sincerity that you showed for the sake of your team, but there's no need to bow like that. After hearing out like this I have no reason not to answer some of your questions, but above all... I feel that my own actions have lead you all here and I must take responsibility for that even if it was unattended.

Shin and the others were confused, but they all noticed that Sozin had turned his head to look over at one of them. The monk was looking fondly while also looking a little sad... Towards Saki.

Shin: What do you mean? Also, do you happen to knwo Saki?

Saki: Well, there isn't any reason to hide this but I know Sozin and he seems to have recognized me as well. It has been a long time Sozin.

Sozin: I feel the same Saki, but I wished that we would never meet again, and especially under such circumstances like these. It saddens me at my age even if I don't look it.

Shin: Wait. What is going on and how do you know Sozin, Saki? You said so yourself that you were never able to reach the island before know. Did you lie?

Saki: No. I have never been here before today, but I've met this man here before. Shin, he is the one I talked about in my story. Sozin is the one who destroyed the institute that I was held at after being kidnapped and who saved me. He, Sozin is my savior and one of the ones who lead me here in pursuit of the genetic constraint and God's Dimension.


	71. Chapter 71

Shin: What? So you are saying that this is the man who saved you all those years ago?

Saki: Yes. He was indeed the one although he wasn't bald and dressed as a monk at the time. I swore that he had a hair at the time.

Sozin: That...I wear a disguise when I leave the island for assignments.

Shin: ...

Sozin was the one who rescued Saki.

When Saki was a child and had went to the beach with her parents for a vacation, she was kidnapped by a mysterious organization who most likely possessed the same enhancements that you could only acquire from God's Dimension, along with other children, and her parents along with the other adults were killed.

Then Saki and the other children were brought to an institute and were being trained and experimented on for unknown reasons. Then the day came when a man, revealed to be Sozin arrived to the institute Saki was being held at and came to the rescue. Sozin was only abe to save Saki in the end, yet he was able to kill off her kidnappers. Then Sozin later used some technique to erase Saki's memories of those events, most likely for secrecy, but unfortunately for him Saki with her perfect memory allowed her to keep those memories in the end.

Hikari: Your really the same man who saved Saki? This should have happened close to twenty years ago. You look very... Young.

Hikari's statement was right on the mark.

This monk Sozin wore old and very much used monk attire, but he very much stood out. No only was the monk young, at most in his latelate 20's or early 30's, and he was a handsome man even without hair. If Sozin introduce himself as a grandfather no one would belive him unless he said that he and his child had children when they were preteens.

Sozin: That couldn't be helped. Like I said, I too am from the dimension. By the time that I had the power and means to collect 50,000 points for 'Return to the Origin', I had gained the genetic mutation of a Vampire, Ki Energy ( Life Force ) and had a high Cell Vitality. I don't really grow older anymore.

Misaki: So you are immortal?

Sozin: No, I just have high Cell Vitality and a mutation. I never did exchange for those outrageously expensive enhancements from God. I am well over 100 years old, but I am slowly reaching the limits of my body even if I don't look it. I'll probably reach the end of my life before I turn 400, and with the remainder of this life I am just looking after my grandchildren.

Hearing this, Shin had one of his assumptions about stats and other enhancements answered. Shin had been wondering since the time he gained his One-eyed Ghoul mutation, an enhancement that held high Cell Vitality and Immunization Strength stats. His curiosity has also grown even more after the Btooom mission where he nearly died from injuries several times and regenerated an actual functional arm.

Shin: ( So it is possible to live longer with high stats after all ).

Shin had suspected as much since with a high Cell Vitality it would mean his body wouldn't break down and grow weaker with age, and a high enough Immunization Strength enoug means he wouldn't contract any virus in his life time that could end or shorten his life.

Shin has read up on the enhancements that say can give immortality, and this includes lower B rank reward enhancements like the Ogre mutation, that say you can survive having half your body blown off, but even Shin couldn't really believe immortality or eternal youth was possible. The main character of UQ Holder is an immoral, but with his past tragedy where his family died in, it made him cynical to the idea deep down. That was because acknowledging immortality was an insult to his family and Zero who had passed away.

Shin: So immortality is a real thing?

Sozin: I don't have it, but I know of some that do have it. Why, do you want to become one?

Shin: No. I am okay with an extended life and youth like your, but I wouldn't want to live forever.

Aqua: Ah, that reminds me. Where are those brat kids of your.

Hikari: Aqua, don't be so rude. Also, shouldn't both you and Shin apologies for the fight earlier?

Sozin: It is fine.

Shin: Really? I don't feel like apologizing when you hurt both Aqua and I, but I would still understand if there were still some hard feelings on your side.

Sozin: Yeah, but it's okay. Ken and Kaiyo, my two grandchildren, it was fine of you to beat them down and knock them down a peg. Because of their abilities they were starting to have overinflated egos and were recently skipping out on their training. It was no good when I, their grandfather beat them since their was too big of a difference in power and experience between us and they have known this their entire lives, but with the arrival of a few stranger around their age...

Shin: Hopefully they learned the world is bigger than they imagined and that they were frogs in a well who have yet to even see the world ( Though I am not one to talk ).

Sozin: Exactly. Your teams leader is very wise.

Shin: I wouldn't say that.

Hikari: Sozin, please stop that. Shin's ego can easily be inflated by praise like that. If he isn't fighting a boss on a mission then it is best to keep him grounded in reality. He already believes that it is the most natural thing in the world for him to be entitled to a harem.

Shin: Well, I-

Hikari: Shut up!

Shin: ...

Then once Hikari were were done bashing Shin they got back to the subject at hand.

Shin: If the leader bashing is over, can we get back to the reason that we are here? Sozin agreed to tell us what he knows, so let's hear him out. So... Where should we start from? There are so many things we want to know and there are probably some answers we need, but don't even know the questions to ask. Saki. Aqua. You two are the most knowledgeable here about that dimension, so why don't you two begin.

Among the seven Players present, Aqua has the most experience being the veteran Player of over seven missions. Additionally, Saki is genius and who has been waiting for this moment her whole life to have her many questions answered. Shin is the kind of guy to take things as they are without worrying too much, so he didn't really have any questions for Sozin ready at this moment.

Aqua: Let me start off with the question I and possibly everyone here wants to know the most

Sozin: Go ahead.

Aqua: Okay then. First off... How did you escape that hell hole?


	72. Chapter 72

Team Japan and Aqua's first question was the following. How did Sozin escape the hell hole that they called God's Dimension and the Mission Worlds.

Sozin: So you want to know how I escaped that dimension?

Aqua: Yes. If you've really are from that place like us and have escaped then that already gives us hope that it's possible to survive that hell hole of a Dimension and live through God's trials... yet it would help to know how you did it. We already know about 'Back to the Origin', but that is just an end goal for us. We would like to know if there are any short cuts to gaining more Points and rank rewards and other tips that you can provide that could help us stay alive till then,

Kampa: Also, stories of your own experiences would be helpful I bet. You wouldn't believe how many times my life was saved in my mercenary days from remembering the past stories of war heros. Like how they survived in the jungle alone or how they infiltrated an enemy camp in the middle of the day.

Hikari: Kampa is right. Even if it doesn't appear helpful at first, hearing the experience of a Player who has succeed in the Mission Worlds can only be helpful to us all.

Sozin: Okay then. Let me first start from the beginning. It was about 100 years or so since the time that I ended up in God's Dimension like your team and escaped.

Sozin began to go over his experiences in God's Dimension. Like us Players of Team Japan, Sozin was suddenly thrusted into that dimension and found himself in the movie Resident Evil, this was back before when the mission were still horror movies. Also, although he lives in Japan now he lived in another country and was the team leader of Team China.

The part about Sozin being in the Resident Evil movie 100 years ago was startling, but he explained that back then God would bring Players into the world's of Horror Movies, Horror Stories, Sci-fi Movies and Disaster Films whether they were already out or not. You could still exchange for the movies and book like you could now, but the first missions for newbies were much harder back then than now as they had no hope of knowing the plot.

Sozin: Back then the first movie for a newbie was extremely hard. No one knew the plots, so they had to heavily rely of the veterans who survived beforehand.

Hikari: I see. It's frightening to think God could look into the future and acquire horror movies and other ideas for his missions he cooks up for us ( Wish I could do that for Manag and Anime, but what can you do? ).

Sozin: It's a little different than that... But that's a talk for another day and might not matter to any of you. Anyways, back to me, for my first mission I ended up in Resident Evil 1 and somehow survived.

Sozin survived his first mission and coincidentally just like how I did, he had a breakthrough in one of the three realms and completed a hidden side quest, so once he came to the the Terminal Lobby for the first time he had a lot of points to enhancement himself.

Before the next mission he exchanged for his still dominant enhancements, Ki Energy and Vampire Mutation that would make the core of his battle potential in the future. Sozin and with his wife, a human creation he made from his childhood friend who died of cancer, he would lead his team into the next mission and beyond. Sozin glossed over some details, but his description of his missions into horror and thriller movies really resonated with all of them, especially Shin.

Shin: ( What a amazing, yet frightening tale. Even for an otaku like myself and God's Dimension not yet being manga and anime, if he wrote down his journey in a light novel or cell phone novel, I would have read it to the last volume and start an online petition for it to be made into an anime. If it wasn't for the fact I could understand Sozin's trials having gone through some myself I might actually have stolen the idea and call it Terror Infinity or something like that ).

And then at last Sozin had collected 50,000 Points to leave God's Dimension for good. By this point his most of his original teammates had died in the Mission Worlds sadly, but the few new and old that did stay alive with him had become powerful enough to survive without him... Or that was what he wanted to convince himself so he could take his wife back with him to the real world.

Sozin had used all the rank rewards and leftover points he no longer needed for himself and gave them to his teammates before leaving for good, but still to this day he has yet to meet any of his old comrades, including those who like him should still be alive thanks to their enhancements. Worldwide travel with airplanes were not as developed as it is today, so it was very possible that they escaped and just never had the luck to run into them and had passed away by now, yet...

Sozin: I don't think my choice back then was wrong, but with old age comes regrets when you look back and doubts about one's actions in life. That my late wife would die with me if something had happened to me in one of my missions always weighed heavily on my mind and heart, so when I had the chance to leave I took. I don't think that I made the wrong choice, but I still feel unsatisfied to this day. By the end we had all become strong and capable warriors, but without a doubt I was the strongest member and the team leader at that time. I had also even gained A rank rewards and had even unlocked the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint. My absence was definitely a blow to the team, so if a truly dangerous mission came for them all and I wasn't there... Let's just say that leaving behind my brothers and sisters I went to war with in that dimension, all just to survive is one of my three great regrets in life.

Hikari: I, I never thought that possibility before. This is definitely a good team with Shin, Aqua, Misaki, Shuai, Kampa, Saki and myself. There is still even a lot of room for improvement, yet objectively speaking Shin and Aqua will most likely gain the most points and rewards. They can take risks we all can't and defeat the bosses that the rest of us can't face alone.

Shin: Hikari, I wouldn't-

Misaki: Hikari has a point. In just our first two mission Shin has acquired close to twenty thousand points and the Veteran Aqua had many great enhancements and was able to keep up with him. Aqua especially is strong enough in my opinion that it wouldn't be strange for her to consider saving up her points now for 'Back to the Origin' since she now has strong teammates to back her up. The two of you will definitely reach 50,000 Points before the rest of us.

Shin: Don't worry so much you two. Even if I had the points to for it I wouldn't. My ultimate goal is to make use of the exchanges to become an OP protagonist. I might not be satisfied even with one million points and a few dozen A and S rank rewards. Besides, after hearing about what happened with when Sozin left I can't imagine myself leaving you all behind. Aqua is the same, right?

Aqua: ...Who knows.

Shin: Aqua?

Aqua: I... want out of that place desperately, Shin. Maybe for you Shin and those here I could consider waiting for a while, but where will it end? We will always keep getting newbies and some of them we will end up bounding with them like Shin, Hikari, Misaki and I have with the newest members Saki, Kampa and Shuai here. Where will it end if I keep waiting for everyone? Do I have to wait till we have a full team of twenty Players that won't die on any of the missions before I feel that it is okay to leave. Let me say here and now I won't, Shin. I would have to stay in that place forever if I have to wait for potentially over a dozens of comrades to gain the points to leave with me. I am more likely to die from going on all those mission then any threat a single boss could would be for me.

Shin: ...

Saki: Lets leave this discussion for later in the future people. It isn't worth considering with the points and rewards that we have right now. Also, I doubt what Misaki said, that Aqua herself is at that point to be saying up for 'Return to the Origin'. If she tried to at this time to save up points she would die.

Hikari: I agree with Saki. Sozin, you mentioned that you had two more regrets? What were they if you don't mind telling us?

Sozin: I don't mind telling you one since it may or may not have to do with you. My second regret has to do with my wife. She was the love of my life, but I never gave to much thought as to what how are future would look like together.

Shuai: I don't understand. Weren't you happy?

Sozin: We were, but time... Is a bitch and so is being careless. Before I left God's Dimension for good I had acquired enough points to exchange into money for us to live comfortably for the rest of our lives, enough to even buy this island, yet I forgot to enhance her.

Misaki: Why would you do that?

Sozin: Why... Let me tell you it straight now kids. It is impossible to live long enough to save up 50,000 points to return home for good without turning yourself into a monster. I am a vampire who hardly aged in the last 100 years, while the women that I love did. It wasn't the easiest thing for her too see her loved one not age like herself, and seeing the women that I love die well before I did for a second time... I wished nothing more then to just punch my past self for not raising her Cell Vitality and Immunization Strength. Just enough so that she didn't pass away of natural causes at 70 years of age thinking she wasn't suited to be the wife of an unaging and powerful being like me. That's my second regret. It may not mean too much to any of you, but if you have a human creation that you genuinely love then make sure that they have the ability to live about as long as you, and just to be safe the strength to protect herself in an emergency. Nothing happened to us, but living a few decades in the real world you will learn that peace is an illusion and that wars can effect anyone, no matter which advance country you live in. Also, a person can catch a disease or get into an accident on streets that you walk by every day to work. That's why it's better to be safe than sorry.

Misaki: ...

Misaki, the only one with a human creation who he is in a relationship with listen to Sozins words like they were of the upmost importance. Misaki's position is very similar to Sozin, and so he would never want to go through what he did. Still, this just means that what Misaki needs to accomplish has increased, and so has the difficulty.

Sozin: Moving on, before my wife died we had a family. A son, which was surprising.

Kampa: Why?

Sozin: I questioned if I, a vampire could have a child with a normal human ( Excluding the Human Creation part ), but my fears were needless. The two of us had a son and he in fact took a lot after me.

Aqua: As in he inherited your enhancements?

Sozin: Not all of them, but my Vampire and Ki energy which were at A rank or above, my son was born with those powers to some extent. My powers were diluted by having a child with a normal human though. His powers were naturally in the C-B rank range and when he had his own children sixteen years ago, the twin that you met earlier, they did inherit both of our powers, but one was greater then the other of our powers. Ken was born with a strong body and with more of my son's Ki which was at the entry D rank and small traces of the vampire mutation. Kaiyo wasn't born with much Ki and it at a level suitable for combat, yet had the Vampire Mutation at C rank.

Hikari: I see. We had once assumed that the monsters of legends that we knew of and thought to be fiction were potential descendants of survivors of that dimension, and this confirms it.

Sozin: You are correct. If any of you have children they will more then likely inherit your whole body enhancements and genetic mutations, but we can go over that in more detail later. Well, those are my experiences, but sorry to say I don't know anything that can help you out like some cheat code. I am aware that God has recently changed the missions that you Players go on and with that my tips of what to do for a certain movie scene or what Quest Items that are a must to pick up and how, are without a doubt now outdated.

Saki: Then what about something that is still the same? What about God?

God.

Definitely not the one true god, but as far as all of us mortals were concerned was no different as it controlled our action and lives. That ball of light in the Terminal Lobby was in charge of our missions, enhancements, and anything else that we need. Even if you hate that dimension you can't survive without interacting with it, or you would die sooner rather than later.

Sozin: God, huh. That is a bitter and not so sweat memory for me to recall. Unfortunately, I never did learn too much about that mystery. I don't know much, yet I've heard of others who do. What I do know is this. God doesn't have the ability to think. It's just a super computer that's running on a program. I can assert that God doesn't have the ability to think and lacks a personality. Ifmit had a personality then it could one day develop in a way that it's creators never envisioned. Worse case, like those Terminator movies it could gain self awareness and rebel against its creators and us in the real world. Anyways, once you know it's a program, then you can get around its limitation for many things. It will be the same in horror movies, or the Manga and Animes that you all go into now.

Shin: So how will this help us?

Saki: So you don't understand?

Shin: Sorry, but I failed computer science.

Saki: What Sozin means to say is that we can possibly get around the rules God sets for us. If God is a computer program that has to follow set rules and lack a personality, it means that it can't think outside the box and get in or way if we trick it. For example, we are forbidden to disclose informtion about God's Dimension, right? If say Shin, I made a scheme where you alone came back to the real world and without knowing or being aware of it, you disclosed information about God's Dimension. Now, would God punish us.

Shin: The fact that I can see you doing that is scary, yet I am guessing no is the answer to your question by the flow of the conversation.

Saki: Correct. You wouldn't be punish since you didn't tell anyone, and nor would I because I am still in the Terminal Lobby of God's Dimension, so the rule doesn't apply to me. In a way, it is the same kind of logic you use to kill off newbies indirectly. The rule states that Killing a newbie will deduct you 1000 points, but if your group is being attacked by zombies and you trip a newbie so that they would be caught it isn't considered killing them in God's programming. An actual person person would make the argument that you did in fact kill them, but God is very literal in how it looks at things. Long as the stated rules are not technically broken then nothing bad will happen. God won't summon a trial and argue that you broke a rule, since it lacks the ability or judgment to do so.

Sozin: Saki is right. Looking for loop holes is a key to surviving. I once had a mission in one of the movie Alien movies and during the fight with the Queen and a group of regular aliens at the same time, the space ship that we were on was breached during the fight and soon exploded. I had thought my entire team was going to die at that moment, yet we didn't. It turned out that in our mission to kill all the aliens, the fact that they technically died before the blast reached us allowed us to survive the mission. Also, the points for killing the aliens and the queen were given to every player alive since God couldn't decide on how to reward the points and rank rewards with that kind of ending.

Loopholes.

Shin at that moment thought back to Higj School of the Dead and BTOOOM.

A part of his team mission in H.O.T.D was to reach the apartment of a friend of one of the female main characters, but what if they instead directly met up with the friend? If Shin had to guess, if the friend said that going to the apartment was too dangerous and suggested a JSDF base to rest at, the mission itself would conform to it. Maybe a mission to join and help the JSDF would be created. This is the plot change category where changing the plot results in new main objectives and very rewarding Hidden Side Quest.

As for BTOOOM, the Final Boss was a cyborg so what if Hikari took control of him somehow with her hacking... Or even better, had him return to base and self-destruct, taking with him all nearby Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commanders there who were not ordered to go to the island. Team Japan could have gained an untold number of points and rewards. It's so outside the realms of the main mission that God would be confused and allow it and maybe reward every Player similar to what happened to Sozin.

Shin: Well, I geuss when we get back there will be much more formus to explore about the Mission Worlds.


	73. Chapter 73

Sozin: So do any of you have any more questions to ask?

And although Sozin said this he was already staring at the Player who he and everyone else in the room knew has questions that needed to answered.

Saki.

Saki was driven by a singular goal to learn about the Genetic Constraint, the man who rescued her in the past and the people behind her kidnapping. Two of her three questions have been answered to some extent so far, so all that reminded for her was to find more out about them... The people who killed Saki's parents and kidnapped her for unknown reason.

Saki: The question that I most wanted to ask you Sozin is this. Who were the ones who kidnapped me? I can already guess that there are some communities of survivors of God's Dimension here in the real world. What did they want from me and the other children that they kidnapped?

Sozin: Is this for revenge?

Saki: ...No. Because of them it is hard for me already to experience strong feelings for anything. If I bothered to entertain those desires then I wouldn't have the capacity for anything else.

Sozin: I see.

Aqua: I too want to know more about these survivors and the communities that they have made here in the real world. What happens to people that survive that dimension after returning to the real world and how and will it relate to us once we finally escape as well?

Sozin: In the past it didn't. God might want Players to evolve and become powerful enough to cause great changes in the real world, but rarely do the Players who make it out hold such vast power. An individual can only do so much, so for a great change in the world to occur that person must be a god like existence and have the will to change the world as well.

Shin: Is that why our world isn't more fantasy like? Even if a god level Player made it back they held no desire to change the world. Well, I am slightly pissed off that they didn't make the world more Manga like, but I can understand.

Hikari: You can?

Shin: Yeah, I mean, after going through those trials I think that anyone would just want to live in peace, right? I would, and things like changing the world and world domination are troublesome goals even with godlike powers.

Shin saw it like this.

Unless you are just going to wipe everyone off the face of the the earth and start over, you are going to have to deal with the bullshit of other people. They will also expect you to do everything and never make a mistake, and even if you do everything right they'll still bitch and moan about something else. They also won't understand you even if you have the best intentions. Half the world will see you a benevolent king, while everyone else will see you as a demon lord ruling with a iron hand. There may even come a time when a hero of justice who doesn't know any better comes to defeat that person, expecting that the world will become a better place if they are defeated.

Shin: Really, I would never want such a job even after becoming OP. Not even the ultimate M would take up that post.

Sozin: Whatever the case, the point is that for the most part I lived a normal life after escaping that place. I lived half my life without meeting my teammates or anyone else from God's Dimension... And I wish that I never had, or if only they were my old teammates. I'll answer both of your concerns Saki and Aqua. This is what a friend of mine I met thirty years ago, who's also a survivor of that dimension I ran into told me.

God's Dimension has existed for a long, long time

Over the course of history God has been choosing and abducting people in the real world who have fallen into despair and thought about ending their lives to test them, and to see if they can evolve like those of the past could. According to one theory such people who seriously wanted to die also wished for a reason to live, and if given such a purpose than they would show spirit and a desire to live far beyond what normal humans who lived decent lives could.

God's means of how he contacted the people in the real world changes with the times. Computers, letters, dreams, and there was even a human creation who would visit people, but it all ended the same. All those who answered YES were transported to God's Dimension and entered the world of horrors and fiction. From there they could only live and evolve, or die.

God's Dimension and the Mission Worlds are incredibly difficult to live through and to collect enough points to return to the real world, yet there are always those who manage to make it back. Players who have with their own strengths and power of will gathered the necessary points needed and came back to the real world. These individuals possessed amazing enhancements, mutations, and other abilities and when they had children they would inherit some of their abilities. These descendants are what the modern people of this world call monsters.

Vampires that suck blood, Werewolfs that attack and turn others, and the ghouls that would eat human flesh. They are the descendants of the survivors of God's Dimension, yet the powers that they were born with became weak and unfocused overtime, so they would develop instinct that they could not control like their ancestors and become true monsters. These freaks would eventually die out due to their bloodlines becoming too weak. Time and time again survivors would make it back to the real world, have children and this cycle had remained unchanged for thousands of years... Or at least till the abnormality occurred.

Shin: The abnormality?

Sozin: Yes, that the best way to describe them. People have always managed to escape that place over the course of history, but about 800 years ago a powerful team of Players, and I mean truly mean powerful group with the best possible enhancements returned to the real world. They held the kind of exchanges that you can't get without choosing not to immediately return to the real world because they cost so much in points and rank rewards. They also trained their abilities to the point that they surpassed there rank limitations, including the S rank exchanges. This team of Players had acquired close to true godlike powers and had finally choose to leave God's Dimension and return to the real world.

Sozin then explained that this team of god level Players numbered five in total and the rest of the world would later come to know them from the nickname others gave them.

THE IMMORTAL KING - The strongest man in the world and he who can not be killed.

DEEP ZERO - The greatest magician in the world who can destroy cities and nations with a single spell.

DIVINE BLADE EDGE - The fastest and greatest swordsman in the world whose sword can cut anything.

TRINITY - The most powerful Psyche Force user in the world who is said to even be able to foresee the future and all mysteries of the world.

WRATH - A devil like man who knows no bounds and destroy all that he touches and also the former team's leader who lead those moster like existences.

Shin: Cool nicknames.

Hikari: Shut up Shin!

Sozin: Just so you know they didn't make up those names themselves. Their enemies who had the luck to escape them made them up. Their names also have to do with the main enhancements that they use, but that's only a rumor and I personally have only met one of them.

Hikari: Which one of the five did you meet?

Sozin: Claire, or who you would know by her nick name Trinity. She was the only female in the group and from what I've heard the only one of them who you can talk to normally as she is the most sane.

Kampa: Wait. Are you saying that these people are still alive today? Even though they left God's Dimension 800 years ago?

Sozin: That's correct. They are very much still alive for good or bad. You see, what made this group of Players so special was that they didn't try to escape the dangers of that world, but truly tried to evolve to the next stage of humanity and fully unlock the Genetic Constraint. They stayed, went on dozens, maybe hundreds of missions and got the very best enhancements, so they are very much still alive today thanks to them.

Misaki: They sound insane. So they had the ability to survive and leave that place whenever they wanted to, but they stayed to play with all the exchanges. They were insane to not just leave.

Hikari: Misaki is correct. What a odd team they were. They were all a bunch Shin Players. Five Shin's in a single team... I feel sick just imagining it.

Shin: Hey, I am right here!

Sozin: You are correct in describing them as a odd bunch, but that place will definitely make you go crazy one way or another, I have, yet to the very end they had a goal. To evolve to the next stage of humanity, but in the end that failed.

Saki: Failed. How so?

Sozin: From what I was told it was that they could either only reach the Fourth Stage of the Genetic Constraint, or that they couldn't ascend to a higher plane of existence like those who did before them after reaching the Fifth Stage.

Then Sozin went on with his story.

Depressed and finding that going on mission was pointless anymore as they could not move on to the next plane of existence they came back to the real world. They believed, wanted to believe that they could then be satisfied with living in peace in the real world, a goal they had discard long ago, but in the end they couldn't. All have them, on one way or another had became immortal, non-human beings, so they couldn't live like other human anymore.

If they stayed in one place for too long people would notice that they didn't age at all, and before anyone could suspect that there was something wrong with them, the five of them would have to pack up and leave. They kept doing this over and over again for hundreds of years till they ended up sick of everything in the real world. Now knowing that they couldn't fit into the real world the five of them came back together and they tried to go back to God's Dimension where they felt most alive, but they couldn't go back.

Shuai: Why not? They were depressed enough right?

Sozin: Yes, but it wasn't possible for them to return to that God's Dimension anymore. Once you choose 'Return to the Origin' you are forever banned from returning to that place.

Aqua: That is good to know. Who would want to work so hard to leave that place to only return later?

According to Sozin they didn't share this hope, so the five former teamate had come together once more and came up with a plan. They would send teams, teams composed of individuals they have chosen and who will listen to them and have them head into that God's Dimension to learn more about advancing to the next stage of humanity. God's Dimension, the Mission Worlds, evolution, God and those who came before who made that place, they were given instructions to discover every truth.

The teams that they sent into God's Dimension of course had to go through the same trials as everyone else does with the missions and everything else, but they had the backing of five strongest survivors of that dimension who have been on hundreds of missions. With their vast knowledge and experience to get around God's rules, the average causality rate had gone down by a degree, so they were able to successfully create and send teams of Players into God's Dimension who could survive the mission who were at their disposal.

Shin: Did you say teams?

Sozin: Yes. You may have realized it, but all of your teammates are Japanese or were in Japan when they answered YES to God and were brought to his dimension. Your team of Players are the current Team Japan. For every country in the world there is a team and a Terminal Lobby were Players gather and go on missions.

Hikari: Every country in the world? That means there are 190 or so teams in the the world all together. How has this been hidden from the rest of the world for so long?

Sozin: It isn't too hard really. The five members of that team do cover up any incidents from Players from God's Dimension, yet they don't have to do much. Even with close to 200 potential teams in the world the casualty rate on the mission are still very high, so high that even with the support of those five god level Players I doubt that there are even close to over a one hundred teams active at any one time. Now moving on I have to mention the change that happened two hundred years ago.

Till 200 years ago the five of them had worked together peaceful for that goal of one day discovering all the mysterious of God's Dimension and one day moving to a high plane of existence, but a problem occured. It was the fact that once you live long enough you begin to change.

After years of experience too much of life and the world has to offer, seeing your friends pass away, the world advancing yet not improving where it counts, having all the power in the world yet people still kill each other over the smallest of difference in the grand scheme of life... Both the good and the bad experience that a person goes through in one life time, the five of them experienced them over and over again. Living too long wears you down. The five team members who were already scared by God's Dimension from what they had to go through either became crazed, indifferent or overly zealous about God's Dimension. This lead to a friction between the five and eventually they all went their own ways.

There were many reasons why, but the main reasons were because of the magician DEEP ZERO and WRATH the former leader. In their spare time to relive bordom, the two of them would cause chaos in the real world for fun and to potentially have more people despair and end up in the other world as their pawns. Sozin explained that many of the war in the last 200 years, if not all of them were started at the hands of those two. Eventually the infighting about methods between the five lead to a split in the original group and they made their own organizations that would fit with their own ideals and purpose for God's Dimension. Each new organization are all composed of those who have survived, are still in, or the descendants of those who have survived God's Dimension and the Mission Worlds.

Sozin: Collectively, they are known as The Four Pillars, one pillar for each new organization. DEEP ZERO created Mass Enlightenment, a group who seeks knowledge of God's Dimension whatever the cost. WRATH created Blood Crusade, a group that seeks to evolve and erase the lesser, previous species of humans and use their power however they like in the real world or the other. DIVINE BLADE EDGE, the strongest of the five created Absolute Reckoning, a group to to oppose Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade and guide human into a peaceful future, but yet they are known to take extreme action to do so in the name of justice. TRINITY and THE IMMORTAL KING, the couple of the group created Dove United, a group that has become somewhat indifferent to the truth of God's Dimension after witness the chaos that it caused, what they caused, yet still wish to keep the real world in peace and unchanged by those who have been to God's Dimension.

Mass Enlightenment... Blood Crusade... Absolute Reckoning and Dove United.

Saki: So the ones who kidnapped me as a child were...

Sozin: It was an operation backed by both Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade. They... What they planned to do with you and those other children was that they were going to train you all to become soldiers and one day future Players for them in God's Dimension.

This revelation silenced them all.


	74. Chapter 74

Saki: They... They were creating soldiers. Soldiers who would one day enter God's Dimension as Players?

Sozin: Yes. Although they prefer the descendants of former Players above all, they acknowledge the fact that talent isn't always decided by bloodlines. The original members of the god like five member team who founded The Four Pillars didn't have any particularly special background either when they were first Players in that dimension.

Hikari: Something like this is really going on. Kidnapping, murder and brainwashing children into soldiers... Isn't this the real world?

Aqua: Don't look so surprised Hikari: Those kinds of things have alway been going on, but you just never heard about them till now. I've personally heard from a friend when I was in the army that he once had to face off against child soliders who were armed with guns. You more then anyone should know that evil has always existed, and this revelation just means that a portion of it has been caused by these Four Pillars instead of regular human beings.

Saki: This... Is shocking. I had an idea it was something like this, but not to such a level. I could reason that a group of former Players were up to no good, but nothing this large scale. Let me ask you Sozin, how were you related to all of this when you saved me?

Sozin: I am a member of Dove United and I was sent in alone to deal with the problem. I was sent in to rescue or dispose of the children being raised as potential Players for Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade, and also kill the researchers there. I am not one to kill little children, so I went in with the full intension to rescue and not kill, but unfortunately the enemy thought that I was also trying to get their research, so they killed all the children. The only one I was able to save in the end was you Saki.

Saki: I see, and thank you Sozin.

Sozin: Please don't. I regretted not being able to save the other children and was so glad to have saved you Saki and so many times, knowing that I saved you gave me peace of mind on the hardest of days, but for never checking up on you, that you remembered those event and were so obsessed with it that you became depressed enough to be invited to God's Dimension... To end up in God's world of horror movies and stories, it is just one more thing that I have come to regret in my life time.

Saki: Please don't worry about it. It was my own choice to pursue the path that I choose and no one else's... There is no one to blame.

Aqua: I agree with Saki. Also, Sozin.

Sozin: Yes?

Aqua: The missions of God's Dimension has changed, so it is no longer the horror movies and stories from before. Now us Players are forced to enter into the the world of Manga, Anime, Novels and Video Games. Were you aware of this change or know the reason behind it?

Sozin: Sorry, but I do not know for the sudden change. I only heard about the this new format from my contacts in Dove United. What I have heard is that the rest of The Four Pillars have begun to take actions more aggressive in God's Dimension since they believe a change is coming to that unchanging dimension.

Saki: To bad we couldn't find out more... Then next question I have is this. When did you first join into this fight between the Four Pillars?

Sozin: That, huh. It was after my wife passed away. With her gone and the only child that we had already grown up and left home, I had no reason to stay on the island, so I went on a journey. During this time I was still hoping to run into my former friends even after all this time, but all that I found was trouble. By misfortune I ran into a fight between former Players in the real world, and at the time I had no knowledge of the the Four Pillers and their battles. I dealt with them with ease since they were causing problems for innocent people nearby, yet action got me on all of their radars. It was at that time a lieutenant of Dove United made contact with me and explained what was going on, and that now that I was on their radar it would be impossible to get off it due to my strength.

Shin: Why is that?

Sozin: I am very strong among the general Players with enhancements who have made it back to the real world and I've also unlocked up to the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint. Even with the backing of the Four Pillars not everyone can unlock the Genetic Constraint and beyond the Second Stage is still very rare. Beyond the Third Stage is even more so. The Four Pillars see me as both an incredible asset and threat to be left alone.

Aqua: That was something else I wanted to know. How strong are the members of the Four Pillars with enhancements, and where do you yourself rank ? I want to know just in case we ever run into them in the future.

Sozin: That's a difficult thing to answer. Strength is relative among those at the top, although I believe I would be around the upper middle class which is still quite strong on this side to be a threat. In each organiztion, those truly stronger than me can be counted with one's hands if you don't count the founders. I also can't tell you how strong the leaders are as I can only describe them a true monsters beyond common sense, but the average level of those with enhancements wouldn't be too much stronger than Shin or Aqua including their Genetic Constraints.

Shuai: How is that possible? Didn't they collect enough points to return home to the real world by surviving the missions? They must have acquired powerful enhancements to do so, and as a result should be much stronger than us.

Sozin: Normally yes. God wants only one team in an era to survive and return to the real world, but the appearance of the Four Pillars who support hundreds of teams have changed things. With their knowledge of the missions more and more teams come back alive, and the reason most Players don't become overpowered is because of the Four Pillars as well. They don't want anyone not truly committed to their causes to gain power rivaling those at the top of The Four Pillars, and the Players know that if they try to become to strong without permission than the Four Pillars will hunt them down once they make it back. The Four Pillars want solider, not powerful warriors that they can't control.

Saki: Is fear also how they control those below them? When I was kidnapped I got the feeling that the two killed my parents and abducted me and everyone else were afraid to disobey their bosses.

Sozin: That is probably true. In case where normal peopel with no connection to the Four Pillars like your team are formed, the Four Pillars will find a way to contact you. They will agree to lend said team their support so they can survive the terrors that await them. Contents of the missions to lessen the dangers, Hidden Side Quest in the missions to acquire more points and rewards, loopholes to take advantage of, first rate newbies to join their teams and personal assurances that their loved ones in the real world would be taken care of... But in exchange they own them for life. Well, they are probably having some trouble with recruitment now that the format of God's Dimension has changed from Horror Movies to Manga and Anime, so they have less to offer to new teams as a result.

Misaki: Sounds like extortion and blackmail. And do The Four Pillars really just leave you alone here on this island, Sozin? It sounds like they have a lot of manpower to spare to deal with just one person.

Sozin: Yeah they do, but I am no normal person. I can confidently say no number of cannon fodder can deal with me ( Badass ). To defeat me would require someone to send a team of similar level warriors to kill me, or someone from the top who has made a real name for themselves, but doing so brings other problems as well. If Mass Enlightenment or Blood Crusade brought out such a powerful card to deal with me, Absolute Reckoning and Dove United would make similar moves... And let's just say those kinds of battles later become the things you see on the news reported as natural disasters and such, minus the Four Pillars involvement of course. Blood Crusade and Mass Enlightenment love destruction, but they won't make such big moves unless what they get in return equals any potential losses they occur.

Kampa: I get that. Happens a lot in wars. No one takes a risk that don't have a high percentage of working out. Funny how that means that they are no longer taking risk. Anyways, what I got from what you just told us is that Sozin are strong, very strong, but not enough to for anyone to take a large risk in trying to kill you if you are doing nothing, but living your life on this island.

Sozin: Yes, and that is why I am safe here long as I do nothing, yet there was a time I couldn't just stay still on the island. It was the reason why I couldn't leave the fighting and eventually joined Dove United in the battle between the Four Pillars.

Misaki: Why is that?

Sozin: My son, Ken and Kaiyo's father had also joined the fighting. After leaving home he ended up in the war between the Four Pillars. I learned of this a little while after getting involved with everything. He had joined Absolute Reckoning. I joined the war since I wanted peace, so I joined Dove United and not Absolute Reckoning because I wasn't interested in their battles, but my son was drawn to them and no matter how much I tried to convince him to leave the fighting, I couldn't get through to him.

Kampa: What happened to him?

Sozin: ...He died. About seventeen years ago he had the misfortune of running into the elite unit of Blood Crusade that is directly overseen by its leader Wrath. He died in battle and his young wife who he had children with also got caught up in the aftermath and died as well.

Kampa: I am sorry to hear that. I too have a son and I can say I wouldn't know what I would do if something happened to him.

Sozin: Thank you, but unlike the time with my wife's passing I wasn't completely lost. I did indeed harbor thoughts of revenge towards Blood Crusade and the rest of the four Pillars, but I wasn't able to go through with them. My son and his wife left behind twin children. It was my responsibility to look after them. Also, I couldn't abandon them since they are special.

Saki: Special?

Sozin: Yes. Though not as much as my son, they did indeed inherited some of my enhancements. I said earlier that the children of Players make up a lot of the personnel for the Four Pillars, but there is a reason for that. When descendants of Players with strong enhancements, somewhere in the next four to five generation who still show strong traces of their powers, become Players themselves God will give those individuals benefits to them.

Shin: Like how. Do they start out with extra points?

Sozin: I am not 100% sure since I was never too interested, but I've heard if they follow the same enhancement path as their ancestors they will have less cost for their point and rank reward requirements. Sorry, but I don't know to what degree.

Shin: (How lucky and unfair. So what, do they get a discount card for their enhancements? If say my grandfather was a Ghoul with Ki would I get a cost reduction in those two enhancement paths... Just how many points would I have saved and could have used for anything else. In these first two mission I had acquired about 20,000 points and top tier rank rewards. If I was at least given a 50% discount on all my exchanges then both Ki and One-Eye Ghoul could already be at A rank and I could have obtained over a dozen useful Ki techniques.)

Sozin: That was why I also had to personally look after them. Absolute Reckoning would have attempted to raise them themselves, fill their heads with propaganda, praise for their own organization, tell them to seek revenge and then ship them off the that hell we know as God's Dimension and who knows what else. They don't do experiments like Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade, but despite preaching justice they are without a doubt a very extream group.

Shin: ( Human experimentation and child soldiers... Was the real world always this manga like? ).

Aqua: I have another question is you don't mind.

Sozin: Go ahead.

Aqua: What I, no what all of us need to know are more about Team Battles. We already have two members who have Unlocked the Genetic Constraint, so we are coming closer to that time. Please tell us anything that you know!


	75. Chapter 75

Aqua: What I, no what all of us here need to know more about are the Team Battles. We already have two members who have Unlocked their Genetic Constraint, so we are coming closer to that time. It won't be too long for Team Japan to Awaken if we keep surviving these difficult missions one after another.

Sozin: Team battles... What a nasty subject. I can tell you more about them and-

Shin: Wait! Team battles? What are Team Battles.

Team Battles?

Shin was confused and so was everyone else. Even the genius Saki was left out of the loop and had no idea what Aqua was talking about. Team Battles, unlocking the genetic Constraint and Awakenings, the people here were only aware of the second term, yet...

Shin: That's right. You said something about an Awakening back in BTOOOM. You never fully explained yourself and just said to be careful once three members of Team Japan hqve unlocked their constraints.

Sozin: So you knew, but you never told them?

Aqua: Why should I? Eventually I would have, but it was never for certain that we would all survive the last two missions. Also, I didn't want anyone blaming anyone else for what was to come.

Hikari: Can someone explain to me what is going on?

Aqua: Fine. I'll explain, but I won't be as knowledgeable as Sozin, so that was why I asked him about it. Let me first off behin with what I know.

Then Aqua finally began to explain what Team battles were. According to what she knows once three or more members of a Team that have unlock their Genetic Constraint, past or present of a team that has not been wiped out in a mission, that team will begin to experience team battles. Team battles take place on the mission that Players must attend every ten days. The mission is the same as usual, but this time other teams from different lands will be sent to the same mission as them at the same time.

Shin: So by the sound of this 'Team Battles', we probably won't be necessary working together on the mission, right? We will have to fight them as well as complete the mission.

Aqua: Yes and no. From what I know God will give each team their own mission which may or may no place them on opposing sides.

Shin: Like one side is are with the good guys and the other team will side with the bad guys?

Aqua: Yes, but there will also be times where you don't necessarily have to fight each other. God will never specifically say to wipe out the other team as far as I know, but the mission should go smoother without another team getting in the way.

Sozin: Aqua is correct about that. It manly has to do with how the mission turns out. Once I had a mission in the movie that you all know as the Mummy. The first one. My team were supposed to help the main cast defeat the mummy and villain Imhotep as the mission instructed us to. The other team's mission was different and was to steal the Nook of the Dead and revive Anck-su-namun, the villain from the second movie. Her revival would have definitely made the mission harder on us and the mission could have potentially changed to say that my team had to defeat her as well, but it was in the realm of possibility that we could have both teams could have completed our missions together.

Hikari: So what happened? Did both teams not fight?

Sozin: No, we killed each other to survive. Ignoring something that happened in the beginning, my team did something which made it impossible for us to work together.

Misaki: What?

Sozin: I used the Book of the Dead. Originally it was in the hands of someone else, but we discovered that it was in fact a Quest Item. It gave the holder access to its dark magic and if brought back to the Terminal Lobby God said that we could exchange for the speels inside. They would even be free if we could read hieroglyphs, and even if you couldn't you could still learn a spell from the book for just 1000 points each. This includes any of the offensive spells that would normally cost you C-A rank rewards to learn.

Misaki: So you didn't want to give up the book to the other team, so that's why you fought?

Sozin: That, and the fact that the book became bounded to me and meant that the other team could not use it long as I was alive. That was my teams first team battle, but not the other teams. They were more experienced and greedy for the points they would get for killing us. It wasn't like I could offer my life either for more then the obvious reason. If I, the teams leader and the strongest fighter were to die, the other team wouldn't have anything to fear from us and would wipe the rest of the team out for the points and rank rewards.

Shuai: Wait, you get points and rewards for killing off other teams?

Sozin: That is right. While God doesn't out right say to fight and kill the other team, he will give you the incentive to do so. Each normal member you kill will give you points/rewards and unlocked members will give you even more points and rank rewards for killing them. That is why unless a mission is offering an A rank reward... it's normally more profitable to attack another team. There are also more incentives for wiping out the other team completely, on of which is to be rid of an experienced team that could become a threat to you later on.

Aqua: I see. I never knew about the points for killing other teams... Sozin, if you have been on team missions and the existence of the Four Pillars have been in this world for hundreds of years then how did you not learn of them right away?

It was a good question and one that Sozin had an good, yet scary answer for.

Sozin: I rarely after the Mummy incident bothered to talk to enemy teams. If in the slightest it looked like we wouldn't be able to work together or they would betray my team, I showed them no mercy and killed them all. There was only one team that I could work well with, so they either had no connection to the Four Pillars or kept that information to themselves. Also, since for a long time my team only had two unlocked members and I was already close to getting to 50,000 points, I had very few team battles, only four in total.

Shin: That is still more than us for good or bad, but Aqua... Where did you learn of Team Battles from anyway?

Shin sensed some slight tension in the air, but it was only for an instant and he was the only one who felt it. He had no idea why Aqua gave off such a scary aura for a second, but it passed and she gave Shin and the others and answer.

Aqua: It was from my previous team. The Team Jpan before you all arrived and when I first entered God's Dimension. They were a lot more knowledge and experienced then me and they told me about the possibility of Team battles.

Saki: And how did they know so much about them?

Aqua: I didn't understand the full picture till just know, but now I do. They told me that they were apart of an organization that was exploring God's Dimension for its secrets. They... They called themselves members of an organization called Mass Enlightenment.

Shin: Mass Enlightenment! That is...

Saki: ...

Mass Enlightenment.

Shin wanted to say that they were one of the two organizations that conspired together to kidnap a group of kids, and in the process killing their parents as well. The 100% evil organization that upturned Saki's life and set her on a path that lead her to God's Dimension herself.

Aqua: Sorry Saki, but I wasn't to aware of the connection they might have had to you or the type of organization that they really were. The members of Mass Enlightenment that I met were rough and a bit scary, but to me they were over all good people who looked after me... Especially him. Now knowing the truth they were probably only nice to me since I had a military background, and so I was useful to the group.

Misaki: And you never bothered to tell us this before because?

Aqua: Would it have changed anything if I did? I wasn't a member myself and before I could learn everything that they knew. The entire team except for me died by the end of my second mission in Saw 3.

Sozin: Aqua is probably telling you the truth. Even with the backing of one of the Four Pillars it isn't strange for one of their teams to be wiped out. Last that I heard Mass Enlightenment did indeed have a hold on the Japanese Player Team. It also wouldn't be strange for the Four Pillars not to know that you all here are the current Team Japan.

Kampa: They don't keep in constant contact?

Sozin: Not really. My understanding is that they are to only report every three months or so. If the last time that they did back contact was before Aqua's First or second mission and... How many missions have you been on Aqua?

Aqua: Seven thus far.

Sozin: I see. Only the ten days of rest move along the same as the real world. The mission is only one day no matter how long you are there and vacations in the previous worlds only last an instant. You have been in the real world for at least two weeks from what I heard, so... That is 90-100 give or take days of no contact with the Mass Enlightenment in the real world. By now they should be getting worried, so either this or the mission after that Mass Enlightenment might try to send someone over to that dimension to check on you.

Shin: They can do that?

Sozin: Yes, it'll just take a little brainwashing. That's all it take to make you depressed enough to give up on the world and all of that. It is the favorite method that The Four Pillars use to get their people to God's Dimension in order to become Players.

Shin and the rest of Team Japan had most of their questions, or at least the ones that they could think up at the moment answered by Sozin. Sozin was a great source of information who was able to answer their many questions and more with his knowledge of God's Dimension and the effect that it had on the world. They learned about God, Sozin's experiences in the Mission Worlds, the previous unknown Four Pillars and their origins, and maybe most importantly aspects of a upcoming danger the Team Battles. Still, Sozin lacked what would have also been important... Current information.

Sozin is definitely true veteran of God's Dimension who has survived all of its trials, yet God's Dimension has changed and so has its customs since his time in that dimension was over a hundred years ago. It would be wrong to blame Sozin for not knowing more about latest news, but that didn't change the fact that Team Japan was still lacking important, life and death information.

Sozin: So what will you do now? I've told you all that I know. I've also been on this island for a good number of years to look after my grandchildren, so I am not up to date with everything going on in the world.

Saki: Your group, Dove United with an asset like you is staying coped up here?

Sozin: They don't like it, but they are understanding of my situation. Yet if this was any other of the three pillars then I couldn't do this. Your not even allowed to retire... Unless your dead, and even then a necromancer might come around to mess with your corpse.

Shin: How harsh. Hey guys. If you die in the mission and don't by the way, I'll make sure you to let you rest in your after life. So till then give your best for me, no I mean the team.

Aqua: Your true feelings and thoughts are obvious. You even said it out loud.

Hikari: Baka.

Shin: ...

Sozin: Back to my question... What will you do-

Ken: Hey!

Kaiyo: Grandpa!

Team Japan and Sozin had just finished having a serious conversation and were still digesting all of this new information and planning what was next when two individuals marched in. They were the twins who had fought and were defeated by Shin and Aqua, Ken and Kaiyo, the grandchildren of Sozin.

Sozin: What is it? Also, where are your manners? You not only barraged in here, but you have also failed to intro yourselves.

Ken: Why would we show respect for intruders?

Sozin: I thought that we resolved this? They were unexpected geust, but their intentions were good, so that still makes them geust.

Kaiyo: What do you mean geust? Didn't they beat up your grandchildren? How can you treat them so kindly?

Sozin: That was you own fault for going ahead like that on your own. It was a mistake to even warn you that we were having company. So... What is it that you needed so badly that you interrupted us?

It was only then that they began staring daggers into their opponents. Ken and Kaiyo who were finally reminded about why they barged into the rooom then began to look at Shin and Aqua intensely. Ken looked at Aqua like he was ready to jump her ( Hey! That is my women... But why do you look scared as well? ) and Kaiyo at Shin like she was ready to stab him with her sword repeatedly.

Shin: ( Wow, I've never been given a girls death glare before. If she were my girlfriend it would be cute, but since she isn't my girlfriend it's damm scary ).

Kaiyo: Hey you!

Shin: Me? My name is Shin, so-

Kaiyo: No one cares about that. Let's go outside and finish what we started.

Shin: Started? I don't believe I have even made a move on you yet.

Hikari: Why was it yet, Shin?

Shin: Ahh...

Ken: What she means is a rematch. The two of you got lucky, so let's-gyaaa

Aqua: Sozin, can I hit your son here?

Sozin: Didn't you just hit him? Well, not that I care.

Kaiyo: Grandpa! Damm, so you revealed your true colors intruders. I cut you to pieces and-

Sozin: That's enough!

Sozi stood up from his seat and firmly told Ken who was rubbing his face where Aqua punched him and Kaiyo who had her katana mere inches from a confused Shin.

Sozin: Not only is this rude, but it is a wasted effort you two. You should have already realized that you can't defeat them. They have already unlocked their Genetic Constraints and possess power far more potent then yours. The place where I acquired my powers from originally they are still fighting there as we speak. Earlier they were doing their best to not get on our bad sides so they went easy on you two, but if they wanted to Shin, Aqua and there friends could have killed you all with ease ( Well, only Aqua and I could ). Their determination and ability to kill are the real thing. You two that have only had each other to spar with each other were never a match for them. Especially now that they have grasped your abilities.

Ken: ...

Kaiyo: ...

Sozin: Now property introduce yourselves, you two. I didn't raise uncivilized children in the place of my son and your mother who are now gone.

Ken: ...Ken.

Kaiyo: Kaiyo. Nice to meet you.

Sozin: Can't you two do better then that.

Shin: It is okay, really. But is it alright to talk about... That in front of them? Isn't it against the rules since they have never been there before?

Sozin: Your right, but you just have to avoid some key words and details.

Shin: I see. Also, Sozin, this has brought up a favor that I wanted to ask you. You have done so much already for my team, but I was wondering if I can make another selfish request.

Sozin: No need to be so humble. If helping you will in turn in help Saki, so I see no reason to refuse... Long as it is within my power.

Shin: It isn't something too grand. I was just wondering if you could teach us a few things practically. Like how to fight or tips on improving our abilities. I think I could definitely learn a lot from you Sozi. Our genetic mutations are different, but we both possess Ki Energy. I am sure I can steal a few tricks from you... If it is okay with you?

Sozin: It is fine. I've only ever taught my son and his children, but I am happy to take on a disciple for a short period of time. I can give any of you advice and if you just want to relax on the island for the reminder of your trip that is okay as well.

Shin: Thank you. My team still has less then two weeks here of vacation, so why not put that time to use. That is if any of you here want to end your free time to train. This is a long awaited vacation after all, so if any of you want to spend time with your families instead of here on the island that's okay. I just want to personally train under a strong individual like Sozin, is all. Also...

Shin looked in the direction of Ken and Kaiyo. They noticed his stare and glared back at him ( What a prideful bunch ).

Shin: I also want to try fighting your grandchildren there, Ken and Kaiyo again.

Sozi : Why is that?

Shin: The truth is that in my team the only ones who can fight at an above human level are Aqua and Misaki. Aqua has already been strong from the start, but recently she has reached another level in strength, so I am no match for her. When we fight she has to hold back by a lot. As for Misaki he is still getting used to his powers, so I can KO him long as I am determined to do so.

Misaki: Hey! Am I a punching bad to you?

Shin: Sorry Misaki, but that is just the way that it is. Your not weak, but after unlocking my constraint I've become the better fighter as I know how to fight now, and with my base strength it wouldn't be wrong to say that I am 3-5 times stronger then you ( And I am being generous here ). That is why I want to fight Ken and Kaiyo. I still beat them out in ability, but they were born with their powers and have probably mastered them under Sozin supervision. If I am not in Unlocked Mode then they could very well beat me if they came with the intent to kill. That is why they make the ideal sparing partners.

Ken possessed immense strength, Energy and decent martial arts prowess. Kaiyo was a skilled swordsman who can coat her weapons with the corrosive properties of the vampire's Blood Energy. As opponents with special powers and fighting styles they were the ideal opponents for Shin to face with the prospect of fighting other teams within God's Dimension.

Another reason why Shin thought it would be nice to get to know them more despite their animosity towards his group was because of Kaiyo who he had fought. She wore a mask before and they were fighting, so Shin didn't have the time to care, but now that he took a good look she was definitely pretty.

Not overly gorgeous, but just right. It wasn't that Shin wanted every good looking girl that came his way ( Then I would have been into my cousin ), it was because Kaiyo was both good looking and in the possession of supernatural powers placed her in Shin's strike zone.

Sozin: I understand.

Ken: What?

Kaiyo: Grandfather!

Sozin: Enough! You two already owe them for your rude behavior so we are going to help them as much as we possibly can. You also don't have the right to refuse,

Kaiyo: ...If you say so.

Ken: Fine, but I can fight against that women, right?

Aqua: Ah, count me out. I have other plans and nor am I interested in weak kids. Getting close to Shin is draining enough ( My girlfriend to be everybody ).

Ken: What!?

Aqua: Well, I plan to stay on this island for a while, but just not to train. If during this time you can beat Shin here in a fight I'll entertain a challenge from you.

Ken: You, your on women!

Shin: Don't I have no say.

Hikari: Jealous.

Shin: Me. What do I have to be jealous for? Both you and Aqua, is it even possible for you to find a better man then me. I am the the number 1 pick among men.

Hikari: ...That's scary.

Shin sighed to himself and looked back at Ken and Kaiyo, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. They were just earlier demanding for a rematch, but now that it was an obligation they didn't like it. Ken looked at Shin like he had stolen his first love and Kaiyo looked upon Shin with clear killing intent. What was clear was that in their upcoming spars... They wouldn't mind if an accident occurred.

Shin: Hahaha. Still, why couldn't they have been twin girls. Obviously twins should be girls as they come in a set. Like Momo and Nana from To Love Ru ( Prefer Darkness ).

Sozin: What was that?

Shin: Ah, nothing! Nothing at all.

And that was how Shin and the rest of Team Japan were invited to stay on the mysterious island owned by the former Player and member of Dove United Sozin.


	76. Chapter 76

Disappointingly, only Shin stuck around on the island to train.

Aqua and Saki stuck around to ask Sozin some questions and Hikari had no home to go to without Shin, but they didn't train or at least with him Shin, Sozin, and Sozin's grandchildren Ken and Kaiyo. Misaki, Kamapa and Shuai left the island to return home and with Saki sailing them understood the importance of training, so they would continue on their own, but they still wanted to spend their time with families and loved ones as well... Except Shuai who was going to go home to break the news to his parents that he was going to become a Shaman or monk and rejoice in their reactions to his coming out.

Shin: What is with that guy? Did he hate his father that much?

Sozin: What's wrong.

Shin: Nothing. Lets continue please.

A few days have passed since Shin first arrived.

Like Shin desired he was able to learn under Sozin and spar with Ken and Kaiyo. Currently, Shin was in a practice session with Sozin. Later he would fight against Ken and Kaiyo in sparing matches. This practice with Sozin came first since they learned day 1 that his spars with Ken and Kaiyo... Were too spirited and that was saying it nicely. Even with Shin's amazing healing prowess he was in no shape afterwards to do anything else till after a good night's rest.

Shin: ( They tried to kill me a few times by making it look like an accident since their grandfather was watching. If I chose any other genetic mutation other than Ghoul I would have died from the injuries! ).

The training menu that Sozin thought up for for Shin was outside his expectations and if he didn't know better he would have thought that Sozin just read up on a few mangas to come up with his training regiments.

Sozin after the first day of training gave Shin review of basic exercises for him to perform every day and what muscles should be improved over others for Shin's style of fighting, a feee style CQC way of fighting ( Sozin fights with martial arts, but said there was no need for me to change to match him since it's the path his instincts have lead him to ). Sozin then advised Shin on the idea that it was best to train one power per day.

Shin possessed Ki energy and the One-Eye Ghoul Mutation. Sozin told him that he would see better growth in his enhancements by training each on alone for one day and one day to train by combining them together like Shin had thought up. Day 1 was Ki Energy, Day 2 was to be for Ghoul Mutation and Day 3 was lastly to train both, but not separately, and the cycle should be repeated.

Shin had no problem with a training menu that could have come out of Hunter X Hunter, so there was no need to second guess it that at all, yet he still asked how was this an effective training regiment. Sozin said that all power are different and conflict one way or another even if they can be used simultaneously. As Sozin would describe it from his own experiences, different powers have their own personalities. Using Sozin as an example: Ki Energy s very accepting, but the Vampire's Blood Energy is selfish and wants to devour any other power within body. It was best to treat them like they are the special one, but also teach them to work together. Like spoiling your child one day with attention to give them confidence, which in turns become a greater rate of growth, but also teaching them to they have to work together with others at the same time.

Sozin said that he can use his powers perfectly now, but at first his vampire's Blood Energy was afraid of Ki even if they were on the same rank, so he had a harder time mastering it and the time it finally surpassed Ki Energy, Blood Energy attempted to devour Ki. Then later with training Blood Energy began to except Ki and even when Blood Energ surpassed Ki Energy a second time, the originally selfish and greedy Blood Energy excepted Ki and now doesn't interfere with it.

In Shin's case, despite being the same tier, Ki Energy is stronger then his Ghoul mutation. Afraid of the more powerful Ki, his Ghoul Powers stayed inactive. Shin assumed it was just a hard enhancement to master, but that was only half the truth. Sozin then confirmed that this was one of the reasons why Shin had a hard time discovering the true depths of his Ghoul Mutation and couldn't release his Kagune at first without Ki Energy combing/giving permission to come out at last.

Sozin also taught Shin how to meditate. Not just sit down and calming one's thoughts but how to meditate as a way to train Ki Energy and speed up it's regeneration when needed and even to slowly increase the amount of Ki. The meditation Shin was taught wasn't an enhancement, but something he picked up in a book in the exchanges it taught the reader various ways to improve Ki.

Circulating Ki Energy through while meditating to speed up the healing of wounds and to restore lost Ki even faster were the things Shin was taught, and doing this while in perfect condition would increase Ki, although by no noticeable growth in just one session. Sozin also recommended that whenever he works out on days where he is using Ki, to go as far as to heal even the exhaustion of his muscles with Ki.

It isn't something the person himself will notice quickly, but they will be developing muscles that respond and produce better results when using Ki to strengthen the body. To one day to be able to repel bullets and all other kinds of attack with just strong muscels empowered by Ki and without having to resort to a skill isn't an impossibility.

Then for the days where Shin is training his One-eye Ghhoul Mutation he was to simply wear himself down. With all regenerative type genetic mutation exchanges they have the added benefit that they speed up the natural healing process. Not just simply restoring the body to how it was, but improving it. Building up strong bones and muscles in its simplicity is to break down the body and building it back up. Taking it to the literally extreme is highly ill-advised since doing so would destroy the human body, but for those with mutations like Ghoul, doing so won't leave the person with any long lasting or permanent wounds as it will be temporary till it is full healed and better then ever.

Shin: ( If I think about it, a good example of this theory, but at an accelerated pace would be the main character of 'A Dark Rabbit Has Seven Lives'. He is an immortal wilth a high regenerating human body. Every time he tore his muscles or broke his bones they would be healed and be healed better then ever. I don't have 1% of that guys healing factor, but we could both be seen as the type that will get stronger the more we are beat down. That is also like a Saiyan and that is cool, but I could go without the nearly dying from the workout parts, much less the beat down parts as well ).

Sozin: Are you beginning to see the results of your training?

Shin: Yes and no. I can use Ki Energy a little better, but that is only after those spars with Ken and Kaiyo. I don't feel that much stronger just from this.

Sozin: Foolish boy. What do you think training is. A cheat code?

Shin: No.

Sozin: It is a cheat.

Shin: What?

Sozin: Training doesn't betray you and it stacks up infinity, Shin. Once you reach the highest level in your abilities due to talent, it is training that allows you to improve from there, no matter how small the improvement is. If you train every day you will improve to some degree and your skills won't degrade even in times of peace. You'll only feel a great boost in skill and powerful from risking your life in combat. The reason is that combat experience is worth 10,000 days of training. You learn to put what you learn in training into practice, but once you reach the limit of this and you pass your time of youth it is training that takes you to the next level and beyond. See, like a cheat code.

Shin: I guess, but I prefer an instant boost in strength if possible.

Sozin: Not happening. Even those monsters who founded The Four Pillars trained hard. I heard so from one of the leaders of Dove United. They spent points to stay in the Mission Worlds for even hundreads of years at a time to just master and break through the limits of a single skill or enhancement. They got where they are because they were immortal and made the best of their time.

Shin: Then there's no getting around it if I want to beat them, huh?

Sozin: You want to defeat them? Why? Is it for Saki?

Shin: No, not really. It's just for one they will probably target us at one point, I need to be able to safe guard my own life and those of my comrades. Also, it's my goal to become OP and I also want to be the strongest if possible. See, the Four Pillars are getting in my way one way or another, so it's best to believe that I have to become stronger than them and defeat some time in the future.

Sozin: That goal may be impossible, but it's better to have a goal than not, I guess.

Shin: Nothing is impossible for me, but first and first I have to complete my harem first.

Sozin: ...

Shin: Sozin.

Sozin: Yes, what is it. You next spar with Ken and Kaiyo is about to begin.

Shin: It probably won't take long, but could you tell me more about the true nature of the Genetic Constraint? It does so much to improve my abilities, I was wondering if you knew more about it. You are probably more knowledgeable then Saki and Aqua, and you said that you have Unlocked to the Third Stage, right.? I am still on the First Stage, so any information or tips would be welcomed.

Sozin: What a coincidence. Aqua and Saki asked me about that as well.

Shin: They did? Sorry, I don't want to make you keep repeating the same thing after telling us all so much. I'll ask one of them later.

Sozin: No, it is fine. What do you want to know? Some things I can tell you now, but giving someone too much advice can bad. That is why it is better for you to experience it yourself.

Shin: Then first tell me about the genetic constraint. Saki and Aqua mentioned the concept, but I am guessing that what they know was only touching the surface of things. Seems like there are some big secrets I don't know about. This is what I need to know the most. Especially, if we may be facing other teams in the future.

Sozin: Alright. In a sense, unlocking the constraint is the key to utilizing all enhancements to their full potential. For an rank A whole enhancement, Skill, or even a mutation like Aqua's Elder Werewolf bloodline, a normal person can only utilize ten percent of its power and that will be the limit.

Shin: Is that because unlike in manag and anime, human are normal people who live without that power, so they don't know how or is just a foreign element to us? I considered that the reason that it's hard for me to learn new things without relying on God.

Sozin: That is the prevailing theory. However, someone that has reached First Stage of the Genetic Constraint can utilize twenty to thirty percent of its power of an A rank enhancements power. At Stage Two it goes up from forty to fifty percent.

Shin: And there are...

Sozin: There are five known stages of the Genetic Constraint. In fact, stage four can already utilize a hundred percent of the power of A rank and below exchanges. And Stage five is when the organism evolves and can use S rank exchanges to their full potential. Stage Five is when you can begin to change and optimize the enhancement to adapt to this world. This is the ultimate goal of evolution.

Shin could both understand and not understand what was being said, but nodded along anyways. Like Sozi said, he would have to experience it himself. Still, he had a question to ask.

Shin: Then what about my Qi and Ghoul power? I don't feel entering the Unlocked Mode helps by much anymore. It helped at first, but the last time I didn't feel any improvements to Ki.

Sozin: It's not what you think. The reason you were able to learn to use Ki so quickly was because you had already unlocked your constraint. When you obtain your first enhancement your body will not adapt to the change in genetics or energy. Aqua had the same concern as she admitted that she didn't feel a drastic change after exchanging for the entry Werewolf mutation. She just said that her body did feel lighter on her feet and that all of her five senses were were enhanced, yet she didn't feel like a superman or superwoman in her case, yet recently she could tell that she was becoming stronger after unlocking, but she gave it credit to her increasing stats.

Shin: And she is wrong?

Sozin: Not completely, but yeah. Once you unlocked your constraint, your fighting ability will change drastically due to the unleash of combat instincts. You and Aqua can feel this the most. Unlocking the constraint is the key. The higher ranked the enhancement is, the higher you need to be unlocked to utilize its full power. As a matter of fact, these enhancements, abilities, and other things are all the creations left by people that had reached a higher unlocked level. They either controlled their genetics and evolved to a higher form of life, or they controlled their energy and created these abilities. The answer isn't known, but that is what we believe for the moment. You should begin to have a deeper understanding of this later on since your enhancements have reached B rank. Once your Unlocked Mode reaches the Second Stage or higher and you can fully use your enhancements more, you will notice the change in your body whether you want to or not.

Shin: I see. Any tips on how I can move up a stage.

Sozin: Nothing you would want to try out right away. Just face the horror within that dimension and live. If you have the talent for overcome the terrors that dimension has to offer then you will reach it.

The Genetic Constraint

First Stage.

Second Stage.

Third Stage.

Fourth Stage.

And lastly Fifth Stage.

Shin: The Genetic Constraint will be the key to future battles, especially with Team Battles coming up. It's sad there's nothing I can to increase my current stage, but the least I can do is is continue my training to become stronger.


	77. Chapter 77

Shin: Time sure flies when your having fun in the training arc.

Today was Shin's last day on the island, with the next day after will be when Team Japan's thirty day trip will reach its end... And with it their return to God's Dimension and the terror that await them.

Among all the Players of Team Japan that came to the island only Shin planned to stay to the very last day with the exception of one.

Aqua and Saki had already left the island and taking the boat with them. Sozin possessed a working boat of his own so he would take both Shin and Hikari ( Who didn't have a home without Shin ) back to the mainland tomorrow evening, yet Shin still had mixed feelings about being left behind like that.

Shin: I understood when they say they had errands to take care of, but for my girlfriend to be to leave me behind... I can't help but feel dejected. Well, at least there's Hikari.

Hikari: Can you not make it sound like I am the consolation prize! Stupid Otaku, I should have left with Aqua and Saki instead of concerning myself with you.

Shin: I didn't mean it like that and you know it. I really appreciate and am glad that you stayed with me Hikari... Even if you couldn't exactly return home without me.

Hikari: That last part was unnecessary my no good boyfriend, so hurry up already. You told me that you wanted to show me the results of your training before your final duel against Ken and Kaiyo. Didn't you want to show off?

Shin: Yeah, but don't call it that. I just want to impress my girlfriend is all.

Hikari: That is the same thing!

Shin had made a lot of progress under Sozin's guidance. Not so much with Shin's One-eyed Ghoul mutation as Shin and Sozin had different genetic mutation, but with both of them possessing Ki Energy and at the same Advance Level at that allowed Sozin to give more detailed advice to Shin.

Shin's offensive Soul Crushing Strike and Instant Movement have improved by more then 20% in power and speed, but what Shin was most most proud of the fact that he had at last reached Skill Mastery in all the emission Ki skills he has been attempting to master.

Ki Bullet -

Rating 62.

A normal physical bullet of condensed Ki from the palm. Can strike both physical and non physical opponents. 1500 Points and C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 150 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Hollow Bullet -

Rating 77..

A Ki bullet that expands on impact, decreasing penetrating power for explosive power and causes more damage to flesh. 1800 Points and C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 180 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

AP Bullet -

Rating 74..

A Ki bullet with high penetrating power and designed to break through the defenses of hard opponent. 2000 Points and two C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 200 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Far Bullet -

Rating 79.

A weightless Ki bullet designed to attack spirits and the soul. As a side of effect of hitting those with a physical body as well, they may be temporarily unable to move or use otherworldly powers like Ki and Magic. 2200 Points and two C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 200 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Shin: First up is Ki Bullet!

Ki Blast was an unconcentrated burst of emission Ki that attacks the target, and Ki Bullet was a concentrated Ki attack using the same amount of energy.

Ki Energy gathered to Shin's left palm and began to compress itself into a small ball of Ki. Shin targeted a large rock that was nearby and fired the ball of Ki with a thrust of his hand. The ball of Ki made contact with the wall and detonated.

Shin visually confirmed that unlike with Ki Blast which would have only scorched the the surface of the rock, a chunk of the rock was blown away. Ki Bullet was definitely an attack that could kill a human being, and a skill that didn't consume much Ki.

Shin: Next is Hollow Ki Bullet!

Hollow Ki Bullet was a Ki attack to tear apart the flesh. Like with the same design of a hollow point bullet, the small ball of Ki this time had the shape of an actual bullet and the tip was slightly hollowed out. The bullet hit the rock like Ki Bullet, yet the bullet didn't do as much damage Ki Bullet, but that was because of the target.

Shin: Hollow Bullet would have been more impressive of a soft target and they would have been blown apart, yet it'ss stil damming since the rock fragments were blown to smithereens. Now the second to last Ki skill is the AP Bullet!

AP Ki Bullet.

A small Ki bullet like before was formed, but this time it had a drill like tip similar to an arrowhead. The bullet flew from Shin's left hand and sliced through the air. The small project impacted the rock... Yet their was no explosion. What happened instead was that a small coin sized hole was created and that the the Ki attack had went through and through the rock.

Hikari: That Ki attack was impressive. Instead of overall destruction it's aim is to hit and cut through a single point. Ideal for dealing with an opponent that can only be killed by dealing a blow to a vulnerable organ like the heart or brain.

Shin: Yes, and AP Bullet also has a longer range and is more accurate then my other emission skills. Now, and last but not leazt is this!

Shin's Ki attacks all emitted a strong green light till now, but this time the light of the ball of Ki was extremely dim and more so then any other emission skill the ball of Ki was see through as well.

This emission attack flew slightly slower through the air then the others, but what was more surprising to Hikari was what happened when it impacted the rock that had been half destroyed by Shin's previous attacks... Nothing. The bullet just kept on flying as it phased through the rock and to the other side.

Hikari: ...That was?

Shin: That was the Far Ki Bullet skill. It was the most difficult to master, but with Sozin's help I finally mastered it. It's an emission attack that ignores the physical world and attacks the nonphysical world. Specifically speaking it targets magic, spirits, the soul and damages them.

Hikari: So it doesn't harm normal people?

Shin: It can affect them, but not really injure them. For a normal person it is harmless, yet if you have some kind of special power like Mana or Ki Enervy within the body it will get a reaction. It won't hurt the person, but they will feel a bit paralyzed and possibly won't be able to use any of their powers temporarily, but it isn't absolute. Sozin shrugged it off like it was nothing when I tested it out on him ( Though the same thing happened to my other Ki attacks as well ).

Hikari: Still, this is an accomplishment though, Shin. Ki Blast, Ki Bullet, Hollow Bullet, AP Bullet and Far Bullet. You now have four more Ki skills you didn't have to pay for thanks to the one exchange, Ki Blast.

Shin: Yeah, but they also drain me like a leach since I've learned these skills myself and not through the exchanges. Still, it is great to have these additional attack options.

Hikari: And they are long range attacks at that. You can use them against the supernatural enemies in our future missions. Too bad they are only mid range and can't replace a sniper rifle.

Shin: That would be too OP, but I get your point.

Hikari: Will you still use the Ki Blast that you originally exchange for now?

Shin: Maybe. Ki Blast lacks the decisive power to kill a normal person. It could kill you yeah, but not a monster or a person with decent enhancements. At best I'll use it as an non-lethal method of dealing with others.

Shin then began to organize his new Ki attacks in his head and how they would best be used.

Ki Blast: Small Damage, Nonlethal. Best used on normal individuals.

Ki Bullet: Medium Damage, Lethal. The standard attack to kill and deal with foes that pose a threat, yet are not too powerful.

Holow Bullet: High Damage, Lethal. Best used on soft body targets.

AP Bullet: Medium Damage, Lethal. Best used to target specific key weakness of a target.

Far Bullet: High Damage/Nonlethal. The standard attack for those who normally can't be damage by physical means.

Hikari: It is amazing that you've learned so many skills without relying on the exchanges.

Shin: Yes, keep praising me my love.

Hikari: Creepy. Gross. It was my mistake to praise you, so don't get full of yourself. They are still just C rank reward skills.

Shin: Can't I still enjoy myself for learning them. Who knows how long it would have taken me to learn them without Sozin's help.

Sozin: What about me?

Appearing from up the island and descending down the stone steps to join Shin and Hikari on the beach was Sozin. Hearing his name being said by Shin made him curious and so he choose to interrupt their conversation.

Shin: Sozin. I was just explaining to Hikari how amazing I am and how much you helped me out.

Hikari: So full of yourself.

Sozi : Now now, Shin really did mae a lot of progress. In less then two weeks he has truly mastered how to emit Ki Energy outwardly from his body. Even using the Ki Blast skill as a base it doesn't change that it was an impressive feat. As his girlfriend it is fine to praise him a little. You've also come to see the results of Shin's training in his final spar with my grandchildren, right?

Hikari: Yeah, and I guess it was too much of me to... Wait. Who is this guy's girlfriend?

Shin: You are of course.

Shin: Aren't you? I can tell. My wife used to look at me Hikari the same way how you always looked at Shin. Your not just friends, right?

Hikari: That, that's... I don't know!

Embarrassed and bring up the awkward discussion of her relationship with Shin ( My girlfriend and one day second wife after Aqua ), Hikari ran away. She had indeed originally come to watch Shin training results and his final practice match against Ken and Kaiyo that was about to occur, but she could care less now.

Sozin: Did I say something wrong?

Shin: Don't worry about her. If my Aqua is scared of commitment then my Hikari is shy to admit she wants to called my girlfriend.

Sozin: Two women, huh. I've been there once. It... It's a tricky path. Trust me.

Sozi. looked up to the sky to reminisce about the past. Shin had no idea what was on hismind, yet he saw joy, sorrow and longing in his eyes. Feeling awkward and not feeling it was appropriate to ask about his romantic past, Shin asked about something else.

Shin: There was something that I wanted to ask you, Sozin. When I recall the stories of the missions you have been on it got me wondering about something.

Sozin: What?

Shin: Weren't you missions too easily? Not all of them, but the first few that you had. How do I say it... For horror movies and thrillers, it looked like just following the plot and not making any big mistake and you wouldn't die. It even sounds like your missions were a whole lot easier then the missions that I have been on.

Sozin: Ah, there is a reason for that. When I was a player, God cared more about evolution than simply killing the Players off. Evolution is still the ultimate goal, but not as much as before now. God rarely gave you hard missions early on as the difficulty was set by the strength of the Players of the team, and mostly the strength of the strongest member was taken into consideration. He would even insert a fake Player into the team to help Players in the beginning.

Shin: Wait, so God inserts a Player into a team? Who?

Aqua: The Guide. Originally, God wouldn't place Players who have just entered that dimension straight into danger all at once. God would normally take it in steps, so it created this role to give people a chance. The Guide is a simulated human created by God similar to a Human Creation. He will hide in a team like a normal person and play the role of a Player in the team. However, he won't actually die. If he died in a movie/mission, then there will be a Guide among one of the newbies in the next one. They are artificial personalities and never existed in the real world to start with like you guys. The Guide can't help the team through difficulties, especially as the main combatants. The Guide won't actually die until the first Player unlocks his or her constraint. Usually this would be the First Stage. The Guide's function is to test if that Player who unlocked the constraint can become the leader.

Shin: What do you mean by leader? It sounds different from what I am.

Sozin: In God's Dimension the position of a teams leader isn't just a title or winning over the respect of your teammates as you have done.

Shin: Don't feel that I have, but go on

Sozin: Continuing, the Guide also can't attack anyone other than the leader he designates during the the test. Then if the designated leader passes the test, the Guide will give him the leader position which will increase his unlocked state by one level and the Guide will finally disappear. Also, the position of leader offers more benefits to the person than that.

Shin: Like what?

Sozin: well, they also gain more information about the God's Dimension and also a better understanding of the exchanges, so whatever enhancement path your team members will go down then you will be able to find out the best exchanges for them without testing each out and wasting points.

Shin: I see, but the raises up another question. Where is this Guide? I have already unlocked the First Stage and Aqua before me has unlocked up to the Second Stage, so why hasn't this test happened? Has it already happen and Aqua is the leader, or... Are you trying to tell me that Aqua is the Guide. She isn't the Guide, right?

Sozin: No, Aqua is not the Guide. As the most veteran Player among you I suspected it, but she is neither the Guide or the Team Leader.

Shin: Then where is the Guide?

Sozin: That's the thing. No one knows anymore.

Then Sozin began to explain that a change occurred in God's Dimension a little over 50 years ago.

It was around the time that Mass Enlightenment, Blood Crusade and Absolute Reckoning were making groundbreaking progress in their investigation into God's Dimension and the mortality rate of all the teams were at an all time low thanks to the team's having the support of the Four Pillars.

It was everyone's belief that God was upset over the Four Pillars that started to interfer in God's Dimension, so the Guides and the support that they offered all the teams once they Awakened were taken away to make the missions more difficult and increase the liklihood that those team would wipe out.

Sozin: It was only till recently that the Four Pillars got back control of the situation within God's Dimension, but just recently something else has flipped the board on the Four Pillar's plans.

Shin: You mean the changes in the Mission Worlds.

Sozin: That is right. I suspect that this new format in the Mission Worldd with Manga, Anime, Light Novels and Video Games may be God's way of throwing the teams of the Four Pillars off balance once more. Not only have the strategies that they had throughly gone over for hundreds of years been thrown out the window as they are now useless, I've even heard that the missions no longer gradually ease you in to the dangers, yet this has also made The Four Pillars more motivated. To see this kind of defensive action by God means that they were coming clsoe to something. Whether that something has to do with evolution or a higher plane of existence no one knows, but everyone has begun to have high expectations of a great change is about to happen within God's Dimension... Shin.

Shin: Yes?

Sozin: I already suggested this to Aqua and Saki this as well, and so I'll tell you as well since you are the leader and this is your last day here... Seek out the Guide.

Shin: The Guide? As in the one we were just talking about? You just said that he had disappeared.

Sozin: That is right. I have no concrete proof to say this, but its possible that while allowing the Four Pillars to do as they please, God and the systems left by the first generation to have unlock their constraints aren't too happy about the current situation. That is why... Even if it's a small chance that it is possible search for the Guide, it might be possible for your team to meet him.

Shin: Why us?

Sozi : Your Team is no affiliated with Mass Enlightenment, Blood Crusade, Absolute Reckoning or my own Dove United since I've only given you advice. As you are not connected to any of the Four Pillars it may be possible for your Team Japan to side with God. Then maybe that way the Guide will reappear to you and with him you will have a edge over the other teams in the Team Battles.

Shin: I'm not that enthusiastic about siding with that thing despite how much I appreciate it for letting me become special, but I'll consider it. How would should I go about looking for this Guide anyways?

Sozin: Unfortunately I do not know, but as the only known team not affiliated with the Four Pillars, he, the Guide may appear before you without you having to even look for him. It might just take some time is all. God might be waiting for Team Japan to show him everyone's strength first before making a move. My only warning is that if that times comes just remember this, Shin. Get on the Guide's good side and that of God's no matter what since his support would be invaluable... Even if that God sees you all as nothing more then lab rats in this experiment to evolve.

Shin: ...Okay. I have no idea on how to go about it, but if it's possible I'll give it a try and allow God the honor of scouting me.

Sozin: Interesting way of putting it, but please do so, Shin. The one team that can gain God's favor during these new and troubling times within God's Dimension will most likely become the greatest power within that dimension. If it turns out to be your team Shin... Then Team Japan will be able to face the monster known as the Four Pillars as equals.


	78. Chapter 78

Sozin: Does everyone here remember the rules?

Standing on the sands of the beach were four individuals.

Currently the leader of Team Japan, Shin was facing the grandchildren of Sozin, Ken and Kaiyo for one final time, with the judge being Sozin ( Hikari never came back ). This was a battle to see how much Shin had progressed and if Ken and Kaiyo could overtake him.

During Shin's stay on the island to he was able to spar with both Ken and Kaiyo everyday. Their fights were incredibly out rough as they all had special powers, yet they could fight every day as they all had enhanced healing factors.

Shin had unlocked the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint, yet he wasn't able to go into that mode since Ken and Kaiyo, despite their hostility for Shin were forbidden to try and take his life ( Although they have come close and blamed it as mistakes ).

Overall, their fights so far have been pretty even. Shin had the better stats, but without his full potential unleashed in Unlocked Mode he could perfectly cope with Ken and Kaiyo's experience due to their life time of training under a master like Sozin.

Shin: ( With about two weeks of training I have become stronger to a degree that even I have noticed, but I am still behind the two of them in basic skills. I only won against Kaiyo when I first arrived here because I had skills and a far better weapon. Currently, my win lose ratio when fighting Ken and Kaiuo has been 4 to 6, and now for this final battle... Sozin is making me face bith of them at once. What an impossible graduation test I had little time to prepare for ).

Shin looked at Ken and Kaiyo who were directly in front of him and saw, no felt their determination and fighting spirit.

They were both originally forced to Shin at first, but towards the end they would get into it once the fighting begun. They didn't like how their grandfather treated Shin and his team, a group of strangers so nicely and even went out of his way to help them, and forcing them to help as well, yet by the end they could at least acknowledge Shin's strength.

Ken was upset he couldn't win against Shin till after Aqua left so he was never able to get his rematch, but he came to understand how Shin had the strength to dominate him for so long. It was only after accepting this that he was able to overcome Shin in battle recently.

Kaiyo who originally lost to Shin, but had the experience to face him at his best, bested Shin easily at first. As time went by Shin's win record against Kaiyo improved and she saw first hand how much Shin improved in this short time. Kaiyo didn't want to admit it, and wouldn't out loud, yet she knew if Shin had another month or so of training she would be completely dominated by him.

Both Ken and Kaiyo, as a result of being spoiled there whole lives and... The events of the past that lead them to never meeting their parents and wanting to become stronger, would never acknowledge the children their age. Especially since even the one's from Dove United who were similar to them were considered weaker than them. Shin was the first person their age to compete with them, so whatever then liked it or not they began seeing Shin as a rival.

Sozin: Do you all understand the rules?

Shin: Yes.

Ken: Yeah.

Kaiyo: Yes.

Sozin: I am not going to stop it like last time because you two aimed for Shin's vitals, right.

Ken: Yeah, yeah.

Kaiyo: We'll behave.

Shin: Please sound more convincing please!

Kaiyo: Shut up already! We apologized didn't we?

Shin: Saying, "Sorry that you are still alive" isn't an apology! Not even if you had saved it in a sexy voice!

Despite yelling, Shin wasn't too bothered by Ken and Kaiyo's dislike for him by this point. He had learned that they were not bad people, but like Sozi. had said to him time and time again the two twins have huge ego's. They hardy even left the island during their lives, yet they still understood that they were special and stronger than normal peopel. Shin somewhat thought it had to do with their parents, yet since neither Ken or Kaiyo spoke about their deceased parents Shin could never be certain.

Sozin had both Shin and the twin's Ken and Kaiyo prepare to fight and after a count of three their final spar began. The moment the go ahead was given the two twins attacked Shin with no hesitation whatsoever.

Shin: You too blood thirsty twins!

Shin jumped backwards to gain some distance yet the two twins followed after him with Ken taking the lead with the intention to tank Shin's possible attacks. Just as a warm up Shin fired off a Ki Blast from his palm and aimed it at Ken. Ken's own body was already empowered by Ki so he just let the blast hit him and kept charging at Shin.

Shin: ( Really, this guy needs to learn to to dodge, or at least block attacks property. Ken doesn't have nearly as much Ki as me, so he can't keep up his herculean strength for too long. That was always how I won, but the problem here is- ).

Shin armed himself with the Gravity Blade before moving to the side to evade Ken's incoming rush, but Shin was then met with a sword flying towards him from a blind spot. Kaiyo had already left her brother's protection and aimed for the perfect chance to attack Shin after he dodged Ken. Shin knew the most scary thing about Kaiyo after all this time was that she was frightening precise and would never let an opening go, yet Shin was still able to block her sword slash with one of his own.

Shin: How many times have I said so Kaiyo? Your attacks are deadly if you are just meeting an opponent for the first time, but since you follow the most optimal attack route you become predictable. Add some damm variety!

Kaiyo: Shut up!

Kaiyo couldn't when a battle of strength against Shin, so she stopped locking blades with Shin with a quick back step and began a series of quick and sharp attacks Shin. Shin's practical skill with a sword has improved so he could block Kaiyo's attack somewhat, yet that was all Shin could do now.

Shin: ( I bad mouthed her about being predictable, but the quality of each of her attacks are high. Kaiyo would only have trouble against an opponent who can compete with her with the sword on equal ground, or a higher level opponent. Definitely not me. It's manageable somewhat, but... ).

An overhead slash from Kaiyo was released and as Shin went in to block it he immediately felt that the blade didn't have any weight behind it and that Kaiyo had already retreated. Shin knew what was coming, but he didn't have the time to retreat as Ken moved and attacked Shin.

Shin compacted his body into a ball, and jumped backwards to blocked Ken's punch with his knee to get away with little to no damage. The force of the metal gauntlet fist of Ken's was inhuman when infused with Ki, and like an actual ball Shin rolled across the sand.

Shin then rolled off to the side when he saw Kaiyo soaring down from above in an attempted to stab Shin which he barely avoided. When Shin was finally able to get back up he saw that Ken was already following after and Kaiyo was ready to attack if she saw an opening.

Ken lunged at Shin with his metal claws extended and when Shin moved to the side, Ken pushed himself of the ground with just arm strength and kicked towards Shin. Shin blocked the kick in time and since Ken was off balance it wasn't too strong, but because it was still Ken the force Shin paralyzed for a moment, and that opening wasn't missed by Kaiyo who was off to the side. Kaiyo swiftly moved behind and swung her blade at his back without hesitation.

Shin: I won't kill my ass!

Shin yelled and at the same time he activated the Gravity Blade magic which forceful pulled his body down to the ground to avoid Kaiyo's sword slash. Shin was spared, but now both Ken and Kaiuo were above Shin and ready to strike together.

With hardly no way to retaliate in his position, Shin escaped the danger with a well timed jump with Instant Movement. Shin then stood back up while pointing his sword towards the disappointed Ken and Kaiyo from afar.

Shin: Like I am so easy to take out with such a level of attack!

That is what Shin said, but his real thoughts were different.

Shin: ( Fucking twins! They don't even have to speak and look at each other to know what the other is thinking. It is already at the level of a psychic ability if they don't even have to look at the other to set up attacks without warning their opponents! ).

Ken and Kaiyo rarity attacked Shin at the same time, but that was not necessary a bad strategy. When Kaiyo stopped attacking then Ken would take her place. When Shin escaped Ken then Kaiuo would sneak attack Shin during his escape. Shin also saw that they hid behind their other twin's body during a fight, so it was extremely hard for him to figure out when the other twin would attacked.

Their personal weakness like Ken's reckless attacks and Kaiyo's predictability were allowed since the other twin would make up for such weakness. Shin saw them as the worst opponents to face at the same time, but the fact that Shin himself was uninjured didn't go unnoticed by the twins.

They could see that they were both more skilled than Shin, yet Shin had an unnatural ability to fight. They have heard from their grandfather that he himself had unbelievable talent for fighting, but Ken and Kaiyo thought that it was still different.

If Shin were asked to objective describe what was going on he would say that instead of having an unreal battle instincts like the protagonist of UQ Holders, it was closer to that he had an absurd talent at staying alive and overcoming difficulties like any protagonist has.

Shin should have been happy with just that, but just having that kind of ability wasn't going to let him win. It just meant that he wasn't going to die too easily and this wasn't even a death match. It was just a normal spar for the most part and it's the one who is usually more skilled and stronger then the other who wins when the desperation of death is not a factor.

Shin: Geuss I have no choice do I? I really must not have any talent if I have to use brute force to win every fight. Whatever, I'll just go all out!

Shin tool a deep breath of air and then exhaled slowly to calm himself down before he made his next move to use all of his power to win. Shin till now hoped to win with the skills that he has learned on the island, but there was too much of a difference in basic skill between Ken, Kaiyo and himself.

Shin was also fighting the two twins at the same and and he has been on the defensive the whole time. Shin had to accept that he was not their equal in skill. Once Shin did so he focused his mind to swift end this battle with the power of his high ranking enhancements from God that both Ken and Kaiyo could not hope to match.

From the center of his navel and Kakuhou near his waist and spine, the powers of Ki Energy and his Ghoul mutation surfaced at once. The energy known as Ki fused with his One-eyed Goul genetics and the power within Shin's body was raised to a level beyond normal mortals.

Due to Sozin's intensive training and advice on how to better wield the two forces of powers, Shin power at that moment was leaps and bounds beyond what he had during his battle against the Btooom Lord in his last mission, and it was needless to mention the difference between the two twins in front of him and himself.

Shin: ( There's no comparison, so I didn't want to go this far for a simple spar, but my desire to win this final battle won't let me lose so easily ).

Ken and Kaiyo took a step back once they felt the sudden change within Shin. They saw that the Ki Energy surrounding and strengthening Shin's body had increased dramatically, and the one black eye that Shin now had told them that his One-eye Ghoul mutation had fully surfaced as well,

The two had fought Shin when he used Ki or relied on his Ghoul strength in previous spars, yet this was the first time they had to face both at once and were both utterly unaware of the power Shin would have when both are used at the same time.

They felt a feeling of danger, one so strong that it was second only to their one grandfather when he is serious. If they knew beforehand the two wouldn't be so overwhelmed due to their sensitivity to danger that they were born with, so they had to wondered if Shin kept this a secret from them the whole time for this moment... But didn't have the time to wonder much longer.

Shin had moved.

\- *CRASH*!

At a speed far beyond humans are capable of moving, Shin executed Instant Movement to close in on Ken and delivery a strike to his face. Ken was able to guard in time, but the sheer force of Shin's charge blew the physically stronger twin away, and skidding across the sands of the beach.

Kaiyo was stunned for a moment when shesaw her incredibly strong brother blown away, but was soon able to immediately retaliate against Shin who was now in front of her. Her sword cut through the space between then and as it was about to slash into Shin, Kaiyo's sword met unexpected resistance. Appearing from under Shin's dark coat and waiting for Kaiyo to attack was his Kagune.

The blood red tentacle blocked Kaiyo's sword, but not for long thanks to the corrosive properties of Blood Energy. Her sword was soon able to cut through the Shin's Kagune, but another tentacle took its place, allowing Shin the time to jump back.

Shin: You should pay attention to your surroundings more.

Kaiyo didn't understand what Shin meant till she felt something was grasping her leg, but by then it was too late. Another one of Shin's Kagune tentacles had wrapped itself around Kaiyo's leg and lifted her up into the air. Next, Shin swung Kaiyo around with his Kagune to gain momentum and then released her, sending her crashing into her still recovering older brother.

Ken was able to catch his sister, but not having the proper balance they both were blown away backwards and fell over on the sandy beach. The two twins recovered from from Shin's atracks, yet when they looked back towards him he was gone.

From up above and unnoticed Shin jumped into the air and was on top of the two and with the Gravity Blade overhead, and were too late to escape as he swung his sword down.

Shin: Gravity Slash Times Five Hundred!

Shin's sword slash wasn't aimed at them since he didn't want to kill and so he slashed at the ground, yet the impact was strong enough to raise up an explosion of sand that struck the two twins, blowing them away.

While the two were atill recovering Shin looked between the two and decided to target Kaiyo.

In his opinion Kaiyo was the bigger threat and so he choose to defeat her first. Shin quickly approached Kaiyo who was crawling at the ground and when he was about to strike her down, sensing danger Shin jumped back and placed some distance between them.

Shin: Ah, I thought that she couldn't use it properly.

Shin looked at Kaiyo as her body was shrouded in a blood red fame. It wasn't too bright a flame, but the smell of blood was intense. Shin had seen Kaiyo use this skill in training before and Sozin use a much more powerful version of it earlier as well.

The name of this technique was called Red Flame, a vampire exclusive skill that draws from the power of Blood Energy. The red fire burns everything it touches and is especially effective against living organisms. Shin recalled that Kaiyo had yet to perfect this skill that she learned from her grandfather, but the times she could succeed in doing made her much more powerful.

Shin: It is a bad match up against my Ghoul mutation to say the least. Something frail like my Kagune won't work well against Red Flame and would be devoured by its flames that are especially effective against organisms. Well, that is one of the reasons I tried to perfect-

But before Shin could finish speaking to himself ( Is really becoming a bad habit ) he retreated away with Instant Movement as something just charged pass where he just standing at a neck breaking speed. The thing, or individual who moved like a bullet and came to a rough stop skidding across the sandy beach was Ken.

Ken had stood back up and had used his own skill as well to attack Shin. Feathered Steps, it was a low level moment technique he had learned from Sozin. From what Shin knew it was a Ki technique that made the body lighter to increase speed. Shin had seen the very same technique in the skills category in God's Dimension, yet only recently had the chance to see how the skill worked.

Shin: ( It isn't nearly as fast as Instant Movement, yet it is less Ki consuming and has a lot of practical applications with its ability to lower body weight, to say the least that you can lower damage from falls ).

Like Kaiyo's Red Flame Shin knew that Ken had such a skill, yet he wasn't able to really use it like how his sisted couldn't use her own skill until recently, but that's why Shin was surprised. The both twins were using techniques that they previously couldn't use, so how were they using them now was Shin's question? Shin didn't know that the answer was simply his presence on the island. The arrival of a new rival raised both Ken and Kaiyo's efforts to become stronger.

Shin: Don't have to to figure it out. Well, good thing that I was prepared!

Saying that, Shin dashed forward with Instant Movement at Ken with Kaiyo right behind him. Ken reacted to Shin speed with his own skill and the two of them were locked to clash head on. Shin was indeed moving faster, but Ken still outright stronger physically than Shin, so Ken knew if they clashed like this he would win, or less likely block each in a tie, which will give Kaiyo a chance to attack.

Shin foresaw Ken's way of thinking, and as planned he made his move. Using a short Instant Movement with a back step, Shin confused Ken as he had expected that they were going to tackle each other. Shin then pointed his right hand towards the earth and fired off a Ki Blast, sending up a blast of sand around Ken and himself.

Kaiyo lost sight of her brother and as well Shin with her sight blocked by the sand, and when Kaiyo saw the two again she wa shocked. Shin was perfectly fine was standing over the unconscious body of her brother who lying on the ground.

Shin: Ken's movement technique makes him faster and it's more flexible than my Instant Movement skill, but it has a weakness that my skill doesn't. That technique makes his body lighter, but more weight isn't a bad thing all the time. You can be quickly overtaken if you are not careful witht his skill, so you should warn him about-

Shin was able to say the rest and moved away as Kaiyo's sword just zoomed pass where his head was just before ( Completely ignoring the no killing rule! ). Her Red Flame was still active, so Shin kept his distance and never when in to attack.

His magic sword Gravity Blade wouldn't be completely corroded, but he didn't want his sword damaged in a mere spar. That was Shin's concern, yet his sword spoke to him in a wiser to tell him otherwise.

GB: It is fine to use me. I won't break from a mere Red Flame skill that is only C rank.

Shin: It's fine. Her using it was unexpected, but it isn't like I never though of a way to beat it after all this time.

Then having said that Shin backed away with Instant Movement and an annoyed Kaiyo quickly followed after him. Seeing her approach, Shin took one hand off his sword and gathered Ki to his palm. The attack he wanted to use was one of his more difficult skills, so he couldn't use it right away like with Ki Blast. Then as Kaiyo was mere feet away from him, Shin thrust his free hand forward towards Kaiyo.

Shin: Far Bullet!

From Shin's palms the weightless Ki bullets was launched and impacted Kaiyo's chest. Kaiyo was surprised a first yet felt no damage to her self, but she soon noticed a change. The Red Flame shrouding her body was ripped off as the red flames flew away from her body.

Not only was she now defenseless, but also exhausted. Red Flame was a powerful skill that both her grandfather and father used, yet for her it consumed too much of her Blood Energy being only 1/4 Vampire. Kaiyo's body was momentarily stunned and Shin didn't hesitate to attack. An elbow strike slammed into to Kaiyo's solar plexus, knocking the air out of her lungs, along with her conscious.


	79. Chapter 79

Shin: So, is it okay to leave them like this?

Shin had won over Ken and Kaiyo in their fight and now they were just left unconscious on the beach. Shin didn't hurt the two too badly, but was wondering if they should be moved or treated, yet Sozin was relaxed about the matter.

Sozin: It's fine. They're used to it from after my training sessions. Besides, I want the two of them to remember this. How a boy far less experienced than the two of them defeated them and were left unconscious on the ground. The two of them have improved greatly since you have arrived to this island Shin as they never had a rival of sorts, and some of their arrogance has been lost, but there is still more for them to learn.

Shin: That's... Harsh to say the least and I get you point, but I can say that I only won because on my skills and equipment,

Sozin: Yes, but that still doesn't change the fact that they weren't opponents to someone like you who has risked their life in battles time and time again. If this wasn't a spar but a real battle and they attacked you with the intent to kill they would have lost. You could have easily of killed them in your Unlocked Mode, right Shin?

Shin: ...Probably, yeah I could, but that would only be because they-

Sozin: Lack experience, right? There is some truth in that, but there isn't any point of looking down on yourself like that, Shin. Experience is a type of strength and you have it and those two don't. I hope that they never do need it, but this world isn't kind of to let that happen. Ah, sorry, I got off track there, but my point is that there's no need to think that if they had your advantages the results would have been different. You may be a Player in God's Dimension which had hundreds of thousands possible enhancements, but Ken and Kahio themselves have advantages that you will never have.

Shin saw Sozin's point. Shin may have been a Player with high Stats, Enhancements and magic equipment, but Ken and Kaiyo were born with advantages that he could never hope to of have. It is like what the Gamer said, in real life those of privileges have an unfair head start in life.

The Gamer explained to his female friend that the world was very much unfair. Some kids don't have the money to go to an after school class to get help, the money to buy rice or even the security to believe that they will always have electricity. On the other hand the son of a rich man or legacy would have the chance to private lessions and study abroad and broaden their horizona at a young age.

People's starting points in life are different, and not even getting into things like talent there usually are large gaps between those with comfortable livings and those who struggled in life just to get by. It's a fact of life that you can't get around it, but it doesn't change the fact that it is unfair.

Now, Shin asked himself, who are Ken and Kaiyo?

Ken and Kaiyo are the grandchildren of a powerful Player of God's Dimension with top level enhancements, which were inherited by their father and then passed on to them. They were born with the ability to use Ki Enery and Blood Energy.

Theae two energies are things that normal people aren't born with and Ken and Kaiyo have such an understanding of them that they didn't need to first unlock their Genetic Constraint to start to understand them. Also, they were raised be Sozin, so they had the ideal guide to learn from about how to master their powers.

Now, who is Shin?

Shin is an orphan who struggled in life with his lack of talent despite putting in the effort to be special his whole life. He had no teacher to guide him and was definitely not born with any amazing talents whatsoever, so everything he did he did with his own power.

It could be argued that Shin is in fact strong now and could be thanks to his genetics possibly, but he could only get to that point by risking his life and nearly dying untold number of times within a short period of time, whereas Ken and Kaiyo despite not knowing real combat became strong with just training.

Shin: It reall is unfair, huh? Still, there is no use complaining since I won in the end. I can also tell that they worked hard as well, yet I still won so who cares if those two had an unfair start in life?

Sozin: That's the right approach to take, so be proud of your victory today. Shin, it is about time for you to go back isn't it.

Shin: Ah, that's right. I forgot in all the excitement. Sozin, can you go get Hikari for me.

Sozin: Sure, but is there a reason you can't?

Shin: I would, but she is mad at me for something or another.

Sozin: Fine, but you are going have issues with women if you can't understand why they get mad at you.

Shin: I geuss, but that is half the fun, right?

Sozin: ...

Sozin gave Shin a wiry smile and left to go get Hikari and aslo to prepare to return both her and Shin back to the mainland where the beach resort is. Saki had already returned the boat that they leashed, and so Shin and Hikari were going to go back on Sozin's privately owned boat.

Ten minutes passed as Shin was waiting for Hikari and Sozin to come back, and it around then that both Ken and Kaiyo woke up. They picked themselves up from the ground in a drowsy state and soon recalled how they were just fight Shin... And that they lost.

The two twins stared at Shin, yet they didn't speak to him. Shin saw that they were more then just upset because they lost to him, but he didn't know what to do or say. Three more minutes passed like that and it was Ken who spoke up first.

Ken: Shin... How are you so strong?

Shin: Huh? In what way? I don't believe I am that amazing. Maybe one day, but not now.

Kaiyo: What Ken said is true. We've trained our whole lives to become stronger and till just recently you were a normal person. We know about how anyone in that place can gain enhancements and powerful weapons, but... There's more to you then that.

Ken: It was the same with that Aqua before. She just played around with me and never once considered me a real threat. It is more then just a bit of a power up.

Shin couldn't come up with an answer of his own since he didn't really believe he was as amazing as they made him out to be or should be compared to the strong Aqua. He had some confidence in himself, but not that much. Still, Shin felt that he had to say something.

Shin: Now should I put it... I'll just use your grandfather's words here. He said that it was simply that I had risked my life in battles before is the one true difference between us.

Kaiyo: Is it really just experience?

Shin: I believe it is as well, but it has to do more then simply risking our lives. Aqua, Hikari, the rest of my team and I were not born with powers like you two. We were all normal to some extent, yet we were all forced to survive in an environment where it is near impossible to do so. See, my first mission was so intense that a single mistake could lead to death and my last mission was so difficult that even without making a single mistake my entire team were almost wiped out. Every mission and most likelythat in ever mission in the future my team will face challenges well beyond us, but we have no choice but to survive. We've lost comrades along the way, but in exchange for surviving these trials my team and I have acquired a strong mentality and a will to survive no matter what. Basically, never once have anyone of us have ever believed we were truly strong or invincible. Just being strong isn't enough to survive. Just being smart isn't enough. Neither will luck be that helpful. It all rides on our ability to survive no matter what and that's what makes us strong, or at least makes us unafraid to face any challenge.

Ken: ...

Kaiyo: ...

Shin: So do you mind telling me why being strong means so much to you two, and did the presence of my team threaten you so much?

Ken and Kaiyo were quite for a moment and then after looking at each other for what could only have been a second, the two of them had come to a decision.

Ken: It is revenge. We want to become strong for revenge.

Shin: Revenge? For what and from who?

Kaiyo: The two of us want to get back at Wrath and Blood Crusade of the Four Pillars for killing our parents. Ken and I have thought that way for a while now.

Shin: I see, but I don't get why would you go so far. Sozin told me that they died just a little after you two were born. If it was for my parents who I lived with for some years and they were killed it would me understandable, but why go so far for people you've never met?

Ken: ...I knew you wouldn't get it. Our revenge is more then just about setting a score. Sure we never met our parents, but that doesn't change the fact that gave us life, and it doesn't sit right with me that they were killed by villains.

Kaiyo: There's also more to it than that, Shin. For the sake of protecting us from the Four Pillars because of our heritage, our grandfather has kept us on this island the the vast majority of our lives. We have gone out a few times, but never for very long and no where Dove United couldn't protect us. We are... Not too upset at our grandfather over this, but I hate the fact that we are living our lives in hiding. I want to get back at Blood Crusade and find a place for us, including our grandfather, out there in the world.

Shin: And it is for that reason you want power.

Ken: Yeah. We need power to live our lives as we like. To gain true freedom the two of us need as much power as possible. That is our revenge against the Four Pillars.

Revenge. I wasn't too against the idea or for it.

There are many compelling arguments against revenge and I could agreed with a few of them, yet I wouldn't forbid revenge either.

Using Sasuke Uchiha as an example, his revenge was very much justified. His brother killed his clan and it was his home government that ordered the massacre behind the scenes. Sasuke had every right to kill Itachi despite Naruto and others saying it was pointless.

As for getting revenge against the Village Hidden in Leaves, that part was just a little extreme. Killing the ones who ordered Itachi was well and good, but Sasuke than began to see everyone in the village as enemies since they were enjoying the peace Itachi created without knowing a thing or learning from past mistakes. This drove Sasuke a little mad, but if he had stopped at just killing the elders of the village than Sasuke could still be considered a hero, although the dark kind of hero.

Shin: I can't say that I understand your desire for revenge, but I don't see a problem with it personally. If someone wronged me and unjustly at that, I wouldn't hesitate to kill and get back at them. I have people I care about, so I do get it.

Kaiyo: No one was asking for your opinion!

Shin: Still, there's something I want to say. It is something I thought about when I once considered the validity of revenge. My opinion is this, if someone has truly hurt you then getting back at them is perfectly fine... But just remember this. Revenge doesn't make you feel better and you should never pursue it believing that a happy future awaits you afterwards. It a very bloody path. Revenge should only be pursued for one reason and one reason only, and that is if you can't live without doing so. Not for others, but for yourself. If you can live without doing so then do that.

Ken and Kaiyo then just stared at Shin and said nothing else as the two twins then left together. They were surprised Shin had so much to say on the subject, yet were more surprise that Shin didn't outright say that their revenge was wrong. Their grandfather Sozin knew of their future plans and constantly told them to forget about something so foolish, but they couldn't.

It may have actually have been a hidden reason of Sozin's for letting them fight Shin, an actual Player. They would have seen how strong a Player really was despite lacking years of training and could just be strong, if not stronger.

Ken and Kaiyo would have seen how impossible their goal was when they lost to Shin, and who despite being somewhat stronger than the two of them, was much weaker then the elites found at the top of the organizations of the Four Pillars. Ken and Kaiyo soon found this out firsthand after fighting Shin, and so they asked Shin questions in hope of becoming stronger in the future. Afterwards, they were made to rethink things.

Ken: Kaiyo, it's worth it right. I don't doubt it, but...

Kaiyo: Who knows, but let's not think about it today. I am too depressed after losing like that.

Sozin soon came back with Hikari and it was time for Shin and Hikari to leave the island. Despit so many things happening on their last day on the island it was still early in the morning, so they should male it to land before evening. As they all boarded the boat that would take them back, Shin saw Hikari look back to the island on last time.

Shin: What's wrong, Hikari?

Hikari: Ken and Kaiyo aren't coming to see us off. Are you okay with this Shin?

Shin: Why would it matter?

Hikari: You trained with them for close to two weeks. Haven't the three of you become close in that time?

Shin: Ha, who have become close? Those two aren't my friends and they just kept trying to kill me most of the time. They are far too self involved with each other too look at other peope.

Hikari: For YOU to say that says about.

Sozin: That is probably my fault. They were made to stay on this island for most of their lives. They only did have each other, so they don't really know how to communicate with others. I apologies if they gave you a hard time Shin.

Shin: It's fine Sozin. They were interesting to say the least.

Sozin then drove the boat away from the island and finally the last two members of Team Japan had lef the island.


	80. Chapter 80

Shin and Hikari made it back to land at the beach resort after Sozin dropped the two of them off.

It was the middle of the afternoon and the sun was blazing over their heads. Shin was fine, but Hikari felt uncomfortable, so she wanted to immediately reach the train station and leave and not bother with anymore beaches or the sun.

Shin: You're so weak, Hikari. Next time increase your stats more.

Hikari: Shut up and let's just get to the train station... Wait.

Shin: What is it now.

Hikari: Shin, over there. Isn't that...

Shin: Who... That girl, what is she doing here?

The person who Shin and Hikari were looking at and were surprised to see was Shin's cousin, Chika. They, especially Shin were confused as to why she was here. Shin could only assume that Chika had somehow tracked them down for whatever reason and he was right.

Chika had about two weeks ago discovered somewhat of the truth about Shin and his new female companion Hikari. Chika had one day followed behind Shin and Hikari when they went off to train. Chika luckily didn't get there in time to see anything too dramatic like Shin's Kagune or Hikari's Persona, yet she was able to see Shin practice his Ki emission attacks.

Chika was startled and confused over what she saw, that the cousin that she had known for years, lived with and thought of as an older brother... That Shin had somehow acquired superpowers. It was something that she knew that Shin had always wanted, and what she knew was impossible in the real world, yet there it was.

Shin wasn't using any kind of device as he shoot bullets of green energy at his targets which blew up, so after returning home, having a good night's sleep and thinking it over again and again... Chika had to accept what she saw as real and that Shin had become some kind of superhero.

Once Chika had came to that conclusion she had no idea what she should do next. Chika pondered confronting Shin and Hikari, or just letting it go since Shin had said that he was involved in something he couldn't talk about. Chika still desired to learn the truth despite Shin not telling her or her parents anything, yet before she could talk to Shin, he and Hikari had run off somewhere by themselves... Something else that made her worry about her cousin even more.

Chika had just heard from her parents that they had gone to the beach, yet she didn't know which one or when they would be coming back. Like this almost two weeks had passed by, but then a chance came to Chika to find Shin.

Hikari: Ah, this might be my fault Shin.

Shin: What do you mean by that Hikari?

Hikari: When Saki and Aqua left the island a few days ago I asked for one of them to phone your house and tell your uncle and aunt that we were fine and would be back in a few days. I don't think Aqua or Saki would tell them where we were, but I never specifically asked them to keep it a secret either. Chika probably learned that we were in this area from that.

Shin: Makes since, but why would you call my relatives in the first place, Hikari?

Hikari: Why wouldn't I? It's normal to tell your guardians where you are, and especially if you have been gone from home for over a week and were going to be gone even longer, Shin. You shouldn't worry them so much. We'll be going back to God's Dimension soon as well.

Shin: Fine, fine I get it. Well, lets just go see what she wants since she came all the way over here to-

It was at that very moment when Shin was going to approach his cousin Chika that he felt that something was wrong and his heart clenched. It wasn't something that he has truly felt since coming back to the real world. It was true danger and a premonition of death.

In those few seconds Shin looked around the area for whatever it was that was causing him be so on alert. Scanning the area he found it, but the problem was that it was coming from two locations.

On the ground several men in suits who should have clearly stood out in a beach resort like where they were. They appeared as if out thin air and were gathering around a single tourist in the crowd who was unaware of them... Chika.

The other source of danger that Shin found was far away away and it was only through a reflection of fight in the distance that he found it. On top of the only tall building in the area Shin with his enhanced vision saw a man leaning against the edge of the building, holding something that was pointed in this direction.

Shin: A sniper rifle!

Hikari: Shin, what is it?

Shin: I don't know what the hell is going on, but there are potential enemy's everywhere. There are at least half a dozen on the ground and there's even a guy pointing a gun in this direction.

Hikari: What? Are they here for us? Is, is this because of what we did to those criminals when we first got here?

Shin: No, I don't think that's what this is, so stop worrying okay. I don't feel that they are targeting us at this moment, but they are definitely dangerous to say the least... I am going to deal with this Hikari, so please leave first with a taxi. I'll take care of those men who ever they may be and go get Chika.

Hikari: Ok, but stop pushing me away like a child. I can help out too. Once you get your cousin call me and I'll back you two up. With my Persona I can make sure no one is following you and if these men have conventional means at there disposal, I'll take care of them as well with my hacking skills.

Shin: As expected of a hacker genius that I love. Alright, I'll leave the retreat to you, so head out first.

Hikari: Okay, I'm... Wait! Did you say love!?.

Shin: Yeahm and I'll tell you again later, so go.

Hikari: Alright then.

With her face still blushing, Hikari left first leaving Shin behind. Shin was glad that Hikari left first and could give him support from a distance... Because he didn't want Hikari to see the face he was currently making. Shin was anger. More furious then he ever thought he possibly could be and the reason for his bubbling emotions are because of Chika.

Whatever was going on it was obvious to Shin that something, some danger was targeting Chika and that fact alone made him furious to a degree as if someone meant to harm Hikark or Aqua. Once Shin came to that conclusion he lost it.

Shin had alway told himself that Chika wasn't a sister to him and his uncle and aunt weren't parents to him, but since he has returned to the real world he had come to see them in a new light. And despite not understanding the feelings he has for them, for someone to threaten the girl who thought of and called him a big brother, Shin could hardly contain his bloodlust and he had no intention of doing so.

Shin: ...First goes the sniper who is the biggest threat. Then I'll tear the suits apart!

Agent: Excuse me, but can I have a word with you?

Chika: Huh? What is it?

Chika has been going around the entire area looking for her cousin Shin.

Wanting to confront Shin about what she had seen and what he really has been up to, after getting a call to her home saying where he was staying, Chika had hopped on a train to follow him up to the beach resort. Chika was a bit worried about what her parents might think when they learned that she skipped school, but using the excuse that they didn't mind when Shin does it, she had convinced herself to believe that she was doing nothing wrong.

After arriving at the beach resort Chika began her search for Shin by dropping by all the local motels to see where he was staying. Also, thinking ahead to the possibility that Shin had checked under a false name she had brought the last photo they took together to show staff.

Chika had went to over dozens of motels over the next two hours, and when she starting to believe that she had come in vain, she had found the motel that Shin stayed at, but unfortunately what she was told next made her despair.

Chika was told by the staff that they remembered Shin, but he and his party of friends had stayed only a day before checking out, and that was about two weeks ago. Chika couldn't believe that she came here for nothing since he had already left, but the staff had more to tell her.

The staff expalin to Chika that coincidentally they have seen one of her cousin's friends, a beautiful women with red hair. They weren't sure if she or any of them were still on staying near the resort, but this gave Chika enough motivation to keep searching for him... Yet she didn't feel happy that Shin had not just Hikari as a `friend`, but a beautiful red haired women who could be remembered over a week later by the staff despite only seeing a her a few times in just one day.

This all happened one hour ago for Chika and since then she had been walking around the area and asking tourist who passed by if they had seen her cousin Shin by showing them a photo... But this just lead to another group who was nearby to take notice of Chika. What Chika, Shin and anyone else for that matter didn't know was that the beach resort and the surrounding area were being watched by a certain organization.

Their main target of concern was the man and his family that lived on an island less than a half a days trip by boat, Sozin, Ken and Kaiyo. To an extent Shin and his team didn't know was that Sozin wasn't just a member of Dove United, but a prominent member who was both respected and feared for his strength.

So much so that despite being a retired agent of Dove United, temporary or completely out of the game, Sozin was always being watched by the operatives of the Four Pillars. They wouldn't waste man power to keep one of their agents with enhancements to keep watch of someone who never left his island, but normal agents were stationed in the area. They were to report if Sozin leaves the island since it could very well mean that Dove United needed him for something, and for someone as powerful and high ranking as Sozin it wouldn't be anything small.

This has been an ongoing operation for almost the last seventeen years with hardly any signs of movement from Sozin in all that time, so the The Four Pillars were especially laxed. It was such a boring, easy high paying job that many of the normal agents of the the Four Pillars would want to transfer to this assignment whenever an opening came up. That was why when the first sign of something was happening occurred, they were not prepared and missed it.

It was not till over a week had passed that they learned someone has been renting out a boat and sailing out to the sea for days at a time. They would also learn that the entire party that left together on the first trip, yet didn't all come back together at once, and that there were potential still more out there somewhere.

The only place anyone could go from the port and disembark at sea was the island Sozin owned. The agents froze in fear when they realized this meant a group of peope had been coming and going as they please and they didn't know about it. The agents job to watch over the island didn't have the highest priority within the organization, but it was still important. If the higher ups learned of this mistake everyone stationed to watch over the island would be terminated... And for those who worked for the Four Pillars it was very literal.

Once the agents realized their mistake they were on high alert, not wanting to miss a single thing for hope that they could still redeem themselves somehow, and then there chance came. Today, they had heard from a informite that a girl has been asking around the resort about a missing cousin.

That alone wasn't enough to stand out to make it important, but they then soon learned that this girl's cousin had come with a large group almost two weeks ago, left their motel the next day, were sightings of them over the last two weeks and the picture that the girl was showing around to everyone she passed match the description of the white haired male in the group that took off to the island.

They knew it was probably too late to find or capture the group that had left and came back to the island, but maybe they could use the cousin to draw one of them out. Of course they didn't approach this seemly harmless girl unprepared.

They were still agents of the Four Pillars and knew better to assume that she could just be a regular girl. People with enhancements from THAT PLACE didn't at all look like the super heros and villains from Mangas and Anime. That was why they went in armed and even prepared a sniper to offer backup, or kill the girl if she tries anything.

A group of five men in black suits approached Hikari and blocked her off from all sides. Chika was confused, but before she could speak the side wearing black suits spoke first.

Agent: Excuse me, but can I have a word with you?

Chika: Huh? What is it?

Agent: Are you the one one who has been searching for a boy with white hair? I believe he was also with a group of friends.

Chika: Yes! Have you've seen him?

Agent: Yes we have, but we unfortunately lost track of him a while ago.

Chika: Is... Is that so.

Agent: Sorry to get your hopes up, but we would still like for you to come with us. We need to speak to him and if he is looking for you as well our chances of finding him will increase.

Chika: Sure, but he isn't exactly looking for me as I am for... By the way who are you people and why are you wearing suits at the beach?

Agent: No need to worry. We are friends with your cousin... Shin was it. What is his last name again, I forgot to ask him before.

Chika: Th-that's...

Chika had only at this moment remembered she didn't know who she was talking to and how suspicious they looked. They were wearing black suits despite being at the beach and Chika just noticed some more things wrong with them.

For one she didn't even notice any of them approach her till they began to speak to her, and two despite the temperature being as high as it was today none of them were sweating in the least. Chika was growing more suspicious of them as time passed and she didn't believe at all that they were friends with her cousin Shin. Chika then tried to get away from them, but...

Chika: Sorry, but I have to go.

Agent: Really, but aren't you looking for your cousin? We are too and that is why we should work together to-

Chika: I am sorry, but I really have to go now. I know, I'll contact you if I-

Agent: But we haven't exchanged contact information yet.

Chika: ...

Chika clearly felt that she was in danger and the fact that no one was looking in her direction despite the commotion they were making frightened her even more. She then tried to quickly run away, but one of the agents grabbed her byy the wrist as she was escaping.

Chika tried to shake him off, but the man's strength clearly surpassed her own by a lot and it took no effort on his part to keep hold of her. Chika then attempted to scream for help, but no one turned towards them or even reacted to her plea for help.

Agent: It is no use. Just quietly come along with us and you won't be hurt... For the moment that is.

Chika: Wh-What do you want?

Agent: Your cousin, that's what. We have some important question for him to answer.

Shin: Then shouldn't you speak to me in person then.

Agent: !

Chika: Shin... Your, your eye!

Chika and the agents saw that outside the circle they had made to trap Chika in, was a young man with white hair. This youth was Shin. Shin's face was was filled with rage and while one eye had lost its light, the other eye had turned completely black and in the center of the eye was a blood red iris.

That was frightening enough, but what caused the agents freeze up was the thing Shin was holding in his right hand. Shin's right hand was covered in blood and what he was holding was a severed arm still holding onto a black sniper rifle.

Shin: One warning... Leave now and fuck off, or end up like the man who dared to point a weapon at my cousin. Also, your reinforcements are dead. You have just three seconds to disappear from my sight!


	81. Chapter 81

Before arriving to to Chika's aid, Shin had to first get rid of the biggest threat to Chika's life and his own in this situation. Located on top the tallest building in the area, and caught at the very limits of Shin's vision was a lone sniper on the edge of the building. Shin sprinted over to the building and once he was sure that he wasn't in the line of sight of the sniper, Shin had then begun to travel with Instant Movement to reach him as fast as possible. Shin's speed and Ki consumption with his skills had improved greatly recently due to his training, so he was able to sprint the whole way using Instant Movement without running out of Ki or feeling tired in the slightest.

By the time Shin had reached the building he had he didn't bother to go inside and simply ran up the building with Instant Movement. Shin wasn't in a mind set to wonder if he could do so or not, and just did and reached the top of the roof in less then a minute.

Shin finally arrived and was on the opposite side of the sniper, yet he was still spotted from the noise he made when climbing up. The sniper had turned around to see Shin glaring at him, and before he could radio his team to alert them of the situation, the man saw Shin's left eye dye black. Shin had brought forth the strength of his Ghoul mutation and together with Ki Energy, he had jumped at the sniper with the fastest Instant Movement possible.

In the blink of an eye the sniper screamed in pain before he even registered the fact that Shin had stepped on and crushed his right hand holding the rifle. Shin's stomp had so much force that it tore through the man's arm and crushed the floor under it. Then immediately afterwards Shin grasped and crushed the man's skull till bone fragments pierced into the man's brain and died. Then throwing the corpse away as if it were a dirty rag Shin was relived that the biggest threat was gone, but his anger was still there, and even gained new strength as he overheard a conversation over the radio found by the now dead sniper.

\- Agent: We will now approach the target now and capture her. Reinforcements be ready. Sniper, if the girl manages to escape our entrapment then preced to fire at her. Preferably shot off a leg, but if she possess enhancements then put a bullet in her brain. We don't need the trouble of a fight. We can just send her body off to the necromancer unit to learn more about her and her connections to that group who visited the island.

Shin: ...

Shin: One warning... Leave now and fuck off, or end up like the man who dared to point a weapon at my cousin. Also, your reinforcements are dead. You have just three seconds to disappear from my sight!

Shin holding a severed and still bloody arm in public drew a lot of attention to him and the group of agents who were so far staying off the radar somehow, yet Shin couldn't give a damm about that right now. Shin's rage could not be contained any longer, especially after he saw that they had their filthy hands on Chika and even planned to violate her body after death, but also because of that he gave them a warning. If they backed away Shin could just take Chika and leave without having to risk her safty, so Shin did his upmost best to hold his rage back with the clarity of thought the First Stage of the genetic constraint granted him, yet...

Agent: Who are you to give orders? We are the one's in charge-

Yet in the end it was no use. Not letting the situation head in the direction of a negotiation with a hostage, Shin furry took over and he attacked. Shin threw the severed arm at the agent he was talking to and first went for the one holding onto Chika and grabbed his arm with a vice like grip.

Then like the leg of the sniper from before, both flesh and bone were crushed, and once the agent couldn't hold on to Chika anymore Shin punched the agent to the ground with all his strength. Chika and the others then saw the smashed in face of the agent slammed into the ground.

As Shin was taking out his sowrd from the Na Ring he saw the shocked fade of his cousin Chika, and then simply said a few words to her.

Shin: Close your eyes, Chika.

Chika: Wh-

Shin didn't wait to see if Chika did as he asked of her because in the next second a fight broke out between him the remaining agents. One attempted to draw what Shin assumed was a gun and so he cut the arm going for it off and then the man's neck.

Another agent took out a hidden knife and stabbed Shin in the back, but it was the agent who was taken back. Shin had already had equipped his Lesser Fenrir Coat, so a normal blade couldn't hope to cut through the fabric with just a normal knife. Shin then swift turned around and elbowed the man in the temple to kill him.

\- *BANG*!

Bullets were shot out as three of the agents took aim and fired at Shin. Shin was surprised about how efficient and fast they moved for normal humans, but in the end all he could say about this kind of attack was...

Shin: Slow!

Shin knew long as he could see the gun and the trigger finger of the person who was firing he had nothing to feat from a guns, especially just a hand gun at that. Compared to them, Shin would be far more afraid of Kaiyo's swift swordplay then bullets.

Shin adjusted his defensive guard and held his sword in his hands to align with bullet path he had predicted beforehand. The agent's bullets bounced off the high quality sword Gravity Blade and some bullets even rebounded back towards the agents.

It was a reflection technique he learned from Kaiyo, who she learned from Sozin. It required pinpoint accurately and the ability to completely see through bullet paths, yet for Shin with his high stats and being in Unlocked Mode it was no problem at all for him.

Shin then waited for the moment that the other side ran out out of bullets and made his own move. Taking a step forward and now right in front of the three gun wielding agents, Shin threw a punch to the space in front of them. Their confusion as to what Shin was doing was soon answered as the air in font of his fist shook violently and impacted them.

Shin: Soul Crushing Strike!

The sonic boom of the external and internal Ki attack wouldn't be enough to truly harm someone with powerful enhancements or a monster from the Mission Worlds, but what Shin heard from Sozin was that it was good enough to take out normal humans, and Shin saw that he was right.

The sonic boom not only knocked the three back, but also caused them to have internal bleeding. If they didn't go to a hospital soon they would bleed out internal... Not that Shin cared and nor did he care about the tourist who saw the chaotic and unreal battle before their very eyes, and screaming before running away. Shin simply turned to the very last agent.

Agent: ...

The agent just stood there due to the shock with the severed arm in his hands as he saw his comrades falling one by one and his fear of the man who caused it. The only hope he could have had was to take the risk of taking Chika captive, but his fear was so great that he had a hard time just breathing in Shin's presence.

Chika: Shin... Can, can I open my eyes?

Shin: Ah, you really listened to me. Didn't expect that. Sorry Chika, but just wait a bit longer okay.

Shin spoke to Chika with care to keep her calm, but Shin's eyes and face that displayed his rage and bloodlust had not changed from the beginning. Shin then looked at the sole agent left and walked towards him.

Shin was a good foot shorter then the agent in front of him, yet to the sole surviving agent, Shin looked like a grand beast in his eyes, a dragon who was in a realm above all mortals and who looked down at people like the agent. What determined if the agent could leave here alive or otherwise was solely Shin's mood and the agent already knew they weren't going to be friends.

Shin: Who sent you?

Agent: ...Wh-

Shin: You are obviously from one of those Four Pillars, right? What organization are you from.

Agent: That is... I can't. They'll kill-

Shin: That was not an answer!

Shin stabbed his sword into the thigh of the agent and who then fell to his knees, yet before he could even scream Shin cover the man mouth and he then whispered something to the agent so that Chika could not overhear.

Shin: I don't want to upset my cousin anymore with your groups deathly howls, got it? I'm about to dismember you, so please answer my question.

Shin took his hand off the whimpering agent who was now crying and listen to his answer.

Agent: Ma-Mass Enlightenment! We'er are apart of their organization secret service, a group of agents who do the groud work before the enhanced members arrive. We also take care of simple surveillance jobs like this.

Shin: Who were you spying on? Me?

Agent: No were were surveying this area and to watch over the island where the man called Sozin of Dove United lives with his family. It was to know right away if he ever left the island. Recently, we heard of a group that went and came to the island in these past two weeks and so-

Shin: And so you searched for us and ran into my unsuspecting cousin here who was looking for me? Ok, I understand the situation. Next, have you told anyone else about us? Are there anymore of you guys here? Any enhanced agents of Mass Enlightenment? Don't lie to me, or else-

Agent: N-No! The agents you just took out and the sniper that arm belong to are the only one's here for Mass Enlightenment. They only needed a small group to watch over the area after all as this is not a high priority operation. There are some informants that tipped us off about you, but they are just locals who don't know anything about the Four Pillars or anything else.

Shin: I see. That's good to know since I don't want to track down anyone else. Now, last question. Did you contact your superiors about my group meeting Sozin on the island?

Agent: We, we just gave in a sort report that a group left for that island is all.

Shin: Did you name any names?

Agent: No! Just that an unknown group came. That's all. They are waiting for a follow up report soon. They... They will be worried if no one contacts them-

Shin: What? Are you threatening me, so that I'll keep you alive?

Agent: No no of course not, but it is the truth that my superiors would send professionals to handle a mess like this once they learn of it.

Shin: ...Probably those like me with enhancements, huh?

Shin thought about his current situation he was in and knew he was screwed. Shin had made a large scene in an area that was apparently watched over by the Four Pillars and there is no guarantee that it is only Mass Enlightenment either. Shin was very much tempted to have the cowering man in front of him make a false report back to his bosses, but Shin choose to not go through the trouble. It probably was impossible to hide what just happened as well. Fortunately for Shin the Four Pillars were not at their best, so no information about his group has been leaked as far as he knew.

Shin: (At best only first names may have been learned. We also paid in cash at the motel we stayed the one night in. No IDs were exchanged since it wasn't a grand hotel either. Instead of staying around here where there's the chance that the Four Pillars, a group that from Sozin said can fuck me over with little effort at my current level with their armies of Players with powerful enhancements who have been farming points and rewards with their insider info on God's Dimension... It is best to just walk away from this mess and stay hidden under the radar. There are only less then two I am here in the real world after all).

With that decided Shin made up his mind about what to do with the agent in front of him. Shin raised his hand and fired off an AP Bullet to the agent's head and kill him. Next he made sure to destroy the heads of the already dead agents lying on the ground ( I did the same for the other before arriving here ). Shin wanted to make sure that even if a necromancer was called for later they wouldn't be able to learn anything.

Shin: Let's just hope that they don't have shamans or the like. Even I can't see souls, so I can't destroy them with the Far Ki Bullet...Chika.

Chika: Yes!

Shin: Let's... Let's just go home. I'll explain as much as I can on the way.

Shin was thankful thankful that either due to trust or fear, Chika had yet to open her eyes. He didn't imagine that she wouldn't open her eyes with the sounds of broken bones, swords cutting through flesh, gunshot or the actual mini sonic boom. In a way Shin was very impressed and worried about his cousin ability to handle danger ( I really hope Chika doesn't windup in God's Dimension for both our sakes )

Shin then lead Chika away by hand from his own crime scene and together they took a train and left the beach resort.

Aqua: I see. So something like that really happened.

Shin: Yeah, I was surprised as well that I would run into trouble as soon as I left the island.

Shin had boarded trains and switched to hailing cabs to escape the beach resort together with Chika. Shin had decided to switch means of transportation that only required cash since the first person he had called, Saki had told him to do so to not leave behind tracks.

Shin placed far more trust in Aqua and was talking to her right now on his phone for her advice, but before he called Aqua he called Saki. Trust was great, but what he needed now was Saki's brilliant mind to escape this mess and he had made the right decision.

Saki had warned him about all the ways he could have been tracked despite Hikari's backup, so she listed a few ways to move quickly off the grid. What was originally a three hour train ride to get close to his home took more the five hours and it was already night by the time Shin ane Chika got back.

Shin looked at his mentally exhausted cousin sitting on a bench not too far from where he was and he could only sigh about how he wished he could have done things better, or not have even gotten her involved with all the Four Pillar nonsense. Unlike Shin, most people weren't excited by the fact that a secret organization of super power individuals could be after him, and a fight that could destroy a few city blocks could start up if they were caught.

Aqua: Are you and your cousin alright? Chika was her name, right?

Shin: Yes, the two of us are fine for the most part. Those agents were still normal humans in the end, so they were easy to take out and luckily for me and I had Hikari use her Persona to see if we were being followed.

Aqua: That was smart of you, but don't place all your hopes on Hikari's powers. I don't believe she is at the level where she can give you tactical backup while you are on the move like either of us would hope. She may be able to make maps and enemy scans, but if the agents of the Four Pillars we simply ordered to follow and not engage you, I don't believe Hikari would be able to pick up potential enemy like those.

Shin: Now that you mention it, when I attacked that last building with Hikari there were some bodyguards who were not listed as enemies on her Game Map.

Aqua: That's what I thought. She might need a different skill or a higher level of Mental Capacity and Psyche Force to spot enemies who aren't obvious emitting hostility. You should keep your own eyes and senses open to see if you are being followed.

Shin: Ok, I'll do just that, but about our next move...

Aqua: We will do as Saki suggested and prepare to leave the real world. Saki had already called everyone else up to explain what we'll do. We will hide ourselves and not go out for any reason whatsoever till tomorrow night when we are scheduled to return to God's Dimension.

Shin: Do you really think that is good enough?

Aqua: It will have to be. According to what you have told me some of the Four Pillars were surveying that place to keep a watch on Sozin and found out about us as a result, but they may not know who we really are. This includes last names and any digital footprints. I think we are fine to just wait this all out, but... Shin, I wouldn't advise you to return home.

Shin: ...

Aqua: Unlike everyone else you made a scene in public as you killed those guys, right? It is more then likely that someone could get a good description of you. That is why on the off chance that you were followed back despite you precautions it would be in your best interest not to return home. Now that the agents are dead and the connection that you are cousins is dead, the best the Four Pillars could hope to find out were your first names and a description of you. The former isn't enough to find someone in a city and your current appearance with your white hair is new, so the later is unlikely. Just stay away from your home and more than likely the Four Pillars won't be able to find out about your family.

Shin: ...Understood. Well, it wasn't like I was looking forward to explaining anymore of this to my aunt and uncle. Chika should know her way home from here, so I'll tell her to go ahead alone.

Aqua: Good. You should also look into either using Hikari, Misaki, Shuai or Kamap's return sites to return to God's Dimension... Also, Shin, you could also stay at my place since you can't go home? It is just a small apartment, so I can't promise a homely feeling to it, hut yu would be able to come back with me to God's Dimension.

Shin: Thanks for the offer and any other day I would run to the end if the earth if you invited me to spend a night in your bed...

Aqua: I never mentioned the bed.

Shin: That's besides the point. Sorry Aqua, but I am in no mood to travel. I sailed by boat earlier today and took countless trains, cabs and busses to just get home. I am in no mood to travel at all. I have also been doing nothing but training these last few weeks, so I am worn out mentally. I would just rather find a park and sleep in the bushes.

Aqua: Are you a sure? Whatever, just don't do anything till tomorrow night okay, but call me if something happens, okay?

Shin: I'll promise. I won't worry my girlfriend too much,

Aqua: In your dreams and you worry me when you just take a walk around the block. I just don't want you to trouble me is all. Bye.

Shin heard Aqua hang up on him and he could only smile weary. He knew that what he had to do now could be potentially stipid and risky, but Shin had made a promise on the way back and after everything she had been through he planned to keep that promise to his cousin.

Shin walked back over to his cousin Chika who looked like she could barely stay up after exhausting so much energy today by running away from an unknown threat. Chika was so out of it that Shin had to tap her shoulder for her to notice that he was done talking on the phone and that he had walked back to her.

Shin: I can't tell you everything... But let's talk about what I can Chika.


	82. Chapter 82

Shin on the long way back home had promised his somewhat traumatized cousin Chika to explain what was going on, thus Shin began to explain things the best he could without breaking God's rules. Shin couldn't give any information directly about God's Dimension, yet he had learned ways to talk about it like Sozin and the Four Pillars could by just replacing some key words with vague words instead, or telling half truths.

Shin: So here is what happened... Or at least what the censored version is.

Chika: Ok.

Shin began by saying that he received an email one day from an unknown source. It asked him if he wanted to live a real life and not taking it seriously he clicked YES for the hell of it. Soon after he found himself blacking out and being kidnapped.

When Shin woke up next he was far, far away from home ( Like another dimension ) and found himself taking part of an experiment. An experiment to see how humans can evolve in the face of danger. Shin couldn't fully comprehend what was happening, but because foe the sake of the experiment who ever was in charge didn't mind if the subjects died in the process long as he could gain more data.

Shin and a group of people had no choice but to participate in the experiment and failure meant death, so together with all of the fellow test subjects they came together to survive. Shin barely survived the first test and afterwards with the few who survived as well he came to learn that it was more then a simple death game like you would find in Manga and Anime.

The experiment even included on ways to use science to bring out special powers and give them to the test subjects. And based on a scoring system on how well on does in an experiment, you can use points and rewards to buy these powers to have permanently.

Chika: So what I saw before and todays was-

Shin: Yes. Hard to believe, right?

Chika: I would think you had gone crazy from watching to much Anime... If I hadn't seen it for myself.

Shin then moved on.

Next he explained that he found out the method to return home and have the people who abducted him leave him alone for good. That it was to gain a certain large amount of points from the experiments held every ten days. Then with that goal in mind Shin worked hard to survive and one day return home.

Shin: ( Minus becoming the OP protagonist part. I definitely have to leave out the part about not planning to return home right away and that I am having the time of my life by becoming a protagonist who is slowly, but surely building up a top class harem. That would be... An awkward talk to say the least ).

Chika: I see then. So is Hikari-

Shin: Yes, she is one of the fellow subjects in this experiment. She and a few other came with me on a visit back home.

Chika: Visit? So that means that you haven't escaped yet? Aren't you free?

Shin: Sorry to say, but I'm not. I can use points foe a lot of things and that includes taking short breaks from the experiment. Even the platinum I gave to your parents was bought using my own points... Since I didn't know when or if I would be able to return home. I juat came back this one time to make sure that everyone was okay and taken care of.

Chika: Aren't you free now, Shin? Can't you... Can't you just not go back and escape?

Shin: Well... Unfortunately I can't. They... They placed something in my body. I was inflicted with a deadly virus when they captured me, Chika. To hold back the effects I received treatments from my abductors that hold back the symptoms and keep it in remission, but the unless I take the true cure I can't distance myself from them without risking certain death. If I don't return in two days from now the virus will no longer stay in remission and I'll die ( Came up with that lie on the spot ).

Chika: Th-that's terrible Shin. Why... How can you remain so calm like this? As if it doesn't even affect you? I, anyone would go out of their minds trying to find a way out of this.

Shin: Maybe, but I just accepted that I have no choice in the matter, is all. Even with super powers, I don't believe I can fight back against those running this experiment since they are the one's providing them too me. Also, it's a bit shameful, but as you could imagine, for me actually having real manga like powers and super strength has always been a dream of mine, Chika. I want to leave that place no matter what, but I can't help but feel a little excited.

Chika: How can you say that!? That, that is so...

Shin: Chika, the alternative forme is to be in constant fear. I haven't gone into detail, but I'm really risking my life here. I've almost died and I've been under so much pressure and stress that my hair has lost its color. This is not a dye job.

Chika: ...Sorry. Then, were those people today the one's that kidnapped you?

Shin: No they weren't. They are... Let's just say they are a dangerous group affiliate with the experiment for now. Just know that some of them have powers as well and should be avoided at all cost. That is why I want you to promise me to never speak of what happened to anyone. Not to your parents, your friends, teachers at school or even try to look them up online. They are a dangerous group and it was by some miracle that they don't know too much about me, or else we all would be in danger. Can you promise me to stay out of this, Chika? This involves the lives of you, me and your parents as well.

Chika: ...

Shin: Chika.

Chika: Okay, I promise.

Shin: Good. Long as you understand.

Shin tham got up from the bench he was sitting down on with Chika next to him and began to walk away. Chika was confused and called out to Shin.

Chika: Wait! Where are you going?

Shin: Sorry Chika, but please return on your own from here. I would like to take you back myself, but unfortunately I can't. There are still things that I need to do and I can't let anyone figure out my connection to you, or your parents. Those people from before are dangerous and without a doubt they are not my friends. I won't risk staying together with you.

Chiak: But, but where are you going if you aren't coming back home?

Shin: Back to the place where the experiment is taking place unfortunately. I never said exactly told all of you when I had to go back, but that day is tomorrow. I did plan to spend my last day with you all if possible, but it's impossible after all. Tell Uncle and Auntie that I'll see them at some point again in the future.

Chika: This... This is all too much Onii-chan. This is the real world, right? Will I, will I ever see you again? It just doesn't feel like I will if we leave things like this. I know we we never... That close, but to me you were always my Onii-chan even though I couldn't hope to replace your real sister.

Shin: ...You right that you can't replace her Chika, but... Still, I wasn't the cousin, the brother that I should have been to you and for that I am sorry. I do plan to come back and face the real world again, but the truth is that I really could die at this point in my life. That's the truth, but... I'll try a bit harder for your sake. Goodbye.

Shin then left Chika behind,

Shin had heard Chika call out for him as he ran away, yet he never turned around to look back. Shin never wanted another family after losing his first, yet only now did he realize that he had gained a new one and he truly cared for them. If he turned back around and stopped, even if it was the world of fantasy that he had always wished for, he might have given it up for his new family... And that scared him.

After leaving his cousin Chika's side as it was now safe, Shin went off to meet with 0 Hikari. Hikari had left alone before Shin had from the beach resort and because she too couldn't return to Shin's home, she had waited for him at a public park not too far away from where he last spoke withnhis cousin. Shin was glad to see that Hikari was safe, so now their immediate problem as of right now was shelter.

They still had till tomorrow night to return to God's Dimension,so they luckily didn't need a place of residence for a few days. Shin had told Chika that he might as well sleep in a park, but not being obvious to the fact that Hikari was a girl, and not an outdoorsy girl, Shin suggested that they look for a cheap motel that won't ask for ID's from them and could just pay in cash, which they both had a lot of.

Hikari agreed, yet not understanding that Shin meant a love hotel to stay the night, she didn't get it till they were there. Hikari was incredibly embarrassed to step into one, yet to her surprise Shin was serious the whole time and didn't make a move on her even after entering a highly suggestive pink and purple room ( That could have been right out of Persona 3 ).

Shin didn't talk about it, but Hikari had guessed that he was concerned about his family. Shin hardly slept at all and was alert to the possibility of an enemy attack, but fortunately nothing happened that night. Shin and Hikari choose to stay in the room the whole time, not even going out to eat in case risk being spotted by someone. According to Shin's understanding of spy themed light novels people are more likely to be spotted when they move place to place and walk into stores with surveillance cameras, and seeing as it made sence Hikari agreeed.

When they would finally move out it would be right before they had to return to God's Dimension. Even if they were followed afterwards it wouldn't matter since they would be in a completely different time and space.

Dusk came the next day and they left the motel ( Hikari covered her face from the motel manger who assumed that they were at 'IT' the entire time ) and went to their next designation... The Internet cafe that Kampa was going to use to return to God's Dimension.

They called their teammates beforehand to decided this course of action. It didn't even need to be said that Shin could be at this moment was being sought after by the Four Pillars, so choosing to return using Kampa's return point was ideal since it doesn't lead back to anyone. Shin and Hikari's own Entry/Return Points were there own homes, so those were out and there was no reason to risk bring attention to Misaki and Shuai places, especially Misaki since his sister was at home with him.

Hikari was given directions to where the Internet cafe and together with they arrived just as the sun had disappeared over the horizon. When the darkness of the night arrived the Internet cafe was just beginning to close up and they were thankful that it was not a twenty-four hour cafe. It was around that time when...

Kampa: Hey you two. It is great to see you two are okay.

Shin: You too Kampa. It would have been horrible if you failed to get back in the country before the deadline.

Hikari: How's your family?

Kampa: They are fine. They are used to me heading out on mercenary missions, so me leaving all of a sudden isn't strange.

Kampa had arrived and joined up with Shin and Hikari. Kampa had left the country once more after leaving Sozin's private island and returned to his mother Russia to spend what remainding his time here in the real world with his family.

When Kampa had arrived back in Japan today, Shin and Hikari were already in hiding and knowing that they were going to use his Entry/Return point, Kampa had already planned to meet up with the two of them. It wasn't necessary for all three of them to leave together all at once, but because there could be danger Kampa joined them and in case something happens he would be there to support them. Shin was technically the leader and a force to be reckoned with himself, but Kampa was a mercenary with a lot of experience, so he saw it as his duty to guard their backs.

Shin, Hikark and Kampa were all gathered now and more then ready to return to God's Dimension, yet because the Entry/Return Point won't activate until ninety minutes before midnight they still had two hours or so to wait. The three stayed hidden in an ally nearby the Internet cafe and all too soon the expected time came and they didn't even need to double check their watches to see that it was 10:30.

The Internet cafe had long since been closed, for an hour yet the three of them could see a bright light coming from within the building. Far as they knew no one had entered the building, so this meant something outside the norm is happening inside the Internet Café.

Shin: Let's go!

Hikark: Yes.

Kampa: I'll take the rear. Lead the way Shin.

Then carefully and with caution, Shin lead both Hikari and Kampa towards the back of the building, and from there had Kampa unlock the door as to not set off an alarm. Shin could have just broken it down, but not knowing what exactly to expect inside he didn't want to complicate the situation with police and the prying eyes of civilians passing by getting in his way.

Through the back of the building the three of them entered the Internet Cafe and proceed to the front of the store where Kampa had said he reappeared back into the real world and where he was first abducted from when he was surfing the wed on a computer. There they found that the computer Kampa used to click YES was on and a blinding light coming from the screen. Shin, Hikari and Kampa then instinctively knew that if they approached close enough to the computer then they would be transported back to God's Dimension.

Shin: You two can go ahead. I'll head on over after you two.

Hikari: Why? It isn't like there is a line. We can all go back together at once.

Shin: It isn't that. I just want to make sure that everything proceeds smoothly is all. I'm going to call the other as well to confirm that they are about to return to make sure that nothing unexpected happened at the last moment. I'm technically the leader, so I can't just forget about everyone else and jump in.

Kampa: I see. Then I'll stay with you to guard your back.

Hikari: Me too.

Shin: You guys... Fine, you two can stay, but this won't take that long.

Shin then began to call his comrades starting from Aqua, Misaki, Shuai and Saki. Like Shin's group they didn't immediately return right away and also thought about checking on the others ( What good friends that I have ). Once Shin called they said they would immediately return to God's Dimension. Aqua, Shuai and Saki were not a problem, yet Misaki wanted a few more minutes with his sister before he returned to that dimension, and once he was done Misaki and Mokotowould return with the others.

Shin: See, that only took 5-10 minutes tops.

Hikari: Alright then. Let's all return to that hell hole so we can get our 50,000 points to finally leave that place and its horror behind once and for all.

Kampa: I second that. It isn't good to make the wife worry too much.

Shin: Huh, what about Hikari and Aqua?

Kampa: Ah, no, I was talking about my own wife.

Shin: ...

Hikari: Just go you two!

First it was Kampa who approached the computer and in a flash of light that lasted less then a second Kampa had disappeared rom the real world and back within God's Dimension with the others. Shin and the others had never seen the exact moment that they are transported to the Mission World or return to the Terminal Lobby because it happens in an instant, so this was Shin and Hikaris's first time seeing what it looks like from the outside.

Shin: So does it always look like we blink out of existence like that? Whatever, you up next Hikari. Even if we can all go back at once I feel more comfortable seeing it for myself.

Hikari: Alright, but just make sure to quickly follow after me.

Hikari then did as Kampa did and approached the bright computer and in a flash of light too quick for the eye to catch Hikari was gone. Shin then felt relief as nothing had gone wrong. Shin took a few moments to then think about everything he has experienced this last month and what he was leaving behind, but Shin then quickly pushed down those feelings.

From experience and from what Hikari once told him, Shin knew he was at his best when he was having fun in in God's Dimension and that he wasn't suited to be a protagonist who's serious all the time. That's why instead of thinking about all the bad and what Shin was leaving behind, he choose to look forward to the future instead of staying depressed.

Shin: It isn't like it is forever, right? I'll be back one day long as I don't die on that side. Now, I wonder what kind of adventure will I get to experience magic or-

At that moment Shin's heart clenched up. Shin felt something was terribly wrong and jumped backwards fully trusting his instincts. Confused, Shin then saw a read beam of light melt through the roof of the Internet Cafe and cut through the loby where the computers, including where Kampa's was located. Then within a blink of an eye the entire place had become a large pit of lava and flames that burned the skin even from a distance.

\- WARNING! KAMPA LOVSKI'S ENTRY/RETURN POINT HAS BEEN DESTROYED. ALL REMAINING PLAYERS ARE ADVISED TO USE ANOTHER LOCATION. TIME LEFT TO RETURN TO GOD'S DIMENSION: ONE HOUR AND FIFTTEEN MINUTES.

?: Nice reflexes Shin. As expected from our leader. You never even saw and you sensed something was wrong. As I thought, within Team Japan you hold the most potential to improve. Even more so then our strongest Player Aqua.

Shin: Wh-what...

Shin looked up towards the roof of Internet cafe through the melted hole in the ceiling and saw one one of his six comrades looking down at him from above.

Then before Shin could say anything else his comrade jumped down the hole in the ceiling while making sure to avoid the pit of flames that they were responsible for making. Shin could only watch as his comrade, with that same detached look, Saki walked towards him as if there was nothing wrong. Shin was left speechless at this turn of events, and so it was Saki herself who spoke up first.

Saki: Haa... I really couldn't hold out till the very end, could I? How unfortunate even if I knew from the start.

Shin: Sa-Saaki!? What is-

Saki: You made a mistake Shin. You have amazing instincts despite till recently having being an average person like any other, but you should have taken the risk and jumped towards the computer instead of away. That why you would have been safe and sound within God's Dimension and my plan would have utterly failed, and I forced to admit defeat. I am also thankful that Hikari didn't do a last minute sweep with her Persona to check for enemies. Just waiting for this moment and for you to be the one to be the last to return back, the odds were far too low for my liking, so I'm thankful... But also not since it has come to this.

Shin: Saki! Was, was that hole and all this mess your doing? Did you really mean to kill me!?

Saki: Yes, I was the one who atracked you just now and destroyed Kampa Entry/Return Point, and thus I must apologies to you Shin. No matter how much I struggled and tried to think of a solution, I just can't go on without killing one of you... So please don't hold back.

Shin: Saki... What the hell is going on!?

Saki: ...We don't have all the time in the world, especially you Shin, but let me start from the beginning since I feel sorry for you otherwise... And then afterwards we can fight a battle where all the lives of Team Japan hand on the balance.

Shin saw that Saki's face was still as expressionless as always, yet deep down he could sense something else. Something dark and terribly sad all at once and whatever it was it was pointing at blade at Shin and no one else. Saki eyes showed she wanted to start a battle to the death.


	83. Chapter 83

A bright room.

No windows, furniture or doors that could be opened from within, just artificial and blinding lights that one couldn't escape if locked inside. Within that room stood a lone girl about ten years of age.

Her eyes were bloodshot as she had not slept in days and her body was thin as a board. She had idea how long she has been there as she has been in and out of consciousness, yet ever time she tried to rest her eys for an extended period of time the sound of a loud mechanical alarm would go off in the room.

So loud that it felt like her head was splitting open and evsn if she were to cry and beg for it to stop no one would listen to the girl.

Doctor 1: Again

Saki: ...

Doctor 1: Again!

Then each time this alarm rang loudly she would be forced to do a simple task.

To repeat a set of lines over and over again. She was not allowed to rest or stop repeating what she was being asked, or forced to say over and over and over. The little girl had been warned time and time again that if she failed to follow her instruction she would be disposed of.

The girl not having the will power or energy to refuse did as she was told by a voice coming from the intercom in a corner of the room. Watching the long girl in the all too bright room through a hidden video feed were two individuals.

Doctors in a sense, but were never the kind to help others... Just the opposite.

Doctor 1: Now, once more repeat your mission test subject 7654-A.

Saki: ...

Doctor 2: Haven't we done this enough already? We have been at this for thirty five hours straight with no sleep or breaks. She'll break and I think the brainwashing was a success.

Doctor 1: No. Just taking away her emotions or giving her a surgery here or there won't help. Those are all just helpful aids in the end. To truly control the subconscious one must break a person's spirit and build it back up again in the image of your desire.

Doctor 2: I agree, but you didn't go this far for the other children. Why her?

Doctor 1: Don't be fooled by her childlike appearance. That young girl has an exceptional brain in her head. Far more so then the other worthless test subjects that have been brought here. This is an exceptional talent! She may even possess the rare potential as a Psyche Force user and could become the core of a team. This girl has a bright future ahead of her, so it is of the upmost importance that she fulfills her role as a double agent.

The Doctor full of zeal for his twisted work then turned on the voice intercom once more and ordered the young girl named Saki to repeat her lines for the 853 time since this session began.

Saki: ...Objective one... I'll seek out God's Dimension. No matter the cost I'll reach that place. Objective two, I'll learn skills in the real world that will prove necessary and most welcomed from as a new player in that dimension so as to accepted by the team. Objective three... After recalling my true self as a member of Mass Enlightenment after surviving my first mission and arriving within the Terminal Lobby, I'll will begin to actively explore and learn the secrets of God's Dimension along with my fellow comrades. Objective four, if my teammates are Mass Enlightenment I am to reveal myself and offer my support. If the team is Blood Crusade I am to stay hidden and record their activities and wait further orders, yet still support the team. And... And if my team members are of Absolute Reckoning, Dove United or other... I am to wait for an opportunity to to wipe out my team and tell my allies in the real world of my success.

Doctor 1: Excellent test subject 7654-A. Now again!

Double agents.

That was the main purpose of the Institute that Saki and the fellow children who were kidnapped by Mass Enlightenment forced upon them. Mass Enlightenment mainly used their resources to raise up potential Player to one day enter God's Dimension for them, yet they also saw a new opportunity to raise and send out double agents out into the world.

The plan didn't become larger due to the interference of people like Sozin and the rest of Dove United of the Four Pillars, yet the other Pillars for a time were seriously damaged by this side operation by the few successful cases. Sozin also knew of such double agents, but no one knew that the institution that was keeping Saki and the other children was one of them as he was just sent in to rescue or kill, but if he knew the truth he would have been forced to dispose all the children, including Saki.

Also, Saki's training wasn't 100% complete, but because her brain washing was nearly completed long ago, and was just made to forget about it along with the many, many dark things that they did to the children there Saki herself never knew the truth until recently. It was only after coming to the the Terminal Lobby for the first time did Saki begin to remember her purpose... As a double agent of the Masd Enlightenment tasked to infiltrate and kill enemy Players.

Saki: And that is my true identify Shin. Once I first came to the Terminal Lobby I realized what I was. For what reasons that lead me to search for that dimension, and then I knew. A spy. A tool created by Mass Enlightenment to infiltrate God's Dimension and take over the teams of Absolute Reckoning and Dove United. As for this team Japan... I am sure you can guess what I have plan for them all.

Shin: ...

Shin couldn't believe what he was being told despite Saki being right in front of him and telling him her story. Brainwashing, sleeper agents and for that person to be his comrade Saki... It was all too much for Shin to take in... Yet once he thought about it it made some sense.

Saki had already admitted in the past that Mass Enlightenment had experimented on her, which included her brain and neither Saki or Sozin knew what the ultimate goal of Mass Enlightenment was for all the children that they had kidnapped besides being raised as potential Players for them in the future.

Kids without parents, orphans now after their parents were killed would be let out into the world unknowingly and most if not all them will despair over their lives. Shin didn't know how exactly the final picture was supposed to look like, but he could imagine it being like how Saki's turned out. They would gain the skills needed to survive in that dimension and continue their programing.

Even without all of her memories Saki had been consciously and subconsciously drawn to God's Dimensionmand and her own lack of ability to feel strong positive emotions only made her more likely to click YES to God if they ever made contact with him.

They would definitely possess skills that a Player team might highly desire, so these sleeper agents would be most welcomed into any team... Like Saki had been to ours. From there, when the teams accepts the double agent and they let their guard down in the Terminal Lobby were everyone is relaxing and preparing for the next mission, or on the mission itself the sleeper agent would make their move.

It was a truly horrifying yet brilliant plan, and anyone who has ever watched/played Star Wars or Assaisn's Creed would know how effect such plans are, but Shin felt that something was off as well.

Shin: Have you really been brainwashed, Saki? There should have been plenty of chances for you to kill me and you let them go till this moment. Hikari, my cousin Chika, Aqua... That last one doesn't count, but if you had attacked me when I was with one of them I would have been made to protect them and I would have lost to any plan that you could have devised.

Saki: How deductive of you Shin. I never thought of you as dumb since you purposely fool around all the time, but I give you credit for keeping your cool in this situation.

Shin: I don't worry about that Saki, I have definitely lost a few marbles over this whole fucking shit you laid on me at the very last minute. I'm also angry enough to rip your head off for that stunt just now.

Saki: I see. Then to answer you question, I really have been brainwashed Shin, but I have too good of a brain. I am definitely your and the rest of Team Japan's enemy, but I haven't been completely taken over by Mass Enlightenments brainwashing.

Shin: You haven't? Well, the the pit of lava where I was just standing isn't very convincing, Saki.

Saki: Yes and no, you are correct, but I am still the same Saki that you and the rest of the team all know as my original self is still in control, yet slowly and surly I am losing myself to the brainwashing that they did to me as a kid. There is no changing that unfortunately.

Shin: ...

Saki: Mass Enlightenment couldn't stop talking about how I was the ideal asset for this double agent nonsense and would move up in the organization due to having an exceptional mind, but because of my exceptional mind I could resist and take certain actions others in my position could not. It might have something to due with Sozin rescuing before I was ready to be released into the world, but that doesn't matter now.

Saki then began to stare at Shin and once more from that no emotion women, Shin could feel real killing intent. Shin needed to look into Saki's eyes just once to see she isn't joking around, like she ever could do that when she wasn't a threat to his life.

Saki: The brainwashing is demanding that I kill Team Japan... And there is no way for me to fully resist that order even now. I've only resisted so far because like I said before I have a too good of a brain, more so then those scientist thought, but I couldn't resist forever. I am 100% certain that I will take the next chance in the next mission to kill everyone in our team, and unexpectedly at that. Most likely as we are all waking up at the start of the mission when we are most vulnerable. Of course after I kill you here I'll lie to the rest of the team when I return to the Terminal Lobby.

Shin: Would it really go over that well, Saki? I don't know if it will make you feel relived or not, but our team isn't so stupid to fall into your trap. They will suspect that something is wrong if you return well after they did and I never came back. You could fool some of them, but not Kampa or Aqua who are more experienced and more likely to doubt any excuse you give them.

Saki: They certainly would wouldn't they, but only if it looks suspicious, Shin. I know a lot more about God's Dimension than you do now that I remember everything, so let me tell you something about Voyage Trips like the one we are right now. You see, when we all return together like this, even if someone immediately returns and another Player returns just one minute before time is up, we all return at the same time to the Terminal Lobby. This is possible because God's Dimension is an entirely different dimension with its own space and time. The science behind it is confusing, but the point is that we will all instantly return together no matter how much time passed since Hikari, Kampa and the others left before us. Long as I don't stand out and act confused when they realize you are missing, then even Kampa and your beloved Aqua wouldn't suspect me. In fact, questions and fingers would be points at Kampa and Hikari instead since they supposed to come back with you.

Shin: ...

Shin couldn't believe how well thought out this plan of hers was. Saki was definitely being roundabout it, but it still didn't mean that her plans were any less ingenious as usual. He could only wonder what Saki has next up her sleeves, but the answer to that came immediately as he thought of it. Shin watched as Saki reached into her pocket and placed a ring onto one of her fingers. It was ring familiar to Shin and a ring he was already currently wearing on his own left hand.

Shin: ...Na Ring?

Saki: Yes. Shin, you and the others assumed I used all my points and rewards on that assembly line of goods that I made, but you and the others were well off the mark. All the things that I built were made with lost cost goods that hardly needed any points whatsoever, it just looked like a lot due to the quantity is all. I also discovered recently that I already had knowledge of useful tools and how to make them in my mind. An implant and gift from the filthy scientists who basically raped my mind and the mind of other children, but somewhat worth it wouldn't you say?

Shin: ...

'Fuck' and 'How could I have been so stupid', were the first words to come to Shin mind once he learned about Saki real work.

Shin and the others had seen Saki make close to a few dozen useful items for the team and working everyday with little to no sleep back in the Terminal Lobby. This gave everyone the impression that despite her cold and harsh ways, Saki had used up all of her points and rewards for the sake of the team on her manufacturing line of goods, but the the truth was that this image was purposely implanted into their heads.

Not only did it rid of any notion that Saki was anything but a team player, a comrade, it also hid the fact that she had used up her rewards and points on the Na Ring and probably Low level Ki as well to activate it like Shin could. Once Shin really thought about it he had never seen Saki make or exchange anything truly out of this world that would need any of her two D rank rewards.

Also, despite all the time and resources that she put into her work, the actual point cost shouldn't have been that high to start with and to end up with zero points left like she had. Like food, materials and such were extremely cheap and although Shin didn't know how much materials Saki went through in those eight days in the Terminal Lobby there was no way she could have gone through her entire saving of plus 3000 points points.

Shin: ( Was I so stupid that I didn't realize something so obvious that she didn't come close to going through all of her points and rewarding. Including the cost of the second human creation Saki should of had 2700 or so points. Saki must have spent 1500 points for the ring and the 500 point for Low level Ki, so Saki had only used 700 points or so for the assembly line. How... How could I have accepted that she had used all of her points for just that small amount of goods that she made? ).

The reason Shin and the others never questioned Saki or double checked how much she really spent on her tools and materials was trust.

Not only did Saki not give them any reason to doubt her, she made it a point to show how hard she was working for the team. Without the slightest doubt or reason to, it would have actually have been strange to double check on exactly how much each Player in a team spent on their exchanges. Shuai who even worked with Saki probably didn't understand what was going on either.

Saki: Just so you know within this Na Ring aren't just tools or weapons, but bombs as well. The kind that wipe out anything within a few kilometers. I made them during her down time here in the Real World. I didn't have the point or time to make on all on my own, but with my military resources it was easy to gather the parts long as don't raise any red flags in doing so. I also made the truly dangerous components with the left over points I had in God's Dimension.

Shin: You plan to blow everyone up?

Saki: Yes. Even if I have to kill myself to do so, I'll do whatever it takes to kill Team Japan.

Shin: Saki... It is hard to tell if anything you are saying now is the truth, but why are you going so far? Why didn't you say anything sooner about the brainwashing. And why are you and I here now, instead of me being unaware like everyone else and falling into your trap? Why did you only destroy the computer till I was about to return. If you had done nothing to the next mission you could have killed us all off without raising any suspicion.

Saki: ...To answer one of your questions I couldn't tell you what was going on. I am not allowed to tell anyone unless I am sure that their is no risk... Because I am about to kill you Shin. Something that I have to do in order to help you all.

Shin: Help? What the-

Saki: It's the truth Shin. I destroyed Kampa's computer just now to isolate you from God's Dimension and the rest of the team, so to create the perfect setting for our fight and so that you can defeat me. The truth is that despite desiring our teams death due to my brainwashing, I was able to hold off on killing everyone by focusing on a singe target to appease my uncontrollable desires. I wanted to kill myself, but it is impossible since my brainwashing restricts such actions. This was only one way for me to stop myself from killing everyone and that was to be killed in battle.

Shin didn't understand what Saki was planning, yet he understood that this battle was something Saki wanted and designed from the beginning. Saki really didn't want to hurt the team so she choose this roundabout method instead of outright kill everyone, by choosing to have Shin kill her here and now, and could Shin can tell that this wasn't a game to her, yet he still had questions.

Shin: Saki, I'm lost here. Do or do you not want to hurt us? If it isn't then-

Saki: There was a loop hole in my brainwashing, Shin. It compels me to kill you all since you are not Mass Enlightenments or an ally and there is no getting around that... But not when to, how to kill everyone, all at once or if I should persevere my own life are not decided beforehand. That was why I did all of this and am telling you the truth. By challenging you Shin, here and now, and having you win over me I can avoid harming our teammates and friends.

Shin: ...Saki, do you really set all of this up for just me to kill you? You don't want to harm us, but you can't help yourself due to the brainwashing? Didn't you fight so hard till now to go against it to the point you set up this nonsense? Couldn't you, couldn't you have just not done any of this? I can't believe despite having more than half control of your actions that you couldn't have done something. I truly refuse to believe that a person with such a brilliant mind such as yourself couldn't come up with a way to out of this mess. I am not going to kill you, Saki. I am not going to fight you either. You are no spy or asset of Mass Enlightenment of the Four Pillars. You are clearly my comrade!

Saki: ...Shin, this will be different from me killing myself. Since now after telling you the truth I... Won't be able to stop from trying to kill you, so to stop you from returning to the Terminal Lobby to warn the others to the fact I am a spy.

Shin: Saki! I said that I won't-

Saki: You don't have a choice in the matter if you want to make it back to the Terminal Lobby by the dead line. You will have to escape here from me, or kill me to reach the nearest computer to return. That would be Hikari's and remember you have about one hour to do so.

Shin: You can't just force me to kill you Saki.

Saki: I said you have no choice. What I said just now is also why you have to kill me. Since if you escape to Hikari's, I'll follow after you in pursuit. It may reveal to the Four Pillars that Hikari is a Player of Team Japan, which could endanger her family.

Shin: ...Saki, you!

Saki: Also, if you run away successfully without killing me, I'll inform the Four Pillars of all of Team Japan's identities which will in danger the families and friends of everyone. You also shouldn't try to take me with you back to God's Dimension. You could knock me out and bring me with you, but I wouldn't advise such a method. I don't want to hurt any of you, but I'll take the first real chance I get to kill everyone. You could bound me in chains, but during the chaos of the next mission my chance will definitely come and you won't be able to watch me every second that we are there. You should know better then I how chaotic and dangerous those missions are.

Shin: Goddammit Saki! Do you really want me to kill you!? Innocent victim or not, you have pushed my last nerve by threaten Hikari, Aqua and the others in spite of my attempts to offer you a hand. Do you even want to live at all!?

Saki: Didn't I tell you already long ago? After the BTOOOM mission and in the Terminal Lobby, at that time I had already begun formulating this plan and I told you that I had no more regrets. Whatever it was because of the brainwashing or my desire to know more about why my old life was ruined and being able to meet Sozin... I was fulfilled just knowing about the Genetic Constraint, so with everything else I learned that I truly have no more attachments to life.

Shin: ...

Saki: Now that I think about it maybe that's why I never had the will power to resist the brainwashing despite my efforts so far, or thinking up a method to save myself like you said earlier. Too late really, but it's nice to know in the end.

Shin felt the feeling of danger and death around Saki become stronger and jumped back as Saki activated her Na Ring with Ki and took something out. What Saki had taken out was a slim, yet large caliber sci-fi looking gun that was half her size from her Na Ring. Saki pointed and aimed her rifle at Shin as she had begun to talk once more.

Saki: Fission Hunter's Rifle, or a replica of it from the sci-fi exchanges that I was able to make here in the real world. It's a melting gun that shoots out energy ball of high heat and melt anything it hits. There is also a three round burst, charge shot, electric nets for capturing and missile attachments that pursue escaping targets. It would have been the perfect weapon for Kampa with his mercenary skills and experience, but unfortunately I only had the time to make one of them... And this one is already serving a purpose.

At that moment the level of danger coming from Saki reached a new level and Shin saw why. Saki's eyes lost their light and had become even more expressionless, revealing to Shin that she had too unlocked the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint and had entered Unlocked Mode.

Saki: Shin, I know I am being unfair here to you, but you have to fight. If you don't defeat me here and now then your Team Japan is destined to die.

Shin choose to immediately run away with Instant Movement as he crashed through the front window of the Internet cafe building he was just in to get away from Saki. Luckily, no one out in the streets at that time since from the window Shin had just jumped out of, a red light could be seen.

From there, the broken Window and the wall around it were melted by the Energy Shot of Saki's Sci-fi weapon. Shin looked back to see that the damage didn't stop at the wall, but carried on into the streets as well as ot turned the sidewalk into a pit of molten lava.

Shin: Fuck! Without Instant Movement I would have died, and I barely got away. I can't dodge that kind of thing without knowing it is coming.

Shin had already entered into Unlocked Mode by this point and sensed a threat from above. While running away Shin looked back to see Saki on the roof of the building and with her rifle point at him. Saki's Sci-fi weapon, the Fission Hunter's Rifle had four methods of attacking and Saki choose to use the fourth.

From the side of the riffle two toy sized and slim missiles were released from the gun. They followed after Shin and didn't look too dangerous, but Shin who knew better didn't stop running away. Shin turned a corner and the missiles followed after him. It was when Shin made a second turn down a ally way that the missiles lost Shin and detonated.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The blast from the missiles was not small and all the nearby cars were blown away and destroyed in the blast. Even Shin who had ran down an ally felt a intense shock wave slam into his back and almost knocked him off his feet.

Shin: ( In more then one way there's no point in running. Saki can melt through buildings and have missiles follow me. And I hate to admit it, but I can't lead this kind of destructive path of destruction to Hikari's home or my own. I... I can only fight Saki after all! ).

Shin was slightly thankful for his calm reasoning thanks to Unlocked Mode, but was more disgusted with himself than anything. Despite what Saki had said he wanted to believe there was a way out of this where they could both live, but not only couldn't he waste his time Saki's current existence was a major threat personally to himself and his teammates. Shin wouldn't allow any harm to come close to his loved ones and his comrades loved ones as well, so after seeing how much of a threat Saki was Shin prioritized his himself and his team over Saki's life.

Shin: Dammit Saki. Fine! I'm doing as you wanted. Like a puppet and since I can't afford to hold back I won't! I won't die here!

Shin choose no longer to run or think of a way to end this fight with Saki quickly. He thought of Saki as a comrade, but he is one to respond to punch with a punch, and death with death. After going through two mission he wasn't someone who would allow other people to threaten and kill him without a fight.

Now with the resolve to kill his former comrade Shin was able to calm down and think about his immediate problem. To defeat Saki and to escape to the nearest Entry/Return Point. To escape safety back to God's Dimension he has to defeat Saki, so first he needs to come up with a strategy.

Shin: Lets review what I know about her. Saki is extremely intelligent woman in her late 20's, calm and calculating due to the experiments Mass Enlightenment performed on her as a child. Her body is that of a female nearing the age of 30 who has gone through basic military training, but at the very least she has exchanged for Ki, making her stronger than the average women. Most worrisome is that she had at some point Unlocked her Genetic Constraint, so she can use her body to its full potential, which includes her intelligence which is the most frightening aspect about Saki. Saki also possess a Na Ring like myself, so she has an assortment of weapons to use hidden in its subspace. Most should be self made, so none of her weapons other then her main weapon should reach the level of Sci-fi caliber and she said herself that it took a long time for her to make... I guess I can believe that since despite her intelligence she his no professional craftsman and probably followed a manual. The greatest source of danger is that gun of hers, the Fission Hunter's Rifle. Energy Shots, three round burst, a Charged Energy Shot, missiles and a net to capture targets. It would be a frightening weapon in anyone's hands, but with Saki the level of danger reaches a whole new dimension. Fuck, she said she made that gun in her spare time, but with everything else she made she is a goddam monster!

Shin now knew what he was up against and begun making plans to counter anything Saki could throw at him. Saki should know that she can't win against him in close combat due to his weapons and enhancements, so using that as a starting point Shin begun to think about what he would due in Saki's shoes. This was possible with his 209 Intelligence stat.

Shin: My thought process had become more sensitive, and although I want to kick himself for missing Saki's whole plot, now that I am aware and in Unlocked Mode, I deduce Saki's possible attack plans. The rifle of hers is most suitable to mid and long distance attacks. Saki probably won't pursue me unless it looks like I am trying to run away from the battle. She will either stay a consistent distance from me and attack, or wait for me to come to her. Saki knows I can only fight from a distance with the Auto 9, so she is expecting me to come to her... And that is where her trap will be waiting for me! A straight up fight is impossible for her to win, so she will definitely have something prepared for when I come after her.

Shin then realized it was a mistake to run away from Saki in the beginning as that was his best chance to defeat her, but there was nothing he could do about that now. He hadn't resolved himself to fight Saki at that time, but now Shin is determined to end this pointless battle which he had no time for. Shin was fighting against a clock after all.

Using the nearby building and the shadows that they had provide, Shin left the alley he was just in to sneak back to the internet cafe where he last saw Saki. Shin thought it was strange that there are no signs of the police after all the havoc that Saki's weapon had caused, but he just assumed that it had to do with her Four Pillars connection.

Shin: ( There also aren't any curious civilians around as well, but that is good for me. I don't want to worry about people seeing me, or getting caught up in this mess ).

Shin was a block away from the cafe and yet there were no signs of Saki anywhere. He had hoped that she had stayed in one place since she was the oone who wanted this fight, but Saki was smarter than that. Saki should know that she couldn't win against Shin with a direct approach, so she would obviously use other methods.

Shin was certain of that much. He remembered that it was Saki who thought up the idea to set up a mind filed of bombs to kill their enemies in the last mission BTOOOM. Recalling that, Shin became more determined to find Saki. The more time that he gave her to hide and set up traps the worse it was going to be for him later on... But that onky mattered if Saki hadn't made any preparations before the battle began which was highly likely as well.

Shin: She's not here?

Shin couldn't find Saki.

Then as Shin was about to leave to try somewhere else, he saw a red flash of light and immediately jumped away with Instant Movement. A large red ball of energy came from inside the half destroyed Internet Cafe towards Shin and where he was just standing the surface of the road had destroyed and turned into magma from the melting gun.

Shin: There's more!

Three, but smaller energy shots were fired simultaneously came rushing to Shin where had landed after he dodged the charged shot. Shin avoided two of the three energy shots that would have evaporated him, but it was impossible to avoid the third even with his agility.

Shin had no defensive skills to date, a fact that he curses at this moment, so he could only take the attack head on. Shin drew his Gravity Blade magic weapon from his Na Ring, and then did something he has seen in so many Anime and Mangas and hoping his sword wouldn't be destroyed... Shin cut the energy attack in half with his sword and the spit of energy blast flew off in different directions.

Shin: Fuck!

Shin successfully avoided death, yet he cursed out loud due to directly taking on the attack. Shin wasn't killed, but the attack burned the skin off his arm and if not for his Lesser Fenrir Coat he would have imagined that his body would have caught fire.

Shin: ( Gaaah! How the hell do characters in manga avoided being hurt when they do this shit? Reality fucking sucks! ).

Shin filled with rage looked back towards Saki, but she was already gone and heard the sound of a door, the back door of the cafe being opened. Saki had ran immediately after her last attack not even considering that Shin would have died. Furious, Shin ran immediately after Saki and planned to jump on top of the Burning building to follow her as it would give him a better view.

Shin jumped carefully onto the roof and was about to look for Saki when he noticed something in the corner of his vision. Shin had yet to even register what it was before he jumped off the roof as fast as possible without even caring about landing. Shin hit his back hard on the concrete road and at the same time-

\- *EXPLOSION*!

BIM.

Placed throughout the half burned down building and including the roof by Saki were highly explosive Remote Control BIMs. Laying on his back on the street, not even taking the time to wonder how Saki acquired BIMs, Shin thanked his luck that he survived. If Shin was not traumatized by BIMs in the last mission and Saki had used regular bombs like C4, something that he has never seen before outside TV, Shin knows that he wouldn't have escaped as fast as he did and would have died.

Shin: Fuck! That was pure luck that I survived. Fuck 'I won't you to kill me'. Saki is holding nothing back for someone claiming that they wanted to die.

Shin didn't spend too more time complaining after that and got back on his feet. Then having made sure that he hadn't broken his back during the fall and could continue to fight, Shin immediately began to pursue his fleeing comrade Saki.

Shin: Well, I've had stupid idea in my life, but this take first place. Still, this is the only way to reach Saki in one, or in most pieces with my luck.

Before coming to his current plan, Shin recalls how he had spent the last ten minutes looking for Saki within the area. Every time that he found her she would use the power of her gun to stop him from advancing and escape.

Shin learned his lesson before with directly confronting those energy attacks, and so he has been using AP Bullet to shoot down Saki's normal attacks to have them detonate before they reach him and used his unmatched speed to avoid her charge shots that can turn roads into flaming pools of magma. Shin was successful, but as a result of staying a distance away Saki has been able to escape him time and time again.

When Shin finally manage to corner her, it turned out that he was the one cornered. Saki had ran and held herself within the construction site of a eight story building that was almost finished and ran up to the roof. When Shin followed after her it was only then did he realize the situation that he was in.

Saki had taken the higher ground with her gun and Shin was down on the open streets with nothing to hide behind, if that even mattered with a high powered melting gun. Shin realized the danger of staying out in the open like he was and was about to use Instant Movement to get to the construction site, but Saki was faster and much more prepared.

Saki pooled the third trigger of her gun and released the charge shot of her gun and targeted the area in front of him. Shin saw the flash from Saki's gun in time and backed away and a large potrtion of the street was destroyed from the blast. Shin not wanting to give up was about to move around the crater in the street knowing she can't fire another charge shot in time, yet Saki had predicted this action.

Shin only now noticed that the entire area around the construction site was booby trapped with Remote Control BIMs. Shin could maybe avoid the blast with Instant Movement, but it was impossible to get to the building Saki was in if she also opened fire on him while crossing the mine field of BIM.

Shin came to the quick conclusion that it was impossible at the moment to reach Saki, so he retreated from the area and Saki did nothing to stop him. Shin hid in the shadow of a building two bloocks away and attempted to figure out what Saki's plan was.

On the surface it looks like instead of trying to kill Shin, Saki was attempting avoid him and hold her self in her now self-made fortress. Shin with all of his Intelligence quickly realized the situation he was in and cursed.

Shin: Saki doesn't have to chase after me to win. It's me who's forced to chase after her. I can't leave Saki alone since she is the enemy who knows all of my team's secrets, and she knows this. If I run away she'll inform the Four Pillars about us and that'll put or family and loved ones in danger, so knowing that I can't run away Saki isn't hidden, but is preparing for the final battle and that building is the fortress that will give her the absolute advantage. She might have even made all those preparation and more that I don't know about in advance, and everything so far was to lead me here.

Shin knew this, but he had to go anyways and Saki would take advantage of that. Shin comes to the conclusion that the mind filed of BIM around the construction site isn't to kill Shin, but to wear him down.

Saki knows that with the Instant Movement skill, Shin could break through both the mind field and her sniping one way or another, but he would be damaged greatly. If there are other surprises waiting for him inside, than by the time Shin reaches Saki he wouldn't have the combat ability to defeat her, who is armed with Sci-fi weapons and has Unlocked the Genetic Constraint to the First Stage.

Shin knew that if he came charging in with his normal methods he would lose Saki even before he reached her, so Shin needed a new plan.

A plan to reach the construction site and the building within without taking any, or as little damge as possible. Shin spent three minutes thinking of a plan, but nothing came tommind and he really had no time to waste. It was then as he was considering taking his chances with just Instant Movement, Shin saw something... Which gave him the most stupid idea that he's had in his entire life, which brings him to the present.

\- *VROOOM*!

Saki on the roof of the unfinished building heard the sound of a car, in an area where civiliana be nowhere nearby due to Mass Enlightenment influence. Yet her hearing and now sight weren't deceiving her as a vehicle had just turned the corner at full speed and driving towards the construction site where she was. Saki channeled Ki into her eyes for increased vision and saw who the driver was.

It was her opponent Shin.

Shin had just came up with an idea to get past the barricade safety and for it to work he needed a car. Shin found a car ( It's no humvee, but at least it has a roof ) parked on a street corner and appling tips he had learned from Misaki, he quickly hot wired and stole the car.

Shin didn't know how to drive, but with little he knew and being in Unlocked Mode he figured out the basics and hoped that instinct was enough to avoid crashing to death. Driving the stolen car towards the construction Site Shin had one hand on the driver side door ready to escape in an emergency, yet it didn't help his driving.

Saki didn't know what Shin fully had planned as just a car wasn't going to protect him from any of the BIMs or the Fission Hunters Rifle, but still decided to test the waters. Before Shin reached the mine field of BIMs, from the Fission Hunter's Rifle Saki fired missiles that could follow instead of the slow energy blast, and set the target to the car Shin was driving.

Shin: Baka! I was worried if you used the those energy shots instead!

Saki expected Shin to try and avoid the missiles closing in at him or shoot them down with the Auto 9, yet instead Shin himself did something he had no confidence of doing, but knew if it worked it would surpass any of Saki's predictions.

Just before the missiles impacted the car Shin summoned the full power of his Advance Ki Energy and strengthened the entire car like he would do a gun or sword, but just on a larger scale.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The missiles exploded after accurately hitting the car, but besides slowing down temporarily the car came out intact and still running. Saki was surprised by this and before she could understand why the car wasn't damaged, Shin's car blew through the mine field of BIM. Saki set them off hoping to slow Shin down a little, but besides losing it's paint job the car he rode through the BIMs was fine.

More than half of Shin's Ki reserves were used up in that small amount of time, but it was worth it as the car had now entered into the construction site. Shin smiled to himself that his crazy idea worked, yet that smile immediately left his face as he saw a red flash of light from the roof of the building.

Without hesitation, Shin threw himself out the car just before a charge energy shot hit the car and turned it into a puddle of molten steel, along with a large portion of the ground as well. Shin jumping out of the car and rolling away safed him and it only cost him a sprained ankle, yet that wa sthe worst injury for him as he still had to make his way into the building Saki was in.

Shin knew that an injury like this could slow him down, and it was at that moment he saw Saki from the roof of the building pointing her gun down at him and even saw the pull of the trigger.

Shin: ( I won't die... I can't die like this! I won't die here! ).

Shin screamed and that feeling of something within him unlocked appeared. He was already in Unlocked Mode, yet he didn't question it and dived deeper into his instincts hoping to survive.

Immediately after doing so, Shin shut off and ignored the the pain from his ankle and started running on all fours like an animal. The speed Shin moved at was even much faster than a regular person running with all of their might.

Not only that, but Shin had also became more sensitive to danger. Shin would start to avoid the energy shots from Saki even before they were fired, and avoided the wide electric nets Saki released in attempts to stop him. That speed and the way Shin was running shocked Saki despite herself being in Unlocked Mode herself and all of her efforts to stop him fail short.

Shin had entered far into the construction site and was getting closer to the building, yet because the door was tightly shut at this time, he needed to break it open. To do so safely would require him to stop for a second, yet one second was enough for a sniper or in this case Saki to kill him, so he wasn't going to take that risk.

Shin: Ahh!

Madness and desperation were on Shin's face he approached the door.

Shin didn't have the time to worry anymore. As he reached the door of the building he launched himself forward with Instant Movement and condensed his body into a ball. The cannon ball that was Shin, slammed into the firmly locked door and rolled into the building with what remained of the door he destroyed in his charge. The crash left Shin half in a daze, yet he didn't have the time to recover properly.

Shin: No time!

Shin immediately got up from the ground and ran toward the stairs leading to the next floor. The stairs were half finished due to construction, yet he didn't care in the least. Last he saw Saki she was on the roof of the building and he didn't want to give her time to escape, so he ran as fast as possible.

Shin ran up through the stairs as fast as humanly possible, yet that still wasn't enough for him due to all the time he had wasted just to reach where he was. Shin noticed that the half complete stairs were slowing him down, so he choose to no longer use them.

Shin: Faster!

Like a beast, Shin allowed his instincts to take over and was rewarded with a sensation of power even greater than previous times he had unlocked the constraint. The countless fighting instincts, the ability to sense danger, and the techniques to use his strength made him feel so powerful.

If someone was to see Shin's movements right now, they would be scared because he was running on all fours on the wall. Shin's speed was so fast that it kept him on the wall without falling. In no time at all like that he reached the seventh floor of the building and was almost to the rooftop when-

Shin: Ah!

Sensing danger as he was about to pass by the seventh floor Shin jumped back down the stairs, and then immediately he brought out and covered his body with his Kagune. As Shin came crashing down the stairs, a large corrosive shot ripped through one of the few finished walls in the building, now leaving a large hole emitting a great amount of heat and stairs that were no longer usable.

Shin: Shit!

Shin didn't fully avoid the blast, but thanks to his Kagune strengthened with Ki, he avoided being instanta killed and came out relatively in good condition.

Instinctively knowing what know laid ahead of him was the final battle Shin took one last check on his physical condition and with a deep breath, he jumped. Shin climbed up to what remained of the seventh floor and settled into a crouching position. Then immediately taking out Gravity Blade in one hand and Aqua's former gun the Auto 9 in the other, Shin locked his sights on Saki who was standing before him.


	84. Chapter 84

Saki: I didn't expect to miss with that shot Shin, but I definitely never imagined that you would would be running on the walls either and at that kind of inhuman speed. It threw off my timing a little.

Shin: Well, glad to disappoint you. I am alive and well.

Saki: You make it sound like I want to kill you Shin? I don't, but I have to.

Shin: Stop talking nonsense, Saki! It hardly matters when you are still so good at coming up with plans that have almost killed me.

Saki: I couldn't help it.

Shin: So you say, but...

Saki: Let's end the talking here Shin. I've said all that I wanted to say before, so let's finish this. Neither of us have the time. Both of us has less than one hour to make it back to God's Dimension after all. Also, Shin, we should hurry this up for another reason as well.

Shin: ...

Saki: Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade, two of the Four Pillars are aware of this fight between the two of us. They left disposing of you to me, but we have created quite the mess with our fighting till now. If we do not come to a conclusion to our battle soon it wouldn't surprise me if they sent ability users, former Players who have survived God's Dimension to clean up this mess. Now, you wouldn't want to fight people with enhancements strong enough to survive God's Dimension, on your own do-

Shin: Saki!

Shin without hesitation jumped at Saki.

The jump was made with Instant Movement. It was a speed that Saki was incapable of matching, yet Saki who was ready for such a move was prepared and dived into a nearby room to avoid the charge. Shin wasn't surprised Saki got away since she was in Unlocked Mode as well, so without pause he followed after Saki into the room she escaped into.

When Shin entered the room he saw Saki aim the gun of her Fission Hunter's Rifle at him. He wasn't going to allow the gun to charge power for more energy shots and so he jumped towards the gun. At the moment the muzzle of the rifle began to glow a red which threatened to kill all, Shin reached with an extended right hand forward that was glowing green in contrast to Saki's red.

Shin: AP Bullet!

The energy attack of Shin's was released before Saki's own and smashed into through the barrel of the gun and cut into edge of Saki's torso. Saki clearly felt the pain, but didn't allow it to stop her moments as she threw the gun that was about to explode at Shin.

The gun blew, yet Shin covered his face and allowed his Lesser Fenrir Coat to take the hit for him as he continued towards Saki.

Shin's body was beat up and burned slightly, yet he was resolved to finish the battle and attacked without concern. Shin slashed at Saki with his sword and she moved slightly out of the way to avoid it, but immediately afterwards a kick struck Saki in the stomach and kicked her through the wall of the room.

Shin: ( She didn't take too much damage as she dilute the impact by jumping back. As expected of someone in Unlocked Mode. She's tough even in close combat, yet this is still my chance! ).

Shin went after Saki to finish her off, yet instead of being on the ground in pain she had rolled away to the far side of the room and had taken items out of her own Na Ring. Saki's two hands were equipped with two of the latest advance handguns known for their rapid fire and power, and around her waist was a belt with BIMs attached to it, and from what Shin saw she had Cracker and Remote Control BIMs.

Saki then channeled as much Ki Energy into her legs and started to run towards Shin while firing both guns at him. Shin deflected the bullets with his sword and took a step forward to slash at the approaching Saki, but Shin was stopped as a bullet lodged itself into his leg.

Shin: ( Did she reflect a bullet that I already blocked back at me!? ).

Shin was surprised and had his movement stopped, and Saki took advantage of that with a full swing kick to his face. Like Saki before Shin was blown out of the room through a door. Shin quickly recovered and jumped out of the way as three Cracker BIM detonated where he just was.

Saki saw Shin run to recover himself and chased after him in a manner like before, only this time their positions were reversed. Saki was the hunter and Shin was the prey to be chased down. Shots were continually fired from her gun and Shin was forced on to the defensive.

Shin kept blocking the bullets as they made there way to him. Shin then began fire back at Saki with the Auto 9, yet unlike him Saki could avoid the bullets amd she continued to suppress him. If not for his coat then Shin knew for certain that his body would be riddled with bullet holes, yet all the same a few of her shots pierced into his flesh by intentional ricochet bullets.

Shin: ( She doesn't even need to look the accurately shoot me. Like this it' stoo hard to predict the bullet's trajectory ).

Shin was beginning to realize that he had fallen into Saki's trap, and her final one at that.

All of their encounters till this moment was for Saki to analyze Shin's fighting tactics and potential to predict all of his future movement. Saki had a natural good brain, and together with the experiments in her youth and in Unlocked Mode she was showing her true worth as a first class double agent of Mass Enlightenment, tasked with the job of single-handedly wiping out enemy teams from within.

Shin: ( I can't win against her using my standard moves anymore. Saki knows me inside and out and is predicting my every possible move... Wait. Before when I was climbing up the stairs on the walls, Saki didn't predict that I would do such a insane stunt, so I escaped her sneak attack with very little damage. The same with how I got here with the car. It was outside logic, so Saki was thrown off... That's it! To win, no to survive I can only surpass her future predictions with animal instincts and pure force ).

While running away from Saki, Shin threw himself into another room in desperation to avoid a shower of bullets that would have killed him otherwise. Saki thinking that the end was near and this was his last struggle, she didn't hesitate to follow after Shin.

Saki expected Shin to try something as she entered the room, a large enough that it was probably going to be the main office area of the building, yet Shin was no where to be found. It took Saki less then a second to realize where Shin was, but she was too late.

Shin: Gravity Blade, Five-Hundred Times Gravity Slash!

From right above Saki and handing on the ceiling with his Kagune was Shin.

Shin immediately pushed himself off the ceiling with instant movement and slashed at Saki with Gravity Blade. Saki manage to avoid a full slash with just a small cut to her shoulder, yet the real attack was next. Floor fragments from when Gravity Blade cut into the floor assaulted Saki and made her stumble backwards.

Shin attempted to follow up with an attack, but a shower of bullets stopped him in his tracks. Saki then threw Remote Control BIM at Shin and detonated the highly explosive bombs in midair in the space between the two. The blast threw Saki across the room, yet safety away from Shin.

It took more then ten seconds for her to stand back up, yet Shin didn't, or couldn't immediately come after her. Saki believed it was more then possible that Shin had died or that he was blown across the room like she was, yet her intuition told her to immediately open fire through the black smoke from the explosion.

Immediately after doing so, Saki saw a crimson mass bolt from the black smoke and run on all fours crazily across the room. Saki had no idea what he was doing, yet still didn't hesitate to continue open fire on him, yet she was met with an unexpected result.

Despite believing that she had predicted the crimson mass, Shin's strange running pattern, yet her attack weren't landing. Shin was giving little to no thought about how to dodge Saki's atrack, only relying on instinct as he slowly made his way to her, so her attacks missed.

Also, the few stray bullets that did hit Shin because he was acting randomly were blocked. The four tentacles of his Kagune were wrapped around him limbs. Not only did they support his damaged body to keep moving, they also protected the few areas the Lesser Finrir Coat couldn't block from Saki's accurate shooting.

As Shin approach closer and closer to Saki, two of his Kagune tentacles would swipe at Saki. Saki gave her all to dodge the blood red tentacles strengthened with Ki that would have tore her in half if they would ever catch her. One mistake would equal death, so Saki gave her all to not be put in a position to make one.

Taking a page from Shin, Saki herself began running on the walls to avoid the Kagune tentacles and jumped towards the center of the room. Once she landed and reloaded her gun in the blink of an eye Saki began her counter attack.

Ki Energy was channeled into Saki's two handguns and she opened fire on Shin. In their short exchange Saki gained a better grasp of Shin's unpredictable and animal like movements, so at least 2/5 of her attacks were able to land on him. Shin's Kagune did well to protect him, yet having the lowest durability of of the four types of Kagune, Rinkaku, were being destroyed by the Ki infused bullets of Saki's.

Shin felt that the tide of the battle were once again about to shift back to Saki, yet he willed himself to keep going.

Shin: ( Not enough. It isn't enough to overwhelm Saki with just a bit of power and instincts. More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More, More! ).

Shin: Ahhhhhhh!

Then Shin screamed in pain.

To Saki's shock, his right arm and other limbs began to enlarge at a visible speed. To her, it looked Shin's arms and legs had become three times as thick as compared to a normal person's. The puffed muscles felt and looked like a mutated organism at first glance and struck fear into the women who claimed to feel little.

Saki: ...Second Stage?

Shin speed as he ran circles around Saki surpassed her ability to follow even in Unlocked Mode. To her, Shin had truly become a crimson blur due to his Kagune still being wrapped around his body. Shin was so fast that Saki had to give it her all just to stay alive with a defensive stance to wait and counter Shin's next attack.

Shin sensed that Saki had yet to give up, and so he committed himself to one last desperate attack and whoever was still standing afterwards would be the one to walk away alive. With enlarged, Ki strengthened legs Shin jumped from the floor to the ceiling and to the walls over and over again at a speed Saki couldn't keep up with as he kept moving in and way from her line of sight.

Saki had hoped that coming into the center of the room to challenge Shin would give her the initiative to fight back, but without even a wall to lean against Saki was trapped in the middle of the room as Shin bounced from place to place like a crazed and out of control ball.

Shin: NOW!

Shin jumped toward the ceiling right above Saki and with enough force to smashin the ceiling he jumped back down at her with Instant Movement. Saki miraculously guarded against Shin's atrack with one arm. She fully expected to sacrifice her arm to block his punch and immediately shove her free hand's gun mouth and kill him, yet the battle was over the moment Shin's punch reached Saki.

Soul Crushing Strike!

The very first Ki skill Shin learned came crashing down from above, strengthened further while in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode, breaking through Saki's guard and slamming right into her chest where it fully exploded.

The force of which Saki than came crashing into the floor and the Ki shock wave of Soul Crushing Strike caused the already damaged floor floor from their battle to collapsed and they both feel down to the floor below. As they both feel into the darkness below Shin gazed at Saki with sadness in his eyes as she just smiled peacefully back at him.

Shin: ( Sorry for only being strong enough to win, yet not strong enough to save you Saki ).

Shin: Well, this is what you wanted, right? Still, did you really expect me to make it back like... Ghaaaa!

Shin layed on the floor in great pain, unable to stand or even move after delivering his final attack and falling down to the floor below.

Shin's arms and legs had returned to normal size, but it they were still red and swollen, and a lot of the blood vessels were broken after expanding them for increased power. Shin then started trembling violently. It was trembling from extreme pain, the pain that came after unlocking the constraint. Shin attempted to push through the pain, but it was no use.

Shin has been in the Unlocked Mode for so long, the longest he has ever been and to top it off he has unlocked the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint for the first time as well, though he didn't know that was what allowed him to win and he just assumed it was just a deeper level of his Unlocked Mode. An inhuman pain that threaten to break either his body or mind ( assulted ) Shin and left him paralyzed.

Shin: Fuck! I, I don't have time for-

It was then as Shin was just doing his best to turn his head that he saw something that was unbelievable.

Saki, the enemy who had just taken his full force Soul Crushing Strike while in the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint was alive. Saki's torso was slightly caved in and she was on her knees puking blood and pieces of internal organs, yet she was still alive and looking back at Shin.

Just like before Shin's final attack landed Saki was showing a peaceful smile void of killing intent or any other desire to fight. Her face was deathly pale and smeared with blood, but she was still smiling at him.

Shin: ...

Saki: Don't... Don't look so surprised that I am alive Shin. True... You Ki attack is incredibly powerful and was capable of piercing through the armors of the enemies in the last mission... But they were void of magic defenseses or anything else supernatural to protect them. Sozin should have taught you that... Ki attacks become less fatal when they conflict with your opponents Ki attacks, or other such powers. Also, I was wearing a vest inscribed with magic defenseses.

Shin: So you're still alive by gathering Ki to the impact point to cushion the blow and that vest.

Saki: Yes, but you are half... Shin. I am only alive for the moment. You Ki and... Physical might are far above mi-, *Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*!

Shin: Stop acting acting like professor character and stop talking!

Shin saw that Saki was right and that she was slowly and surly fading fast. Only by some great will was Saki able to even bring herself back up and speak to Shin one last time.

Saki: So you are worried about me, huh? Strange, *Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*!

Shin: That's a hurtful thing to say when it is coming from you. I only fought you to survive and... Despite me being the reason for your current condition I... I don't want you to die Saki.

Saki: ...I didn't believe that I could feel worse than I already have for the last month or so, but, *Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*!

Shin: Saki, I said stop talking and rest already! You've... You've done enough already.

Saki: *Cough*,*Cough*,*Cough*! I agree that I'm at the point of no return, but Shin, there is still one last thing that I have to do.

Shin didn't understand what she meant but was shocked and frightened by Saki's next action. Saki reached for a switch that he recognized as a switch for Remote Control BIM and without hesitation she flip all the switches all at once.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Shin closed his eyes at first, but a second later he realized that nothing happened to him. Shin had feared Saki had placed BIMs in the half destroyed building to cause it to collapse and kill the both of them, but to his surprise he was alive.

Shin: The explosions came from outside?

Shin heard the multiple blast detonate away from the construction site and wondered what Saki's purpose was, yet in his current condition Shin could even afford the strength stand up to look out the window right behind Saki.

Saki: Never mind that, Shin. I was just taking care of something. It doesn't involve you.

Shin: ...What now then?

Saki: Next their is nothing. You won Shin and I lost. I was unable to defeat you and- *Cough*, I'm not in a condition to maek my way back to God's Dimension to repair my injuries, or challenge the others. Once you recovered enough you should leave and make your way to Hikari's house and use her Entry/Return Point. *Cough*,*Cough*... This fight took longer than I expected it to whether you or I were to win, but if you go now than you should just barely make it in time before the midnight deadline.

Shin: ...Saki, did you really not care if you lost despite fighting so hard? That you will die here today, does that matter at all to you?

Saki: Shin, I only fought so hard due to my programing. Since the moment I've learned the truth about myself I lost my will to live. Still, as I said before I have no regrets... And to leave this world without any-

Then Saki who clearly shouldn't be, or able to move began to move towards the window behind her. Saki didn't have the strength to stand, so she crawled her way over to the window, over the glass and rubble of the ceiling. Once Saki made it below the window, she struggled, yet successful pulled herself up to it and sat on the window sill unsteady.

Saki then took off her Na Ring and with what little strength she had left and threw it over to Shin. The ring fell before reaching Shin, yet it managed to roll the rest of the way to him.

Shin: What are you doing? Why ars you giving me this?

Saki: Beware Shin. The Four Pillars will eventually find out about our team. At least Mass Enlightenment knows thanks to my actions. I had to contact them if I was to ever return to the real world once I'm aware of my role as a sleeper agent. I won't put it pass them, and even fully expect them to target Team Japan's real world connections like family and close friends.

Shin: Saki...

Saki: I have already made contact with them and gave them false reports, but I don't expect those to fool them for much longer, but on the bright side they do not yet know of the team's real identities. This will give you and the rest some time to become stronger and make plans to protect loved ones.

Shin: I am asking what are you-

Saki: Shin, I know that you didn't want this type of situation and just wanted to enjoy the Mission Worlds and become stronger, but you are now facing real dangers in the real world, and are now burdened with responsibilities that you never wanted. Still, if you wish to still live for those goals of yours and retain your freedom, not bound by the Four Pillars and their battles, then you must become stronger. Stronger than the any of the top leaders of the Four Pillars and their founders, and defeat them. I can't say if you really are the protagonist of this world, but you will have to be if you want to survive and protect your comrades.

Shin: Who cares about that crap! I asked what are you doing by that window!?

Saki: Did I not say so Shin? I have no more regrets and don't want anymore when I die. If I am left alone like this you will be penalized 1000 Points by God for killing a New Player, right?

Shin: ...

Saki: You... And the rest of the team, thank you. Depressing as it is, this has been the best time of my life being together with everyone. Especially you Shin, thank you for indulging me in my selfishness tonight, but I am finished now... I, I am just going to rest for a bit... Thank you.

Shin: Saki!

But it was too late.

Unable to properly move his body, Shin could only watch as Saki threw herself out the window headfirst and with the distant sound of a thud, Shin knew that Saki and this horrible battle on his last night in the real world had come to an end.

Shin: ...Saki, you fool! Also, aren't you a liar? What you just did, taking your own life in the end... Doesn't that prove that you could have gone against your brainwashing if you tried? Why... Were the both of us so weak that it had to end like this?

Shin than began to imagine the reason Saki killed herself was only partially to save him from being penalized by God. Maybe Saki never knew, but Shin could now tell how tired Saki was with everything. Mass Enlightenment, the Four Pillars, her tragic childhood and her fate to kill possibly her only real friends in the world.

Shin: Saki... Most likely never truly developed mentally after being kidnapped and experimented on. Your intelligence was unmatched, yet deep down you were still that ten year old girl torn away from your parents and made the plaything of mad men. Killing yourself was not just for me, but to meet your parents again and to put everything to rest... Maybe if you realized that before today none of this would have had to happen.

Shin stopped talking out loud once he finally accepted that Saki was no longer with him, yet he still cursed Saki in his heart for being too weak and for the Four Pillars for making her life the way it was.

Saki was right about not liking certain parts of what it meant to be a protagonist. Shin never wanted this part of being a protagonist, having to live and move on when when a friend dies and having to live for them as well, but still, he won't forget his time with Saki and this battle for the rest of his life.

Shin: ...

Shin took the item Saki passed to him before dying, the Na Ring and rolled it between his fingers and then placed the ring gentle into his pockets as if it was the most important thing in the world. He then took out a hemostasis spray to heal his body as best as he could, and then with one last goodbye to Saki, Shin departed to Hikari's place with his battered body while remaining hidden.


	85. Chapter 85

Shin had arrived at Hikari's home after leaving behind the site of his final battle with Saki.

Hikari's parents had moved somewhere and no new families had moved in, so it was still a vacant home. Shin dragged his worn out and injured body inside the house and searched for the Entry/Return Point which should be in Hikari's room. Shin wondered why despite her parents moving all the furniture was still in the house, but he had no time to think about something so pointless.

Shin checked his Player's watch and found that he only had less than five minutes to locate Hikari's room and although it was a simple task it still took close to four minutes to search and find the her room injured body. Not only was Shin injured due to his intense life and death battle against Saki, he had unlocked the next stage of his Genetic Constraint.

In Shin's battle with Saki he had unlocked the Second Stage of his Genetic Constraint.

Shin could barely manage the recoil of the First Stage after getting used to it, but the Second Stage was something else. It was a miracle that Shin could keep moving his body as he did, yet he was confident that if he had let his body rest for even a few seconds he would no longer have the ability to move keep moving.

Shin: I can't even afford to heal my wounds completely with a Ghoul's regeneration. My stamina would be drained to the point I'll pass out on the spot.

Hikari's room was located on the second floor of her house and when Shin opened the door he was taken back. Despite the the fact that the lights and the power within the house was turned off, Hikari's room was bright as day.

The light came from a computer screen on Hikari's desk.

Shin: I have no idea how to explain how convenient this all is and how that it wasn't confiscated by the police, but who cares about such details. I'm in no mood.

Shin approached the computer with his tattered body and a second later he had disappeared the same way that Kampa and Hikari had before back at the cafe. Shin had finally returned to God's Dimension and with that this episode in the real world was over... For now.

( Reminder:

B.C REP = Blood Crusade and M.E REP = Mass Enlightenment ).

B.C REP: So what can you tell me about this team? You didn't come here empty handed seeing as that spy we recovered from the rubble was one of yours.

M.E REP: Well, we weren't aware of her ourselves till just recently, but like her programing suggested she sent in reports about the team she infiltrated.

Two men were meeting in in a restaurant in Japan. It was the middle of the day and there was nothing special about said place except one of the men liked their coffee.

The two men looked like your average adult businesssmen that wouldn't deserve a second look in a sea of customers, yet there were definitely not like the others around themselves. The two men were representatives of two of the organizations of the Four Pillars, Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade.

The two men were not supposed to meet so soon and today of all days when they usually meet once a month to update their allies, but a recent incident that occurred yesterday night had their respective superiors order the two reps to meet to discuss and decide on a course of action to deal with both groups current problem... Which was the current Team Japan.

B.C REP: How can you not even be aware of the identifies of your own agents? Really, and peope think that people from Blood Crusade are the crazy, irresponsible ones of the Four Pillars.

M.E REP: Well, aren't you though? You guys are nuts.

B.C REP: I won't say that we aren't, but we still have rational and smart people to make sure we don't make mistakes like this in our organization.

M.E REP: Then they must not be doing their job since last month I heard you guys burned down an entire town because a kid spilled ice cream on them by accident. Anyways, about our own problem, sorry, but it couldn't have been helped that we weren't more involved in this incident. Not only were we only informed at the last minute by her, but we thought all the test subjects from Site 3 were all killed nearly twenty years ago when Sozin of Dove United attacked that facility.

B.C REP: You sure she was one of your and not from Absolute Reckoning or Dove United impersonating as a spy?

M.E REP: The girl used an old an outdated contact number. We gave each of the test subjects back then a personal means of getting in touch with the organization. Her personal information match with the Saki that we had in our old files.

B.C REP: What the hell is that? Since when did the truth seeking Mass Enlightenment bunch become a corporation with an H.R department? Whatever, now that we both know she was the real deal lets get to the main point.

M.E REP: To discuss the possibility of the current Team Japan, that we thought to still be in my organization's control could have been taking over, or are working for Absolute Reckoning or Dove United, right?

B.C REP: That's right. From what I know this current Team Japan meet with that very same Sozin recently and even wiped out our unit watching over him. That's why it is our opinion that they are most likely connected to Dove United. They must have recently discovered that Sozin was being watched and dealt with them.

M.E REP: Did your side learn anything about them?

B.C REP: No, everyone was killed and no decent records were left behind. Even the agent's heads were destroyed, so my necromancers aren't having any luck learning more about them from the corpses. Although, from eye witness reports we do know that one of them was a young man with white hair welding a black katana.

M.E REP: Interesting. That matches the report from civilians who caught a glimpse of last night's battle between my organization's spy and the team member she attempted to hunt down. I don't know why it was only one when she was meant to kill them all, but whatever the case, this means that both incidents were definitely related.

Then the man from Blood Crusade ordered his favorite coffee from the restaurant and once it came he took a sip. Feeling better about the mess the two of them had to now deal with, the rep renewed the conversation to get to the question he has been dying to ask since the two have sat down.

B.C REP: And so, how did you and Mass Enlightenment screw up this badly? I admit our side let the enemy escape at that beach resort, but they were just normal people in the end, so it couldn't be helped that they lost to a Player. On the other hand, your side found out that you had an active spy you didn't know you had, made contact with her, left everything in her care to handle the current Team Japan, and destroying half the city and she still failed.

M.E REP: I don't feel my side has any reason to apologies to Blood Crusade, but I admit we have no good excuses. A situation like this one has never happened before, so we weren't prepared. Our spy would either succeed and kill their teams, or were discovered and quietly disposed of.

B.C REP: And you found nothing off about this whole event beforehand?

M.E REP: Ah, we did, but we thought that we should just let it run it's course. As you may be aware that whole double agent sneaking into teams project came to a end a few years ago when Dove United and Absolute Reckoning had enough of us messing with their teams, and so they placed counter measures so that it doesn't happen again. We no longer have any spys like those test subjects, but a lot of us in Mass Enlightenment had so much hope in the project that we-

B.C REP: Just wanted to see if you can destroy one more team, right? It was even a way to get back control of the Japanese team, is that it?

M.E REP: Well, it did come as a shock to discover that we had lost control of Team Japan, and so using the subject to deal with them felt like destiny.

B.C REP: And there it is. My side might me death seeking monsters, but your side is too prone to looking at everything as fate and all that crap. You guys thought that the recently rediscovered sleeper agent could have handled them, but were mistaken.

M.E REP: That sums it up nicely.

The representative from Blood Crusade was left speechless and was about to spit up blood. He just wanted to rip out the mans throat for the man's foolishness, but he couldn't... Although he literally could.

They were allies in the ongoing war between the Four Pillars and whether he like to admit, which he doesn't, his side of Blood Crusade has cause more incidents that needed to be cleaned up then he likes to remember and at those times Mass Enlightenment had to be appeased.

M.E REP: How about we just call the whole affair one black spot for Mass Enlightenment in our history to your Blood Crusade's nine hundred and ninety-nine black spots.

B.C REP: Your down sizing the mistakes that your group makes, but okay. So, do you know anything about this current Team Japan? I can't go back without anything to my bosses.

M.E REP: My side does know a little about this Team Japan. I don't know exactly what was going on with our asset, but she was programed to deliver information on her team members and their enhancements in case they fail to wipe the team out, leaving the rest of us to deal with them. The reports says that they hid their powers from the New Players, so unfortunately we don't know their abilities... But we learned of something much more important than something like the whole team possess powerful enhancements. Both our teams in God's Dimension could deal with that, but there was something startling in the report.

B.C REP: What?

M.E REP: The report indicated that the leader of the current Team Jaapn is that white haired Player that your side ran into and most likely was the one who fought our asset last night. There's another veteran who has been on more mission's amongst this team, but she handed the responsibility of the team to someone else for whatever reason. That alone isn't important, but this is. That team leader has only been a player for two whole missions and has most likely unlocked the Genetic Constraint.

B.C REP: That's it? Don't make it sound like such a big deal. Sure, it is rare but not unheard of. I can name over a dozen team in and outside of our own organizations with such ace Players.

M.E REP: Sure, but how many of them have reached up to the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint.

B.C REP: ...

The representative of Blood Crusade stopped drinking his favorite coffee at that time and when a waitress came over to see if he wanted another the man shouted at her to go away. The man didn't want to make a scene at his favorite restaurant, but he couldn't keep calm after hearing this latest piece of information.

B.C REP: Are you certain? Can this spy of yours really be trusted?

M.E REP: This information didn't come from our asset. The report indicated that it was very likely that this white haired Player and another veteran have unlocked their constraints, but not to what stage. Mass Enlightenment had agents watching this fight go down and they said that from the man's moments that he had definitely entered into the Second Stage. They were all killed in the confusion of their battle by some bombs apparently, but they were able to report that much back since it was a startling discovery before they kicked the bucket.

B.C REP: My god, and this leader of theirs has only been on two missions? Do we have any more information about him?

M.E REP: Nothing that would satisfy either of us. Now, of those who have unlocked their constraints early on, how many of them have unlocked up to the Second Stage so quickly? How many have done so without taking the Genetic Stimulate Drug as well.

B.C REP: He isn't even using the drug?

M.E REP: It's a Mass Enlightenment product, so only us and your Blood Crusade have been using it. Maybe one or two have fallen into enemy hands, but I don't believe this kid has taken the drug and has in fact reached the Second Stage with his own strength.

B.C REP: Then this team is far more of a threat then either one of us could have imagined. We were far to easy going and should have killed them all, even if it meant burning down a city or two to do so. If a lone Player who should have only been through two missions from God, and a normal civilian at that has potentially acquired lots of points, rewards and also suspected that this leader may have even unlocked the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint, and all without a Guide now that they are gone or the Genetic Stimulate Drug... It's terrifying to think such a person is a enemy.

M.E REP: I agree and that is why I am telling you and Blood Crusade by not holding anything back. This is serious and this problem needs to be gotten rid of. This and what else we know shows that the current Team Japan had a Player of the highest level of talent. Our teams in God's Dimension already have to deal with the European Mad Princess of Absolute Reckoning and the rising star of Dove United's HERO. We can't afford to let another Player from the enemies side to reach that kind of level, or else our teams will be wiped!

B.C REP: You are absolutely right. Our side have the The Reaper, Sun Knight and ABYSS, but I want to absolutely avoid a situation where they have to face off against even more great threats. I've even heard that the NPCs are beginning to revolt as well, though I'm not to sure what is going on... You also said that Team Japan has at least two members who have unlocked their constraints at this time, right? Then it's only a matter of time before Team Japan reaches the stage of Team battles. We have to act quickly then. I'll inform my side to warn our team's in God's Dimension to wipe out Team Japan no matter the cost, and I suggest Mass Enlightenment do the same.

M.E REP: I already have. We'll meet again if new information presents itself. We are searching for more about their personal lives, but nothing so far has come up. It appears somehow the sleeper agent gave us false intel... Really, what a mess.

And like that the two representatives left the restaurant in a hurry as they knew they had a lot of work ahead of them. There was a reason why both Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade knew they had to kill off the current Team Japan.

It is superstition really and there has never been a case of it happening before, but none the less they had to be cautious.

THE IMMORTAL KING.

DEEP ZERO.

DIVINE BLADE EDGE.

TRINITY

WRAITH.

They were God's Dimension's strongest team and were known to have done amazing things when they were together, and no Player since they left God's Dimension has reached their level and for good reason.

All five of them held such great potential that by the time of their fourth movie in mission, all five had unlocked their constraints up to the Second Stage, with DIVINE BLADE EDGE and WRAITH by the time of their second and third missions.

Then from then on the Four Pillars took this as a sign of a Player having great potential to evolve... And so, if they were not on their own side such New Players who could become great threats had to be killed off.

The few Players with such great potential who had escaped death as of yet had become great rising stars within the Four Pillars and would lead the organization in the future.

Unfortunately, for the current Team Japan that is not affiliated with any of the Four Pillars this meant that all the Four Pillars would come to know of this new threat to their organizations and for the foreseeable future all teams in God's Dimension that meet Team Japan will kill them without hesitation.

Shin returned to God's Dimension together with the rest of Team Japan except Saki. Like Saki had told Shin they all came back together at the same time no matter the order or time differences.

Last they all remembered Shin had just contacted them or just saw him as they were just about to return, so Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa and Shuai were shocked when they looked over towards Shin. Their team leader had collapsed onto the floor of the Terminal Lobby unconscious and on further inspection they found that his body was covered in terrible, life threatening injuries.

No one, not even Hikari or Kamap understood how Shin came to be in this condition when they had just seen him not moments ago. Whatever the case was, Shin was in bad shape, so they moved him over to God and told him to repair him.

They then realized that they none of them had the points to repair Shin, not even himself, yet fortunately Aqua had 80 points to spare and used them all to save him. As it turned out 80 points weren't enough to fully heal Shin, but it got him out of critical condition.

It took a while afterwards after the repairs, but Shin eventually woke up and he was happy to see that everyone was safe and sound. They all asked about what happened and so he told them all about the incident with Saki. How Saki was a sleeper agent, about her despair, how she had no choice but to try to kill him, and that in the future they need to make plans to go back to find protection for their families before it is too late, but it shouldn't be anytime soon according to Saki.

They were all visibly shocked by what Shin told them, yet there was more. That from now on they also be more suspicious of the newbies who join them and may be moles for the enemy, and they themselves might not know like Saki herself didn't.

They are all worried, but Shin stands up and say that he will be the leader from now on.

Shin: Last time I half hearty said that I would be the leader in Aqua's stead, but doing so like that was a mistake. We get along fine now, but previously we weren't a truly united team and I was honestly thinking too much about my own survival. I don't if it would have changed anything, but I keep thinking that if I was a better leader then a great asset like Zero wouldn't have died in BTOOOM... And maybe I could have saved Saki. She was an enemy, yet she thought of us all as comrades worth sacrificing her life for and together with her brilliant mind, her death was a grave loss for our team. I've made mistakes and no one here saw how Saki was struggling so much, but that stops here! From now on if you allow me, I'll continue to be the leader and this time a proper one. A leader Saki and everyone here can trust to lead them within God's Dimension. A leader you all can be proud to place your lives in. I won't abandon anyone I sees as a comrade no matter the cost or risk to myself, and I will put this team first and foremost. We will survive any mission God throws our way and we will go back home one day for our loved one after we gain the power to stand our ground against any of the Four Pillars. I won't say that from this point on things will get easier because they won't. Things will become incredibly difficult, maybe more so than just staying alive here, but as a team I know we can face anything and make it out alive!

Shin then asked everyone there if they were willing to let him continue to be the leader, yet to Shin's shock they all approved. Shin wasn't as strong as Aqua or as smart as Saki, yet they saw that he genuine wanted everyone here to leave God's Dimension alive.

That was why they had no problem placing there trust, their very lives in his hands. Shin couldn't even imagine how heavy the responsibility he now carried was, but for Saki's sake who trusted him he resolved himself to do his best and if that wasn't enough he would do better than even that.

Shin: From here on out it is the real deal. This is a team. I won't abandon my own goals, but I won't place them over the team. I left behind my new family for everything here after all. I... Won't let that become a mistake! Team Japan won't lose to Mass Enlightenment, Blood Crusade, Absolute Reckoning or Sozin's own Dove United if they prove to become an enemy as well. I'll become the strongest not just for myself, but for everyone here. Hahahaha, the path to an almighty OP main character is no longer for myself!

Later before turning in for the day Shin and the othera had looked to see if Saki's things were still there, but like they feared they were all gone. They couldn't find her tool or human creations as well. Everything that was Saki's was truly erased from the dimension once she died.

This came as the biggest shock to Misaki. The reason was that this confirmed that if he died then Mokoto, his Human Creation would die and for a second time. This frightened Misaki far more then it did for Mokoto as she had to be the one to calm him down, instead of the other way around.

Shin: Then I wonder how I still have this? It belonged to Saki and not me after all.

What Shin had in his hands was a ring. It was a second Na Ring that was not his own, but one that Saki had exchanged for. During their battle he had seen Saki take out countess weapons that she could not have possibility carried on her person normally, and using her vast arsenal Saki had pushed Shin so far into a corner that if he hadn't unlocked the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint he would have been killed.

Shin: The Second Stage, huh? Aqua just explained it to me, but damm, you really didn't hold anything back and forced me to go that far, Saki. You should have tried harder to live instead.

A cold chill went down Shin's spine as he recalled that dreadful battle where Saki had used her great mind and knowledge to to nearly drive Shin to death despite himself being physically far stronger than her. Still, Shin was curious as to why he was able to keep Saki's Na Ring and what could be inside, and since he couldn't answer the former by asking God, not wanting to risk it being confiscated, Shin proceeded with the later and choose to look through the ring.

Shin equipped the second Na Ring that belonged to Saki on his non-dominant right hand and channeled Ki to the ring to bring out everything that inside so he could organize everything. Recalling how Shin had destroyed most of Saki's powerful Sci-fi weapons during their fight he wasn't too hopefully that he would find anything amazing inside, at best some left over tool, but once the items came of of the Na Ring's subspace he found at that he was terribly mistaken.

Shin then immediately preceded to organize everything Saki had left behind and went through everything once more. He even found a list made by Saki explaining everything in detail.

• Ten-thousand Bullets - Half of the latest cutting edge normal bullets and the other half magic bullets.

• Magic Vest - The latest bullet proof vest that had anti magic inscriptions etched onto them.

• Five Magic Amplifier Tags - Place one on a normal gun and will temporary function as the lowest grade magic weapon.

• 50 Self Made BIM and design instructions - Saki had kept a sample of each one from the BTOOOM mission and was able to recreate them without unlocking the BIM Series Exchange. Includes guides on how to make each kind of BIM and what material and tools are needed to do so. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to recreate Implosion or Barrier BIMs without exchanging for special materials from God.

• Design Plans to make Low End Sci-fi weapons and tools - Saki had managed to come up with a few thanks to her connections to Mass Enlightenment.

• Ten Prototype Low Grade Healing Potions - Saki suspected that Shin would be badly injured after their fight and may not have the points to heal himself. They are not instantaneous like those found in games, but taking one and having a good night's rest will heal most injuries, which even include changes in the genetics. Now if halfway in a mission someone was injured or unlocked their constraint for the first time they could be healed over night.

• Exchange Path Guide - Considering a wide range of possibilities, Saki had sort out as much of the exchanges as possible and made sample guides on what exchanges are most practical and are cheap. Even includes what types of talents New Players in the future may have are best suited for them and the team.

• Four Pillars Report - A basic summary of what Saki knew about the Four Pillars.

Shin looked over everything that Saki had in her Na Ring and felt... Very sad.

Shin was happy to find all the things that Saki left behind, especially the potions since he was in no shape to go on the mission tomorrow with just the 80 point repair thanks to Aqua, but it just showed how once more Saki had no plans to try to save her own life and put her team's lively hood above everything else.

Shin: Just looking at all of this I can't imagine she did this within those first eight days before in God's Dimension. Saki must not have stopped working the entire time she was in the real world. Not taking a rest at any time and just kept working for her parting gift to the team... Saki, I would have much preferred you being here then just this ring.

Shin once more sighed to himself and five minutes later he went to tell the other what he had discovered in the Na Ring Saki had given him. Like Shin no one felt joy from their new items, yet they were more determined then ever to do their best to live. For their teammates and those who were no longer with them.

Team Japan weren't in the mood to do anything the last day in God's Dimension.

Aqua and Shin tried to rally together a last minute training exercise, yet no was was willing to join and so they just waited for the next mission to come. They didn't lack spirit and would be ready for their next mission, yet no one could make themselves move.

Shin couldn't blame them as he himself only made the suggestion to get everyone something to do something, but it looked like what the right thing to do was to just relax by themselves and wait out the day. Shin still made the effort to ask Aqua more about the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint, but afterwards he returned to his room alone and waited till the time came.

Shin would have liked to have done more, but he was still recovering from his fight with Saki. Even with the potion he felt a little sore, but by no means his performance in the next mission would go down. For Saki's and everyone elses sake, as the leader and a primary combatant of Team Japan he wouldn't all himself to fall short of their and his own expectations.

The tenth and final day their break had arrived and everyone was gathered on the platform under the ball of light that was God and waited for the beam and the announcement of the next mission to come. Shin was happy to see no one was still depressed as the time came.

Twenty beams of bright light were shot down from the orb of light that was God, signaling the arrival of their next trial.

Shin: The third mission. I, we all won't lose to whatever we face!

\- Enter the beams within thirty seconds. Target locked. Beginning teleportation to Apocalypse Alice starts!


	86. Chapter 86

Plot - "Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live... A real life?"

The world changes when you click YES.

In God's dimension, you have to keep getting stronger, keep evolving to survive one horror movie after another. Do you kill everyone in your way to reach the end as a lone king? Or fight along with your comrades and survive through the support of friends?

Everything was just for staying alive. Until you find the secret of God's dimension. Who is the real enemy?

Terror Infinity - Side B

In a new experiment to push mankind to evolve, God has decided to send people into the worlds of Manga, Anime, Light Novels, Visual Novels and Video Games.

Compared to horror movies, such worlds shouldn't be as terrifying and should be easily to return from, but... You would be very, very mistaken.

Welcome to Side B of God's World.

The Story so far -

Shin Kazama, an otaku disappointed in his life chose YES when God asked if he wanted to know the meaning of life and wanted to live a real life, and was transported to God's world of horrors and terror in a new experiment.

Team Japan had survived their second mission BTOOOM and, after spending their points and rewards to power themselves up, they took a one month trip to the real world in order to put their affairs in order. They also investigated their new member Saki's claims that there are survivors from God's Dimension in the real world on a particular island.

Only Shin, Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa and Shuai returned to God's dimension after the trip to the real world. Saki was lost to the Four Pillars, the team's new threat. Now they are more determined than ever to survive God's horrors, to become as strong as possible, and return to the real world to secure their safety.

A summary of Apocalypse Alice - First Version.

Now, let's kill the girl and save the world!

The world has been shattered.

As a result of the most dreadful of diseases that afflicts only girls, the《Labyrinth Disease》. That's why the students are taking lessons. Lessons for the purpose of killing the girl. Learning magic, figuring out the map of the Labyrinth , forming teams, and studying the weakness of the girl... The time limit is 6 hours. If the girl isn't killed within that timeframe, then the world gets destroyed.

Shinnosuke: I have no interest in the world at all, so please spare me. Frankly, it's really suffocating.

Together with the one who said these words, the most horrible protagonist in history, enter the world of whizzing magic and surging youth. A school fantasy in Labyrinth raiding, begins here!

\- By Baka-Tsuki

A summary of Apocalypse Alice - Second Version.

With the rise of the mysterious Labyrinth Disease, the world has changed. Girls are turning into Labyrinths all over the world. In order to protect humanity they must be killed before they turn into the Eternal Labyrinths that are gradually swallowing up the land.

Shinnosuke Arisu's younger sister, Saki, was one such girl afflicted with the Labyrinth Disease. Shinnosuke was unwilling to kill his sister, so she turned into the deadliest Eternal Labyrinth in Japan – the deadliest in the world. She then became nicknamed Apocalypse Alice.

Ten years later, after a long journey to train himself, Shinnosuke returns to Japan with one goal in mind: To infiltrate Apocalypse Alice and, no matter how impossible it may be, to save his sister.

\- By .

A summary of the world of Apocalypse Alice, as told by Team Japan leader Shin, based on a Fan Fiction he had written years ago that had been long since forgotten.

《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》located in Tokyo.

It was a special school for special youths who wanted to train within a specific field of work and gain experience before entering the work force, all while helping out their country and the world at large. Sounds like a great school, yeah, but it is anything but nice.

[ Metropolitan Kichijouji High ] is a school to teach kids how to kill young girls and save the world. It's a school designed to raise up the next generation of magicians while at the same time clearing Labyrinths that only they are capable of clearing. This school exists for one reason: because of the Labyrinth Disease.

《Labyrinth Disease》

That is the name of the sickness that nearly brought the end of the human race. It is a strange and mysterious disease that infects girls under the age of sixteen. The infected girl raises an extra dimensional Labyrinth around her, serving as the center of the Labyrinth.

The scale, structure, and composition of the Labyrinths that the infected girl erects varies based on the girl. The area of effect is at least two kilometers in radius but can extend to hundreds of kilometers. They can take on the form of a shutdown school, an abandoned hospital, a mansion, a field like that in a sporting event, et cetera. Its form appears to be influenced by the personality of the infected girl.

If the girl in the center of the Labyrinth is not killed before the enveloped area becomes anchored to the real world, an《Eternal Labyrinth》, it becomes impossible to return the affected area back to normal. This includes both buildings and people swallowed up by the Labyrinth when it first surfaces.

《Labyrinth Disease》and《Eternal Labyrinths》.

Labyrinths have begun appearing all around the world for more than ten years. The Labyrinths have assimilated millions and millions of lives and the lands when they started appearing where they appeared. The less developed countries, and those who couldn't confront this new threat in time, were erased from the maps in the first few years of the《Labyrinth Disease's》first appearance.

The countries that did survive, like Japan, America, and Europe, successfully raided the Labyrinths. From within they were able to bring back technology that was far removed from what mankind had ever discovered.

The new technology that brought both prosperity and destruction once released out into the world is what we now call Magic. Humanity had brought back from within the Labyrinths a technology called 'Magic Converted from Labyrinth Spoils'.

From the remains of the Diseased Girls held within an《Eternal Labyrinth》came the 'Magic Converted from Labyrinth Spoils', a colored rock with geometric patterns covering its surface. When brought to a laboratory it could be deciphered and, using the new knowledge, one or sometimes multiple new magics could be created. It also gave us vital new information about the workings of Labyrinths and the《Labyrinth Disease》.

A cure for《Labyrinth Disease》has yet to be found, unfortunately, and officially we still don't even know how the girls are infected. Nevertheless, mankind has discovered ways to make sure that no more human lives or land will be stolen from us by the disease.

Labyrinth Raiders.

They are those who raid Labyrinths for 'Magic Converted from Labyrinth Spoils'. They are also those who use the new technology called magic, thereby earning the title magicians. They enter Labyrinths for their own gains, or the gains of their countries or other organizations, but they serve one other purpose: To erase Labyrinths that suddenly appear and save the lives of those captured by it.

Should an infected girl be killed in her Labyrinth before it becomes an Eternal Labyrinth, then it will disappear as if it never existed, releasing all the lives it captured during its formation. Governments and organizations sponsor teams of raiders that enter into these Labyrinth and prevent them from turning into《Eternal Labyrinths》. However, there are some Labyrinths that they can't deal with, or more accurately, can't even enter.

That is where the《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》the school where the Girl Killing Curriculum takes place, comes into the equation and why they allow young youths into the Labyrinths.

Among the Labyrinths that appear in the world are those that are called age limited Labyrinths, and they are one of the more difficult Labyrinths to clear. Not only because of difficulty, but because only raiders under a certain age can enter them. This means the less experienced raiders are the only ones who are allowed to enter inside these age restricted Labyrinths.

Mankind has reached the level where up to a certain degree of difficulty, average Labyrinth raiders can raid Labyrinths without anyone being killed by the spawned monsters or the Diseased Girl, but that average is for individual with years of training and experience, not kids and teenagers. And because a good deal of Labyrinths that form are age limited, governments needed teams of raider who can enter those Labyrinths, and for Japan one of those organizations is《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》.

《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》is an institution established by the government, with the approval of the country, for the purpose of dealing with Labyrinth–diseased patients at the onset of their illness. This school deals primarily with clearing age-limited Labyrinths, which can only be infiltrated by those who are less than nineteen years old.

The school is primarily entrusted with dealing with cases occurring in the Kantou region. In the event that the Labyrinths appears in the North-East range, Central range, or Kinki range are too much for their respective high schools to handle, there's a possibility that a team from Kichijouji High will be deployed there to assist.

In the event that infected girls having an onset of their diseases appear, the cooperating research center attached to the school will immediately send their researchers to begin investigations of the Labyrinth brought forth by the Diseased Girl. The main cooperating research center currently supporting Metropolitan Kichijouji High is Taikou Pharmaceuticals.

Recently, a revolutionary and ground-breaking discovery in the field of magic technology had been made.

Speed Casting is an upgrade to a Headphone Fuzz which allows a magician to activate and release magic to the level that they can keep up with the Diseased Girls.

Muti-Casting is the second upgrade for the Headphone Fuzz which allows an easier time when using more than one magic at once, without overloading the brain.

Diseased Girls have an affinity for magic that normal humans can't hope to match. Not just the sheer power of their magics, but the speed and rate in which they can be used is at a level far above humans. That's why solo raiders are nearly unheard of. The power of the Diseased Girls must be matched by a team.

With this new upgrade called Speed Casting, anyone can release magic almost instantaneously, in the same way that Diseased Girls are able to do. They are also able to activate their magic with little to no delay while using Speed Casting. With Multi-Casting they can cast more than one magic at a time with ease. Speed Casting does place a great burden on the brain, but its benefits far make up for its drawbacks, while Muti-Casting doesn't place much burden on the brain, yet take a lot of skill on the magicians part to use properly.

\- Enter the beam within thirty seconds. Target locked, starting transportation to Apocalypse Alice.

Six people, no, it was just us six Players now that Saki was no longer with us, as we stepped into the beam of light and were transported to the next mission. It was that same half-awake state after entering the beam and by the time we all woke up, we were inside a classroom.

I looked around and found that there were students of the school within the classroom, but none of them looked at the new arrivals, or even looked to be speaking... though I assumed that they weren't dead and it was just that the mission had yet to begin.

Shin: My second time starting out in a classroom. Hope it's only as hard as that mission.

Shin and the rest of Team Japan immediately counted the number of people on the floor that arrived with them and who were not students of the school. The results terrified them. There were fourteen newbies with them this time. Fourteen New Players, including the six veteran Players who survived past missions would make the difficulty a startling Twenty Man Mission.

Shin and everyone else knew the more Players that there were on a given mission, the more difficult the mission would turn out to be. In BTOOOM, a Fifteen Man Mission, caused God to change the plot and almost wiped out the entire team. This time the number of people reached the maximum number of Players allowed.

Once this information sunk in, despair began to grow within everyone except Aqua, who had experienced such a situation before during her very first mission, yet she herself could only sigh at the sight of their supposed leader Shin who had fell on the floor fraught with panic.

Shin: ...Apocalypse Alice. It's Apocalypse Alice, and it's that Apocalypse Alice with a Twenty Man Difficulty... We are all-

Aqua: Calm down already, Shin! I get from your reaction that you know about this world, but first let's figure out as much as we can and come up with a course of action, okay? Didn't you promise to do your best as the leader for Saki's sake as well?

Shin: ...You're right, Aqua. Sorry for showing you such a pathetic side of me.

Aqua: No problem. I've known you for a while, so I've seen worse.

Shin: Is that supposed to make me feel better? Whatever, first and foremost let's confirm our location. Remember what we decided to do from now on everyone? First we'll confirm where we are, check the mission, and then I'll give a summary of what world we are in if no one else knows, and from there we'll discuss the mission in depth before it begins. Hikari!

Hikari: I'm on it.

Hikari understood what Shin wanted her to do, so she didn't need an explanation. Hikari took out her SEES Evoker, and with that gun she pointed it at herself and pulled the trigger. A blue light enveloped Hikari and born from it was her Persona, Adrasteia. Hikari then proceeded to use her support type Persona to gather information from the surroundings.

Three minutes later Hikari finished up and recalled her Persona back into the sea of her soul.

Shin: So how is it?

Hikari: Nothing noteworthy to report... although I have spotted multiple strange building which I can't see into even with Adrasteia, and they all feel alive. They also give me a very bad feeling... especially the one directly next to this school. To be honest, I think it even noticed me checking it out and... Smiled at me or something like that.

Shin: Ah, you can ignore that. All those building are part of the world setting. Actually, about the one next to the school, don't even dare to go near it, even with your Persona abilities. That thing is too dangerous to mess with at our current level. Anyway, please continue your report.

Hikari: Okay. From what I can see, I do believe we are in a school in the Kichijouji area, but it's safe to assume that this isn't the real world. Also, the people outside the school grounds are moving around and talking with each other like there's nothing wrong, yet the students and teachers within the school are frozen in place.

Aqua: That just mean that the mission has yet to begin. Also, if only the people within the schools are frozen in place it means the mission will most likely take place here. Even we are not allowed to even leave this room.

Misaki: How can you be sure?

Aqua: God would have only locked us within a classroom while the rest of the world would be going on as if nothing is wrong. The same thing happened in the H.O.T.D mission. My guess is that God would be inconvenienced if those within the school were to be moving around.

Shuai: For what purpose?

Aqua: Who knows? I don't know anything about this world. How about you Shin?

Shin: I might have an idea. Most likely a Labyrinth is about to manifest within the school grounds and God doesn't want the main character, other students or us Players to escape.

Kampa: Labyrinth? Like in a game?

Shin: ...If only.

Shin sighed to himself once he accepted the situation he was in.

He recognized the uniform as the ones from the school the main characters go to, Metropolitan Kichijouji High, so that was where they were. Shin couldn't find the main characters within the room yet, which just means they are not in Class 5, but another classroom. Even the teacher up front isn't Honjou Tsukasa-sensei.

Shin: Still, I would feel much better if they were here.

Shin was definitely excited due to this being a mission from one of his favorite novels and his first mission from a Light Novel at that (Apocalypse Alice only has a Manga adaptations as of yet), but because he knows the story of Apocalypse Alice too well, having tried writing a Fan Fiction for it once, he didn't think that this will be an easy mission in the slightest.

Still, over all, he was still excited and what added on to his excitement and rising good mood was the device currently hanging around his and everyone else's neck. It was the magic tool used by magicians in the world of Apocalypse Alice that allowed them to deploy their magic, the《Inta-Cerebral Magic Activator》, or known by its more common name the《Headphone Fuzz》.

Shin and the other members of Team Japan, noticed the device, and having heard what it was from their leader checked them out. Upon investigation, there were no magics installed into the Headphone Fuzz like the Acceleration Switch of the main character. Hikari noticed that there was a preset ESCAPE Switch installed. Shin wondered as to why the intrusion magic DIVE Switch wasn't installed as well, but he and the others had other things to concern themselves with.

Hikari: Shin, what about the newbies?

Shin: They aren't awake yet, so let ignore them and continue by ourselves. They also probably won't be too helpful this time around. Now, let's check our watches to find out what our mission is, then we'll decide on how to proceed.

Shin and the others then proceed to look at their watches to check what their mission is this time, but since this is Apocalypse Alice, Shin feels he already knows what they have to do without evening looking. Still, when Shin did look at what the mission was, more than anyone else he was left speechless as he absorbed what God was asking them to do on the highest possible mission difficulty possible.

Hikari: Shin?

Shin: ...Fuck! Kill the Girl and Save the World, so of course that means clearing a Labyrinth, but this, this is insane! Is God asking us to die?

GOD'S MISSION

APOCALYPSE ALICE, TWENTY MAN MISSION.

ALTERNATE STORY PLOT.

MAIN QUEST: The Mission.

Objective 1. Clear the Labyrinth Empress' Grave 44 and defeat its Diseased Girl. Six hours before becoming an Eternal Labyrinth and mission failure. Mission Failure will result in death for all Players.

Objective 2. Protect the Main Characters.

Base Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

Combat Mission Reward: 1000 Points and two D rank rewards.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points

2\. Labyrinth Monster KILL - Every 100 monsters defeated. Rewarded 10 Points.

3\. Labyrinth Elite KILL - Defeat an Elite Monster. Rewarded 50 Points.

4\. The Rise of HERO TEAM - If Shinnosuke Arisu is alive by the end of the mission, every Player will be rewarded with a D rank reward. If all main characters are alive, then every Player will be rewarded with an additional D rank reward.

5\. KILL the GIRL and SAVE the WORLD - A Player defeats the Diseased Girl of Empress' Grave 44. Rewarded 4000 Points and two C rank reward. All other Players rewarded 2500 Points and C rank reward.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 for a Player killing a New Player. A New Player is a New Player till the start of their second mission.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. D-ZERO - Any player with 0 or negative points at the end of a mission after all calculations are finished, will be killed, no exception.

4\. The Fall of HERO TEAM - The death of Shinnosuke Arisu Negative 4000 points. Any other member Negative 1500 Points.

5\. Escape or Die - The option to escape the Labyrinth exist with the magic ESCAPE Switch already set within a Headphone Fuzz, but can only be used on the lowest level of the Labyrinth Empress' Grave 44 bottom floor. If there are no living Players inside the Labyrinth before it is cleared then all Players will be killed. To use the ESCAPE Magic to bring an extra person along will cost a Player 100 Points.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Mission Information.

1\. Headphone Fuzz - Every Player will be given a Headphone Fuzz. The magic ESCAPE will be automatically uploaded onto the Headphone Fuzz.

2\. Magic Deception - Up to six Sci-fi, MagicTool, Support and Entertainment Items and other powers will be perceived as Magics from the Headphone Fuzz. Any additional powers/tools will appear suspicious in the eyes of others.

TOTAL SCORE: Pending

Shin just kept staring at his watch. No one else within the room except Shin knew the severity of the dangerous situation they were really in, but they picked up from his behavior that it wasn't anything good.

Aqua: Does anyone here know about this story Apocalypse Alice? Our leader seems to know, but it seems like his soul has been ripped out at the moment.

Hikari: No, I don't know.

Misaki: Me either.

Kampa: I've only watched Gundam.

Shuai: I am into books and so I've heard of the title, but I don't know any of the detail.

Aqua: Come on people. I thought we all agreed to check up on potential worlds we would end up in. How can none of you know?

Shin: Don't blame them, Aqua.. It really takes years of commitment to the culture to even have a general idea of all the Manga, Anime, Video Games, and Light Novels out there. Hell, even I can't say for sure I know every title out there. Also, since most people only watch Anime or read Manga it isn't surprising that you haven't heard about Apocalypse Alice. Even I didn't start to get into Light Novels and Web Novels 'til three years ago.

Aqua: I am glad that you've collected yourself, but I don't need a history of your otaku background and the history of Anime. Just explain to us what the mission is this time around.

Shin: Fine, but in exchange later we are going to watch a few of my favorite Anime together to teach you the joys of-

Aqua: I would rather wipe out here, so just get on with it.

Shin: ...Fine.

Shin then told them about the story of Apocalypse Alice.

He spoke about the world that has contracted the Labyrinth Disease, Girls who become monsters summoning magical Labyrinths that devour their surroundings. He told them that from within the Labyrinths, real Magic was discovered to fight back against the new threat. Then Shin explained that the main character, Shinnosuke Arisu's sister, contracted the Labyrinth Disease and became the Labyrinth with the highest difficulty of 666, also known as Apocalypse Alice, which he must now save her from and how he entered the school Metropolitan Kichijouji High which was located next to his sister's Labyrinth. Lastly he brought up the Girl Killing Curriculum where Shinnosuke met his future friends and comrades and everything else Team Japan needed to know about the story of Apocalypse Alice.

Shin: Well, that's everything up to the latest third volume. The constant of this world is to defeat the Diseased Girl and erase the Labyrinths to save the world.

Aqua: Then this mission is just like an RPG game? You hunt monsters and go into dungeons and defeat a boss. Doesn't sound too hard.

Shin: Not in the slightest, Aqua. Don't be mistaken by the word Labyrinth. This story... is very exciting and appealing to those who don't like everyone having a 100% chance of living through it type book, but for those reasons that's what makes this mission all the more dangerous.

Hikari: What do you mean?

Shin: These Labyrinths brought about by the Disease Girls are no joke. The world at this time does have powerful magic. So much so thanks to the military and other groups invest untold amounts of money into magic technology development... yet even with all of that the difficulty level of Labyrinths are unfairly high. Labyrinths are given a name and number, and the number range from 0-666, which indicates the difficulty rating of the Labyrinth.

Shuai: Like this Empress' Grave 44 we are supposed to clear?

Shin: Yes. Names are given to Labyrinths that become fully stabilized in the world, Eternal Labyrinth, but that isn't important here. The Labyrinth that we have to clear was probably just given a name for the sake of the mission, but if this was a true Eternal Labyrinth then its rank would jump to 444 which is well outside of our ability to confront. The difficulty of the Labyrinths in general is what is important. In this world, professional Labyrinth Raiders are magicians who go into Labyrinths for a living to gain new magic technology or save lives, whatever the case is, and... This world only guarantees that there are no casualties in group with proper preparation that dive into the Labyrinths with a difficulty of rank 12 and under.

Misaki: Rank 12 and under! Isn't the highest difficulty possible rank 666!?

Shin: Yes. I don't know what the author intended, but the difficulty of the Labyrinths are too outrageously high for anyone to confront. It would be one thing if people in this world had levels and stats to strengthen themselves similarly to RPGs, or like us Players with the power of God's Dimension, yet beyond magic spells the magicians of this world are still normal human begins. Very unlike the characters of Negima and Magi. There's no Mana or Ki to strengthen the body. Human experimentation has yet to reach a true superhuman level either, and most importantly there are no save points. A fantasy based with the limits of reality, one could say.

Kampa: Then what is the highest difficulty that a Labyrinth has been successfully raided in this world?

Shin: I don't know. The novel never mentioned that, but if I had to take a guess it would be impossible for it to be over rank 100. They were missing a team member, but the main characters who are considered the elite of the elite for their age were almost wiped out once in a difficulty 20+ Labyrinth and another rank 42 Labyrinth.

Hikari: Wait, isn't this a-

Shin: Shin: Yes, a rank 44 Labyrinth.

The others understood what Shin was saying.

That elite magicians and Main Characters armed with a variety of magic were almost wiped out in a Labyrinth of a similar level before even reaching the Diseased Girl. Also, there's a time limit, so we couldn't proceed safely either.

Hikari: Then aren't we dead already?

Shin: I won't say with certainly, but that might be the case. Just like the main characters in the novel on their rank 42 Labyrinth raid, we are fighting against a clock as well. Six hours. If we had all the time in the world then maybe we could all come out alive, but it is unlikely if we have to rush in. Also, a lot of this time is used to go over the raid in the classroom. Five hours are the standard, so we only have one hour to actually complete the raid.

Hikari: Is that not enough?

Shin: It is if we are willing to abandon safety all together. Of course, since a Labyrinth might appear within the school we might not have to go over the Labyrinth in depth for five hours, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. Those five hours are used to plan out the most safe and effective way to explore the Labyrinth and reach the girl. We will certainly face some difficulties is we are made to go in blind.

Aqua: So it's really that dangerous, huh? Shin, compared to the Btooom Lord how much more difficult do you feel the boss, the Diseased Girl will be? I know that she will be a magic/spirit type opponent, so modern weapons will have little to no effect, but...

Shin: Aqua, to be honest, even being careful and with the support of the main characters... most of us will be wiped out.

Shin looks over his comrades and confirmed that was the case.

In a rank 40+ Labyrinth, the only ones with the ability to keep up with the main characters and fight the monsters inside are Aqua and himself. Even considering if they could make it to the Disease Girl in time, she was a rank 40+ Diseased Girl.

The rank 20+ Asahi Momoka in Volume 1 of Apocalypse Alice nearly wiped out the main characters and if not for the main character's magic, Holy Sword Switch, they would have lost to her.

Hikari can stay in the back and help Himi, the support magician of the Hero Team, but Misaki, Kampa and Shuai are very likely to die since they are in the early stages of getting worthwhile enhancements and powerful weapons. They also have yet to unlock their constraints, so they won't be able to keep up with the intense final battle that is to come. They might not even be able to even live through the journey to reach the Diseased Girl.

Shin: Ah, why is my first true test as a leader like this?

Not even looking at the newbies, Shin felt that most, if not all of them were going to be wiped in this mission. Thankfully though, they can use ESCAPE magic, but if too many of them do ESCAPE the Labyrinth then no one will be able to clear the Labyrinth. Also, they can only use it on the lowest level of the Labyrinth, so for those who don't even have the ability to participate in the final battle will have to somehow make it there.

This time it was a rank 40+ Diseased Girl, yet fortunately there was hope. In volume 2, Gunjou Mizuiro became the Diseased Girl and she was rank 42. The battle to reach the Diseased Girl was the more difficult part, yet the raiders of Team Valor exploited Gunjou Mizuiro's weakness to blood and the she herself didn't want to hurt anyone.

For those reasons, if things didn't take a turn for the worst as they did, Hero Team could have saved her then and there. It was unlikely that this Diseased Girl wouldn't want to hurt us, but as long as they can discover her weakness beforehand, and can all make it to the final battle then it was more than possible for them to win.

There was more hope on top of that.

Shin: (I just realized that I was putting myself and the others in the place of the main characters and people of the world of Apocalypse Alice. Aqua and I possessed the high stats that the people of this world lacked. The other members of Team Japan have also have gone through enhancements to some extent, so even if they don't have powerful magic or magic tools, they have abilities above the average man and woman. For just that one advantage in the final battle it may be worth using up five hours to discuss the Labyrinth and the Diseased Girl.. Yet we may not even get that chance to prepare.)

Apocalypse Alice.

Difficulty rating 44 Labyrinth.

Time limited.

Also, a Twenty Man mission given to the Players by God.

Shin: The Labyrinth raid and the final battle against the Diseased Girl... We have to overcome both! That's right. This time, I won't let my comrades down. We lost Zero and the brilliant mind of Saki far too early. That's why I'll protect everyone and win!


	87. Chapter 87

Finding themselves in the world of Apocalypse Alice, Shin and the others briefly discussed the plot of the mission world and the difficulty of the upcoming mission. They came to a quick conclusion that the full Twenty Man mission was going to live up to its legacy. They knew that they were about to start an incredibly difficult battle through the Labyrinth. They would consider themselves lucky just to survive. As the mission had not yet started, they continued discussing possibilities. The fourteen newbies were still asleep, blissfully unaware of the life-and death struggle for survival that they would soon find themselves in.

Aqua: Hikari, what's your opinion on this mission? I can trust Shin's judgement that this mission will be unreasonably hard, but that is based on his knowledge of the plot alone. You're smart and unfamiliar with the plot, so I'd like to hear your opinion, Hikari.

Shin: I'd like to hear it as well. I may have been looking at things as if we were the characters of this Light Novel, and not Players with our own advantages and disadvantages. An outsider's opinion here is most welcome as it may show things that I missed.

Hikari: All right then. First of all, this mission is not like BTOOOM, which was hard but one or two people could acquire a lot of points and rewards if it ends well. The rewards for our mission in Apocalypse Alice aren't as high for one or two individual, but is instead more spread out to everyone in the group. From reading the main objectives and side quest descriptions, I don't believe overall points and rewards will differ too greatly for anyone, with the exception of the one who defeats the Diseased Girl.

Kampa: I agree with Hikari. Aqua and Shin may be able to defeat a few more monsters than the rest of us, but the end score won't end up too far apart between us all. We are also on a time limit to defeat the Diseased Girl, so they can't spend a lot of time just fighting and defeating monsters for points.

Shuai: That's right. No one here has the luxury of farming the monsters for points. That's why, rather than a mission that rewards one or two Players, this mission will strengthen the entire team – especially the newbies. This is not an individual battle like BTOOOM. This is a chance to get a lot of smaller rank rewards and points for everyone which can be used for worthwhile skills and enhancements for when we return to the Terminal Lobby after the mission is complete.

Hikari: Also, more so than H.O.T.D and BTOOOM, we all have a higher chance of making it out alive in a way. There's an ESCAPE magic we can use, so if one of us is about to die, or is unable to continue, then they can leave the Labyrinth to rest and recover outside in safety.

Shin: Yes, but ESCAPE magic can only be used at the lowest level of this Labyrinth. You are right though, this is a godsend, especially for the New Players. They can avoid participating in the final battle where they are sure to die without any kinds of enhancements or powerful weapons to arm themselves with.

Hikari: But wait, there's more! Haha! We don't personally have to defeat the boss, the Diseased Girl, ourselves.

Misaki: We don't?

Hikari: No. We can leave it to the main characters and offer support, or join together with them to defeat the boss of this Labyrinth. Of course, letting anyone else get the last hit would mean forfeiting the Side Quest reward and losing points that would benefit everyone, but we can play it by ear at that time. This option also explains why this mission only rewards an extra 1000 points and two D rank rewards.

Shuai: It does?

Hikari: Yes; Think about it. Despite Shin saying that defeating a Diseased Girl, with a difficulty rank of 44, is extremely difficult, possibly even more difficult than the Btooom Lord, there's still hope for us. We have the main characters of Apocalypse Alice and all the student magicians in the school as potential allies. We're only getting two D rank rewards for this high level combat mission because of the number of comrades that we can recruit.

Shin: I see. Hikari is definitely on to something here. As long as we make sure enough characters make it to the very end, it would be like having another full team of high level Players with enhancements on our side. They may still be in the realm of normal humans, but they are still elite magicians with a variety of magic to defeat the Girl.

Shuai: That's great! Even without the penalty for letting a member of Hero Team die, we definitely need to meet up with them when the time comes.

Aqua: That's right. Shin, tell us more about the main characters. Their profiles, abilities and who will be most useful to us in the upcoming Labyrinth raid to reach the Diseased Girl.

Shin: Alright. The main characters of Apocalypse Alice are magicians known as the Hero Team, a name promoted by the school they attend and one that the main characters eventually accepted as their own. Shinnosuke Arisu, Shiro Hishiro, Gunjou Mizuiro, Kiri Kiryuu, Yousuke Endou and Himi Yuuyami.

I then began to explain about each member of Hero Team in greater depth.

\- Shinnosuke Arisu

He is the main character of Apocalypse Alice and a key member of Hero Team as the ace magician. Ten years ago in the time line of this world his sister, Saki, contracted the《Labyrinth Disease》and became the Labyrinth desired, yet feared, by all: Apocalypse 666 or better known as "Apocalypse Alice."

Shinnosuke would then spend the next ten years training himself as a magician and working towards finding a cure for the Labyrinth Disease afflicting his sister Saki. He then became a powerful magician in the underworld, going by the name Devil Sword Devil. Once he found the potential means to save his sister he enrolled into the school located next to Labyrinth Apocalypse 666:《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》.

Shinnosuke's purpose is to use the school that actively confronts Diseased Girls to test out the magic he had acquired that could cut the《Labyrinth Disease》away from the girl. He needs to use the Diseased Girls as test subjects, though he hated the fact that he was going to kill more girls than save them during this clinical trial of sorts.

Shinnosuke wears his Headphone Fuzz on his right ear, meaning he used magic logically. Shinnosuke's Headphone Fuzz is the German made《Headphone Fuzz》called《Willer Corp. Manufactured Prototype 42》. He uses a balanced configuration of Offensive, Defense and Support Magic, while he himself is a close range fighter.

Of the six possible magics installed on the Headphone Fuzz, Shinnosuke uses the following known Magic:

Acceleration Switch - A magic to increase the users speed to an unbelievable degree for a brief moment.

Demon Sword Switch - A Magic the transforms an object into a Demon Sword with its own special magic.

Holy Sword Switch - A Magic sword with the miraculous power to cutaway the Labyrinth Disease within the girls.

\- Shiro Hishiro.

Shiro is a student belonging to Class 5 and the leader of his three man group. This group includes his friends Yousuke and Himi. He also belongs to the famed Hero Team, and is its current acting leader (Since no one else wanted the job apparently). Also, despite his red eyes, his first name means "White." (Shiro: Haha, what kind of joke is this? So did anyone notice his glaring red eyes at all when he was born?) Though his red eyes may be due to a magic experiment.

Not much has been revealed, but we do know that he is affiliated with America's Rorand Inc. It's a corporation connected to the military and Shiro has the rank of Magician Third Major. He came to Japan because of a strange mission. This was a mission to pursue a mad scientist whose identity is unknown and who is maneuvering the world in the shadows, but that's probably just a mission according to what Shinnosuke believes. There's no reason for him to risk his life nor for him to be gaining comrades for the purpose of fulfilling that mission. Therefore, Shiro probably has another goal, which may or may not be to completely take over a certain corporation.

Shiro wears his《Headphone Fuzz》in his left ear meaning he was the emotion-type of magic user. His Headphone Fuzz is the《ROLAND Corporation Special Use Type 0》- Japanese-made. It isn't anything special, but it is hard to handle and is no simple thing. If modified, Shinnosuke suspected that Shiro would be a force to be reckoned with.

Shiro specializes in offensive magic, but he calls himself an all specialized offense. I don't know what exactly that means, but basically, of the six magic slots of a Headphone Fuzz, he uses all offensive magic and completely forgoes defense and support type magic.

Of the six possible magics installed on the Headphone Fuzz, Shiro uses the following known Magic:

Penitence Severance Switch - A magic to summon a large knife that can enlarge and mow down opponents.

Thousand Deities Flash Of Light - A magic to summon a javelin. The tip of the weapon explodes on impact and another forms, continuing the cycle till the enemy is defeated.

Fate Reversal Hammer - A magic that forces out those hiding underground and throws them up into the air defenseless.

\- Yousuke Endou.

Yousuke is a man who wears glasses and, despite fooling around with Shiro and Himi, he seems to always have a serious and calculating look on his face. He isn't one of the more famous members of the Hero Team, but he definitely is worthy of the title.

Yousuke is a skilled magician who is an outlier, much like Shiro, who also uses only one type of magic. Unlike Shiro, Yousuke uses all defensive magic. He isn't the type to show off, but he has competent skills. He is unmatched when it comes to defensive magic and has the skill to use defensive magic in a practical way. He almost died during the Asahi Momoka incident, but, because of his contribution earlier in the mission, Hero Team was able to reach the Diseased Girl unharmed for the final battle.

Of the six possible magics installed on the Headphone Fuzz, Yousuke uses the following known Magic:

Reverse Force Switch - A magic that reverses force.

Spider Leg Switch - Spider legs that shoot webs in a AOE defense magic that stops attacks.

Bamboo Grove - A poisonous barrier of green pillars.

\- Himi Yuuyami.

A timid looking girl with black hair that she wears tied up in a ponytail. Himi is not one to speak up confidently. She is cute, but otherwise is much like any normal Japanese girl. Don't let her innocuous looks fool you, she is the core member of Hero Team that every member trusts their lives with.

Himi is a skilled magician who is also an outlier, like her two close friends Shiro and Yousuke. Once again, she uses just one type of magic. Shiro is all offense, Yousouke is all defense, and Himi uses all support magic.

Himi loads her Headphone Fuzz with magic to explore and map out the Labyrinths, to unlock doors, to reveal and undo traps, and even to set traps if necessary. She can also heal, though it isn't very powerful.

In any team going into a Labyrinth, support magic is needed and will give the team a far easier time. For《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》students who need to raid Labyrinth very quickly, she could be said to be the most valuable member of the team. It was also thanks to Himi's efforts that Hero Team could regroup and navigate the Labyrinth to arrive to the room where the Diseased Girl Asahi Momoka waited with just enough time left to fight her.

Of the six possible magics installed on the Headphone Fuzz, Himi uses the following known Magic:

Picnic Switch - A magic to find the ideal way to the target with the side effect altering the users personality.

Intimate Switch - A magic to find people registered as friends.

Band-Aid Switch - A Magic to heal wounds.

\- Gunjou Mizuiro.

Gunjou is a slender and petite girl of about 150 cm tall or about 4' 9" for those who refuse to use imperial measurement. She is a very proud girl and who seems selfish on the surface. Under the surface, however, she really cares for others and her comrades. She cares so much that she vomits with worry before every raid.

Gunjou has beautiful blond hair that she wears tied up into a ponytail. It doesn't look like it was dyed and is her natural hair color as she looks to be mixed blood. Gonjou's eyes are pale blue which radiate a strong will, and her eyes accent her fair skin.

Gunjou's Headphone Fuzz is in her left ear. In other words, she is the emotion-type. The genius type. A type that is hard to deal with. She uses the high class Headphone Fuzz, Mitsutomo Heavy Industries Made ・ Water-Death Type 1.

Like Shinnosuke and Kiri, Gunjou has a balanced configuration in her headphone Fuzz. She uses three Offense, one Defense and two Support for her Headphone Fuzz.

Like Shinnosuke and Kiri, Gunjou doesn't trust others to fully watch her back in the Labyrinth. She could arrange her Headphone Fuzz so she could have more offense or defensive variations, but she prefers to keep Support magic on hand so that she can fight alone. This is so she doesn't need to rely on others and can clear Labyrinths even if she is alone, or if her comrades are dead. Gunjou has a rotten personality, but she is serious about her job a magician.

During the Asahi Momoka incident Gunjou, along with the Shinnosuke, stayed to the very end to face the Diseased Girl. In doing so she saved the lives of all three million caught up within the Labyrinth. It was Shinnosuke who dealt the final blow, but because of her actions he was able to escape a final fatal attack from the Diseased Girl.

Of the six possible magics installed on the Headphone Fuzz, Gunjou uses the following known Magic:

Sea Moon Wheel Switch - A magic that creates jellyfish that spin like razors coated in poison.

Defensive Tyrant Switch - An AOE defensive magic using water.

\- Kiri Kiryuu

Kiri Kiryuu has long madder red hair (The same color as my Aqua), and a well-arranged face. She has a slender body with large bulging breasts. She is the idol of the Hero Team and maybe the school as a whole. More so than the rest of her teammates, she is a very outgoing person and can easily make friends. However after the Asahi Momoka incident she has focused all her friend making skills to pursue Shinnosuke, with him not knowing how serious she was or if she had a hidden agenda lurking behind her smile.

Kiri wears her《Headphone Fuzz》in her right ear, meaning she was the rational-type of magic user. She is the left-brain type. A rational, composed type. A sharp-minded type, despite how she normally acts. Her "usual self" may even be a mask that she hides behind.

Kiri's Headphone Fuzz was of an unknown make which no one could identify its origins, but all that really mattered was that it was probably cutting edge and it allowed her to use her powerful magic that is worthy of Hero Team. Like Shinnosuke, Kiri mostly likely uses a balanced configuration of magic, but all that is known is that she uses magic that produces swords with a variety of effects when they come into contact with the enemies or their attacks.

During the final battle of the Asahi Momoka incident, Kiri successfully fended off countless lethal magic attacks from the Disease Girl in order to save her team members and help save the lives of all those swallowed up by the Labyrinth.

Although not fully revealed yet, Kiri is a part of a foreign criminal organization known as Kowloon Devils Group. It was the name of a huge mafia group with bases in China, Hong Kong. It seemed like Kiri is a member of the Kowloon Devils Group. An assassin raised by a mafia, or someone who had her family held hostage by the mafia. No one knows for sure, but Kiri herself isn't a truly committed spy.

Kiri was part of the plot with the Mitsutomo Group to use Gunjou, who in Vol 2 had been purposely infected with the《Labyrinth Disease》, to gain access to and weaken Apocalypse Alice, the highest rank Labyrinth in the world. She did betray Hero Team at the last moment as they tried to save Gunjou, yet she only pretended to kill them so that they could follow her and the Mitsutomo Group as they explored the weakened Apocalypse Alice. It has been speculated that although she truly does care for her comrades, she has her own objectives as well, and that she is not just a simple victim.

Of the six possible magics installed on the Headphone Fuzz, Kiri uses the following known Magic:

Nine-Fold Switch - A magic sword that can absorb nine attacks effortlessly.

(Unnamed) - A Magic Sword that paralyzes its victims.

Aqua: Good. They are all reliable allies if we can work together, but... you really know too much about this Light Novel Shin. It's... (Why are you looking at me like that?)

Hikari: I would use creepy here if I were you, Aqua. (You too?)

Shin: Shouldn't you be thanking me instead of insulting me!? Anyway, we should definitely meet up with the protagonist Shinnosuke and his team. Shinnosuke is in possession of the one hit kill anti Diseased Girl Magic Holy Sword Switch. The others are also elite magicians with a variety of magics to help us more easily explore the Labyrinth.

Hikari: We can only hope. Also, Shin, the newbies are beginning to wake up.

At last the fourteen New Players to God's Dimension began to wake up. Shin was honestly surprised that they hadn't already.

Shin thought about the possibility that maybe God kept the newbies asleep because this was a mission that needed a lot of discussion. It either waited for everyone to finish talking, or the timing was just a remarkable coincidence. Of course, New Players always tended to sleep in on their first mission in the beginning and no one ever gave any thoughts as to why.

Shin: Not that it matters at all.

Saying this to himself, Shin listened in as his girlfriend Hikari began to speak to the newbies about everything... of course, after the initial panic of where and why they were here they calmed down enough to finally listen to us. It took longer than Shin and the others would have liked, but they were finally on track.

It was decided beforehand that Hikari was their support role of the team. Due to that enhancement path it was going to be hard for her to gain points, so they decided beforehand that she would get the hundred points for the mission orientation from now on. Shuai was in a somewhat similar situation, but as Hikari was the physically weaker girl, and because Shuai would be able to fight later on, the 100 point for Orientation naturally fell to Hikari.

And so, Hikari started to explain to the new players about God, God's Dimension, The Mission Worlds, that the world that they were in currently was that of the new (but very popular!) work Apocalypse Alice. She finished up by telling them about the watches on their wrist. The watch shows Players their current mission to clear the Labyrinth and defeat the Diseased Girl. Of course, like we discussed beforehand, we kept the information about the hidden side quests from them.

Then Hikari explained to them how they would go back to the Terminal Lobby when the mission is completed. There they could rest and train for the next mission. She even told them about how they could make use of the categories of items and enhancements.

Hikari then, at last, confirmed happily that she received the 100 points for explaining everything to new players as a veteran.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ORIENTATION - 100 POINTS ACQUIRED.

Hikari: Easy points! Now that I'm finished does anyone have any-

Trash Mob: Hey! I was doing business on the internet and clicked yes on a pop up, so how did I really get here? Fuck, have you knocked me out with anesthesia from behind then brought me to the room next door to blackmail me? Don't go thinking this is creative, countless people had done it before.

Hikari: No, everything that I've told you is real and you can check for yourselves. Try leaving this room. An invisible force field will stop you. That is God keeping you from escaping or moving about before the mission begins.

Having heard this, the group of newbies lead by Trash Mob (as I rightly named him) went over to the doors of the classroom and tried to leave. But, like Hikari said, all of the men and women were stopped by an invisible force. Trash Mob even tried to punch the door, yet the force field redirected the attack back, causing Trash Mob to double over in pain.

Shin: Hahaha!

Aqua: Shin, don't... Hahaha!

Hikari: Shin, Aqua, don't laugh! We're trying to win them over.

Shin: Sorry, but it was hilarious. I mean, they are all so pitifully hopeless.

Shin truly had no hope for this group of newbies after seeing that they didn't listen to Hikari. Shin didn't believe that he had the ability to protect any newbies this time around, yet this fact didn't weigh on his mind as much as it should have due to his first impression of the newbies.

Shin: (Pathetic is the word. All these newbies seemed rather normal or worse... yet three of the fourteen did look promising. They have already started to adapt. They weren't careless looking around, screaming at us or saying that we were lying. This is a good sign.)

Shin was happy to see some somewhat capable newbies, but the other newbies who went to check out the doors and windows came back before he could check those three out any further. The larger group didn't look like they trusted Shin or his team, but they eventually caught on that something was off. Whether they liked it or not, they soon began to accept their reality. Those who didn't find acceptance at least knew that something was off.

Shin: Well, they are all probably going to die in the end on the way to the Diseased Girl, but I'll still feel bad if they aren't armed at the very least. Everyone line up! You must have now realized that every word that we said was true. This is a dangerous mission with no certainties on who lives or who dies. However you can still fight for your lives. Line up and I'll hand out weapons you can use to stay alive.

Shin had everyone line up and then began to pass out handguns from his Na Ring to the newbies. The guns were loaded with low grade of magic bullets, the lowest cost kind of ammunition that did not cost many points to exchange for, some of which were made by Saki en masse.

The act of taking out items from a sub dimension freaked them out, yet it somehow helped them understand that they weren't in the real world that they knew anymore. Shin didn't know how useful the guns would be to them, but it was better than nothing in this situation since normal attacks were certainly going to be insufficient within the Labyrinth.

Shin: We're going to be entering a magical Labyrinth soon. Normal attacks and tools will be useless, so you can only rely on these guns with magic bullets to live.

Trash Mob: Are these things even real? What the hell are magic bullets? Are you joking with me?

Misaki: They are real. Feel free to fire one off, but just aim away from anyone if you don't want the red head smoking a cigarette in the corner to shoot off your hand. This one newbie from the last mission didn't make it out alive because of her. Hey Aqua! Why are you just relaxing like that!?

Aqua: Sorry, but I have a rule about newbies, so I'll leave them to you guys. Also, I am stressed out so I'm trying out these new smokes that Snake used to calm his nerves before shooting.

Shin: Didn't those lower LIFE?

Aqua: My Cell Vitality is high enough, so I'll be fine.

Shin: Then hand me one. If Snake does it, then it must be okay. Wait… it has to be wrong to use an idol as an excuse to do such a thing. Then again he is fictional and so am I, at least in a way, so it must be okay.

Shuai: Really, the two of you are too easy going.

Ignoring the Players, Trash Mob opened fire at student of the class room to everyone's shock. The bullets naturally bounced off as the mission had yet to begin. Still, this was enough for him and the others to know that the guns were real.

The newbies then began to talk amongst themselves and take good looks at their guns. It was while everyone was doing their own thing that Trash Mob, in another shocking event, pointed his gun at Hikari. The man named Trash Mob was a natural born sadist and liked to point guns at others just to get a reaction out of them. This habit and others lead him to joining the police force, and later being discharged as well.

Hikari noticed what the man was doing and sighed. Hikari wasn't afraid of a mere gun as she, like every other Player of Team Japan had been through life and death battles, and so she could only sigh at the man pointing a normal gun at her.

Hikari: You really shouldn't point that gun at me.

Trash Mob: What? Are you scared? Don't worry, I'm not going to actually-

Hikari: It's not that. It's just that my boyfriend wouldn't like it is all. He's... very protective of me. Just one of his few good points.

Trash Mob: Huh?

Shin: Well, Hikari, you're one of the women I love after all.

Trash Mob didn't understand till it was too late as Shin swiftly made his way to his unguarded back. Shin grabbed the man's right arm from behind and squeezed as hard as he could. The man was surprised by this action, but more so by Shin's vice like grip which crushed the flesh and bone of the newbie's arm. Even before Trash Mob had time to scream in pain, Shin punched the man in the face and sent him crashing to the floor hard.

Kampa: Is he dead? He's a newbie, so that Negative 1000 points for killing him.

Shin: I should have killed him for that, but he is still with us. He's only unconscious for now. Still, with those wounds, whatever chance that he had of surviving this mission is long gone. Kampa, take his weapon. I really don't want to chance it if this guy making it to the end by dumb luck.

Kampa proceeded to take back the unconscious Trash Mob's gun and bullets as instructed. After disarming him he threw the man into a corner of the classroom. After returning the weapon to his Na Ring, Shin let his gaze fall upon the other newbies that were now exhibiting fear towards him. Shin's reason for his actions, beyond the obvious, was simply that he was too stressed out. The fact of the matter was that most of the people in this room were going to die, and so he didn't have time to deal with newbies and their foolishness.

Shin: Did you all see what I did? It may be true that I don't want to lose the points to kill you and I personally don't like to kill people. 1000 points can increase a Player's stats by 100 after all, but my priority is to my team. I won't hesitate to cripple you and make sure that you won't survive this already dangerous mission like just that guy. Do I make myself clear!?

ALL NEWBIES: Yes!

Shuai: ...

Shin: Are you alright, Shuai?

Shuai: I'm fine.

Shin: I can guess that they remind you of yourself from the BTOOOM mission, but don't lower yourself to their level, Shuai. This time we're in a worse environment than BTOOOM and we lack the power to protect them even if we wanted to. At the very least they have guns loaded with magic bullets.

Shuai: ...

Shin: Shuai... It was true that in the past you couldn't do much like these newbies, but you were much more composed at the start of the mission than this group of newbies. So much so that I spotted you out of the crowd at the start and later, although a bit forced by Saki, you risked your life for all of us.

Shuai: Shin...

Shin: You're a valuable comrade to me and the rest of Team Japan. Don't ever forget that, otherwise I'll send you to fight some more Btooom Soldiers alone again.

Shuai: I get it. Also, once is enough, so don't.

Shin smiled as he looked back to the Newbies. That smile soon disappeared with a sigh. As he thought, he was going to dismiss this mission's newbies since no one looked capable, but to his surprise the three he spotted earlier remained calm and collected despite the situation (and his own threats to beat them half to death and abandon them).

Shin: They really do standout, huh?

The first was an older gentleman, who looked to be in his forties, possibly a poorly aged late thirties. The man also looked Irish which made him the second foreigner to end up in God's Dimension of Team Japan. Maybe it was just because he was the oldest, but not only was he calm, he also looked like he had seen a few things in his life time. He was interacting with the other newbies and at some point looked to have become their representative, showing that he had leadership qualities.

The second individual, a ten year old boy of Middle Eastern descent (OK…Another foreigner). He had dirty blond hair which could mean he was of mixed blood. He was obviously the youngest in the room, yet didn't look fazed. The kid actually left Shin on edge when their eyes met. It was the same initial reaction that he had when he first met Kampa and Zero. Deep down Shin felt that this child had seen more in his ten years than he should have.

Lastly, a tall and thin Japanese youth who looked to be the same age as Shin and Misaki, who was wearing a wrinkled long dark blue coat with a jagged-cut tail, over a white shirt with a game logo. The man was smiling at everyone trying to be friendly. He was clearly intelligent, judging by the leading questions he was asking the newbies. He was obviously gathering information. To Shin he looked like the best prospect among the group... yet Shin also felt that he was also the most dangerous and he didn't know if that was a bad thing or good thing in this dimension.

Shin: Well, I should probably speak to them... To see if we can trust them not to die in the first hour.


	88. Chapter 88

Of the twelve newbies this time around, three of them gained my attention.

The first was a ten year old kid. He was obviously of Middle Eastern descent. Oddly, however, alongside a traditionally dark skinned complexion, he possessed a dirty blond hair color that was strikingly similar to Kodaka Hashagawa's, more dirty than blond though. His eyes held a mean look in them that would make most strong men and women alike step back. I felt that he maybe he had some European blood in him.

The second newbie that caught my attention was an older man in his early 40's who looked to be a foreigner of Irish descent. The man emanated a leadership vibe and he was able to calm down the other newbies now that Trash Mob was gone. Come to think of it, this may have even been a calculated move on his part. If so, then it reveals he is a man of intelligence... Something that we all need now that Saki is gone.

Lastly was a Japanese youth in a dark blue jacke caught my attention. He was definitely around the same age as Misaki and myself. His appearance was very average, but... he was strangely off in some way. I couldn't exactly explain it. He didn't look weird or anything like that. In fact he was more on the good looking side than not. Still, I couldn't help but feel that something was off about him.

These three newbies were different from the rest of the batch, but here in this dimension that was in fact a good thing. I guess it's worth giving them all a chance to introduce themselves... That way we can determine if they have the potential be allies, liabilities or... Something worse.

Shin: Alright, everyone listen up! I am the team leader here and everything that this girl Hikari said earlier is true. This isn't some trick and you're not being punk'd on some T.V show. As you have now seen with your own eyes, enhancements are real. By seeing how easily I took one of your fellow newbies with little effort, you should now know that everything you see is the truth. Now, ignoring the guy that I knocked out and have no intention of helping out in the mission, please state your name, occupation and skill set. That way my comrades and I can assign each of you responsibilities. Please do so quickly as the mission will begin at any moment and we've wasted enough time already.

We've predicted beforehand that not every newbie will be exceptional in combat, but they may still have their use. Even if they can't fight, they may possess a skill that could be helpful to us all. Like Saki once said, people who have talents outside of combat are invaluable.

Hackers like Hikari, people who can fix vehicles like Misaki, or even those with the talent to potentially build sci-fi weapons and magic tools are a must-have for any team. That's why I asked for their skill set. It may be worth the risk to cover such a talented person, even if they can't fight right now. We are looking at them as a potential investment. We protect them now and later we'll have them work for us for the sake of survival as equal teammates who support one another.

Of course, it was unlikely that we would be able to find such a talented individual, but it was still worth the effort to assign the newbies roles. Even if they are weak and without talent, the power of teamwork can't be overlooked. The newbies could, perhaps, be useful at some point in the mission. Assigning them jobs at the very least will help make sure that they don't hold us back in critical moments.

Newbie 1: Responsibilities? Do you really want us to fight monsters?

Newbie 2: That's like asking us to die!

Aqua: Don't worry too much about that. Unfortunately for all of you, this mission's difficulty is a bit too high. You all will most likely not make it, but if you listen to what Shin and the rest of us have to say, then you might have some hope of living through all of this... and not die a horrible and painful death.

Shin: Thank you Aqua. Now like my girl-, ow! That hurt Aqua! (Stoically enduring the pain from when Aqua just stomped down hard on my foot, I continued) Whatever… as my comrade here said, we will hear what you have to offer to the team and see if you can participate in the mission with us. If you have no value to the team then you will have to obey everything that we tell you and stay out of our way. You're also free to do your own thing, but if you do then I refuse to take responsibility for your safety and will not permit my comrades to do either. You are on your own for the rest of the mission if you leave our side. I recommend not arguing and siding with us. Then, hopefully, starting from the mission after this one, you will have gained enhancements and will have the ability and opportunity to become proper teammates. But don't be afraid. As long as we stick together we will all make it out of this alive. That is my promise!

I meant every word I said, but still, it was unlikely anything will be born of this.

We will most likely be forced to forgo safety as we race to the Diseased Girl on account of the six hour deadline. There is also a good chance we could unexpectedly be caught up and separated in the Labyrinth of the Diseased Girl should it manifest here at the school. What I said about working together will only mean something if we all can meet up later.

I then listened to the newbies introductions, yet didn't bother to commit anything to memory as they were all ordinary. Like I originally thought, there were no useful front stage talents that empower anyone to fight alongside us, nor anyone with background talents who can help the team improve later. I could only sigh in the face of this disappointing batch of newbies. While caught in the grips of my disappointment, the three I took notice of began their introductions.

Derrick: My turn? Okay, my name is Derrick. My occupation is that of a farmer/owner of a farm. I started out twenty years ago and built it up with my own hands to what it is today, one of the largest producers of malted barley, potatoes, Irish whiskey, and stout in my country of Ireland. My skill set comes mainly from farming and hunting, which I do in my spare time now that my company has grown so big. I have a dozen people working under me who can handle the day to day tasks. I can use a handgun fairly well, but I am more accustomed to a hunting rifle. I also make sure to keep in very good shape, so I won't slow you all down.

Shin: Not bad. What were you doing in Japan then? Vacationing?

Derrick: Business. I was attempting to make to contacts in Japan when I suddenly found myself here. This is way outside of my expertise, but I can run and shoot if that helps.

Hikari: That is actually plenty. We welcome you aboard (This sinking ship). Next up is...

Hikari then looked towards the young boy with dark skin. The boy looked at Hikari with enough intensity to make Hikari, a Player of God's Dimension who's risk her life regularly, take a step back. Shin and the others didn't feel any bloodlust from the boy, so they didn't attack him like Trash Mob. After a tense moment they allowed him to introduce himself.

Connor: ...Connor, mercenary of five years in the Middle East. Specialty, assassin and long distance marksmanship. Best sniper in the Middle East. Was in Japan on business.

Hikari: ...Um, doing what exactly? And you said five years? How is that?

Connor: ...

Hikari: ...Shin!

Shin: Calm down Hikari! He isn't going to bite... Probably. Aqua, do you know anything about him?

Aqua: No. As sad as it is, child soldiers are not rare in this world – especially in countries where wars are fought either for long stretches of time or repeatedly under new names or banners.

Shin: So he's like the MC of Jormungang (My favorite child soldier who travels with an arms dealer)... though his hair is blond instead of white… though it still stands out all the same.

Aqua: That was your first thought? You're a terminally ill otaku you know?

Shin: That I am my... Comrade (My first wife to be was about to hit me). Anyways, Connor, are you half something? Your hair is blonde.

Connor: ...

Shin: Okay... Moving on.

I had never met a child soldier before in real life. Even so, I didn't have the time to feel sorry for the boy's sad life since it was a gift for the team at this moment. Connor definitely had the aura of an experienced solider and his long battle experience placed him above Aqua, even rivaling Kampa. That was why I was glad to have him as a new Player.

Connor supposedly even had the talents of a sniper. The same talent as the deceased Zero. We should make it a priority not to lose such a talented individual like we did with Zero in BTOOOM. More so than that, I also felt that pulling the child soldier into Team Japan would greatly strengthen us in ways even we couldn't understand at the moment. I had a gut feeling that he would be an asset rather than a liabilty.

Shin: (Connor reminds me of Zero in a way. They are both men of few words, or boy in his case. He's a child, but he has far more life experience than me... Except with women. My sexy 34D redhead girlfriend and my smart, cute, glasses girlfriend... No one in the world can match me!)

Having finished talking to Connor, I turned my attention towards the youth of a similar age to myself in the wrinkled blue coat. He was smiling as if he was excited to finally get his turn to speak.

Shin: So what's your name? Guy in the blue jacket.

Jin: Me? So it's finally my turn. Ah, don't take what I said negatively. I don't mind that you got to me last out of the fourteen of us. I'm am just that kind of guy after all.

Aqua: Shut up and just get started! We don't have time for nonsense.

Jin: Ok! My name is Jin. My occupation is officially that of a student, but I am also an aspiring pro gamer.

Shuai: Pro Gamer? You mean those guys who play video games and online games for money and can make a living by doing so? The guys that sell items online, or win tournaments?

Jin: That's right. I am the number one player of Moon Monochrome, Soul Trial, Heaven's End, Destiny, Royal Road, and New World. I can proudly say that despite being born human trash, I am quite skilled in gaming due to my control skills. It's my one and only talent, as lowly as that is. It does nothing to contribute to society whatsoever, so it's hard to be really proud of it.

Hikari: So you're very good at games, but why do you keep putting yourself down? I don't think being a professional gamer is a bad thing if you can make a living with it. Better than just being a useless Otaku!

Shin: Hey!

Jin: What do you mean why I... Ah, that, sorry but sometimes I forget that I do that. It's just a habit due to my parents. They lived off the money that I won in-game and the tournaments that I entered. Even while they lived off of me, they still kept telling me that I was worthless and that gaming wasn't a real job. They are definitely not the best parents in the world, but they are right though. No matter how much one makes in video games, one's station in life won't increase in society by much.

Shin: I don't completely agree with that, but we can hear your dark past later. Do you have any skills outside of gaming?

Jin: None that I can think of. If this seems unreal like it's a game my gaming knowledge might come in handy, but judging by the knocked out guy in the corner and not seeing a decreased HP bar over him, I can see that we aren't in a game world. Still, I'm very physically fit and can run for a long time. For pro-gamers, getting sick could lead to major losses as we constantly have to keep at the top above other players. I work out intensively for three hours a day and have been doing so for years ever since I started by career.

Shin: That's one thing. Well, maybe if you had enhancements you-

Jin: That's enough about me, now tell me more about you.

Shin: Me?

Jin: Yes. It was amazing how you dealt with that guy... Ahh?

Shin: Trash Mob? That's what I call him since I never bothered to catch his name.

Jin: Right. Then, Trash Mob, the man who was threatening your group. That display of power is beyond normal men. Even pro athletes and fighters who claim to be the strongest in the world can't compare to you. You really showed us who's in charge. It was awesome! I'm now your biggest fan!

Shin: F-fan?

Connor: What's there to be impressed about? He was too lenient since he only knocked him out when he should have just killed him.

Jin: It couldn't be helped, right? According to the watch, it says he would lose 1000 points for killing one of us New Players and ending this mission in a negative score results in death here in this world. Also, 1000 points can evidently be used to increase a stat by 100, so who would waste it on killing someone like that guy? I wouldn't.

Connor: What strange rules. It's like this world is a game.

Jin: I know right!? It's an amazing game where you risk your life to survive and become stronger. None of the games I've played before could ever match this world... Although this world isn't a game, but a Light Novel! I'm more into games, but I did read the book, so…I guess that I'm lucky.

Hikari: Shin, come here for a second.

Hikari who was listening in on Jin's introduction called Shin over to speak in private in a corner of the room. Once Hikari was sure no one could hear them she began to speak softly.

Hikark: Shin, don't you think that there is something off with that New Player Jin? He gives me the creeps.

Shin: I get what you mean. I can't read him at all either.

Hikari: Don't you think he's dangerous as well? He oddly positive about all of this and even when he was telling us about his parents and how he was raised, there was no shred of sadness. He just zealously went on about how much of a failure he was. Jin might be crazy or broken if his parents were as bad as he said they were, so shouldn't we do something about him?

Shin: Maybe if he turns out to be a threat to us, but I don't think we should just break his legs over questionable behavior. Jin's a top professional gamer and this world here has game-like elements. A guy like him may come in handy and he could offer a different perspective on things. I'm a fan of Manga and Anime with deep insights, you give critical analysis, Aqua uses experience from seven missions to date to make her decisions, Misaki is headstrong and looks at things straight forward, Kampa looks at the world as a mercenary mission, and Shuai... Well, he's something. Different view points are a good thing, Hikari. Not bad, so until he does something out of line, we should just play along with him and if he does do something that places us in danger I'll kill him myself even if it costs me personally 1000 points!

Shin gave his honest opinion about Jin to Hikari to reassure her, yet he left out his own worries. As Shin spoke to Jin he was reminded of himself in a way. Jin didn't outright say it, but clearly he had some issues with the real world and saw potential within God's Dimension for himself.

Like Shin, Jin saw the Mission World of Apocalypse Alice with wonder and not just fear or hate, but unlike Shin who learned the importance living and comrades on his journey so far... Shin felt Jin was hopeless. There was madness underneath Jin's smile and the words that he spoke. He was fundamentally different from Shin who wanted to grow as a person and one day face the real world.

Shin: (To sum it up Jin is like the worst part of myself who's in love with God's Dimension despite the dangers and horrors, but that's all there is to him... Except something dark which I can't identify... Yet I also don't think he is one of The Four Pillars either. Still, I'll keep an eye on him to be safe).

What Shin, Hikari, and the others were most worried about the newbies was not whether they could keep up with the team, but if they were spies for the Four Pillars. Sozin had given Shin and the others a warning that there was a very good chance that Mass Enlightenment might try to make contact with Team Japan soon since Team Japan was originally under their sphere of control.

Saki herself had even conveyed that Mass Enlightenment, along with the rest of the Pillars, were aware of the current Team Japan, and they would be preparing to make moves against them in the future. It appeared to Shin and the others that the Four Pillars didn't like the idea of an independent team like theirs. That was why there was a good chance that someone would send in a double agent among the newbies to assess, or possibly kill the members of Team Japan. With that dire warning in mind, each and every one of them were on guard.

The best choice all together would be to disable all the newbies so that they couldn't complete the mission and completely abandon them, yet that wasn't an option. Shin felt that, while his team wasn't weak, they were not too strong either with just the six of them. Only Aqua and Shin fit the description of powerful enhanced Players of God's Dimension. Further, half of them (Aqua, Misaki and Shin) were close range fighters. Kampa was a gunner, and Hikari and Shuai (since he is still in the early stages of his enhancement path) were basically support roles. They were lacking midrange fighters like Kampa and with Zero's death they no longer had anyone with long range potential aside from Hikari and Shuai's ability to spy with their enhancements.

Shin: (This isn't a problem that can be fixed with mere power ups in our enhancements. We need new talents – new blood injected into the team so we can keep advancing forward. Additionally, if someone here were to unlock their Genetic Constraints on this mission there's a good chance the next mission will be a team battle. We cannot afford to be weak when we come up against another team. As we are now... We're not equipped to face both the mission and another enemy team at the same time).

Shin knew he had to take a risk trusting the newbies. However, since no one aside from Derrick, Connor, and Jin had yet to impress him, he chose to only deal with those three for now and intended to leave the eleven – no, ten newbies to their fates in the Labyrinth (Trash Mob's injuries basically put him out of the game before it starts). If they live then great! If not, then they just die. Shin placed his team's welfare above all, so he won't take great risk that endanger them.

Shin: Derrick, Connor, and Jin please come here. I'll allow you three to be trial members for Team Japan since I feel potential from you three. I'll give you some equipment. Here are submachine guns with spare ammo of low grade magic bullets, if you can use them. We will allow you two more cartridge of magic bullets which you will be allowed to get more from either Aqua (from her RPG Bag) or myself (via the Na Ring) when you need it. Here are bullet proof vests inscribed with low level magic protection. These are Magic amplifier tags you can place on a weapon which will then become a low level pseudo magic weapons. Here are a few grenades you can throw at enemy (I already shared the BIMs six ways with my team). Use these for escaping dangerous situations. I doubt they will be able to kill any magic based monsters, but these could slow them down. Then lastly, here is a low level healing potion. As a warning I'll let you know the healing potion won't instantly heal you, but it will over time, so keep that in mind. Also, remember this: I'm giving these items to you because I see your potential and want you in the team. HOWEVER, you're not members yet. I will still expect you to listen to reasonable orders from my team. In exchange, my teammates will support and even save your lives if possible, though we won't risk ourselves if it's impossible or there's a high chance of fatalities among the main team. Still, you will be much better off than the other newbies. If you accept these conditions you may keep these items. If not and you want to do your own thing hand them back now.

Shin was proud of his speech and current actions as a leader. While he didn't know it, the others were also impressed, especially Hikari as she remembered Shin from the first mission when he was just a reckless Player... Though Shin himself actually wondered if the three newbies understood his words.

All three accepted his deal to become trial members of Team Japan. Derrick was looking at his gear amazed. Connor wore a look of disinterest but still took the equipment and looked it over in detail. Jin... He looked at it all with reverence – especially the Healing Potion that was just right out of a game. Shin wondered if they were even listening. He let out another long sigh.

As for the other newbies left out... They didn't take it so well.

They showed a look of discontent and hatred at Shin and his team for not giving them better gear. They weren't familiar with the story of Apocalypse Alice, yet they understood from the mood that it was incredibly dangerous and just the handguns with magic bullets weren't going to be enough to let them live.

In the end they could only hold their tongues. The man sprawled out on the floor in the corner, bloody and unconscious, and the red haired women who never took her eyes off of them intimidated and suppressed any ideas of rebelling against Shin's team.

They could only endure for now.

Misaki: Everyone, be careful! The mission is starting!

It was just as Misaki said.

Until now the classroom they were in was filled with students in their seats who were not moving, but suddenly life could be seen from them. Some students began to talk among themselves, stand up and walk around the room. They were going about their life without concern, yet they were not interacting with any of the Players. They even ignored the beaten man on the floor even when they stepped in a puddle of the blood leaking out from his mouth.

Aqua: Don't mind this. NPCs programmed by God will usually ignore you in the beginning. Of course, if you do something really suspicious in front of them then they will call you out on it.

Kampa: And that man on the floor isn't suspicious?

Aqua: Who knows? He was like that from the start before the mission started, so maybe he's treated like a natural part of the scenery.

Shin : Like a potted plant... I wouldn't want THAT in my home.

Hikari: Could you all stop fooling around for just one-

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Student 1: What was that?

Student 2: Everybody, look outside. A fight is going on!

Shin: Everyone be careful! Something might-

Suddenly a chill wind swept across the classroom, yet no one else except Shin, Aqua and perhaps Connor felt this coldness. Shin's body trembled and he immediately took out his Auto 9 RoboCop gun through reflex (which now had a Magic Amplifier Tag attached) and he opened fire on the source of the dark and cold energy he felt outside the windows. The bullets impacted the window, yet the windows were unharmed and the bullets bounced helplessly off.

Everyone was startled by Shin's sudden action, especially the students who only now acknowledged the Players existence within the room and looked at them with fear. It was only a secondary concern, yet they didn't appear to be in any of the Girl Killing Curriculum classrooms. Shin could tell because they reacted to gunfire by screaming and not taking defensive action like Magicians who activity raid Labyrinths should have done.

Shin: The mission had started, yet God doesn't want us to interfere with what's going on. Fuck!

Shuai: What's happening?

Hikari: Shin, look outside!

Shin and the others then went to check the windows and outside they saw a group of students. One was running away extremely quickly while the others crowding around a single student passed out of the ground.

Then a darkness crawled out from the student on the ground quickly swallowing up the crowd of students. It didn't stop there. The darkness spread throughout the courtyard and all too quickly reached the school. The school, the classrooms and all the students within the building, were devoured by a darkness they couldn't fight back against it. They would be unable to stop the impending darkness even with the most powerful of magic technology that this world had to offer.

Shin: Everyone get ready! We're-

Nothing.

Only darkness.

Shin couldn't finish warning to his comrades and the other newbies. They were all too quickly engulfed by the darkness. The Players, students, and teachers within《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》were devoured by the greatest darkness that nearly wiped out the human race and is still trying to this day...《Labyrinth Disease》.

Standing next to the world's most dangerous Labyrinth, Apocalypse 666, now stood another Labyrinth. This Labyrinth stretched for miles and miles underground, couldn't be entered from the outside which was irregular. It's fate, whether it would stay in the world permanently or whether it could be erased from existence, rested with the people within and they were alone in this struggle.

The battle of Empress' Grave 44 begins!


	89. Chapter 89

Shin: God, my head hearts. What the hell was that? That dark shadow came for us and... Guys? Hikari?! Aqua?! Misaki?! Anyone?!

Shin regained consciousness after being swallowed up by the rank 44 Labyrinth Empress' Grave. He had been swallowed along with the rest of his team and those within《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》. The first thing Shin did was take in his surroundings. While doing so he noticed two things.

The first thing he noticed was the environment he was currently in.

Shin looked around himself and came to the conclusion that he was in a dark cave, or perhaps a tunnel. The cave was naturally dark, but there were very small red stones, minerals that glowed softly in the dark. The deep crimson light they bathed the walls in gave the cave an eerie atmosphere. It provided none of the comfort a light in the darkness normally should.

Shin also found that the Labyrinth gave him a monumental feeling of stress, to the extent that he almost couldn't breathe now that he was trapped within it. This sense of danger was way beyond anything he had ever experienced and he couldn't put words to how he felt.

It was as if coldness, death, horror, a deep seated grudge, and sadness were hidden within the very walls, floor, ceiling and air itself... Which made sense since the building is a Labyrinth that kills all intruders. A Labyrinth born from the victim and threat to humanity extending from the monster known as a Diseased Girl. Still, it was an environment that didn't allow someone with any sensitivity to danger to feel at ease for even a moment. It made one feel like there was a monster perpetually stalking you that would suddenly leap out when no one was looking

Shin: (The temperature is a bit chilly, but it's more than that. The feeling of death sends chills down my spine and my skin is crawling. Also, the fact that I'm alone isn't helping much either.)

His solitude was the second thing Shin immediately noticed.

Although they we right next to each other the last time Shin recalled, no one was with him now. His comrades Hikari, Aqua, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai were nowhere to be found. It was the same for Jin, Connor, Derrick and the other newbies that he couldn't be bothered to remember their names of. They too were nowhere to be found.

Shin expected such a possibility since they weren't using the Intrusion Magic DIVE SWITCH to enter the Labyrinth, yet that didn't make him feel better. One of his greater fears for this mission was that not everyone had what it took to survive this mission in a magic Labyrinth story.

A Labyrinth in the world of Apocalypse Alice was not an easy place that one could take a stroll carelessly in and hope to survive. Endless hallways, traps hidden in the shadows, spawned monsters, and the Diseased Girl herself weren't easy to deal with. Also, Apocalypse Alice was a magic themed series of Light Novel. The Labyrinth summoned by the Diseased Girls and the tools to face them by humans were all 100% were primarily magic in origin.

According to what Shin learned from Aqua, the most experienced veteran of Team Japan and God's Dimension, magic can normally only be destroyed with magic. Powers like Ki Energy, Blood Energy, and Faith Energy could work just as well, but it's a general rule that normal methods of fighting are useless against magic and spirit type opponents.

Of course, there are some Manga, Anime, and Light Novels that say otherwise. In works such as 'A Certain Magical Index', 'Fate Zero', 'Dragon Ball Z' (Ki instead of magic) and Anti Magic Academy, science can outright overpower magic, or bypass it when used correctly. Apocalypse Alice is unfortunately not such a world.

If it was possible to use science to rid the world of Labyrinth, then the governments of the world would set off nuclear bombs within them. Unfortunately, traditional science is unable to provide any help against this new threat. It was never shown in the series, but Shin imagined that such methods didn't work. The most likely explanation is that anything categorized as magic would be completely immune to most forms of technology, or would regenerate so quickly that technological assaults would be rendered useless.

What Team Japan is lacking for a mission in this type of world are special powers and tools. Only Aqua and Shin possess powerful energies (Nen and Ki Energy) and are equipped with tools to confront magic opponents.

Every official member of Team Japan has been given Low Magic Bullets, Magic Amplifier Tags and a Bullet Proof Vest inscribed in magic protection, but all of that is basically nothing when inside a rank 44 Labyrinth in the world of Apocalypse Alice. Shin had been hoping Team Japan could pull of a miracle and all come out alive through good teamwork, but now...

Shin: (This isn't good. Aqua and I could survive if we were surrounded by monsters, but the others... They won't make it. No! I should have more faith in them. They have all survived at least one or more dangerous missions in God's Dimension and so they are experienced veterans. Hikari could use her Persona to hide and sneak around any dangers as she makes her way through the Labyrinth. Misaki, Kampa, and Shuai are still in the beginning routes of their exchange paths, yet if they ended up near each other they could fight their way through any monster threat together. As for the newbies... Maybe if they get lucky they can survive. There should be one or more safe zones they can use to hide inside a Labyrinth. Also, there's the battle potential of Hero Team and the other students of the Girl Killing Curriculum. They were swallowed up by the Labyrinth as well and should be in here too. An alliance with them will greatly increase our chances of survival!).

Shin felt better about his situation when he thought about how his comrades weren't guaranteed to be in trouble or dead, and so now he could focus on his own situation. Shin was the leader of Team Japan and a powerful combatant second only to seven mission veteran Aqua. He couldn't keep worrying forever and ever, so he thought about what he had to do.

Shin: I have five immediate goals for this mission.

They are:

1\. Stay alive.

2\. Meet up with comrades.

3\. Meet up with Hero Team.

4\. Explore the Labyrinth and find the Disease Girl.

5\. Defeat the Diseased Girl.

Goal 1: That was Shin's highest concern since he can't do anything if he is dead. That means he can't take stupid actions just because he is worried over a variety of issues at the moment. Shin also has a bad habit of enjoying the world of Manga, Anime, Light Novels, and Video Games too much, and so he shouldn't play around too much, or at all for that matter.

Goal 2: It was important, but there was nothing he could currently do about it at the moment. Shin lacked an ability to search for others like Hikari using her support type Persona Adrasteia, so he wouldn't be able to find them even if he tried. Also, although they had all exchanged for Communication Phones that should be able to work anywhere in the world even without reception, the Labyrinth was an exception to the rule. All electronic forms of communication are sealed within the walls of a Labyrinth brought forth by the Diseased Girl.

Goal 3: This one had the same problem as goal two, yet it was important to make contact with Hero Team. When it came time to face the Diseased Girl of the rank 44 Labyrinth, Hero Team's battle power would certainly become necessary. God wouldn't have allowed the possibility of teaming up with a powerful group of magicians if the threat of the Diseased Girl was small.

Goal 4: This was what Shin needed to do at the moment. He didn't know where to go, the tunnel he was currently in could lead him forward or backwards, up or down, yet he had to start somewhere.

Goal 5: The fifth and final goal...

Shin: That's the final goal, so it can wait, but I should still keep it in mind. In the... Unfortunate event that I can't find my comrades as I move about the Labyrinth or that they are dead, I will have to make my way there alone to face the girl. Hopefully the others will come to the same conclusion and make their way there, but I should have the resolve to fight the big boss of the Labyrinth alone if needed. I'm much stronger than the time I fought the boss of BTOOOM, so maybe I can manage it alone. Unlike before, now I have proper Ki Skills, a magic weapon to attack with, and magic armor that increases my stats. My cloak is especially potent in a dark Labyrinth like this. Most importantly, I've unlocked the Second Stage of my Genetic Constraint through my battle with Saki. I don't want to, but I'm more than resolved to face the Diseased Girl alone if necessary.

Shin then gave no more thought about the future battle and focused instead on the present, and his first concern was time. The mission stated that he had six hours to explore the Labyrinth, find the girl, and defeat her before time was up. Shin didn't know how much time had actually passed since the Labyrinth was formed while he was blacked out after being swallowed up by the darkness.

Shin: I really need to know how much... How can I find out? Um…. That's it! This Headphone Fuzz shouldn't just be installed with ESCAPE magic.

I forgot to tell everyone when we were together, but the Headphone Fuzz held another function. It has the capability to keep time within a dungeon when other modern electronics have proven ineffective and you can also set countdowns so you know how much time is left in a Labyrinth raid. Of course, I myself didn't set it up, but God gave it to us, so maybe...

Shin: It's there! God really set up the countdown till the Labyrinth turns into an Eternal Labyrinth. Let's see here... [ Five Hours - Fifty Four Minutes - Thirty Seven Seconds ]. That's the time limit left until the Labyrinth becomes an Eternal Labyrinth. Good! I haven't lost much time!

Shin then went over the Headphone Fuzz to see if any other interesting things were loaded onto the device. He was disappointed to discover that aside from the clock and Escape Switch, nothing else was conveniently loaded onto the device. He regretted that he forgot about the time function and that he neglected to tell the others about it, but there was nothing for him to do about that mistake now.

Shin: Okay. There is plenty of time for me to raid the Labyrinth. I don't have to carelessly rush out because of time constraints. But not knowing the layout and depth of this Labyrinth means I can't take it slow either. I also have to at least try and find my comrades. I definitely wasn't given all the time in the world, so I had better get moving. Alright! Let's raid the Labyrinth! It's time to kill the Girl and save the world... Wait, doesn't that make me sound like a villain?

Shin knew that there was no point in just staying in one place when there was a time limit at play, so he began to walk forward. He didn't know which way was forward and which way backwards since the cave he was in went in two direction. Shin chose a direction based on gut instinct.

Shin: I choose this direction simply because the feeling of danger and death is more congested in this direction than behind me, though in a lot of ways this doesn't feel smart. Oh, well. This place is also called the Empress' Grave, so following the path that is slightly descending couldn't be bad idea either. Graves and tombs are all usually down in the earth after all.

Shin followed the path leading down deeper into the cave where the feeling of death was strongest, yet for that reason as well he was also cautious. With each step he took the danger he felt smothering him became stronger. He couldn't help but believe that he was about to be attacked any second.

As Shin made his way down the tunnel he came upon a four way intersection. He could go right, left, or forward like he was. The Labyrinth was definitely living up to its name. One wrong turn could end with him wasting minutes, maybe even hours if he wasn't careful. The possibility of endless wrong tunnels was nothing to sneer at.

In the end, instead of choosing the path that lead downward, Shin chose to go right. The reason was that the feeling of danger was stronger. It wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do, but without a map it was the best he could come up with.

Following this path he encountered something strange.

Shin: Wow! That is definitely not suspicious.

Ten minutes after walking forward at an even pace found an artificial creation within the cave. Twenty meters in front of him was a line of graves. These weren't the western kind used in cemeteries with huge stone slabs, but they were the smaller ones etched in Japanese letters. In total there were five such gravestones spread out in front of him.

Shin: Would anyone just pass those by without saying anything? Something is definitely hidden beneath those gravestones. I... I should probably set it off. I couldn't spend five hours to learn the characteristics of this Labyrinth like in the story, so I need information about the dangers I could be facing. Monsters, traps, and anything else that could get in my way later. I'd prefer to face it now rather than later when I'm on the run to get to the Diseased Girl in time.

With that said, Shin took out a normal grenade from his Na Ring which h had exchanged points for earlier and threw it over to the gravestones. The grenade landed directly in the space between the five stones and went off.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Shin: Ah, maybe I shouldn't be setting off bombs in case of a cave-in... Well, too late to think about that now!

It was too late to be thinking about a possible cave-in because a battle was about to begin and he needed to get ready. The ground began to shift from the the scorched earth that was once a grave site. A hand, head, torso, and soon the legs of a person emerged from the ground and stood up before Shin.

There were five humanoid warriors standing up, they bore worn down eastern armor and in their hands held rusty swords.

Beneath their clothes was nothing. No flesh or blood, just bones. They clearly didn't have the muscles to move their bodies, yet they were now making their way to Shin, and not at a slow pace either. Shin felt danger from the warrior monsters now sprinting to reach him.

Shin: Hahaha! Real Skeleton Warriors!

A skeleton warrior right out of game, one that Jin would get a kick out of raised its sword and swiftly, with a speed that didn't match its appearance, swung its blade at Shin. Shin ducked down to avoid having his head cut off and then rolled backwards as two more swords slashed at where he had been standing. The strikes brought up a cloud of rocks and dust as the blades struck the ground.

Shin saw that both the skeleton's speed and power placed them above normal humans, yet it wasn't at a level worth fearing with his stats and battle experience. Compared to the various BTOOOM warriors on the island in the previous mission, they were seriously lacking in combat ability.

Shin was still wondering if this was the true strength of a rank 44 Labyrinth, but he had to deal with the current problem at hand.

Shin: First test... Normal and Magic Bullets!

It was Shin's first time to really use the low grade magic bullets and he definitely wanted to try them out. Before that he first he needed to know if he could use normal bullets to fight the monsters within the Labyrinth. From the Na Ring Shin took out one handgun loaded with mundane but cutting edge bullets that Saki had made, and another handgun loaded with the low grade magic bullets he exchanged for way back after the H.O.T.D mission.

Shin's targets were the two skeleton warriors running up to him from the left and right. With no hesitation he opened fire on the two approaching monsters and analyzed the results. The skeleton warrior hit by normal bullets wasn't injured and didn't slow down in the least, yet the one hit by magic bullets had an arm blown off and was slowed down by 50%.

Shin: (Normal bullets are ineffective and it would probably take ten low grade magic bullets to kill a skeleton. That would really start to add up.)

Shin took a step back to avoid the incoming slash of the uninjured monster, and in retaliation Shin raised the gun loaded with magic bullets to point at its defenseless head.

\- *BANG*!

The head of the skeleton warrior was blown off in one shot. Under the force of the single low grade magic bullet the skull shattered into countless pieces, falling helpless to the cold earth withering away. Shin watched in surprise as its body fell to the ground and withered away as well. It was like it was never there, yet there were four more monsters still alive and ready to attack Shin.

Shin: Let's try out Ki Energy now!

The three skeleton warriors that initially attacked Shin rushed toward him, but before they were close enough to strike they were showered in a hail of bullets empowered by Ki Energy. They all collapsed, with their bones and rotted armor hitting the cavern floor in a dull thud.

They were mindless warriors of the Labyrinth doing their best, but they were helpless under the Ki Energy empowered bullet's power. Like their predecessor before them, their remains fell to the floor and withered away into nothingness. Not even a single bone stayed behind.

Shin: Ki Energy is especially effective here. Head shot or not, with magic bullets they fall with just a bullet or two. When used to empower normal bullets, my Ki bullets are just as effective as low grade magic bullets. It still takes 10-15 shots, but this is a great way to save the more important low grade magic-

Shin was interrupted by the skeleton warrior he first injured as it had finally caught up. Its rusty sword came down in an arc towards Shin's head. As its chipped and savage looking blade came closer, Shin grabbed the sword with his bare hands. He then exerted force on to his grip and the old rusty sword snapped in two with an audible pop.

If the skeleton could show emotion it would have showed a shocked face at that display of inhuman strength of Shin, yet it neither had the ability or time to do so. Not one second later a right hook came crashing into the skeleton warrior's head, and with a crack of shattering skull, the first battle was over.

Shin: The skeleton warrior's strength is impressive and could overpower a normal human, but with my Muscle Density being four to five times a normal person, further enhanced by my Ki Energy and One-eyed Ghoul Mutation I have no problem fighting them. Misaki and Aqua could definitely overpower them. We can definitely beat them down with our bare hands. I didn't even need to use the Na Ring yet, but I still wouldn't want to be surrendered by dozens of them. They care nothing about their lives like real RPG monsters and won't stop even with a destroyed arm or leg. They don't even react if one of their allies is killed, though that could just be a characteristic of a skeleton type monster.

Shin was happy with the results of his first battle and even a little excited.

Shin was surprised by how calmly he handled that battle. It could also do with the fact that his first opponents weren't too strong, yet Shin knew that he had changed. He was no longer nervous to enter a potentially dangerous battle and was capable of standing his ground and even starting a fight if needed.

Shin: My previous battles... H.O.T.D, BTOOOM, training with Sozin, The Four Pillars and... even my battle with Saki had all helped me grow. Still, it wouldn't be a good idea to think that I was strong by comparing me to opponents like those.

His suspicion that the Labyrinth would become more difficult further in felt stronger when he thought about how his enemy weren't worthy of being in a rank 44 Labyrinth. For now he was relieved. That meant even his weaker comrades wouldn't have been killed yet. They were all armed with magic tools, so they shouldn't die unless they allowed the enemy to approach and hack them apart with their rusty swords.

Shin: The newbies might still be alive as well long as they hadn't panicked at the sight of those monsters. Well, it shouldn't happen to Jin, Connor and Derrick as they showed potential. Things are not as hopeless as I thought.

Shin said that, yet there was still a lingering doubt gnawing away in the back of his head.

The enemies Shin fought weren't impossible to deal with, yet the immense feeling of danger and death he had felt since the moment he had woke up within the Labyrinth had not disappeared. It hadn't even become had any weaker either. Shin couldn't help but think that this was either a trap to underestimate the Labyrinth, or just the beginning stage of a long and hazardous path to reach the Diseased Girl of the Empress' Grave 44.

Shin: That's a real possibility. If one wasn't a Player and didn't know the rank of the Labyrinth, they would assume that even if it gets tougher, the Labyrinth's rank wouldn't be higher than ten. At that level, as long as you are careful you wouldn't die tragically. Well, no matter. I can only move forward to discover what waits for me.

Shin then renewed his journey through the caves of the Empress' Grave. He knew that it was only the beginning of a long battle, yet with determination he walked forward without hesitation.


	90. Chapter 90

Shin: Fuck! Shit! Screw you God! Did the difficulty of the Labyrinth just spike all of a sudden? Shouldn't it be more steady!? Wait 'til I surpass you and send you into even worse worlds!

Shin was currently running for his life and badmouthing a person/thing that wasn't even there. How things reached this point is a story worth remembering.

Almost one hour had passed since the Labyrinth had manifested and Shin had begun his journey to explore the Labyrinth and find the Diseased Girl. He had no idea where he was, hadn't run into any of his comrades, newbies, Hero Team or other students.

Shin had no clear direction to follow and at times there would be two, or more paths he would have to choose to go from. Relying solely on his instincts, gut feelings, and intuition just made him feel more lost. That also led to another problem.

Shin was choosing where to go by his instinctual ability to sense danger. Because he was seeking the direction he felt danger emanating from, he had run into a lot of enemies. Shin would run into mass gravestones every five to ten minutes of his journey. The initial group of monsters Shin faced numbered only five Skeleton Warriors, yet from that encounter on, Shin began encountering 10-30 enemies at a time. Those battles were a little time consuming, but he was rewarded for his troubles with points for each 100 monster kill.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

The individual strength of the skeletons didn't increase, but their numbers were enough to think the difficulty of the Labyrinth had gone up as he was moving forward. Not worthy of a rank 44 Labyrinth, but the difficulty was steadily climbing.

This made Shin happy in a way, because the increase in monsters could be a better sign that he was going in the right direction. For Shin, these monsters weren't very difficult, even after he switched to hand to hand combat and swordplay in order to save on bullets. While he was not concerned for himself, deep down he had a sinking feeling about how the others were doing. This feeling grew heavier and more burdensome as time went on.

Shin: (If they hadn't discovered a simpler way to easily kill the enemy monsters by now, then they may be running out of magic bullets soon. We didn't know the next mission was magic based, so we couldn't exchange for tens of thousands of magic bullets. We also didn't get the Medium and High grade magic bullets for tougher opponents that we are bound to face deeper into this Labyrinth. This small supply of low grade magic bullets is going to have to go much farther than it should.)

Now to Shin's current crisis:

Five minutes earlier Shin ran into the latest group of monsters as he stepped into a mass grave of fifty head stones. From Shin's experience, he expected this to mean fifty monsters would pop up once he either got close, or disturbed their sleep.

Shin felt it would take too long to deal with them, so when they started to emerge from the ground he threw a grenade empowered by Ki Energy. This is a technique especially effective against magic monsters that one could only use if they understood how to emit Ki Energy. He was grateful for his options as he threw the empowered grenade in the middle of the herd of monsters.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Not only was the power increased by a degree, but even the AOE damage of the grenade had widened. So much so that Shin knew that if he had exchanged for one of the higher grade grenades he could possible blow up a small park sized landmass into smithereens. That's why Shin fully expected nothing could survive that blast, yet to his shock he was proven wrong.

Ten figures emerged from within the raging flames. They were not Skeleton Warriors, but a different breed of monster. They were not skeletal, instead they had flesh, but that was all. Their skin hung loosely in rotten chunks, several of them were missing body parts. Ultimately, their appearance was similar to the THEM from H.O.T.D. They were also armed with a higher quality of armor and sword, a katana to be exact. They were certainly a higher tier of monster and could only be called-

Shin: Zombie Warriors...This place is the best!

Shin was startled by how the zombies weren't killed by the explosion like the skeletons were, yet his fighting spirit hadn't weakened in the slightest. It only grew stronger. Shin knew that his team was in a dangerous situation and could be fighting for their lives at that very moment, yet he couldn't help himself.

Until recently, Shin had been through one stressful battle after another. He fought against opponents he never wanted to deal with. Shin had to fight the people threatening Hikari's family, he fought agents of the Four pillars to protect his cousin Chika and... he even had to fight to the death with his former comrade Saki. None of those fights were enjoyable, so Shin greatly preferred these fantasy style battles in Apocalypse Alice and those found in the worlds of Manga and Anime the most.

Now, Shin was back to the world that he felt he belonged in. The world of Manga, Anime, Light Novels and Video Games. He was currently fighting against mindless point farming Zombie Warriors. Here and now, Shin could be himself without worrying too much about his actions.

It was a fantasy and magic battle out of an RPG. So long as he did his best and didn't die, everything would work out in the end... At least that is what he believes, yet to date he had not been wrong.

Shin: Come! I'll play with you guys for a bit!

Shin's battle cry rang loudly.

The Zombie Warriors responded to Shin by yelling loudly as well and charging at him. He, in turn, steeled himself for the upcoming battle. Taking these new opponents seriously, Shin opened the Na Ring and summoned his trustworthy black night colored magic sword and Sci-fi gun. With the Gravity Blade in his right hand, and the infinite ammo Auto 9 he inherited from Aqua in his left hand he prepared to meet the oncoming assault.

Shin: Let's go GB!

Not waiting for a response from his antisocial magic sword, Shin met the slash of the closest Zombie Warrior with his own sword in one hand as he blocked the slightly rusted katana. Using his Auto 9 he fired three rounds into the gut of the Zombie. Being opportunistic, Shin fired an additional round into its head killing the zombie where it stood. Confirming the kill by the withering corpse, Shin moved quickly and escaped the other nine Zombie Warrior.

Shin: (I don't know why the grenade didn't kill them. Maybe the armor has magical fire resistance, or I needed more than one? Flesh with damage reduction? Who knows, but I've figured out about these monsters. Strength wise they are two to three times stronger than the skeleton warriors and tougher as well. Without Ki Energy I would've been overpowered.)

Shin also gained information from the gut shots he made with the Auto 9 enhanced by a Magic Amplifier Tag. This Magic Amplifier Tag empowered the gun's loaded bullets into being Low Grade Magic bullets. Since his ammunition was infinite, that meant a potentially endless source of Low Grade Magic Bullets. From the damage of the first shots Shin feels it would take more than ten, at least 20 or even 30 magic bullets to kill one. By adding Ki Energy it would take 10-20 bullets to send these Zombie back to the ground.

Shin: Head shots still work though!

Improved by this new information, Shin fought bravely as he was surrounded by the nine remaining Zombie Warriors. Shin made sure not to exchange blows with more than 3-4 at a time, keeping the others away with the magically enhanced Auto 9 infused with Ki Energy.

The swordsmanship of these enemies was far more intense than that of the Skeleton Warriors. Shin and the Zombies locked swords and slashed at one another, his black night sword eagerly met the slightly rusted katana of the enemy. While trying to get the better of the opponent Shin was impressed, but in the end it was a far cry from Kaiyo's swordsmanship he saw on the island. This was not even at a level that he needed to enter Unlocked Mode.

Shin: Not good enough!

The Gravity Blade in Shin's hands left a black arc as it ruthlessly slashed into the neck of one Zombie Warriors. The Zombie was instantly decapitated and its torso slumped over as its head came rolling off of its shoulders. Shin could imagine that the stats between him and the Zombie Warrior weren't too far apart, but his own gear gave him the advantage in the fight.

Another zombie moved behind Shin to take his life. Shin was not caught off guard. Knowing the intent of his enemy, a full swing spinning slash (With increased gravity) crashed into the monster's sword, cutting both the sword and zombie in half. Getting surrounding on all sides, or even having his back taken was bad, but Shin was not at the point he needed to worry for his safety. The main reason for his confidence lied with his magic sword.

Shin: (This is the great thing about Gravity Blade which I really appreciate now. It's definitely a weapon that can be used all the way to the end game of God's Dimension. It seems dull as a magic weapon, yet using powerful blunt force and slashes to harm your opponent, and having the sword treated as a magic weapon makes it very impressive. There are no additional effects like burning the soul, draining life force, or corrosive properties, but there's no limit to its power and it has no affinity like weaknesses. I can just keep increasing the gravity of the sword to make my attacks stronger, so there won't be a need to exchange it for a better magic weapon in the future long as I become strong enough to handle the blade at 100,000 times gravity.)

It was as Shin thought.

Shin wielding the Gravity Blade overpowered the enemy with increased weight slashes and it didn't end there. The force field of the Na Ring added on top of and the black night sword, enveloping it with a soft glow.

Whenever the sword made contact with any part of the enemy's body they would begin to melt like butter and were finished off by the sheer brute force behind the increased weight of the strike. They had no viable way of defending themselves.

Shin: Really, that was almost too easy. I do get that if anyone didn't have a magic weapon or a tool like the Na Ring they would have a more difficult time, even with enhancements. I feel bad for the others, but aren't I amazing!?

In the end, the whole fight didn't even take one minutes to come to a close. All ten of the Zombie Warriors were taken out and Shin felt confident that, even if he had to face more of them at once, he could take them out with little effort... And that's what lead to his carelessness.

Shin failed to notice that a single gravestone, one with Chinese characters was still there and wasn't harmed or activated in the previous battle. That's why as Shin passed by the grave stone boldly and the trap activated. The walls of the cave began to glow brightly. Before Shin knew what was going on the ground, walls and ceilings began to shake violently... Then they emerged.

Hands.

Hands of all sizes.

Dozens of hands.

Hundreds of hands.

Too many for Shin to count began to erupt from the ground, and slowly the rest of their bodies followed after. Shin didn't wait for all of them to come up for air and as he began to sprint down deeper into the cave.

Shin: Fuck! They are catching up!

Shin ran away from over a hundred spawned monsters of the Labyrinth as he moved through the cave at top speed. Shin occasionally shot a glance backwards as he ran and he saw many types of spawned monsters. The Skeleton Warriors, Zombie Warriors and a new type monster he had yet to encounter.

This new one was a larger spear wielding skeleton. They didn't appear as physically strong as the Zombie Warriors from the way they carried themselves and their weapons, yet their movement speed far surpassed them. So much so that even Shin had to occasionally dodge a spear thrust as they kept up with him.

Shin: Should I just use Instant Movement to escape?

Shin didn't wait too long to come to that decision since the stampede of monsters steadily increased in size as he traversed the Labyrinth. Shin ran through many gravestones and hidden traps where more monsters were buried and as Shin disturbed their sleep they joined the fun.

Shin: Fuck all of you and leave me alone!

Shin retrieved multiple grenades from his Na Ring and started infusing them with Ki Energy. When he was finished, he threw them up into the air directly below the ceiling and then fled with Instant Movement to escape the coming blast.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The blast went off intensely. Countless sharp rock fragments hit Shin's back as he escaped the blast, yet thanks to his Lesser Fenrir Coat they just harmlessly broke and fell down his back.

Shin was thankful and not just for his magic armor. Like he once feared and now wanted, the ceiling of the cave caved in and blocked the way he had come from. Shin just barely escaped as thousands of rocks rained down from above as those below were crushed.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin: S-Safe! That was really close. I almost-

\- *RUMBLE*!

Shin felt through the ground a small quake and looked around at last to see where he was. So far he had been traveling through similar looking tunnels of the cave, but now he was in a large space. A naturally formed chamber of sorts.

It was incredibly spacious like a large pro sports field. Behind Shin was an oversized entrance and along the walls at the ceiling were multiple opening. It looked like Shin came through the main entrance and not a side entrance. This is a shame because taking a side entrance would mean he could've scouted the area first... Due to his failure to scout he was now in trouble.

Shin had stumbled upon into the chamber where one could descend to the next level of the Labyrinth. A staircase lead to the next level below. Taking this staircase would lead one closer to where the Diseased Girl waits, but for that very reason the staircase leading down was guarded by a formidable force.

An untold number of Skeleton Warriors.

Hundreds of Zombie Warriors.

Dozens of Undead Spearmen.

And lastly...

Shin: So that's an elite, huh? Well, I think the easy part comes to an end here.

Shin thought as much as he stared into the one remaining decayed eye of the Elite Skeleton Knight.


	91. Chapter 91

Shin was surrounded by a multitude of enemies on all sides in the large chamber room he was in, yet they were not his immediate concern. It would take some time, but Shin could defeat all of those monsters with a few head shots of the Auto 9 in his left hand and a swing of the sword with the Gravity Blade in his right hand.

The only real threat that Shin saw was the overbearing Elite Skeleton Knight.

Shin: That Elite monster is no joke. Just standing there it makes me feel a bit nervous... I was hoping that I was free from this feeling of dread.

The large monster that Shin could only think of as an Elite made him feel a pressure of danger like no other. The one eyed Elite Skeleton Knight looked dirty like the other monsters from this distance, but Shin felt that it wouldn't be a good idea to judge it by its appearance. The spawned monster protecting the stairs leading down was still a skeleton type monster, yet it was far bigger than the others.

The normal Skeleton Warrior and Skeleton Spearman were at best seven feet tall and were on the skinny side, but the Elite Skeleton Knight was easily twenty feet tall with the width of three grown men. It possessed bones far thicker than the average skeleton, a full set of eastern oriented armor protecting its body, and lastly a long katana measuring at least half the creature's size. Shin noted that the sword was already stained with someone's blood.

Shin had yet to see the enemy's full capabilities, but he felt real fear for the first time within the Empress' Grave Labyrinth. More so than the other monsters he had encountered, the Elite possessed more of the essence of the Labyrinth that put him on edge. It wasn't an absolute feeling of death like when he faced the Btoom Lord boss, but he knew that if let his guard down he would be killed all the same.

Shin: A true guardian of the Labyrinth given power to protect the girl from us. If I don't defeat him here he won't let me pass!

The large mass of monsters surrounding Shin raised their weapons and charged at him. They gave him no room to run away, so Shin jumped into the air with Instant Movement to escape. Shin didn't consider anyone other than the elite as an enemy, so he did not give them the respect of being faced directly. Shin just wanted to be rid of all of them so-

Shin: Disappear!

\- *EXPLOSION*!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin dropped dozens of grenades infused with Ki Energy down at the enemies below while he was still midair. Shin had a limited number of grenades and a few BIM made by Saki that he didn't want to waste, but it was a priority to clear up the room of monsters before facing the Elite monster. Shin didn't bother with the messages of his rewards.

Shin smiled looking at his handy work, but that smiled didn't last long as found himself on the defensive. Like Shin, the Elite Skeleton Knight didn't have an eye for anyone else in the room and it ignored the death of its allies, stomping on them as he ran over towards Shin. The speed of the Elite Skeleton Knight was beyond anything Shin had seen so far and it all too quickly reached him while he was still in the air.

The Elite raised his sword and, with inhuman force, slashed at the defenseless Shin with its large and impeccably well-kept katana. Shin used Gravity Blade to block the blow, but without the support of the earth under his feet he was blown clear across the room, crashing into the far wall of the cave.

The Elite expected that Shin would die with smashed into a bloody human paste against the walls of the cave, much like all the others who had attempted to get by him. It was mistaken.

The Elite had underestimated Shin dearly. Shin's magic armor coat negated most of the impact and almost as soon as he had crashed into the wall, Shin jumped back out into the open in a red flash towards the Elite Skeleton Knight. Shin's Kagune was released and at the same time he had entered into Unlocked Mode.

In the first Stage of the Genetic Constraint his bodily limits were removed and battle instincts surfaced in the mind. Shin instantly knew the method to lessen the damage of the Elite's attack to a minimum and he knew his own condition better than any doctor could. His right arm was broken and wouldn't heal in time before the fight ended, but he still considered himself fortunate.

Shin: (The Lesser Fenrir Coat saves my life again. An Elite has well over ten times the strength of the average man and has a much larger body. I sincerely thank something better than this dimension's God that I'm in a Labyrinth/dungeon. All my stats have been increased to the highest degree possible due to the darkness. I would have taken more damage otherwise.)

Shin looked over to the Elite Skeleton Knight with his vacant eyes due to Unlocked Mode. He saw the monster rush at him in a rage, but he wasn't fooled. The Elite held some intelligence along with great power and would exploit any opening he showed. Not the level of an elite soldier, but the Elite was far from brainless (whether it had a brain in that skull or not is debatable).

Shin quickly went over the specs of his enemy in his mind. Power, speed, and skill level of the Elite flashed across his mind in the blink of an eye and he came up with a battle strategy that ensured victory. An Elite was indeed a tough opponent, yet very far from unbeatable.

Shin: The Auto 9 won't be too useful. His body is too tough. Just avoid his attacks and cut him down. Simple and to the point!

Shin was in a head on charge towards the Elite Skeleton Knight, but moved to the side swiftly with Instant Movement to narrowly avoid the ruthless axe-like slash. The attack missed, yet the force of the slash almost blew Shin away with wind pressure alone.

The Elite, following up with another attack, took another swing of its heavy sword at Shin in a downward slash. Shin used his scarlet red Kagune tentacles to deflect the slash away as he stepped back, yet the Elite showed off its immense strength as the sword buried itself into the cave floor.

The next attack all too quickly followed the last. Shin jumped back and used Instant Movement to escape the slash and moved to the elite's unguarded back with another step of instant movement. Gravity Blade's increased weight, magic, Ki Energy, and the Na Ring's force field melded together as one slashing at the Elite Skeleton Knight's unguarded back. Like a hot knife through butter, the night sky sword Gravity blade effortlessly cut through the tough armor and thick bones of the Elite.

Shin: Effective, but not enough. One more will do!

The Elite took massive damage and thwt did not go unnoticed by Shin. Shin was ready to finish off the Elite, but he immediately retreated to avoid the Elite Skeleton Guard coming back around to attack in a spinning slash. The elite staggered due to the great damage Shin inflicted, but he was still able to move. Shin even saw that the elite was slowly regenerating. This was his first time seeing a monster of the Labyrinth with such a characteristic.

Shin: (Can't let him recover. Even if I have gotten used to it a little, Unlock Mode takes a toll on the body, and so I don't want to use it for long.)

Shin was about to move in with Instant Movement to finish Elite Skeleton Guard off, but he stopped in place before he could take a step forward. His instincts screamed that he was in danger and he was frozen in place with apprehension. The scattered surviving monsters of the chamber from Shin's grenade attack began to surround him at that moment. A small army of monsters was about to tear him limb from limb, yet they weren't even reflected in his eyes at that moment.

Fully trusting his instincts Shin ducked down flat to the floor. The skeleton and zombies were about stab Shin to death with their weapons, yet before they could draw close enough to do so, a blue light representing death flew through the air at a neck breaking speed and cut all those who dared to keep standing in two. The upper halfves of their bodies disintegrated into ashes.

In shock at the damage that was caused by just one attack Shin looked over back at the Elite Skeleton Knight and saw that its blade was glowing an ominous blue. The sense of danger began to resurface as the light of the enemy's katana grew stronger by the second.

Shin: A laser beam slash!? Are you Ichigo!?

As Shin complained, another wide laser beam was about to be released from the Elite Skeleton Guard, yet the elite slipped on something unseen, allowing Shin to avoid the laser that went off course carving away a path that was several feet away from him. Shin knew a chance when he saw one, and he ran up to deliver the final blow. The Elite, despite its mistake, was ready to meet Shin head on. Before they were close enough to clash, they both froze up at a new presence.

The new presence within the large chamber released an intense bloodlust that left everyone in that space instinctively fearing for their lives. Not even the undead were immune. It was as if a monster had made its appearance and was about to devour them... Yet Shin with Gravity Blade in hand smiled and renewed his attack without concern of the danger.

Shin: Better late than ever my love!

Aqua: Who's your love fool?!

Descending from one of the upper entrances to the chamber and pouncing on top of the Elite Skeleton Knight was Aqua, the red haired veteran of Team Japan.

Aqua's right hand formed a fist and three blades of Adamantium, now ablaze in an orange flame-like energy sliced and crushed the head of the elite in one blow. Then following up, leaving behind a pitch black arc in its wake across the Elite's chest, was Shin's Gravity Blade in a one-handed slash.

Shin: Three hundred Times Gravity Slash!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

The Flaming orange claws of Aqua and pitch-black blade of Shin together slew the Elite monster where it stood. What remained of the Elite Skeleton Knight was cut in two right down the middle, and then like all the other defeated monsters spawned by the Labyrinth to protect the Diseased Girl... the body returned to nothing as if it never existed.

Shin sighed in relief now that the battle was over and withdrew from Unlocked Mode. The pain was still there, but by now he could remain somewhat calm and not let the pain overwhelm him.

Shin: Aqua, I'm glad to-

Aqua: Not yet Shin, there are still a few monsters here and there. Let's clear the room before we talk.

Shin: Fine, but you are ruining our reunion of lovers. Aren't you ashamed as my girlfriend and wife to be?

Aqua: If you can joke then you can fight!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Five minutes later Shin and Aqua had cleared up the room of the remaining monsters.

Once they were finished, the two met up by the stairs leading further down the Labyrinth. Shin arrived first and took his first glance down the dark stairwell. Shin felt more danger and death, stronger than what he had experienced from the Labyrinth so far. Shin was certain that this stairway would lead him closer to the Diseased Girl of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth that they must defeat to survive another day.

Aqua: Shin, are you okay?

Shin: Yeah, it's just this Labyrinth is all. This Labyrinth is made up of death, danger, blood, and sadness all mixed together rather than just magic power, and I can't ignore it. This feeling is too sensitive. If it continues, I'll probably go crazy from fear before any of the monsters get me.

Aqua: You are not calm enough, Shin. When you encounter unexplainable things like magic or the supernatural, the first thing isn't to panic, but try to understand them. What's scary about a magic that burns you from the inside out? What's scary about a ghost that can appear out of thin air and kill you with one touch? Just think of them as a poison that kill you from the inside out, or that there is an assassin armed with an invisibility cloaking device. Do that and they are not so scary, right?

Shin: No, no, no that's still plenty scary, Aqua. Still, I get your point. Just take the mystery out of it and deal with it head on without getting scared.

Aqua: Exactly. Also, don't underestimate the power that you hold, Shin. You're the strongest after me on the team and you are a man worthy of being Team Japan's leader. You're strong enough to break through a challenge of this level, but if you can't get it together when you need to, then you're just a weakling who can only wait to die. That Elite monster didn't almost kill you because it was stronger than you. It was because you were overwhelmed by the fear of death and the unknown. Don't ever forget you're someone who lived through the zombie apocalypse of H.O.T.D, the insane bombs battles of BTOOOM and that you had overcome Saki's death. Apocalypse Alice isn't where you are meant to fall, so relax a little and just do the best that you can and then some. Just like always.

Shin: ...Thank you, Aqua. I feel much better.

Aqua: You're welcome.

Shin: I'll feel better if you had hugged me when you said that though. Just a little bit of intimacy and I'll be as good as new! Ready to face the Diseased Girl by myself if necessary!

Aqua: Now you're too relaxed! There really is no helping you, is there? Well, if we can survive this death trap we can do more than just hug if you want.

Shin: Really!? Then let's hurry up and explore the Labyrinth, find our comrades and Kill the Girl to Save the World for more than a hug! (What a simple fellow I am. If all it take is a kiss or something like that for me to feel this way, to risk my life against an almost absolute death, then I doubt I could have ever stayed faithful to one girl if another pursued me. Well, this fits with my harem goal.) I'm ready when you are Aqua!

Aqua: ...

Shin: Also, didn't you promise me that if I survived my third mission you'll go swimming with me?

Aqua: Ah! I did say something like that, didn't I? Why? We already went swimming in the real world. It was even at the beach. Why do you still care?

Shin: Who can get enough of you wearing a swimsuit? Not me. We also have to try a few combination of one pieces, bikinis and-

Aqua: Enough!

Aqua simply ignored Shin from that point on and and walked away, not revealing her flushed face as she was slightly happy. Shin not knowing this was afraid that he said too much and Aqua was angry at him. Shin went after Aqua, but then he noticed that she had stopped walking away from him and was looking down at something. From where he was he could see a red stain on the cave floor.

Shin: What are you looking at, Aqua?

Aqua: Nothing really. Remember how that last attack missed you? I saw that while I was waiting for my chance to attack and remembered how that Elite monster slipped on something towards the end. Neither of us had the time back then to know why or care as we had to kill the Elite, so I was just checking it out. I just never expected there to be a body is all.

Shin: Body?

During the fight with the elite Shin did recall it slipping as it stepped on something, but he never saw a body. In Shin's defense the Elite was such a strong presence and there were countless other spawned monsters in the room as well, so he could have easily missed a corpse or two in all the chaos.

Aqua would have said something if it was the dead body of one of their comrades, so it wasn't someone she knew. All the students and teachers within the school ground were swallowed up by the Labyrinth, so there were plenty of people, or victims, who could have died, and so Aqua couldn't know them all. Shin only gave Aqua and the others a description of Hero Team members after all.

Now curious, Shin walked over to Aqua to check the body and when he saw it... He was taken back. All the remained of the corpse was the upper half of the body, while the legs were stomped on into an unrecognizable mess that left a bloody stain on the floor.

It was a corpse Shin recognized.

It was not one of his important comrades.

It wasn't the body of any of the New Players.

It also wasn't the corpse of any of the members of Hero Team, although it was indeed a character from the light novel of Apocalypse Alice.

It was the body that he recognized as the home room teacher of Class 5, Honjou Tsukasa.


	92. Chapter 92

The teacher in charge of Girl Killing Curriculum Class 5, Honjou Tsukasa. Honjou Tsukasa wanted all of her students to call her Tsukasa-chan, but no one in class is willing to entertain her by saying something so embarrassing out loud.

At first it seemed like she got along with her students, yet in Volume 2 it was shown that she only saw her students as paychecks and ways to increase her standing. Even when Gunjou became a Labyrinth with a difficulty rating of 42, she didn't hesitate to order her death, or to send her students into such a time limited Labyrinth, behavior that was unheard of.

Not only was she the teacher of this Class 5, she was actually the female interviewer that the main character Shinnosuke Arisu had met when he took the test to enter《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》. She seems to be around twenty-two and normally wore a deep blue suit and high heels.

A Headphone Fuzz which resembles an earring was located in her left ear. It seems like she's one who likes to stimulate her right brain.

An emotion-type.

What kind of magic she used was not revealed yet in the Light Novel, but she should be considerably strong since she is a teacher at a school that trains young magician to enter dangerous Labyrinths with time limits. Further she was in charge of the class where Hero Team gathers, and Honjou Tsukasa should be stronger then that Sakuma-sensei, another teacher of the school.

Shin: How did this happen?

Aqua: Shin, you know her?

Shin: Yeah. She's the teacher in charge of Class 5. The class where Hero Team go to in the Girl Killing Curriculum of《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》.

Shin then told Aqua everything that he knew of Honjou Tsukasa as they sat around her mangled corpse, and it was only then did he realize how strange that was. To talk around a dead body calmly was beyond the Shin of the past, so he was surprised at himself.

Just like battle experience allowed Shin to enter fights without hesitation, the deaths of enemies and allies alike reshaped him into the person who he was today. An individual who can look death in the eyes and throw a left hook equipped with a Na Ring to its face. Shin didn't know if this was a good change or not for him, yet in the God's Dimension, the Mission Worlds, and especially in a Labyrinth formed by the Diseased Girl, Shin could only think of it as a good thing at the moment.

Aqua: Was this teacher strong? If so, it's a shame since we could have needed her.

Shin: She should have been strong as she was a teacher of a class in the Girl Killing Curriculum, and the one in charge of Hero Team, but who knows. Still, I'm surprised that she was killed.

Aqua: Why?

Shin: Well, she was supposedly a powerful, or at least a halfway decent magician, right? I would understand if the Elite and all the other monsters from before could kill her, but with her experience she should have known then that that was impossible to win alone. I've considered that the rule for ESCAPE in this Labyrinth might be applied to everyone, so she shouldn't have been able to leave the Labyrinth, yet it still doesn't make sense. If I was her, I would wait for reinforcements if I couldn't handle that Elite alone. If she was devoured by the Labyrinth, then others should have been absorbed too, which she should have realized. I would risk wasting time here and looking for comrades/meat shields for a higher chance at getting past that elite.

Aqua considered Shin's words about Honjou Tsukasa's strength and experience. Shin didn't know why, but he watched as Aqua flipped over the top half of the teacher's body and examined the back. Shin was confused, yet Aqua now wore a look of understanding. Aqua knew something that Shin didn't and began to explain.

Aqua: As you said, this Honjou Tsukasa was probably a powerful magician, Shin. This teacher probably did engage the Elite alone, thinking she could win and got stabbed from behind. I can tell from the wound of the back that it was the fatal blow. It definitely wasn't from the Elite.

Shin: What makes you so certain?

Aqua: There's a single sword wound that pierced her heart from the back. The wound is too small for it to have been from the elite.

Shin: I didn't notice what killed her (Probably because her entire lower body was gone in a bloody mess). Was it one of the smaller monsters that took her by surprise from behind then?

Aqua: No, the wound is too clean like there wasn't even a last minute struggle before she died. It was probably... Wait! Shin, did you really never notice them?

Shin: Them?

Aqua: That we have been surrounded by assassins for quite some time? Look there.

Shin: What!?

Shin hearing this immediately looked over to where Aqua had pointed, toward one of the cave entrance high up in the chamber. A figure was just there looking down on them, but it was already gone the second it was spotted. All Shin saw was a black blur swiftly move back inside the cave.

Shin: What was that?

Aqua: So you really never noticed then? You're lucky Shin. Those are what I call Undead Assassins. They are extremely weak in a fight even compared to the other spawned monsters of the Labyrinth, but they can hide effectively well and know how to kill with one strike. They always target the head or heart for the certain kill. They are actually very deadly if you let your guard down, which is what I expect that Honjou Tsukasa did as she was fighting that elite, yet they are also extremely cowardly, unlike most of the mindless monsters of the Labyrinth. They won't attack unless they see an 80-100% chance to kill with one strike.

Shin: Why have I never encountered them before? I can't say that I have had my guard up the entire time.

Aqua: Really? You have been on edge since the moment you were in this Labyrinth, right? They probably sensed that and so they did not attack you. You might not have realized it but strong individuals like us give off an aura of strength if we don't actively try to hide it like with a technique like Zetsu from Nen. Also, in your fight with the Elite you were in Unlocked Mode, so your combat instincts and alertness were at their best. They probably never had a chance to kill you, so they just followed you secretly from behind, waiting for their chance to kill you in the darkness of the Labyrinth.

Shin: That's scary! I'm surprised that you noticed such shadowy monsters, Aqua.

Aqua: It's a difference of capabilities and experience, Shin. I possess the Werewolf Genetic Mutation and Wolverine's Mutation as well. They both give me heightened senses. Also, before your otaku revolution in God's Dimension, I've been on movies where I had to face enemies who could conceal or appear out of nowhere to attack me. Halloween, The Grudge, and even Predator. To live through those movies you either picked up the method to find your enemies, or you die with a knife sticking out of your back.

Hearing this, Shin realized that he had a large gap in his combat experience. All of his enemies to date did nothing to hide their killing intent from their targets.

He had yet to face an enemy who specialized in stealth combat and could potentially kill him before he even knew what happened. To slit his throat from behind before he could turn around to defend himself. An enemy who could follow him from the shadows, watching and waiting for the perfect moment to end his life once and for all.

Shin: That might be a weakness of mine. I didn't even sense Saki when she sneaked up on me and almost killed me with that Sci-fi gun of hers. It was only just right before that I felt something was off and that was almost too late.

Aqua: It couldn't be helped, but don't despair too much. You're the instinctive type, Shin. The type that learns as you go through experiencing new things. The type that betters themselves with each new victory and conquest through life and death struggles. All the monsters, even the Undead Assassins will become stronger the deeper in the Labyrinth we descend. Their stealth and assassination techniques will become more lethal, so if you survive this mission you'll become an expert on counter assassin techniques... or you'll die trying.

Shin: Great. Something to look forward to then.

Aqua: It really is, but that's enough talk for now. We need to get going, Shin. We have no idea how many levels there really are in the Labyrinth and we've already used up more than hour to get to this point. Let's descend down to the next level.

Shin agreed with that and he also checked his Headphone Fuzz. According to the countdown installed by God they had [Four Hours - Forty-seven minutes - Twenty seconds] until the Labyrinth transforms into an Eternal Labyrinth.

Aqua, who didn't know of this function within the Headphone Fuzz, was surprised and tried it out herself. After seeing that she too had the countdown she was pleased.

Aqua: Good. Knowing exactly how much time we have left will help us out immensely. If we also knew the layout of the whole Labyrinth then we would be set. Still, this is good enough for now. Shin how's your arm?

Shin: It's good. I'm surprised by how fast that it healed up. I won't have to worry about it. I'm good to fight anytime!

Aqua: That's great. Then let's go Shin!

Shin: Right behind you, but what about the others? Some of them may be on this level like us.

Aqua: Don't worry. I actually did spend some time looking for anyone else with my enhanced five senses. Nothing came up. I was only able to find trace of you, and even if they had died on this level I would have at least found evidence that said so, but even if I'm wrong and they are hiding somewhere we don't have time to look for them. We have to defeat the Diseased Girl in less than five hours from now even if we are by ourselves. We can only hope for the best for the others.

Shin: ...Alright then. Let's go, Aqua!

Shin and Aqua then immediately began descending the stairwell down to the next level of the cave of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth.

Aqua: Shin! To your right!

Shin: I see him!

Shin blocked the fifth sneak attack from an Undead Assassin since he and Aqua first entered the second level of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth. The blade of the assassin that snuck up on him appeared rusted, yet there was no doubt in his mind that the blade was actually incredibly sharp. Sharp enough to cut through to possibly stab through Shin's body with high Muscle Density, yet like Aqua said the Undead Assassins were physically weak.

With just one hand Shin used his Gravity Blade to block the sharp knife of the Undead Assassin, pushing it back, and with his other hand now completely healed Shin fired round after round into the enemy's head with the Auto 9 at close range. The now dead enemy had fallen to the ground dead and withered away like all other defeated monsters of the Labyrinth. Shin sighed in relief, yet Aqua yelled at him.

Aqua: Shin, don't stand there and keep going! We can't afford to stop or we'll be surrounded again by monsters. I don't want to worry about those sneak attacks in that kind of madness!

Shin: Okay!

Shin then sprinted after Aqua and rejoined her as she was fighting a group of fifty-four monsters by herself while he was preoccupied with the Undead Assassin. Shin felt bad for leaving Aqua to face them alone, yet she had the ability to hold her own and then some. Combat went by a lot smoother and quickly once Shin rejoined the battle.

Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Spearman, and Zombie Warriors stood in their way, yet together it didn't take thirty seconds to clear the path.

Shin's sword hacked and slashed through the bodies of all the monsters that attempted to come close and kill him and the rest standing and waiting their turn to get closer were blasted with bullet holes through their heads thanks to his Auto 9. Shin didn't know when it happened, but it had become habit to dual wield with a gun a sword in combat. In the end, seeing the mountain of corpses around himself, Shin didn't even consider changing his way of fighting.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Covering Shin's back was Aqua. Aqua's adamantium claws ripped through the monsters of the Labyrinth like paper, killing them on the spot. Aqua's hands were in constant motion and too fast even for the trained eye to follow as she walked through hordes of Skeleton Warriors and Zombie Warriors, leaving behind nothing but withering away shredded body parts flying through the air. If that wasn't amazing enough, even simple kicks by Aqua blew away the brave Zombie Warriors trying to overpower her. Aqua's high Muscle Density and adamantium skeleton allowed her to overpower the enemy monsters in strength and was only below the Elite monsters in that category.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Aqau: Shin! That's enough of dealing with the trash. Let's go!

Aqua then lead them as they made their way through the Labyrinth. Following right behind Aqua, Shin recalled how the second level of the Labyrinth was far more difficult than the last, yet at the same time how it felt much safer than before.

The second level of the Labyrinth was a cave like the last.

In appearance it was exactly the same except for the minerals that shined green before now radiated yellow, but the contents though were much different. The monster that were hidden underground waiting for them doubled in number and their individual combat potential increased as well. Even more surprising was that there were even monsters patrolling the tunnels and if they spotted Shin, Aqua, or anyone else they could call for reinforcements from the monsters hidden underground.

They still weren't difficult to defeat, but it took slightly more time to take care of. That was a major problem by itself since time is something they didn't have much of. Thankfully, Aqua was downright clairvoyant as she was able to feel when they were about to cross through a trap of the Labyrinth. Shin didn't know if Aqua could do that because of her increased five senses through enhancements, or her experience in the navy, but he didn't question her even once as she had yet to make even one mistake.

Shin: (It's great that we are avoiding most of the patrols and hidden traps thanks to Aqua's efforts, but what's really slowing us down are those guys.)

If that was all Shin and Aqua had to deal with, traps and a few patrols, then the combination of the two elite fighter of Team Japan would have been enough to overcome it all, but what was really slowing them down were the Undead Assassins. The Undead Assassins on the second level were much bolder and were more agile than their counterparts on the first level.

They were not as cowardly as before and attacked Shin and Aqua at the slightest opportunity. Even if they failed they would stick around to fight it out with them or feint retreating and looking for another opening as they stealthy followed after the two. This considerably slowed the Shin and Aqua down and allowed the other monsters that they'd tried avoiding catch up.

Shin: [Four Hours - Nineteen minutes - Thirty Seconds]! We've wasted half an hour and we've made little progress. Also, we have no idea where we are going!

Aqua: Then let's pick up the pace! If just choosing the path which is most dangerous isn't good enough than let's speed up and use process of elimination and just check everywhere!

Shin: You're too reckless, Aqua! We only have so much time to-

Aqua: Shut up! Just say you can keep up with me if you have no better ideas!

Shin: Ah... GB? You've been quite so far this mission. Do you have anything to say?

GB: ...Listen to your girlfriend.

Shin: Okay then. I will follow you to the ends of the earth, Aqua!

Aqua: Shut up and run!

Shin and Aqua gave up steadily making their way through the caves of the Labyrinth and chose to run at their fastest speeds. With each step that they took, crushing the earth underneath their feet and propelling themselves forward, they made more and more progress through the Labyrinth. They passed by mass grave sites where dozens of monsters waited beneath the earth to stop and kill those who tried to pass by. By the time they emerged to the surface, Shin and Aqua were already leaving them behind. Any monster that didn't have the capacity to follow after the two were all too quickly left behind.

The monsters of the Labyrinth did their best to pursue Shin and Aqua, but with running speeds that made them appear to be flying through the tunnels, it was impossible for the normal spawned monsters of the Labyrinth to catch them. The two of them were moving upwards of 60 miles per hour thanks to their high stats and Ki Energy/Aura strengthened legs, and they were still increasing in speed.

Shin gave it everything as he ran, yet he could only follow after Aqua's back. It upsets Shin to know that Aqua really wasn't giving it her all so that he could keep up with her, but her presence here was definitely reassuring.

Shin: (Also, this is the first time I've really seen her fight and she is definitely something. I thought I knew she was a badass heroine way back in H.O.T.D and BTOOOM. I was too inexperienced to notice. I didn't even have half the slightest idea of how powerful Aqua really was.)

What Shin found easier about the second level than the first was due to Aqua's presence.

Fighting alone is a completely different thing, but only someone who has experienced what it really means to work together with others can tell the difference. To date, Shin had fought alongside his comrades a few times, but he was always the main combatant.

The greatest example were the battles in BTOOOM where only Shin and Aqua had powerful enhancements. At that time Shin had to look after others and worry about their safely unlike when one fights alone, yet fighting with someone who can keep up with you is different, and even Aqua felt the difference.

Time and effort to defeat an opponent decreases and getting hurt is much less likely to happen. Also, people of similar fighting levels understand what the other person wants to do and can back them up without speaking a single word. When Shin and Aqua fought dozens of monsters at a time they rarely needed to scream at each other to get the other to do something.

Shin also got to see Aqua's fighting style when she was serious, and, to say the least, he would call her a straight forward wrecking ball. Shin's enhancements leaned towards regeneration and long lasting combat while using skills as well, whereas Aqua's enhancements were more power based. Aqua's adamantium skeleton, Werewolf mutation strength, and her Enhancer type of Nen, allowed her to overpower her enemies in ways that Shin couldn't. Not only that, Aqua's stats were much higher than Shin's own.

Aqua: Shin! There's another Elite up ahead!

Shin: Dammit! Are they no longer just guarding the stairs to the next level? Fine! I'll distract and you go in for the kill!

The new Elite in front of the two was a defense oriented elite with a large shied and hammer, yet they weren't bothered. This was not the first random elite that the two had met, so they had already come to an understanding on how to beat them, but more importantly how to do so as fast as possible. Neither one of them wanted a drawn out battle or to get hurt in the process.

Shin: A sturdy, but slow type. Great! Far Bullet!

From Shin's hands the green energy of Ki gathered, condensed and altered itself to Shin's will into one of his five types ranged Ki Energy attacks. From his hand a weightless and transparent green bullet of Ki Energy was formed and swiftly shoot out, flying towards the Elite.

Far Bullet.

The offensive Ki emission attack meant to harm magic and spirit type opponents. The Far Bullet attack was slow and far from the speed of a real bullet, yet lucky for Shin so was the Elite. The Elite raised its shield to block the bullet of Ki. That was a mistake.

\- *ZAP*!

The elite monster who was comprised entirely of magic was inflicted by the Far bullet's effects just by making contact with the weightless bullet of Ki Energy. Shin learned in earlier battles that on normal monster the Far Bullet would cut through them without resistance, but on the elites no physical damage was done. Instead a different reaction occurred on contact with the Far Bullet. Instead of receiving damage they would go into a sort of seizure for 5-10 seconds leaving them defenseless during that time... And that was plenty of time for either Shin or his redhead 34D partner to deal with any foe.

Aqua: Die!

Aqua jumped at the elite's shield and with her adamantium claws she tore it apart instantly and the moved on to claw out the monsters chest till there was nothing left but a gaping hole.

The Elite's moments weren't 100% frozen after being hit with Far Bullet, but Aqua's hands never stopped moving, tearing apart the armor and bones of the Elite monster. With an unparalleled hand speed and the force of an Enhancer Nen User, Aqua amassed massive damage with her claws burning orange with Aura. The Elite died on standing up with a large hole in its chest and withered away.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, LABYRINTH ELITE MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin: Really, fighting together with you makes battles go much smoother, so much so I don't need Unlocked Mode, but is this going to keep continuing? If the regular monsters team up with these random elites we encounter we're just going to keep wasting time.

Aqua: I know that, but it can't be helped we have to power through everything. Without someone like Hikari to guide us these random encounter are just going to keep-

\- *BANG*!

It was at that moment that both Shin and Aqua heard the sounds of gunfire. The moment that the sound registered the two set off into a sprint towards the origins of the gunfire. The reason was that despite not knowing all of the types of magic there could be, the sound of gunfire would most likely come from a Player of Team Japan, not a student of《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》.


	93. Chapter 93

Shin and Aqua swiftly sprinted through the dimly yellow lit tunnels of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth. The destination they heading to was towards the faint of gunshots. Dozens of monsters, Skeleton Warriors and Zombie Warriors alike, attempted to get in their way. These normal monsters spawned by the Labyrinth couldn't hope to slow them down even for a second. Any monsters that dared cross their path were all torn apart by sword and claws alike.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin and Aqua turned a corner after making their way towards the sounds of gunfire and found two Players of Team Japan, New Players at that, who were fighting against a horde of monsters.

One wielding the Submachine Gun, acquired a few hours earlier, to accurately and swiftly blow off the heads of the approaching Skeleton Warriors and Zombie Warriors. The other stood about ten feet behind the gunner and was yelling directions and warnings to his partner, while being ready himself to intervene if needed with his own Submachine Gun.

Aqua: Those are two of the Newbies...

Shin and Aqua were hoping to run into one of their comrades like Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, or Shuai, yet the two Players that they found desperately fighting for their lives together against a host of enemies were two of the three newbies Shin took an interest in right away at the start of the mission. It was the child soldier from the Middle East, Connor, and the video game champion with a slightly dark personality, Jin.

Connor, having lived most of his life on the battle field, stood before the horde of monsters fearlessly and defended the both of Jin and himself with unreal accuracy for live combat. Heads rolled off of Zombie Warrior shoulders and skulls cracked and collapsed into shards of bone as a wave of gunfire emanated from Connor's SMG. Deftly wielding the Submachine Gun (which had been empowered with a Magic Amplifier), Connor took out dozens of enemy monsters in the blink of an eye. Connor stood firm and unafraid, the barrel of his SMG burning white with heat, as the onslaught of monsters showed no signs of decreasing.

Jin stood behind Connor, but not out of fear. Jin needed the vantage point to give accurate direction about new incoming enemies, to advise Connor on where to focus his gunfire, and to indicate gaps in enemy formations that could be exploited. Jin wasn't as active as Connor in dealing with the monsters, but he clearly showcased his claim at being the top player of multiple MMPORP Games with his unmatched tactical coaching.

Shin: Connor and Jin! We should help-

Aqua: Wait!

Shin: Why!? They're surrounded by dozens of monsters and this is the Second Level of the Labyrinth! The monsters aren't the push overs from the First Level. It's a miracle that they are still alive. We should-

Aqua: But they're still alive, right? They must not be weak and... we should observe them for now to see their ability. Also...

Shin: What?

Aqua: Depending on their actions we might be able to tell if these two are spies for the Four Pillars. Shin, they're pushed into a corner with no reinforcements. If they are spies they would have no choice, but to reveal their true strength.

Shin now hearing this understood Aqua's intentions. Ever since the incident with Saki, Team Japan has been worried about the possibility of spies getting in the team's way. They feared a sleeper agent of the Four Pillars sneaking in with the next batch of newbies. They didn't want someone to trip them up on a mission in critical moments. They couldn't completely trust any of the New Players appearing from now on, yet they couldn't banish all the newbies.

Team Japan only had six official members and that wasn't enough to survive the terrors that they would face in God's Dimension and Mission Worlds filled with the dangers of Manga, Anime, Light Novels, and Video Games come to life.

They needed new talents so they had to accept newbies into the group to strengthen Team Japan, yet there was always the chance that another Saki, or worse, could be among them. The risk was accepting a spy from the Four Pillars waiting for the perfect chance to wipe out the team in on go.

Still, they could guess at who a spy could be. With the case of Saki, there was no doubt that she was an all too essential member of Team Japan. She was above all suspicion simply because she was a useful talent to the team with her brilliant mind and calculated thinking. To be accepted by the Team Japan and wait for an opportunity to strike, like Saki did, would result in the promising newbie being on Team Japan's Four Pillar spy suspect list.

And currently, on the Apocalypse Alice mission there were three newbies with high potential. Derrick, a decent man with an ability to lead. Connor, a child soldier with a specialty in sniping. Then there's Jin, the champion pro-gamer who fully accepted the world that he was currently in and was capable of giving tactical orders. Shin, Aqua, and anyone else would realize that one of them could be a double agent for the Four Pillars.

Shin: I understand. You're right, Aqua. We'll wait for the time when they are completely overwhelmed to step in. If they are like Saki and are unaware that they are spies, then there's nothing we can do for now and would have to wait until we get to the Terminal Lobby.

Aqua: Yes, and if they are knowingly hiding among us as spies then there should be a high chance they have special abilities or tool to survive in an emergency.

Shin: But is that proof enough that they are spies? I've heard from Sozin that there are people in the world born with special abilities, or people who acquire them in their life from accident like in the comics.

Aqua: Even so, this way we'll still be aware and on guard. They would have no reason to possess any Sci-fi weapons or magic tools. You can't get that kind of thing unless one has connections to the Four Pillars. We can't trust such a person no matter how convincing a story they provide.

Shin: Agreed, but those two are still promising newbies that our team needs. If nothing suspicious occurs and they get into real trouble, I'll jump in to save them.

Aqua: Yeah, but-

Shin: That's my decision as leader Aqua! Unless you want to take my place, then I'll have you go along with my plans and decisions regarding newbies. As the most experienced Player and as my girlfriend your opinion will never go on deaf ears, but as team leader I make the final call.

Aqua: ...Fine, I'll obey you leader (I wish she'd act like this on our dates, but whatever. I'll ask Hikari later). I have no intention of taking up such a bothersome role as leading everyone. Also, I'm not your girlfriend!

Shin: Well, for now anyways. You still won't sleep with anyone else, right?

Aqua: ...Just focus on the battle.

Jin: Connor! Another group of Zombie Warriors are coming out way! Also, watch out for the Skeleton Warriors on your left.

Connor: I know!

Jin: There are at least three Undead Assassins waiting in the shadows as well!

Connor: I know!

Jin: Then did you know this was all a diversion and a new group of Undead Spearman are about to unleash an attack us from a distance behind the Zombie Warriors?

Connor: !

As soon as Jin said those words the Zombie Spearman hiding behind their allies threw their rusted weapons over their heads and towards Jin and Connor. The dozens of spears soared through the air as they came crashing down towards the two newbies. Jin swiftly retreated backwards to avoid the spears and barely escaped, but Connor only took three steps to the left, pointed the Submachine Gun towards the approaching spears, and fired three times.

\- *BANG*!

Spears rained down all around Connor stabbing into the ground, yet not a single one touched his person. Three spears that should have impaled him straight through to the ground, yet now it was harmlessly broken into pieces.

Connor leaped onto the top of the shaft of a spear that had become buried into the ground with perfect balance and used his new high advantage to shower down bullets on all the monsters heads that attempted to surround him with unparalleled accuracy.

At the same time, Jin who had supposedly run away, had sprinted around the horde of monsters and made his way to the Skeleton Spearman in the back of the enemy formation. Like Jin had suspected and feared, beings made up of the magic of the Labyrinth were capable of creating new spears with magic power. The Undead Spearman were preparing to launch a new volley of spears at Connor, who was busy holding off the frontline of monsters back.

Jin: This is my favorite part and I must thank Shin for these. FLAME SCROLL!

The Skeleton Spearman saw Jin coming, but it was too late.

Jin reached into his pocket and took out one of the magic attack scrolls that Shin handed out to him and the other newbies that showed high potential as Players. The parchment unraveled and the rows of characters on the paper began to glow a bright red. Then, immediately afterwards, the red letters faded away and a large ball of fire flew out of the scroll. The fire ball impacted the group Skeleton Spearman and exploded. When the flames died down nothing remained behind after being vaporized by the fire ball.

Jin: Hahahahaha! Just like a Great Fire Ball Jutsu from Naruto! A real flame spell! These scrolls are probably expensive, or else magic scrolls would be too broken. Maybe a bug! Hahaha, I'll have to look into this later!

Connor: Fall back, Jin! Something huge and dangerous is coming! There's also more than one!

A loud echo reverberated throughout the cave tunnels immediately after Connor finished saying this. Connor quickly completed his last sweep to kill off the remaining monsters. With each step, the unseen creatures were coming closer and closer. Jin retreated to where Connor had taken a defensive position covering the entrance opposite from where Shin and Aqua were hidden. He barely reached Connor as they arrived.

Three Elites.

An Elite Skeleton Knight like the one guarding the stairs to the second level of the Labyrinth. An Elite Skeleton Defender like the one Shin and Aqua passed by and defeated earlier. Lastly, the newest Elite Zombie: Axeman.

Three Elite monsters appeared all at once and were rushing towards Connor and Jin.

Shin: Shit! Sorry Aqua, but observation time comes to an end here. They'll die the second the fight begins!

Aqua: Fine. I'm right behind you!

Coming to a quick agreement Aqua and Shin left their hiding place and moved over to join Connor and Jin, and called out to them. Jin was surprised and happy by their timely arrival, yet Shin got the impression that Connor knew that they were hiding, yet said nothing out loud. It was to be expected of a super child solider like Connor and both Shin and Aqua were impressed.

Jin: Shin! Aqua! It's great that you're-

Shin: We don't have time to chat! Can you guys take on, or at least hold back one of the Elites for 10 or 20 seconds?

Connor: We ran into a few elites in the last two hours and took them out. We can hold our own just against one.

Jin: Connor's right. I helped as much as I could, but it was Connor who nearly single-handedly took out one Elite monster after the other.

Shin: Good! Glad to hear that. Jin and Connor hold off the Elite Skeleton Guard. Aqua, take on the new one holding the axe. I'll take on the Elite Skeleton Knight. Once you're finished Aqua quickly backup the newbies!

Aqua: Alright!

The four Players then immediately rushed forward to greet their opponents.

The first to reach their enemy was Aqua. Aqua's foe was a new type of elite holding onto a large metal battle axe. The Elite Zombie Axeman saw her charging at him and swung its large rusty axe to greet her. Aqua allowed her Adamantium Claws to surface and glow with an orange veil of Aura. She felt certain that she could cut through the battle axe.

The large metal Axe and Aqua's Adamantium Claws met head on and the axe won out due to brute force. Aqua was blown away into a large wall. She hadn't been expecting her claws to come across something they couldn't cut right away as she had never encountered anything that resisted her claws.

Aqua: (Adamantium is the hardest metal and mine were powered by Aura, but I guess that's what magic is. Something that can trump most expectations... I should try that before reaching the Diseased Girl to see if it works!)

Aqua, confirming that there was more to the monster before her, entered into Unlocked Mode as a glowing, spinning Axe came flying her way. This Elite's special attack wasn't a simple magic laser beam, but a charged up magic axe with far more destructive power. Aqua immediately felt that taking the attack head on would kill her instantly.

She immediately picked herself up and jumped as high as she could, hanging from the ceiling with her claws. The large magic axe cut through the space where she once was and left a large scar across the walls of the cave. Then, like a boomerang, the glowing axe spun around and back into the hands of the Elite Zombie Knight.

Like the elites they fought before, these appeared to have their own special magical attack to fall back on. It was a deadly attack. Most defensive techniques would fall against it. So a person could only jump out of the way, yet...

Aqua: That's what I was hoping for!

Using the ceiling of the cave walls as support Aqua pulled herself up from where she hung and upside down and pounced down towards the elite at an amazing speed. Even with her amazing speed, the Elite Zombie Knight could still react and was ready to intercept her. The Elite's battle axe began to glow with the power of magic and was ruthlessly swung towards Aqua to cut her down... Yet that would never happen. From her RPG bag behind her back Aqua took out a large caliber handgun and aimed for the enemy's axe moving to bisect her.

\- *BANG*!

Thompson Contender Magic Code.

The single special bullet, made of a certain magus killer's ribcage, was fired from the large caliber handgun and impacted the axe of the Elite Zombie Knight, immediately causing a violent reaction. Origin Bullet. The axe itself was shattered into millions of pieces that showered the floor, yet the effects of the Magic Code didn't end there.

The magic power that comprised the Elite Zombie Axeman was severed and bound back together improperly. That was the special characteristics of the Origin Bullet. Foul blood and organs were thrown up by the elite and magic flames began to devour the creature whole. The Elite yelled loudly in its last seconds, but only a miracle could save it now and it was too late to call on one.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Aqua: Hahaha! I definitely made the right choice with this gun! It doesn't even leave a corpse behind if they're completely made out of magic power. This is the best weapon to use in Mission Worlds of magic and sorcery.

Aqua watched as the magic flames devoured the elite and left no trace of its existence behind. She then turned to the others. Shin too was done with his Elite opponent and was giving support fire with her former Auto 9 to the two newbies fighting their elite. Aqua wondered why Shin didn't rush over to them like he wanted, yet she soon understood why as she got closer to the fighting.

Jin was frantically running around trying to distract the elite, but Connor was winning the fight practically alone.

Shin defeated his elite monster a few seconds faster than Aqua did. Feeling no need to back her up Shin made his way over to the two newbies. Shin expected the two of them to be in trouble and to need rescuing, but to his surprise they were both alive, well, and still fighting strong, yet what surprised him the most and made him hesitate to enter the battle was what he saw in the eyes of one of the newbies.

Unlocked Mode.

The threat of the Elite Skeleton Guard was real and couldn't hope to be overcome by a normal human even with Jin ready with Magic Attack Scrolls, so Connor went into Unlocked Mode to face the Elite. The Elite's thick and heavy hammer in one hand was swung down at Connor and he backed away out of harm's way.

The Elite Skeleton Guard went into a mad rush and kept swing its hammer. This type of Elite was more of a defensive type and was a slow Elite variant, yet it was still faster than the average human by far. Its speed was not to be underestimate even by Shin or Aqua, yet each time Connor was attacked he flawlessly avoided the sword slashes and even counter attacked with a barrage of nonstop gunfire.

Connor was completely outdone by the elite in physical stats as a non-enhanced human, but the First Stage of the Unlocked bestowed battle instincts that surpassed the Elite monster. Instincts combined with Connor's hardened battle experience as a child solider allowed him to dominate Elite monster. If Connor were to be surrounded by more than one then he would be in trouble, but if it was just a single Elite he would be okay.

Shin: (I should be suspicious here, but my desire to win him over to the team is winning out. If he can fight like this without enhancements… how powerful will he be once he becomes a true Player with the power of God's exchanges items?)

Shin was surprised by Connor's control of the battle and could only offer support fire using his Auto 9 imbued with Ki Energy to stop Jin from being killed whenever he came into the Elite's sights. Jin was offering support fire as well, but after seeing how ineffective low level magic bullets were on the monster, he stopped firing and took out two Magic Attack Scrolls from his pockets.

The Frost Bolt Attack Scroll froze the Elite Skeleton Guard's legs in place. Following up from there, the Flame Attack Scroll exploded directly onto the Elite Skeleton Guard side. It didn't die, but the bones around the hip were near completely shattered and that did not go unnoticed by Connor.

Connor: Fall monster!

Connor opened fire onto the Elites shattered bones, and three seconds later the lower and upper halves of the Skeleton elite separated from each other and fell to the ground. The elite was still not dead yet and Connor had run out of bullets. Thinking quickly, Connor removed the magic amplifier tag and placed it onto the combat knife he had hidden on his person. Connor ran up to the failing elite and then stabbed the knife into its skull repeatedly until everyone heard a satisfying shattering sound.

Connor: Once you cause enough damage and destroy the head they always fall.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

A minute after the fighting was confirmed to be over, Shin gritted his teeth and approached Jin and Connor. Now that the monsters were taken care of, including the Undead Assassins, he could final relax his body.

Shin's body started trembling as a result of the after effect of unlocking the Genetic Constraint. Shin had to experience this immense pain every time he went into Unlocked Mode and it took almost a minute for him to calm down, yet compared to before Unlocking the Second Stage it was a difference between heaven and earth, or maybe heaven and hell.

Connor, who he knew had unlocked his restraint, didn't exhibit anything unusual aside from a bit of sweating. In that regard Connor and Aqua were the same. They were both far more used to Unlocked Mode then Shin. From what he could tell that meant they had either Unlocked a higher stage of the Genetic Constraint, or that their bodies had grown accustomed to the pain from breaking their limits and genetics after a long time.

Shin: (I can't tell if him unlocking his constraint is a sign that he comes from one of the Four Pillars or not. He's not sprawled out on the floor now that the battles is over, so he didn't just unlock it. Maybe he had Unlocked up to the Second Stage like us.)

Shin didn't know what to do, so he looked towards his comrade Aqua for advice. She was far more suspicious about them than he was, she was that way with anyone who was new to the team, yet Shin could still trust her judgement. That's why he asked for her advice. She didn't respond right away.

Aqua: ...

Shin: Aqua?

Aqua: ...Its nothing. For starters let's just talk to them first. Though it won't change what is to come for this team, we should look at the present and ignore the future for now.

Shin didn't know what Aqua meant, yet it was too late to ask as they were already in front of Jin and Connor. Taking a good look at them up close Shin was surprised by their good condition.

It's been close to two hours since the mission had begun and neither Jin nor Connor appeared to be injured. Tired for sure, especially Jin, who was a normal youth without enhancements. While Connor may be young boy, he was a trained soldier. His exhaustion came more from going into Unlocked Mode than all the running and fighting that he and Jin had to do.

Shin: I'm glad that you're both okay. Sorry for not immediately coming out, but I wanted to see your combat ability first (A half-truth). This isn't a world that you can make it out of while always being saved by others (Except Hikari, but she has unique skill sets outside of battle that are invaluable. Also, she's my girlfriend, so...), but I have to say you two did very well. Connor, your shooting skills could match our team's Kampa, and he's a world ranked mercenary.

Connor: ...

Shin: ...Okaayy... As for Jin, you did far better than I would have ever imagined that you could. You skillfully wielded the Magic Attack Scrolls, but more importantly you actively fought monster for the first time. They wouldn't have hesitated to kill you. Most men and women would run away in fear or hide behind another's back to be protected. Weren't you scared?

Jin: No, no not at all! I admit they were a bit scary at first, but after seeing Connor kill a few dozen of them they weren't scary any more. In fact, it started to feel just like a FPS Game! It's easy for me to predict the movements of programmed monsters. The monsters aren't very intelligent and even the Elites are only programmed for simple combat actions. They don't have great AIs. I'm not the best shot, but add in consumable Magic Items, and I'll dominant any modern army game, or zombie game in this case! And I also had a second player in Connor by my side! Hahaha! What's there to be afraid of!?

Shin: ...Connor? Is he always like this, or did he hit his head somewhere?

Connor: He's sane... Probably. He has been like that since I found him. Still, he's smart. Before me, Jin figured out all the monster weakness and could guess where traps would be set from his experience exploring thousands of dungeons in online games, And when we ran into a group of students of this school he...

Aqua: Students? You did? Where are they? What happened?

Jin: Ah, they're dead. Cut down by Skeleton Warriors. From what I found out only the students and teachers of《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》who used magic survived when the Labyrinth appeared. For everyone else they were literally absorbed into the Labyrinth, but I guess that's not important. What is important is that the students were incredibly weak-willed. They were better than me, but they were no Hero Team and to be honest they were holding Connor and I back. They weren't even trying to clear the Labyrinth and just wanted to ESCAPE.

Shin: But ESCAPE is...

Jin: I know. Even after they realized that ESCAPE magic didn't work they weren't filled with the determination to defeat the Diseased Girl. They just kept going on and on about leaving it all to someone else. A person they couldn't see and didn't know existed in the first place. They kept whining about finding another way out of this difficult Labyrinth.

Shin could wholeheartedly believe Jin's words. It was clearly shown in volumes one and two of Apocalypse Alice that the students other than those in Hero Team were no good.

They could only explore low ranking and safe Labyrinths under the protection of someone like Gunjou Mizuiro. In the rank 20 Asahi Momoka Labyrinth and rank 40 Labyrinth of Gunjou, the normal students of the Girl Killing Curriculum choose to ESCAPE the Labyrinth or even escape beforehand by not entering at all.

Shin: They were all useless?

Jin: Not everyone, but for the most part yes. It was a real shame. They couldn't work together and argued all the time and a few stand up good magicians got killed in their foolishness. So that's why I used them.

Aqua: What did you do?

Jin: I used them as bait. Connor here spotted an Elite well before it discovered us... I told a little lie about how I found an exit that lead outside.

Shin: So what happened is that you lead them to the Elite and used them as bait to run away?

Jin: Come on, Shin. I'm trash, but I'm no coward. What you said is only half true. I did use them as bait to distract the Elite, but Connor and I used that opening when the Elite was slaughtering the students to kill the monster. It was better to use the students who were worthless to our advantage to defeat an enemy and gain points, correct? I don't think that I did anything wrong, or do you have a problem with my methods?

Shin: ...No. You made the right choice and I've seen that you're not a cowardly person, Jin. I can trust you long as you use those twisted ideas of yours on our enemies and not fellow comrades... Or else I'll kill you where you stand! I won't give you a second chance.

Jin: Don't worry about that, Shin. Most of the newbies and the students of this school had no value, but your group is different. I actually like you guys a lot and want to be an official member of your group... Even if I am unworthy trash at the bottom of society.

Shin: ...

Shin feels irritated by Jin the more he got to know him.

The way Jin praised both him and Aqua while demeaning himself feels very similar to the second Ultimate Luck from a certain murder mystery game with the theme of despair and black and white murdering bears as mascots. Shin's initial opinion that Jin was dangerous was not too off the mark with the way he was able to use others without hesitation and how he views everything as a game.

Hikari, Misaki, and even Shin himself had trouble accepting the NPCs as not real or unimportant, yet Jin in the first few hours as a Player didn't hesitate to kill off real, or extremely realistic people for his own gain. Jin was a dangerous individual to look out for, but Shin could condone could his existence for the sake of the team.

It wasn't just because Jin had similar views on the world to himself, but because he was smart and wasn't a complete coward. There was no denying that those two characteristics were important in a Player of God's Dimension. What impressed Shin the most was that Jin could think up both strategies and combat tactics in mid battle. Also, Jin wasn't just hiding behind others barking orders, but was also ready to move up front in risk his life.

Jin was also similar to Saki in the way they viewed others by their usefulness. They wouldn't abandon others with worth needlessly and would discard those without talents or hopes of ever contributing to the team, but there were some differences.

Saki was more calculating and had a much more brilliant mind, in other words cold hard intelligence. Her years of studying as a scientist and training/experiments by Mass Enlightenment made Saki a first rate Player and strategist. Shin personally thought higher of Saki than Jin, yet what Jin had, and Saki didn't have, was the ruthlessness of a human being.

Real cold heartlessness was not born from reasoning, but from the heart. Jin's understanding of others him superior to Saki's. Shin imagined Saki would have used those students to their full usefulness (Sacrificing them) till none were left as she explored the Labyrinth, but Jin realized their frustrations were more of a liability than anything else and got rid of them early on.

Shin: (Saki's methods are better, but that's just on paper as she is a person of reason and can't grasp how other people really feel and how tbey will react. There was the case where she wanted to sacrifice Shuai after all and gave no thought that he could rebel against and really hurt her. Saki had Zero and Kampa watching over him, but one mistake could have had everyone in the team suffering.

In the real world, if Saki kept manipulating those students, they would have eventually turned on her. Saki maybe could have noticed that, but it was more than probably that everything would blow up in her face like a live grenade. Jin's cruel methods may be a little short sighted, but he would have noticed the discontent of others and what would happen to him and his comrades. Jin's more suited to making real life decisions in the field than Saki.

Shin: (As Zero of Code Geass would say that's the difference between strategy and tactics. Strategy comes from pre-planning and trying to stack everything in your favor. Good tactics involves using all the tools at your disposal to achieve victory. Zero prefers strategy, but I would much rather have a tactician who could formulate plans on the go than a master strategist who would be left helpless after something interrupted their plans.)

That's why Shin could accept a twisted man like Jin...

Shin: ...But still, I can't let him be the leader.

Aqua: Shin, were you listening?

Shin: Sorry, but I was thinking about something. What was it?

Aqua: They were suggesting that the four of us move together from now on.

Jin: That's right, and I don't think we'll hold you back. Connor is like a super soldier, or super child soldier in his case. There's nothing special about me and I'm not the best shot, but I've gotten a good hang of these Magic Attack Scrolls you handed out. I'm sort of confident that I can offer some cover fire if it's needed.

Shin: Okay. I see no problem in working together. We're a bit too offensive oriented for my taste, but you can't conquer a Labyrinth alone. As they say in Apocalypse Alice, "Without friends you die."

Jin: Oh, about that! I have been thinking the same thing. Don't you think it's pointless to keep wandering around this Labyrinth like this? The initial reason why I thought to work with those students is because I was hoping to find a Support Magician we can use. They have magic to heal, can see through traps, keep in contact with allies over distances, detect monsters, but more importantly is that they have Mapping Magic. With that we can learn which paths to take and in the shortest time to reach the girl.

Shin: Agreed. Aqua and I have just been running around and barley made in progress. We only have [Four Hours - Three Minutes - Thirty seconds]. Who knows how many levels there are to this Labyrinth. We definitely need someone to help us navigate the Labyrinth.

Aqua: Maybe Hikari could help us with that with her Support type Persona.

Shin: That's one option. I do hope the others are fine, but Hikari and maybe Himi of Hero Team take priority. Let's not waste any more time here. Move out!

Shin, Aqua, Connor, and Jin. With two new additions to the group, they all ran together through the cavernous tunnels of the Labyrinth.

Shin and Aqua could no longer move at max speed now that Jin and Connor had joined, yet that wasn't a major problem at the moment. They were just trying to find Hikari or a student of《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》who could use Support magic. They would rather be a bit slow if it meant making contact with someone who can help them navigate the Labyrinth.

Aqua, who held the best tracking abilities among the group, took point and lead them. She had yet to find anyone, but the moment that she does she will lead them to any people wandering the Labyrinth. Shin who was right behind Aqua was called over by her to talk in private.

Shin: What is it, Aqua?

Aqua: ...

Shin: Aqua?

Aqua: Shin... You, Connor and myself. There's three of us now.

Shin: Three?

Aqua: There are now three unlocked members of Team Japan. You know what that means right? You didn't seem to get it, so I'm just telling you now.

Three Unlocked Members of a team.

Shin the leader of Team Japan,

Aqua the most veteran Player of Team Japan.

Lastly, Connor, New Player of Team Japan.

Once Shin heard what Aqua said he realized what she was trying to tell him. Shin had heard from both Aqua, and Sozin a few weeks ago that once a team has three, or used to have three members who had unlocked their Genetic Constraints, that team will randomly encounter other teams of God's Dimension on future missions.

Shin, Aqua and now Connor. With the three of them Team Japan will now face other teams in the future. Shin then realizes that even if they survive this mission the next will be a team battle.


	94. Chapter 94

Second Level of Empress' Grave Labyrinth.

Shin, Aqua, Connor and Jin continue to explore the Labyrinth in hopes of finding someone who could help them explore the Labyrinth efficiently to reach the Diseased Girl in a timely manner. They continued to encounter the spawned monsters of the Empress's Grave Labyrinth, but together this newly formed group of Veteran Players and Newbies swiftly dealt with any threats and continued on through the underground tunnel.

With Jin's knowledge of video game Party Formations, he suggested roles and new positions for the four man group. Shin acknowledged Jin's planning ability and seeing no problems with his suggestions he implemented them.

Aqua upfront as the Tank/Defender, Shin behind Aqua as the Assassin, Jin in the middle as commander and Connor in the rear as Ranged Fighter. Of course without the concept of HP and the like it wasn't like any game Jin had played before, but he made adjustments after each battle.

Aqua wasn't meant to take on every attack, but only gain the attention of all the monsters that they come across and deal as much damage as possible.

Shin would go around to enemy monsters back while they were distracted by Aqua and kill the monsters that survive her initial charge. Like an assassin, although Shin himself would say he was more of a fighter, he was meant to kill with one strike when he attacks.

Connor who had the skill, but lacked the weapons to truly keep up with Aqua and Shin in battle, used the borrowed infinite ammo Auto 9 from Shin with the magic amplifier tag to shoot down the Undead Assassins that constantly followed the group. The team had grown to expect the shadowy figures constantly lurking just outside of their sight. The assassins patiently waited for the Players to slip up. Connor picked them off when there was an opening and he provided general cover fire as needed.

Jin's role was to give real time battle summaries and make adjustments and directions to individual Players if needed, and in an emergency he was tasked with using Magic Attack Scrolls to fight. Jin placed himself in the safest position, yet no one complain as his he activity helped out as much as he could.

Shin: (I'm beginning to lose my confidence as leader, but it's all for the greater good and I'm still kinda the Ace Player here. Aqua and I are just the types who are better at fighting and winning battles alone, and Jin is like a capable general who's just better at giving directions is all. Also, Jin can't do anything else but give directions and definitely isn't able to lead a charge if they had to cut through an army of thousands of monsters without dying halfway through. Only Aqua or I could do that.)

Shin was certain of that.

The spawned monsters of the Labyrinth were becoming stronger and stronger as they descended the Labyrinth. Just on the second level they were at a level where normal people couldn't hope to survive even with all the luck in the world. Shin could imagine that if they didn't meet any more allies by the time they reach the level where the Diseased Girl resided, then Jin wouldn't be able to make it.

Shin: (The monsters will show their real worth as rank 44 and could kill us all with just one mistake. I don't even want to imagine what the elites will eventually be like in the end. Still… on this level they are pretty easy to handle as a group.)

Aqua: Another Elite is up ahead! An Elite Skeleton Spearman!

They all looked ahead and confirmed the enemy with their own eyes. The Elite Skeleton Spearman who was charging towards them at 70 Mph (or 112 Kmh as Kampa would say). Trailing the Elite on either side were lesser normal Skeleton Spearman who were just behind the Elite. This was not their first encounter with a random elite, so thanks to experience they didn't need to say anything more to each other.

Aqua, and right begin her Shin, sprinted towards the elite at full speed. Neither bothered to pay any attention to the normal monsters as they were all perfectly head shot and killed by Connor with the Auto 9 from the back as he ran alongside Jin.

The Elite Skeleton Spearman thrust its now glowing spear towards Aqua to impale her. With one quick twist, the head of the spear flew through the air thanks to her Adamantium Claws. The elite was shocked and had no time to try any other attack.

Aqua passed by the elites left leg and tore it apart with a single slash of her claws. Shin, coming right behind Aqua, fired a single Hollow Bullet to destroy the elites head, and then followed up with Instant Movement and Gravity Blade to almost instantly do the same as Aqua with the right leg.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

The headless and legless torso of what was once an Elite Skeleton Spearman fell to the floor of the cave and withered away.

Immediately afterwards, hanging from the ceiling and hiding in the shadows, three Undead Assassins dropped down from above hoping to ambush Shin and Aqua. Three shots rang out and they all dropped lifelessly through the air.

Connor didn't even allow them to touch the floor unless they were confirmed dead. Shin and Aqua, after the tenth time of such an occurrence, didn't bother to even look up. Shin sighed at the futility of the assassin's repeated attempts. Moments later all four Players began to sprint forward.

Shin: It doesn't take long at all anymore, but I'd still rather not face the elites if at all possible. If only they stayed by the stairwells leading down to the next level like before on the First Level.

Jin: There's no helping it. Until we find a Support magician to guide us, we can only search recklessly like this till we find one.

Aqua: You two! Stop gossiping like girls and let's get going. Be more like Connor and don't speak up if it isn't necessary.

Connor: ...

Jin: Aqua's kinda bossy. Still, she is cool with those claws.

Shin: I know, right? Ah, but don't try to get too close to her. She's my red haired beauty with Werewolf Bloodline and Wolverine's mutation.

Aqua: How ridiculous! Shin, if only you weren't strong I'll leave you... Never mind!

Following behind his ticked off comrade/girlfriend Shin ran after her, with Jin and Connor right behind.

Yousuke: Himi! Stay behind me! If you see a chance escape on your own take it! With your ability it should be possible to stay away from any monsters by yourself and escape!

Himi: I, I can't do that! What about-

Yousuke Endou.

Himi Yuuyami.

The Defense specialist magician Yousuke and the Support specialist magician Himi. The two members of Hero Team were currently in a very desperate situation. They were backed into a corner with little to no hope of reversing the situation. Surrounded on all sides by over thirty monsters and an Elite monster in the mix as well, both Himi and Yousuke saw no way out.

Almost three hours since the Labyrinth had formed they were stuck on the second level of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth. Separated from Shiro, their comrades, and other classmates of the Girl Killing Curriculum, the two members of Hero Team still attempted to navigate the Labyrinth. They tried their best, but even after so much time little progress had been made.

Yousuke was an all Defense Magician and Himi was an all Support Magician. A magician who only uses Defensive magic and a magician who only uses Support magic. That meant they used only one type of magic and lacked other type, and in the case of the two they lacked the offensive magic to defeat monsters to cut their way through Labyrinths.

Shiro, as an all Offense magician, used to fill this fatal gap as a three man cell with Himi and Yousuke, but with his absence they had no hope of making it deeper into the Labyrinth. Yousuke and Himi knew this, but they felt compelled for personal reasons (and their friendship) to reunite with Shiro. If possible they hoped to reunite with Shinnosuke and Gunjou as well. That was why, ten minutes ago, they took the chance to push their way through the Labyrinth.

They hoped to use Himi's Support magic to just avoid monsters and reach the next level of the Labyrinth. This would ideally result in meeting up with their friends, but that was when things took a turn for the worse. They were all too quickly surrounded by the random moving monsters. They did indeed move randomly and Himi saw them coming with her magic, yet it was impossible to avoid all battles. They would try to outrun them, but it was a fruitless effort.

Yousuke: Forget about me Himi! Find a way to meet up with Shiro and the others! At the very least they need you to navigate the Labyrinth! I... even if you leave me behind I'll find a way to stay alive alone!

Himi: Th-that's-

Yousuke: Don't forget we're here to help Shiro so he can achieve his goal! Damnit! More monsters are coming. Bamboo Grove Switch!

Bamboo Grove Switch.

Several green pillars appear before Yousuke's hands and created a wall. The enemy Zombie Warriors had the two magicians surrounded and attempted to slash Himi and Yousuke. With a loud smack they crashed into the barricade of green pillars.

They weren't infected with the green, sticky poison of the magic due to their undead status, but they were stuck in the vast barricade on green pillars. The Elite monster was still charging towards them, but with the normal monster trapped for the next ten seconds it was possible for one of the team to escape.

Yousuke: I'll hold off the elite with my next magic, so Himi, use that chance to escape. Go!

Himi: I, I can't!

Yousuke: Himi! Please! Damn! Reverse Force Switch!

Reverse Force switch

An invisible abstract space gets created before Yousuke's hand and within that space he's able to freely manipulate the strength and position of gravity to a certain extent. The forces in the targeted area will be reversed for an instant.

Only an instant.

Just for one instant. However, even if it's only for an instant, a magic that's able to reverse forces requires great power. The body of the Elite was forced back two steps. Youskue had envisioned pushing the elite into the other monsters and using it as a chance to escape.

Yousuke cursed. The elite was too powerful and only for a moment he was off guard, yet he knew if someone like Shiro or Shinnosuke was with them, that moment would be all that they need to kill off the elite monster... And to his surprise and excitement, someone new definitely took advantage of that opening.

Aqua: Disappear!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Aqua charged at the Elite as it was caught off guard by Yousuke's magic and using her Adamantium Claws charged with Aura and she shredded the monster till there was nothing left of its upper body. Yousuke and Himi were still in shock of Aqua's dramatic appearance, yet they still noticed that as Bamboo Grove magic wore off, Shin appeared out of nowhere, fast as lightning and wielding a sword giving off a black light in his hands to cut down all the Zombie Warriors one after the other.

Yousuke and Himi were surprised by Aqua, Shin, and soon following behind Connor and Jin, yet they quickly calmed down. They were professionals. They didn't know who their saviors were, but the two of them were elite magicians. Connected with a group called America's Rorand Inc which was connected to the military. A life and death situation and being saved by strangers won't make them go stupid.

Yousuke: Thank you for saving us.

Himi: Really, thank you!

Shin: No problem. We were just trying to make our way to the Diseased Girl so we can get rid of this Labyrinth and then we spotted you two, so we helped.

Himi: To... Kill the girl... That's-

Yousuke: Himi! There's no need to bring that up with others. What they want to do may be what has to happen if we can't find Shinnosuke and the others.

Himi: B-But!

Shin: Um, is there something wrong?

Yousuke: Ah, it's nothing. By the way, who are you four? You even have an adult and a child with you. You're not students of this school, right?

That was a question that we were all worried about, but one that we all finally agreed on before meeting up with Yousuke and Himi, or any other member of Hero Team.

Jin: No. We were just a group of Labyrinth Raiders who came to visit Apocalypse Alice. Not to raid that death trap, but just to see the highest difficulty rank Labyrinth in the world in person.

Shin: It like Jin here said. Still… planning a visit to that Labyrinth must have been bad luck. For the day my group planned to visit and be sucked into a Labyrinth... It could only be called misfortune.

Himi: ...

Yousuke: I would agree with you there. You said you're a group, so are there more of you?

Shin: That's right. My name is Shin. I'm the team leader of my group. The red haired women is Aqua, the small boy is Connor, and the one in the wrinkled blue coat is Jin. There are others, but I'm not sure if all of them are alive. Most of them are new to this business and their Headphone Fuzzes weren't loaded with any magic. Now, who are you two (I knew, but I wanted to keep up appearances to dissuade suspicion)?

Yousuke: My name is Yousuke. An all Defense Magician. A student of《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》.

Himi: I-I'm Himi! An all Support Magician and student of《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》. Pleased to meet you all.

Yousuke: Now, I have a favor to ask. Like as you just heard we're magicians, and capable ones at that, but we lack the offensive power to cut through the Labyrinth's spawned monsters. If possible, I wish for us to join forces. We can offer Defense and Support magic. We also have three powerful comrades who should be alive somewhere within the Labyrinth. They can further strength your group, increasing our chances of making it to the Diseased Girl alive.

Aqua: A group effort is most welcome. We actually lack a support magician like Himi and we could always use more defense as we're more of an offensive group. How about it Shin?

Shin: Sounds good to me (I'm scared of my girlfriend's ability to lie with a straight face). Like they say those without friends die in the Labyrinths and we could need a few more to survive this crisis. So long as Himi can help us navigate the Labyrinth and warn us of incoming monsters, I'm more then happy to have you on the team.

With that agreed upon, Himi and Yousuke became temporary members of Team Japan. From there Yousuke and Himi began to explain their experiences within the Labyrinth and the current situation to us.

I heard the story of how Himi and Yousuke ended up together when the Labyrinth formed. They couldn't make much progress due to lacking the offensive ability to deal with the spawned monster of the Labyrinth. Not just spawned monsters, but if they were to run into an Elite monster they would be helpless. That's why, for the most part, the two of them had been hiding in safe zones of the Labyrinth and using Himi's Support to alert them of nearby monsters to avoid.

Shin: (Was all of this intentional? I don't know where the rest of Hero Team are, but for both Himi and Yousuke to be together after being swallowed up by the Labyrinth, and for us to meet them is too good to be a mere coincidence. God will never place Players in a truly hopeless mission where there is only death. God wants us to evolve, not die, so there should be one or a few ways to complete any mission. Nothing that happened during the H.O.T.D and BTOOOM missions made me believe otherwise. The danger of High School of the Dead was caused by the Side Quest I completed which changed the plot. BTOOOM wasn't impossible to complete as long as you collected the right BIMs and everyone combined their power to defeat the Btooom Lord. So... Like I originally thought the main characters of Apocalypse Alice are the key to completing the mission. The deeper we proceeded into the Labyrinth, the more powerful the monsters will become, so to conquer this rank 44 Labyrinth we need the combat power of Hero Team added on to Team Japan's. But even that wasn't the whole story. Time! It could take days for us to reach the Girl if we moved about randomly through this endless maze of underground tunnels. Hikari has search capabilities, but hers are limited and not built for Labyrinth raids, so who knows if they would even work. That's why Himi is the key! To reach the Diseased Girl in time we needed Himi's Support Magic to guide us! That's why Himi was here with only Yousuke on the Second Level of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth. Yousuke can keep her safe, but doesn't have the fighting power to reach another level of the Labyrinth. They were fated from the beginning to stall here on the second level of the Labyrinth and to meet up with us!)

Shin could also now guess where the rest of the Team Japan and Hero Team are.

They are probably on a lower floor all together in one group. Without Himi they can't property navigate the Labyrinth, so they're probably stalled, but with their combat potential they shouldn't be dead. The others are probably on the same level as well. Hikari's Persona might actually work in the Labyrinth and they found and meet up with Hero Team, and are now making their way through the Labyrinth.

Shin didn't know which was better. His teammates making progress and leaving them behind, or fighting for their lives waiting for him and the team with Himi. Whatever the case is he hoped they were still alive. Shin wanted nothing more now than to meet up with the others, but listening to what Yousuke and Himi told him next gave him more reason to continue on.

An Army.

Himi has spotted with her Support Magic an Army of spawned monster coming towards all of them. According to Himi they are arriving from the First Level of the Labyrinth, joining the monster on this level and were not too far behind the group and are increasing in their pace.

Yousuke: That's the main reason why just now the two of us attempted to head towards the next level of the Labyrinth despite the risk. We didn't want to be swallowed up by the thousands of approaching monsters and want to join your group, Shin.

Himi: I can only see one level of the Labyrinth at a time as others are blocked out, yet my magic is very detailed so I'm positive about what I've seen. There's at least over 10,000 of them and they are growing in size rapidly as we speak.

Jin: Interesting, Maybe it's that? They're undead type monster. Skeletons, zombies and the like, so maybe all the monsters we killed on the way here revived and followed us, or maybe each time we clear a level of the Labyrinth, soon afterwards the monsters of the previous floor will follow after us.

Aqua: Who knows, but the reasons don't matter. We have no more time to waste here, so let's head to stairs leading down to the next level.

With that said nothing else needed to be discussed. Himi activated her Mapper Class Support Magic and quickly brought out a map of the second level of the Empress' Grace Labyrinth.

It would take twenty minutes of travel to arrive at the stairs leading down judging by the map, but compared to before they were saving hour and hours of meaningless running and searching. Shin, Aqua, Connor, Jin, and the additional members of Yousuke and Himi, began to hurry to escape the army of monsters coming up behind them.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

This doesn't change anything, but I've decided to chang one of the enhancements of Misaki. Instead of the psychic ability to control fire, it's simply Entry Fire Bending. Like from Avatar. The reason is because I know more about Avatar than psychic powers. No chapters will be rewritten as its basically the dame thing expect now Misaki doesn't need a tool to create fire.


	95. Chapter 95

While Shin, Aqua, Connor, and Jin made contact and joined up with two magicians of Hero Team (Yousuke Endo and Himi Yuuyami), the rest of Team Japan was fighting for their lives somewhere else in the Empress' Grave Labyrinth.

Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, and Shuai were fighting against the powerful spawned monster of the Labyrinth on the third level of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth. They were all still alive, but they were barely hanging on against the threats of the Labyrinth. They had recently been forced to retreat and attempt to recover their strength.

On the third level of the Labyrinth, the monsters were at the level where normal people, even trained soldiers armed with magic bullets, could not hope to survive even with incredible luck. Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, and Shuai had all gone through enhancements and had acquired fighting experience in previous missions, yet the difficulty of the Labyrinth was still well above them.

Similarly to Himi and Yousuke of Hero Team, the four members of Team Japan could not push any deeper into the Labyrinth without their ace fighters. Instead they were forced to hide in a somewhat hidden safe zone. They were able to find this hidden room thanks to Hikari's scans. Had the four of them not met early on and worked together, then they would have not have lasted even one hour after the Labyrinth manifested.

Kampa: Hikari, how is it? Any more coming our way?

Hikari: Hold on a second... Got it! A group of seven Zombie Warriors are about to pass by where we are hidden. I don't think that they noticed us, but we should still be careful.

Shuai: What should we do?

Kampa: We shouldn't take any chances. I've noticed a few things when we were being chased through the Labyrinth before. These enemies know, or are being told by this living Labyrinth that we are nearby. My experience as a mercenary is telling me that my guess is right. They may not know our exact location, but they're not stupid despite their appearance as mindless undead monsters. They'll suspect that we are hiding ourselves and come back with more forces, or they'll comb their way through this place with another Elite.

Misaki: Damnit! We can kill an Elite if we have to, but I'm not sure if we can handle a large group of monsters on top of that. We should kill them now!

Hikari: I agree with Misaki. I'll give their exact position with my Persona in a moment.

Kampa: Save your energy Hikari. You have done well so far, and if not for you we wouldn't have been able to meet up so soon in the beginning. That Persona ability wears you out mentally though, save it for the time being.

Hikari: But-

Misaki: Kampa is right. Also, with Shuai's handy tricks we can take care of any number of regular monsters as long as we hold the initiative.

Shuai: I wish you wouldn't call it a trick! It's my Shaman Power!

Misaki: Fine! When you gain some offensive powers I'll stop calling them tricks, so get ready and send your ghost out. Kampa and I'll will kill them!

Shuai: Fine, fine I'm getting them out!

With that said Shuai reached into a book bag filled with his tools and readied himself for the coming battle. Shuai had six tools that he had Shin and the others exchanged for him after the BTOOOM mission. While it was dangerous when he had to act as bait for the team, the payout was worth it.

From Shin he received a tool that allows him to set up a Barrier.

From Aqua he received a tool that summons mindless soul fragments, or ghosts for a better word. These ghosts were able to fatigue enemies simply by touching them.

From Hikari he received a tool that controls a mobile blinding light.

From Misaki he received a tool that disrupts electronics.

From Kampa he received a tool that allows him to call on ghosts and see what they see.

From the departed Saki he received a tool that can repel evil/magic creatures for thirty seconds before needing to be recharged with Soul Power.

Shuai took out the Shaman tool he received from Aqua and channeled Soul Energy into it as Misaki and Kampa readied themselves to charge back out into the cave to face Zombie Warriors. Three ghost were summoned on front of him and were set loose.

Shuai knew from experience that the ghosts couldn't affect the monsters of the Labyrinth, but they could still be used to scout thanks to the tool he received from Saki. The three ghosts phased through the walls and passed over the heads of the Zombie Warriors. The monsters reacted to the apparitions and their attention was drawn away long enough for Misaki and Kampa to leap out from the hidden door and sneak-attack them.

Kampa raised his sci-fi gun, the M41A Pulse Rifle equipped with Magic Amplifier Tag, and opened fire on the seven distracted Zombie Warriors.

The Sci-fi weapon that could tear open holes in Aliens did just as well against the magic born monsters. Their armor and rotted flesh and bones were quickly riddled with bullet holes. Of the seven Zombie Warriors, five were killed outright by Kampa's assault and remaining two were left heavily damaged.

Kampa's rifle would have wiped them out completely if they were monsters from the first or second floor. Misaki rushed forward to finish the job that Kampa began.

Misaki: Fuck off undead freaks!

Misaki's body was enhanced by the power of Armament, though there were no visible signs of this power. He stepped in front of the two weakened Zombie Warriors. Misaki quickly unleashed a barrage of attacks. A quick left hook caved in the rotted skull of one Zombie Warrior as a spinning kick to the temple sent the other monster's head flying across the cave.

As a team, the battle could be said to have been relatively easy. If the members were on their own, no doubt the danger would've been much greater. It was their cooperation and teamwork that allowed them to survive. Individually there was no doubt that they were weaker than either Shin or Aqua, but together they were a force to be reckoned with. Top it off with Hikari's powerful mapping ability through her support type Persona and, if it were any other floor of the Labyrinth, they would have been able to clear it together without any casualties.

Hikari, and her Persona Adrasteia protected them from being taken by surprise and allowed them to move around the difficulty rank 44 Labyrinth with some measure of safety. In the world of Apocalypse Alice, especially during a Labyrinth raid, her ability was no doubt the strongest.

Misaki was still at the low level of his enhancement path compared to Aqua and Shin. Yet, as Shin would put it, he had the talent to display physical strength well beyond his stats. Misaki had not even unlocked his Genetic Constraint yet, but under the right conditions he could even defeat an Elite Monster.

Kampa was an experienced mercenary before entering God's dimension and now with a semi-powerful Sci-fi gun in his hands his potential skyrocketed to match his horrifying environment.

Shuai had no real offensive power, but had a lot of useful skills to distract the enemy in critical moments. Maybe even alone, Shuai could have navigated the Labyrinth and stayed alive. Shuai had also shown the skill to use his abilities with perfect timing to support the team.

Together they all too quickly dealt with enemy threats, often in less than ten seconds.

Misaki couldn't help but laugh at how easy this battle was.

Misaki: Ha! See that? They weren't so tough. Don't know why we're stuck here. We should just try and power through this Labyrinth.

Kampa: Misaki, the reason we're staying put here is because there are too many of them. The monsters normally don't move around in small groups like that. Just to escape to this safe room we had to cut through countless monsters and Elites and we all nearly died, as I hope you remember. If not for Hikari leading the way, we would have been torn apart.

Misaki: So are we just stuck here? We've made little to no progress! We have just a bit over three hours to defeat the Diseased Girl, or we die! Is our only choice to wait for Shin and Aqua to save us like little children?

Kampa: We have no choice. This rank 44 Labyrinth is beyond us, and according to Hikari we are not even on the lowest floor.

Misaki: ...Fuck! Do I really have to let Shin and Aqua save the day again? Even after I finally got decent enhancements, that guy is still...

Kampa: Misaki, you shouldn't compare yourself to Shin.

Shuai: Guys! Hikari has found something.

They immediately stopped their argument and joined Hikari, who was sitting in a corner of the safe zone. Hikari said that she wouldn't use her Persona ability due to the strain it places on her, but, worried for her comrades, she summoned her Persona Adrasteia anyway while Kampa and Shuai were distracted. It was foolish, but it was fortunate that she did because she found something of importance with her latest scan of the Labyrinth.

Humans.

People who were fighting.

Within the Labyrinth, Hikari's support type Persona was limited and only gave her a vague idea of the layout of the Labyrinth. She could see passage ways, monsters, people, and could see all the levels of the Labyrinth of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth, but her readings were all vague. Hikari couldn't even tell the difference between individual humans unless they were close.

Hikari: This Labyrinth is still suppressing my Persona, but just now I saw a group of humans who are fighting a large group of monsters and Elite monsters nearby.

Shuai: Is it Aqua and Shin?

Hikari: ...Don't know. Sorry. I can only tell the difference between humans and monsters when they are close by, but I can't identify who a person is no matter what. The Labyrinth is still suppressing me that way. Anyways, that's not important. What is important is that this group of three that I found are not just fighting monsters and Elites, but defeating them as well!

Kampa: I see. It would normally be a death sentence to deal with so many powerful monsters. Even we could only run away. So if this group has the power to fight back then that could mean that it's Shin and Aqua.

Misaki: Who's the third person with them?

Hikari: Maybe they picked up a newbie. Whatever the case is I think this is our chance! In about three hours the mission will result in failure and our deaths. We need to meet up with them. We would have to push our way through a large group of monsters and a few Elites to reach where they are, but it's worth the risk to meet up with Shin and Aqua.

Kampa: Hikari is right. Without them we can't move any deeper into the Labyrinth. Without us, without Hikari to be exact, the two of them will end up lost and won't make it in time to fight and defeat the Diseased Girl. It's a bit of a risk since if we fail to meet up with them then the odds are that we'll be surrounded by monsters and die, but there's no future in hiding here. Let's go try to meet them!

Everyone agreed with what Hikari and Kampa said and so they left the safety of their hiding spot to brave the dangers of Level Three.

They fought monster after monster, and together they fought off a few Elites, all the while making sure no harm came to Hikari. She was their most important member and was needed to navigate the Labyrinth, yet they almost made it.

Hikari: This is it! Once we get pass this last Elite we'll be able to make it to Shin and Aqua!

Kampa: Listen to the lady! Misaki, Shuai, get in position. Don't let any harm come to Hikari and let's swiftly defeat this disgusting Elite monster freak!

The thought that they would defeat the Elite Skeleton Guard before them and turn a corner to possibly be reunited with the rest of their comrades gave them all extra energy. Kampa wasn't the leader of Team Japan, but with the absence of their leader Shin and powerful veteran Aqua, no one saw any problem in letting the mercenary expert lead them.

Kampa: Hikari stay back. Shuai take out the eyes and also use your ghost to detect any of the Undead Assassins if they're in hiding! I'll destroy the legs! Misaki the finishing blow is yours this time!

After these brief instructions they attacked the enemy.

Hikari took a step back and Shuai stood in front of her taking out three Shaman tools. Soon his body began to shine with the power of spiritual energy. The first summoned ghost allowed him to see using their line of sight like mobile security cameras. They were certainly not a match for Hikari's support type Persona, but did exhaust him near as much.

With his last tool Shuai created an almost blinding light that appeared before the Elite's decaying eyes. The light couldn't completely blind the elite, at best it was like walking from a dark room into the blinding light of the sun. Still, that was enough to lower the Elites fighting potential by a degree. It was what Kampa would call Shuai's current best skill and one that allowed the four of them to stay alive. It couldn't be used on more than one target at a time, but it had several benefits. Shuai didn't need to guide the light, he simply needed to set a target and range was only limited to his own vision.

The Elite Shuai had targeted recklessly swung its rusty sword around in fury. Its sword cleaved through the air as it completely missed its intended targets. Misaki, who was waiting for the perfect moment to strike, was avoiding the random attacks thanks to his Observation Haki. Kampa consistently positioned himself right outside the Elite's attack range as it searched for enemies.

Kampa: Misaki!

Kampa took advantage of the opening and rained down attacks on the Elite with the M14A Pulse Rifle. The rifle's muzzle flashed white as the Sci-fi weapon accurately hit its target. The right knee cap of the Elite was blown off and it crumpled to the floor. Misaki charged at the Elite, conjuring red hot flames from his palms as he ran.

Wielding the Entry Fire Bending Whole Enhancement like he practiced, Misaki willed the red hot flames to revolve around his hand and he struck the chest of the Elite monster. Misaki's fist dug deep into the Elite's body and caused massive damage. Further, Misaki directed the flames to spread out and envelop the elite monster.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Misaki: That's how it's done!

Shuai: Stop yelling and run! If we stay here monsters will surround us!

Hikari: Shuai is right. Shin and Aqua should be around the corner. Move it!

With that said, the four Players ran to their destination. Kampa lead with his gun raised to cover the upcoming tunnel. According to Hikari's last scan they should be able to meet up with those three fighting the Labyrinth monsters if they turned the corner just ahead of them.

Turning the corner and five minutes of running later they found them... Only that they weren't who they were expecting.

Shinnosuke Arisu.

Shiro Hishiro.

Gunjou Mizuiro.

Hoping to reunite with Shin and Aqua, the four Players ended up meeting three of the main characters of Apocalypse Alice and remaining members of Hero Team.

Shinnosuke: Acceleration Switch!

Activating his magic, Shinnosuke charged towards the enemy Elite monster wielding a sword.

A total of six magic songs can be loaded onto a《Headphone Fuzz》and of those six Shinnosuke choose the magic to increase his movement speed. The magic that was selected was one of the available songs, the Acceleration magic.

The magic came from the high level《Flash-Node Labyrinth》and when it is used to defeat the enemy it would be too late for them to counter attack. The body of the magician is accelerated to an inhuman realm, into that of the gods. The magic can only accelerate the magician for one second, but that is plenty of time in the right hands.

Shinnosuke, in the blink of an eye, reached the Elite sword wielding monster before him. The Elite was an enemy above normal monsters, yet before Shinnosuke it could hardly react as he reached its back took effortlessly. In the span of a second, Shinnosuke activating his next magic.

Shinnosuke: Demon Sword switch!

Taking full advantage of the opportunity Acceleration magic gave him, Shinnosuke took a knife out from his pocket and activated his close combat magic. From the center of the knife, a sword with the color of darkness began to extend. The magic, Demon Sword, is a magic that will confer its magic to any object touched and transform it into a demon sword with a special power.

Demon Sword.

The power that would be conferred is dependent on the nature of the object that is touched. One would not know what kind of power an object possesses unless one tries it. That is why this is a magic that is extremely difficult to use. Since it is possible to invoke all its different powers by changing the target object each time, if one has the time to test this general purpose magic, it could possibly make up for the limitation of having only six slots of magic.

Shinnosuke chose his trustworthy knife to use Demon Sword, upon which he had already tested the conferred magic of Demon Sword beforehand. Two special properties are conferred to his knife.

1\. The first is giving it the blade length of a normal sword with the color of darkness.

2\. The second is to allow the user to find the point where one can deal a fatal blow to the opponent with the strength of the knife transformed sword.

Shinnosuke: Demon Sword - Assassination Property!

Shinnosuke ordered the knife to see through the weak point of the sword wielding Elite. Upon doing that, a red target point appears before his eyes. The point is at the center of the back near the right shoulder blade. This was the soft spot at the back of the monster.

In one motion, the demonic sword of darkness cut into the shoulder of the Elite and bisected the monster horizontally with little to no resistance. Elites could normal withstand a lot of damage, but the Demon Sword found its fatal weak point that is hard to find.

Gunjou: Shinnosuke! Behind you!

As Shinnosuke heard the warning from his blonde, half Japanese, female comrade it was too late. The Spear of yet another Elite monster from behind Shinnosuke was aimed and already on its way impale him through the back. It was too late. Acceleration magic needed a few more seconds to be used again, so he was destined to die by the hands of the spear wielding Elite... Or that would have been the case if Demon Sword magic was inactive and that he didn't have second object in his hands now.

Shinnosuke: Demon Sword Switch!

The second demon sword was called upon. A black iron knife in Shinnosuke's other hand was conferred with the magic of Demon Sword. The length of the knife could now hardly even be called a short sword, but the swords strength didn't lie in direct combat.

Shinnosuke: Demon Sword - Phantom Substitution!

As the Elites Spear stabbed into what it thought was its prey, a black shadow took Shinnosuke's place and dissipated on contact. Then at the exact same time a second black shadow appear out of thin air behind the Elite. From this second shadow the ace of Hero Team reappeared, with the empowered demon sword raised overhead.

Shinnosuke: Die!

The demonic sword was swung. The blade found the weakness of the spear wielding Elite and a repeat occurred. The Elite was cut down in two by Shinnosuke's sword, never to rise up again.

Shinnosuke: Hey, vomit girl! Your warning was late and unnecessary. Focus on your own opponents.

Gunjou: Screw you! I was just trying too... Damn, this isn't over! Sea Moon Wheel Switch!

Gunjou yelled the name of her magic as she jumped back to avoid the attacks of several Zombie Warriors rushing towards her. Meanwhile, behind the Zombie Warriors was an Elite monster with two short swords. This creature specialized in speed and chased after Gunjou as well.

Sea Moon Wheel.

A water based magic made from the technology brought back from the eternal Labyrinth called Water-Death 7. It was a Labyrinth that had the architecture of a gigantic municipal pool, but that was not important. What was important is that it was a magic should be hard to manipulate, but Gunjou used it effortlessly. Gunjou would like to say it so much people would think she was trying to be greater than she already was, but without a doubt she was an elite magician.

Gunjou's magic merged into existence. Numerous transparent balls resembling jellyfish with water inside them were created from magic and began floating around Gunjou. From there, they started rotating furiously with a *GWIHN GWIHN* sound. The 'jellyfish' that are spinning like circular saws will cut anything that touches them and inject a paralysis poison into the bloodstream, or something like that.

That was the purpose of the magic, yet Gunjou used it differently. Half the jellyfish spun and rushed towards the dozen or so monsters of the Labyrinth and were shredded to pieces.

The Elite, who patiently waited for Gunjou to launch her attack, immediately launched its own attack. With great speed the Elite slashed at Gunjou yet she was no longer on the ground. Gunjou now stood on top of one of her jellyfish, soaring through the air. Now above the Elite, Gunjou used the opportunity to attack the elite and all the surrounding monsters.

Shinnosuke: Hey, you're not going to... Bitch, Acceleration Switch!

Gunjou: Try not to die transfer student! Great Blue Whirlpool Switch!

Great Blue Whirlpool.

It was an offensive magic of Gunjou's that could be called the most powerful magic of the first class magician and daughter of the Mitsutomo group. Gunjou rarely used this powerful magic for three reasons.

1\. Gunjou was more proficient with Sea Moon Wheel Switch.

2\. Until recently, Gunjou was not yet skilled enough to use the magic, but with a new rival in Shinnosuke she had doubled her training efforts to master it.

3\. Lastly, Great Blue Whirlpool magic was a powerful, uncontrollable, and wide AOE magic that devoured the surroundings and left nothing behind.

The magic would not discriminate between friend or foe.

The powerful ability drowns the surrounding earth, pulling in and twisting all who are caught by the large waves of the magic. Great Blue Whirlpool Switch could normally only be used when the magician stood on higher ground, yet with great balance while standing on a jellyfish, Gunjou at last possessed the ability to release the magic anywhere.

The spawned monsters of the Labyrinth and the dual wielding short sword Elite were devoured by the intense waves of Gunjou's magic. Shinnosuke would have suffered the same fate if he didn't escape with magic in time.

Shinnosuke: You were trying to kill me vomit girl! If Shiro wasn't fighting further up ahead he would have been caught up as well by your magic!

Gunjou: He wasn't, just you. Also, don't call me vomit girl! I'll kill you for real this time.

Shinnosuke: Then flat chested vomit girl.

Gunjou: You, you!

As the two members of Hero Team were bickering, their elected leader was fighting for his life.

Shiro had just finished off three Elites with his offensive configuration of magic, yet three more Elite monsters stood before him. Two of which were shield wielding Elite Skeleton Guards who were protecting the two-handed sword wielding Elite behind their shields as he charged up magic power to kill Shiro in one move.

Shiro: Like I'll let you! Thousand Deities Flash of Light Switch!

To etch the rhythm of his magic into his mind, Shiro dugs in his heel soundly. Dancing his finger in the air, he activates his magic.

Thousand Deities Flash of Light.

A magic spear appears in Shiro's right hand. The tip of the spear began rotating like a drill and spun madly out of control. Shiro puts his left foot forward and-

Shiro: Pierce them throouuugghh!

In a hurling motion like that of a baseball pitcher who's giving everything he has, the tip of the drill strikes the shields of the two Elites. Together with a burst of light, a spiral appears in the center of the two Elite's shields and the tip of the drill explodes, but then a new tip appears. And explodes again.

Appears.

Explodes.

Appears.

Explodes.

Appears.

Explodes.

This action repeated at a blinding speed that was hard to notice. A hole large enough for a person to pass through was made in the shields of the two Elites, completely rendering them useless. Before long the shields shattered as the spear continued down its path of destruction. The two Elites were killed in the attack of the spears, yet the battle was not over.

The two-handed sword Elite was hit by the spear in its ribcage, but it was only a passing blow. Even with a glancing blow, there was no denying that the damage was done. The Elite, injured and knowing that it may not survive much longer, jumped toward Shiro with its powerful, undead legs.

Its special attack was not a long distance laser, but an enhanced sword slash as close range. Not even his comrade and friend Yousuke possessed a defensive magic powerful enough to block the sword slash... So Shiro fought back power with absolute power as he raised his right hand as if to intercept the enemy's sword.

Shiro: Thank you for that telegraphed attack of yours! Out-And-Out Claw of the Beast King Switch!

Shiro's raised right hand began glowing a deep shade of red as it clasped the incoming sword of the Elite.

\- *SHATTERED*!

The red hand of Shiro's tightened its grip and with little effort, shattered the glowing two-handed sword of the Elite. The Elite then collided into the still glowing hand and, with a vice like grip, the hand tore out the chest of the Elite and killed it.

Out-And-Out Claw of the Beast King

This was Shiro's rarely used extremely close ranged magic. A magic that he had to invoke with his own body, but had grave risk. The magic would possess the hand to the wrist of the magician, leaving the rest of the body unable to move.

It was a suicidal magic to use inside a dangerous place like the Labyrinth where you had to keep moving and avoiding all kinds of dangers, yet the magic made up for its demerits. The hand the magic was invoked onto would gain absolute strength. It was a useless magic in the face of a wide range barrage of attacks, yet if the magic could get ahold of its target, not even the Diseased Girl of Apocalypse 666 could do anything against this magic and definitely not come out unscathed.

Shinnosuke: Hey, firepower idiot. I can't believe that you actually used that magic. That an even worse magic than my Holy Sword Magic that restricts my use of other magics at the same time.

Shiro: Were you worried?

Shinnosuke: Go to hell.

Shiro: Hahaha! Anyways, I'm glad we survived that attack of Elite monsters and monsters. We just kept running into them.

Gunjou: Though we are making no progress. We're just wearing ourselves out... Though that seems to be over with now. We can finally make some real progress and reach the Diseased Girl.

Shiro: Really? I was wondering who they were. So one of them has Support Magic!

Shiro pointed to the people behind Shinnosuke and Gunjou.

Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, and Shuai.

After Shinnosuke and Gunjou had finished their battles, they spotted the members of Team Japan and approached them. Not recognizing them as they were not students or teachers of the school, the two were suspicious of the four, yet the Players knew who the students were.

Shin had given the Players all highly detailed descriptions of the members of Hero Team before they were separated. Shin also instructed everyone to get on their good side, yet they didn't know how. Putting Gunjou and Shiro aside, Shinnosuke was naturally suspicious of everyone.

He didn't trust anyone and only acknowledged his fellow Hero Team members to some extent. He definitely wouldn't trust Team Japan. It was then that Hikari told them that they just wanted to escape the Labyrinth and that she had the ability to use magic to get a layout of the Labyrinth. She couldn't come up with a good lie of the spot like Shin or Jin could, so she skipped to how they can benefit Hero Team.

Hikari explained her capabilities in detail, and Shinnosuke cursed. Hikari didn't have Himi's range of support magic, but they still needed Hikari and her group. Hikari could, at the very least, lead them towards the path going to the next and final level of the Labyrinth where the Diseased Girl waits.

Hikari couldn't find the best path to take, like Himi, so it would take a bit of time, but that didn't matter. Without her aid the three were completely lost. Shinnosuke knew that he had no choice to but to accept them into the group, yet he would remain vigilant. Shinnosuke became even more so when he was told they had more comrades lost within the Labyrinth who they will likely run into.

Even after talking with Shiro afterwards, the three members of Hero Team had no choice than to accept the four Players. More so than saving the world or killing the girl, the three had a goal that needed them to stay alive and reach the Diseased Girl in time.

To save a comrade.

Shinnosuke: We have no choice. Shiro, Gunjou and suspicious new guys. Let's go! We... We will save you Kiri!

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

The new magic and abilities of Hero Team was what should have happened in the original. The battles were fine in the first volume, but the second and third were repetitive. That's why Hero Team is equipped with new magic to Kill, no, to Save the Girl and Save the World!

Entry Firebending -

Rating 54.

Firebending, one of the four elemental bending arts. It is the pyrokinetic ability to control fire. It is unique among the bending arts, as it is the only one in which the performer can spontaneously generate the element. Fire is the element of power, consisting of overpowering force tempered by the unflinching will to accomplish tasks and desires. Require 1500 Points and D rank reward.


	96. Chapter 96

Himi activated her magic as they ran through the tunnels of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth.

Himi: PICNIC SWITCH!

Picnic Switch.

A magic circle appears in front of Himi's eyes and she perceives the world through that. And then, completely different from her earlier timidness that's her normal self, her face now had a delighted look on it.

Himi: Aahh, aahh, now now now, which place is more fun, I wonder?"

As Shin recalled from the Light Novel, Picnic Switch was the type of support magic that the scouting corps use. Picnic switch is loaded with the path-finding magic that is akin to Himi taking a detour with a playful mood while heading to her destination and it often turns out to be the better route.

It was a roundabout kind of magic, but its power is proportional to the constraints it has, and they needed it. To save as much time as possible they all needed to reach the next level as soon as possible and this magic allowed them to avoid monsters, or at least those that would greatly hinder them, on their way to the Diseased Girl.

Himi: Left...Right...Back where we came from... Got it! Take the next right, hahaha!

Yousuke: Good! We should almost be there!

Aqua: Amazing. Her personality really changed.

Yousuke: Don't worry about such a mild defect. With Himi, we've avoided nearly all the monster in this area, so all that's left if to take out the Elites and other monsters guarding the stairwell leading to the next level!

Shin: Great! At this pace it was fine to waste close to three hours finding a Support Magician like Himi. Still, don't get sloppy people!

\- [Three Hours - Fifteen Minutes - Thirty-five Seconds]

About three hours until the Empress' Grave Labyrinth become an Eternal Labyrinth. Half the time was already gone, yet Shin's mind was at peace.

It was because Shin felt it was the right choice to abandon their action of choosing where to go just by how dangerous it felt. So long as they had Himi, the support magician of Hero Team, Shin felt confident that the Labyrinth could be navigated in time to reach the Diseased Girl.

Shin was still concerned with the recent information that Hero Team shared. That they not only knew the identity of the Diseased Girl, but that very girl who they all had to defeat was Kiri Kiryuu, one of the female main characters of Apocalypse Alice and member of Hero Team.

Yousuke and Himi made it clear that they didn't want Team Japan to kill Kiri, or for a conflict to occur when their comrades tried to save the her, so they told Shin and the others what happened, which lead to the formation of the Labyrinth.

Shin, having been told the truth, made it clear that they would follow Hero Team's lead when it came time to face the Diseased Girl. As long as they make it in time to clear the Labyrinth, he was fine with their methods to defeat the Diseased Girl.

Shin: We're here!

Shin and the others then came to a stop by the exit of the tunnel of the cave. Not wanting to just charge in (last time was bad for me), Connor and Yousuke went ahead first to take a look, and then one minute later they came back to report what they saw.

Like before, the chamber room with the stairwell leading from the first floor to the second, a large room the size of a football field stood before them with many cave entrances, but what was important was that in the far off corner of the large room was the stairwell leading from the second level to the third level of the Labyrinth.

They expect and heard as much from Himi beforehand. They were aware of the minor details of the chamber room, yet what they learned next surprised them.

Other people.

There were other people currently fighting with the monsters and Elite monsters there. Yousuke didn't recognize any of them and was disappointed that they were not members of Hero Team, yet Connor did in fact recognize them. They were the other newbies of Team Japan.

According to Connor, the Newbie whose name he remembered, Derrick, was leading the other newbies and were trying to make it to the stairwell, but failing. Currently, they were trapped in a corner of the Labyrinth fighting for dear life.

Connor: They're basically being played with now. It's pathetic.

Yousuke: Harsh, but Connor's right. There are five Elites over there just staying back and letting the hundreds of lesser monsters deal with the newbies. Just staying close enough so that they can't escape. They'll die in another minute or two at this rate.

Jin: What should we do? Save them, or-

Himi: Of course we should save them!

Aqua: It doesn't matter. Adding the surviving newbies to our manpower won't make any difference and I don't think we can protect them... But Shin here is the leader the leader, so it's his decision. What would you have us do leader?

Shin: ... (Only at these times does my girlfriend call me leader)

Shin gave it some thought and made a quick decision. Shin told them that they would-

Dead bodies were found all around the floor of the chamber room.

Dead bodies of Newbie Players torn apart by the weapons of the normal spawned monster and Elites as they once desperately attempted to make it to the next level of the Labyrinth.

Dead bodies of students of《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》scattered about, stepped on by the monsters as they once desperately attempted to make it to the next level.

They all them came together in the Labyrinth that they were unfortunately devoured. They had hoped that combining their powers they could find a way to escape, yet in the end it was for naught. Their now tired leader that brought them together and fought for their survival had a look of despair on his face as what was left of their forces were backed into a corner of the room, surrounded by spawned monsters and the Elites. Most of his comrades were dead and his fellow newbies were almost out of magic bullets for their guns, including himself.

It was the end.

Derrick: ...Is this the end. Damn! In a place like this, I...

Newbie 2: Derrick! We're surrounded on all sides and those elites were unharmed by our attacks. What should we do!?

Derrick: ...

Newbie 3: They're coming!

The Zombie Warriors raised their sword as they rushed the newbies.

The Skeleton Spearman pointed their sharp spears at them as they rushed the newbies.

The three Elites looked on as the monsters rushed the newbies to finish them off.

It was the end for the Newbies... or it was supposed to be, but objects imbued with Ki Energy and Aura were thrown across the room and into the rushing crowd of monsters.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

BIM.

Timed BIM.

Some of the last few items Saki made for Team Japan before her death were used to blow away the enemy monsters and save the last remaining newbies. More BIM were thrown towards the unsuspecting enemies and creatures were blown away with each new blast.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, HUNDRED LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED.

The Elites were unfazed by this level of attack and stood their ground, looking for whoever was bombarding them. They looked around, but by then it was too late. Shin and Aqua had snuck up on them from behind and attacked without pause or mercy.

During the chaos of the BIMs going off, Shin channeled his Ki and fired three Far Bullets from his palm, each striking the Elites and forcing them to freeze up. Immediately Shin's Gravity Blade cut down one elite from the top of its skull down through its pelvis. At the same time Aqua used her Adamantium Claws (writhing with Aura) to swiftly tear apart one Elite and then jump towards the other doing the same.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

The battle was swiftly concluded. Shin was responsible for how easily the battle ended, yet he couldn't help but admire the partner by his side, Aqua.

(Shin: Aqua is so fast! I never realized her fighting style was so savage before this mission. I can't keep up with her even with my enhancements and weapons... but this isn't a good test to see who's stronger and by how much. Elites are powerful, but once you face them a few times you don't need Unlocked Mode to defeat them. They hold some intelligence and can take a lot of damage before falling, but as long as you have powerful weapons and enhancements they aren't anything to fear. With our enhancements, Aqua and I would be more on edge against the intelligent and skilled Btooom Commanders, than the average Elite monsters.)

Also, an Elite wasn't fast enough to be threatening to either of the two. Maybe an Elite Skeleton Spearman, but those were rare.

Elites.

Although their huge bodies looked overwhelming to normal people, and their speed and strength were more than what normal people could handle, that was their only advantages. Even their ranged attacks were meaningless when people like Shin or Aqua could get close enough. A Player with high enough rank in Whole Body Enhancements, Genetic Mutation, or in possession of a decent magic weapon would have nothing to fear from Labyrinth monsters.

Both Shin and Aqua's stats were realms above that of a normal person, with Aqua's stats higher than Shin. He made up for the difference with his many techniques like Instant Movement, Soul Crushing Strike, and other skills. Now that they knew how much damage they needed to inflict, the battle would be over before the enemy knew how they pitifully died.

Still, Shin thought it was an easy win despite their advantages. Both Shin and Aqua would say the battle ended as fast as it did only because they were used to the enemy and because the Elites were distracted... but the Newbies wouldn't think that.

They had gathered so many comrades from the Girl Killing Curriculum to work together, they even had a detailed battle plan to reach the next level of the Labyrinth hoping to find a way to escape... yet in the time span of a few minute hundreds of monsters and the Elites that struck terror into them were killed.

It terrified them.

Made them feel worthless.

That it was better to just hide in a corner in fear and let the monsters kill them to make their job of guarding the Diseased Girl easier.

It was... crushing.

At the same time as Shin and Aqua finished off the elites and breathed in a sigh of relief over an easy win, the New Players Connor and Jin, along with Hero Team's Himi and Yousuke, were clearing out the large room of all the remaining spawned monsters of the Labyrinth.

They planned in advance to take a small break here to rest and speak to the newbies they saved, so they didn't waste any time in killing off the remaining few enemies not killed in the initial blast. Shin looked at the four and confirmed that they were in no danger, especially with Yousuke's multiple Defensive magics, and looked over to his comrade and love interest Aqua.

Shin: Aqua, this was an easy win and all, but don't you think that this can't keep going? It has to get harder from here on out.

Aqua: You're right. The monsters we'll have to face towards the end won't be this weak; so you should expect the difficulty of the Labyrinth to reach a high level by then.

Shin: I know that, but what I mean is, can we keep going like this? My injuries heal thanks to my high ranking exchanges like Advance Ki Energy and S-Rated One-eyed Ghoul mutation, but won't we both wear ourselves out by the time we reach the Diseased Girl? Unlike our previous two mission, Apocalypse Alice is a Mission World of nonstop, marathon running and battles where we are on a time limit. It's just a six hour mission, so it can't compare to the two days H.O.T.D or the seven days of BTOOOM in time, yet the content of these six hours can't be compared. Can we really last whole six hours in this increasing difficulty Labyrinth and face off against the Diseased Girl of a rank 44 Labyrinth?

Aqua: ...Things have become easier with the addition of you, Jin, and Connor, but I'm close to running out of half of my Aura. Still, we can only do our best, which might be the worst part of this Labyrinth. If we had time to really recover maybe we could win the final battle without the main characters, but that's becoming more unlikely if we have another three hours to go like this.

Shin: Yeah, this is going to be rough no matter what.

Aqua: ... Actually Shin, this might have even been on purpose by God. I have an A rank Genetic Mutation and B rank Whole Body Enhancement. You have both a B rank Whole Body Enhancement and a B rank Genetic Mutation. Your enhancements also lean more towards recovery than pure fighting power like mine do, and additionally, and we've both unlocked up to the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraints. If we were on any other level of the Labyrinth other than the first we may have reached the Diseased Girl by now, or coming close to her.

Shin: You're right. Just resting for an hour or two before the final battle may not completely let us recover, but we wouldn't be in bad shape. God didn't put us in a hopeless situation thanks to the option of adding Himi to our group, but we're definitely not in the best position to clear this Labyrinth. Well, nothing we can do about something that has already happened, so let's just rest up. With Himi we don't have to recklessly rush, so let's rest for 10-20 minutes. We need to talk to the newbies anyway.

Aqua: Okay, but you do it. I don't deal with incompetent newbies and you're the leader here Shin. You saved them, so they're your problem.

Shin: Don't be like that my red haired goddess of war (Not to be confused with the Mad Sword King Eris). They fought for their lives the last three hours and even dared to fight their way to the next level of the Labyrinth. I wouldn't call them incompetent. Any other mission and we might have praised them as decent newbies to add to the team.

Aqua: Fine, but who the hell is your war goddess!? Don't you already have Hikari now? She's obviously loved you from all the way back from the BTOOOM mission after you saved her.

Shin: Well, yeah, but don't look down on my dream of a harem, Aqua. A real protagonist and man like me won't fall to one beautiful girl and give up the others that he obviously liked just because it's easy. Besides, you're the first wife, so how can I-

Aqua walked away from Shin who was now on his knees after receiving a punch to the stomach. She went to go help the others clear out the Labyrinth of the last few monsters. Taking a punch from someone with Adamantium bones and high stats wasn't funny in the least for Shin, but he was happy to see he can get a response out of Aqua (almost worth it).

A minute later, now recovered, Shin made his way over to the newbies. The first Newbie he saw and looked to be representing the remaining four newbies behind him was Derrick. Derrick was one of the all too few newbies who he had saw potential in, and so he was glad that he was alive (even though he looks terrible at the moment).

From what Shin saw, Derrick had the ability to bring together and lead others. Derrick had even used his fellow newbies (and other students of the Girl Killing Curriculum judging from the corpses seen around here) in an attempt to make it to the next level of the Labyrinth. Derrick failed in the end and would have died if not for Shin's intervention, but Shin's opinion of Derrick only became stronger.

Shin: (If Derrick had better forces things may have worked out differently. If he had met up with anyone from Hero Team he may have actually succeeded in reaching the next level of the Labyrinth. I can't tell if Derrick has tactical or strategic planning ability, but he at least can gather others which is still a talent.)

Derrick's plan was a failure in the end, but because he did his best in an environment that he had no hope of surviving alone, where most people would have died earlier, where most would have hid in a corner of the Labyrinth in fear, Shin's impression of him skyrocketed.

Shin: (Even if I have to protect Derrick from now on because he can't protect himself, it's a worthwhile investment. It isn't a loss to make sure that he'll live to become a proper part of Team Japan with exchanges to power him up.)

Derrick saw Shin approach him and the Newbies and smiled... yet the reception he received from the remaining four newbies by his side was less than kind. They didn't say anything out loud, so Shin ignored them for the moment, but he could tell that they obviously had something against him (their savior) and fellow Player.

Shin: Yo, Derrick! It's good to see that you are alive.

Derrick: Just barely thanks to all these monsters in this hell hole of a Labyrinth. If not for you I, no, we all would have perished here a minute ago. Thank you... still, I wish you had come sooner. A few more of us could have...

Shin: Sorry. We veterans really don't have the power to protect you in this mission and we also lacked the ability to search for you in any case. Nothing could have been done, but I'm sorry for the loss. Still, I'm glad that you managed to survive on your own 'til now.

Derrick: I can only call it a miracle.

Shin: No, no, no. It is obviously your ability to use what little power that you had to survive. To be honest, I thought that by now all the other newbies would be dead by now. We're in a rank 44 Labyrinth and twenty man difficulty mission from God after all. Hell, I don't want to think of the possibility, but a few of us veterans could very well be dead as well.

Derrick: I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure that they are alive and just waiting to meet up with you.

Shin: Thanks. I hope that's the case. Anyways, we're going to take a short break. I would like it to be longer, but according to one of the main characters an army of monsters are flooding the Labyrinth from the upper levels, down to the lower levels and are chasing after us.

Derrick: Re-Really?

Shin: Yeah. That's why we'll just take a short break and then start back up conquering the Labyrinth and reach the Diseased Girl. How about you and the others newbies join up with us? We'll be heading into more dangerous territory, but staying here will be a death sentence soon. I doubt that even hiding in a hidden safe zone would be effective in getting you off the monsters' radar.

Derrick: ...I understand. We'll come with you. It is our only hope of staying alive, but...

Shin: What's wrong?

Derrick: ...It's the other newbies. I can convince them to come with you, but they won't like it very much.

From there Derrick began to explain the situation with the newbies. Despite Shin and the others saving them, the newbies were not grateful in the slightest.

During the course of the Apocalypse Alice mission so far, more than half of the Newbies have died and they placed the blame on team leader Shin and the other veterans of Team Japan. It was unjustified and Derrick tried to stop this way of thinking a few times, but as far as they were concerned Shin and the others of Team Japan had abandoned them and had not equipped them in better gear on purpose.

Shin: (Was it because of the extra gear I gave to Derrick, Connor and Jin? Really, the nerve of them.)

Shin calls their complaints unjust.

It was true that he didn't care if they lived or die, but he never had the power to protect them from death on this mission. Shin had recently gained a sense of what a leader should do for his team, so if it was possible he would have liked to have done more, but it just wasn't an option during this mission to protect the Newbies. Shin couldn't even say he could protect his long time veteran Players.

The reason was because Apocalypse Alice mission gave Team Japan no time to breathe or think properly. Also, unlike in H.O.T.D or BTOOOM there was little to hope of normal citizens of a peaceful country like Japan to survive even with a bit of luck. It was already a miracle that Newbies like Connor, Jin, and Derrick were still even alive.

Also, Shin didn't have enough special gear, especially the magic kind, to offer to the newbies. Obviously veteran Players came first and newbies with potential came second, and everyone else came last.

Shin valued each Player of Team Japan and refused to look at his comrades as numbers like Saki would at times, but that didn't mean he discarded a person's individual value. Every new mission brought new circumstances and new priorities that Shin needed to look at in order to make tough decision.

For example, if they weren't separated in the beginning, Hikari would have been his primary concern. It was because of her mapping ability and not just because she was his girlfriend that, even above Aqua, Shin would have prioritized Hikari's safety above all others. If Shin only had one magic protection vest to give he would have given it to Hikari, the most essential Player to completing the mission, without hesitation.

Shin: (And on the subject we didn't have that many Magic Vest after equipping all the Players. Even only Shin and Kampa had magic amplifier tags and the rest were given to newbies Derrick, Connor and Jin. Actually, giving the newbies three of our five Magic Amplifier Tags could have been a mistake, but everyone else on the team had enhancements of some sort so I thought it would be fine. Also, it was an investment in raising a few good New Players which is equally as important as protecting his current comrades.)

The point was that the Newbies aside from Jin, Connor, and Derrick didn't trust or like the veterans of Team Japan, especially Shin. Derrick is confident that he can calm them down and that both sides can work together, but Shin and the others shouldn't speak to them unless it was absolutely necessary.

Feelings that are hurt and traumatic experiences like what they were going through right now needed time to heal according to Derrick. He was confident that later they can all make up once they are not in danger, but for now it was best to not rock the boat. Derrick knew his Newbie comrades were in the wrong for not looking at the big picture, yet he couldn't ask them to do so in a magical Labyrinth that wanted nothing more than to kill them.

Derrick: Leave them to me for now. I think that will be for the best for the team.

Shin: ...Okay. I can sorta understand their feeling. I'll leave the four of them to you Derrick, but if they hold us back or complain about unfair treatment at this point, I'll leave them behind to say the least!

Derrick: That won't happen, but we'll be fine with those conditions. Also, could you spare magic bullets for us? We've basically run out of ammo making our way here.

Shin: Sure. I've actually saved a lot by using a Magic Amplifier Tag with my unlimited Ammo Auto 9 RoboCop gun. Here!

Shin handed Derrick the ammo and Derrick went back over to the newbies to explain that they will shortly be traveling together with the veterans and main characters of Apocalypse Alice. Initially, they didn't look to be for that idea, yet a few moments later, after Derrick said something, they calmed down.

Shin: He's really something that Derrick. Maybe I can leave future newbies to him to handle.

Jin: Maybe you should, but if I were you I'd kill them, or at least leave them behind here to die at the hands of the monsters.

Shin: Jin?

The remaining monsters had just been swept up by the Players, and now finished were starting to rest while they could. Jin saw Shin speaking to Derrick and waited for their conversation to end before walking over to speak with Shin. Shin heard what Jin had to say, yet didn't understand for what purpose he would say that.

Shin: What do you mean leave them behind or kill them? Why?

Jin: They are a liability to the team, Shin.

Shin: Yeah, for sure, but they have shown potential for surviving so long here in this Labyrinth. Especially Derrick who gathered them all together. They may not be too impressive now, but they can improve with the power of exchanges from God.

Jin: Maybe, but they are still a threat to us.

Shin: Jin, there is no us here. You are still a provisional member at best. I simply saw some potential in you, so I gave you a chance. You're not special Jin. Without the guns, Magic Attack Scrolls, and other tools that I handed to you, you would be just like them. A liability, or even dead like some of the others. For what reason should you place yourself above them?

Jin: No, no no! I wasn't doing that. I'm well aware of my trashy existence and how powerless that I am. That's why I'm grateful for the small chance that you gave me. Without it I certainly would have been claimed as just another victim of the Labyrinth... that's why, to show my thanks, I thought I would warn you about the darkness of human nature.

Shin: The darkness of human nature?

Jin: Yes. It's a pretty ugly thing to see and usually goes unnoticed by the eyes of wonderful and talented individuals like Aqua, Connor, yourself, and the rest of your teammates... but I can see it. I'm scum. That's why I'll say that you shouldn't trust the other Newbies. They are using you as a target for their fear and anger. When human are unjustly pushed to the brink – by that I mean the Labyrinth and not you yourself Shin, they won't care about consequences or their own lives. Though I can't say exactly what they will do in this situation. Also, I would be wary of Derrick.

Shin: Why Derrick? He isn't anything like the rest of them.

Jin: Don't you see that's the problem? Of course because Derrick is LEADING them. Isn't it actually strange that he gathered so many people together who were at the bottom of Team Japan's priority list? Derrick is just like Connor and I, and was given preferential treatment. How can someone like that lead people filled with jealous and hate towards your team for misguided ideas of unfair treatment? If it was me, I bet I would have been lynched and had my gear stolen by the newbies.

Shin: Jin, aren't you being paranoid? They must be frustrated, sure, but they won't do something stupid which could get us all killed. They also didn't cower in a corner and hope for the best, but fought for their own survival. I saw something similar in the last mission and the guy involved in it is now an important member of the team who I can leave my back to. Who cares if they are angry at me? Once the mission ends and they can relax and think straight, they'll want to be on the side with power. I'm sure they come around as members of the team.

Jin: ...That could be, but I can't see it happening, Shin. I can't be like you and see the best in people... because I walk the scum of the Earth. I just thought I'll share my insight, but it may have been needless. Forget what I said. In the end, I'm just a Newbie who doesn't know better like you do, Shin.

Shin: ...

Done with the conversation, Jin walked away with his usual smile on his face and joined the others to rest. I looked back towards the Derrick and the newbies and saw that in the end they were staying away from us and sometimes glaring. I couldn't feel anything other than hatred and fear from them, but no killing intent. What Jin said was worrisome, yet I couldn't come to take what he said seriously.

Shin: Jin is worrying too much. If they want to do something to us they would have to get by Aqua and me, and that's impossible. As leader I should be more open and actually try to win them over. I can't say if we will all make it out alive, as the leader I have to do my best. Otherwise, Saki would be disappointed in me.


	97. Chapter 97

Shin and the rest of his group had left the chamber room of the Second Level of the Labyrinth. After taking a short break they moved on to the third level of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth.

Once they descended the stairwell and entered the third level, more cave walls and tunnels with no end appeared before them. Visually it was the same as before, yet this time there was a purple glow from the minerals along the walls. Himi activated her magic.

Himi's magic was detailed, yet lacked the ability to see through levels of the Labyrinth. Now that she was on a new level she wanted to confirm something. Obviously, they needed to find the fastest way to the next level for the sake of reaching the Diseased Girl. She also wanted to know if her comrades, the other members of Hero Team were nearby.

Himi points her finger up at the sky of darkness and says.

Himi: Intimate Switch!

Intimate Magic.

The name of the magic that allows one to know the locations of one's friends was《Intimate switch》. Of course, the one who named the magic wasn't Himi. The one who developed the magic should normally give it a name that is most efficient in getting a reaction from the brain to activate it, but this particular developer must have a pretty raunchy personality.

Anyways, the magic can locate any individual/friend who has called Himi by name and somewhere in their heart accepted Himi, even if it was only for a moment. Himi activates her magic and it was displayed for all to see.

A three-dimensional grid model materialized in the air, and beside it floated two arrows that form a cross. One of the arrows is pointing north while the other is pointing to the sky. Furthermore, in the center of the three-dimensional grid model, the words『Himi』can be seen.

Next to Himi's name on the grid were the names『Yousuke』,『Shin』,『Aqua』,『Connor』and『Jin』. In the very far corners of the Himi's grid and currently moving were a group of three, the names being『Shiro』,『Shinnosuke』and『Gunjou』.

Himi: Found them! Shiro, Shinnosuke and even Gunjou! They're still alive.

Yousuke: Really?! Where are they?

Himi: Hold on a second. I'll create a map of this level of the Labyrinth!

As Himi began using her magic to create a 3D diagram of the third level of the Labyrinth, Shin and the others had mixed reactions to being called friends by Himi and her magic, especially Connor who has said few words to her. It was only for a short time, but they did indeed fight together with Himi and they were thankful for her help in leading them through the complex maze of a Labyrinth, but it seemed that was enough for them to become friends.

Shin: Why are Derrick's and the other Newbies not listed as friends? They had talked to Himi as well during the break from just before.

Jin: ...Who knows? Anyways, how does it look Himi? Can we meet up with your friends?

Himi: Hm... I don't think so. They are well off on the other side of the Labyrinth. They seem to be making their way to this level's stairwell that leads down, so I don't think they are lost. It would be better for us to wait for them there in the chamber room.

Yousuke: Himi's right. We'll have to go out of our way to meet up with them as is. Also, we are closer to the stairwell than they are, so it's a waste of time and effort. With Himi's magic we should be there in no less than one hour of traveling.

Aqua: One hour? Why so long?

Himi: We can get there faster, but according to my scans... The monster on this level of the Labyrinth seem to be mostly composed of Elite monsters, being escorted by a few normal spawned monsters of the Labyrinth. Both the normal spawned monsters and the Elites should be at a higher level as well. If we wish to power through we can get there in about twenty minutes, thirty minutes at the latest, but I suggest we take the long and safe way.

Yousuke: I agree with Himi. We'll still make it to the stairwell before Shiro and the others, so we should go with this plan.

Shin: Alright then. Let's go!

Shin lead everyone down the tunnels of the cave while pushing down his worries. He wanted to desperately know if Hikari and the others were alive, but Himi didn't have a magic to locate people she didn't know. The two sides had never met before, so it was impossible for Himi to have a place in their hearts. Shin could only hope that they were with the remaining members of Hero Team, or at least hiding in a safe place.

Those were Shin's thoughts of concern for his comrades, but not everyone was untied. The four Newbies, unnoticed by Shin and the rest, gave each other a look, and then turned to their leader, who then inconspicuously nodded... Their plan was to go ahead.

\- [Two Hours - Three Minutes - Fifty-eight Seconds].

Himi: Th-this is strange. Something... Something has to be wrong.

Yousuke: Himi, what's wrong?

Himi: The, the monsters... They, they are charging right towards us!

Yousuke: What!?

Shin and everyone else who were listening in had a similar reaction as Yousuke. So far they had not encountered any of the monsters on their way to the stairwell of this level of the Labyrinth. They even took a supposedly slower, yet safer route to their designation for the sole purpose of avoiding all battle till they reach the Third Level of the Labyrinth's chamber where the staircase leading down is,

Shin: Himi! How many are on there? Is it something that we can handle?

Himi: By, by my count... dozens – no hundreds of enemy monsters are coming our way! Half Elites and the other half appear to be normal spawned monsters of the Labyrinth! They are all converging on our location for some reason.

Aqua: What's going on! Didn't you say this path was safe?

Connor: Could this girl have made a mistake? Could this be a trap?

Himi: No, no way! I'm telling the truth. Just a moment ago we were all in the clear and free of monsters. Now all of a sudden monster have us almost surrounded. It's the truth!

Yousuke: That's right, so don't bully Himi. She's the best support magician that I have ever seen or worked with in my life. Something else must have happened.

Aqua: Well, whatever is going on we don't have time for this blame game! Shin, we need a plan of action.

Shin: ...Himi!

Himi: Yes!

Shin: How far are we from the large chamber room for this level? How close are the monsters being drawn to us? Also, where is your comrades' current location?

Himi: Um, the chamber room is not far off from here, but it's heavily guarded by 10 Elites and hundreds of spawned monsters. As for the monsters coming towards us... they're still chasing us and will converge on our location in less than two minutes! Even if we run we probably won't lose them, and then we'll have to face over a dozen Elites before we can make it to the next level of the Labyrinth. As for Shiro and the rest... they are coming closer as we speak! Much faster than I initially predicted.

Yousuke: That's good news and bad. Looking to escape to the next level... that would mean abandoning Shiro and the others on this floor who we thought to meet up with. Even if the monsters converging on us don't follow us to the next floor, we risk turning them over on them.

Jin: So that's the situation leader. What's the plan?

Shin: ...Okay. We'll make a stand here! I don't want to shove our problems on your friends by escaping. Also, it's a possibility that some of my team members are with them as well. I can't accept not meeting up with them for too many reasons. I also don't want to take any chances. We'll find an appropriate place to fight the monsters and face them head on!

Derrick: Shin.

Shin: What is it?

Derrick: If possible... can you escort us newbies towards the chamber room?

Shin: Why? I admit you guys don't have the power to really help out now, but neither can you advance forward. Alone, you don't have the power to defeat the Elites and other monsters guarding the stairs leading down to the next level.

Derrick: I know that, but we won't be attacking the monsters. We'll wait for the fighting to finish, away from the main battle by the entrance to the chamber. Right now we are a liability who may drag you down. Running is all we can do, so adding us to the battle is a risk for you and the others.

Connor: Those are the words of a coward.

Derrick: Better to be a coward than a burden. Shin will just escort us to safety and he will quickly come back to help everyone take on the monsters. Also, if we encounter anyone from Hero Team we can inform them of the situation and send them your way. We can't fight, but we can do something for the team. We're not completely useless, so what do you say Shin?

Shin: ...There's no guarantee that the monsters of the Labyrinth won't chase after you all and we won't be there to protect you.

Derrick: I'm aware of the risk, but I wish to choose the option which leads to our survival.

Shin: ...

Shin thought for a moment and weighed the Pros and Cons. Pro: the newbies will be safe and sound and won't weigh them down in battle. Con: Shin would be gone for a few minutes and Aqua and the rest will have to hold their own. Shin couldn't come to an answer right away, and so he looked at his comrades one by one and asked the one Player's opinion that matter the most to him.

Shin: Aqua, can you hold out against the monsters and Elites until I get back? I'm fast, so I can return immediately with Instant Movement.

Aqua: Who do you think you're talking to, Shin? I've actually been holding back a bit so you can keep up with me. Even alone I'll be fine and protect the others.

Shin: This is serious, Aqua.

Aqua: I'm always serious. I've survived seven missions so far, and more than half of the time I was alone. I'm more than capable of holding off a few brainless, undead monsters on my own.

Shin: Alright then. Connor. Jin. Are you two coming along?

Connor: I'm a soldier. I don't run away in fear of an enemy.

Jin: Well, I'm afraid, but I would rather stay and fight. Being surrounded by undead monsters wanting nothing more than to kill us. is.. exciting!

Shin: Never mind about this guy. Aqua, Connor, Yousuke and Himi, I'll be back. Himi with her support magic is to be protected at all cost! All those who are coming should keep up with me! I won't waste too much time on this!

Derrick: No problem! The one thing us Newbies have going for us is running away.

Shin lead Derrick and the other newbies through the cave tunnels of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth. According to what Himi had told him, the chamber room should be right in up ahead once they turn a corner. Shin and the others did and were surprised to see that right in front of the cave opening that leads to the center of this level of the Labyrinth was guarded by an Elite.

And not just one, but three Elites at that.

Shin: Damn, those three weren't here on Himi's last scan!

Derrick: It'll be fine, but we can't take too long to deal with this. You have to get back to the others after all. We'll give you support fire to distract the Elite, so take them out in that time. We have your back.

Shin: Good idea. Hey, do you have any Magic Attack Scroll left? I gave all of mine to Jin since he was good with them. They can take out, or serious damage an Elite.

Derrick: ...Sorry, but I'm all out.

Shin: It's fine then. On the count of three we'll attack. Once I'm done here I'm not going to wait even a second to return to the others. Wait for us here long as it is safe and if another monster comes along... you'll be on your own.

Derrick: That's fine with us. Now, on count of three.

1.

2.

3!

Shin on three charged towards the three enemy Elite monsters guarding the entrance to chamber. As Shin was about to crash head on into them he jumped up to the ceiling. Once Shin was clear and the Elites were distracted by his presence a shower of magic bullets hit the three Elites courtesy of Derrick and the four Newbies behind him.

They did little damage, but drew their attention away from Shin for a moment. They held intelligence, but not a great deal of it. Jin earlier brought up the idea that the monsters of the Labyrinth, in exchange for their inhuman strength only had basic programing similar to the AI in video game monsters, but that wasn't important for Shin at the moment. Just then a chance had opened up.

Shin: (I gave my Auto 9 to Connor and Attack Scrolls to Jin. Normal magic bullets are useless as well. As quickly as possible I'll defeat them at close range!)

Shin entered into Unlocked Mode.

In the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint endless battle instincts and tactics flowed into his mind in the blink of an eye. In a flash Shin envisioned the fastest method of defeating the three Elite monsters and resolved himself to make it a reality.

While still midair, Shin opened up the palms of his two hands that now began to glow that of a green light and opened fire at the closest and furthest Elite from himself.

Far Bullet.

The Ki Energy emission attack that was especially effective on spiritual and magic creatures impacted the two Elites without resistance as they were distracted by gunfire, and were now frozen up in a terrible spasm. The Elites gave off an aura of death that screamed that they wanted nothing more than to tear the Newbies apart, yet Derrick and the others stood their ground.

Shin: (Connor called them cowards, but doing whatever that you can to survive, knowing your limits and not always running away from a fight is strength in my book).

Shin stepped on the ceiling of the cave and jumped down towards one of the Elites with Instant Movement.

The Elite not hit by far bullet was about to rampage towards the newbies, yet Shin surpassed him and reached the monster first. Shin took out from his Na Ring and drew out Gravity Blade from its sheath and gripped its handle. The swords drew a black ark as it decapitated the Elite monster as its head flew in the air, and in another black arc drawn by his blade, for good measure, he slashed the remains of the monster down the middle.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin: One!

Shin didn't stop there.

Taking a step backward Shin turned around and rammed his free left hand in a closed fist into the back Elite closest to the Newbies. Along with the spiritual force field generated by the Na Ring, Shin used Soul Crushing Strike as his fist crashed into the Elite. Its flesh turned soft as a Ki energy sonic explosion erupted inside the monster. The Elite died at the scene due to both the external and internal damage.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin: That's two!

Not stopping and channeling Ki energy in front of his feet, Shin jumped towards the final Elite that still stood still in a spasm. Still under the after effects of Far Bullet, the Elite was paralyzed, but somehow was able to raise it sword towards the figure about to charge into him.

Shin: Too slow! Gravity Blade, One Thousand Fold Slash!

Shin and the Elite monster of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth crossed swords.

Their two swords, one black and the other large and slightly rusted met head on. The black Gravity Blade slashed through the slightly rusted weapon of the Elite monster like paper. Not only was the force behind Gravity Blade greater in the moment of contact, Shin's Ki Energy and the Na Ring's force field extended to cover the blade, drastically increasing its power in the face of magic creatures and their tools.

Shin's black sword, having left the Elite already defenseless, pierced into the chest of the Elite monster. Shin increased the weight of Gravity Blade, and in a most ruthless slash, gouged out its chest. The helpless Elite fell to the ground and Shin did not hesitate to stomp on its face.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin was about to exit Unlocked Mode and turn around and run back to back up Aqua, Connor, Jin and the members of Hero Team, when he got distracted... Which lead to a near fatal event.

Shin was now facing the exit of the cave and could see into the chamber room. He was able to spot the stairs that would lead to the next level of the Labyrinth, but more important than that, Shin saw a flash of light. On closer examination Shin was able to spot a group people fighting the monsters guarding the stairwell.

Hikari.

Misaki.

Kampa.

Shuai.

And surprisingly, the other members of Hero Team excluding Kiri were there with his comrades, all fighting together. The main character Shinnosuke, Shiro and Gunjou.

Shin was surprised to see his comrades were safe and were with the remaining members of Hero Team, but he couldn't rejoice that they were alive. Shin was still in Unlocked Mode and he saw through the battle that they were engaged in and came to a conclusion.

They were being overwhelmed.

Shin: (There are just too many Elites and normal spawned monsters of the Labyrinth for them to fight against. They may not lose with Hero Team by their side, but there will certainly be casualties. I should reinforce them, but what about Aqua and the others? Can I afford not to go back and help them defeat the monsters wandering the Labyrinth?)

Shin was hesitating with his internal struggle knowing that both sides needed him and that lead to him. Shin exited Unlocked Mode since the danger passed, completely letting his guard down. Lesson one when exploring the Labyrintha raised up by Diseased Girls: Never let your guard down for a moment, or you will die.

\- *SZZZZZZZZZ*!

Shin saw a flash of light from behind, but before he could turn around he felt something hot impact his back, and then came the pain. A deadly surging electrical current ran through his body.

Shin felt that pain all over his body.

Although his body was several times stronger than a normal person, it wasn't enough to resist electric shock of such high voltage yet. His body was becoming numb and was giving off a burnt odor. As he the damage was reaching a critical point, Shin's eyes once more went out of focus, returning back into Unlocked Mode and with little control he had left of his body he jumped towards the assailant in rage who attacked him and slashed at the man with Gravity Blade.

The assailant's arm, holding onto a used Magic Attack Scroll that he claimed to not have had, flew through the air before it falling to the floor. It was Derrick. Yet the man still had a wide smile on his face even as it was now covered in blood. Derrick clutched his stump of an arm in great pain, yet he knew that he had won. Shin was still alive despite his plan to assassinate him, but he was unable to move due to the lightning attack of the Magic Attack Scroll.

Derrick: That was so close! Hahahahahahaha! I never expected for you to still be alive, or able to move after that. God, this hurt! Wait, are you wearing a magic item or armor? Ah, now that I look closer that's the B tier Lesser Fenrir Coat. Fuck! How did you get a B rank reward after just two missions you monster?

Shin: Derrick...

Shin stared daggers at Derrick from the ground. Derrick looked back down at Shin unconcerned and only cared for the loss of his arm. Then with his still intact hand covered in blood Shin saw Derrick take out a syringe from his pocket.

Shin recognized the medical tool as something from the standard medical kit each Player had on hand. It was a pain killer. A yellow liquid was inside the needle and Derrick didn't hesitate to stick the needle into the shoulder of his bad arm and inject the liquid into his bloodstream. A few moments passed by and Derrick looked to be feeling better.

Derrick: Anyways, I didn't expect you to be alive after that and well... I didn't have a villainy speech prepared for you, so let's just sum things up. I'm a scout from the Four Pillars. More specifically Mass Enlightenment. In my youth, I was assessed as not having the talent needed to become a Player of God's Dimension, so I grew old as just another businesses man with family connections to Mass Enlightenment. Helping them expand the organization in the real world. It bugged be nonstop in my youth to not have been chosen as a Player, but playing with a few dozen women with my inherited ability allowed me to enjoy a decent life style.

Shin: ...Ability?

Derrick: Yes, and a shitty one at that. Suggestive Eye. My great grandfather was a Player of God's Dimension and could compel others to do as he liked. I inherited the same ability, but for in just three generations later our family's ability degraded to what it is today. I can only push the strong emotions of others slightly. That's how I took control of the newbies and the dead players and students of this school earlier. They were just so consumed with fear and a desire to live that even my worthless ability began to shine. Leading emotional scared women or victims trapped inside a dangerous magical Labyrinth is too easy for me!

Shin: ...

Derrick: Ah, Nothing to say? Well, you don't have to feel bad for the newbies leader. Before I met you they all planned to kill you for abandoning them and take your gear for themselves. Also, the men who believed they had no hope that they were going to survive planned to go find the redhead and glasses woman of your group of your group and violate them while they still had the chance. Really, even I was surprised how quickly weak minded humans could become so stupid, really bonkers in this place! If not for me they would have tried to kill you all already and would've died trying!

Shin: ...

Derrick: Not interested in my story? Sorry for that leader. Let's wrap this up before you recover from that electric shock damage from before. I really don't have any more Magic Attack Scrolls on me this time. Now back on topic as to why I am here...

Saying so, Derrick reached into his pocket for a second time to show he didn't have any more scrolls... but what he did have was a handgun. A handgun that Shin never handed out to him. Shin, laying on the ground and unable to move, was thinking about a way to escape this situation when he was then struck in the stomach my Derrick's foot.

The force of the kick held much more power than a normal person should hold, and it sent Shin flying towards the edge of the exit, where many feet below, hundreds of monsters were engaged in a bloody battle with Shin's comrades and Hero Team, completely unaware of what was happening above them.

Derrick: Shin, leader, I hate you. I mean really hate you. This was supposed to be my long awaited chance to become a Player for Mass Enlightenment and rise up in the ranks. I was finally chosen! I was supposed to have become all powerful and made something of myself and gained everything that I've ever wanted, but no! You and your comrades had to hijack Team Japan from Mass Enlightenment! Not only that, our plan of having me infiltrate and taking over your team failed as well. The strength of your team is so high that God sent you on a suicide mission like this. How can I take control in this situation? Maybe a few of you can survive, but no way in hell can I, basically normal person can survive a magic genre Mission World like this without Magic tools. Did you know that God doesn't allow New Players to hold onto any advance Sci-fi weaponry or powerful Magic tools when they are brought into this Dimension? Just small things really. That's why even a member of the Four Pillars would die as a New Player in this this sick world... still… even without hope of survival I'm a loyalist. Mass Enlightenment treated me and my family right, so I'll complete my mission if I'm unable to take over Team Japan. That's why you die!

\- *BANG*!

Derrick used the unknown handgun in his hands to shoot Shin in the leg. The pain was horrible and Shin screamed, yet there was more to it than that. Shin was used to gunshots, but the pain was unbearable and itched like crazy. Shin wanted nothing more than to dig out his flesh to take out the bullet. The black colored bullet Shin saw drill into him felt like a red hot spike had been inserted into his flesh and the heat was becoming stronger, destroying all of his cells.

Derrick: Do you like it? Shin, you became our number one target to take out in God's Dimension and we know you have a genetic mutation for self-recovery, so they all armed us all with these. Mass Enlightenment always makes it a point for Players who complete God's Dimension to bring things like these back to the real world. Varanium Black Bullets. The ideal weapon for dealing with organic monsters, much better than just regular magic bullets.

Derrick then called over to the rest of the newbies hiding behind him all this time. Shin looked at each and every one of them with hate, but he soon found even that was pointless. There was anger and fear in their eyes, and only that. Whatever Derrick did to them they had now become nothing more than puppets for Derrick to use as he saw fit.

Derrick: Well, this is the end leader. Rest assured it is doubtful that even I will make it out of this Labyrinth alive, so we'll probably see each other again in hell... Shoot him!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- PENALTY 4, THE FALL OF HERO TEAM - NEGATIVE 1500 DEDUCTED.


	98. Chapter 98

\- PENALTY 4, THE FALL OF HERO TEAM - NEGATIVE 1500 DEDUCTED.

Shin: Wha.. What happened?

Shin found himself laying on the floor of the chamber now cleared of monsters, with his head resting on a girls lap. The lap pillow was nice, yet Shin needed a moment to figure out what was going on. What gained his full attention was the face of the girl supporting his head.

It was one of the two woman he loved most in the world, Hikari. Shin hadn't seen Hikari since the beginning of the mission, which felt like a life time ago. If not for the sense of bliss from just laying on her lap, Shin wouldn't have hesitated to kiss his girlfriend despite being inside a dangerous magical Labyrinth.

Hikari: Shin, you're awake!

Shin: Hikari? You're alive. I'm alive? What happened? Where's-

Hikari: Shin don't talk. Misaki, Shuai, Kampa and I are all alive as well, so don't worry. Aqua and the others as well, but that's not important. We just took out those bullets in your body and you've just healed. We're taking a break right now, so please rest for a moment.

Hikari gently placed Shin's head down on the floor and ran to call the others, letting them know he was awake. Shin wanted to follow after her, but his body screamed for him to stop. He reluctantly listened to it. Shin was surprised that he was still alive, but he was certainly not well. Shin felt that all his wounds had healed, but his body still ached all over. He had been shot before, but this was the first time he's felt so afoul and the wounds weren't healing as fast as they should. It was still faster than the average human, but not as fast as it should be for someone with Shin's enhancements and having unlocked the Second Stage.

Shin: God, Varanium bullets hurt like hell! I'm beginning to feel sorry for the Gastrea.

Shinnosuke: What is this guy talking about? Also, is he really still alive? What kind of magic can heal him when he was unconscious?

Himi: I, I used my magic to try and heal him, but the recovery was far too fast. My healing magic isn't that powerful, so it wasn't me.

Shiro: I don't recognize any of the magic that any of these guys use, but that isn't rare is it? We didn't recognize any of Kiri's magic either and my own are unique as well. It's a big world where countries spend untold sums of money to bring back and research magic after all.

Shinnosuke: Tch, further proof that this world is a messed up place. Hey, now that you're awake you can fight. If you can fight then we can head out.

Hikari: Hey, wait just one minute! Shin is hurt. He needs more time to-

Aqua: Hikari, Shinnosuke is right. We don't have the time to rest any more, or to wait here.

Hikari: But...

Shin: Everyone, I'm fine with moving out. I don't know how much time has passed, but we are on a time limit. Still, before we head out can someone can someone tell me what happened while I was out?

Misaki: I'll tell you Shin.

Shin: Ah, you're alive Misaki... Great.

Misaki: Screw you! What was with that tone as if you couldn't care?

Shin: Well, I'm glad that your alive, but you can't compare it to the joy of knowing that my Aqua and Hikari are alive and well. You on the other hand... though I'm glad to see Shuai and Kampa are alive and well. Even Jin and Connor, it's good to see that you're fine as well after parting ways.

Misaki: Fuck! You should have just stayed unconscious!

Hikari: Now, now Misaki. I'll explain what happened to Shin, so just go off to one of the corners and sulk at your lack of popularity.

Misaki: Shit! Just because he's a harem bastard, he... Whatever! Mokoto is enough for me.

Hikari: Ah... now then. Let me explain what happened since you've been out.

Shin: Thanks, but first let me explain what happened on my end. That will fill in the gaps in the story.

Shin explained what happened on his end and once he was finished telling them the betrayal of Derrick (leaving out anything that the people of this world couldn't understand) he heard what Hikari had to say. It seemed like betrayals were common place in the world Apocalypse Alice seeing as Team Japan was more shocked than Hero Team about what happened, and after just hearing that part, the members of Hero Team left. Shin wondered why that was, but now he could talk to the others without any restrictions.

Shin found out from Hikari that by the time he woke up everything had been settled for good or bad. Hikari took Misaki's place and began to tell Shin the events of that occurred while he was unconscious. She herself wasn't with Shin's group, but with Hero Team, yet she was able to put together a near perfect recreation of the events with Aqua, Jin and Connor's testimony.

It started with the Aqua, Connor, Jin, Yousuke, and Himi. After parting ways with Shin, they were getting ready to combat the many monsters of the Labyrinth that were for some mysterious reason knew where they were and were converging to attack them. They were ready to fight until Shin returns to reinforce them when a horrifying discovery was made.

Himi had been using magic to perfectly avoid the monsters of the Labyrinth and the reason why all of a sudden she seemingly failed was revealed to be on her person by Jin. Jin was surprisingly a very observant individual, and so he soon notice that something was placed on Himi's person. Pinned to the back her school uniform was a small ball shaped object.

Jin called intention to it surprising everyone – Himi the most of all. Himi used one of her Support Magics to examine it and Himi discovered that it a foreign magic item. She had never seen of such a tool, but she quickly figured its function and turned pale. According to Himi... the small ball was in fact bait.

Magic Bait.

The small ball was constantly emitting a low level frequency. Low level waves of magic that go unnoticed by normal human beings, yet calls on nearby magic creatures to converge on the bait. They were confused as to how such a thing got onto Himi. Himi claimed that she had nothing to do with the magic bait and it was Jin who immediately figured out that it was Derrick and the Newbies who planted the bait on Himi.

Jin also said that they planned all of this, the monsters converging of the group and convincing Shin to lead the newbies to safety. Then even before Jin could say that Derrick was planning on killing Shin and why, Aqua grabbed the bait from Himi, threw it in the opposite direction and chased after Shin and Derrick in the direction that they went.

Everyone followed after Aqua, and leading the way she instantly killed any monster that they encountered, elite or otherwise. They caught up to Shin, Derrick and the newbies, but not in time.

Shin looked to be on the ground in incredible pain, and Derrick and the other newbies had guns pointed down at Shin, who all had yet to notice their group's presence yet. Aqua, filled with rage, raced over to Shin, but it was clear that she wasn't going to make it to Shin to save him, so Yousuke acted. Yousuke activated his magic Reverse Force Switch.

Reverse Force.

The forces in the targeted area will be reversed for an instant. Only an instant. However, even if it's only for an instant, a magic that's able to reverse forces requires great power. Unfortunately, some of the bullets hit Shin before the magic activated, but the rest and Derrick's own aimed at Shin's face fell back and hit the newbies, but not killing them. Derrick and the newbies were surprised, but it was all over.

Connor with the Auto 9 had already shot the hands of all the newbies holding guns with perfect accuracy and Aqua was right in front of Derrick with her Adamantium claws drawn out, ready to slash him.

Derrick was resolved to die on his mission for Mass Enlightenment, yet panic firing off a random shoot that missed Aqua completely. His shot struck Yousuke square in the forehead, instantly killing him. Aqua then, without any hesitation, hacked off Derrick's face and what remained fell to the ground in chopped off pieces of flesh and brain matter.

\- PENALTY 4, THE FALL OF HERO TEAM/YOUSUKE ENDOU - NEGATIVE 1500 DEDUCTED.

\- PENALTY 1, NEW PLAYER KILL - NEGATIVE 1000 DEDUCTED.

At that moment every living Player in the Empress' Grave Labyrinth received a message from God telling them they were deducted 1500 points for the death of Hero Team Yousuke Endou. Aqua herself was charged with the additional penalty of killing a Newbie Player for negative 1000 points, yet she didn't care. Aqua just rushed over to Shin's side.

For a moment Aqua was panicked over what to do, but soon realizing that Shin was still alive. She began to take measures to make sure that he stayed alive. Aqua went into Unlocked Mode and began to take out all of the bullets inside Shin's body with her claws. She figured out from the black colored entry wounds and Shin's burned flesh around the wounds that the bullets were not normal. She quickly retrieved and threw them away. Jin recognized them as Varanium Black Bullets from the Black Bullet Anime, but Aqua could care less. She then took out from her RPG Bag a Hemostasis Spay for Shin's wounds and forced him to drink a Low Grade Potion that Saki made before her death.

Aqua, Connor, and Jin were happy that Shin was alive and looking better with each passing second, but because of the sight of Himi crying over Yousuke and fruitlessly attempting to use healing magic on him... they couldn't stay in a good mood. Not only was their leader Shin injured, the death of Yusuke meant they lost a valuable comrade and costed each Player 1500 points. For most of the Players, both veterans and Newbies, the negative 1500 points meant death after all.

Everyone began to despair, but Shin's group then found new hope.

The battle inside the chamber room started by Hero Team and Hikari's group finally registered for them and they discovered the rest of their comrades were indeed still alive. Aqua was still worried about Shin, but she knew that the others needed her help, so she had Himi and Jin guard Shin, and, along with Connor, she joined the battle in the Third Level Chamber Room of the Labyrinth.

The combined forces of Shinnosuke, Shiro, Gunjou, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and with the surprise assistance of Aqua and Connor, defeated the monsters and Elites swiftly. Hikari and the others, seeing Aqua, were happy to have finally met a comrade until they learned about everything that had just transpired.

Hikari left in a rush to see Shin, and Shiro... Hearing that his friend and comrade had been killed, betrayed by a comrade he almost lost it. Everyone decided that it was not the time to move to the next level of the Labyrinth and so they decided to rest and check up on their comrades.

Himi, who had come somewhat back together after Yousuke's death with her reunion with Shiro, went over to Shin. Shin was still unconscious and healing at a fast speed, but to be on the safe side Himi used her magic to help heal him. Shin wasn't a close comrade for her, yet he had saved both her and Yousuke's life earlier, so she wanted him to live.

Hikari: That's about everything that has happened. We did send Himi and myself down to the next level of the Labyrinth in preparation for when we descend, but other than that we have been resting to recover our health and spirits.

Shin: ...I see. What happened to the other newbies that were with Derrick? I don't see them.

Hikari: Dead probably. The four of them were not under Derrick's mind control anymore, but they still hostile towards us all. Shiro, still upset over what happened to Yousuke, gave them two choices. To run away and take their chances to survive, or to die then and there by his own hands.

This then brought Hikari's explanation to the awkward talk she had to have with Shin.

Hikari told Shin that there was a falling out with Hero Team while he was unconscious. Not said outright, Hero Team didn't want to work together with the members of Team Japan. Derrick and the other newbies were confirmed members of Shin's group, and so the responsibility of Yousuke's death, their comrade and friend, fell to Team Japan.

They were also originally suspicious of Team Japan's origins from the get go, so the idea of acting apart from them now on was more than tempting. Of course Himi, who fought together with Shin, Aqua, Connor, and Jin tried to explain to Shiro, Shinnosuke, and Gunjou that not all the people of Team Japan were bad and could work together without harm.

Still, it was hard for them to trust Team Japan after the death of Yousuke. In the end it was decided that they would still work together, but only on a professional basis. If not for the sheer difficulty of the Labyrinth and the vacancy of two members of Hero Team, they wouldn't have bothered to wait for Shin to recover and would've proceeded to the Diseased Girl by themselves now that Hero Team reunited with Himi and had access to proper support magic.

Hikari: We'll still be working together to defeat the Diseased Girl, but no more incidents will be forgiven. Shinnosuke even said he will kill us without hesitation if we mess with them again.

After Hikari finished explaining things each member of Team Japan left to rest on their own. Shin personally wanted to be left alone for a while after the event with Derrick and the newbies and others felt the same to an extent. Even Hikari who wanted to look after the injured Shin stepped away to collect her own thoughts, but it was mainly because she saw how upset Shin was and wanted to give him some space.

Alone, Shin looked over towards the Hero Team camp who were sitting around the stairwell to the rest level of the Labyrinth. One couldn't tell easily, but they had naturally set themselves in a way to immediately escape alone to the next level in preparation for any suspicious movements on Team Japan's end. It didn't need to be said that trust was dead between the two groups.

Shin: (Obviously they don't really trust us, but that can't be helped. I couldn't fully trust another group who would let one of my people die. I definitely wouldn't trust their leader's judgment... Which is me. I'm not much of a leader, but how could things turn out so bad in an instant like it did. I, I should have taken Jin's warnings more seriously!)

Shin felt that a both as a leader and individual he was lacking. It was true that he was placed in a extreme test of leadership on his first mission as the leader of Team Japan, but it doesn't change the fact that he failed. It was not even by his own power that he survived, but the power of his team.

If not for Jin noticing Derrick's scheme, Aqua taking immediate action without care for losing an extra 1000 points, and Connor's assistance in disarming the other newbies under mind control without killing them and suffering a major penalty... team Japan may have met a dead end, or at the very least he surly would have perished.

Shin: (As I thought. A team is necessary and it was that power that allowed us to get by. Not me, but it was the team's power that saved the day. If, it was Saki... no, any other competent leader would have done better than I did.)

Shin once more gazed at Hero Team in guilt.

They had their weakness as well, but they could come together when it counts. Sure, Shinnosuke's inability to trust and Kiri identity as a spy had so far held back Hero Team's potential, but most likely in the future, even with the loss of Yousuke, Hero Team will rise to great heights. They had not even let one members death lead to the collapse of the team under the leadership of Shiro.

Shin kept looking on at Hero Team with admiration and failed to notice when one of his comrades made his way over to him. He just stood there for a while and looked over towards where Shin was gazing at. It was only after he began to laugh out loud did Shin realize that he was no longer alone.

Jin: Haha... Hahaha...

Shin: Jin?

Jin: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Look! Isn't it amazing Shin? Team Hero may have abandoned us, yet they still stood back up from the death of their dear comrades Yousuke and moved forward!

Shin: What are you-

Jin: Truly, it's a magnificent display of friendship and comradery. We should hope to strive for such an amazing team, right leader? Ahh, really, you can't see this kind of thing outside of the worlds of Games and Manga. That's why the real world that I despise is so lackluster... Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhah! This place is the best!

Shin: ...

Jin: No need to feel embarrassed, leader. You feel the same as I, right? Despite the pain of betrayal and feeling responsible for the death of someone worthy of calling a comrade... You were moved by such an ideal team. Not just because of responsibility as a leader, but because-

Shin: ...

Jin: Never mind. You don't have to confirm or denial, Shin. You're the leader of Team Japan after all and can't ignore the responsibilities thrust upon you. They are your friends after all. No one wants to die. After all, if we do the fun ends.

Shin: Jin!

Jin: Sorry, I'll stop here... but let me just say this. You, no – we can definitely build such an excellent team one day. You were just dealt a bad hand this time. Don't worry, since I don't want to die and I'm unfit to be a leader outside of guilds within games... I'll just help you from the background. Offer sage like advice as a side character from an Anime who you forget their name thee chapters later. Garbage like me can't take the center stage like you.

Shin: ...

Jin: Also, don't forget that we now actually have to defeat the Diseased Girl ourselves. We're at negative 1500 points and Aqua is at negative 2500 points, so who knows how many of us here are in the red right now in points. Hero Team may want to use the Holy Sword to save their comrade Kiri, but for our sides sake we have to betray them and-

Shin: Jin, just fuck off for a while. You're just reminding me of my defects as a human being.

Having said that, neither one of them said another word to each other for an entire minute. They just stood there looking at each other. One glaring and the other smiling without a care in the world. Jin was not upset and was still smiling as he walked away from Shin. Shin only gave Jin one last quick side glance and went back to thinking over things... more so than before after talking to Jin.

As he looked deep within himself for answers, Shin all too quickly realized that he was filled with hatred. It was the first time Shin saw such ugliness in people. Even though this sort of thing happened frequently in the Mangas and Animes that he loved, but when it happened right in front of his eyes, to him, the shock was indescribable and it made him sick to his stomach.

Derrick, a spy for the Four Pillars organization Mass Enlightenment was one thing, but what he heard about the newbies from him and saw in their eyes, Shin felt disgusted. Even if not everyone can be saved, God's Dimension was a place that one could not survive alone. They all should have been doing their best to survive, but all the newbies aside from Connor and Jin, they just wanted to lash out at Shin and his comrades.

Shin: Fuck... damn it all to hell!

Aqua: Shin, are you okay?

Shin: Aqua?

Shin looked over and saw that Aqua was standing next to him. Like with Jin, Shin was too focused on his problems that he didn't notice that someone had approached him. That was dangerous with enemies like the Undead Assassins waiting for a chance to kill them all, but Shin couldn't care less about them. Aqua then sat down next to Shin and looked at him with worry, but not compassion.

Aqua: Shin, we're in the Labyrinth. You can't keep zoning off like this. You're somewhat covered by your comrades, but an Undead Assassin may try to kill you.

Shin: ...

Aqua: I know you can't help but think of the things that went wrong, but this is not the time. We don't have much time left to defeat the Diseased Girl before the labyrinth becomes anchored in the real the world as an Eternal Labyrinth. That also means mission failure and death for all of us. Please think about your mistakes at a later-

Shin: Hey... Aqua... am I... was I really wrong to believe in others?

Aqua: ...Shin, there's no absolute right or wrong. You're thinking about things too much and it doesn't suit you… Comrades are important, but as a leader you can't put yourself on even grounds with them. With power comes responsibility. You've probably heard of that phrase before even if you're not the wall crawler in red and blue tights, right? You're responsible for the safety of all team members. You're still lacking on when and where you should give up and the times you should persist to the very end. The only thing you did wrong was treating everyone equally when you just felt sorry for them.

Shin: And Derrick? I acknowledged him from the start and let him into the team, and he turned out to be a part of Mass Enlightenment. The newbies this time couldn't handle the dangers of the Labyrinth and should have probably been abandoned, but Derrick made the situation worse. Maybe a few originally decent ones could have-

Aqua: Shin, there's no point about talking about "what ifs." Well, to be fair that isn't just your fault. We all knew that this could happen. That Mass Enlightenment, or one of the other pillars, could have sent a spy into our next batch of New Players, but not so soon. We also never thought up effective counter measures either. Don't dwell on it for too long.

Shin: ...Thanks. Still, what about the others? They did indeed go along with Derrick, but they were just desperate, right? Like we all are no matter how many enhancements we gain. They even helped us out as best they could until just recently because they wanted to live... and Derrick simply took advantage of that. Maybe I made a mistake when I started to view the New Players as people to drag us down, or the same level as comrades who should be protected, but things could have been better. If I treated them better, or at least looked at them in a better light and showed that... maybe Derrick wouldn't have been able to brainwash them so easily.

Aqua: Shin, you made a choice. The paths we take, the newbies that God chooses, or the survivors that the missions choose. You have to know who can become your comrade. That's all that matters and it's not the people who can't adapt to this world who should be protected. If you choose them, they will drag you down with them when this world tries to eliminate them. It's true they were taken advantage of, but that just shows that they were weak and were going to die sooner rather than later. You said yourself Derrick's ability wasn't omnipotent. It didn't work on us Players or even the two Newbies Connor and Jin. Those newbies who got taken advantage of were weak. As the leader you have to have the ability to see people for who they really are and figure out their worth to you and the team that you lead.

Shin: Sounds hard, this leader thing... I see why you didn't want this role, Aqua.

Aqua: Yeah, but it isn't like my way of doing things, not trusting any of the newbies is correct. There were times where I met newbies with potential similar to yours, but I didn't extend them a helping hand when they needed it the most and let them die. I am unqualified to be a leader, but Shin, you still have time. Life is a long path after all and you will learn and grow up gradually.

Shin: I don't feel that I will. I'll probably fail again.

Aqua: Really? That's fine as well. Shin... the truth is that I am jealous of you who can still see hope in the future, whereas I can only look to survive one day at a time. I certainly don't have any grand dreams like building a Harem of Anime characters or becoming a special person. That's why you will correct yourself when you know it's wrong even when you do not have all the knowledge in the beginning. Shin, you will grow up, and remember to put yourself in the position of a leader, not complain like a team member. I can criticize you all day, but I'm not the leader that this team chose. You are. You alone make the final calls for better or worse. It's also important to choose your comrades and only you can do that.

Shin: How to go about choosing comrades, huh? It shouldn't be so hard.

Aqua: Yet it is. Those without talents, those that may betray, and those with an ugly heart you definitely can't and shouldn't try to save those kinds of people, or let them into the team. Remember you are not a savior. You are not alive to save them. You need their strength, and the strength of your trusted comrades so you can live. It's the same for everyone else. Don't mess up the order... what you want is to live on to fulfill your goals, right? If so then crush all the obstacles stopping you from living your life the way you choose... if you can do that then...

Shin: Then what?

Aqua: ...Then I'll stick with you for as long as possible... as a comrade.

Shin: Aqua... I would have been more moved if you declared yourself my girlfriend.

Aqua: No.

Shin: Then how about wife number one? The first spot can only belong to you... though I plan to treat all of my women equally. Still-

Aqua: Ahhh, I feel stupid for trying to talk to you! You're not depressed at all. Anyways, Shin, just do your best, learn from past mistakes and the trials that you've overcome. That's all anyone can ask of you. No one is born a leader and just doing your best may not promise that you, or anyone else, will live through today, tomorrow, or next week, but the one who survives and learns from failure is the strongest.

Aqua left Shin alone after saying that. Shin still felt confused about a lot of things, but he felt a lot better than before. Even though he didn't have all the answers yet, it felt as the fog had been lifted.

Shin: I guess I need to talk to everyone.

It was about time for everyone to head out, yet I had gathered my comrades of Team Japan for one last meeting before leaving.

The next and confirmed by both Hikari and Himi as the final level of the Labyrinth, where the Diseased Girl awaits us. We had no more time to spare as we needed to reach the Diseased Girl and defeat with the little time that was left thanks to waiting for me to recover.

Hikari: Shin, are you really alright to be fighting? You were shot so many times with those special made Black Bullets.

Shin: I'm fine, so don't worry anymore about me. I'm not close to 100% I admit, but I can definitely keep going.

Hikari: But-

Aqua: Don't worry about Shin, Hikari. His enhancement path's greatest strength is its ability to recover and quickly at that. Ki Energy and One-eye Ghoul Mutation possess a far more excellent healing factor than my own enhancements. Also, they're both at the B rank level and Shin has Unlocked his Genetic Constraint to the Second Stage. Remember what Sozin told us? The Genetic Constraint is the key to bringing out the full potential of enhancements. That's why even without having to go into that mode, not just Shin's fighting potential, but everything has improved. Especially his healing factor.

Shin: Is that really the case?

Aqua: How would you be standing there otherwise? If you received those injuries while at the First Stage you would still be recovering needing a few hours to recover. My guess that if you were at the Third Stage you wouldn't have needed the hour to recover and start fighting again with only a few minutes of rest.

Jin: Really?! This Genetic Constraint and enhancement stuff is amazing. I can't wait till I get to try them out.

Shin: That's only if you get to live through today, Jin. Anyways, everyone, I have something that I want to say before we head out.

I looked towards each member of Team Japan before and began to tell them my thoughts.

Shin: Hikari, Aqua, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, Connor, and Jin. I think our thoughts had gone into the wrong direction in this mission. Maybe it was over confidence or maybe I over thought things, so much that I forgot our original goal which is to survive. Everything else comes second or not at all. We all just want to survive to live another day.

I didn't have all of the answers and I didn't know if they really understood what I was saying, but I still gave to try.

Shin: Do you all still remember what I said to you in the last mission? I said I will do my best to protect my comrades, to trust and support them, then we will survive with the power of the team. For those reasons, I chose not to abandon Shuai and I don't regret my decision since he has become a reliable member of the team, but even so my thoughts went in the wrong direction. The problem at hand is this: Who can become our comrade? Shuai, a normal person could rise to the challenge of this dimension, but sometimes others can't. That's just a fact.

Shuai: ...

Hikari: Shin...

Shin: Hikari, not everyone is worthy of joining us. Like the normal people who just arrive to God's Dimension. They're mentally weak and can drag us into danger. Those that can betray us at critical moments are not qualified to become our comrades either and should be erased early on. Derrick was skilled at manipulating others, but it wouldn't have been so easy if the newbies had a stronger will since Connor and Jin were fine and worked for the sake of the team. I truly believe that if Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and I were the newbies this time around we wouldn't have fallen into Derrick's trap. Derrick was unable to win over Connor and Jin after all, yet I included all these newbies into the group even though I didn't believe they were capable of keeping up with us. This was the fatal mistake that I made. Seeing potential in others that just wasn't there and not seeing Derrick's true character were near fatal mistakes and if not for this excellent team I would have perished.

Misaki: So what should we do then? Not include any new members from now on?

Shin: No, we won't and can't do that, Misaki. Our team needs to keep growing. Both quality and quantity. I will still continue with my ideology though. The power of comrades is very important and we should trust and support one another. I won't treat everyone as a number, but I will change what I did wrong. Only people who gained the trust of everyone in our team, have the talent, and pass a trial like Aqua used to judge Newbies with can become our comrades.

Kampa: And everyone else?

Shin: As for those normal people who can't adapt here... I can only offer them some help. Like weapons and warnings at most, but their lives won't be a reason to put this team in danger. If necessary, I will abandon normal people for this team. A team composed of the comrades and friends that I have acknowledged. This is a cruel world and everyone is just struggling to stay alive. We are the same, so we must do all that we can to keep going. This time's incident was my fault and I'm sorry for that. If I had not rescued Derrick and the newbies back then none of this would have happened. We wouldn't be at negative 1500 points and 2500 for Aqua. Still, this may have been a blessing in disguise seeing as no one on our side lost their lives this time around. We can learn from this and do better. I forgot that the most important thing as a leader is to be responsible for the safety of my team, and not for everyone. I am not a savior. From now on, I'll only be responsible for our team. I can help newbies, but we won't risk our whole team to help them. At the same time, any newbies that want to join our team must have the talent, and they must be someone we can trust. Further, more than half of us have to agree. So let us do our best to survive everyone!

There. I said it. Everything that I wanted to say was said. I did my best to come up with some solutions so that this doesn't happen again, but who knows if what I came up with was right. I'm probably not suited to being the leader.

I would much prefer to just be a Player of God's Dimension and only have to worry ultimately about my own life and try to have fun along the way... but I am the leader. Until someone better comes along I'm responsible for everyone who I call a comrade and their lives. Like Zero of Code Geass R2, I'm not fighting just for myself or just one person anymore.

Aqua: Shin, you don't have to blame yourself. We were all too careless. We're also responsible for the loss of Yousuke, which put us in this dire situation. Also, me killing Derrick was short sighted, so don't worry about my situation. We may come out with a loss if we don't kill the Diseased Girl ourselves, a few of us might die due to being in the negative if another member of Hero Team falls in the Labyrinth, but we're not without hope.

Shin: Thank you, Aqua. Also, why did you kill Derrick like that? Throwing him into a pack of monsters would have worked just as well. Also, we could have learned a lot from interrogating him.

Aqua: Th-that's... None of your concern!

Hikari: Could… could it be because Derrick was pointing a gun at-

Aqua: Hikari, another word and I'll tell everyone about what you wrote in your journal.

Shin: What's going on? What journal?

Hikari: Nothing! And how do you know about my-

Shin: Really, what's going on?

Hikari: Nothing! Nothing is going on, so shut up otaku loser!

Shin: What the hell! I'm not the best, but you should still show your leader some respect!

I didn't even say anything Anime like out loud, yet I get yelled at by my second wife? Where's the logic in that? Where's the love? I once more realized my goal of a harem was far, far away. It was then that Connor finally decided to speak.

Connor: I think Shin is right. As a leader you don't need to have overwhelming power, or an unparalleled capacity to lead. What you need is to be able to identify and make use of everyone's strengths. Those who can bring together the people around you have the qualifications to be a leader.

Kampa: I agree, but Connor, you seem knowledgeable about the subject.

Connor: ...In the real world. I am... was the leader of a mercenary group composed of fellow child soldiers. We were originally kidnapped by a government that no longer exists today and trained to be their weapons. Then the day came that I realized I was stronger than the adults who ordered me and my comrades around and to our deaths. That day I started a takeover and won. I became the new leader, having proven my strength, and everyone gathered around me.

Hikari: I don't know if I should be impressed or saddened by that story. So you were the dictator type leader?

Connor: Yes, but I've had problems with that kind of leadership which was part of the reason I disbanded my group. An absolute leader can't give birth to trusted staff members if they aren't allowed to protest your decisions, even if the ultimate decision still belongs to you. That's why I don't totally disagree with Shin's way of doing things with team work. Team work may be the key to surviving here, but we should still be careful.

Jin: Connor is right. Anyone who isn't a team member... we first have to view them as enemies before they become a team member.

Misaki: You talk as if you are already a member, Jin.

Jin: Really? Then excuse my behavior. I don't know if I can match such a great team like this, but I'll try my best to meet everyone's expectations!

Hikari: No one here has any of you.

Aqua: Ok, that's it for the self-blaming and messing around. We said all that needed to be said and I think Hero Team is ready to leave as well.

Shin: Alright then. Everyone, let's go!

We, both Team Japan and the four members of Hero Team stood ready to descend down the stairwell that would take us to the final level of the Labyrinth. As we began to walk down into the unknown towards the final battle, I check my Headphone Fuzz to see the time that we have left.

Shin: I know that because of me we wasted so much time, but there's no more time for self-blame. I can only do better and keep myself and my comrades alive!

\- [ONE HOUR - FOUR MINUTES - TWELVE SECONDS]


	99. Chapter 99

The Fourth and Final level of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth.

According to the combined reports of Support Magician Himi and Team Japan's Hikari, the path to where the Diseased Girl, Kiri Kiryuu is both simple, yet dangerous at the same time. The Diseased Girl is located inside a structure at the very bottom of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth. She was housed in a large and old temple like building.

Hikari and Himi reported that the path to the Girl involved keeping straight and continuing down the cave tunnel they were currently in without deviating. This pathway spiraled down like a wide stairwell. There were hundreds – no thousands of different passages throughout the tunnels walls, but just going straight would lead to where the Diseased Girl waited.

As for the monsters, there are only Elite level monsters of all varieties present in the Fourth and Final Level of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth. Further scans of the Labyrinth revealed that 70% of the Elite monsters on the Fourth Level guarded the downward spiraling tunnel that would lead them straight to the Diseased Girl. Team Japan and Hero Team had no choice but to break through if they wanted to reach the Diseased Girl in time.

Shiro: Okay, did everyone remember the layout of the Labyrinth? Once we start running we can't stop to check the right path to Kiri, no the Diseased Girl. It's a simple straight path forward from here, but if anyone gets forced off the path and into a different route, there will only be an endless maze waiting for you if either Himi or Hikari aren't with you. You be chased by hundreds of Elites and most likely will not make it in time for the battle of against the Diseased Girl.

Shin: We have it memorized, and who can get lost anyways? It's a straight path after all.

Shinnosuke: You all had better commit it to memory. If you can't remember a simple route like this you should just go and die somewhere. Also, we don't have time to escape down a different path when we have less than an hour to reach the girl.

Misaki: This guy...

Shin: Cool it Misaki. We all need to work together to survive, so stop arguing.

Gunjou: As long as you don't get any of us killed.

Shin: ...No one else is going to die.

Shinnosuke: There's no guarantee of that-

Shiro: No, Shin is right! No one, Shin's group, or ours will die. No one else will die. Things will be difficult without Yousuke to watch our backs, but for his sake no one can die in this raid. I don't want him blaming himself for not being here if someone else dies as he wasn't there to protect us.

Having said that downcasted eyes, Shiro took the lead through the cave tunnels of the fourth and final level of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth, with everyone else following directly behind. Like every other level of the Labyrinth, the fourth level was illuminated by its on color from the minerals of covering the walls.

First Level was red.

Second Level was yellow.

The previous Third Level was purple.

And finally, the fourth and final level was Blue.

Shin: (The blue shouldn't be that ominous, but the feeling of death is at its strongest here on the final level. It's so powerful that it's almost unbearable. With each new level the air of death and the strength of the spawned monsters increases to match, so there's no reason to believe the final stretch won't turn out the same way).

As Shin thought these things, he couldn't help but remind his comrades what to do once they encounter the monsters that would certainly block their way.

Shin: Everyone, remember the plan and your roles. We will simply break through the enemy's ranks and push forward. Kill in one blow or temporary disable the Elite Monsters. Don't let it develop into a fight! If we fight each and every monster, we'll be surrounded and killed by the hundreds of Elite monsters that roam this level. We also won't make it for the final battle. Shiro and Aqua will take the lead as forward attackers. Shinnosuke and I will defend the sides as we run. Gunjou will take the rear position. Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, Connor, and Jin, along with Himi, will stay in the center. None of you have the definite firepower to defeat an Elite quickly, so work together or don't fight at all. Shuai, watch out and warn us of any assassin type monsters that may sneak up on us. Once we reach the exit we'll blow the tunnel with bombs, sealing it off. Everyone, do your best and keep running 'til we reach the temple... and if anyone falls behind that's it. For the sake of the team we can't go back to save anyone, so please don't stop running and don't trip. Understood!?

Everyone: Yes!

Five Skeleton Elites stood before us on the path that would lead to the Diseased Girl. They had their glowing swords raised and were about to discharge their magic sword slashes. Once released, Team Japan and Hero Team would be eliminated.

Shin: Shiro!

Shiro: I'm on it! Penitence Severance Switch!

Shiro screamed angrily.

A huge knife appears in Shiro's already extended hands. His knife has been expanded to an oversized length, long enough to mow down all five Elite monsters at the same time. Executing such a strike would normally off-balance a fighter, opening them up to a counterstrike. It's natural for the Elite monsters to take some kind of action to avoid or block his attack, but Shiro wasn't the least bit bothered. Shiro's strength allowed him to swing that large weapon with incredible ease.

As the Elites were about to unleash the energy they had built up, Shiro's slash came first. His slash held tremendous power. His knife (now properly long enough to be called a sword) carved through the air cutting the walls and even space itself as it bisected each of the five Elites from the waist down. They were incapable of moving and were still alive. Aqua instinctively moved to finish them off.

Shin: Don't bother with finishing them off and run! There are dozens of Elites about to catch up with us!

Everyone put those immobile Elites out of their minds and ran forward as Shin had planned. For Team Japan, those Elites were valuable points, but they didn't have the time to waste. That was how desperate of a situation they were in. As that very moment two Elite Skeleton Spearman were on their tail, leading a pack of dozen Elite monsters dripping with murderous intent.

Aqua: Shin, Shinnosuke! Those two are going to catch up with us and there are more monsters ahead. Quickly take them out!

Shin: Alright!

Shinnosuke: Don't order me around! Vomit Girl, use your magic to distract them!

Gunjou: I told you not to call me that! Defensive Tyrant Switch!

Gunjou was clearly angry, but that didn't slow her down from doing her job as she activated her magic: Defensive Tyrant Magic.

Gunjou shouted the name of her magic with her hands crossed over one another. Before her hands, a current of water burst forth. It would normally surround Gunjou as a defensive shield, but she projected the magic between the two spring Elites following the group.

The water currents struck of the two Elites and caused them to stumble. It was only a momentary opening, but one that the speed type attacks of the group could take advantage of.

Shinnosuke: Acceleration Switch!

Shin: Instant Movement!

At speeds impossible for normal humans to match or even follow, Shin and Shinnosuke disappeared and reappeared behind the backs of the two Elites caught off guard.

The black demon sword that finds the weakness of its target and the black magic sword capable of increasing its weight endlessly each found their mark as the two wielding those swords struck their opponents. One with brute force and the other with precision cut down the two Elites and rejoined their comrades.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED.

Shin: Just how much longer 'til we're there!?

Himi: We're almost there! Just up ahead is where the Diseased Girl, Kiri, is waiting for us!

Aqua: Good, but we have a problem!

Shin and the rest of the group looked forward and saw what Aqua was afraid of. The exit of the tunnel was up ahead, but the exit was heavily guarded by countless monsters. Scores of Elite monsters of all types stood guard. There were no gaps in the enemy's defenses, so the only way to get past and to the other side was to break to break through with force.

Gunjou: What do we do?

Shiro: We can only break through! I'll make an opening with Fate Reversal Switch, but it'll still take some time to clear them out.

Shin: Shiro, Aqua, and also Shinnosuke and Gunjou! All four of you quickly break through and open a path for us. I'll stall the monsters chasing after us from the rear!

Shinnosuke: By yourself?

Shin: Yes!

With his Gravity Blade already in hand, Shin faced the untold number of enemy Elite monsters about to catch up to them. The pressure of the situation allowed Shin to go into Unlocked Mode, entering the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint. At the same time Shin brought out the full potential of his One-eye Ghoul Mutation by bringing out his Kagune.

Gunjou: Aww, what a disgusting looking magic!

Shinnosuke: I couldn't agree anymore.

Shin: It's cool! Kampa, Shuai, Connor, and Jin! Just hit anything that moves, protect Hikari and Himi and stay alive!

After saying that Shin charged back where dozens, no hundreds of Elite monsters stampeded after Team Japan and Hero Team. Shin's Instant Movement allowed him to quickly reach the leading pack of Elite monsters. Their weapons were readied to meet Shin, but it was a pointless action.

With no reguard for Ki consumption Shin fired countless Far Bullets at the leading group of Elites and watched as they doubled over in a brutal crash, tripping up the monsters behind them. Shin knew he had an opportunity to dispatch each of the fallen Elites, but instead he stepped over them and attacked the next group of Elite monsters.

Shin: (Can't bother with each and every one. Just keep hitting them and gain their full attention. Attack, attack, attack, attack, and attack!)

Shin couldn't allow a single Elite monster through without risking the lives of the entire team. The fear of failing as the leader again and the threat of his comrades' death pushed Shin even further and he Unlocked the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint. It was the first time since the battle with Saki in the real world and Shin wasn't going to waste his chance.

With arms expanded more than two times their size, Shin wielded his Gravity Blade and slashed an Elite Monster in two. With strengthened legs fueled by Ki Energy, Shin kicked away another Elite and used it as a springboard to jump towards an Elite about to reach Hikari's group and he cleanly sliced its head off. Another Elite tried to reach the others, but Shin sent a Kagune tentacle to ensnare its leg, lifting and throwing the Elite into a group of its fellow monsters.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Jin: Hahaha, so cool! When did Shin become a Ghoul!?

Connor: It's hard to believe Shin is still human. He's even in a deeper level of Unlocked Mode than me, but he's going to die if he keeps fighting so recklessly.

Kampa: Focus everyone! Shin is doing his best, but there are hundreds of monsters behind us. An Elite might still slip through. Keep your eyes open!

Hikari: Aqua and the others have almost broken through the monsters guarding the entrance, we should be ready to assist Shin escape when it's time...

Shuai: Watch out! Above!

Shuai was the first to notice thanks to his ghost activity looking out for danger, but by the time the others looked up they were already taken by surprise. Five Elite Undead Assassins had crawled along the ceiling and jumped down at the group. Shin was vigilant of any monster attempting to pass by him, but the Elite version of the Assassin type monsters held stealth abilities above their normal counter parts.

Connor was the first to react as he had entered into Unlocked Mode. An Elite Assassin was about to use a dagger to stab his heart, but with the borrowed Auto 9 with Magic Amplifier, he fired hollow point rounds point blank into the physically weak assassin's throat. It did not survive.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Connor immediately looked over to the others ready to assist, but in that brief exchange the situation was already taken care of by Shin.

Shin: Shit!

Shin was already engaged against multiple Elite monsters when he finally noticed the assassins about to strike down his comrades. He cursed, but he wasn't too late as Four Kagune tentacles shot out towards the Elite monsters. In the Second Stage the Kagune tentacles he normally had trouble controlling were perfectly manipulated and shot out like arrows towards the Elite Assassins.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED.

The Four Kagune reached the remaining Elite Undead Assassins, and killed three. Three had their chest pierced through and the fourth had its leg captured. Before Shin could order the rest of his Kagune to finish the job, the Elite monster cut off its own leg to escape, making a last ditch attempt to kill one member of Team Japan, Hikari.

Shin: Hikari!

Hikari: !

Hikari didn't have time to even scream. The Elite was too fast for Shin's Kagune to reach the Elite in time, and so he could only watch as a blade stabbed at Hikari... or that's what would have happen if not for Jin's intervention.

Jin: Ghaaa!

Jin stepped between Hikari and the Elite Undead Assassin and took the slash for her. Jin used his forearm to block the slash, but the blade pierced through his forearm and stabbed into his shoulder. The force of the stab brutally hacked his arm off. The Elite swiftly retracted its blade and was ready to finish off Jin and move on to Hikari, but the Elite lost its chance.

Misaki: Damn you!

Misaki charged at the Elite Undead Assassin. His fist empowered by the force of Haki and flames blew away the Elite Assassin, and immediately after it was filled with rounds from Kampa's M14A Pulse Rifle.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Everyone was glad the incident was over, even if they didn't get off unscathed, but they couldn't even enjoy that moment. Shin jumped away from the endless army of monsters and barked orders at everyone.

Shin: Sorry, I can't hold them back any more! All of the monsters have caught up and now there are hundreds of them! We have to go!

Misaki: Shit! Is this the end?

Himi: Everyone! Shiro and the others cleared a path for us!

They all looked and confirmed Himi's good news. Aqua, Shiro, Shinnosuke, and Gunjou looked beat up having pushed themselves quickly to clear away the monsters, but they succeeded. They immediately called for the others to come. Noticing the army of Elites closing behind them, they also began to run.

Shin: Great. Hikari, Shuai, Connor, and Himi get moving! Misaki, grab Jin and carry him out. Also, Kampa, please carry me.

Kampa: Sure, but why-

Kampa didn't get to finish his sentence as he watched Shin fall to the ground violently trembling.

Shin had gotten used to the First Stage, but the Second Stage was still new to him. The pain was terrible and temporarily crippled him. Shin could have stayed in Unlocked Mode longer, but he had to conserve his strength for the final battle.

Kampa and the others were confused, but Aqua who saw what happened ran back and knew what happened.

Aqua: That idiot! He went into the Second Stage to hold them back. Kampa grab him! Everyone get moving if you don't want to die!

No one waited for Aqua to yell at them anymore and everyone started running. The enemy monsters wishing to tear them apart followed after them. The exit was right before them and once they passed they knew they'd be safe. Not because the monsters couldn't follow them, but because Hero Team and Team Japan weren't going to let them.

Shiro: Aqua! The grenades!

Aqua: Already on it!

Aqua reached into her RPG Bag and took out as many grenades as possible and like how Shin would do with Ki Energy, she channeled her Aura into the grenades. Once Aqua was done she threw them back into the tunnel and jumped away.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, ELITE LABYRINTH MONSTER KILL - 50 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Hikari: I'm glad... I'm glad that we are finally safe.

Shuai: At least for the moment. For a second there I thought we were all goners.

Kampa: I have to agree. Hikari, Jin, and even leader here almost died back there.

Shin: And I feel terrible. This is truly a nasty Labyrinth. I originally thought this Labyrinth was somewhat easy, but I was definitely mistaken. This place is can be barely managed with magic weapons and special powers, but otherwise this place is a death trap, especially this final level. We wouldn't have made it either without the backup of Hero Team. That's a fact.

Aqua: Well, this level of difficulty is what's expected from a Twenty Man Difficulty Mission. This is your first time, so you'll get used to it.

Shin: I really don't want to get used to this.

Aqua: You better. Also, the mission isn't over yet, so keep it together and recover as fast as possible. We're going to face the Girl in a few minutes.

Shin: You just had to remind me... Also, what's with this place? The final battles were never had such a dramatic setting in the novels... though it's still pretty cool.

Shin took in his surroundings with wide eyes.

The entire floor of the chamber they were currently in was surrounded in a light blue mist that rose all the way up to everyone's kneecaps. Mist was continuously streaming out from the entrance of the large structure in the middle of the room.

A temple.

The large structure was over 300 ft. tall was a with an old rustic feel. Shin and the others couldn't help but admire the building, and, if not for the extreme feeling of death emanating from inside, it would have been a building to look at with awe and wonder rather than fear for one's life.

Shiro: Yo, how are you feeling? You don't look good. Are you up for one last fight? Your skills are impressive and so is your magic. We'll definitely need your strength for this final battle.

Shin: I'll be okay. It's just... what a terrible bloodlust this is. I was hoping that since you said that this Kiri was your friend-

Shiro: That the final fight would be easy? Honestly, I was hoping for the same thing, but after becoming a Diseased Girl, Kiri must have gone mad and ridiculously powerful as well. Her transformation was under obviously suspicious circumstances as well. Hey, Shinnosuke! Will that stay sealed?

Shiro looked towards the exit they had all just passed and sealed with rubble. Shinnosuke and Gunjou were inspecting the tunnel exit while everyone was either resting up.

Shinnosuke: I'll hold for now.

Shiro: Does that mean it won't later?

Gunjou: It definitely won't hold for long. Those Elite monsters that weren't buried alive in that blast, or crushed from the ceiling collapsing down on them are definitely trying to break their way through. I can feel them on the other side. We definitely don't have forever before they break through.

Shiro: That's not good. Even before time's up and the Labyrinth turns into an Eternal Labyrinth we may be killed by an army of monsters!

Shin: Time...

Shin checked the time on Headphone Fuzz and understood that they really didn't have the time, or even the energy to face both the Diseased Girl and am army of monsters.

\- [Zero Hours - Fifteen Minutes - Twenty-nine Seconds]

Shin: Just fifteen minutes left. Just fifteen minutes to defeat the girl. Hikari, it doesn't really matter at this point, but check it what the situation is like on the other side and how many monsters that there are.

Shiro: Himi as well. Check the structure of the temple and give out a layout of what's waiting for us. I want to know if there are any traps in this fog.

Hikari: Alright.

Himi: I'm on it.

Hikari with her Persona ability and Himi with her support magic, they both started to scan the surroundings and soon gave reports.

Hikari estimated that there were well over a hundred Elite monsters still alive on the other side of the collapsed tunnel and were currently attempting to break through the obstruction. Also, the monsters from the First, Second, and Third Levels had left their respective locations and gathered together to join the monsters on the Fourth and Final Level of the Labyrinth. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that once the collapsed tunnel is cleared, Team Japan and Hero Team will be drowned by the threat of thousands of monsters.

Himi then explained the layout of the temple where the Diseased Girl, Kiri waits. The entire ground floor is shrouded in mist that rises up to the knees that was impossibly thick. There were also large supporting pillars and interlocking beams supporting the temple roof, which were thick enough for people to stand and fight on. There aren't any traps and the Diseased Girl is alone.

Shin: So she is alone in there. That doesn't make me feel better at all.

Shiro: I agree. Diseased Girls that that don't have any monsters to guard them are incredibly powerful to a lethal degree. Since we have a good number of magicians for the final fight, I would have preferred if Kiri was the type who was weak herself and had to use other to fight. Himi! Are you sure she is alone?

Himi: Yes. I don't sense anything else inside the temple, but I can't be one hundred percent sure. Maybe if I had more time-

Shinnosuke: No, we'll all go in now. We don't have that much time to fight Kiri. She's now a Diseased Girl of a rank 44 Labyrinth. The rank 20 Asahi Momoka Diseased Girl nearly wiped us out when we had only five minutes to face her. We don't have the time to waste. Anyone who is coming come now, or ESCAPE. Everyone from here on is responsible for their own lives.

Saying such harsh words Shinnosuke began to walk towards the temple entrance and Gunjou followed after him, both waiting for anyone else joining in the final battle.

Shiro: Shin, I would suggest that among your team, only Aqua and you should join us. Only you two can keep up with us and the rest are wounded or tired out from all the running. From here on out it's a battle for the death to save a friend and comrade, so I won't ask for any of you to die. Discuss it with them and meet us by the temple entrance. Once there are only ten minutes remaining we'll rush inside and begin the final battle.

Having said what he needed to say to Shin, Shiro went over to join Shinnosuke and Gunjou, with Himi following after. Shin considering Shiro's parting words and looked over towards his comrades. Now that they were all at the bottom most level of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth it was finally possible for a few to escape. It was time to consider who was to stay for the final battle and who were to ESCAPE.

Hikari was out of the question. She wasn't even a fighter and was tired from all of the running.

Misaki looked like he could keep fighting as he wasn't injured, yet Shin doubted that he could even hope to keep up with a difficulty rank 44 Diseased Girl (Hell, I doubt even I will be much help).

Aqua has been fighting nonstop the last six hours, but she had high regeneration powers like himself, so she could continue just fine even if not at 100%.

Kampa was in good condition like Misaki, but for the same reasons as Misaki he wasn't cut out for the final battle.

Shuai didn't have the power to fight, not really at his stage of enhancements.

Shin: As for the newbies...

Shin walked over to the two loyal New Players who were still alive to see how they were doing. When Shin made it over to where they were resting he saw that Connor was helping Jin out. Jin, in an effort to save a comrades life, took the attack of an Elite monster, losing use of his arm in the process. Unless Jin survives and make it to the Terminal Lobby, he won't be able to live a normal life as he did before.

Shin: (Still, both Jin and Connor did incredibly well).

Over and over again they had surprised Shin and the others with their ability to survive and help Team Japan survive as well. Shin personally had some problems with Jin's personality, but his intelligence and selfless act of risking his own life to save Hikari left a deep impression on him.

Shin: Connor, how's Jin condition?

Connor: He'll make it. His right arm was severed off, but this Hemostasis Spray works like magic and stopped the bleeding. He'll have to live with a stump, but he will live.

Jin: I feel fine... is a lie, but I can keep going. I still have one Ice and one Lightning Magic Attack Scroll left. I can use them with one arm, so I can contribute to the final battle.

Shin: Jin... you saved Hikari's life, so despite your bad personality I would like you to stay alive... but that's my personal opinion and not that as the leader. If you want to fight then fight, but just remember your life is your own responsibility from here out.

Jin: Will do. I definitely want to prove myself as worthy as a member of Team Japan... although I'm trash.

Shin: Your first thought should be about survival, but whatever. Connor, you've unlocked your constraint, so I can trust your ability. You may not have the means to fight by just borrowing my Auto 9, but you're by no means useless. Your top priority is to survive as a Newbie to gain enhancements, so just do your best.

Connor: I didn't need the speech leader. The idea of running away and having others fight for my survival is unpleasant. I'm going in.

Shin: Good.

Shin confirmed the resolve that both Connor and Jin had (Jin seemed to still be playing around), and then called the others members of Team Japan over. Hikari, Misaki, Aqua, Kampa, Shuai, Connor, and Jin. Shin told them about who should and who should not join in the final battle, that only Aqua and himself were qualified to face the rank 44 Diseased Girl.

Shin did his best to explain how difficult the battle will be, but to his surprise, even what he was hoping against, everyone refused to use ESCAPE. They were all committed to joining the battle. Shin was a little proud that his teammates were so brave (maybe foolish is the better word, but so is their leader), but he laid down conditions.

Shin: If you're all going to take part in this fight then don't try and do more than what you can. Only Aqua and I can directly face off against the Diseased Girl Kiri.

Aqua: Also, we absolutely do have to be the ones responsible for defeating the Diseased Girl. If we don't and even one member of Hero Team dies in this battle then we'll all wipe out.

Shin: Yeah. I feel bad for Hero Team since we've worked together so far and then there's the matter with Yousuke, but out team member lives come first. Even if no one on their sides dies, we need the points so that our time here wasn't an entire waste. We can't kill them, so Aqua or I will have to kill the Diseased Girl before Shinnosuke uses his magic to save her. Now...

Shin looked towards Misaki, Kampa, Connor, and Jin and gave them a direct order.

Shin: You four can attack if you see an opening, but for the most part focus on defense and staying alive. You all really don't have the ability to fight Kiri after she transformed into a rank 44 Diseased Girl, but we need all the help that we can get. Hikari.

Hikari: Yes...

Shin: I'm not sure if Himi will take part in the battle, but stay with her since she will be in the back as a support magician. If you can, try to drag away anyone who's unable to fight/move anymore and then have Himi heal them. They don't need to be able to fight again, but make sure they stay alive.

Hikari: Okay. I'll also warn everyone if the monsters on the other side of the tunnel break through and try to join the battle.

Shin: Please do. Also, if they do in fact break through, immediately after warning us, ESCAPE without hesitation! No questions asked and bother trying to save anyone. If you can't promise me that, then I'll have you ESCAPE now. Shuai, your job is simple, and a bit important as well.

Shuai: What is it.

Shin: Shuai, I want you to be in charge of Hikari's protection, and Himi as well. You can also use your Shaman tools to distract the Diseased Girl. It may not amount to much, but you could end up being the key to this battle... with your parlor-tricks.

Shuai: You didn't need to add that last part. I get the point. I'll protect Hikari and I'll definitely find an opening for you and Aqua.

Shin: Good. It's almost time everyone, so let's-

Shinnosuke: Hey! If you're done sharing your feelings and that crap get over here already! It's time!

As Shinnosuke rudely said, it was time to start the final battle of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth and the mission God handed to us all. A few of us were injured, everyone was dead tired from close to six hours of running and fighting undead type monsters... yet no one ran away. No one here used ESCAPE to leave this dangerous Labyrinth for the peaceful world outside.

Shinnosuke: Remember. I have to be the one to deliver the final blow to the Diseased Girl. Her movements have to stop for at least three seconds, but my magic is absolute. It'll both defeat and save Kiri... still, there's less then fifteen minutes left before this Labyrinth transforms into an Eternal Labyrinth. If there is only one minutes left then non-essential combatants should just ESCAPE. We have no time to waste, so let's move!

Shinnosuke finished what he had to say and walked through the entrance of the temple shrouded in deep blue mist. Even though there are only five minutes remaining, no one hesitated to walk in. Additionally, this is a high level Labyrinth. No one could even imagine how dangerous the Diseased Girl really was. Even the Light Novel hardly conveyed what the true strength of a rank 40+ Diseased Girl.

Despite having made the decision to ESCAPE if things become bad, the chance of dying is high. Even so, everyone stayed. In other words, and as Shinnosuke would put it, these fellows are missing a few screws like a crazy driver with his foot down on the accelerator; either that or, they are burdened with some special circumstances that didn't allow them to retreat. Nevertheless, they each strode into the building where their fate would be decided.

For the sake of saving their friend Kiri Kiryuu from the Labyrinth Disease and her fate as a Diseased Girl, Hero Team's Shinnosuke, Shiro, Gunjou, and even Himi marched forward.

For the sake of completing the mission in the world of Apocalypse Alice and not wanting to leave before the final judgement was made, whether Team Japan would live to fight another day or die within the Labyrinth, Hikari, Misaki, Aqua, Kampa, Shuai, the two newbies Connor and Jin, and myself included... not a single person chose to ESCAPE the Labyrinth.

We had all gathered before the entrance to the large temple. Inside awaited the Diseased Girl of the rank 44 Labyrinth, Kiri Kiryuu. A magician, capable swordsman, and spy of Kowloon Devils Group, but above all a member of Hero Team.

There was already a discussion of the magic she uses, but Hero Team only knows about Nine-Fold Switch, a magic to absorb any nine attacks. Team Japan knows of the additional magic she uses to paralyze her enemies, but that was it. Only two of Kiri Kiryuu's six magic spells were known.

Just one-third.

It wouldn't be wrong to say we are definitely going in blind and unprepared, yet we have no choice. Death is before us, but an absolute death that we can't escape from awaits us all if we run away. A battle against the Disease Girl. A battle against time. A battle where hordes of monsters could break through the sealed tunnel and bring chaos to the combat.

And lastly, a battle where Hero Team and my own Team Japan will fight together to defeat the Diseased Girl. Jin was right, though I'll never tell him that. Even now, after the hardships, betrayals, and the lives of my comrades hanging in the balance, I can't help but feel excited.

This was truly a final battle like in a Manga or Anime, and I was a main combatant and leader. Victory or defeat could be argued to ride on my own actions here. I was stressed out of my mind, yet excited still. My comrades come first, but for the sake of becoming a special existence, a real main character, I'll give more than 100% and save the day.

Shin: Being responsible and serious, or having fun along the way... What a joke. It all doesn't matter in the end. Life or death. We either live or die... and life is a path blocked by you... isn't that right, Kiri Kiryuu of Hero Team!

Inside the temple.

Team Japan, Hero Team, and I walked inside of the temple where the Diseased Girl waited. When my eyes adjusted to the bright blue, yet hazy, atmosphere of the room I saw her. I saw the Diseased Girl standing on top of the support rafters near the ceiling.

Kiri was like a puppet, with both of her hands hung up by threads. Her vacant face hung down and her eyes were stained with tears. One eye cried red like blood and the other eye streamed a blue like the ocean. At the end of the threads was a gigantic hand, with black skin like that of the of the grim reaper. That hand moved just a little.

It was time for the puppet to move.

Right after that motion, the body of the Diseased Girl, the obstacle to our completion of the Apocalypse Alice mission, Kiri Kiryuu, started moving with a few large jerks.

Kiri's right hand gives birth to a katana that glowed with a light of destruction to cut down her foes. Kiri's left hand gives birth to a katana that glowed with a light that brought forth feelings of security to the holder and dread to all others. It was then, as we were taking this all in, that four shorter Wakizashi appeared and hung behind her back.

The lifeless puppet now armed gazed down on us all with grest hostility. Kiri, emitting intense bloodlust, jumped and began her descent to the floor to greet us.

Shin: Huh, so sudden. Damn, six swords!? Each with a unique magic, right? Fuck! Let's go! Instant Movement!

Shinnosuke: Acceleration Switch!

Taking the lead to confront the Diseased Girl with Instant Movement, alongside Shinnosuke, using his own high speed magic, we commence the fight with the final enemy of the Labyrinth.


	100. Chapter 100

WARNING: THE BACKSTORY OF KIRI KIRYUU WAS MADE UP BY THE AMAZING AUTHOR WELLSFORD FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE STORY. I'M SURE THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR COULD HAVE DONE MUCH BETTER IF HE BOTHERED TO WRITE ANOTHER VOLUME AFTER MORE THAN 2 YEARS.

\- The True Story of Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu, P1 - Before the Battle of Life and Death.

Foreign criminal organization Kowloon Devils Group.

That was the name of a huge mafia group that had bases of operations in both China and Hong Kong and one that I belonged to as a member. I was an assassin raised by the mafia to kill their enemies. Among the children that they found to have the potential to be magicians, I was among the best. Also, it was discovered that I had another talent... Acting.

The mafia would give me assignments to get close to my targets, figure out their weaknesses, and when we had no more use for them… I was to dispose of them. I was a spy and assassin with countless hits on people both good and bad. I struck down enemies and those who honestly saw me as comrades. I never wanted to hurt anyone, but someone important to me, my family, was held hostage by the mafia.

I could only kill.

I could only spy on others and kill.

I could only make friends with good people... and kill.

Kiri: I can only kill... what a bad joke. I'm just as bad as the mafia now, or even worse.

I want to be saved from this life of betrayal. I want someone to save me from this darkness... but that's impossible now. This a world where everyone uses any means necessary to become more powerful. Ever since high-level magic technology had been discovered in the Labyrinths, the world was caught in an ongoing race of military expansion.

Be it countries.

Be it large scale corporations.

Dangerous radicals, mercenaries, terrorists, and even religious organizations were embroiled in it, gunning to be the first to get more power through technology. Nowadays it was the one with the most powerful magic technology that controlled the world. Thus, the technologies used for clearing 《Labyrinth Diseased Girls》possessed by each country become their most important classified secrets.

This is a world where no one would risk their life to save another person. This is a world where no one would see my suffering, look past my own sins, and save me. If such people did exist then I already killed them on behalf of the Kowloon Devils Group.

Kiri: I am alone. I have the sister that I must keep fighting for, but I'm alone... left with nothing but the memories of those that I have slain and accompanied by a blood soaked sword as a companion. Like this, I'm no better than one of the walking dead, but instead of earing flesh I cut it instead. All around me... are just the past, present, and future corpses of my victims.

\- The True Story of Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu, P2 - Before the Battle of Life and Death.

Kiri: A new mission, huh? This time as a student.

It has been ten years since my sister has been held hostage and I've begun to work for the Kowloon Devils Group. I'm already seventeen years old and I was experiencing a Japanese high school student's summer for the first time.

Waiting in a classroom while outside the blazing rays of the sun shined.

『Metropolitan Kichijouji High』 in Tokyo. I'm here to take a transfer interview examination. For the upcoming operation I needed to become a student of the Girl Killing Curriculum. Right now in the classroom, there are about fifteen guys and girls waiting for their names to be called. I look around the classroom, and after ascertaining that there were still more than ten people remaining, I knew that I still had time to make contact with him.

From the balcony, the view of a common schoolyard can be seen. Casually leaning against a railing overlooking the schoolyard was one of my priority targets in the upcoming mission. He was an unexpected and dangerous factor in the plan to raid the highest rank Labyrinth, Apocalypse 666, or Apocalypse Alice by its more popular name.

Kiri: (Devil Sword Devil, Shinnosuke Arisu. To see the legendary magician of the underworld in person... I'm glad that we're not meeting in a fight and I hope he doesn't know we are tapping into his phone. Still… I wonder what kind of person he really is.)

Not knowing that I was staring at him, Shinnosuke kept looking down from the balcony with a bored look. He should be looking at the boys and girls from the normal curriculum, clad in their summer uniforms, smiling at one another happily. It was a peaceful scene that people like us should admire and hope to one day be a part of... but I couldn't see it.

I couldn't see the happy smiles and students talking about future plans to hang out. After killing so many people for the Kowloon Devils Group, I could only see dead people walking.

Zombies and skeletons that wouldn't seem odd to see in video games and inside certain Labyrinths. Not everyone looks dead to me, but most people do. Unless I focus hard or have talked to them, I would see them as decaying corpses that walk around normally, talking to one another.

Kiri: (I wonder how Shinnosuke sees the world. He's a person of the darkness, here for an unknown and possibly dangerous, purpose like myself. What does he think about when he sees people living their lives without a care, unaware of the countless ways that they could die?)

Shinnosuke was not a target for me to kill, but the Kowloon Devils Group warned me about him and tasked me to get close to him. If Shinnosuke could be turned to their side, then that would be good for the organization to gain a powerful magician with potential ties to many underground organizations across the world.

If it was impossible to recruit him and he was going to be an obstacle in the upcoming raid, then I was to kill him. They would rather not be on the receiving end of his wrath with his reputation, but the upcoming Apocalypse Alice raid was too important.

Kiri: (Get close to him. I've done such things before and I could do them now. Sailor uniform, madder red hair and fair skin, and eyes with large irises that draw in others even without using magic. Everyone would fall for me because of my good looks. Both men and women would want to become my friends.)

I left the classroom and walked out onto the outside balcony. It felt much better out here. I'm uncomfortable with air conditioning and greatly prefer the fresh air. Feeling much better, I was certain that I could act flawlessly and take my first step to getting closer to him. I feel bad for him, but this is a mission. Between my sister's life and your own, it isn't even a-

Shinnosuke: The trash are living with a trashy face, huh?

With half-opened eyes, Shinnosuke murmured sneeringly with the corner of my lip raised in a slightly sardonic manner. From the surface, such words clearly showed his contempt for those living in peace, yet there was something else there. Something... pure.

I didn't know what it was and it was dazzling. It reminded me of something that I lost... but that was it? I was on a mission and didn't have time for this. This isn't the time or place to make fake friends, but I should make an effort to get closer to Shinnosuke. Just play along with him.

Kiri: Who are you referring to as trash? Contrary to your docile appearance, you have quite the nasty tongue huh?

Shinnosuke: Who are you?

Kiri: Are you asking my name? Or my number?

Shinnosuke: Has my name already been called?

Kiri: I don't even know your name, so how would I know whether your name has been called?

Shinnosuke: Then why did you come out of the classroom? It's hot out here, isn't it?

Kiri: Yeah it's definitely hot out here, but it's better than inside with. I can't deal well with air-conditioners and I'm also not good with making friends either. At any rate, only a few of the people inside can enroll in the school. Besides, even after getting in, a number of them will die, right? I don't feel like making the effort to make friends here.

Shinnosuke: So talking to me doesn't count as making friends, I guess?

Kiri: Uhm, I'm just showing pity, I suppose?

Shinnosuke: Ah?

Kiri: You don't seem like you have any friends. So I came to talk to you. Aren't you happy?

Shinnosuke gave me an exasperated look that said "What a shitty, unnecessary favor." It was kind of funny to see how honest his face is... unlike mine.

Shinnosuke: I see. Putting aside how many friends I have, at the very least I don't have the confidence of making friends with a girl like you.

Kiri: Ah-haha. You really are pretty brash despite your docile look.

Shinnosuke: Not as much as you.

I couldn't help but laugh. I meant to laugh anyways to show that I had a carefree personality, but what is this? Talking to him is somehow fun despite his sharp tongue.

Kiri: My name is Kiryuu Kiri. If I manage to get in, please look out for me... hey, don't ignore me! You won't be able to make any friends with that kind of attitude you know!

Shinnosuke attempted to tune me out by playing a song on his Headphone Fuzz. It was probably a way to ignore me, but that just showed that he was paying a lot of attention to me. If he truly didn't care he would have just played along and went back into the classroom.

Kiri: Like a small boy trying to ignore the girl he likes. Ah-haha.

I'm glad Shinnosuke didn't hear that remark. If not he would think that I was a strange girl. At the same time it was finally Shinnosuke's turn to be interviewed for a place in the Girl Killing Curriculum. He still had music playing in his ears, so he missed it at first. It was only after the third call for him that Shinnosuke finally took notice.

Interviewer: Shinnosuke. Shinnosuke Arisu, are you here?

Kiri: Ah, there it is! I know your name now, Shinnosuke-kun.

Shinnosuke: ...

Kiri: Sensei is calling you. If you don't go, you might not be able to get into this school, or is it that the music from your Headphone Fuzz too loud and you can't even hear my voice?

Shinnosuke: My model is a one-ear headphone. My left ear is empty.

Shinnosuke pushed his back off the railing of the balcony went back into that classroom. He confirmed with the interviewer that he was the 'Shinnosuke Arisu' in question.

Interviewer: We're going to do your transfer interview. Come along.

Kiri: Do your best, okay! It'd be nice if we meet again.

Shinnosuke, trying to not be the least bit interested, ignored me and closed the classroom door behind him.

Kiri: Mission successful! For better or worse, I've left a strong impression on him. The next time we meet he definitely won't be able to forget about me... I wonder if he has a girlfriend.

\- The True Story of Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu, P3 - Before the Battle of Life and Death.

Kiri: Geez, what kind of situation is this!? Hey, how about you stop swinging that axe around and tell me why this Labyrinth is so dangerous!

Devil: Raaaaa!

Kiri: I guess that's a no, huh?

A Devil.

I was currently fighting against a monster spawned by a Labyrinth in the shape of the devil.

It's a huge monster that stands about three meters tall. It has horns protruding from its head, and wings like those of a bat, with a muscular bulk and black skin. In other words, it is the standard model for what is known as the devil in this world today. That devil is holding an ax dripping with blood, clearly from more than a single person.

Today is the worst. It was supposed to be an easy raid and hopefully I could have met up with Shinnosuke and made a good impression on him. Maybe play the damsel in distress and have him save me, or save him instead. That's why it definitely wasn't my plan to be fighting for my life.

Kiri: Ah, damn, it's fast! Hey monster, that's enough! Aah jeez, can't you cut me a break!?

With my Japanese sword, born out of magic, I was fending off the axe sweeps of the Devil monster. With this sword I received and stopped the gigantic ax of the devil each time it attempted to cut me in two.

Kiri: Kuhh, this is heavy jeez!

While grimacing, I could only hope that my acting skills were working. The opponent was tough, but not difficult, impossible to defeat on my own. The magic that I was currently using, Nine-Fold Switch, was just a high class that just absorb the damage of any nine attacks. It was an excellent magic, but it wouldn't help much if I wanted to defeat the Devil monster.

The reason that I hadn't gone all out yet was because I didn't want my classmates behind me to realize just how strong I was, so I did very little as the Devil monsters killed off our class. I felt a little bad, but that was it. Death is synonymous with Labyrinth raids. It was unexpected and tragic, but that's life. That's why I didn't feel bad about what my classmates were doing.

Kiri: Uwah, this is not good... kidding! This opening is a feint! Aihara-san, Satou-san, please use your reinforcement magic now-

But I knew that such a convenient magic that would save my life wouldn't come. That was because the same way I cared little for my classmates, they felt the same way back. All the students of my class have all started activating their magic simultaneously. The magic they were using was not one to save my life, but their own.

Student 1: Escape switch!

Student 2: Escape switch!

Student 3: Escape switch!

My classmates are escaping one after another. I know it couldn't be helped. Everyone, including myself, is like that. Only caring for themselves. Still, no matter how many times that it happens, I feel hurt. That was why I had to escape, continuing my foolish act.

Kiri: Wha, wait wait wait, this can't be happening right!? We, we're definitely friends right!? Hey, didn't we promise one another!?

Student 4: S-Sorry Kiri-chan. B-But, such a scary place, it's no longer possible for us.

Kiri: Huh?

Student 5: If we don't get out of here now, we might not be able to get out of here ever. Sorry!"

With that, all the students disappeared. On my armband, the one that informs me of how many comrades from my class are still alive, or still in the Labyrinth... the lone star mark showed that only I was left. I have no more comrades left... though I never had any from the start.

Even if they were fake relationships, there was no way I could make real comrades willing to risk everything for my sake in just one day... yet I still felt sad. I readied my sword with both hands ready to face the Devil. I didn't know why, but I continued my defenseless performance although no one was there to watch.

Kiri: Wait, you must be kidding me. Uwaah, crap! Hnah, fuhwah, I can't absorb much of the power anymore! Crap, the power absorption magic seems to be reaching its limit. My n-next magic, my next magic, I won't be able to make it!

My knees started to buckle under the weight of the Devil's attacks. The monster swings its ax down to finish me off, but all this in the end was an act. Now that my classmates have escaped I can use my full power to fight. My legs are fine so I'll take a step back and active my powerful magic, Guardian Knights Switch.

That was the plan... yet something beyond my expectations occurred.

Shinnosuke: Ha, haha, hahahaha, this is how it should be. This is what humans are like!

With a speed surpassing reason he jumped onto the back of the Devil monster. With a two-handed sword the color of darkness he stabbed into the neck of the monster. Although the muscles of the Devil were thick and strong enough to repel the magic of most of her classmates, his night black sword sank easily into the monster and killed it.

I was saved.

Someone saved me.

I, who is undeserving of being saved, was protected by a man I was certain that I had not won over yet.

Devil Sword Devil, Shinnosuke Arisu. A man of the darkness. A man who has been through hell and countless Labyrinths in third world countries. He has seen as much darkness as I had, but why did he save me? Why didn't he pass by the distracted Devil monster? Why did he put himself at risk to save me?

Kiri: You, you...

Shinnosuke: Oh my, isn't this the popular Kiri-san? Don't you have a ton of friends you made with your prided large breasts?

Kiri: ...

What is with him? He saves my life unexpectedly and then makes fun of me. Also, he mentioned my breasts again! Ah, no good. If I stay like this I'll lose my self. Play along, play along. Act brave, yet vulnerable at the same time.

x

x

x

And that's how my target made more of an impression on me than I made on him.

\- The True Story of Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu, P4 - Before the Battle of Life and Death.

November

A month has passed by since the infamous Asahi Momoka incident.

After being saved by Shinnosuke I decided to move along inside the Labyrinth with him. At first I did it in an effort to get closer to him in hopes of seeing what his objective was in coming to this school. I even felt that such a dramatic turn of events to get closer to him was good enough reason for me to show off some of my real power... but I wonder what it was. I thought that I was acting, but before I knew it I wasn't.

I usually have a mask to hide my real feeling, but they somehow ended up coming out. I even said some strange things to him like: "if we're together we can save the world," and that I loved him. In a way, saying such words could be used to get closer to him, but I didn't plan it out. Even when he was injured and it looked like he could no longer continue to be a magician, no longer a potential asset or threat to the Kowloon Devils Group, I found myself coming to his side. I wanted nothing more to support and take care of him when I should have just abandoned and forgotten him for all time, along with all the other men and women who I've tricked in the past.

Kiri: (What is this? Am I, am I truly in love with Shinnosuke?)

And there was more. On the Asahi Momoka raid I ended up teaming with other students. They were definitely Elite magicians, no weaker than Shinnosuke and I, but that didn't explain how close I felt with them. Not to the same degree as Shinnosuke, but I didn't want to see them die. I wanted to hang out with them more. I wanted to go sing Karaoke with them again.

Kiri: (This isn't good. I'm, I'm losing myself to these cozy relationships... and him. I should distance myself from them. Really, what's the point in getting close to any of them anyways? I won't choose them over my sister who's waiting for me and they could potential die once the Mitsutomo Group finds a suitable host to turn into a Diseased Girl... yet, why can't I look away from him?)

That's why I entered a classroom.

Class 5.

My new Class.

Because of Asahi Momoka's Labyrinth, the students of our school year had been reduced by half. Some died, some went mad from the fear, and some dropped out of school. Thus, I was able to transfer into Shinnosuke and the others' class.

Thanks to Gunjou's heroic efforts perhaps, 『Class 5』 had fewer casualties than other classes. In order to make up for the reduced strength, I, and some other students, were transferred to this class. However, the lack of students was only momentary.

The empty seats were soon filled up with new talents since this school has been constantly conducting interviews, and there were many students who wanted to enroll in this school. Five classes of twenty students each. There are always replacements.

New Student 1: Look! It's Kiri of Hero Team!

New Student 2: Yeah. No matter how many times that I see her I'm always taken back.

New Student 3: I know what you mean. Not only is she an elite magician who saved three million lives in the Asahi Momoka incident, she's beautiful as well.

New Student 2: That last part has nothing to do with her ability or Hero Team.

Kiri: ...

That's right. After clearing that unexpectedly high level Labyrinth, all of us have become famous among them the students. The team of heroes who cleared that unexpectedly high level Labyrinth, which became known as the Asahi Momoka incident that could have caused the deaths of 3 million people if things had gone wrong, are in《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》 - a rumor like this has been spreading around, getting embellished as it circulates.

To my knowledge, it was probably the doing of the school. After all, if famous stars were from this school, then they could gather capable people here, garner more sponsorships, and with that, rake in an even more abundant supply of funds and technology.

Kiri: (Though that has nothing to do with me.) Shiro! Have you've seen Shinnosuke?

Shiro: Shinnosuke? Ah, he's on the balcony looking down on people again.

Kiri: I see thanks.

Yousuke: Hey, let's go karaoke again.

Kiri: I'll like that, but will he come? He's isn't injured this time.

Shiro: Leave it to me. If we just send Himi to invite him he'll come around.

Himi: M-Me!

Yousuke: Of course. At the very least he won't yell at you, Himi. Or what, should we have Gunjou ask for us?

Gunjou: What would I want to ask him to go out and play for you!

Shiro: Gunjou, you were listening in on us?

Gunjou: Th-that's...

Kiri: Hahaha!

Laughing, I stepped away from my comrades of Hero Team and made my way to Shinnosuke out on the balcony. Really, can't they cut me a break? I wanted to put some distance between us... so that it wouldn't hurt that much when I had to betray everyone, but... no matter! I'll deal with them later. First, I'll take care of my Shinnosuke problem. I'm sure things will get easier from there.

I made my way to my target Shinnosuke. From the balcony where he was looking down, the view of a common schoolyard can be seen. The boys and girls from the normal curriculum, clad in their winter uniforms, are smiling at one another happily. Shinnosuke sees this and with half-opened eyes, murmuring sneeringly with the corner of his lip raised in a slightly sardonic manner.

Shinnosuke: As usual... the trash are living with a trashy face huh?

As he said that, I couldn't help but sigh to myself. I knew that deep down, even if undeserving, I wanted to be saved from the darkness of this world by someone... but why is it that my prince charming like this?

Kiri: That again? You won't make any friends like that Shinnosuke.

Shinnosuke: ...Not like I was looking for-

But interrupting him were several girls from the Normal Curriculum. They were in the midst of doing their P.E in an ordinary, peaceful world that had nothing to do with magic, labyrinths, or maladies. They were looking up at the balcony of『Class 5』 where we were. They are saying something while pointing at us. Kyaa Kyaa, I think.

A chorus of incomprehensible laughter rings out from the side of that peaceful world. I was a girl and even I didn't understand what would cause girls to make that sound... so, forgetting my original objective I decided to make fun of Shinnosuke.

Kiri: Now now, how does it feel when girls go kyaa kyaa at you?

Shinnosuke: Not interested.

Kiri: Liar, your nose's going to grow long, you know?

Shinnosuke: Hnmm? Aah, then let me say this. In truth, even though I look like this, I've been hiding my huge breasts, and in the past, guys had ogled at my breasts and went kyaa kyaa, so I've been used to it and can't be bothered by this by now.

After patting on his own chest in pride a couple of times, Shinnosuke purposely began to look at my own chest, and with little interest at that! I was disgusted and hurt. I'm proud of my looks if only that, so how can he not show any interest?

Kiri: You really have a horrible personality.

Shinnosuke: Eh, I've been trying to hide it, did you see through it?

Kiri: Jeez, I really wish that you would put some serious effort in hiding that.

Shinnosuke: Haha, if you don't like it, go away, would you?

Kiri: No way. I'm staying with you.

Then before realizing what I had done, I came closer to him and snuggled up to him. Shinnosuke saw me coming and took a step to evade. Shinnosuke looked suspicious of my actions, and so did I internally. I came to class and spoke to Shinnosuke for the sole purpose of taking a step away from him, but now look at me. No matter how you look at it, I'm hitting on him.

I wonder why I find myself drawn to Shinnosuke Arisu. He was from the darkness similar to me, but he's not like me at the same time.

Shinnosuke hates getting close to others, yet when he insults others it's clearly his own way of interacting with them. Shinnosuke is a battle hardened warrior of the Labyrinth who has obviously seen what happened to those who were too weak, tried to save someone, and what happens when you trust the wrong person, death, yet he still took risks to save my life and latter Gunjou's life. When he had little to no hope of defeating the Diseased Girl Asahi Momoka, he stayed to the very end, for three million people and Gunjou, and defeated the girl who nearly killed him.

Shinnosuke claims that Gunjou did it, but that was impossible for her. It was Shinnosuke who defeated the Diseased Girl. It was Shinnosuke who risked everything to save the lives of millions. I thought he was the same as me, a person of the darkness, but... why can I only see him as a hero who denies himself that title?

Shinnosuke: Hey, Kiri.

Kiri: Hn?

Shinnosuke: There's something I've been meaning to ask.

Kiri: What's that, Shinnosuke-kun? If it's about a date then-

Shinnosuke: About this 'cozy relationship' thing. Something which you should have hated, is there any special meaning to it in future?

Kiri: ...

\- The True Story of Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu, P5 - Before the Battle of Life and Death.

I ran.

I ran away.

When Shinnosuke asked the one question which even I didn't know the answer to I ran away. From Shinnosuke. Past my classmates looking on with worried eyes. Through the hallways passing Honjou Tsukasa-sensei who was on her way to class. I ran away. I didn't know it until I was outside, but I was crying.

What was this?

Tears?

Not fake tears to get others to drop their guard and want to comfort me, but real tears from the heart.

Kiri: What is this? I thought it was a long time ago that I ran out of real tears to shed. I hurt so many people. Some who called themselves my friends. A few who said that they loved me... so why now? I, I...

Sanae: Ahh, what a funny thing to say from the bitch getting closer to my big brother. Are those tears even real vixen?

Kiri: ...

I thought I was alone, but had someone snuck up on me, or was I just too distracted to notice the girl standing in front of me? Standing there, the person talking bad about me who I knew, but never spoke to before, was a strange-looking girl who wears a white lab coat over the sailor uniform of《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》.

It was Shinnosuke's little sister.

Not actually siblings, but cousins.

Sanae Yayoi.

Fifteen years old.

Sailor uniform with a white lab coat.

A first-year at《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》.

At just fifteen years old, she is a genius entrusted with one of the research labs of Taikou Pharmaceuticals—famous for their research on the labyrinth disease. Both her father and mother had been researchers at Taikou Pharmaceuticals, and she too is one.

The daughter of Shinnosuke's uncle who had been researching the Labyrinth Disease. She will turn out to be the daughter of his uncle who died when he was caught by the Diseased Girl of the worst Labyrinth mankind has seen to date during its onset, Apocalypse Alice.

I don't know too much about her other than that. Information about top members of Taikou Pharmaceuticals is classified information. If not for the demand of information about Apocalypse Alice, we or anyone else in the world wouldn't know that the Diseased Girl of that Labyrinth came from one of the founding families of Taikou Pharmaceuticals, Arisu... the same last name as Shinnosuke.

I look at Sanae Yayoi once again as I had no idea why she was appearing before me now. She and Taikou Pharmaceutical shouldn't be aware yet of the raid Kowloon Devils Group and Mitsutomo Group have planned for Apocalypse Alice, a Labyrinth under their authority and control.

If she knew of such a terrorist plot then she could summon up an endless number of elite assassins from multiple organizations, including overseas, to kill me. That's just how powerful and dangerous the idea of capturing the magic within Apocalypse Alice is.

Kiri: What do you want? If it's about the matter from before when we rescued Shinnosuke then you should just take it up with him. You're cousins, so stop badmouthing me and just go talk to him. I'm not in a very good mood right now.

Sanae: Don't worry, this won't take long. I won't spare my entire day just to deal with a woman like you, Kiri Kiryuu.

Kiri: Then just say what you want to say. If it's about me getting close to your beloved 'big brother', then you all need to speak to Gunjou as well. She won't admit it, but I bet she's starting to look at him a lot lately. Maybe even Himi as well has-

Sanae: Cut the crap! No one is as close to big brother as I am... but that's beside the point. I just wanted to tell you what I saw.

Kiri: ...Saw?

Sanae: Yes. Kiri during the last raid, the Asahi Momoka incident, did you know as the labyrinth that time was a man-made one?

Kiri: Man made... That's-

It was then at that moment that I felt something.

Something fast had impacted my neck and burrowed into my flesh.

A sniper?

How careless.

It wasn't a bullet, but I was definitely hit with something. I moved my hand to check my neck and I found a small metal object with a needle covered in blood. By the looks of it I was injected with something, but it was too late now. I was beginning to lose control of my body's muscles and fell to my knees. Barely able to even look up at Sanae who kept on talking.

Sanae: Yes, Taikou Pharmaceuticals were the ones who forced the disease onset in Asahi Momoka. That's why we were able to monitor everything that happened inside... and I mean everything from beginning to end. From the moment you and your classmates entered the Labyrinth and the final battle as well.

Kiri: ...

Sanae: Because it was man-made I was able to see my big brother's true strength. He was amazing and the others at Taikou Pharmaceuticals felt the same. I was so proud that I made cuts of the footage showcasing his greatness... but that was when I discovered something else.

Kiri: ...

Sanae: Kiri, during the entire raid of Asahi Momoka you were clearly holding back. I saw you choose to not save your original classmates and even during the final battle against the Diseased Girl you purposely let attacks hit you that you could have easily dodged and you didn't attack when you saw openings in the Diseased Girl's defenses. Three million lives were at stake, yet you weren't giving it your all.

Kiri: ...

Sanae: Now, what kind of sane person, and I do think you're a sane enough person Kiri, holds back in a difficulty rank 20+ Labyrinth? Perhaps a spy? A spy who wants to hide most of their strength from others until it's time to make their move. A spy who gets close to others under lies and deceptions. Lastly, a spy with a grand purpose who is willing to take grave risk for their mission. That's who you are Kiri Kiryuu, the master assassin of the Kowloon Devils Group.

Kiri: ...

Sanae: I know that you belong to the Kowloon Devils Group after I did a bit of investigating. I always planned to look into all the women close to my beloved big brother, but your actions in the Labyrinth made me look much deeper than the others Kiri.

Kiri: ...

Sanae: Kiri Kiriyuu was brought into this world by two loving parents and had a little sister two years younger than herself. During a trip to China her parents were swallowed up by a rank 55 Labyrinth, now Eternal Labyrinth Sky Pillar 555. At the time China was struggling with the appearance of Labyrinth Disease and during the chaos, despite being Japanese born, both sisters were thrown into an orphanage. They had no other living family and no documents stating who they were, so they were never returned to Japan. Six months later both sisters were taken into the Kowloon Devils Group. The eldest sister showed high talent for magic, and so they used the threat of holding the younger sister hostage to make the eldest sister, you, do terrible things. Things that they wouldn't even have their own people do for moral reasons. So many things, but that doesn't matter now. What is important is your latest assignment?

Kiri: ...

Sanae: Just recently Kowloon Devils Group was contact by the Japanese organization Mitsutomo Group to partner up in a certain experiment. An experiment that would reward both sides greatly. A raid of the highest rank Labyrinth in the world, Apocalypse Alice. Mitsutomo Group would provide the technology to weaken Apocalypse Alice and Kowloon Devils Group, an organization with a large number of magicians, would provide the manpower. The two organizations planned to infect a girl of the Girl Killing Curriculum, you probably weren't told who but it is Gunjou Mizuiro, with a manmade Labyrinth Disease, create a conjured Labyrinth right next to Apocalypse Alice and connect the two, which will result in lowering the highest rank Labyrinth in the world down to the double digits, maybe single digits if you were lucky.

Kiri: ...

Sanae: It was an interesting plan... but are you all morons? Apocalypse Alice belongs to Taikou Pharmaceutical! We've attempted an untold number of raids and experiments in that Labyrinth, many of which went unpolished. You and everyone else know nothing of the monster that sleeps at the bottom of that Labyrinth, no hell itself! Don't underestimate the Diseased Girl, Saki Arisu. Your plan would only weaken a few of the upper floors and piss off my cousin.

Kiri: ...

Sanae: Still, I should thank you, Kiri. Thanks to you we discovered the plot in advance and we at Taikou Pharmaceuticals can make plans to step on both Mitsutomo Group and Kowloon Devils Group, showing them who is really in charge. I do want to honestly thank you Kiri, but... I won't.

She kicked me.

Sanae fiercely kicked me in the stomach and, unable to take the blow in my state, I helpless fell over, unmoving, to the ground.

Sanae: You dared to get close to my big brother, Kiri Kiryuu. To use your bitch body to win him over, or worse, drop his guard and kill him. I know that you have done it before. It didn't say in your files, but have you ever spread your legs for men before to win them over?

Kiri: ...

Sanae: Whatever. In the end I can't forgive you. That's why I'll tell you some nice things to comfort you in your last sane moment. First, it's about your sister. The sister that the Kowloon Devils Group are using to threaten and manipulate you. The sister that you've worked more than half your life to protect. The sister that you haven't seen in almost ten years. That sister... You know what happened to her right?

Kiri: ...

Sanae: Kiri Kiryuu, your sister is obviously dead. If they haven't shown proof of life to you after all this time, after all your hard work then she must have been disposed of. Maybe sent on missions like you and died somewhere told the same lies as you, or thrown into a brothel, used, and discarded.

Kiri: ...Is that really true?

Sanae: Ah, you finally talk. That tranquilizer only makes you unable to move, so I thought it was... hey, are you crying now? Strange. You must have considered the possibility, right? You're a woman who only knows how to betray, but you're not stupid. Yes, you've known for the longest time that she was no longer of this world. Were you just deluding yourself otherwise?

Kiri: Just... just shut up and kill me. That's why you're doing this right?

Sanae: Kill you? Well, yes, but not so directly. Above all of your other crimes, you dared to approach my big brother and you interfered when... when I just wanted to be together with him is all! Together with the only man in this world I could fully trust as he would go to the ends of the earth, kill even God and the Devil, if it would help him save his little sister. He not like me or you who have been soiled by the darkness of this world. He's a real hero! And you, YOU attempted to take him away from me!

Sanae kicked me hard again and sat down on top of my body. Her eyes were void of all emotions, but as she took out from her white lab coat pocket a small syringe gun, there was a sinister smile on her face. She could help but laugh for some reason and she brought the gun to my neck and pulled the trigger of the gun.

Sanae: *SIGH*, and it's done. This is the second thing that I wanted to tell you. What I just injected into your bloodstream was DGLS-M2. From Mitsutomo Geoup, you might know it under a different name, but this is what is used to force a girl to artificially contract the Labyrinth Disease. This is a variant of the one we used on Asahi Momoka.

Kiri: Why would you-

Sanae: First, those swallowed up by the Labyrinth as it initially forms will not be assimilated, but just dragged inside and free to move about as they please. Others also won't be able to enter from the outside. Secondly, instead of a Diseased Girl that can be controlled along with the Labyrinth, this type forces the girl into a blind madness to kill on sight. Some Diseased Girls who were originally magicians can keep their sanity for a while after being turned, but that won't happen this time. You'll kill anyone on sight whether it's your best friend, family, or lover. Lastly, the effects are almost immediate. After being injected you will contract the Labyrinth Disease within the next three to five minutes.

Kiri: You...

Sanae: Good. So you understand why I'm doing this here, at《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》. Home of the Girl Killing Curriculum. You see, I want your classmates, your Hero Team comrades and my big brother to kill you. I truly hope that you all will kill each other, that you will be killed. It is unlikely that a man of my brother's caliber will die even if you turn into a high ranking Labyrinth. You'll probably kill a few of your comrades, which will be nice, and big brother will surely kill you! Isn't that amazing!?

Kiri: ...Sanae.

Sanae: Yes?

Kiri: You're horribly twisted just like me... but thank you.

Sanae: ...What?

Kiri: I've tricked others for so long, so I don't mind and I'm even glad I would be put down for good by a comrade. I also would never admit to myself that my little sister... was dead. Now I can accept the end. That's why I thank you.

Sanae: What are you-

Kiri: I'm thankful for you, so I'll give you some woman to woman advice. Just... just try to get close to your cousin like a normal girl. No hidden agendas. Better yet, leave behind Taikou and ask for his help. Like you said, Shinnosuke isn't like us. A hero. He may badmouth others, but he's a good guy. If you genuinely ask him to save you I'm sure that he will-

Sanae: Shut up! What do you-

Shinnosuke: Yayoi? Kiri! Damn, Acceleration Switch!

It was then we were interrupted. Really like a hero on a white horse, Shinnosuke seemed to appear. Seeing his cousin standing over me, and me unmoving, resulted in an emotional response from him. Shinnosuke used his Acceleration magic to quickly come between us, and to escape Shinnosuke's fury Sanae Yayoi used her own Acceleration magic to move away.

Shinnosuke looked like he was going to pursue, but instead he hovered over me as if to protect me from further harm. Really, it was kind of nice. Too nice, in fact, for a person like me to experience at the end.

Shinnosuke: Kiri! Are you okay? Damn, Yayoi, what did you do to her?

Sanae: What did I do big brother? That's the thing.

Shinnosuke: I'm not your big brother, so just answer!

Sanae: Fine. What is happening is that Kiri will now share the same fate as Asahi Momoka.

Shinnosuke: What!

Sanae: There are a few reasons for me to do so, but those are not important. What is, is that in a minute a Labyrinth will soon appear and swallow up this school and everyone in it shortly, so I'll be leaving now. Talk to you later big brother.

It was as Shinnosuke and Sanae were speaking that others appeared. Shiro, Gunjou, Yousuke and Himi appeared. They saw Shinnosuke by Kiri's side and gazing fiercely at Sanae his cousin. Shiro immediately asked what was going on, but Shinnosuke immediately barked orders at him and everyone else.

Shinnosuke: Shiro! Kiri was infected with a manmade Labyrinth Disease by my cousin. Capture her now before it's too late!

Shiro: What the... got it!

Shiro didn't know the whole picture, but like always he chose to trust someone that he called a comrade. Shiro used his favored magic to summon a large knife and rushed at Sanae. He felt the seriousness of the situation, and so he was resolved to cut off her legs and have Himi use Ban-Aid Switch to keep her alive so they can find a solution.

Sanae immediately understood the threat of Shiro and his large knife and escaped the incoming slash with Acceleration magic. As his knife made a large gash in the ground, Shiro recognized his comrade's magic and quickly prepared a magic he knew that could stop her quick movements, yet he was stopped in his tracks.

Covering for Sanae's escape, the sniper hired by her fired round after round at Shiro. Shiro was protected by Yousuke's defense magic, but Sanae was able to escape the school grounds. Sanae immediately hopped on her motorcycle and speed off into the distance.

Yousuke: Shiro, the sniper has escaped and so has Shinnosuke's cousin. They're long gone.

Shiro: I see. Thanks Yousuke. Sorry Shinnosuke. I don't get what's going on, but we have to leave this place if what you said is true about Kiri contracting an artificial Labyrinth Disease. I won't say we should kill her, but she'll kill us if we stay-

Shinnosuke: No! I, I can still save her. I... I possess the magic that can sever the Labyrinth Disease from the Diseased Girls.

Gunjou: Can you... is that really possible?

Shinnosuke: Yeah. A bad friend and mad scientists just upgraded it. If there's still a chance to save her…

Kiri: Shinnosuke... everyone... you have to-

Shinnosuke: No! Holy Sword Switch!

I desperately attempted to have everyone leave, but Shinnosuke wouldn't listen. From his Headphone Fuzz and appearing grasped in his hands, a large sword was there. A large, two handed silver sword that radiated divine power, and oddly enough, that sword perfectly fit together with Shinnosuke.

He really is a hero and not a person of the dark like me. That's... I'm glad I got to see him like this and caring for someone like me. With this I can rest in peace, so hurry up and kill me for good.

Shinnosuke: God damn you Kiri! Don't go asleep now! I don't care what you've been through to just accept an ending like this, but-

\- The True Story of Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu, P6 - Before the Battle of Life and Death.

It was the end.

Shinnosuke failed to save Kiri.

He hesitated. At the last moment, Shinnosuke worried about if he could really save Kiri with the experimental Holy Sword magic, or would he just end up killing her. And so, before Shinnosuke could gather his resolve, the darkness took over. An endless ocean of darkness surged up from Kiri's body and swallowed up her comrades and school whole.

Now, there's only a man hell bent on righting his mistake and saving his comrade, and a woman who welcomes the end in one last battle against her comrades.

What will be the ending?

\- Team Japan VS Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu - Entry Into Battle of Life and Death.

\- The Present.

Kiri: Blue Mist Travels Switch!

Kiri said those words softly, touching down on the floor of the temple. Shinnosuke and Shin were right in front of her with our swords raised high, ready to strike her down. Shinnosuke's black Demon Sword and Shin's own night sky Gravity Blade were swung down towards Kiri, and the swords cut into her body... yet Kiri vanished. The two swords cut through nothing but empty space, the force blowing the surrounding mist away.

Both Shinnosuke and Shin looked around, but we couldn't find any trace of Kiri. Aqua, Shiro, and Gunjou caught up in the meantime and joined the search. Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and Connor stood by the entrance with their weapons raised ready to protect Hikari and Himi.

Everyone began to look around, but there were still no trace of the Diseased Girl Kiri. Feeling that the situation was getting out of hand, Shin looked back to the others and called for the one best suited for finding her.

Shin: Hikari! Can you find her?!

Hikari: Wait a moment! I'll use Adrasteia to-

But before Hikari could call for her Persona to locate Kiri she saw the person in question reappear and interrupted them. Rising silently from the blue mist covering the wooden floor of the temple and now standing by Team Japan's leader, Shin, was Kiri with a cold and vacant look in her eyes. Hikari couldn't move or speak in time to warn Shin, yet Shin still saw the look of fear in her eyes at that moment and realized something was wrong.

Shin: Three-hundred Times Gravity Slash!

Without hesitation, Shin swiftly turned around and swung Gravity Blade to slash his foe and Kiri swung her now glowing red katana in retaliation. Sparks flew as the two magic swords met head on, yet it was Shin who was pushed back. Shin was confident in his physical strength, bur his attack was completely devoid of any strength as he tried to push back with his sword.

Kiri: Nine-Fold Switch.

Shinnosuke: Get away from her!

Shinnosuke activated his Acceleration magic to try and reach Kiri quickly, but he was too late to help Shin escape Kiri's assault.

Kiri, using magic to completely absorb Shin's attack, knocked Gravity Sword out of Shin's hands with her own monstrous strength. Shin could then only watch helplessly as his trusted sword flew all the way to the ceiling in a spin and as Kiri's long legs kicked his stomach. With force well beyond Kiri's frail appearance, Shin was sent flying clear across the temple... with a trail of red blood following after him.

Hikari: Shin!

Hikari's scream sounded across the room, yet Shin apparent defeat didn't break the spirits of the entire team. Shinnosuke reached Kiri first with Acceleration magic and slashed at her with his Demon Sword. Aqua and Shiro had already positioned themselves around Kiri in a way to stop her from escaping, yet like before Kiri disappeared in a poof of blue mist like before.

Shinnosuke: Damn! She escaped again.

Gunjou: I can't find her either! Screw her! We're trying to save her, so at least she could try and stay still.

Shiro: Just relax. This is probably one of her magic skills. A magic to travel through the mist hovering above the floor silently. We've never seen it before because of its harsh conditions to use with mist. This entire temple is just one grand stage for Kiri to display the full power of her magic!

Aqua: Everyone stay alert and watch each other's back! Himi! Hikari! Try to find early signs of her reappearing before she attacks us!

Himi: Yes!

Hikari: But, but Shin is-

Aqua: Don't worry about him. That small amount of damage won't kill him. Just wait for him to recover and do your part.

Hikari: ...

Aqua: If you can't do that Hikari then ESCAPE and get out of the way!

Hikari: Fine!

Hikari was slightly upset at Aqua's harsh words as if she didn't care whether Shin was dead or alive, yet she was smart enough to realize that she needed to get her act together. Believing that Shin was alive and would join them at any moment, Hikari took out her SEES Evoker gun, pointed the muzzle towards her head and pulled the trigger.

A bright blue light surrounded Hikari and emerging into existence behind her was her Persona Adrasteia. Hikari, relying on her support type Persona, scanned the area and with greater success than Himi who was at her side trying to find Kiri with magic, Hikari found information about the Diseased Girl Kiri.

Kiri Kiryuu -

Stats

Intelligence - 500

Mental capacity - 800

Cell Vitality - 1000

Reaction Speed - 3500

Muscle Density - 3000

Immunization Strength - 2100

Along with basic information about Kiri, Hikari did indeed locate her. Hikari reported the exact location that Kiri was always moving through the mist at all times to the others. Now thanks to Hikari they weren't afraid of Kiri popping up behind them and stabbing them in the heart, yet none of them had the means to attack Kiri long as she hid within the formless mist... well, all but one of them.

Shiro: Everyone! It's impossible for us all to defeat Kiri while this building is constantly being filled with mist. It's even rising as we speak. I'll force her out in the open, so use that opening to attack her! If you can't finish her off then force the fight to pillars under the ceiling where's there's no mist!

Aqua: How do you plan to do that?

Shiro: Just watch me!

Shiro jumps and activates his magic while screaming out its name.

Shiro: Fate Reversal Hammer Switch!

What such an exaggerated name, it appeared to be magic that would probably conjure a hammer. An abnormally gigantic mallet with a sharp tip appears. Shiro raises both hands and with that, he swings down the hammer hard on the wooden floor of the temple with enough force to cause the whole building to shake... or that's what was supposed to happen. The whole hammer melted into the floor of the temple instead, and nothing. From the giant hammers appearance and when it struck down, everyone was shocked from start to end, yet smiling, Shiro clearly wasn't finished.

Shinnosuke: What the hell is that magic!

Shiro: Hey, I said that I got this! Fate reversal!

In that instant, a strange sound could be heard from underneath the floor, and the hammer returns as it pierces the floor back and it jumps out with a grand quake following after it. At the same time, emerging from the mist helplessly thrown into the air, was Kiri.

Fate Reversal. A magic used to force out into the open all those hiding with magic. Whether it's hiding within the sea, mist, or even a different dimension, there's no escaping the magic Fate Reversal.

Shiro: Do it Shinnosuke! Aqua!

Shinnosuke: No, you should have explained things... Ah whatever, I'll do it!

Aqua: Don't let this chance go!

With incredible speed and not wanting to let this chance to capture Kiri go, both Shinnosuke and Aqua jumped towards her with everything that they had.

Shinnosuke, using the special properties of his Demon Sword, aimed for Kiri's weak point. He didn't intend to split Kiri in two, but by weakening her first it would be easier to deliver the final blow with Holy Sword magic. Aqua was right beside Shinnosuke, already in Unlocked Mode. To strike Kiri with everything that she had she entered into the Second Stage, expanding her muscles for maximum strength and channeling an incredible amount of Aura into her Adamantium Claws.

Failing through the air, Kiri saw the two warriors coming at her. Kiri knew that if she were hit by their combined attacks she would be blown away even with Nine-Fold magic, and so she took action. One of Kiri's swords glowed an ominous blue and she swung her sword towards them. A laser beam like slash flew from her blade and approached Aqua and Shin, ready to bisect them in two.

Gunjou: Not so fast holstein woman! It's time to teach you who the top woman of the team is! Defensive Tyrant Switch!

With Gunjou's shout she activated her defensive magic by crossing her arms over each other. A current of water shot out from her, met the magic slash of Kiri's, canceled out the attack, and allowing Aqua and Shinnosuke to pass by harmlessly.

Shinnosuke: Now stop hiding in the mist Kiri and fight!

Shinnosuke's full swing slash and Aqua's Aura infused claws struck Kiri. Kiri easily blocked both attacks with the two swords in her hands, but she couldn't activate Nine-Fold magic in time and was blown away by their attacks all the way to the ceiling. When the others then looked up they discovered Kiri's body embedded into the roof and struggling to get out.

Shiro: This is our chance! Everyone climb up and don't let her make it back down to the mist!

Shiro gave out those instructions and everyone began to move. Aqua, climbing up the walls with her claws, and Shinnosuke with extreme speed, reached the ceiling of the temple first. No one else in Team Japan had the ability to follow after them, so only Shiro and Gunjou then began to follow the two... but they were stopped. Getting herself unstuck, Kiri moved to stand on top of the intersecting pillars under the ceiling and looked down at her opponents. Coming to the conclusion that Shiro could keep forcing her out of hiding and that together, her opponents could push her back, Kiri grabbed one of the four katana hovering behind her back and threw it to the floor. Once the blade pierced through the wooden floor the sword began to glow with a bright purple light.

Himi: Everyone be careful of that magic! Something is coming!

Himi's warning was right on the mark. The katana embedded into the wood radiated blinding light and sunk into the floor similarly to Shiro's Fate Reversal magic. From there four lines of light branched off into the four corners of the room and became classic magic circles.

Kiri: Guardian Knights Switch...

Once the name of the magic was softly announced by Kiri's lips, four figures rose up from the magic circles of the four corners.

Knights.

Death.

Four summoned creatures born from magic and armored in demonic purple armor now stood inside the temple. For the sole sake of protecting their master and killing those wishing to do harm to her, they wield gigantic swords to slay their enemies. For the sole sake of protecting their master and defending her from those wishing to do harm to her, they held large thick shields to stand against any possible attack.

Every person within the temple felt immense pressure from the four Demonic Knights. A feeling of immense dread and death emanated from their beings and could be felt by all present. In the world of Apocalypse Alice, their strength was originally only comparable to a rank 5 Diseased Girl, but after being strengthened by the magic of the Labyrinth Disease, Kiri's four Demonic Knights held strength comparable to a rank 10-15 Diseased Girl.

A step in strength below the rank 20 Diseased Girl Asahi Momoka who nearly wiped out Hero Team in their last Labyrinth raid. The threat of those Demonic Knights was so great that Aqua and Shinnosuke considered coming back down to help, but Shiro gave orders to stay and fight Kiri.

Shiro: Don't come back down and hold Kiri up there. That's what she wants you to do. If she makes it back to the mist covered floor and has the backing of the Four Demonic Knights that's the end of us! You two keep her up there and we'll join up with you after taking out the Demonic Knights.

Shiro knew that he made the right call, but he knew that his side was truly in trouble now. The four Knights held immense strength and so he wondered could they be defeated. Realistically, Shiro could only rely on Gunjou to fight the Demonic Knights.

Shiro then looked behind to see Shin's comrades and Himi standing besides Hikari. They could fight, but not at the level the battle was heading in and Himi couldn't fight at all. Shiro knew that they had little chance of making it out alive, yet he dared not to call back either Shinnosuke or Aqua.

They were critical to holding back Kiri and with just the two of them fighting up in the rafters they could barely do even that. There was no way he could call either of them back to help.

Shiro: Damn! If only Yousuke was here!

Shiro cursed god or the devil for taking his comrade Yousuke away from him. Yousuke was more than just an excellent defensive magician. As a long time comrade he was also someone who could calm him down in deadly moments like this and offer accurate advice.

Shiro missed that and cursed again, yet he had no more time to grieve or worry about his troubles. The Demonic Knights were finally making their move. They raised their large swords and shields effortlessly and rushed at Shiro, Gunjou, Himi, and the members of Team Japan at last. The four Demonic Knights wearing armor and large weapons charged at a speed surpassing the normal and Elite monsters of the Labyrinth.

With each new step that they took, everyone within the temple felt a helpless despair... yet the main character brought renewed hope as he rejoined the skirmish.

In a dark scarlet flash a figure with puffed up muscles charged at a speed surpassing any of the Demonic Knights and slammed head on into the one of the two approaching the majority of his Team Japan comrades. With an incredibly loud sonic boom, the Demonic Knight was hit a Soul Crushing Strike and four Kagune tentacles, with the tips strengthened with Ki Energy, with such force that it slammed into a far off wall and crushed by the impact.

Shin: Everyone! Stay alive! Survive and kill everyone and thing that stops you from doing so!

Leaving those parting words behind, the scarlet figure, Shin, climbed up the walls of the temple with his Kagune and joined the desperate battle against the Diseased Girl Kiri up on rafters

Jin: Now now... what should I do to contribute here?

Jin looked over at the battlefield and felt that although the current wasn't the best, it was also an opportunity for him.

Shin had made a miraculously recovery from the Diseased Girl Kiri's initial attack and took out one of the Four Demonic Knights. From there Shin joined up with Aqua and the main character of Apocalypse Alice Shinnosuke to take on Kiri up above on the rafters under the ceiling, yet Jin saw that they were still in danger.

All of those fighting on the floor of the temple were desperately fighting against the remaining three Demonic Knights created by Kiri's magic. The magic combatants of Hero Team, Shiro and Gunjou, were fighting a losing battle against the three Demonic Knight and barely holding their own.

Shiro had offensive magic to keep up with the three Demonic Knights, but three were too much for him and he didn't have the opportunity to release a magic capable of killing the three. Gunjou was by his side and keeping Shiro alive, but that was all that she could do.

The members of team Japan were even worse off as they didn't know how they could help in this situation. Hikari was a support role with no combat ability. Misaki had enhancements, but he wouldn't last long in a battle against the Demonic Knights. Kampa's rifle would hardly be effective against the Demonic Knights and would be completely sealed off with the enemy's large shields. Shuai didn't have offensive powers to help out like Hikari. Connor... Jin actually thought highly him, but with just Shin's infinite ammo RoboCop Auto 9 he didn't see how he could contribute to the battle. As for himself...

Jin: I'm not in the best shape to help out either with a missing hand and wounded shoulder and Himi can't help us. Really, we messed up letting Yousuke die. If he were here the burden on Shiro and Gunjou would be lessened and maybe our side could have done something as well. Hero Team really was the key to winning this game!

Jin lamented in his own way the situation that he, and the others, found themselves in, yet he all soon recovered. Jin, for better or worse, had a positive way of thinking about things. Faced with good things and bad he'll stay positive about everything. It was a trait that made him a failure of a human being, but allowed him to overcome countless difficulties in his life as a pro gamer. A world where just one slip up could result in falling from the top of the mountain into the abyss of those who fail as pro gamers.

Jin finally began to formulate a plan to turn the battle around in their side's favor. Like Shin realized, Jin definitely had the talent of a strategist, so it didn't take long for him to come up with a plan.

It wasn't the best plan and had a low 20% chance of success, but since at that moment they were 100% guaranteed to either fail the mission, or more than half of Team Japan dying before Shin defeats Kiri, Jin felt it was their best chance to win the battle with the least casualties.

Jin: Now I just have to convince the others to... Hikari!

Hikari: Huh? What is it Jin?

Jin called out to Hikari. Jin had a plan to defeat the Demonic Knights, yet he had a problem.

Jin's current status in Team Japan was that of a Newbie. Also, Jin himself was aware that he had a bad personality, so he highly doubted that he could convince the others to follow with a high likelihood of death and before either Shiro or Gunjou perished, so he wanted have someone take the lead.

Hikari.

The support member of Team Japan was an already established member. Hikari was smart and additionally it was plainly obvious that she was the team leader Shin's woman. In Shin and Aqua's absence, if it was Hikari who could take command of Team Japan and give out orders. Simply getting her approval was faster than convincing everyone one at a time.

Jin: You see, Hikari, I have a plan to turn things around and so I need you to trust me and convince the others to follow it through. Without working together to combine our small, yet essential, powers than we can't defeat the Demonic Knights!

Hikari: ...

Jin saw the look of doubt in Hikari's eyes. Putting aside trusting Jin's plan, hearing those aspiring and fake words come out of Jin's mouth so naturally made her feel sick. Jin guessed that Hikari would react that way, and so he had already thought up the magics words that could only convince her to work with him.

Jin: This is an emergency situation, Hikari. Aren't you worried about Shin?

Hikari: What do you-

Jin: He may have made a remarkable comeback, but he was clearly injured before. I don't know what enhancements he has, but he should still be hurt. We need to support Shin, but like this we can't just standing here. If we do nothing then Shin, Aqua and all of us will die!

Hikari: ...What do you have in mind?

Jin: I'm glad that you asked.

Jin praised the fact that he was able to convince Hikari to hear him out, yet he was also disappointed in himself for taking so long. If he was even more slightly liked by the others he could have immediately convinced everyone to follow his plan.

Jin: (I should work more on my people skills. I'm unworthy of the being a proper member of such an amazing team of enhanced humans, yet I don't want to be out casted.)

\- Team Japan VS Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu - Group Battles of Life and Death.

Gunjou: Kiri's worthless lab dogs! Do you really think you're enough to defeat me!?

Shiro: Gunjou! Don't go out front!

Gunjou: Shup up and ready your magic if you have time to bark at me. Who do you think I am? I'm the super elite Gunjou Mizuiro! You are the monsters, stop messing with me!

Gunjou, standing in front of Shiro, and before the three Demonic Knight pressuring the two of them. Gunjou knew that her opponents weren't easy to take care of, yet she didn't show it. Her pride as an elite magician wouldn't allow her to stay hidden behind Shiro.

Gunjou activated her Sea Moon Wheel magic and ran forward. Eight jellyfish were summoned and four of them were sent flying towards the Demonic Knights. The Demonic Knights saw the jellyfish on a course for their heads and cut them down with their large swords and immediately prepared their shields to block further attacks... but they never came.

Gunjou instead used her four remaining jellyfish as footholds to step over the Demonic Knights with the elegance of an Olympic medalist and reached their backs in a flash.

Gunjou: Useless trash should die! Sea Moon Switch.

Eighteen jellyfish were born from Gunjou's magic. The eighteen spinning magic amphibian creatures converged into groups of six and were aimed at the back of the necks of the Demonic Knights. It was an attack at the blind spot of all creatures, the back of the neck, yet the Demonic Knights were still able to react by turning around with their shields raised.

They blocked the attack and were ready to charge at Gunjou still in midair above their heads, yet the women in question could only be smug with conceit as she only saw foolish creatures rushing towards their death.

Gunjou: Baka like you can just get killed by a second rate magician and to hell! Shiro! That's your cue!

Shiro: Who's second rate!? Penitence Severance Switch!

Gunjou yelled towards Shiro as his magic was activated. The backs of the Demonic Knights were shown to Shiro thanks to Gunjou efforts and he did not let that chance go. An abnormally large knife appears in Shiro's hand.

It's a knife even much larger than what he had used thus far in the Labyrinth. The knife has been extended to a length that's just enough to mow down all four devils at the same time, but he would have to make a really large swing for a normal man's strength. It's natural for the devils to end up turning around and attempt to block his knife with their swords, yet Shiro was no normal human.

Shiro was an elite magician who specializes in offensive magic and had possibly been experimented on by Taikou Pharmaceuticals. It was too easy for Shiro to sprint towards the Demonic Knights dragging his knife against the floor and slashed effortlessly at them.

Shiro: Let's see who's stronger monsters! Cut down everything, Penitence Severance!

Shiro swings his gigantic sword with an overbearing attitude, yet unfortunately the capabilities of the Demonic Knights were over the top and could react to even Shiro's large slash.

Of the three Demonic Knights, only two were slashed in the back and blown away while the third back flipped over the large sword unharmed. Worse yet, the two Demonic Knights slashed by the large sword were still alive and were still moving with large cuts on their backs.

Gunjou: So worthless! You had such a great opening and you blew it! What fire power idiot?!

Shiro: If you have time to bitch you have time to fight! Load up your next magic... get ready they are about to retaliate!

It was as Shiro said. The Demonic Knight that back flipped to avoid Shiro's slash was on a crush course towards him, and just a bit slower, the two knights slashed by the large knife were running towards the midair Gunjou. Both Shiro and Gunjou could only grind their teeth in frustration.

Shiro had a powerful offensive magic in reserve capable of ending a Demonic Knight's life in one blow, yet even after the latest improvements to his Headphone Fuzz it still took time to complete. As for Gunjou, she had a magic that could trap the Demonic Knights and give Shiro the time he needs, but she wasn't confident she could trap all three.

The two magicians of Hero Team could only curse their luck. If they just had one more person equal to them the battle would have already been won... but fortunately for the two magicians what they lacked in a quality magician they made up in a quantity of Players that they forgot about.

Misaki: Out of the way!

Shiro and Gunjou looked on in surprise as Misaki came running – no flying towards the Demonic Knight rushing towards Shiro. Misaki had fire constantly burning under his feet and rocked himself forward. Using Firebending in a new way that Jin suggested, he flew towards and tackled a Demonic Knight at the waist.

Misaki: Go!

Misaki channeled an even greater flame and slowly lifted the Demonic Knight off its feet. It was an amount of flame Misaki never knew he could bring out, yet he was successfully lifting the large monster ten times its weight. The Knight was taken by surprise by Misaki's sudden action, yet it wasn't going to just stand there and was about to knock Misaki away when-

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

Magic Bullet after Magic Bullet impacted the upper body of the Demonic Knight. Hikari, Kampa, and Connor showered the Demonic Knights with bullets that caused little damage, but distracted it long enough for Misaki to lift up and carry the knight across the temple.

Jin: Connor! Shuai! Follow after them!

Shuai: On it!

Connor: Following.

After crashing in the temple wall on the other side of the temple, enraged, the knight slashed at Misaki, yet it missed. Shuai chased after them and used his Shaman Tool to semi-blind it. Additionally, Connor, wielding the Auto 9, fired one accurate shot after the other towards the Knights eyes to distract it further. Jin tried to do the same, but missing one arm and never having been a master marksman made him little help.

Jin: Keep it up! Don't let it join back with its comrades.

That was Jin's plan. Shiro and Gunjou were powerful magician, yet they weren't able to handle three Demonic Knights at once and Jin saw that. That was why he had the most physically fit Player drag one of them away, allowing the Hero Team, Kampa, and Hikari to fight the remaining two Demonic Knights.

It wasn't a complex plan, yet an effective one that would give the team a high chance of survival. If Jin were to name one weak point in the simple plan of his was that if he, Misaki, Shuai, and Connor fail to hold back the Demonic Knight then both Hero Team and Team Japan will be wiped out.

Hikari: Kampa! Gunjou! Hold the two back to allow Shiro time to use his magic!

Kampa: I'm on it lady boss!

Hikari: Who the lady boss!?

Gunjou: Hey, don't order me around when you were just hiding in a corner a moment ago!

Hikari: Shut up and just attack!

Hikari taking up a semi leadership position ordered Kampa and Gunjou to keep attacking the Two Demonic Knights.

They had their shields raised high as they kept reducing the distance between them. They were nullifying most of the danger, yet the combined attacks of Gunjou's Sea Moon Wheel magic and Kampa's grenade blasts, from the M41A, slowed them down.

Gunjou: This is taking too long and they're close enough for me to capture them.

Hikari: Then do so already stupid Gunjou!

Gunjou: Stupid! Tch, I won't forget that. Hey lowly monsters! I'll mess you up real good until you die! Acidic Rubber Rain Switch!

Gunjou with a yelled out the name of her final offensive magic. It was a magic that didn't allow her to cleanly kill off her foes with one attack and had a long preparation time, so she rarely used it, but under the condition she had comrades to protect her it a was a useful magic to weaken the enemy.

Gunjou: Everyone move back!

Acidic Rubber Rain Switch.

As it name implies it's a magic that summons rain to pour down on Gunjou's intended target, but not just any rain. Up above the two Demonic Knights distracted by Team Japan's attacks yellow/green dark rain cloud was formed. Rain poured down from the unhealthy cloud above and drench the two Demonic Knight the moment everyone cleared out of the way.

Hikari: What's that smell?

Kampa: How nasty! Is that acid?

Both Hikari and Kampa's comments accurately described the scene before them. Gunjou's magic created a cloud that rained down acid on the Demonic Knights. Of course not the ordinary kind, but an acid modified by magic to also have the qualities of rubber.

The burning liquid on the armor of the Demonic Knights quickly solidified into a rubber substance that continued to burn the knights, trapping them where they stood. It wasn't the perfect magic to defeat monsters within a Labyrinth, but it was the perfect magic to trap and weaken the monsters for others to defeat.

Shiro: Get down! Heavenly Spear of the Lightning Emperor!

Shiro roared out loud the name of his most damning magic in his arsenal of powerful offensive magic. He raised his right hand and in his open palms, and in a loud thunder clap, a raging surge of electricity gathered and formed into a fifteen foot spear of yellow lightning and thunder. It was a one-time magic that would leave Shiro paralyzed after its use, but he needed it to certainly defeat the two Demonic Knights.

Shiro: Gooooooo!

Shiro took the standard stance for throwing a spear in sport and with all the strength in his body the lighting spear in his right hand was shot forward at the speed of light. Like a hunters arrow piercing into an its prey, the lighting spear crashed into both Demonic Knight simultaneously.

Shiro: Explode!

The Lightning spear glowed bright yellow and discharged as a huge pillar of lightning and thunder that swallowed up both summoned creatures whole. When the light show effects of Shiro's magic dissipated... all that was left at the scene of the explosion were two chard monster knights.

Himi: Shiro!

Shiro: I.. I'm out of the game now. Hurry and support the others!

Hearing Shiro's pained words as he was given emergency treatment by Himi's magic everyone finally remembered about the last Demonic Knight. Shin defeated one and the combination of Shiro, Gunjou, and Kampa defeated two, yet Kiri summoned four Demonic Knights. The battle was short, yet so intense that they forgot about the last Demonic Knight Misaki, Shuai, Connor and Jin were fighting.

Once they realized this carelessness they all turned to look at the battle and they were shocked. Last they remembered Misaki and the others had challenged the Demonic Knight knowing that they would probably die, yet at the moment the battle between the two sides had become completely chaotic, bringing both good and bad news.

The bad news was that two of the fighters were down for the count.

Jin, the brains behind their last desperate struggle was leaning against the wall of the temple with his side covered in blood. He was still alive, but he was unable to move after taking a glancing slash from the Demonic Knight.

Shuai was also down for the count. Shuai, before and even now, was using one of his Shaman tools to blind the Knight as Misaki and Connor fought on, yet he caught the bad end of the monster's shield bash meant for Misaki. Shuai's legs were crushed and half his ribs were broken in the attack, and only through sheer will was he able to withstand the intense pain to keep up his spiritual tool from failing. If Shuai loses consciousness, the result would be the Demonic Knights vision returning and being able to easily kill off Misaki and Connor.

There was a list of troubling news, but there was good news.

Misaki and Connor had not fallen to the rampaging Demonic Knights attack like everyone originally thought. Even blinded, the Demonic Knight held the combat ability to confidently fight off Team Japan. The proof of that was Jin and Shuai no longer having the ability to fight anymore. The Demonic Knight fought bravely considering the situation, yet by the combined efforts of Misaki and Connor the battle had entered into a stalemate.

Connor had went into Unlocked Mode to support Misaki fighting up close against the Demonic Knight. With the Auto 9 equipped with Magic Amplifier in hand, Connor fired off burst of shots one after the other. Each shot accurately hit the joints of the Demonic Knight, and sensing the greater threat in Connor the monster would swing its giant sword towards him, yet Connor would just escape each slash by a hair's breadth. As long as Misaki kept the Demonic Knight distracted, it was possible for Connor to escape harm and keep attacking at midrange.

Misaki: Don't underestimate me and go after the kid!

Misaki, covered in blood, threw a fist that smashed into the side of the Demonic Knight. The fist enveloped in Armaments Haki left a fist sized imprint in the enemy's armor and its sword missed Connor as he continued to rain down bullet after bullet on the minster.

The Demonic Knight roared as it let out a sweeping sword slash at Misaki, yet Misaki seeing the attack coming and ducked to avoid the slash. Observation Haki allowed Misaki to see through his opponent's attacks and move out of harm's way, yet he wasn't without injury. The Demonic Knight randomly let out a kick which unfortunately hit Misaki, breaking his left arm, and sent him flying twenty feet away.

Misaki attempted to get back up again, yet his body wouldn't listen to him. While desperately fighting at close range to keep the Demonic Knight occupied, Misaki had suffered a few hits from back of the giant sword and shield of the Demonic Knight. Observation Haki allowed Misaki to see through the Demonic Knight's attack, but Misaki didn't have the ability to dodge every attack, so he could only try his best to avoid the instant death strikes.

Misaki: ...Shit! What am I doing...?

Misaki with all the remaining strength in his body desperately tried to get back up, but he could only push his upper body off the ground with his one good arm. Misaki cursed his lack of strength as he watched the battles unfold before his eyes.

Connor now had to fight against the Demonic Night all alone and was barely keeping himself alive by rolling around the floor of the temple, taking full advantage of his small build to avoid every attack, and constantly firing shots from the Auto 9. Connor was able to keep himself alive, but once Shuai passes out and the Demonic Knight can regain its vision, Connor won't last long.

Misaki then looked over to the side to see the Team Japan and Hero Team's effort to take out two Demonic Knights. Gunjou had just activated her final magic and it looked like things were going well for them and their battle would be coming to a close soon and they would be able to support Connor, Shuai, Jin, and himself... but Misaki didn't want that.

Misaki now looked up to watch the battle taking place on rafters, yet he couldn't keep up with their fight. It was all a blur to him. Shin, Aqua, Shinnosuke, and the Diseased Girl were running, jumping and flying all over the place at a speed that Misaki couldn't follow even after enhancing himself. Misaki had no idea even if his side was winning, but he did know one thing... Shin was there.

Shin was a player of Team Japan who arrived at the same time as he did. They were both man's men and Misaki was even stronger than Shin when they met, but before he knew it he was completely surpassed by Shin. While he was lying on the ground in blood unable to move after fighting a lowly Demonic Knight, Shin was taking part in a much more important battle with a more difficult opponent.

Misaki: I'll be damned if I'm left behind here! Mokoto and my sister are waiting for me as well!

It was at that moment. Just when Misaki's comrades saw that there was no more hope for his group and were rushing to save them... that it happened for him as the light went out of his eyes. Death's doors were beginning to open for him and the rage of not being able to do anything forced open his potential and unlocked his Genetic Constraint.

Entering the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint unlocked the limits of Misaki's body and opened up a floodgate of battle instincts. Misaki was no longer aware of the pain he was in as he pulled himself to new heights. Misaki still didn't have the ability to stand or charge at the Demonic Knight, yet he didn't need to approach the monster to give it the finishing blow.

Misaki, with no forethought, followed his survival instincts to overcome the Demonic Knight. He raised his right arm and birthed a small flame in his palm. Misaki's level concentration was unmatched as he focused on the small flame that kept absorbing the oxygen in the air endlessly.

With his new level of skill with Firebending in Unlocked Mode, Misaki could now create a new and more powerful flame. Now just a blast of fire like he had been so far, but a fire reaching new levels in temperature. Once the red vortex of fire in Misaki's palm began emitting a blue light on the edges, he pointed the flame at the Demonic Knight and in one thrusting motion sent the fire ball at the monster.

The fire ball hurdling through the space of the temple was only the size of a tennis ball, but the Demonic Knight knew the danger that it was in. It knew it couldn't allow itself to come into contact with the fireball even with its shield, so it moved to dodge, but it was stopped by a sudden attack.

Leaning against the wall of the temple and slowly bleeding out, Jin, still conscious, waited for the perfect moment to use his last Magic Attack Scroll and seeing Misaki's new attack unleashed a Frost Bolt at the Demonic Knight's Legs. This move stopped the Demonic Knight in its track, and so it could only use its shield to defend against the fire ball as it arrived...

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Misaki's tennis sized burning fireball exploded on contact against the Demonic Knight's sturdy shield. Both the shield and the 40% of the Demonic Knight's body melted away in the blast and it helplessly fell to the wooden floor of the temple.

Misaki: Take that!

Connor: It's not over yet!

Connor, unlike Misaki, noticed that the Demonic Knight was still alive and was beginning to regenerate. That last attack took everything out of Misaki and he was beginning to feel the recoil of entering Unlocked Mode for the first time. There was nothing now Misaki could do, so-

Connor: I won't let you get back up.

Connor reached into his pocket and took out an item he asked for Shin earlier. A grenade. An effective weapon that causes a large explosion, but is an ineffective weapon to unleash on a magic type monster. Connor knew this, so he took off the Magic Amplifier Tag on the Auto 9 and tied it to the grenade as he threw it towards the side of the Demonic Knight's face. The monster born from the powerful magic of the Diseased Girl Kiri could only turn its head as the grenade went off.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Connor: Enemy vanquished.

Misaki: Hey! Who told you that you can give the killing- aghhn!

Connor: Shut up! You've just unlock your constraint. You'll die if you let the pain get to you.

Misaki wanted to tear off Connor's flesh with his teeth at that moment, but the pain was too much. The first time a person unlocks the Genetic Constraint was the most dangerous. Luckily, Misaki had enhancements, and soon Hikari and the others came over to his rescue.

Connor was the least injured and didn't need treatment, so he was ignored. Misaki, Shuai, and Jin were all in critical condition, and so were immediately given two Low grade Healing Potions. Jin and Shuai's wounds began to heal slowly and the burden of unlocking the constraint lessened for Misaki.

Hikari: Good! No deaths! Now all that is left is for us to go and support Shin and the others to defeat-

Himi: Everyone! It's terrible! The, the, the sealed entrance has been broken through and armies of spawned monsters and Elites are-

Himi's words were cut off there for two reason. The sound of monsters breaking into the temple could be heard by all at that moment. The second... as Himi was speaking she saw an unreal, terrible event play out before her eyes.

Shinnosuke Arisu, the ace of Hero Team, was falling to the floor of the temple missing his right arm and Aqua diving down as well in an attempt to save him. Aqua managed to catch him and they both crashed down to the temple floor with a loud bang. The height from the rafters to the floor was nothing to laugh at, yet from the looks of it, somehow how both Aqua and Shinnosuke were alive.

Everyone who saw them fall to the floor let out a sigh of relief that they were alive, yet not everyone was watching what was happening. Hikari, more worried about Shin searched for her boyfriend up in the rafters, feeling a sense of dread fill up within her... then she found him.

Shin, still alive and now alone, was staring down the Diseased Girl of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth with a great sword raised high above him. Then a moment later Shin kicked off against the wooden support beams towards his final opponent.

\- Team Japan VS Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu - Shin's Battle of Life and Death.

Shin: Gahhh... This, this blade... fucking hurts!

Previously when the battle against the Diseased Girl Kiri began.

Kiri used her magic Blue Mist Traveling Switch. It was the magic of Kiri's that allowed her to travel through the mist of the floor temple silently. Using such a convenient magic Kiri snuck behind Team Japan's leader, Shin, and kicked him hard in the stomach across the space of the temple and slammed into the far off wall.

When Shin hit the wall he left a large crater in the wall and was embedded into the wood. The kick of Kiri's held inhuman force and almost snapped his spine, but once again the Lesser Fenrir Coat saved his life. It then only took about a minute for Shin to recover due to his amazing healing factors.

Shin: Great! I can finally-

Over the haze of the mist inside the temple Shin could see his comrades fighting for their lives and he watched as Aqua and Shinnosuke chased after the Diseased Girl Kiri. Shin wanted nothing more than to follow after, but that was then he noticed that Kiri's attack was not over.

Shin looked down at his stomach and for the first time realized that there was a sword sticking out of his stomach. Shin thought that he was in shock to not have noticed the blade in his stomach, yet that he quickly realized that wasn't what was happening.

Not just wasn't Shin on any pain he couldn't feel anything at all and was losing control of his body. Touch, Smell, Hearing, Taste and now being to fade was his Sight as well. A magic that was basically turning him into an empty shell was invading his body.

Shin: (That's right. Kiri said something as she kicked me.)

It was then Shin remembered. As Kiri kicked him with enough force to split a normal man in half she softly whispered two names under her breath. Cloak-and-Dagger Switch and Heart-String Cut Switch.

Cloak-and-Dagger Switch - A magic Shin presumed allowed Kiri to attack others with hidden swords that emerged from the skin. When Kiri kicked him she must have activated the magic.

Heart-String Cut Switch - Shin knew what the magic invading his body and paralyzing him was. It was the unnamed magic of Kiri's that causes paralysis into those stabbed by her katana.

Shin quickly concluded what was going on due to being in Unlocked Mode. The First Stage of the Genetic Constraint released the limits of his body and flooded his mind with combat instincts to overcome any difficulty, yet the First Stage wasn't going to save him. That's why-

Shin: (Second Stage!)

The Second Stage - Absolute Control of the body.

The Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint that he had unlocked in the real world in his battle against Saki was unleashed. In the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint, with the exception of most of the brain functions, Shin could control his body externally and internally as he pleased. Shin normally used this state to push his body to the limit by expanding his muscles, but now he had a different purpose.

With brute force Shin tried to take back control of his body. The magic of Kiri's was too powerful to outright overpower. Shin would need full control of the brain, the parietal lobe, to fully take back control of the five senses. It was impossible, so Shin settled with just keeping control of one limb, his left arm. Shin lost full control of his body and couldn't even see anymore, yet he retained sovereignty over his dominant left arm. The left arm's muscles then expanded to three times the normal size and grasped the source of the magic paralyzing him, blade in his stomach and pulled it out.

Shin: Ghaaaa!

Shin freed himself from Kiri's magic, yet now a flood of blood rushed out of his newly opened wound. He would bleed out, or at the very least be unable to continue to fight, so Shin forcefully regenerated his body to fighting conditions with the combination of Ki Energy and One-eyed Ghoul mutation.

Shin could now move free of Kiri's magic and dislodged himself from the wall, but he wasn't happy. High-speed regeneration like what he just did drained his stamina, wore out his mind, and Ki Energy. Shin wasn't in his best condition when he started this fight and now he was in even worse shape.

Shin: Kiri! If it was anyone other than Aqua or I they would have died! I'm definitely paying you-

Shin who had only just now regained his five senses realized what was going on around him and it filled him with dread.

High up above on the rafter just under the ceiling of the temple Aqua and Shinnosuke were engaged in a desperate struggle against Diseased Girl Kiri. Aqua and Shinnosuke were holding their own for the moment, but Kiri was far faster than the two of them put together and she took every opportunity to attack.

Then there was the battle starting up on the ground floor of the temple. Shin didn't know when it happened, but four monster with a heavy demonic aura of dread appeared in the four corners of the temple. He didn't need a second glance to see that the four Demonic Knights were a tier above any of the Elite monsters that they had come across. The Four Demonic Knights, after a loud roar, charged towards his Player comrades and members of Hero Team on the floor of the temple.

For Shin it was all too much to take in at once and then seeing the frightened faces of Hikari and comrades made him snap. From his back four blood red tentacles erupted from waist and followed after him as he sprinted towards the Demonic Knight moving towards his team.

Shin was still in Unlocked Mode of the Second Stage and both power and speed were beyond their normal levels. Shin swiftly crossed the space of the temple and reached the Demonic Knight. The monster had the ability to notice Shin at the last moment, but not the ability to react in time to save its life from him. Soul Crushing Strike caved in the torso of the Demonic Knight and his four Kagune tentacle stabbed deeply into its four limbs.

The force of Shin's deathly collision with the Demonic Knight sent the monster crashing into the temple wall. Shin saw the monster was defeated and considered helping his comrades defeat the remaining four... yet coming to a swift conclusion of what was most important he didn't stay to help and climbed up to the rafters after Aqua and Shinnosuke.

The highest priority was to defeat Kiri and end the mission. Aqua and Shinnosuke were doing their best to fight Kiri, yet just the two of them couldn't get the job done. Kiri might kill the two at any moment as she dominated the battle with her godlike speed and swordplay.

Shin: Damn! Everyone! Stay alive! Survive and kill everyone and anything that stops you from doing so!

In the end, Shin choose to help Aqua and Shinnosuke defeat Kiri, and so he scaled up the wall of the temple with his Kagune. Shin quickly reached the rafters where everyone was fighting and took in his surroundings. Both Aqua and Shinnosuke were covered in light sword wounds. They both looked dead tired, but the light in their eyes was still present. Their will to fight was not gone and Shin's appearance reinvigorated them.

Shin: Kiri! This is it! Let's go!

Shin stomped hard on the wooden rafter he was on and nearly split it in two as using Instant Movement to reach Diseased Girl Kiri. Kiri was so far unharmed and not out of breath in the least, standing there calmly with two katana in her hands and three floating behind her back each representing a different magic.

Shin was still in Unlocked Mode. From his own experiences and what he saw from the battle he understood all the possible magics that Kiri might deploy and made counter measure. Shin was confident now that he wouldn't be blasted away like before.

Shin: Take this!

A black light followed after Gravity Blade as Shin swung his sword at Kiri's neck. Kiri easily saw Shin and the blade coming and blocked the black katana with her own sword. She had experienced the might of Gravity Blade's magic and immediately activated Nine-Fold Switch to absorb Shin's attack... but there was nothing to absorb.

Shin: Gravity Blade, Zero Times Slash!

Kiri: !

Kiri's Nine-Fold Magic took on a weightless attack and was taken by surprise. Not letting that moment go Shin restarted his attack and added weight and Kiri's sword and guard was knocked away.

Shin: Gravity Blade, Zero Fold Slash! Thousand Fold Slash!

Shin knew Nine-Fold could negate nine separate attacks and so he gambled whether Kiri could negate two simultaneous attacks. A sword slash with no weight would be negated and not a second later additional weight was applied to the slash.

Shin slashed at Kiri again and she defended with Nine-Fold magic, yet the sword was knocked away again somehow and now left her in a vulnerable state where she couldn't block Shin's Ki reinforced kick. Returning the favor from before, Shin kicked her with enough force to split her in half, yet Kiri recovered quickly. Kiri was sent flying into a wooden pillar and bounced right back and executed a Sword-Wave at Shin.

The laser slash came at him at a speed surpassing the Elites, yet in the Second Stage it was easy to react to the slash jump away with Instant Movement.

Shin: We are definitely not even!

Aqua: Shin, calm down. You got a lucky hit in, but. Kiri is normally incredible fast. Too fast. If we don't work together we won't be able to catch her.

Shinnosuke: The woman's right. From here on out don't stop using you speed magic to chase after her!

Shin: Got it.

With that said the chase for Diseased Girl Kiri began

\- Team Japan VS Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu - The Final Battle of Life and Death.

In an instant.

In a flash.

In the time of a flash the battle against Kiri raged on top of the rafters of the temple under the ceiling. While those down below were almost finished up with their respective battles, the battle to decide the fate of the Empress' Grave Labyrinth reached a stalemate.

With unmatched speedy footsteps Kiri moved across the rafters of the temple while avoiding her attackers. With great speed and elegance she moved as if one step wouldn't cause her to fall helplessly to her doom to the wooden floor below.

Kiri jumped lightly to Avoid Aqua's rush to cut off her legs. A Sword-Wave flew from Kiri's katana and pushed back Shinnosuke moving closer to cut off her hands. Kiri leaned her head to the side and avoided a Ki Bullet, and reflected a 1000 weight gravity slash of Shin.

Shin in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode with Instant Movement. Aqua in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode with Aura strengthened legs. Shinnosuke repeatedly activated Acceleration Switch magic. Lastly, Diseased Girl Kiri with unparalleled magic power of the rank 44 Labyrinth strengthening her body. Each were moving at a level of speed beyond normal men.

Kiri, as an inhuman Disease Girl, was clearly the fastest. Whether it was Shin's Gravity Blade slashing at her back, Aqua's Adamantium Claws attempting to rip out her throat, or Shinnosuke's Demon Sword trying to impale and stop her moment... they all failed. Whenever someone attacked Kiri she would either jump away out of danger, or use master swordsmanship to reflect attacks away and retaliate with her katana.

Diseased Girl Kiri was a technique type of opponent, surprising everyone. Kiri did possess monstrous speed, yet it was her techniques to redirect the attacks of three skilled opponents that allowed her to survive so far.

Shin: (Damn, we're getting nowhere and fast! At this rate we'll be the one's losing out to her infinite stamina.)

Shin was beginning to despair. Shin was in the Second Stage which enhanced his power and speed and he had figured out a way to trip up Kiri's most annoying magic Nine-Fold, yet the battle wasn't going his way even with the support of Aqua and Shinnosuke.

Shin: Take this! Gravity Blade, 1500 Fold Slash!

From the blind spot of Kiri's back Shin leaped towards her with Instant Movement. Speed wise Shin was no slower than a bullet as he approached Kiri, yet she saw him coming even though she shouldn't have. Kiri, not activating any magic, brought up her two katanas to greet the gravity magic slash.

Kiri's two katanas made contact with Shin's Gravity Blade and for a moment she lost out in power, yet it only lasted a moment and didn't fight against the powerful slash. Shin didn't know how she was doing it and before he knew what happened he had harmlessly passed by Kiri while floating in the air,

Shin was now about to fall to the temple floor below, not in contact with the rafters, yet Kiri wasn't going to let him off. Kiri held both her katanas overhead that now glowed blue and slashed down at Shin's exposed back. Shin knew that it was over then and there. Even with the defense of his Lesser Fenrir Coat, Kiri's Sword-Slash Wave would cut through him, yet at the last minute he was saved by two gunshots.

Aqua: Shin!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

Kiri: *Cough*!

The two swords in Kiri's hands shattered on contact with Aqua's Origin Bullets and simultaneously Kiri threw up red and blood. The Origin Bullets fired from the Thompson Contender Magic Code severed and bound magic power incorrectly and Kiri was hit with the terrible damage of the recoil.

Shinnosuke: Opening!

Waiting for his chance Shinnosuke closed in on Kiri with Acceleration magic, pushed away Shin in midair so that he wouldn't fall, and swung his sword at her. It wasn't the Holy Sword to save Kiri from the Labyrinth Disease, but his black Demon Sword and Kiri in her weakened state still raised her sword in defense.

Shinnosuke: Knew that you could still move! Assassinate Properly!

Shin targeted the sword conveyed with the magic giving them the most trouble, Nine-Fold Switch. A red X mark appeared at the base of the sword in Kiri's right hand and was shattered when his Demon Sword made contact.

Kiri stumbled backwards from the force of Shinnosuke's attack and her already damage state made her unstable. Kiri, on unsteady feet, launched a Sword-Wave to bisect Shinnosuke, yet what was cut was the shadow of Phantom Substitution. Kiri then tried to pursue him, yet she couldn't.

The damage of Origin Bullets couldn't be laughed off even by a Diseased Girl like Kiri and her movements were at a standstill. Aqua from afar took advantage of that. Aqua aimed her magic gun and fired off one last Origin Bullet to kill Kiri, yet Kiri managed to react in time and jumped away as the third bullet was about to impact her skull.

Aqua: Missed!

Shinnosuke: Hey!

Shinnosuke after saving Shin as he was about to fall to his death and destroying Kiri's katana returned to Aqua's side and glared. He saw how Aqua really intended to kill Kiri there with that last shot of her Thompson Contender Magic Code and was upset.

Shinnosuke: I told you that I have to be the one who deals the final hit on Kiri. That magic gun of your would have definitely killed her.

Aqua: Then stop complaining and do something. We're almost of time and we've just now injured her. If you want to save her life so badly then do it already!

Shinnosuke: ...Fine! Shin! Aqua! Just make an opening for me and I'll take her out once and for all. Even a small opening will do.

Aqua: Okay, but first Shin, I'll make that opening, but I need you to hold her down for a few seconds. Just keep her in one place. Can you do it?

Shin: If it's just keeping a speed monster in one place you can leave it to me!

Aqua, seeing Shin had agreed to hold Kiri down, moved far back and took a crouching pose. Neither Shin nor Shinnosuke knew what Aqua was planning, yet Shin saw an incredible amount of Aura gathering by Aqua. Too much Aura in fact since Aqua should have spent most of her Aura during the journey within the Labyrinth, but Shin understood one thing. Whatever Aqua had in mind was sure to work, yet it was also her final trump card to play.

Shin: (I can't mess up. If I do then Aqua won't have the Aura or strength to keep fighting any longer. I can't fail!)

Shin looked towards Kiri. Kiri was resting against one of the large supporting pillars of the temple keeping the roof up. For the first time she was panting hard and was bleeding from her body. The damage from the Origin Bullets looked to be grave, yet Shin wasn't fooled. Shin had no doubt that at this moment Kiri was slowly recovering from her damage and was ready for any attempt on her life.

Shin: I won't let you recover in peace!

Shin jumped forward alone. Aqua was readying her mystery technique far away and Shinnosuke waited for the perfect moment to use Acceleration Switch to reach Kiri. Shin had to fight alone, yet he wasn't planning to fight Kiri up close.

Shin knew that even in the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint he was no match for Kiri. Her speed and sword techniques dominated him in close combat, and so he had no attention of fighting alone at that distance. That's why Shin relied on the midrange ability of his One-eye Ghoul Mutation: the Kagune.

From Shin's back four blood red Kagune tentacles, emitting a dark red miasma, sprang into life and swiftly made their way in pursuit of Kiri. Kiri witnessed Shin's Kagune advancing towards her and jumped away as the four left blood red slashes through the space she just occupied and pierced into the pillar behind, leaving four large holes.

Shin: Not done yet!

Shin chased after Kiri with his Kagune tentacles in continuous pursuit. The four red tentacles, emitting an aura of red death, continually swiped at Kiri at every opportunity, leaving red blurs with every swipe at neck breaking speeds, yet she continued to evade every attack. Shin's eyes could barely follow Kiri's moment and his Kagune wasn't faring much better either, yet he knew this was his only method of capturing the Diseased Girl who moved like the wind.

Shin: Faster, faster, sharper, faster, sharper, faster, sharper, faster, sharper, faster, sharper, faster, sharper, faster, sharper, faster, sharper, fasterrrrrr!

The Second Stage. In the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint allowed Shin absolute control of the body and he used that ability on his four Kagune tentacles. Shin needed a faster weapon and more fine control to catch Kiri and so he created it. Manipulating the structure of the Kagune, Shin condensed the four red tentacles to the width of cable wires, and where the tip used to be were hand sized claws with unparalleled sharpness.

Shin: Go!

On his order the four slimmed down Kagune tentacles shot out like arrows in pursuit of the Diseased Girl. Kiri sensed the danger the Kagune represented and sprinted away, yet in her weakened state she was caught by Shin's Kagune that had clawed into her flesh. Shin was relieved that Kiri was finally caught, yet he didn't believe he could hold her down for long. At that very moment she was using magic to conjure swords from her body to slash off the Kagune grasping her.

Shin: Aqua! Kiri's about to cut her way out of-

Aqua: Move.

Shin petrified with fear at that moment he looked back at Aqua. It was a familiar fear he had deep down in his heart since the end H.O.T.D mission. The great silver monster that struck fear in Shin's heart had reemerged.

Aqua, still in a crouching position, had made a transformation of sorts. Aqua had grown a full foot taller, more muscular, her hair a fierce silver of Adamantium, and glaring golden eyes that only saw death and destruction.

To Shin and off to the side Shinnosuke's surprise Aqua had half transformed into a female werewolf like the description of one half of her enhancements, and bathed in golden Aura. Aqua normally couldn't transform into a werewolf, yet after advancing her bloodline to tier A it allowed her to do so for a short time.

This form could only last ten seconds, and so Aqua developed a one hit technique while in that form. A technique combining Werewolf bloodline, Wolverine mutation, and Enhancer Nen/Aura. A technique that used all of her remaining Aura for one rush. Aqua's final desperation Hatsu technique.

Aqua: Eclipse Rush!

Aqua leaped towards Kiri, yet no one saw it. Shin, Shinnosuke, and even Kiri on the receiving end, only saw a gold flash cut through the rafter that blinded everyone.

Shin: What was-

Shin smelled something burning as his eyes recovered from the flash. Shin looked and saw the tips of his Kagune tentacles burned off and Kiri nowhere to be seen.

Aqua: Now Shinnosuke!

Aqua having returned to her normal human form, wiry and barely able to stand was yelling at Shinnosuke. Shin followed Aqua's gaze and found both Kiri and Shinnosuke falling to the floors below. Kiri left arm, leg and parts of her torso were burned/slashed off after Aqua's attack and she fell helplessly through the air. On the other hand Shinnosuke had run immediately after Kiri with Acceleration Switch and was preparing the magic to save Kiri.

Shinnosuke: Kiri!

Shinnosuke yelled and called out his comrade's name. His important comrade. A comrade of the darkness. A comrade who said over and again that she liked him. For the sake of that comrade Shinnosuke activated the magic to save her from the Labyrinth Disease.

Shinnosuke: Holy Sword Switch!

Shinnosuke screamed the name of an offensive magic. The name of the magic that will save Kiri and sever the Labyrinth Disease within her heart. A large two-handed silver sword appeared. A shining sword clad in light. As if it were something wielded by a hero or a knight, a sword of hypocrisy. Shinnosuke personally hated the grand and heroic appearance of his sword, yet at that moment he was fine with playing the hero if he could save Kiri's life.

Shinnosuke with resolve in his heart aimed the tip of the large sword towards Kiri's heart and thrust. No hesitation, and no room for error. Kiri was heavy damage by the final attack of Aqua and was missing to limbs. Shinnosuke and everyone believed that there was no way for Kiri to escape, yet-

Kiri: ...Sorry.

Shinnosuke: !

It was the first time that he or anyone else heard Kiri speak anything outside the names of her magic after being swallowed up by the Labyrinth Disease, yet Shinnosuke couldn't think about that anymore. The reason why was that the instant his Holy Sword was about to save Kiri, of the three sword remaining and hovering behind her back, one blade shattered into hundreds of shards. The shards then began to glow and dissolve into a fine blue mist.

Blue Mist Travel Switch.

A magic that allowed Kiri to be one with mist and through it. It was a magic everyone was desperate to seal off, yet they were unaware of the final feature of the magic. By destroying the sword that actives the magic permanently one can make an emergency cloud of mist to use one last time.

A one-time life saving measure to escape harm. A magic that allowed Kiri to escape the stabbing thrust of Shinnosuke's Holy Sword and reappear taking his back. Shinnosuke had no time to use his the Demon Sword - Phantom Substitution with the demanding Holy Sword active, so he could only watch as Kiri's katana cut through the air towards him.

Shinnosuke tried to bring up the Holy Sword in his defense, yet his dominant left hand holding the sword was slashed off and spun away towards the ceiling. Kiri then kicked Shinnosuke, using his body as a makeshift stepping platform to jump back up to the rafters.

Aqua: No!

Shin: Aqua, what-

Aqua cursed loudly and dove towards Shinnosuke before Shin could stop her. Aqua was weakened after using her Eclipse Fang Nen attack, yet she had no choice. Shinnosuke's death meant the end for almost everyone on the team, including herself.

Shinnosuke's death would mean negative 4,000 points for every Player of Team Japan. Everyone already suffered a negative 1,500 points due to Yousuke's death. At negative 5,500, even if Kiri is killed in the end by a Player the only person who would survive penalty D-Zero would be that one Player who kills Kiri.

Aqua knew that Shinnosuke's life meant more than anyone else's, and so she didn't hesitate to catch the injured Shinnosuke from falling to his death and protect him with her life. Shin watched in horror as Aqua and Shinnosuke fell to the temple floor. Shin came to the same conclusion as Aqua and agreed, but he wasn't fine with Aqua dying for him or anyone else in the team.

Shin: Aqua!

Shin yelled as the two hit the temple floor, yet in the end they survived. Aqua, at the last minute, entered the Unlocked Mode of the Second Stage and landed on legs that had grown three times in size and strength. The wooden floor cracked and the surrounded mist dispersed at the crash landing point, yet both Aqua and Shinnosuke still lived. Shin saw that they both looked horrible and doubted if they could continue to fight, but at the very least they were alive... but they were not the only ones.

Kiri, who used Shinnosuke as a platform, had safely returned to the rafters. Shin looked hard at Kiri and saw her condition.

The good news was that Kiri was still badly wounded having lost an arm, a leg, and had lost three of her katanas in the battle so far. Kiri lost half of her magic arsenal and only had Heart-String Cut Switch, Cloak-and-Dagger Switch, and Sword-Wave Switch remaining.

Shin had perfectly seen through those three magics, so he felt confident to face Kiri in her current state. Then there was the bad news. Kiri was healing quickly. The wounds on her torso were healed and her left leg was half way recovered from the knee.

Shin: I can't allow her the time to heal! I also don't have time as well!

Shin was pressed for time for two reasons. The first problem was that if he gave the time for Kiri to heal and regenerate her lost limbs then he had no hope of defeating her alone and worn out as he was. The second reason, yet more immediate problem, was what he saw on the ground floor of the temple when he watched Aqua and Shinnosuke fall. The monsters of the Labyrinth: Skeleton Warriors, Zombie Warriors, Undead Spearman, and dangerous Elite monster of all variations were slowly beginning to pour into the temple.

His comrades had all gathered together in a corner of the temple. They were tired, wounded, and didn't have the strength for another fight, so they could only make one last stand in a far off corner of the temple as the endless number of monsters poured in.

Shin: This is it. I have to-

Shin had already readied the Gravity Blade in his two hands as he took a step forward towards Kiri. Kiri was waiting for him with a sword raised not willing to wait to fully be healed to end their fight once and for all. Shin agreed with that, yet at the last moment he noticed something shining to his right.

Shin: Th-this is...

Shin only now noticed the two handed silver sword, that the powerful Holy Sword of Shinnosuke was embedded into the rafters a few feet in front of him. After spinning through the air it made its way back, yet he was too worried about his comrades to notice.

Shin knew it wasn't the time to be getting distracted, yet curiosity got the better of him even in this dire situation. Shin was confused since the silver sword, Holy Sword was a sword brought into existence through magic and should disappear after leaving Shinnosuke's reach.

That made Shin curious, and before he realized it, he extended his free arm towards the handle the Holy Sword and grasped it tightly. Then as soon as Shin pulled the two-handed silver sword out of the wooden rafter... he felt a weight on his body, like something was taken away from him. This feeling was horrible and the reason for it was the sword in his hands.

Shin was not the owner of the silver Holy sword, yet it began to flow with a profound radiance that was nothing less than a holy light like the sword's name implied. It was only then that Shin recalled that the Holy Sword magic was a magic that required Shinnosuke's full capacity to use and he was unable to use any other magic at the same time, yet that was not important. What gained Shin's attention even more than the loss of his strength was the notification from God in his head that took him by surprise.

Shin: ...Quest Item.

\- HIDDEN SIDE QUEST ACTIVATED!

PLAYER SHIN HAS PICKED UP QUEST ITEM: HOLY SWORD SWITCH, AND HAS ACTIVATED HIDDEN SIDE QUEST. THE HOLY SWORD MAGIC IS THE ONLY MAGIC CURRENTLY IN EXISTENCE THAT CAN SAVE DISEASED GIRLS FROM THEIR FATE OF BEING KILLED, OR TO ETERNALLY WONDER THE HALLWAYSS OF A LABYRINTH. THE MAIN CHARACTER SHINNOSUKE ARISU AND HIS COMRADES WISH TO SAVE THEIR COMRADE KIRI KIRYUU FROM THE《LABYRINTH DISEASE》. DEFEAT THE DISEASE GIRL OF EMPRESS' GRAVE 44 WITH HOLY SWORD SWITCH MAGIC. ALL PLAYERS WILL BE REWARDED POINTS AND RANKED REWARDS. WARNING: TO USE THE INCOMPLETE HOLY SWORD MAGIC REQUIRES THE HOLDERS FULL CAPACITY. ALL ENHANCEMENTS AND EXCHANGED ABILITIES ARE TAKEN AWAY FROM THE HOLDER OF THE HOLY SWORD. LASTLY, LETTING GO OF THE HOLY SWORD WILL PERMANENTLY CANCEL THE HIDDEN SIDE QUEST.

\- Team Japan VS Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu - Battle to Save the Girl and the World.

Shin heard the notification about the Hidden Side Quest and was overwhelmed. Shin thinking speed, as he was still in Unlocked Mode, was amazing with everything happening in a few seconds, yet thinking about everything the Hidden Side Quest meant overloaded his brain with information and he hesitated on what to do next, and that opening didn't go unnoticed by his foe.

Kiri, with just one leg to support herself, moved with a speed impossible for normal men and flanked Shin's in an instant. Shin sensed danger and rolled forward as soon as he felt danger to escape a one-handed slash. He was still in Unlocked Mode, so his battle senses were at his peak, yet even then, a big piece of muscle was cut off from his back in that exchange.

Shin: Gahhh! I feel so weak!

Shin confirmed once more that the powers he gained through God's Exchanges were gone.

Stats that allowed him to overpower normal men with ease were gone. One-eyed Ghoul Mutation and his Kagune that allowed him to heal from almost any wound and attack with blood red tentacles as extensions of himself were gone. Ki Energy that increased his already high stats and enabled him to use fictional special attacks were gone.

All of Shin enhancements and exchanged skills were forever sealed away as long as he continued to hold onto the Holy Sword. Shin still had his equipment that increased his fighting ability, yet he was still little more than an average man. Shin wanted nothing more than to throw the silver sword in his hands away so he could stand a chance against Kiri, but the voice in the back of his head stopped him from doing so.

At that moment Shin cared little for a Hidden Side Quest or Quest Item, yet the points were too tempting. Not for himself, but for the team. As it stood the next time any member of Hero Team dies it was the end of Team Japan. Some might survive, yet if Shinnosuke, or two other members of Hero Team die than no will make it out of the mission alive.

Hero Team and Shin's comrades were fighting against an army of monster at that very moment. A lot of them could die. Everyone could die.

Shin: (If I let go of this sword and regain my abilities... can I kill Kiri in time before someone falls? If I use this sword that will guarantee the defeat of a Diseased Girl with one touch of the blade and gain more points... can I defeat Kiri without enhancements?)

Shin felt it was impossible to defeat Kiri even while she was injured... yet in the end Shin choose to put away the Gravity Blade in his left hand and hold the two-handed silver Holy Sword. Shin smiled wryly to himself that he made the most foolish, yet overall correct, choice. Shin had the ability to defeat Kiri on his own, so choosing to put his back against the wall without most of his powers in exchange for a sword to bring an end to the battle in one attack wasn't the worst idea in the world.

Shin: (When I took another look I was not left without nothing. There's a little bit of Ki Energy that I cultivated on my own with Sozin on the island. Also, the strength I built up by rigorously training my body, breaking down and building back up this body. Thanks to my mutation I'm closer to a pro athlete in strength right now.

Shin also had the instincts and strength available to him from being Unlocked. It appeared that God didn't take away any power that he earned himself and that's what will save his life.

A Sword-Wave Slash aiming to decapitate Shin was released from Kiri. Ducking down to avoid the laser slash, Shin trusting his instincts, he entered into the Second Stage and jumped backwards as far as he could. The second Shin's feet left the ground a series of small swords stabbed into the space he had just occupied.

Shin: Too close!

Shin, landing a ways backwards, felt himself off balance, almost falling off the rafters, yet he stood his ground. Then another Sword-Wave cut through the air and Shin dove away desperately to the side. The laser slash cut through his coat and nicked his side, yet Shin managed to survive another attack.

Shin knew from those short exchanges he couldn't compete with Kiri, yet he had to. Shin looked down one last time to the floor of the temple and saw his comrades completely surrounded by enemies in the corner of the temple. Aqua, Misaki, Shuai, Jin, Shinnosuke, and Shiri were receiving emergency care from Himi's Ban-Aid Switch magic. Only Hikari, Kampa, Connor, and Gunjou had the ability to fight back, yet they weren't going to last another ten seconds at this rate.

Shin: Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Shin roared loudly. He was calm enough to think up one last move to get close enough to stab Kiri with the Holy Sword, but he was still panicking. Shin had no time to even defeat Kiri with his original abilities, so he put everything on the line with one last straight forward charge. It was the right call since he had no time left for anything else.

\- [Zero Hours - Zero Minutes - Eight Seconds until the Labyrinth becomes an Eternal Labyrinth].

Shin draining 1/5 of his remaining Ki Energy enter into his Na Ring and retrieved a single item.

\- [Zero Hours - Zero Minutes - Seven Seconds until the Labyrinth becomes an Eternal Labyrinth].

Shin threw the retrieved item, a smoke grenade towards Kiri and it exploded. Smoke swiftly filled the space under the ceiling and Kiri nor Shin could see each other, yet they both knew that this was the last exchange.

Using a sloppy Instant Movement that drained 2/4 of his remaining Ki Shin jumped towards the source of the greatest feeling of death in the temple, in the whole Empress' Grave Labyrinth. That's where he knew the Diseased Girl Kiri was waiting for him.

\- [Zero Hours - Zero Minutes - Four Seconds until the Labyrinth becomes an Eternal Labyrinth].

Kiri, having just regenerated her left arm and leg too, felt Shin coming towards her and took a sword stance. Even as a Diseased Girl Kiri was a master swordsman. Holding a single katana in her hands she swung her sword at her approaching opponent.

\- [Zero Hours - Zero Minutes - Three Seconds until the Labyrinth becomes an Eternal Labyrinth].

Kiri, with no hesitation, slashed the space in front of her. She felt her katana cut against the Lesser Fenrir Coat and then flesh of muscle, yet to her surprise her blade stopped there.

\- [Zero Hours - Zero Minutes - Two Seconds Until the Labyrinth becomes an Eternal Labyrinth].

Shin, deep into Unlocked Mode of the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint, using a level of concentration never before achieved, reflected the damage of Kiri's slash. Reflecting all attacks with one's muscles reinforced by Ki Energy was the sign of a master martial arts, yet with Shin's lack of skill and Ki, this move only allowed him to catch the katana with his muscles.

Shin: I win!

Shin brought down the silver weapon, Holy Sword and slashed down at Kiri

\- [Zero Hours - Zero Minutes - One Second until the Labyrinth becomes an Eternal Labyrinth].

Kiri, in a last act of desperation to stop the large two handed sword and natural enemy to all Diseased Girls, allowed her left hand to let go of her katana and catch the Holy Sword. Shin had put his all in that last slash, yet it was no match against the strength of a rank 44 Disease Girl.

Shin: (I said that I won!)

The blade of the Holy Sword that the girl has blocked with her hand shone with an excessive brilliance, disappearing and blinding Kiri. The blade, which is a fake portion of the sword that holds no power at all, vanished. What remained was the real form of the sword. Something shorter than the blade of a knife. The part that resembles a paper knife pierces through the heart trapped by the Labyrinth Disease of his opponent.

Kiri: ...Huh?

Kiri was surprised, but it is already too late. Once the Holy Sword cuts into he flesh of the Diseased Girls the wielder's consciousness forcefully enters the Diseased Girl. The power of the Holy Sword switch is to show an illusion to the opponent who is stabbed by it, and it then rewires the brain of the opponent.

It is a magic that is specially made to deal with diseased girls, developed for the sake of saving Shinnosuke's little sister, Saki, and was now being used on the Diseased Girl Kiri. It is a magic that forcibly rewires the brain of the Diseased Girl to cut her heart away from the Labyrinth Disease and save her as a result. The proof of this was revealed as the two black demonic hands that had silently followed behind Kiri the entire time began to fade away.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD, KILL THE GIRL AND SAVE THE WORLD - PLAYER SHIN AWARDED 4000 POINTS AND TWO C RANK REWARD FOR DEFEATING DISEASED GIRL KIRI KIRYUU! ALL OTHER PLAYERS REWARDED 2500 POINTS A

In the next instant. With the power of the Holy Sword, two individuals entered the depths of Kiri's heart. It carried the same type of feeling when Shinnosuke entered the heart of Asahi Momoka. One could ask why one needed to step into another heart to save the girls infected with the Labyrinth Disease, yet deep down, those who go through the effort to save another person understand.

Shin: ...This is...

Shinnosuke: You're here?

Shin: ...

Shinnosuke: And so am I. Well, you did somehow use the sword that only I should be able to use, but you got us this far. I won't bother for explanations now. Could you hand it over? The Holy Sword?

Shin: This? Sure.

Shinnosuke: Thanks. As embarrassing as it is, this is a matter between comrades. I'll handle the rest.

Saying so, Shinnosuke took back the Holy Sword from Shin and began to walk forward. The inside of Kiri's heart is made up of darkness. A dark darkness that was somehow more solitary than Asahi Momoka's.

Kiri was currently sitting alone in the corner of that dark darkness with her legs folded against her chest. Kiri normal acted so strong, but now she looked so pitiful. It was no act and Kiri no longer felt any reason to keep living. Her life was one that of betrayal that she had been on both sides of and what kept her afloat all these years was gone. It was clear to both those present that Kiri was almost an empty shell without the will to live... but something like that wouldn't stop Shinnosuke.

Shin and the others of Team Japan were present in the Labyrinth, yet they didn't see the moment that he changed, when Shinnosuke admitted to himself that his comrades were important and that he needed them. Not just for his own goal to save his sister trapped in Apocalypse Alice, but to survive the cruel world that they lived in. Shinnosuke knew that he was no longer alone and that he didn't want to be alone anymore either. That's why he was here now to-

Shinnosuke: Hey Kiri.

Kiri: ...

Shinnosuke: You won't speak, huh? Well, I can't blame you. You put us all through a lot. Also, that glasses guy, Yousuke died inside your Labyrinth.

Kiri: ...

Shinnosuke: I don't how the others feel, but they probably feel conflicted. Yousuke... was a halfway decent guy. He didn't need to die here today and he was someone important to Shiro and Himi. After I save you, you'll have to face them.

Kiri: ...

Shinnosuke: This wasn't your fault, Kiri, it's my cousin's fault for doing something stupid like infecting you with the-

Kiri: ...It's my fault, Shinnosuke.

Shinnosuke: ...

Kiri: It's my fault that everything happened. I am – or was a spy. A spy sent by the Kowloon Devils Group. I've been sent all over the world to steal, get close to people, and kill them. Some of those people I could even call comrades and friends, or those who believed I were such. I'm the type of person you hate the most, Shinnosuke.

Shinnosuke: ...

Kiri: Do you know why your cousin attacked me? It was her twisted method to protect you from me. Kowloon Devils Group sent me here to Japan to in preparation to raid Apocalypse Alice... your sister's Labyrinth. We were going to take advantage of the Labyrinth that your sister gave birth to, to acquire the most powerful magic to rule the world.

Shinnosuke: ...So it was something like that... disgusting.

Kiri: I know, but it doesn't end there. Kowloon Devils Group were going to work with Mitsutomo Group, the organization backing Gunjou, turn her into a Diseased Girl and connect her Labyrinth to your sister's. It would have weakened Apocalypse Alice and allowed us a chance to raid the Labyrinth. Also, in the event that you would try to raid Gunjou's Labyrinth I was supposed to kill you and anyone else that comes with you.

Shinnosuke: Kiri... you're really...

Kiri: I know. Afoul, right!? That's why you should just leave-

Shinnosuke: Kiri, you're really... a half-assed assassin.

Kiri: What?

Shinnosuke: Kiri, did you really believe that you had me fooled for even a second? It was obvious from the minute that we met that you were up to something. Master assassin or spy, you're a failure at both. How could I, or anyone else, be fooled by a girl like you with obviously fake breasts?

Kiri: Fake!? I have you know that every inch of my body is authentic!

Shinnosuke: ...Good. As I thought you are really Kiri.

Kiri: Huh?

Shinnosuke: In the end you are the same Kiri that I knew. A shameless woman who uses her body to try to win me over. A woman who tries to get close to me and go on dates. A woman... who admires what normal people have and just wants to have fun at karaoke places.

Kiri: ...

Shinnosuke: Kiri, no matter what your life has been like, I'm going to save you. I need you for my own ambitions... to save my sister... and maybe even the world as well, but at this moment those things don't matter. What does matter is that you're my comrade.

Kiri: ...But I-

Shinnosuke: No buts! If there is still something stopping you, a person out there with their hold on you, I'll destroy them. I, no, Shiro, Himi, Gunjou, and I will all protect you! As disgusting as it is, if you talk about friendship and being comrades as much as we do... in the end that's what you become. Friends you can trust and comrades you can leave your back to without worry.

Kiri: ...But I've done so much, I-

Shinnosuke: That doesn't concern me. If you still wish to be forgiven, first go talk to Shiro, Himi, and Gunjou. Afterwards, work together with me to save my sister and all the Diseased Girls of the world. And afterwards... if you still have something to feel bad about we'll deal with it then. No matter what form your redemption takes, I'll be there.

Kiri wanted to say something more, but Shinnosuke wouldn't let her. The time limit for Hero Sword's magic was coming to an end. Shinnosuke readied the weapon he had placed all of his hopes and dreams in, the Holy Sword, and pointed the tip at Kiri's heart. Shinnosuke's hands were slightly unsteady, yet Shin standing to the side saw that his focus was absolute.

Shinnosuke: Kiri, I'm a coward. I might kill you, so please Kiri... let me save you! Don't let this be how our story ends!

With those last words towards his comrade, Shinnosuke thrust his sword at Kiri's chest. Kiri, with tears in her eyes, gazed into Shinnosuke's eyes as his sword pierced into her heart... and then in the next instant, Kiri disappears.

The surrounding darkness disappears.

With that, it all came to an end.

Everything ended.

The battle of Team Japan.

The battle of Hero Team.

To Kill the Girl and Save the World.

To Save the Girl and Save the World.

Shinnosuke might have killed Kiri. He might have saved her... but for Shin those things weren't important. Shin, in the end, was an outsider in this story. A person who didn't belong in the story of Apocalypse Alice. Shin was the leader of Team Japan. He had his own worries, dreams, and responsibilities to worry about and didn't – shouldn't worry over the fate of the main characters of a fictional world... yet Shin couldn't help but feel awed by what he saw in Kiri's heart between her and Shinnosuke.

Shinnosuke wasn't a leader, but he was the core of an amazing team of individuals. Shiro, Himi, Gunjou, and himself. Yousuke was gone, yet he would never be forgotten as well. Shinnosuke, deep down, wanted friends and comrades as he faced the difficulties of a world filled with betrayal, liars, and endless darkness... and now that wish had been fulfilled with Hero Team.

Shin: (Our circumstances and motives are different but I want to make a group amazing like Shinnosuke did. He did so unintentionally, yet it was a team of magicians who wouldn't lose to anyone, not even Apocalypse Alice. I want that. A team that works together to overcome anything and also... a team that would even make Saki smile with pride having risked her life to save us, in her own way.)

Those were the last thoughts of Shin as he was driven out from the depths of Kiri's heart and the mission of Apocalypse Alice completely. The story of saving the Girl and the World was over, and so time moves forward to the world of God and his experiment to push mankind to evolve. It was a world of little romance or adventure, just death and struggles, yet it was the world Shin belonged in.

\- HIDDEN SIDE QUEST COMPLETED!

THE DISEASED GIRL OF EMPRESS' GRAVE 44 HAS BEEN DEFEATED WITH HOLY SWORD SWITCH MAGIC! YOU HAVE SAVED THE WORLD AND THE GIRL! EVERY PLAYER REWARDED 2000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD! CAN STACK WITH SIDE QUEST #3. PLAYER SHIN WHO USED HOLY SWORD SWITCH TO DEFEAT THE DISEASED GIRL IS AWARDED QUEST ITEM, HOLY SWORD SWITCH WHICH CAN BE EXCHANGED IN GOD'S DIMENSION FOR 500 POINTS AS A MAGIC SKILL!

GOD'S MISSION

APOCALYPSE ALICE, TWENTY MAN MISSION.

ALTERNATE STORY PLOT.

MAIN QUEST: The Mission.

Objective 1. Clear the Labyrinth Empress' Grave 44 and defeat its Diseased Girl. Six hours before becoming an Eternal Labyrinth and mission failure. Mission Failure will result in death for all Players.

Objective 2. Protect the Main Characters.

Base Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

Combat Mission Reward: 1000 Points and two D rank rewards.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points

2\. Labyrinth Monster KILL - Every 100 monsters defeated. Rewarded 10 Points.

3\. Labyrinth Elite KILL - Defeat an Elite Monster. Rewarded 50 Points.

4\. The Rise of HERO TEAM - If Shinnosuke Arisu is alive by the end of the mission every Player rewarded D rank reward. If all main characters are alive every Player rewarded an additional D rank reward.

5\. KILL the GIRL and SAVE the WORLD - A Player defeats the Diseased Girl of Empress' Grave 44. Rewarded 4000 Points and two C rank reward. All other Players rewarded 2500 Points and C rank reward.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 for a Player killing a New Player. A New Player is a New Player till the start of their second mission.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. D-ZERO - Any player with 0 or negative points at the end of a mission after all calculations are finished, will be killed, no exception.

4\. The Fall of HERO TEAM - The death of Shinnosuke Arisu Negative 4000 points. Any other member Negative 1500 Points.

5\. Escape or Die - The option to escape the Labyrinth exist with the magic ESCAPE Switch already set within a Headphone Fuzz, but can only be used on the lowest level of the Labyrinth Empress' Grave 44 bottom floor. If there are no living Players inside the Labyrinth before it is cleared then all Players will be killed. To use the ESCAPE Magic to bring an extra person along will cost a Player 100 Points.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Mission Information.

1\. Headphone Fuzz - Every Player will be given a Headphone Fuzz. The magic ESCAPE will be automatically uploaded onto the Headphone Fuzz.

2\. Magic Deception - Up to six Sci-fi, Magic Tools, Support, and Entertainment Items and other powers will be perceived as Magics from the Headphone Fuzz. Any additional powers/tools will appear suspicious in the eyes of others.

TOTAL SCORE:

Base Survival Reward 1000 Points +

Combat Mission Reward 1000 Points and two D rank rewards +

Protect Main Characters D rank reward +

Five Hundred and Three Labyrinth Monster KILL 50 Points +

Twelve Labyrinth Elite KILL 600 Points +

KILL the GIRL and SAVE the WORLD 4000 Points and 2C rank reward +

SAVE the Girl and SAVE the WORLD 2000 Points and C rank reward +

YOUSUKE ENDOU DEAD Negative 1500 Points +

Current Points: 3 Points and two C rank rewards

TOTAL CALCULATED SCORE = 7153 POINTS AND 2B RANK REWARD


	101. Chapter 101

Shin: It's sad to think of this place as home, but I'm glad to be back.

Hikari: Seconded.

Misaki: I'll agree to that. I just want to embrace Mokoto now. That Genetic Constraint stuff is a bitch! I was already injured by the Demonic Knight and then I started to spasm on the floor! Without repairs I would have died.

Aqua: Well at least you unlocked your constraint at the very end of the mission. Shin and I had to... Jin?

Jin: Ha... Haha... Hahahahaha! Amazing! This is God's Dimension! A flying ball of light that gives out any of the abilities right out of video games, the power to repair my body to perfect condition, human creations, and who knows what else! Hahaha! For the first time in my life I'm glad to be alive!

Shuai: ...Is this guy okay?

Kampa: Who knows.

Connor: ...

Shin: As they say... It's always a pain in the ass to break in new neighbors, but this saying was created for this exact situation. Though I don't know who says this. Anyways, the point I'm trying to make is SHUT UP Jin!

After a wave of repairs, all eight Players of Team Japan standing on the platform sighed with mixed emotions. Shin, Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, Jin, and Connor all looked somewhat defeated despite surviving their latest mission.

Even Shin himself had to rest on the floor due to his mental exhaustion. The last ten minutes of fighting was a roller coaster ride between life and death which they all barely survived. It was the type of battle that gave them a glimpse of hope while pushing them into hopelessness at the same time.

The experience was worse than it was in BTOOOM thanks to being forcefully separated at the start of the mission, along with the betrayal of Derrick and the other newbies, so they were all really fortunate that they made it back to God's Dimension alive. Shin was just glad they were able to meet up before the final battle against Kiri and he was sure that the others felt the same.

Shin himself was just glad that, in the end, Team Japan made it out alive in one piece. None of the original six members; Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, or Shuai died. Shin was disappointed that he couldn't win most of the newbies over this time around and that they died despite there being a small chance they could have become allies, but he still believed that he fulfilled his responsibility as leader by making sure the ones he acknowledged as comrades came back alive and well.

Additionally, the only two New Players that didn't betray Shin and the rest of Team Japan showing the most potential, Connor and Jin, survived to make it back to the Terminal Lobby.

Connor, similarly to Shin, Aqua, and now Misaki, had unlocked his constraint, but before even arriving in God's Dimension, so even without enhancements he was a reliable comrade. If the mission of Apocalypse Alice wasn't magic themed, or if only Connor had a better weapon, then the final battle would have went much smoother.

As for Jin, despite having an average man's physical fitness and a personality that clashed with everyone, held a brilliant mind that rivaled Saki's, and was both reliable and scary at time. Jin was also somewhat skilled with the Magic Attack Scrolls. Jin might possess the talent for wielding magic, so he would have been much better off with some simple magic enhancements and skills.

Shin: Haha! No matter what happened, we are at least alive and our numbers increased by two. We suffered a penalty for the deaths of a member of Hero Team and that Newbie bastard Derrick, but we made off with a lot of points. We definitely gained more than what we lost and most importantly: we survived.

Aqua: Shin, can you stop your monologue for a moment and do your job as leader. We're all healed now. We need to go over our points and we also have new newbies with us. Stop sitting on your ass.

Shin: Sorry.

Aqua: Ah... no, you did a very good job back there and you even saved my skin. Sorry for getting nagging at you like that.

Aqua offered Shin a hand to stand up, which he accepted with a wide smile on his face, as she pulled him up. Shin saved the day by defeating Kiri, yet he didn't exactly save Aqua from any life threatening event. For the first time, Shin somewhat kept up with Aqua in battle, yet she was still a cut above him.

That last move of Aqua, Eclipse Fang, which nearly killed Diseased Girl Kiri in one shot, said it all. Additionally, if Aqua had full control of her mutated full wolf form she could have taken out Kiri and the Demonic Knights alone. When Shin thought of it like that, if Aqua just soloed the mission without the worry of comrades she would have had an easier time of things.

Shin: No problem. Girlfriends are supposed to nag their boyfriends a little.

Aqua: Whatever you say, but I wouldn't know anything about that.

Shin: So stubborn. Well, that's what I love about you.

Aqua: Fool.

Aqua, slightly blushing, looked away, yet that action only excited Shin more. He was about to go on, but Hikari, who was glaring at him from a distance, made him aware that he was ignoring his other girlfriend/wife to be. Aqua saw this and smiled mockingly at him, and an embarrassed Shin had to turn away.

Feeling ganged up on by girls on two sides, Shin gathered everyone's attention. In an attempt to change the mood in the room, Shin chose to get the team discussion right back on track.

Shin: So... How many points did everyone make this time around? We all received different amount of points, right? Hell, even I don't know how many points and rewards I have due to all the Side Quest and Hidden Side Quest rewards notifications in this mission.

Wanting to know, I immediately closed my eyes to get in contact with God. The amount of points I now had shocked me. It was a grand total of 7050 Points and two B rank rewards even with the Hero Team Fall penalty that I thought had ruined us.

Now that it was coming back to me I recalled that due to the death of Yousuke of Hero Team everyone ended up as a penalty, including myself. I was deducted 1,500 points, but completing the mission rewarded 1,000 points and another 1,000 and two D rank rewards for it being a combat mission, so that about more than evened out. My worst fear that no one else of Hero Team died in those last moments didn't come true.

On the way to the Diseased Girl I defeated quite a number of labyrinth monsters and elites as well. Defeating over five hundred monsters awarded 50 points. Defeating twelve Elite Monsters awarded 600 points. There was also a small gift of a D rank reward for just keeping Shinnosuke alive to the very end.

I received 4,000 points and even two C rank rewards in the final battle for being the one to defeated Diseased Girl Kiri. Then everyone including myself was awarded 2,000 points and C rank reward thanks to me defeating her with Holy Sword Magic due to the Hidden Side Quest.

Shin: I was really starting to worry when we lost so many points thanks to that asshole Derrick and the other newbies, but in the end we all came out on top. My repairs only cost 103 points, so I made a bit over 7000 points and I have two B rank rewards. I made the most, but everyone here has around 5000 points or so, right?

Connor: My total says I made 5260 and a B rank reward. 10 points for my repairs, so it's now 5250. Also, I was busy fighting, so I don't know how I made an extra C rank reward and 2000 points.

Hikari: Yeah, I also received that extra C rank reward 2000 points. Ah, by the way my total is 5000 Points and a B rank reward. I didn't need repairs.

Misaki: After repairs 5,020 points and a B rank reward.

Kampa: After repairs 5300 points, one B and one D rank rewards.

Shuai: After repairs 4600 points, one B and one D rank rewards. The D rank reward is from the last mission that I never used.

Jin: After repairs 4,850 points and a B rank reward! Hahaha! Points and rewards to power myself up! This really is like a game... except for being slashed in the shoulder and stabbed in the stomach part... this is the best time of my life!

Aqua: Shut up! One Shin is bad enough. Anyways, I made a 5,030 Points and B rank reward, but after the repairs from the final fight it became 4,510 Points. I made a lot of points since I killed so many elites and normal monsters, so I'm around the same as everyone else even with the penalties. Still, it feels like a loss. If not for those Newbies I would have had an extra 2,500 points putting me up there with Shin! Tch, whatever. No use crying over spilled milk. Anyways, Shin, you did something right? We all received an extra 2,000 Points C rank reward, so it had to have been you. Doing crazy stunts for points and rewards is your specialty.

Shin: You're right, but I wouldn't call it a crazy stunt... just a life or death, do or die action to save the day. Nothing special.

Hikari: How is that not exactly how Aqua just said you were? Shin please explain what happened.

Everyone wanted to know exactly what happened in the final battle since most of them were either knocked out, or busy fighting for their lives, so Shin had to explain what happened.

The Diseased Girl Kiri Kiryuu knocked away the main character Shinnosuke's weapon, Holy Sword Switch, and then I picked it up on whim. Maybe to even give it back to Shinnosuke since it strangely didn't disappear despite being formed from magic. That was the plan, but I was immediately notified by God that the sword was a Quest Item and informed about a Hidden Side Quest.

Shin then used Holy Sword Switch to defeat the Diseased Girl, which saved Kiri. It was what Hero Team wanted from the start and it completed the Hidden Side Quest. Everyone was awarded 2,000 points and C rank reward. Additionally Shin was given the right to exchange for the Quest Item and magic weapon Holy Sword Switch from God for 500 points.

Everyone looked at Shin with envy, but no one was upset at his good luck since he is a main combatant of Team Japan and, despite gaining a powerful Quest Item, in the end Shin didn't gain that much more than everyone else. Just an extra 2000 points or so from the average of Team Japan.

After going over the team's gains, only Hikari and Shuai received the least since she had no combat ability to defeat any of the labyrinth monsters, much less the elites. Aqua was at rock bottom only because of the penalties she faced.

Furthermore, everyone received at least an extra thousand and two D rank reward points due to the high level of fighting that was demanded of them by the mission. Even though this mission was dangerous, the rewards were also generous due to the dangers they faced.

Shin: Maybe I shouldn't say this as the leader, but it really was a miracle that we all made it, and even that two newbies survived to make it here. Not only was it that Apocalypse Alice story, it was a twenty man mission on top of that. Maybe you really can't understand without in depth knowledge of the Light Novels, but even a seven man mission should have killed most of us.

Aqua: No Shin. We all lived through the Labyrinth, so we know how bad of a situation we were in. At a full twenty Player difficulty and God having a field day with rewriting the story like that, and even having us appear at random levels of the Labyrinth separated... 100% we should have been wiped.

Hikari: If you two are right then maybe there are still some things we do now know about God's Dimension and the Mission Worlds. We should have wiped, yet we didn't. Why?

Jin: Yeah. I'm new here, yet even I can see that. Difficulty may not just be determined by the number of Players either. Sure it's one factor, but there could be more. Our initial actions, the strength of each individual Player, who is our strongest member, skill sets and so on. I could keep going on forever if I have to consider all the possible 'ifs'. Heck, we don't even know if this God makes plot changes beforehand, or if he is watching over the game board and his making changes in real time.

Shuai: Like Game Masters in old role playing games?

Jin: Yes. Typically, the role of a game master in a traditional role-playing game is to weave the other participants' player-character stories together, and control the non-player aspects of the game, creating environments in which the players can interact, and solving any player disputes. The basic role of the game master is the same in almost all traditional role-playing games, although differing rule sets make the specific duties of the game master unique to that system.

Aqua: Our main concern is that we don't have the full scope of the system in this world. God never had a real sit down with us about the rules, so we can't call him on anything even if he changes the rules, or outright breaks them.

Shin: Then since we don't know; let's not worry about it, okay? We will do our best to survive no matter what he throws at us. Simple right?

Hikari: You're the simple one here Shin.

Shin: ...

Since there were two new people, Shin and the others had to explain to Connor and Jin about how to use the rooms in the Terminal Lobby and arranged a meet up the next day to discuss their enhancements. Everyone was exhausted from the six hour hell thrill ride called Apocalypse Alice, and so they wanted nothing more than to rest.

Then everyone aside from Jin, Connor, and Shin went to their room.

Shin stayed to watch over the two newbies as the leader of Team Japan. Jin stayed behind to create his human. Despite Connor also having the option as well, he didn't make anyone, but that could just be because he was not interested in such things due to living his life on the battlefield even before arriving to God's Dimension of horrors, or just being the young age of ten.

Shin: Go take a rest you two. Jin, Connor, go get a room. You just have to hold onto the door handle and imagine the environment you want. The room will then change to match. Also, God gives everyone a chance to create a free living being as you're already aware.

Connor: I have no need for a sex doll.

Shin: They are not sex dolls, and especially don't say that to Misaki. His girlfriend is a human creation based on his childhood friend who died in the real world. Anyways, the Human Creation can be a man or woman, at any age, size, face, B-W-H, but keep in mind that this being can be created with two times a normal person's stats. I am referring to muscle density and reaction speed, so you can create a powerful bodyguard for yourselves. That's basically it, but don't use the points yet. We will discuss what everyone should enhance tomorrow. For now don't exchange for anything other than food and drinks. Its cheap point wise, yet the food would make billionaires cry in envy.

Jin: I see. Good to know, but it was probably someone else that told you about bodyguards, right? Can you tell me who it was? Is he still alive?

Shin: Why do you think so? Don't I look like someone that can come up with that?

Jin: The deduction is simple, I won't go into details. Judging from the fact that you are similar to me and see this place as a form of entertainment, you definitely won't be one to think about creating a bodyguard. Anime and Manga characters are what we would create and not for fighting outside the bedroom. That's why I am curious as to who this person is? Did he die in a previous mission?

Shin nodded in silence. That calm women with glasses, she was definitely the strongest mastermind that surpassed Jin in wisdom and military judgment. Even though there was no contest between the two as they are fundamentally different types of masterminds.

Saki was colder and more calculating than Jin, but what Jin had, and what Saki lacked, was emotion to understand the human heart... but in Jin's case it was madness and ruthlessness used to take advantage of his opponents and destroy those in the way of his fun. Essentially, a willpower to overcome what's in his way in life was what he possessed that Saki ultimately lacked.

Using a certain LightNovel as a reference, Saki was similar to the calculating and perfect female half of []. Jin was much like the male half of [] who dominated over the sister in games where human thoughts and emotions took priority over logic and absolute rules. It would have been nice if our team had a [] with the two of them together, but it was not to be.

Shin: That person was a she, not a he. They're gone now. Anyways, if you want to go over the exchanges I won't stop you, but do not actually exchange anything other than food, drinks, and normal clothes that cost next to nothing here.

Jin: Okay! Even though I am excited to check out all the exchanges, I am dead tired though I just held everyone back and was hardly useful, so I won't stay here for long.

Shin: There you go again. Whatever, see you tomorrow then. Connor you too.

Connor: ...Yeah.

Shin returned to his room and immediately fell unconscious. It was understandable how tired and worn out he was after the mission. The third mission was by far the shortest, yet it was also his most intense mission that didn't allow him any peace of mind.

Everyone else must have been in a similar condition since no one came to visit Shin as he was asleep, but about twelve hours later, with somewhat good rest, Shin woke up to the sound of someone yelling at him to wake up. Without even looking at who it was he knew it had to be one of the two girls he was in a relationship since only they had permission to enter his room. Shin then pushed his body off the bed and looked over towards the girl looking at him.

Shin: Hikari, if you wanted to do some bed things couldn't it have waited 'til later? I am still tired.

Hikari: Shut up, Shin! I just came to get you because everyone else is up and they asked me to come get you.

Shin: Really, what is wrong with everyone? We just had a marathon run through a twenty man mission in a magic Labyrinth. To be up and about after that is inhuman. Preparation for the next mission is important, but I am more than okay with everyone taking the day off.

Hikari: It isn't that we don't want to, but it's important.

Shin: Did something happen?

Hikari: Yes, but it is better if you see it for yourself. Also...

Hikari looked hesitant to say what she wanted to next not knowing if what she wanted to say should be said. Shin couldn't help but think that she was incredibly cute right now, yet he knew that something was going on with her. Shin didn't hurry Hikari and waited for her take as it seemed important, yet personal.

Hikari: Shin, I know we just came back from a break and... ten days are long enough for us to rest up, but that last mission was too much. If you make one mistake than that's it for us. Death. We came out alive this time and we should be saving up points and rewards, but I think another break would serve us all some good. What do you think Shin?

Shin: ...I agree with you that we shouldn't be so wasteful with points, but I don't see the harm in another break. Of course we can't spend too much time on a vacation like we did last time and we definitely can't go back to the real world as we are now. Would you be up to taking a ten day trip? That with the time we have here should be good enough to calm our nerves a little... but I see your point. Let's take a break.

Hikari was happy. She thought that her suggestion was too selfish since she, more than anyone else, wanted a break, but she was excited that Shin agreed with her idea. So much so that she jumped into Shin's arms and kissed him. Shin responded by going in for a deeper kiss and was about to do more, but Hikari stopped him when his hand grabbed her-

Hikari: Too far! Remember that I came in here to get you, right? If we do that now then by the time we come back out they would wonder what went on in here. Anyways, is it really okay to take a break?

Shin: Of course. We'll have to discuss this with the others, but I am sure they are all up for a break as well. We might have to use a D rank reward to unlock a new world, but it would only cost each of us 100 points for ten days of rest.

Hikari: D rank reward? Why open a new world?

Shin: We can go back to Apocalypse Alice without using a reward, but there most of the world should have been overrun by Labyrinths. Who knows if there are still vacation spots left in that world. Would the military really protect those places? We have unlocked the real world as well, but it's too dangerous with the Four Pillars and the cost of each day is 50 points instead of 10, so if say we want to stay 10 days it would cost 500 points. D rank rewards are worth more than 500 points in my opinion since you can get a useful weapon or tool like my Na Ring, but this time around we just have a lot of them. It's probably best that we unlock and take our vacations in BTOOOM since only that island is strange. We can discuss the finer details with the others later, so let's go and meet them now and discuss our enhancements and whatever it was you came to get me for.

Hikari: Are right... And thank you Shin. I, I, I lo-

Shin: Love me right? No problem. I love you too my second wife.

Hikari: WHY NOW OF ALL TIMES ARE YOU MENTIONING MY RANK IN YOUR HEART!

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Hoebagger

I believed that in day in a movie/mission world is ten points no matter what unless it is the real world when I wrote this. When Zheng went back to the mummy he spent 50 points per day. Anyways, I can't afford it, so it's ten points per day for the mission worlds in this Fan Fiction.


	102. Chapter 102

Although Shin had already decided to go with Hikari's suggestion, he was still rather uneasy at using the points for luxury. 100 points could mean buying a desert eagle for any of them, or a stat increase of 10. Even though it didn't need any ranked rewards to return to the previous mission, which they were going to use, but 100 points for ten extra days of resting was still wasteful. Other than Players like himself and Aqua, the others don't reap large amount of points on average during the missions.

Shin: It's best to just discuss it together. No small amount of points are worthless when it could mean life or death, but maybe they would think that it is worth it for a short vacation. I definitely need one and Apocalypse Alice was one of my favorite books.

Everyone gathered on the platform the next day, with Shin being the last one to arrive after Hikari was sent to get him. Before Shin got a chance to ask them what they needed him for, a gold colored stone tablet, that was not there before, came into view and took all of his attention. The gold colored stone tablet was floating five meters above the ground and emitted a gold light.

Those with an appreciation for the arts would have found the tablet beautiful, but not those here who have gone through life and death trials over and over again. For them it was nothing more than one more omen of death and violence that was waiting for them here in God's Dimension. Shin only needed to see the golden tablet once to feel a sinister foreboding energy on horizon.

Shin, being the last to arrive, knew the least of what was going on. He was about to go over and ask either Hikari or Aqua, but Connor, who had just finished cleaning one of his handguns, (an image that still feels... so, so wrong since he was only a ten year old kid) came over to explain before Shin had the chance to ask. It was unexpected that the quiet Connor would bother to strike up a conversation, yet maybe that was just another sign that the sinking feeling in the pit of Shin's stomach wasn't just his imagination.

Connor: I arrived before the others and that floating rock was already there. The others already saw it, so go look at it yourself before talking with anyone. There's some interesting information etched onto the floating golden tablet. A message from this God that you all keep bringing up.

Shin: A message. Okay, but whatever that floating light is, that isn't my god. I prefer a female one and one that wouldn't send me on death missions.

Connor: Whatever, just look at it leader (He said so sarcastically, the ten-year old child).

Shin did as he was told and moved closer to the tablet and when he focused onto the stone tablet, information appeared within his head just like when they were are talking to God.

\- When a team reaches a state where three human Players have unlocked their Genetic Constraints, this message will appear and stay in this dimension. We have all predicted that once a Genetic Constraint is unlocked to its Fifth Stage, the final stage of the constraint, the organism will evolve into a higher tier organism.

The human world will then advance or wreak havoc at the thought of that organism. In order to prevent the encounter of two or more high tier organisms from multiple teams, which may cause the extinctions of the human race, we've created the following rules.

When a team reaches a state where three human Players have unlocked their Genetic Constraints, that team will encounter other teams that belong to God's Dimension from other countries.

Killing a member from another team will be rewarded 2000 points and C rank reward. Killing a member that had unlocked the Genetic Constraint will be rewarded 7000 points and B rank reward. Eliminating the whole team will reward every member a rank C reward.

There does not exist cruelty, justice, or evil in this world... only one team can survive till the end. If you don't want to die, then surpass your limits and evolve.

Shin: ...So the time has finally come, huh?

This message was obviously incomplete. When Shin recovered from the shock of this message, he looked around at everyone who was in a daze. They had read the message before he arrived, yet they were all quiet and not talking. Aqua knew this was going to happen long before anyone else, so she was fine, yet the others were worried.

Most of them had already heard this was going to happen from Sozin, yet now that it was staring at them in the face, it had finally become real.

Connor and Jin weren't with them when they learned of Team Battles, but they got the general idea of how dangerous the future was for them now just by reading what was on the tablet. They also seemed to have been told about the general details of the Genetic Constraint and its meaning.

Shin, as the team leader, couldn't allow this awkward silence to continue as they need to discuss this, so he called out to them.

Shin: To start off with… Aqua or Hikari. Please analyze the meaning of this message. We heard some information from Sozin before, but let's go over it again for Connor and Jin's sake. Also, for the sake of multiple viewpoints, let's pretend we didn't have prior knowledge beforehand. Then we will compare what we come up with to the information that Aqua and Sozin provided for us.

Hikari: I'll go first then. This message is probably left by the creators of this world. And because it appears directly in our head, it will use words and language that we understand. Like the Genetic Constraint was a phrase that Saki and Sozin both used, yet it is possible there are other names for it due to languages and other cultures. Secondly, it mentioned an important bit of information that we are not the only ones in God's Dimension. In fact, I was suspicious of this for a while, even before we learned some information from Sozin. Didn't you notice that everyone who came into this world is Japanese for the most part? Kampa and Connor were just visiting Japan at the time they answered YES when they were brought here. The same applied to Zero, the half Chinese American sniper from BTOOOM, and the Irish man, Derrick, who betrayed us. This message tells us that there are other God's Dimensions, Terminal Lobbies, or central hubs from other countries, and that they also have similar teams.

Shin: The problem is that it is likely that they will belong to the Four Pillars, but let's leave that aside for the moment. Continue Hikari.

Then with Shin's permission, Hikari continued her analysis.

Hikari: The last point is that the creators originally didn't want two separate teams, or more, to return to the real world. It can lead to a war between the two teams in the real world due to a difference in beliefs, language, and moral values. Such situations are very destructive, like... if the sniper who died in BTOOOM, Zero, has ten times the strength and speed that he had originally, an unlimited ammunition Gauss sniper rifle, or more powerful Sci-fi weapon, and some other sci-fi equipment, he could rival a whole army. Not to mention the blueprints of advanced technologies that Saki once exchanged for. Top that to whatever the final stage of the Genetic Constraint is, then maybe no normal country or military organization can stop him.

Shin hearing this potential couldn't help but think of the Five Founders of the Four Pillars. The Immortal King, Deep Zero, Divine Blade Edge, Trinity, and their former leader of their Player team Wrath.

According to Sozin, a man who held the strength to save up points and escape God's Dimension, he was an insect compared to those five god level Players. While Sozin barely making it back to the real world by abandoning his comrades, those five stayed in God's Dimension longer necessary to get the very best exchanges.

They should of had the ability to completely change, or wipe out the real world. They didn't and instead play some sort of sick proxy war in God's Dimension, but if anyone of them chose to do so they could take over the world. Shin could only imagine that this didn't happen was because world conquest, or genocide was too much bothersome for those who have reached the realm of Gods... but in the end that's a whim. A whim that at any moment could change.

Aqua: That's nice to know, but the point is that we are probably going to encounter a team from another country in the next mission. And we will either be all killed or we will kill them all!

Shin: I wish that wasn't the case since we still have the missions to deal with, but most likely Aqua is dead right. Especially... since we have to deal with groups like Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade. The other two I don't know if they will attack us, but I won't hold my breath.

Shuai: It can't be that bad, right guys? Since we will be on the mission, then we should still have to follow God's restrictions and finish the missions or wait until time is up. The reason for such high rewards for killing a member of the other team is probably to entice the teams to start a war with the other, but if both sides don't attack then it's possible that both sides can survive.

Misaki: Shuai might be on to something. Maybe it would be possible to work together depending on the missions we have, or at the very least stay away from each other. I'm all for a fight now that I've unlock my constraint, but I don't want to see any of us die.

Kampa: I understand what you said Misaki, but the real world is not so innocent. I know from fighting my own wars before coming here. Like two sides of an opposing army in war, both teams will be concerned with the other team attacking first and gaining an advantage... we will not only have to face the monsters within the missions, but also members of the other team... they will want to kill us just like those monsters! All it'll take is just one bullet fired.

Shin: Bullet of World Revolution, right? The tension within the missions are high to begin with, and now the Team Battles will make it even worse. At such critical levels all it will take is a single bullets to ignite a war. Just like volume seven of Black Bullet. Also, once the fires of wars are lit then it won't end at just one life taken.

Everyone fell into a silence.

Just surviving through the missions was already extremely difficult, and now that they learned about encountering other teams in the movies. It was either kill or be killed, a near confirmed fact, so the choice was obvious. Attack first! That's the obvious solution, yet won't wouldn't the other team think in the same way? Following this reasoning, the war starts the moment they encounter the other team.

Shin: Oh right! It mentioned that we will only encounter other teams after three people unlocked their genetic constraints. Aqua and I have both unlocked ours, Misaki in the last mission. Connor, our newest member has as well before even entering God's Dimension. Now, do you think it's easy for people from other teams to unlock their constraints and still be alive today? It wouldn't surprise me if one or two unlocked Players from those teams to have died. We almost did in BTOOOM and Apocalypse Alice. Also, Aqua and I are at the second Stage as well and have powerful enhancements and weapons, and are about to become even stronger. Maybe our team is one of the strongest teams! Haha, so we shouldn't worry too much. We will discuss our enhancement paths first.

These words calmed the others, but a shadow had already been cast onto their hearts. Even Shin could only sigh at the sight of the golden tablet. Live on... only one team can return alive?

Jin: Excuse me, but could you tell me and Connor more about the Four Pillars. You told us a little before in the last mission after Derrick betrayed us, but not the whole picture. All I know is that they are possible enemies.

Shin thought that was enough since they are enemies, but he decided to talk about them anyways. Jin and Connor weren't with them when they met Sozin, so a lot of what is going on in God's Dimension is not known to them. Shin began with what the four Pillars were, what they wanted, and how because Team Japan is not under their thumb, they see Team Japan as an enemy to be killed.

Jin: So these guys want to kill us all because we don't work for them and are a potential danger to them if a time comes where we return to the real world. Alright, I think I get the gist of it now. And I can finally see what everyone other than Connor and I were worried about with the Team Battles. It isn't just some random team of former civilians that we will be encountering, but the Four Pillars, right?

Shin: Yes. According to a man we met in the real world, Sozin, told us is that The Four Pillars have a monopoly of most, if not all, teams within God's Dimension aside from us. Mass Enlightenment, Blood Crusade, Absolute Reckoning and Dove United... it is safe to assume that all four will be gunning for us.

Aqua: Also, among those four organizations, Team Japan has already offended and made enemies with both of the most hostile of the four, Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade. Who knows if it's possible to reach some peace agreement with Absolute Reckoning or Dove United, but 100% as it stands, if we meet Mass Enlightenment or Blood Crusade there will be a battle to the death.

Jin: I see. This is just a suggestion and it isn't one that I like, but what if we join up Dove United or Absolute Reckoning? I don't want to have my fun ruined by joining an organization and following strict guidelines and rules, but if we do so it may be possible to avoid some battles. Also, depending on the relationship between the two organizations, Absolute Reckoning and Dove United, we could potentially avoid 25-50% of Team Battles!

Shin had to agree with Jin. Both of them saw the benefits of joining a large organization as suggested. Putting Absolute Reckoning aside, Dove United seemed to be the most harmless of the four organizations that make up the Four Pillars. Additionally, they had a friend in Dove United named Sozin. Sozin could introduce Team Japan to Dove United and as he is a high ranking member and warrior, so nothing should go wrong... yet Shin didn't want to do it

Connor: Joining a bigger group to avoid a fight is the act of a coward. Also, you lose most of your freedom since your original group gets absorbed into the larger group. That's what happens in real life. Individuality and independence doesn't exist in a large organizations. It too much of a liability to them.

Jin: Well, I like this group as much as anyone. Fun is fun, but I prefer an option where I won't die, and I don't want to see such a special group like this die even more!

Aqua: Putting aside your sick definition of fun aside, Connor is right. Sozin told us that joining Absolute Reckoning is a bad idea, remember? Even after escaping this dimension we'll still be bound by them and forced to fight battles we don't want to fight. This obligation can even extend to or potential children and their children, and would be used as soldiers.

Jin: How about Dove United?

Shin: Not worth it in my opinion. Sure, we happen to know a top member like Sozin and they seem like a friendly bunch, but that won't help us much here. From what I know Dove United isn't interested in the truth of God's Dimension like the others, so they won't invest too many resources here as they care for the real world more. Most likely, they only have a few teams here, so your plan of avoiding 25-50% of Team Battles is flawed Jin.

Jin: I see... in that case we either die or survive by the skin of our teeth as an independent team. Simple, yet exciting, right!? This is definitely more exciting than joining some worthless cause.

Hikari: Dear god, to think there is someone worse off than Shin. Ah, my first impression of my boyfriend is now higher.

Shin: Hikari... though I am glad, I don't want THAT (Jin) being the reason why.

Jin: How mean Shin.

Shin chose to ignore Jin at this point, but he was right. Team Japan couldn't rely on anyone and would have to face all of the organizations of the Four Pillars. Most likely, each encounter in the future would end in blood on both sides.

Shin: Just one team will survive... how right. Maybe their teams can get around this rule and return to the real world, but not Team Japan. Enemy #1 of God's Dimension.


	103. Chapter 103

Since the announcement had been made, they had no choice but to accept reality. Team Japan then began to discuss enhancements.

Due to the amount of points and highly valuable ranked rewards they earned this time everyone, including the two newbies Connor and Jin, everyone had the opportunity to exchange stat enhancements or a higher tier weapon, but Shin was worried about the balance of the team.

Shin: Instead of choosing a more rounded enhancement like I did at first, maybe the two newbies should focus on what is best for the team and specialize? Of course, choosing this path wouldn't increase an individual's survivability much and I can't tell them what to get knowing that, but...

Shin normally wouldn't care that much. He would sometimes give advice (like what he thought was cool, or what he would want) to Hikari, Aqua and the others, but never outright forced someone to get something for the sake of the team. It wasn't necessary before, since Saki hinted at what everyone should get and even if they ignored her they all ended up getting something that worked out.

Shin: The problem now is the team battles. We can't be so carefree about what we get as individuals anymore. To defeat possible twenty-man teams that have better team work or teams that are outright more powerful than us, we can't just get things randomly anymore.

That was Shin's current concern.

When there are three, or used to have threee people in a team that have unlocked the Genetic Constraint, that team would meet other such teams on the missions at random. On Team Japan there was Aqua, Misaki, Connor, and Shin himself who have unlocked the constraints. They were destined to not only survive dangerous missions, but fight other teams at the same time. More than ever, not just one's owns safety, but the whole team's safety is most important.

Thinking back, it was one thing to finish a mission with a few members, but another ball game to do so while fighting another team. Shin thought about what would have happened if there was such a hostile team in H.O.T.D, BTOOOM and Apocalypse Alice. Doing so, it didn't take much for Shin to be certain that they wouldn't make it out alive. Not even Aqua, who he thought to be an invincible Player.

Shin: I have no choice but to ask.

Not able to believe that their current way of doing things would work from now on, Shin approach Connor and Jin. He couldn't force them to do what he likes, even as the leader, since they had earned those points and rewards with their own abilities by risking their lives. They were also just about to graduate as newbies, so it was still a dangerous time for them, yet he still conveyed the problem at hand to them.

TEAM JAPAN:

ATTACKER/CLOSE RANGE FIGHTERS - To fight/distract the enemy while fighting up close and our responsible for defeating enemies to protect the team.

1\. Shin: Ki Energy, One-eye Ghoul Genetic Mutation, Na Rings, Gravity Blade, Lesser Fenrir Coat and Robo Cop's Auto 9 with infinite ammo.

2\. Aqua: Nen/Aura, Wolverine genetic mutation, Werewolf Bloodline and Thompson Contender Magic Code gun.

3\. Misaki: Observation Haki, Armament's Haki, and Firebending.

GUNNER/MID RANGE FIGHTER - To fight from a distance. To either support those fighting up close, or to decisively defeat a enemy with a power attack.

Kampa: Infinite Ammo M41A Pulse Rifle.

SNIPER/LONG RANGE FIGHTER - To fight from a far distance. Defeats the enemy from a distance, or has an ability that can't be used from close up.

Shuai: Low level Shaman Power.

SUPPORT/OTHER - Has a role that helps team members or plays another role.

Hikari: Support Type Persona.

Shin: This is our current team layout without including either of you yet. You might be able to see that, although we don't lack front line attackers, we need more Gunner/Mid-Range Fighters, Sniper/Long-Range Fighters, and Support/Other roles. I hope that you keep in mind that we don't need more people like me who are only good in close combat and, with our current team's size, Hikari is enough of a support role for now and her abilities will improve soon after this exchange. That is why I am hoping that you two can discuss it and decide who would like to be a mid-range fighter and would want to be a long-range fighter to fill the gap in our team's ability.

Jin: That's okay. I am not much up to a close range fight anyways, so I might go midrange. In all the games I've played to date, 75% of the time I play a mage, 10% of the time I play a warrior, and the remaining 15% I play as a gunner. I'm best when I fought using magic and can say that I've never lost playing as a mage.

Shin: Okay then. What about you Connor?

Connor: I'll use my points as I like, but I have always been best with a gun. I am also most proficient with a sniper rifle. I doubt I'll choose anything outside of the Sci-fi category.

Shin: That's probably for the best. Alright then. I'll check on you two later, so just look thoroughly through the exchanges for now and if you need any advice ask Aqua, our most veteran Player on the team, or myself.

Shin conveyed his thoughts and pushed them in the direction that he wanted using a trick of Saki's. She would use to use round about explanations and hint at the things that suited her, all the while staying amongst the majority. It was definitely fascism, but smart long as you don't get caught.

Shin: (I do feel a little bad, but in the end they were probably going to get what the team needed most. A midrange mage and long range sniper).

Shin: Now... What should I get this time around?

After the Apocalypse Alice mission and my repairs, I had a total of 7050 Points and 2 B rank rewards.

Base Survival Reward 1000 Points, Combat Mission Reward 1000 Points and two D rank rewards, Protect Main Character D rank reward, over 500 Labyrinth Monster KILL for 50 Points, twelve Labyrinth Elite KILL 600 Points, KILL the GIRL and SAVE the WORLD 4000 Points and 2C rank reward, SAVE the Girl and SAVE the WORLD 2000 Points and C rank reward, Yousuke Endou Death Negative 1500 Points, my repairs cost 103, and my previous 3 Points and two C rank rewards left over from the last mission.

Not as great as my first two missions, but good enough that I don't have the right to complain as I still came in first. As for what I should get this time around... it should be obvious.

Shin: I already have high level whole enhancements and mutations. There's no need to get any more at the moment, and without a higher level of my Genetic Constant there's no point in going any higher even if I had an A rank reward. I'm also not confident about combining different types of mutations or energies as well. Don't want to become a monster or explode, now do I? I'm also well equipped with weapons and armor for the moment. What I immediately need to become stronger in close combat enhancement path that I'm traveling down are skills! Ones that will compliment Ki Energy, One-eye Ghoul Mutation, or sword, my three main points of enhancements. And ideally, at least one offensive and defensive skill at that.

In Apocalypse Alice, it was more of a team effort than myself or Aqua alone who won the battle. Everyone did their part and won, and that is a good thing, yet... I wished at that time I had a trump card to play. Not Soul Crushing Strike or Kagune, but a real one hit kill KO type move like Aqua's Eclipse Fang Hatsu. One that, if used in an emergency and in the final moments of a fight, would turn the battle around. Looking through the list of possible skills like that in my price range, the following came up.

External Spirit Bone -

Rating 90.

Allows one to grow an additional limb(s). Grants the user a special ability and increased stats, ability and stats increase as the user grows stronger. While not active can be stored inside the user's body. If broken will heal with time. To form the spirit bone energy is needed to bring out the bone and to put it away, and energy is needed to activate the ability. User may possess only one External Spirit Bone. Requires 5000 Points, Rank B reward, and Ki Energy or equivalent energy source.

Battle Ki Armor -

Rating 78.

Able to create Ki Energy semi physical weapons to attack and armor to defend. Can also be overloaded to self-destruct. Requires 4000 Points, B rank reward, and Advance Ki Energy.

Shin: Damm! It's really a shame. I have the rewards, but I can only get a powerful offensive skill and decent defensive skill, or a solid defensive skill and decent offensive skill like Soul Crushing Strike.

My anger for those newbies who cost us all 1500 points has begun to resurface. I try to put it behind me, yet I'm unable to. If not for that I would have over 8000 points. It would have been possible to get two great offensive and one defensive skills in the 3000-5000 point ranges. Maybe I should forgo it this time and get three or four useful, yet low cost skills. My current three skills that I exchanged were useful and saved my life and the others, but settling like this doesn't it right at all.

Shin: Well, there isn't any point in staying angry, right? I already have to exchange the proper skills for my Skill Mastery Ki attacks. I'll just settle for a power offensive skill... and whatever defensive skill that I can afford for now. But first let me get that. The unexpected Quest Reward that I got at the end of the mission and high rating magic weapon, Holy Sword Switch!

I connected to God and found it. The Quest Item that I and only can wield. The silver heroic sword that saves both the girl and the world.

Holy Sword Switch -

Rating 97.

The sword brought into creation for the sole sake of saving girls and a hero's little sister rather than killing them off for the sake of the world. Materialize the magic sword that saves the girl and saves the world. Those stabbed in the heart by this sword will have all magic alignments and brain washing of all forms removed, and all damage done by them is perfectly reversed. Passively negates all attempts and forms of brainwashing with Skills A tier and below. Capacity defect fixed. Two Transform States: Great Sword and Small Dagger. Unable to buy normally. Quest Reward: Requires 500 Points.

Shin: It is a shame that only I can use it since I was the one who picked it up, but that makes it all the more special! But still, this really is a great magic weapon. I never gave it much thought, but enemies who would try to take over my own mind or those of my comrades may be the most nasty to deal with. You may not always be able to solve the problem by punch and kicking after all, so this is really a top tier weapon that should cost tens of thousands of points and at least an A rank reward. Just 500 points is a real steal, and they even fixed the terrible range of the sword by giving it a real sword mode as well!

Excitedly I made the exchange to God and unexpectedly the weapon didn't appear in my hands. Light particles floated down from God and seeped into my head. Apparently, Holy Sword was a true magic spell that creates a sword rather than existing as a real sword at all times. It was a relief considering the swords size, but I always dreamed of carrying around a giant, badass sword on my back waiting to hack my foes with.

Once the process was done I could hear music and a rhyme replaying over and over again, but I knew that it was something vocal that I was hearing, but it was in fact playing in my mind. The song kept going on and on until I felt compelled to say it out loud.

I snap my fingers to start up the cursed song within my head. Even without a《Headphone Fuzz》the song begin to play and instinctively I knew I could summon the magic sword.

Shin:【 Deceiving the night Beguiling the world The darkness that saves the girl of the endless night 】Holy Sword Switch!

I pull the trigger that will activate the magic. On doing that the silver sword appears within my hands. Shrouded by light, a shining silver sword of heroes. A sword of hypocrisy that resembles a sword that a hero carries into battle. However, part of the blade is fake, or was before. This was a joke from Liezel who made the design a mismatch to the main character of Apocalypse Alice.

The actual range is shorter than even a knife and the true form of the magic resides in that short portion, but that was before. Now the two-handed sword can display its powers as an actual sword as well while also having a small dagger form as backup. Once the sword is stabbed deep into the heart of anyone effected by magic or mind control, the sword silver will sever that alignment away.

Shin: Really does look like some badass giant sword used by some hero in an anime, and a holy sword at that. Never been much for holy knights and the lot, but I can see the appeal when you can swing this giant sword around!

Once I was done admiring the false holy sword I thought about it happening and it went away as if it didn't exist. Such was the convenience of a magic sword made up from just magic, but that too could be a weakness if it didn't have a proper physical form like my Gravity Blade. Unlike it, the sword would disappear if hit by a magic negating power like Imagine Breaker or Rare Kind.

Shin: Now moving on let's get Skill Mastery out of the way. I can now use all of them to 70% accuracy, but they still drain of too Ki. Well, at least they don't cost too much point wise and afterwards I can use Ki emission attacks more freely and in barrages.

Ki Bullet -

Rating 62.

A normal physical bullet of condensed Ki from the palm. Can strike both physical and non-physical opponents. 1500 Points and C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 150 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Hollow Bullet -

Rating 67.

A Ki bullet that expands on impact, decreasing penetrating power for explosive power and causing more damage to flesh. 1800 Points and C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 180 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

AP Bullet -

Rating 64.

A Ki bullet with high penetrating power and designed to break through the defenses of hard opponent. 2000 Points and two C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 200 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Far Bullet -

Rating 69.

A weightless Ki bullet designed to attack spirits and the soul. As a side of effect of hitting those with a physical body as well, they may be temporarily unable to move or use otherworldly powers like Ki and Magic. 2200 Points and two C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED. NEW COST 200 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Quickly making the exchanges four scrolls appeared within my hands and one after another they disappeared and their contents were absorbed into my head. I didn't know I was getting used to this or they were just too low level to affect me, but the flow of information wasn't as bad as the last time with Soul Crushing Strike, Instant Movement, or Ki Blast.

Shin: Good. Now I have a greater depth of understanding for emitting Ki. Now I can work on the next step and try attempting high tier ranged Ki attacks, but that's for another time.

I connected with God once more to get my final two exchanges. My offensive and defensive skills. With my eyes closed, I began searching for the two skills most suitable for me and made my choices and a few moments later scrolls for the corresponding materialized out of thin air and into my hands.

Shin: Defensive Ki Skill - Silver Dragon's Scale Scroll! Offensive Ki Skill - Spirit Wave Sroll!

Silver Dragon Scales -

Rating 60.

Using Ki Energy or Mana the skin of the user comes closer to the scales of a Silver Dragon. Requires 1500 Points, C rank reward, and C or higher rank Ki Energy or Mana.

Silver Dragon's Scale was a Ki technique to harden the outer layers of the skin with the scales of the Silver Dragon. I choose Silver Dragon's Scale for one reason. It was a low cost Ki skill that fixed my Kagune's weakness.

As a Rinkaku (Shinning Scales) type Kagune it was highly versatile, yet they were easily destroyed. Every time I had to repair them/make new ones it took a toll on my body not unlike using Ki. So far, I offset this weakness by coating them in Ki, but it was a flimsy fix at best that also consumed my Ki reserves.

Silver Dragon's Scale, if I am right, will allow me to harden the outer layers of my body, but it is my hope that it will include my Kagune. And compared to using Ki randomly in large amounts, coating the outer layer with a Ki skill that is only C rank will be more cost effective in the long run.

Shin: This was the right decision and who knows, despite being a low end skill it states that you have to have C rank, Intermediate Level Ki Energy or higher to use. This might turn out to be a decent skill one might overlook for high tier defensive skills. Now... Defensive Skill - Silver Dragon Scale Scroll!

Like with past skills, the book or scroll appeared within my hands and quickly faded away in a poof of smoke. The instructions on how to use the skill came flowing into my head, and this time after consuming so many skills to date I was able to not flinch as the information came pouring into my head.

Shin: Now... let life become silver claws and resist the heavens, Sliver Dragon Scales!

The Eight Grader syndrome within me came up with the chant. As I was getting over my embarrassment, the skill started to activate (not because I called the skill's name). From the core of my Ki Energy, the navel, a unique Ki flowed through my body. Given direction, the Ki condensed just under the skin of my fingertips up to my elbows and took effect. From the tips of the fingers to the elbow, the pigment of my skin changed to a pale silver.

I had expected that my skin would become metal like, yet that wasn't the case. Like the Bronze Skin and Iron Skin skill techniques that belong to The Gamer, the skin didn't feel hard at all and still had its natural flexibility and elasticity as skin. Worried that this kind of protection was weak, I took out my partner GB (Gravity Blade) and tried cutting the wrist of my left hand.

Shin: Give it your best shot GB.

GB: My pleasure.

Shin: ...

\- *CLINK*!

I swung down my somewhat sadistic Gravity Blade without increase at my right wrist. To the surprise of both the dark sword with a consciousness, and myself, the sword was repelled off the silver colored skin as if it had hit metal. The result was the same after doing it again and again, so I came to a conclusion.

Shin: It isn't the best, but this is a better skill then I originally gave it credit for. Silver isn't a metal suited for weapons or armor, but being replica scales of a dragon has helped out its defenses. It wasn't impervious, yet I would have to use a good amount of force or a Ki attack to damage this skin. It is also so low cost and efficient that it is actually better than simply empowering an arm or leg in just Ki. I also have the option of adding on additional Ki Energy for a better defense. Really, just coating my whole body in this and it would be like I am wearing a full set of armor. My Lesser Fenrir Coat is still better since it raise my stats and defenses, but adding this skill to the mix perfects my defense! This might be better than a high cost Defensive Skill that drains me dry with one or two uses!

And without evening testing it I know that it will work well with my Kagune. The good pints of my Kagune are its fast and flexible tentacles that possess high striking power. Silver Dragon Scales won't slowdown my Kagune in the least and will increase their attack power and durability to new realms.

Shin: It might be worth it now to try making larger and more powerful weapons with it like blades or hammers if I coat them in Silver Dragon Scales. Oh, I wonder how powerful Soul Crushing Strike is now if I add Silver Dragon Scales, but that is for another time. Now, last but not least the final skill. Offensive Skill - Spirit Wave! The ultimate skill of Genkai, the teacher of Yusuke Urameshi, the main character from Yu Yu Hakusho. A top tier skill that you have to have Advance Level Ki or higher to even use!

Spirit Wave -

Rating 94.

The user turns the entire body into a catalyst of energy, creating a powerful flow of power within the body and released as a devastating wave of energy, or focused into a single punch or kick. All of the body's energy is used up afterwards. Can also be used to heal. Requires 4500 Points, B rank reward and B rank Ki Energy or higher.

The B tier and 4500 point Spirit Wave scroll appeared like the others, yet it was noticeably different. The size of the scroll was 5-10 times thicker the C and D rank skills from before. The scroll took at least ten full seconds to disappear and when it finished...

Shin: Aaaaaahhhhhh!

I clutched my head instinctively. More so then the others, the vast information of the skill and the speed that it was flowing into my mind was too much. It was far too much to take in at once and I almost passed out from the extreme pain coming from inside my head.

It took a full five minutes to regain my senses and another three minutes to calm down. As I began to organize this new information, I had to wonder what would have happened if I ever exchanged a rank A reward skill in the future, or if the first skill I ever exchanged was A rank without building up a resistance with D and C rank skills.

Shin: Screw that! I would have gone catatonic... whatever. It's over now. Now for Spirit Wave... from the core of one's Ki, let it spread through the body as you imagine yourself becoming a grand catalyst of power. Then focus it through a point of the body and...

I did as instructed and the results surpassed all of my expectations and its effects were noticeable by everyone on the platform (though I already had their attention with my screaming from before). From the navel, Ki Energy, now a light blue shade instead of green had moved from my core swelled up and went into every part of the body.

Then from there the powerful energy slowly surfaced outside my body under my full control. It was then in those final moments that it happened.

Shin: Ahhhhh!

Hikari: Shin!

Misaki: What the hell is-

Aqua: Turn it off!

Jin: Hahaha! So extreme!

The Ki Energy that I normal had full control over had become a storm.

My body had become a torrent of energy that rushed out of my body in an explosive wave of energy that soon became a pillar of blue light. Those shock waves of Ki hit everyone nearby and only Aqua was able to stand her ground against the storm that I had now become.

I realized that my power was going to kill someone if left as is, so I condensed the power back into me. Not all of the Ki could flow back into my body, so there was a continuous wave of blue energy surrounding my body like a fine veil of light.

Hikari: How pretty. It is like looking at the sea.

Aqua: Yeah, it is pretty, but that is far away from the word gentle.

Connor: How can you all stay calm right now? I can hardly breathe.

Misaki: My hair is standing up right now!

Out of all of them, only Aqua and Connor, who had unlocked their constraints, and to a lesser extent Misaki, who had just unlocked his, and Kampa an experienced mercenary of many battlefields, could feel the threat of the blue energy surrounding me.

They knew that anyone who came into contact with that energy would be seriously injured, or die. It represented such a threat to others that just bumping into me walking could hit them with enough force to kill a normal human. I myself wasn't oblivious to this power, but I was feeling not fear, but pure excitement.

A power far beyond myself swelled up in no time at all and turned my body into the most dangerous weapon imaginable. Just like how the MC did in the Anime, I could imagine myself blowing someone miles away with a single punch or kick. It was definitely a first tier skill and I had to question the sanity of the characters who knew this skill, yet never bothered to use it more than once.

It was then after twenty seconds passed that the blue energy surging from me weakened and disappeared, and I felt myself utterly weakened. I didn't even have the strength to stand anymore and fell over. Hikari was the first to recover from the surprise and she ran over to me and carefully looked at my body. After finding out that there were no injuries she let out a sigh of relief.

Hikari: Shin, what happened? Are you... are you alright?

Shin: Haha, sorry to worry you, Hikari. Everyone. I was testing the skill I just exchanged. It is the strongest skill that I have ever exchanged so far and what I believe can defeat any foe, but... it uses up all of my power. Ki Energy to be exact, and about half my stamina was consumed for that skill.

Everyone soon recovered from the surprise. Kampa and Connor were standing on a distance calmly. Shuai, Misaki, and even Aqua ran over to me in excitement. They and Hikari started asking questions about the Spirit Wave skill I just exchanged.

I emphasized that the skill consumes a huge amount of energy. I originally thought I could use it in a crisis, but it took everything from me. The skill also didn't last too long and I would only have 10-20 seconds to strike the enemy once activated before losing all strength within my body.

Shin: Until I am able to exchange the next level of Ki Energy, Spirit Wave could only be used in the decisive moment when there is only life or death in the next second. Once used I'll be useless for the remainder of the mission unless we are there for more than one day, and even if it is possible for me to move again there would be no chance of me being able to immediately use Ki. If I force myself, then maybe I could keep going with the strength of my One-Ghoul Mutation, yet it's best to count me out after each use.

There were definitely major drawbacks to this skill, but I already had enhancements, weapons, and other skills, so no one here could complain that I wasted my points for a one hit move that leaves me helpless afterwards. My main purpose was just to increase my offensive power for a sure kill strike. I succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.

Aqua: Well, you are fine as you are. Just remember to keep in mind that once you use that skill Shin, most likely for the rest of the mission you are done for and defenseless.

Shin: I will. After this next mission is over I'll look into some kind of recovery skill to balance out Spirit Wave's energy consumption. Heck, just a technique might come in handy in other ways as well.

Aqua: Like what?

Shin: In bed so that I can keep up with-

KO!

After exhausting himself with Spirit Wave and a swift kick to the face from Aqua, Shin was knocked out. Hikari who was off to the side could only lament her choice in men.

Hikari: ...Why couldn't there be more of a choice of men here in this world? My taste in men is the worst.

Aqua: I feel the same.

Hikari: ...Why does knowing that my boyfriend's other girlfriend is going through the same thing... actually make me feel better? Really, otakus are the worse! Trash! Scum! Stains of society!

Aqua: I am beginning to agree with you.

The road for respect and harmony for Shin's harem... was a much farther goal then he would have liked.

Shin's Leftover Points and Rewards: 120 Points and 2 D Rank Rewards.


	104. Chapter 104

After waking up five hours later, groggy from overusing his Ki and the knockout blow from Aqua's roundhouse kick, Shin went to check on the rest of his teammates. The first one Shin ran into, who seemed to be already finished with his exchanges, was Misaki.

Shin: Yo, Misaki. You finished already?

Misaki: Yeah, I am, and I am ready for a rematch!

Shin: Rematch? Ah, you mean that thing we did last time? Can you even call it a fight?

Shin recalled that the last time Misaki acquired enhancements, real exchanges for the first time one way or another, the two of them got into a fight, if it could be called that. Shin challenged Misaki to see if he could hurt him as there was a vast deference between their stats and exchanges. Misaki blew Shin away with a single punch, yet Shin was barely injured mainly due to his Lesser Fenrir Coat magic armor.

Shin: You want to do that again? No matter how much more powerful you are now due to whatever you just exchanged you won't hurt me, Misaki. You've also just unlocked your constraint as well. I even exchanged for a defensive Ki skill on top of everything else. Just give it up, already.

Misaki: Fucking asshole! Aren't you confident leader! Well, just so you know the gap between us has definitely been filled. How about seeing the amazing exchanges that I acquired this time around?

Misaki then proudly showed Shin the exchanges he made after his third mission which rewarded him with a lot of points and rank rewards. After the Apocalypse Alice mission Misaki had 5020 Points and B rank reward, so he was able to exchange for three good exchanges, two of which improved his own existing enhancements and a new genetic mutation that drastically improved his combat power.

Color of Armaments Haki, Hardening -

Rating 70.

The advance form of Armaments Haki. A heavier concentration, or coating of Haki to harden a parts of the body. The user's body becomes denser and can output more power. Substantially increases Muscle Density and Mental Capacity when active. Requires 2000 Points and C rank reward.

Color of Observation Haki, Mantra -

Rating 70.

The advance form of Observation Haki. Allows you sense the presences of others even if invisible, and even provides insight into a target's feelings. An upgraded form of the regular Observation Haki. Substantially increases Intelligence, Mental Capacity and Reaction Speed. Requires 2000 Points and C rank rewards rank reward.

Entry Fire Dragon Slayer Bloodline -

Rating 60.

Applicable to most missions that require combat. Fire Dragon Slayer Magic grants the user the characteristics of a fire dragon and the ability to produce flames from any part of the body. Able to consume outside flames not belonging to the user to increase strength and immune to normal fire damage. Requires 900 Points and C rank reward.

Shin: So you improved your Haki skills and got a genetic mutation as well. Fire Dragon Slayer... didn't we talk about this before, that if you gained it, your firebending whole enhancement will improve as well.

Misaki: Yeah. I've already tried it out and I can perfectly control the flames that I summon. Both output and my control over flames have skyrocketed. The combination of exchanges really worked out for me, and after unlocking the constraint I've just been improving so quickly.

Shin: Hey, do you think you can explode flames under your feet, use them as a booster and fly through the skies? Sozin from Avatar: The Last Airbender could do that.

Misaki: I actually did that in the final battle ... well, let me show you instead of using words.

Shin: Huh?

Shin realized what Misaki meant only at the last second. Misaki jumped back and the charged at Shin with a fist raised. From there a torrent of flames under Misaki's feet accelerated him like a rocket toward Shin. Additionally, Misaki's right arm was hardened with the power of Haki, turning into a black mass which smashed into Shin's stomach.

Shin: (So, so cheap!)

Then like last time Shin blown away across the Terminal Lobby. Shin came to crash landing on the other side of the room leaving a dent in the wall and almost lost consciousness. Misaki stood proudly seeing how Shin definitely felt that last attack, but then his spirits all too quickly dropped when not ten seconds later Shin stood back up when Misaki was sure he was seriously hurt.

Shin: What was that, Misaki! What would have happened if I died?!

Misaki: How are you even standing right now?! I even used my flame booster and felt something crack when my Haki fist hit you just now.

Shin: Well, I definitely had a few broken ribs just now, but I quickly repaired them (Something I normally wouldn't do since it drains me, yet I won't tell him that). Also, I used Silver Dragon Scales to defend against your punch and when I slammed into that wall. Now that I answered your questions... it's my turn since you finally have a body that won't break too easily!

Misaki: Wa-wait!

Shin didn't bother to listen to Misaki and attacked ruthlessly in retaliation to his sneak attack. Shin used Instant Movement to quickly reach Misaki at a speed he couldn't react to even with Mantra, and slammed a knee into Misaki's stomach. Shin then followed up next with a Silver Dragon Scaled punch to the face which effortlessly knocked Misaki out.

Misaki's girlfriend, Mokoto, at that time happened, came out of their room and saw her boyfriend unconscious on the floor next to Shin and ran over to them. Shin expected Mokoto to be angry at him, but it turned out to be the opposite.

Mokoto: Sorry Shin. I knew Misaki was going to try something today since he told me, yet I couldn't discourage him. Are you hurt at all?

Shin: No. I'm fine, so don't worry about me. Misaki has become a lot stronger, but I am just a bad match with him is all. I'm sure he'll get stronger.

Mokoto: I just care about him coming back home safely is all.

Shin: Well, don't worry about that. As long as I'm our leader I won't let Misaki or my other comrades die.

Mokoto: Thank you for that. That... means a lot.

Misaki woke up a few minutes later. Misaki wanted a rematch, yet luckily for Shin Mokoto forbade him from anymore fighting. Misaki then apologized and hugged Mokoto and they began to make out. Sick! Shin felt disgusted seeing as his girlfriend(s) won't do such a thing in public and left in a foul mood.

Misaki Leftover Points and Rewards: 120 Points.

Shin: How's it going Hikari? Have you've made your exchanges yet?

Hikari: I was in the middle of doing so, but the second scene that you made held things up. Still, it was worth it to see Misaki blow you away like in a Manga.

Shin: Don't remind me Hikari. That hurt like a hell because he was using Hardening Haki. I don't want to you telling him this, but I still feel sore.

Hikari: I'll think about it if you can convince the others to go on a vacation... and we go on a proper first date, Shin. We did kind of skip some steps.

Shin: You mean when you found you couldn't resist me and fell into temptation, and we-

Hikari: Silence otaku! Anyways, Shin, let's get back to my enhancements. I have 5000 Points and B rank reward. My role is that of a supporter, so there are two paths I can go down. I can increase expand my Persona with new skills. Acquire magic skills that buff everyone like in the games. Lastly, I could just use all my points and rewards to simply increase my Mental Capacity which will increase the power of my Persona Adrasteia so I can see further and stay active for longer. I think there even a stat increasing package for ranked rewards. What do you think Shin?

Shin: Well, the first and second are viable, but I wouldn't choose the last one, Hikari. This time around you have the points and rewards to really get a power up. Just raising Mental Capacity by 500 points might have a noticeable effect on your abilities, but it's better to expand out here with new abilities. I would recommend getting magic buffs this time around. Sure, you can get a Persona skill, but they work much better when everyone else in a team has a Persona and like Psyche Force skills they cost a lot of points and rewards, so you could only get one skill. Your Persona skills are steady improving, so we're in no need for you to enhance that or Psyche Force.

Hikari: Magic Buffs, huh...

Shin: Yeah. Ask Jin and he'll tell you they are important in games. Buffing stats and other attributes can increase the team's potential in critical moments. Also, from what I remember, basic buffs only cost 1000 points and a D rank reward each. With your 5000 you can get five magic buffs. Doing so would be a major power up for the team, but it's your choice, Hikari. Do what you want and feel comfortable with (again, I've pushed my thoughts onto her).

Hikari: I plan to, but you made a too good of a case for the buffing magic skills, Shin. Well, at least you didn't keep nagging me to get what you wanted me to exchange for like with Persona.

Hikari then made her way over to God and told it what she wanted to use her 5000 points and B rank reward for. Hikari exchanged for the following five magic skills. Wind Spirit Buff, Water Spirit Buff, Lightning Spirit Buff, Fire Spirit Buff, Earth Spirit Buff.

Wind Spirit Buff -

Rating 45.

A magic spell that raises the selected target's speed temporarily by a 30% of the individuals standard. Requires 1000 points and a D rank reward.

Lighting Spirit Buff -

Rating 45.

A magic spell that raises the selected target's stamina temporarily by 30% of the individuals standard. Requires 1000 points and a D rank reward.

Fire Spirit Buff -

Rating 49.

A magic spell that raises the selected target's damage temporarily by 30% of the individuals standard. Requires 1000 points and a D rank reward.

Earth Spirit Buff -

Rating 46..

A magic spell that raises the selected target's defense temporarily by 30% of the individuals standard. Requires 1000 points and a D rank reward.

Water Spirit Buff -

Rating 50.

A magic spell that raises the selected target's natural healing speed temporarily by 150% of the individuals standard. Requires 1000 points and C rank reward.

Hikari told God what she wanted and, after she absorbed the multiple skill books and then almost immediately lost consciousness. Shin, fearful that the amount of information Hikari absorbed all at once short circuited her brain ran to her side, yet was relieved that not three minutes later Hikari woke up with only a slight headache that soon faded.

Shin: I'm glad that you are okay, Hikari... sorry, I should have warned you that absorbing too many skills at once and for the first time at that could be dangerous.

Hikari: Don't worry so much Shin. I've felt more exhausted when I summon Adrasteia, but thank you for the concern. Now, let's try out these new skills. You can be my test subject!

Shin: ...Can't we get Misaki or Shuai to-

Hikari: No! You still feel bad, right? Then make up for me almost going brain dead with this.

Shin: ...Fine. Anything for my cute, computer genius girlfriend.

Hikari: Cute... you, you won't get out of this with sweet words. Go stand over there. You're a test subject. No, a lab rat to test my magic on!

Hikari ignored how Shin didn't like being treated as a test subject and proceeded to activate her new skills anyways once he was a good five meters away. One after another Hikari casted all five of her brand new magic buffing skills on Shin, and with each cast of a spell both Hikari and Shin were veiled in a rainbow of colors that appeared one after the other,

Hikari: Wind Spirit (Green)! Water Spirit (Blue)! Lightning Spirit (Purple)! Fire Spirit (Red)! Earth Spirit (Yellow)!

Shin: This, this is...

The rainbow of lights veiling Shin quickly disappeared, yet their effects still stayed on him. Shin felt that his speed, defense, stamina, offensive power and healing factors had increased to a noticeable degree. It wouldn't be wrong to say that he overall felt several times stronger than before Hikari casted her buffs on him even though it should only be 30% for most of his attributes.

Shin and Hikari then waited to see how long the effects would last for, probably based on Mental Capacity or Intelligence, and in the end the buffs lasted on Shin for twenty minutes.

Shin: This is incredible, Hikari! Each of those spells only increase one aspect, yet when you apply them all together like this you feel seynergy with other elemental spiritual buffs! They also last a good deal of time as well. I was worried like in games that they wouldn't last more than a few minutes, or even seconds in the worst case scenario. The buffs lasted twenty minutes. Your Mental Capacity is over 200, so maybe it's every 100 stat points equals ten minutes.

Hikari: Then it's good to know that I didn't make a mistake with my exchanges, and these are only the D rank buffs, and the C rank and above are even more amazing like the Water Spirit Buff. It's no healing spell, but there's a major advantage to a 150% increase in healing rate. With your already high Cell Vitality, mutation, and Ki Energy, a 150% increase would be amazing.

Shin: I would imagine so, but Hikari, you should still narrow down your enhancement path. Persona/Psyche Force and Magic Buffs, to properly master them both will require a lot of points and rewards, so you shouldn't exchange for anything else. Maybe a defensive skill to keep you alive, but that's it.

Hikari: You mean don't get offensive skills, right?

Shin: ...Yes. I won't tell you to never get any since it is your survival which is on the line, but I believe you will become the most powerful if you stick to a purely support capacity.

Hikari: That's my intention. I can shoot a handgun well, but I am no Kampa or Connor. I don't have what it takes to be a professional gunner like them or fighter like you and Aqua. Now with that settled I'll use one of my two remaining D rank rewards to unlock BTOOOM once they everyone agrees to go vacation.

Shin: Alright, but are you sure? Even D rank rewards are valuable you know.

Hikari: It's fine, Shin. I am the one who made the proposal, so I have to at least do this much.

Hikari's Left over Points and Rewards: 100 Points and 2D Rank Rewards.


	105. Chapter 105

After finishing his business with Hikari and Misaki, Shin then moved on to his other teammates. It looked to Shin that the two newbies were still going over possible exchange paths, so he moved on to Aqua, Kampa, and Shuai.

Aqua's role is close range fighter, Kampa is a midrange gunner and Shuai is a Shaman who fights at long range. Shin was most interested in their growth since it would clearly strengthen the team's fighting potential in future missions.

Shin: I'll begin with Kampa. He should have 5300 Points, 1 B and 1 D rank rewards I believe, so he should be able to get an amazing gun like he wanted. Then I'll check on Shuai who should have 5010 Points and a B rank reward, so he'll have a real power up with his Shaman techniques.

Kampa: Are you coming to check up on me?

Shin: Yeah. At this moment you are only real gunner, so I was wondering what you were going to get. Last time you were unsatisfied because you lacked the points and rewards for a powerful gun.

Kampa: Yeah. A powerful sci-fi gun that can mow down our enemies with one shot. That's is what I'm planning to get. The infinite ammo M41A is a good gun to use casually, and this new gun will be used to decisively overpower and defeat our opponents. Such a weapon will be necessarily if we are to fight teams like ours.

Shin: You mean because they are humans like us, and not born monsters?

Kampa: That's exactly it. We get exchanges to make us extraordinary, but unless you get the A-S rank support enhancements then you're still somewhat in the realms of mortals, right? Now, even if I use one of the powerful Sci-fi guns on someone like you Shin, or someone even stronger, I believe 100% that they'll die.

Gravitational beam emitter -

Rating 90.

A critical effect weapon from BLAME! is capable of blowing holes through any naturally occurring substance without resistance, including the usually invulnerable superstructure. Has a range exceeding 70 km and has no visible need to reload. The kick is at a level capable of killing ordinary people and even those capable of resisting it will be launched backwards from carelessly firing it. The radius of shot can be increased in exchange for a vast increase in kick (substantial increase of radius leads to a large crater when firing upwards). Requires 10,000 points and 1 A rank reward.

Unlimited Ammo Plazma burst Mk11 -

Rating: 85-90.

This high-powered rifle is powered via a nuclear fusion powerpak, and has approximately 1500-1700 shots per pak. The plazma burst MK11 has various firing modes, consisting of [semi-auto, full-auto, burst-fire, charged-shot and laser beam. This rifle was developed by Hyperion industries during the third galactic war for its infantry and provides the user with a variety of options to vaporize the enemy with. The Plazma burst MK11 is a heavily customization weapon and its parts can be switched out with various attachments for your own preferences. Requires 6,500 points and two C rank rewards.

Gravity Shells -

Rating 89.

Allows the user to create a shell of gravity, this shell draws in or out materials of the four elements. It is capable of making a creature to serve under you, being used as an armament. Requires Mental capacity of 500, 6000 points, and 2 rank B rewards

Wolfwood's Punisher -

Rating 51.

Its primary weapon is a large machine gun that occupies the long end of the crucifix, while the opposite end houses a rocket launcher. One arm of the cross contain a storage rack capable of holding five handguns for quick access, while the other houses the ammunition for the machine gun component. Requires 2000 Points and D rank reward.

Zorg ZF-1 Pod Weapon -

Rating 70.

The ZF-1 is an ambidextrous assault weapon incapable of being detected by X-Rays featuring a titanium recharger, 3000 round clip with a burst of 3 or 300. It is also designed so that the first round fired will send the following shots to the same location. It also features a variety of other fire modes as well. Rocket Launcher: The ZF-1 features a small yellow rocket which packs a nasty punch at any target it hits. Arrow Launcher: Zorg demonstrated that from the sides of the ZF-1 were two launchers with a total of 10 arrows, 5 in each launcher. Each arrow is also poison tipped. Net Launcher: For non-lethal take downs, the ZF-1 is also known to have a net launcher to capture, rather than kill the target. Flamethrower: Zorg's personal favorite, the ZF-1 features a long ranged flamethrower. Ice Cube System: A new device the ZF-1 possesses is a weapon able to freeze people. Requires 2,500 Points and two C rank reward.

XERD_003SS "Shapeshifter" -

Rating 78.

An ARM that is capable of taking many forms. Such as a sword, handgun, machine gun, rocket launcher, beam cannon, etc. The forms will be limited to ones the user has mastered the use of. The Shapeshifter requires the user to supply energy in order to fire, the ammunition will take on the properties of the energy provided. Requires 3000 points and C rank reward.

Machina Maw -

Rating 90.

A rideable Machine with a built in Artificial Intelligence. It is able to increase its battle ability by generating heat, however if too much heat is generated, then the machine will automatically shut down and begin venting. Can fire homing missiles that cause various status effects. Although it is very powerful, it is difficult to control, and has a seal placed on it. It can automatically repair itself when not in use. Machina Maw can use Vajra a powerful attack against all nearby enemies which will drastically increase the heat gauge. If destroyed or lost, it can be reacquired by God for 2000 points and a C rank reward. Requires 5000 points and B rank reward. You can remove the seal on it by spending 5000 points and an A rank reward to grant the machine immunity to status effects, the ability to contain a larger amount of heat, and ability to vent heat at a quicker pace.

The Dominator -

Rating 91.

The dominator is a beast of a weapon with 3 types of rounds : Nonlethal, Lethal, and anti-machine (capable of damaging any machine). Requires a detailed scan of the target before firing. Requires 8000 points and 1 A rank reward.

Kampa: I've decided to go with this. Unicorn Beam Magnum!

Unicorn Gundam Beam Magnum -

Rating 80.

A highly customized beam rifle designed with an energy condenser. The power output in a single shot is the equivalent of 4 regular beam rifle shots at the expense of an entire E-cap battery. A support kick-stand for recoil has been attached. Needs E-cap batteries to fire. Requires 4000 Points and B rank reward.

Shin: So you're going with Gundam after all, Kampa! I'm jealous.

Kampa: For someone like you who doesn't need guns to be powerful and dominate the battlefield... it's hard to believe you. I may be an experienced mercenary, but I'm just an average man without a gun... but since I have to rely on guns then I'll become the strongest together with guns.

Shin: That's an admirable goal. So what about your remaining 1300 point and D rank reward?

Kampa: I'll upgrade the infinite ammo M41A to a magic weapon. I found an exchange that allow me to upgrade a Sci-fi weapon with proper magic elements. The Magic Amplifier Tag is great, yet in the end I was just shooting off Low-Grade magic bullets. Now I should be able to shoot out Mid-Grade Magic Bullets.

Sci-fi to Magic Conversation Upgrade -

Rating 50.

Upgrade a Sci-fi Weapon or tool with magic properties. The capability of the weapon will increase and gain magic properties. One time upgrade. Upgrading a weapon without a rank costs 100 Points. To upgrade a D rank weapon costs 1000 Points and a D rank reward. To upgrade a C rank weapon costs 3000 points and a C rank reward. To upgrade a B rank weapon costs 9000 Points and a B rank reward. To upgrade an A rank weapon costs 18,000 Points and an A rank reward. To upgrade a S rank weapon cost 30,000 Points and two A rank rewards.

Kampa: A gunner doesn't just spray with a machine gun. That's what idiots do when they vent their anger. A gunner can cover you while you stand within their zone of fire and not get hit. So he must be familiar with his weapon up to every vibration, the paths of every targeted round, and every stray bullet. Because you will move forward inside this rain of bullets. I want the Beam Magnum for its power, yet I can do my best work with a rifle or Gatling gun.

Shin: So that's why you're upgrading the M41A. Good. Also, finding that magic conversation was brilliant, Kampa! I can definitely leave my back to you without worry. Then since you seem good... I'll check up on Shuai next. Tell me the next time practice with that gun in Aqua's basement. Also, I can carry the Beam Magnum in one of my Na Rings.

Kampa: Will do.

Kampa's Leftover Points and Rewards: 300 Points.

Shuai: So am I next?

Shin: Yeah. It also doesn't look like Aqua is finished yet either.

Shuai: So I am the second choice then?

Shin: More like fifth, but it can't be helped since your existence is very much like air. Well, you can't really compare yourself to my beautiful redhead, 34D, Wolverine, and Werewolf girlfriend.

Shuai: ...

Shin: Anyways, what are you planning to get Shuai. In my personal opinion you need more offensive power for your Shaman Powers. You can't rely on those low level pranks forever.

Shuai: I am aware of that! I have 5,000 points, 1 B, and 1 D rank reward. I've already made on exchange to increase my Shaman power to the next level, and right now I am considering what skill I should get now that Shaman Power has ranked up to C tier.

Intermediate level Shaman Power Enhancement -

Raring 77.

Applicable in missions that require contact with the supernatural. The power of a shaman allows one to contact spirits and elementals, and make contracts with them. Has access to Spirit Energy. Requires 1500 points and C rank reward.

Shuai: Now with the next level of Shaman Power I plan on getting an offensive skill and elemental.

Shin: That sounds smart, but I thought that you were going to get a Spirit?

Shuai: That was the plan, but looking over at them again useful spirits cost B rank rewards and power spirits cost A rank rewards and a whole lot of points as well. They are extremely useful, but they all seem like end-game content to me. I would be better off making a contract with a departed spirit myself, but finding a useful one that would agree to serve me is...

Shin: Don't worry about it so much. Moving on, what do you plan on getting?

Shuai: Ah, the first is a useful elemental that I can control. They can't do much, without feeding it a lot of power, yet even as the lowest level elemental it can be used to attack, defend, and support. The second is a skill from the Kekkaishi Manga/Anime. It can seal movements and destroy those that it capture.

Lowest Level Earth Elemental -

Summon the lowest level elemental of the earth element, Gnome, as a catalyst to control the earth. Power of elemental varieties by how much Mana, Spirit Power or other the user allows the Elemental to use. Requires 1000 points, C rank reward, and C rank or higher energy.

Kekkai Barrier -

Rating 70.

A Kekkai is a Kekkaishi's main source of offense and defense, with a wide variety of uses in and out of combat. A Kekkai is created by a three commands: HOI, which designates a target; JOSO, which determines the Kekkai's location; and KETSU, which activates the Kekkai. From there, a Kekkai can be collapsed with METSU, destroying it and its contents, or dispelled harmlessly through KAI, where the user dispels their own Kekkai. Requires 2000 Points, 1 C and 1 D rank rewards, and Intermediate or above Shaman Power Enhancement.

Shuai: These are the skills I am interested in. Both just cost C rank rewards, yet have much room for growth since they required my Shaman Power to be at least C rank. I remember what you said about potential low level enhancements that may match or exceed the power of higher level ones.

Shin: I remember. Kinda like my Silver Dragon Scale Ki skill. Those are definitely the skills to get Shuai, so hurry up already. Let me meet Gnome already.

Shuai: Gnome?

Shin: Yes. She's from one of my current favorite Mangas, The Gamer. Not only is she is powerful, but she's cute as well... though I'm not interested in kids. But do tell me when she evolves two or three times.

Shuai: Stay away from her, or I'll tell Hikari what you said.

Shin: Like I'm afraid of-

Shuai: Then I'll tell Aqua.

Shin: ...

Shin and Shuai then finally got past that awkward moment and moved on to testing Shuai's new exchanges he just gained from God, and are on their way to Aqua's basement training room. The two first started off with Shuai summoning his new earth elemental Gnome. A strikingly similar one to the one in the Manga.

Like in The Gamer Manga, there were two states for an elemental. The first was a spirit state where only the user can see and hear Gnome. The second state that Shin got to see was were a rock surfaced up from the ground, and using it to gain a physical form in its likeness was Gnome.

Shuai: It is amazing when you see it in person. The Manga can't compare.

Shin: You're right about that. So how much do you think she can manipulate the earth?

Shuai: We'll find out now. Gnome!

Shuai's Elemental Gnome respond and began to display its powers. Shuai ordered Gnome to create a wall of earth that was about 10 feet long and wide, and 1 meter thick. Gnome flawlessly and swiftly did as ordered and shaped a sturdy wall of earth. Shin examined the wall and found faint traces of Spiritual Power were within the wall.

Shin: This is pretty good, Shuai. Not only is it as sturdy as a concrete wall, but has a faint protect of Spiritual Power. This wouldn't stop Kampa's Beam Magnum, but would take some effort on my part to break this down. At least Soul Crushing Strike or AP Bullet... Shuai?

Shuai: Ye-yes?

Shin: Are you okay? Please don't tell me that just this wall drained you?

Shuai: I, I'm still okay. Just a little winded is all. If it's just something of this level I can fight perfectly fine, but to be careful I should make sure that I don't fight alone.

Shin: That's probably for the best. You also might want to have Gnome tank hits for you as well. Now let's try out the Kekkai.

Shuai: Alright. I'll have Gnome summon a rock to test it on.

Shin: There's no need. Try it out on me.

Shin then raised his non dominant right arm telling Shuai to test it on his arm.

Shuai: You mean on your arm! Do you want to lose it!?

Shin: Doesn't matter. I'll just regrow it later if it really blows it off. I want to personally see if it's at the level to use against those with enhancements.

Shuai: Fine, but don't blame me if you lose that arm!

Shuai conjured a Kekkai Barrier, a blue transparent box around Shin's right arm. Then wasting no time afraid he would change his mind Shaui detonated the barrier, destroying its contents within.

Shuai: METSU!

Shin: Gahh...

Shin took the blow without flinching and then checked out his arm. The flesh of his arm was burned off and bleeding, yet Shin was a little disappointed.

Shin: Was it possible that you were holding back?

Shuai: No, I can't control the level of damage at my level as it takes a lot of concentration just to maintain it. Why, was it too strong?

Shin: More like weak in a way. This could definitely kill a man, even one who has gone through enhancements, but it's still lacking. What I mean is that this can't kill team aces or those with really sturdy bodies. If I used Ki at full power and Silver Dragon's Scales to protect myself, I would have only gotten off with light burns, if even that.

Shuai: So it isn't good enough?

Shin: I am not saying that. It's just that, outside of temporarily restraining them, try to avoid enemies like me and Aqua who could kill you and not even need ten seconds.

Shuai: Okay, but... can you really do that?

Shin: ...Just be glad that you're apart of Team Japan and not your home country's Team China, Shuai.

Shuai: ...

Shin: Don't worry about something like that. Your new skill can definitely trap someone, if only for an instant, so using that timing with Kampa's newfound firepower will become the most powerful combination within the team!

Shuai: If you say so. Then I'll start and immediately train this to a level it can trap an opponent of your level, so Kampa and I can kill you in one blow!

Shin: ...You know I didn't really mean that I was going to kill you before... right?

Shuai: ...I got that.

Shuai's Leftover Points and Rewards: 500 Points.

Aqua: So, Shin, what do you think?

Shin: ...How, how could you!

Aqua: What? You don't like my new image change?

Shin: It, it isn't that Aqua. You're incredibly cute right now. So much so I want to hug you now... but I can't.

Aqua: Why not? You've always taken any chance to make a move on me.

Shin: Why... Why? The reason is because I don't want to become a lolicon!

Shin was upset over one of the two new exchanges that Aqua had made from God before he arrived with her 4,510 Points and B rank reward.

Shin had heard and seen their effects and had to admit they were useful tools, but Shin couldn't accept it. The first exchange Aqua made was sensible for her or anyone else since it increased her ability to fight longer at full strength.

Life Force Booster -

Rating 55.

A wristwatch that once per day can rejuvenate the wearer's life energy to full, but in exchange they will experience great pain beginning five minutes after it's used and lasting for thirty minutes,. Requires 1200 Points and C rank reward.

Shin: (Now, the real problem that I have is what Aqua exchanged for next. It's an amazing Magic Tool, but I just can't accept it!)

Red Ridding Hood's Cloak -

Rating 85.

A cloak that allows the user to fool the eyes of those who see its user. Blocks the wearer's bloodlust and Psyche Force of enemies. Special Skill, [Wolf in Sheep's Clothing]: Alter age to that of a child and cause those who see them to lower their guard, compelling them with a desire to protect the manifester. Effect negated if manifester is witnessed taking an offensive action and those with an above average willpower may be immune to its effects. Requires 3000 Points and two C rank reward.

Shin had to admit that Aqua's new magic cloak was a useful item that could allow her to remain hidden and sneak attack an enemy. Especially for Aqua, who releases so much killing intent when she transforms into her Full Wolf Form that even Shin would fear for his life.

It was a useful item, yet Shin didn't like the fact that she could transform into a ten year girl like she was doing at the moment. That the little girl was attempting to bring out impure feelings from him. Shin loved the mature beauty Aqua, but he also found the little girl version cute and wished that they had grown up together (if I had a childhood like Aqua then there's no way I'd ever become depressed enough to answer YES to God... unless she cheated on me!)

Shin: Also, that damn cloak makes me want to hug you and never let go. I also start to feel sick when I think that little girl would one day take my-

Aqua: No one is asking for you to sleep with me like this! I just wanted your opinion on how I looked.

Shin: Cute. Super cute at that! Now I'm leaving before Hikari starts any rumors of me being a lolicon. The existence of Little Aqua has corrupted me enough!

Aqua: Wait...

Shin then turned his back to Aqua and ran away from her without ever stopping. Seeing this, Aqua could only sigh to herself.

Aqua: That fool. I was going to ask him if he wanted to have a real talk about our feelings. He impressed me during the last mission and I thought... oh well. As I thought he really is too young for me and this is no place to start a relationship. It even drove him off.

Shin would never know that he ran away from the first real chances of making Aqua his proper girlfriend. If he ever will... is a story far, far into the future.

Aqua' Leftover Points and rewards: 310 Points.


	106. Chapter 106

Shin: All things are going well for this round of exchanges. Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and Aqua have all powered up and brought our team to the next level. Now, all that's left is the newbies. They should be finished at this time and I need to see if they really considered the team's current needs.

Saying so to himself, Shin began to make his way to the two New Players, the sniper/child soldier Connor, and Pro Gaming champion Jin. Shin was concerned about the two of them for a number of reasons as they were two very promising Players to Team Japan with a lot of potential as seen in their performance in the last mission Apocalypse Alice.

New Player Connor held military experience similar to Aqua and Kampa, but what he brought to the table was more than just that. Connor, like Aqua, Shin, and Misaki, had unlocked his Genetic Constraint and was at its First Stage. That was why Connor is able to already fight at a high level without enhancements of any kind. Additionally, according to Connor himself, his strongest skill set wasn't fighting with gun's on the ground like Kampa (which already at a badass level), but from a distance with a sniper rifle.

Shin: The highest priority for Team Japan before our first Team Battle is to fill up our vacant positions, and Connor's long-range shooting helps to fill up those gaps. Shuai is turning out to be more of a possible trap man than a long range combatant, so a powerful sniper like Connor will boost the team's fighting potential and give us more options. Well, Connor is extremely antisocial, so it's possible he won't choose something for the sake of the team. As for Jin...

Shin than to recall the most troublesome Player and Newbie Jin. During the Apocalypse Alice mission Jin didn't show remarkable strength in battle like Connor and at first Shin himself thought that he was normal, but Shin and the others later on learned that was furthest away from the truth. Jin showed that he was a capable strategist that could even rival the former Player Saki.

In the Labyrinth, Jin was the one who lead Connor to deal with the monsters without the assistance of Team Japan or Hero Team. Jin was also the one who thought up the fastest and surefire method of clearing the Labyrinth in the short amount of time that they had. Furthermore, Jin showed everyone that he had the ability to see through the human heart, something that Saki lacked. He saw through Derrick's betrayal and lead the others to back Shin up as he was about to be killed (Could use better timing, but I can't fault him on that), yet... Shin didn't think that was necessarily a good or bad thing and so he could only trust Jin's amazing intelligence and not the man himself.

Shin: (Originally I wanted Jin to just fill up the mid-range position and support Kampa, but as it turns out he can also be our team's new mastermind strategist, the one who can think up plans and see through enemy strategies. Jin was also the best Player in a lot of online MMORPGs, so he's more qualified to lead a group than I... but he can't become our team's leader in my place. Ignoring my own subpar abilities as team leader, Jin isn't suited for the job for no other reason than his own madness. He enjoys this world just as much as me and isn't too fearful and doesn't want out like the others, but he is unable to think about his teammates as real friends and comrades to protect with his life. I don't believe he'll abandon everyone in an emergency since he needs us to survive, but that's as far as it goes. He's no coward, but no hero. He lacks both the strength and heart to bring a team together under him since he makes no effort to hide his true self or change for the better. For those same reasons I am more qualified then Jin to be leader... really, they are both first rate newbies, yet they are both so troublesome.)

Shin chose to put aside his worries for both Connor and Jin, and decided to just see for himself what exchanges the two of them made.

Jin: Yo, Shin! Have you come to check on your newest members?

Connor: ...

Shin: Yeah. I was interested in what the two of you exchanged for. Also, the next battle is likely to be a Team Battle, and our first as well, so I need to have an understanding of our strengths.

Jin: I see... then is everyone else done as well?

Shin: Yeah they are. Why?

Jij: Actually, the two of us had yet to make any exchanges.

Shin: You haven't? I didn't expect that. There might be too many exchanges to get through in one sitting, but most Players choose what to get by now.

Shin was surprise that both Connor and Jin had yet to exchange anything. He can imagine that since Jin is like himself, so he couldn't decide right away with so many interesting enhancements and thought about it deeply, but Connor seems the type to get the troublesome things out of the way early.

Shin: So what's wrong? Why haven't you exchanged anything yet?

Connor: I would if I could, but there was that message.

Shin: Message?

Jin: Yes. Actually we were just about to call for you and the others to talk about this, but since you came to us we'll just tell you now.

Shin: What is it?

Jin: Well, the thing is that when the two of us connected to God for the first time after the initial repairs and attempted contact God about our exchanges, God gave us a message. Also, both Connor and my own message are very similar, yet are not exactly the same. We were both confused about the matter, so we held off on our own exchanges 'til the rest of you were done before bringing this up.

Shin: Okay, but what is this message that has the both of you so concerned about?

Shin asked this of both Connor and Jin, and so the two of them shared the message they received from God to Shin. Quickly reading through both messages from God Shin was more confused than amazed from what was stated as he had never seen such a message before.

\- SPECIAL BLOODLINE CONFIRMED!

PLAYER CONNOR XXXXX HAS BEEN FOUND TO HAVE THE GENETIC CODE OF THE DEMONIC GENETIC MUTATION WITHIN HIS DNA DUE TO HAVING AN ANCESTOR WHO ONCE HELD A HIGH LEVEL ENHANCEMENT OF THAT CATEGORY. COMPATIBILITY TEST... AT ACCEPTABLE LEVELS! PLAYER CONNOR XXXXX MAY MAKE EXCHANGES FOR THE DEMONIC SERIES EXCHANGE [WHOLE BODY, GENETIC MUTATION, AND SKILL], WHILE IGNORING POINT REQUIREMENTS FOR B RANK AND BELOW TIER. ADDITIONALLY, ANY ONE ENTRY DEMONIC RACE MUTATION IS FREE. ALL EXCHANGESS USING THIS BONUS ARE SPELLBOUND TO THE PLAYER AND CAN'T BE SHARED WITH OTHERS.

\- SPECIAL BLOODLINE CONFIRMED!

PLAYER JIN XXXXXXXXX HAS BEEN FOUND TO HAVE THE GENETIC CODE OF THE MAGIC RACE GENETIC MUTATION WITHIN HIS DNA DUE TO HAVING AN ANCESTOR WHO ONCE HELD A HIGH LEVEL ENHANCEMENT OF THIS CATEGORY. COMPATIBILITY TEST... AT ACCEPTABLE LEVELS! PLAYER JIN XXXXXXXX MAY MAKE EXCHANGES FOR THE MAGIC SERIES EXCHANGES [WHOLE BODY, GENETIC MUTATION, AND SKILL], WHILE IGNORING POINT REQUIREMENTS FOR B RANK AND BELOW TIER. ADDITIONALLY, ANY ONE ENTRY MAGIC RACE MUTATION IS FREE. ALL EXCHANGESS USING THIS BONUS ARE SPELLBOUND TO THE PLAYER AND SO CAN'T BE SHARED WITH OTHERS.

Shin: Th-this is...

Connor: So you haven't seen this before then?

Shin: No. I've never seen such a message before.

Jin: The two of us have no idea about being descendants of former Players and are doubtful, especially for someone lowly like me to belong to some lineage of powerful Players. What is more important than that are the bonuses the two of us received. According to the message from God it says that the two of us can gain similar low level enhancements of these ancestors for no point cost long as they are B rank and below that belong to our respective categories. I also gain the right to any entry magic race genetic mutation for free, and for Connor it is for the Demon race.

Shin: ...

Jin: It's amazing, Shin! The two of us still need to acquire the difficult to require rank rewards, yet we don't need to worry about points till the later stages of our enhancement paths! Connor and I can choose to now save those points up for that time, or use them to increase our stats without worrying about cost effectiveness. And there was another method for using points I just thought-

Shin: Can you give me a minute, Jin? I need to process this.

Jin: Ah, okay.

Shin never expected for a Player of his team to turn out to be related to former Player, especially not both Jin and Connor... and for the two of them to gain such a powerful bonus as New Players was truly beyond him and left him speechless. This information gave him both something to really look forward to and many, many more worries at the same time.

Starting with the good points: this bonus given to Jin and Connor was a godsend for them, and for the team as a whole. For starters the two of them gained the right to exchange for the powerful entry rank genetic mutations from the Support Category for free, ignoring the points and rewards normally required.

Entry genetic mutations that begin at D rank like Aqua's Werewolf Mutation and Shin's own One-eye Ghoul Mutation didn't start off too powerful to the one's that start off at B rank, yet those that start off at D rank possess a high degree of growth as they rank up. An enhancement that starts at B rank will be weaker to an enhancement that started at D rank and reached B rank by ranking up, so instead it's a powerful enhancement that will later become less effective than one that started at the beginning.

For Jin and Connor starting off at a D rank genetic mutation is much more valuable when looking at the long run. Shin didn't know if Demonic or Magical race would fit either Jin or Connor, yet in the end it would only make them stronger.

The other benefit, yet much more valuable gain than receiving a free low ranking support enhancement is that Connor and Jin will be able to gain in the future exchanges without worrying about the Point requirements, and only the rank rewards. From Shin's experience in High School of the Dead, BTOOOM, and recently Apocalypse Alice he saw that it was easier for Players to acquire lots of Points than lots of rank rewards. That being the case, just being allowed to ignore the Point requirements for Sci-fi Weapons, Magic Tools, and Support Items is still a great advantage if Players just have to work hard to gain only rank rewards.

Shin: (It isn't an absolute advantage for a Player to have over another Player since along with rank rewards it's normal to gain plenty of Points as well, but for those like me who before had plenty of rank rewards, yet not enough points to get the powerful exchanges I was looking forward to getting, both Connor and Jin did in fact hold an advantage over me. I should be happy since their power is also the team's power as well... but isn't this suspicious?)

What was worrying Shin and stopped him from being too happy about Connor and Jin's potential growth was the reason behind it. God confirmed that not one, but both Connor and Jin are descendants of former Players of God's Dimension. Knowing that what comes to mind is a few certain organizations.

The Four Pillars.

According to Sozin, the majority of the members of the Four Pillars are those whose parents, grandparents, or much further back were Players of God's Dimension, and the reason for that was right in front of Shin. Those individuals, when they enter God's Dimension gain the very same bonus that Connor and Jin had just received. Shin heard something like this from Sozin, but just not in detail.

Shin: (I may not know how many former Players aren't a part of the Four Pillars and could be living out their lives in peace, so it's possible for one such descendant of their to end up in God's Dimension, yet for two to appear feels unlikely... unless it was on purpose and this is a trap.)

Shin considered the possibility that both Connor and Jin could be spies for the Four Pillars like Saki and Derrick, and are planning to turn against Team Japan, but at the same time Shin felt that it was unlikely as well. Both Connor and Jin could have done what Saki had done and hid their powerful exchanges and surprise attacked Team Japan. Despite experiencing Saki's trap himself, sadly he couldn't say that he would be able to tell if either of them were hiding their exchanges if they tried.

Shin: (It is still unbelievable that Players like Jin and Connor had both joined Team Japan at the same time and I do plan to talk with Aqua and the others... but I should be able to trust them. It really could all just be a coincidence, yet even if they have a hidden agenda... they weren't the enemy. Jin and Connor both helped the team before and after Derrick's betrayal. They also could have hidden their exchanges and planned to kill us off when we had our guard down. Such a plan should have been possible with the rank rewards that they received, but they didn't do that either. In the end I can only say that the two of them are not the enemy.)

Jin: Shin... Shin! Are you okay? You've been just standing there for a long time.

Shin: Ah, sorry, I was just thinking some things over. Anyways, for now I can say there's nothing to worry about with this message, so we should all make the best of the situation and use it to our advantage. You can get any enhancement that you want and can just use your points to get a useful item, or increase your stats. Really, if it's like that you may have done better than me when I finish my first mission... yet now that your options to ignore point requirements is now known and you could potential exchange for something powerful, I would suggest that the two of you don't exchange for anything that requires above a C rank reward.

Connor: Why?

Shin: It's your Genetic Constraint levels. A man named Sozin explained it to us, but to simplify it, it works like this. The Genetic Constraint doesn't just increase your fighting ability with just sharp battle instincts, increased strength, or calm reasoning, it's also the key to unlocking the exchanges. Using an A rank enhancement as an example, a normal person like Jin could only bring out 10% of its potential and that's the limit. For someone who has reached the First Stage like Misaki and Connor it would be 20-30% potential. Aqua and I who are at the Second Stage can go up to 40-50%. I forgot the third stage, but with the Fourth Stage you can use A rank and any other enhancement at full.

Jin: What about the Fifth Stage?

Shin: Who knows? Maybe for S rank, but that's not important. The point that I'm trying to make is this. The Genetic Constraint is the key to bring out the full power of an enhancements, yet for that reason there's no point in using a power you can't truly master. My guess is that you need the Third Stage to bring out the full potential of B rank, the Second Stage for C rank and the First Stage for D rank. Connor, you're at the First Stage, so I wouldn't get anything above C rank and should just go for C rank and below Genetic Mutations, Whole Body Enhancements, or Skills. At the First Stage you can bring out the full potential of D tier, and almost the full of C tier, but from B or higher you won't get that big of a power increase like you should. As for Jin, like Hikari, Kampa, and Shuai you have yet to unlock you constraint.

Jin: Stick to D rank exchanges for now, and maybe one or two C exchanges, is what you were going to say? Smart. As expected of our leader! You're very wise. I originally didn't think to go for the high ranking enhancements so soon since I thought that I wouldn't be able to get used to them, but the key is the Genetic Constraint, huh? Without it both your learning speed and potential would be stunted.

Shin: That's right. You both have been given a gift, but a great power you can't use could become a burden. If I knew better in the beginning after the H.O.T.D mission I wouldn't have gone past C rank in Ki Energy and One-eyed Ghoul Mutation, and would have used the rest of the points and rewards that I could have saved on Sci-fi, Magic Weapons, defensive gear, and Skills.

Connor: Sure, but what's this thing about our ancestors? Is that real?

Shin: Who knows? Are either of you aware of having some amazing ancestor in your family tree?

Jin: No, my family is normal as far as I know and there's nothing special about us. Just a normal family that sponges off their only child.

Shin: That's not... Connor?

Connor: I think I had a great-grandfather who took part in a revolution during his time. I don't know much about the man, but I think he was feared as the Devil of the White Sands.

Shin: What a cool second name.

Jim: Fantastic alias! We should all aspire to gain such cool names.

Shin: ...

Jin: What?

Shin: Nothing. Just thinking on the same wavelength as you feels wrong and make me want to reexamine myself by going into therapy.

Shin then ignored the Jin complaints about being mean as he just realized something. That if the Teams of the Four Pillars have Players like Connor and Jin who only need rank rewards to become stronger, then his Team Japan was in trouble. He heard as much from Sozin, yet seeing the potential of the two comrades in front of him sent a chill down his spine.

Shin: (I can only hope that the Players themselves aren't as amazing as Jin and Connor because if not... we may be wiped out in the next mission.)


	107. Chapter 107

Shin worried about the team's future, yet he realized that there was no end to his worries if he kept thinking things over now, so he chose to put his fears aside for now. For now he would oversee Connor and Jin's exchanges. Shin did trust them, but the incident with Saki and even worse incident with Derrick compelled him see exactly what the two would exchange for from God under the circumstances, with both of them being descendants of former Players.

Shin: Let's start with you Connor. What do you plan to get?

Connor: You want to see exactly what I'm getting. Why?

Shin: There's no big reason, Connor (lie). This is the first time any Player for our team has been in your situation, so as leader I feel I have to oversee what you and Jin get (half-truth). Next time I'll just ask what you acquired in passing like the others (maybe).

Connor: ...Fine.

Jin: What about me?

Shin: Just look over the exchanges for now. You're smart and seems like you will become a magician of sorts. Compared to other enhancement paths yours will end up being the most complex with countless options, so just think about what will be useful in the early stages for now.

Jin: Okay! I live to obey leader.

Shin then turned away to help Connor choose his exchanges as Jin excitedly went over the magic exchange list with God. According to God, Connor could acquire all B rank and below Demonic related exchanges with just rank rewards alone with the exception of weapons. Shin figured there was an exception for weapons because of a possible loophole. That purposely, or as just hand overs after moving on to a higher tier weapon, Connor could exchange free Demonic series weapons for his team.

Connor had 5250 Points and 1 B rank reward. Looking at what Connor received after the Apocalypse Alice mission, he can get nine free D tier exchanges, three C tier, or some combination of both D and C tier exchanges. Whatever the case, Connor's already high fighting potential will skyrocket after this.

Shin: For now, I'll recommend getting the D rank Demon Viscount, and C rank Demon Count genetic Mutations. There are other demon variants like Gargle, Vampire, Ghoul, Orc, Zombie, Jinn, or even Fallen Angel, but I would go with the basic Demon Mutation that has the most versatility. There's no demon race that specializes in modern warfare, so go with something all rounded yet powerful since you use guns. Your fighting power will increase and you'll have access to magic as well. Also, last time I checked, it starts out at D tier and ranks out at S tier. That means it is one of the enhancement with the highest potential in the end game. It's definitely a powerful enhancement. I wouldn't recommend getting any magic spells right now. You're a sniper, so focus on that for this round of exchanges if you don't mind?

Connor: That was always my intention. From what I can see there aren't any skills which take modern warfare like guns and sniping into account for any of the Demonic races. There might be demonic weapons with modern warfare in mind, but I'm not familiar with games and the like, and so I'll prefer to get Sci-fi weapons.

Shin: Are you sure? With the rest of your rewards you could increase your battle potential with useful magic to stay alive.

Connor: ...Is there any point if only I survive. I'm not a stupid child or selfish. This teams needs a sniper and that's what I am best at. I don't like relying on others and don't intend to, but those places like the last mission can't be defeated with just one person's efforts. I'm aware of my own limits. I'll increase my power, but I won't forget about the existence of the team and only think about myself.

Demon Viscount (Rank) Genetic Mutation -

Rating 61.

Applicable to most missions. Has demonic power and access to most Demon Magic. Increases strength substantially and emotional state can increase power. Owner will not be affected by holy water. Requires D rank reward and 600 points.

Demon Count (Rank) Genetic Mutation -

Rating 75.

Applicable to most missions. Has demonic power and access to most Demon Magic. Rank Count increases strength substantially and emotional state can increase power. Owner will not be affected by holy water. Requires a rank C reward, 1500 points, and Demon Viscount Mutation.

Demon Lord (Rank) Genetic Mutation -

Rating 87.

Applicable to most missions. Has demonic power and access to most Demon Magic. Rank Lord increases strength substantially and emotional state can increase power. Owner will not be affected by holy water. Requires a rank B reward, 2600 points, and Demon Count Mutation.

Demon Overlord (Rank) Genetic Mutation -

Rating 93.

Applicable to most missions. Has demonic power and access to most Demon Magic. Rank Overlord increases strength substantially and emotional state can increase power. Owner will not be affected by holy water. Requires A rank reward, 4000 points, and Demon Lord Mutation.

Demon Tyrant Overlord (Rank) Genetic Mutation -

Rating 97.

Applicable to most missions. Has demonic power and access to most Demon Magic. Rank Tyrant Overlord increases strength substantially and emotional state can increase power. Owner will not be affected by holy water. Requires AA rank rewards, 6500 points, and Demon Overlord Mutation.

Demon Supreme Overlord (Rank) Genetic Mutation -

Rating 100.

Applicable to most missions. Has demonic power and access to all Demon Magic. Rank Supreme Overlord increases strength substantially and emotional state can increase power. Owner will not be affected by holy water. Requires S rank reward, 10,000 points, and Demon Tyrant Overlord Mutation.

God shot down a beam of light and lifted Connor into the air. Particles of light entered into his body and in a surprisingly short time he came back down to the floor of the Terminal Lobby. Connor looked... different. No, different wasn't the right word. The right word was scary.

Connor's physical appearance didn't change much, he looked like a young 'ikemen' in the makings, but he now had a stronger aura of danger and solitude about him. I'm a guy so I'm not sure, but with the addition of his Middle Eastern origins, girls off all ages would find Connor to be the bad boy type they leave their good and decent boyfriends for... I should make sure he doesn't get too close to Aqua or Hikari.

So in the end Connor only exchanged for the two genetic mutations, Demon Viscount and Demon Count, from the Demonic series and none of the magic spells he could have gotten. Connor didn't see it as a big deal, yet that action gained my respect. It showed that Connor is planning to increase his strengths in line with what is good for the team, instead of an overall increase that would only improve his own survivability.

Shin: So what Sci-fi weapons will you get? You still have all of your 5250 points 1 C, and 2 D rank rewards left, so you can still get something good.

Connor: About that... I had a former comrade who moved to Japan. He was a child soldier like me, but he quickly became childish, and his favorite Manga is called World Trigger. He showed me it and so that's the only Manga I know of. It's Sci-fi and I plan to get something from there as it's somewhat logical.

Connor then brought of some of the World Trigger series exchanges. Triggers, swords, guns, sniper rifles, shields, and a variety of Option Triggers. As Shin recalled, Triggers were one of the more highly rated exchanges, and the following made him see why.

C-Class Trigger -

Rating 71.

Applicable to missions that require combat. Can store the user's real body within the trigger and replace it with an A-Class Trion Body. Can download and use up to eight different types of triggers (must be obtained separately). Triggers have the bailout function. The user is able to escape after the Trion Body is destroyed, the main body will be ejected and fly away anywhere within 1000 meters of where Bail Out occurred. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed or Bail Out occurs, the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain access to Trion Energy. Requires a D rank reward and 1000 points.

B-Class Trigger -

Rating 82.

Applicable to missions that require combat. Can store the user's real body within the trigger and replace it with an A-Class Trion Body. Can download and use up to eight different types of triggers (must be obtained separately). Triggers have the bailout function. The user is able to escape after the Trion Body is destroyed, the main body will be ejected and fly away anywhere within 1000 meters of where Bail Out occurred. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed or Bail Out, the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain access to Trion Energy. Requires C rank reward, 2000 points and a C-Class Trigger.

A-Class Trigger -

Rating 93.

Applicable to missions that require combat. Can store the user's real body within the trigger and replace it with an A-Class Trion Body. Can download and use up to eight different types of triggers (must be obtained separately). Triggers have the bailout function. The user is able to escape after the Trion Body is destroyed, the main body will be ejected and fly away anywhere within 1000 meters of where Bail Out occurred. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed or Bail Out, the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain access to Trion Energy. Requires a B rank reward, 3000 points and a B-Class Trigger.

Trion Receptor Horn Implant -

Rating 85.

Greatly increases a Trigger User's Trion through an implants to the head. A possible side effect is that the user may have their personality changed if the implants reach into the brain. Requires 7000 Points and a B rank reward.

Kougetsu -

Rating 67.

A katana shaped blade of Trion with high durability and striking power. Requires 2500 Points and a D rank reward.

Scorpion -

Rating 60.

A light-weight blade that speed oriented attackers often use. The blade can materialize at will and it weighs almost nothing, but has little durability. Requires 2000 Points and a D rank reward.

Reygust -

Rating 65.

It's a defensive trigger with a transformable blade. It has low offensive power and is very heavy, but possesses high stamina and has a shield mode that increases durability in exchange for reduced attack power. Requires 1500 Points and a D rank reward.

Sōgetsu (Axe) -

Rating 68.

A once Tamakoma-exclusive Trigger. It is a pair of knifes that can combine into a large axe which has an enormous destructive power, but drains a lot of Trion. Require 2500 Points and a D rank Reward.

Asteroid -

Rating

This trigger does not have any special qualities, but shoots bullets that are more powerful than normal. Requires 1000 Points and a D rank reward.

Hound -

Rating 65.

A Trigger which shoots guided bullets that target and pursue the opponent. Requires 1800 Points and a C rank reward.

Meteora -

Rating 60.

This trigger shoots bullets that create large-scale explosions once they are fired. Requires 1500 Points and a C rank reward.

Viper -

Raring 71.

This trigger allows the user to change the trajectory of their bullets as they are shooting them, allowing the user to hit an opponent even if they attempt to dodge. Requires 2300 Points and two C rank rewards.

Composite Bullets -

Rating 77.

The ability to combine the different properties of bullets together. Requires 3000 Points and two C rank rewards.

Eaglet -

Rating 62.

An all-purpose rifle focusing on range. Requires 1200 Points and a D rank reward

Lightning -

Rating 64.

Possesses low power but has a fast bullet velocity and increased accuracy. It also has a rapid fire function, which allows the user to spray an enemy with low-power bullets. Requires 1200 points and a D rank reward.

Ibis -

Rating 59.

Possesses high power, but has a slow bullet velocity and low accuracy. Best is used in fights against large targets. Requires 1200 Points and a D rank reward.

Black Trigger, Replica -

Rating 100.

Applicable in all mission, especially Sci-fi ones. Can store the user's real body within the trigger and replace it with the highest class Black Trigger Trion Body. Special Skill, Seals - Has the ability to copy Non-Black Trigger and other sci-fi weapons as seals and improve them. It is recommended that the user have high intelligence and Mental Capacity to bring out the effectiveness of Seals. Cannot download additional triggers. Trigger does not have the bailout function, so the main body will be revealed at the location of destruction of Trion Body. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain access to Trion Energy. Requires an S rank reward, 28,000 Points, and an A-Class Trigger.

Black Trigger, Fujin -

Rating 90.

Applicable in all mission. Can store the user's real body within the trigger and replace it with the highest class Black Trigger Trion Body. Special Skill, Wind Blade - A sword type trigger with the ability to transmit slashes through surfaces and has to reload after all slashes/ribbons of light are exhausted. It is recommended that the user have high Psychic Force or real time surveillance support to bring out the effectiveness of Wind Blade. Cannot download additional triggers. Trigger does not have the bailout function, so the main body will be revealed at the location of destruction of Trion Body. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain access to Trion Energy. Requires an A rank reward, 12,000 Points, and an A-Class Trigger.

Black Trigger, Alektor -

Rating 100.

Applicable in missions requiring capturing over destructive power. Can store the user's real body within the trigger and replace it with the highest class Black Trigger Trion Body. Special Skill, Trion Cube - Can create Trion shaped animals that move according to the user, and those that come into contact with the Trion Creatures will be transformed into Trion Cubes, also able to recharge Trion through cubes. Can't download additional triggers. Trigger does not have the bailout function, so the main body will be revealed at the location of destruction of Trion Body. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain access to Trion Energy. Requires two A rank rewards, 20,000 Points, and an A-Class Trigger.

Black Trigger, Organon -

Rating 100.

Applicable in all mission, especially ones requiring wide scale destruction. Can store the user's real body within the trigger and replace it with the highest class Black Trigger Trion Body. Special Skill, Staff of Stars - Upon activation, this Trigger generates rings around itself in a similar orientation to that seen around an atom. The rings then expand in size around the user and are capable of cutting anything they touch. Upon activation, it provides its user with very strong defense as it cut downs anything that approaches them. It can also bypass shields. Can't download additional triggers. Trigger does not have the bailout function, so the main body will be revealed at the location of destruction of Trion Body. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain access to Trion Energy. Requires two A rank rewards, 18,000 Points, and an A-Class Trigger.

Black Trigger, Vorvoros -

Rating 100.

Applicable in all mission. Can store the user's real body within the trigger and replace it with the highest class Black Trigger Trion Body. Special Skill, King of Mud - Allows the user to liquefy and gasify themselves in order to render any attack on them useless. They can also use blades to attack people from the ground via cracks. It can also form blades inside it's opponents body, if they inhale Vorvoros' gaseous form. It can also produce dummies which act as decoys for the Trion vitals. Can't download additional triggers. Trigger does not have the bailout function, so the main body will be revealed at the location of destruction of Trion Body. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain access to Trion Energy. Requires an A rank reward, 15,000 points, and an A-Class Trigger.

Black Trigger, Speiraskia -

Rating 100.

Applicable in all missions that need fast travel. Can store the users real body within the trigger and replace it with the highest class Black Trigger Trion Body. Special Skill, Worm Hole - Can create a worm holes over wide area to summon, recover, move through and attack over long distance, but consume a lot of Trion. It is recommended that the user have Psychic Force and Mental Capacity over 5000 Stat Points. Can't download additional triggers. Trigger does not have the bailout function, so the main body will be revealed at the location of destruction of Trion Body. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain access to Trion Energy. Requires two A rank rewards, 20,000 Points, A-Class Trigger, and Mental Capacity over 3000 Stat Points.

Connor then made his final exchanges. Once more Connor was lifted up into the air, but this time the exchange took longer. Maybe because he wasn't getting the Demonic Power that he was well suited for, but I wouldn't know for sure.

As Connor was lifted by the beam and particles entered his body I saw a source of energy from around his heart, Trion, as opposed to the Demonic Power that laid dormant around the navel similar to my own Ki Energy. The exchange was complete now and the beam lifting Connor up carried him back down and within his right hand was metallic device with a handgrip.

Connor had acquired the C-Class Trigger that was 1000 and a D rank reward, Eaglet that was 1200 and a D rank reward, Ibis that was 1200 and a D rank reward, and lastly Lightning for 1200 Points and a D rank reward. All energy Sci-fi sniping weapons fueled by Trion Energy which he now had.

Connor choose these three because Demon mutation was at C rank it was fine to rely on just the D rank C-Class Trigger, so instead he used his remaining points and rewards on varying weapons with an emphasis on long range combat.

Connor: Demonic Power and Trion Energy... they'll do for now. I think I'll also purchase a regular rifle for when I'm not in Trion form, and will use a D rank reward to unlock the BIM Exchanges so I can use bombs.

Shin: You will still have to practice all of your new exchanges, yet you're very fortunate, Connor. Since you've already unlocked your constraint to the First Stage, you'll probably catch on how to use them within these remaining days of training and rest. If not, you'll have to learn them in combat. You should still practice in Aqua's basement later, or make your own space.

Connor: I can practice on my own.

Shin: What about teamwork?

Connor: ...

Shin: ...I'll guess I'll leave you on your own.

Connor's Leftover Points and rewards: 150 Points (After unlocking BIMs, buying a rifle and ammunition).

Jin: So is it finally my turn!?

Shin: Yeah, so have you looked over what you were going to get?

Jin: Yes I did. There were plenty of amazing exchanges, so I'm glad I can just focus on one area for now. Magic enhancements! Magic classes have always been my preferred class in games. Also, magic fits with a midrange fighter, so it should fit with the role you wanted me to fill as well, Shin.

Shin: So you knew?

Jin: It wasn't that hard to figure out, but I'm surprised you just didn't order us to get those types of exchanges that you wanted us to get.

Shin: I won't ask something of someone else that I wouldn't be willing to do myself. I may suggest mid-range and long-range to you and Connor, but I won't force the issue. I'm here to survive first and foremost, but I want to fulfill my own goal of becoming an OP protagonist. I wouldn't accept an enhancement that I didn't like just for the team's sake.

Jin: I see... I thought that you were more of a responsible leader, but I'm glad that my initial impression of you wasn't wrong.

Shin: ...Whatever, so about your exchanges?

Jin: Fine. To explain, I've chosen to become an offensive type magic user. I've heard Hikari is something of a support magic user, so I'll become an offensive one so as to not overlap with her. That should fit with my role as a mid-range fighter. I've narrowed down the possible enhancements I could get, and with my 4850 Points and B rank reward I can get everything that I need!

Mana Control.

Rating 54.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Allows access and control of Mana that is in the air for Magic Spells, and can be used to increase stats temporarily. Requires a rank D reward, and 600 Points.

Intermediate Mana Control.

Rating 69.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Allows access and control of Mana that is in the air for Magic Spells, and can be used to increase stats temporarily. Requires a rank C reward, 1200 Points, and Mana Control.

Advance Mana Control.

Rating 82.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Allows access and control of Mana that is in the air for Magic Spells, and can be used to increase stats temporarily. Requires a rank B reward, 2000 Points, and Intermediate Mana Control.

Mana Affinity -

Rating 63.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Increases degree of control over the five basic elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Lighting. Requires 2000 points and a D rank reward.

Medium Mana Affinity -

Rating 75.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Increases degree of control over the five basic elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Lighting. Additional allows for the possibility of fusing two elements to create a new one. Requires 3000 points and a C rank reward.

Advance Mana Affinity -

Rating 83.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Increases degree of control over all types of magic. Additional allows for the possibility of fusing three or more types of elements. Requires 5000 points and a B rank reward.

Dual Casting -

Rating 75.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Allows the user the ability to cast two spells at the same time with ease. Requires 1500 points and a D rank reward.

Triple Casting -

Rating 75.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Allows the user the ability to cast three spells at the same time with ease. Requires 3000 points and a C rank reward.

Multi Casting -

Rating 75.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Allows the user the ability to cast three or more spells at the same time with ease. Requires 6000 points and two C rank rewards.

Mana Regeneration -

Rating 70.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. An active and passive ability to recover Mana more quickly. Meditating speeds up the Mana recovery process. Requires 2000 points and a D rank reward.

Medium Mana Regeneration -

Rating 70.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. An active and passive ability to recover Mana more quickly. Meditating speeds up the Mana recovery process. Requires 4000 points and a C rank reward.

High Mana Regeneration -

Rating 70.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. An active and passive ability to recover Mana more quickly. Meditating speeds up the Mana recovery process. Requires 6500 points and a B rank reward.

Magic Endurance -

Rating 80.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Reduces the burden on the body and mind when using Mana. Also increase resistance to magic attacks, both physical and mental. Requires 2100 points and a D rank reward.

Mana Shield -

Rating 81.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Raises a defensive barrier formed by Mana. Requires 2300 points and a C rank reward.

Witch/Warlock Genetic Mutation, Class D -

Rating 63.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Able to store a source of Mana inside their bodies, or within an object with no limit. Special Skill, Supporter - The ability to turn an inanimate object or a living being into a familiar called a Supporter. Requires a D rank reward and 800 Points.

Witch/Warlock Genetic Mutation, Class C -

Rating 77.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Able to store a source of Mana inside their bodies, or within an object with no limit. Special Skill, Supporter - The ability to turn an inanimate object or a living being into a familiar called a Supporter. Requires a C rank reward, 1600 Points, and D Class Witch/Warlock Genetic Mutation.

Witch/Warlock Genetic Mutation, Class B -

Rating 88.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Able to store a source of Mana inside their bodies, or within an object with no limit. Special Skill, Supporter - The ability to turn an inanimate object or a living being into a familiar called a Supporter. Requires a rank B reward, 2600 Points, and the C Class Witch/Warlock mutation.

Witch/Warlock Genetic Mutation, Class A -

Rating 92.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Able to store a source of Mana inside their bodies, or within an object with no limit. Special Skill, Supporter - The ability to turn a inanimate object or a living being into a familiar called a Supporter. Requires a rank A reward, 3800 Points, and the B Class Witch/Warlock mutation.

Witch/Warlock Genetic Mutation, Class S -

Rating 97.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Able to store a source of Mana inside their bodies, or within an object with no limit. Special Skill, Supporter - The ability to turn an inanimate object or a living being into a familiar called a Supporter. Requires two A rank rewards, 5400 Points, and the A Class Witch/Warlock mutation.

Witch/Warlock Genetic Mutation, FGW Rank -

Rating 100.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Able to store a source of Mana inside their bodies, or within an object with no limit and equivalent rank to the Four Great Witches in Mana. Special Skill, Supporter - The ability to turn an inanimate object or a living being into a familiar called a Supporter. Requires S rank reward, 10,800 Points, and S Class Witch/Warlock Mutation.

Elementary Rank Magic Power -

Rating 40.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. The standard of magic power in the Mushoku Tensei universe. Capable of basic Mana manipulation. Requires 700 Points and a D rank reward.

Intermediate Rank Magic Power -

Rating 51.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. The standard of magic power in the Mushoku Tensei universe. Capable of advanced Mana manipulation. Requires 1500 Points, a C rank reward, and Elementary Rank Magic Power.

Advance Rank Magic Power -

Rating 63.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. The standard of magic power in the Mushoku Tensei universe. Capable of complex Mana manipulation. Requires 2800 Points, a B rank reward, and Intermediate Rank Magic Power.

Saint Rank Magic Power -

Rating 75.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. The standard of magic power in the Mushoku Tensei universe. Capable of large scale complex Mana manipulation. Requires 3700 Points, two B rank rewards, and Advance Rank Magic Power.

King Rank Magic Power -

Rating 86.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. The standard of magic power in the Mushoku Tensei universe. Capable of high amount of Mana with complex manipulation. Requires 5100 Points, an A rank reward, and Saint Rank Magic Power.

Emperor Rank Magic Power -

Rating 94.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. The standard of magic power in the Mushoku Tensei universe. Capable very high amount of Mana with complex manipulation. Requires 7800 Points, two A rank rewards, and King Rank Magic Power.

God Rank Magic Power -

Rating 100.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. The standard of magic power in the Mushoku Tensei universe. Capable of continental class magic. Requires 11,000 Points, an S rank reward, and Emperor Rank Magic Power.

Fire Ball Spell -

Rating 45.

The basic offensive fire type spell. Requires 1000 Points and a C rank reward.

Water Ball Spell -

Rating 40.

The basic offensive water type spell. Requires 1000 Points and a C rank reward.

Earth Rock Spell -

Rating 44.

The basic offensive earth type spell. Requires 1000 Points and a C rank reward.

Wind Blade Spell -

Rating 40.

The basic offensive wind type spell. Requires 1000 Points and a C rank reward.

Lighting Bolt Spell -

Rating 48.

The basic offensive lightning type spell. Requires 1000 Points and a C rank reward.

Frostbolt Spell -

Rating 49.

The basic offensive ice type spell. Requires 1000 Points and a C rank reward.

Holy Light Spell -

Rating 65.

The basic holy magic spell. The addition of Faith Energy increases the effects. Requires 1500 Points and a C rank reward.

Cursed Mist -

Rating 56.

A dark mist flows up from the earth and poisons those that breathe it in. Lowers Cell Vitality of target?. Requires 1400 Points and a C rank reward.

Illusion Shroud -

Rating 69.

Dark magic to create illusions. Requires 1500 Points and two D rank reward.

Jin: Mana Control D rank reward, Mana Regeneration D rank reward, Witch/Warlock Genetic Mutation D Class for a D rank reward, Elementary Rank Magic Power for a D rank, Illusion Shroud for two D rank reward, and Frostbolt Spell for a C rank reward. I'll take all of these useful low level, yet effective, Magic enhancements God.

Shin: That's... in points alone that is well over 7000 Points! When you can just ignore the point requirements you can really get a lot.

Shin watch as Jin received his exchanges from God as particles of light lifted him up into the air. Jin did not exchange for anything too outrageous, yet he made so many low level exchanges at once that the time it took for him to finish was one of the longest Shin has ever seen. When Jin finally finished Shin walked over to him and asked him about his enhancements.

Shin: It was definitely smart of you Jin to get so many low level and useful enhancements, but don't a few of them seem the same? Most of those just look like to give you an edge in using magic.

Jin: That's the point. It's to increase my overall affinity in using magic. The Witch/Warlock Genetic Mutation has an upper limit, but it is possible to gather additional mana to reach that point, and Mana Control and Elementary Rank Magic Power will make it go easier. Also, although I have no basis to say so, I think I can use what I've gained from all of my exchanges to better my chances at the Skill Mastery that I heard about from you. Like what you did with Ki Blast, I can use my many new enhancements to begin my path to understanding the higher level enhancements. After all my exchange discount or whatever it is will only work for up to B rank rewards exchanges.

Shin: What do you plan to use your points on then? I told Connor to just get an item, or increase his stats. There's really nothing else to use just points on. You also have the choice to actually start saving your points for 'Return to the Origin' exchange since you only need the rank rewards to become stronger.

Jin: I'm not so interested in returning to the real world, but I'll think about it. For what I intended to use my stats for... it seems like magic is dependent on Mental Capacity and also Intelligence might help out, so I plan to increase those stats, and maybe get the knife from EVA... ah, that's right! Shin, I found another way to use the points and rewards!

Shin: You did?

After Shin asked that Jin made contact with God and then looked over back to Shin. Then after a few seconds both Shin and Jin heard the voice God.

\- SCANNING COMPLETE. NO MEMORY OF BEING FORCED. STAT INCREASE OF 1 POINT FOR MUSCLE DENSITY FOR PLAYER SHIN CONFIRMED! PLAYER JIN UNABLE TO EXCHANGE FOR ANOTHER PERSON UNTIL THE NEXT MISSION IS FINISHED.

Shin: This is...

Jin: Amazing, right? I got the idea when I made my human creation yesterday. I made a girlfriend of sorts originally, but then I had the thought of making her my bodyguard when I increased its stats slightly as a test. This is invaluable, Shin. New members and teammates who are unlikely to gain a lot of points like Hikari and Shuai will be able to properly power up if we all increase their stats or gift them with exchanges. Did none of you think of this?

Shin: Yes and no. We heard something similar from a former Player named Sozin in the real world. That he gave away his extra points and rank rewards that he didn't need before coming back to the real world.

Jin: So you all forgot?

Shin: More like we never thought that deeply about it is all. At the time we were given a lot of information to process all at once. We also might have subconsciously assumed that a Player could only do so before they leave for good.

Jin: How unfortunate. So my grand discover to improve my image would be nothing more than a reminder of what you were already told. I guess it's expected from one as average as me trying to mingle with such an amazing team.

Shin: If you would disregard your entire personality I and the others would have a better impression of you.

Shin said that, but the truth was he held a very high opinion of Jin and just now it had increased. The fact that Jin came to that conclusion about the points so quickly shows that his intelligence really is on Saki's Level, or maybe higher since she never knew about this.

Shin: Well, you're still no good, but an invaluable asset nonetheless, so we won't be getting rid of you any time soon.

Jin: Does that mean I should expect to be kicked out later?

Shin: ...

Jin's Leftovers: 200 (After stat increase and buying the EVE Knife)


	108. Chapter 108

Shin: When we're finished with our exchanges it's always an impressive sight. No one died, so we didn't lose any of our manpower, but actually increased by two able bodies. With the rewards from the last mission and with the addition of our sniper Connor and magician/strategist Jin, Team Japan has finally reached a new level of power!

ATTACKER/CLOSE RANGE FIGHTERS -

1\. Shin: Team Leader, Ki Energy, One-eyed Ghoul genetic mutation, Na Ring×2, Gravity Blade, Lesser Fenrir Coat, Robo Cop's Auto 9 Infinite Ammo Model, and Holy Sword Switch Magic.

2\. Aqua: Nen/Aura, Wolverine genetic mutation, Werewolf Bloodline, Thompson Contender Magic Code, Life Force Booster, and Red Ridding Hood's Cloak.

3\. Misaki: Mantra and Armament Hardening Haki, Firebending, and Fire Dragon Slayer Mutation.

GUNNER/MID RANGE FIGHTER -

Kampa: M41A Pulse Rifle+M and Unicorn Beam Magnum.

Jin: Warlock/Beginner Rank Magic Power/Offensive magic user and Mastermind Strategist

SNIPER/LONG RANGE FIGHTER -

Shuai: Intermediate level Shaman Power and Earth Elemental Gnome.

Connor: Sniper, C-Class Trigger, Demon Genetic Mutation.

SUPPORT/OTHER -

Hikari: Support Type Persona and Magic Buffs.

Shin was overall happy with the power up of Team Japan and couldn't help but believe that they were definitely among the stronger teams within God's Dimension.

Aqua is a soldier of the JSDF, a powerful veteran of eight missions, has unlocked the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint, and possess rank A-D enhancements and equipment (could do without her little girl form for the sake of my heart).

Hikari was an internationally wanted hacker genius, possessed a support type Persona and can use magic to increase the strength her teammates.

Misaki the former biker punk has acquired the powers of Haki, Firebending, Fire Dragon Slayer, and has unlocked the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint.

Kampa is a world ranked mercenary with the nickname Overlord, armed with both a M41A Pulse Rifle w/ Magic Upgrade, and Unicorn Gundam Beam Magnum.

Shuai was a once average recent college graduate, but is now a shaman with a variety of skills and Earth Elemental.

Connor has taken up the role of the team's sniper, possess C-Class Trigger, Demon Mutation, and has unlocked up to the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint.

And lastly Jin has acquired many low level magic skills along with the Witch/Warlock Mutation and Beginner Rank Magic Power.

Shin: And then there is their OP leader... me! Advanced Ki Energy, S-Rated One-eyed Ghoul Mutation, assortment of Ki Skills, an anti brainwashing magic spell, and owner of magic tools like Gravity Blade and two Na Ring... Hahahahahahaha! Aren't we all, no I the strongest!?

Hikari: Shut up, Shin! Stop talking to yourself and get ready. We're about to have a meeting.

Hikari went ahead of Shin and he could only be left behind alone and sighing.

Shin: ...No respect. As a leader or loving boyfriend. Well, I'll always have my dream of being Over Powered by my side.

Jin: But you really are amazing Shin.

Shin: ...Jin. Hearing that from a man and especially you makes me feel sick.

Jin: Hahaha! In any case this Team of ours is really shaping up. Close range fighters, Midrange fighters, Long Range fighters, and Support roles. We only have eight Players to Team Japan's name, yet we're definitely well rounded enough. It's almost perfect!

Shin: Really? I do agree this is a good team that isn't perfect, but what are we missing specifically?

Jin: Well, if this was a video game then this party is good enough to power through most of the game, yet this isn't a game or typical RPG. The first issue at hand are our low numbers. To complete this game we need 20 able members who can stay alive, but that's a problem that can only be fixed with time. The second concern are our roles in the team. As we agreed, this is a good team for such a small party of eight, yet we could use some more midrange and long range attackers.

Shin: Well, yeah. We have more close range fighters than anything else at the moment.

Jin: Also, I believe we need more conventional game classes to round us out so we can handle any situation. A full time healers/priest to keep us alive. An assassin/thief who can scout alone when long distance scans possibly fail and can handle sole stealth assignments. Someone who can set traps for when we are defending a location or when we know where a battle will take place. Then lastly some professional craftsmen like blacksmiths or alchemists who can both create tools, potions, armor, weapons, and maybe even construct them in the middle of a mission when the need arises.

Shin: Those kinds of talents would be helpful, but Jin, you really look at all of this as a game, huh? I do as well, but not like you.

Jin: Half and half really. I'm no fool. I'm aware this is real life, but this is real life with game and fantasy like elements in the mix as well. There's no harm in looking into Video Games and Mangas for inspiration, right?

Shin agreed with Jin there, yet he didn't want to say it out loud, so he walked away. Shin valued Jin's mind, yet every time that he talked to Jin he felt like he was losing something. Shin didn't know what, so for the moment he distanced himself from Jin and preceded to the planned meeting.

Jin: Wait up! Was it something that I said wrong?

Shin: Your existence.

Jin: ...That makes sense. I'm trash after all.

Shin: ...

Team Japan had a meeting to go over what exchanges they each made after the Apocalypse Alice mission. They were each impressed with what they exchanged for, but had complex feeling when they learned of the free pass in points for Connor and Jin. Shin could understand they were all both jealousy of their advantage and wary of the reason why they held this advantage, but he assured them all that it was a good thing for Team Japan and that both Connor and Jin were allies.

Shin: Everyone is done with enhancements, right?

Shuai: I think we all are, but what is it Shin?

Shin: I thinking that... ahem, why don't we go take a break in Hawaii or somewhere like that? Ten days, not the one in the real world but the Hawaii in the world of BTOOOM. It won't take five times the points and Hikari said she will offer up the D rank reward to unlock it. It only takes ten points for a day in a mission world. What do you guys think? Just take a ten day break that will only cost us each 100 points.

Aqua: Sure, why not.

Misaki: I can use a break.

Shuai: It is also some extra time to train, but I do want to relax just a little.

Kampa: I am fine if everyone else is.

Jin: Doesn't matter, but I'm in as I don't want to be the odd man out (faaarrrr too late for that!).

Hikari: Isn't this great? That last mission was so dangerous, so we deserve a-

Connor: I refuse!

The two replies of Connor and Hikari, the two youngest in our group conflicted and they just glared at each other. The two contrasting answers made Shin felt even more embarrassed for bringing up the break.

Shin: We can't even agree on a vacation. What chance do we have against the other teams?

Hikari: Why refuse?

Connnor: Why agree?

The two youngest members of Team Japan, Hikari and Connor asked that of each other loudly.

Connor: No other reason other then it's wasteful. I need to save my points for weapons. I may have a Point discount, but I can still use them to get top of the line normal sniper rifles and special bullets. I am not stupid enough to use them on luxuries like a vacation. We already get a ten day break as it is before the next mission and it's already enough.

Hikari: What do you mean luxury!? We've been living in constant stress during the last mission. Those few hours were so tough that it feels as if weeks have passed, then we come back to this never changing dimension. I am going to go crazy if it continues like this. I think it's worth it to exchange ten days of peace with a hundred points! Otherwise why do you think God gave us this option?

Connor: I don't know, but isn't it just that your willpower is too weak? You already have a man to comfort you, right?

Hikari: What did you say, brat!? I'll... I'll have Shin kick your ass!

Shin: Me!?

Connor: Like I care. Also, not to mention there's already ten days of rest in God's dimension. Even without these ten days, even when you have to keep fighting for over a month, fighting just to stay alive, that pain after you unlocked your potential... you don't know anything, yet you think that you are stressed out. You're just a weak girl.

Hikari's face became red as a apple after Connor's yelling. She then turned to Shin and asked angrily why wasn't he backing her up?

Hikari: Hey, this was my suggestion, but you agree with me right, Shin? So why aren't you saying anything to this dirty blonde haired punk (Hair! Hikari meant Connor's diry blonde hair that looks fake like that one protagonist. Absolutely not his Middle Eastern skin tone)!

Shin: I did agree with you, but I didn't really give it that much thought. I just thought that whoever wants to go can go with us, so it's ok for anyone to stay here if you don't want to go, for one, I obtained a few new skills and I wouldn't mind some extra time to master them. Two, I need to relax a bit as well. It'll helps me recover to my best condition. I don't have any other intentions. It's just a hundred points and ten days. If everyone wants to go, we can go together.

Hikari: I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, just that I never got the chance. I also wouldn't mind the Alps. Since it's only a hundred points we should all be able to go easy. What does everyone think?

Hikari asked this of everyone and like before she got a good response. Other than Connor no one minded taking an extra ten days off to train or just have fun. Connor saw this and in time caved as well due to peer pressure. He might be a child solider, but he was still a kid deep down.

Connor: I can go along with this, but... Shin, fight me.

Shin: Me?

Connor: Yes. I want to test how much stronger you are when you unlocked your potential. I know you call that unlocking the Genetic Constraint. Any little difference in power can cause death in this world. Since we are going to encounter other teams, their teams should also have three, or, if we are fortunate, used to have three people that unlocked their constraint. I don't want to lose to them, so fight me. You should be at a very strong stage from what I saw in Apocalypse Alice. Now that I have enhancements as well if I don't lose to you, then I probably won't lose to them!

Shin: Well, I did reach a higher unlocked stage, but also because of that, it's a little out of my control. That's why I need some time for training. Otherwise I am also a little concerned with taking a trip. Going back to the real world last time was too abrupt... anyway, I might not be able to control my strength, so it might be better for you to ask Aqua instead. She is at the Second Stage as well and can control it much better.

Connor: Doesn't matter either way, but Shin, you're closer to me in strength than Aqua, so it'll be a much closer and hard fought battle if we fight. The key to unlocking the constraint can only be felt at the brink of death... if you aren't prepared... die!

Shin tried to talk his way out of the fight and was definitely not prepared, but it was too late as Connor's eyes lost focus and he jumped away to gain some distance. Shin recognized this as the expression of someone who had unlocked their constraint.

Even though Connor had the small figure of a young teen, with the inhuman swiftness he had moved back and the mechanical ease that he drew a handgun from his clothes, Shin had felt a pressure that was as strong as, no higher than even the Btooom Commanders.

Although Connor choose not to switch to his new Trion Body, he was still the child soldier who overcame Apocalypse Alice with Team Japan in the last mission and furthermore he had just exchanged for the Demon race mutation. Shin knew he wasn't an opponent to look down upon and that he also wasn't one to hold back. Ignoring safety, Connor didn't hesitate to shower Shin in bullets.

Shin: (Fuck, they're all aimed for my vitals!)

At that instant Shin's eyes lost their focus.

Shin was forced to become serious as he jumped out of the line of fire with Instant Movement. He wanted to enter the unlocked mode of his own will, not only when he was in danger, but that wasn't an issue when an opponent like Connor tried to seriously kill him. The pressure Connor created in Unlocked Mode along with the deadly accuracy of his shots were enough to force Shin himself to enter the Unlocked Mode as well.

Shin: Fine! This is the First Stage!

Shin took out his Gravity Blade sword from the Na Ring and began to chase after Connor.

Seeing this Connor went on the defensive and kept a constant distance as he circled around Shin, looking for a chance to counter attack. Connor had speed not available to him during Apocalypse Alice which allowed him to stay just out of Shin's attack range. It was clear that from an observational standpoint Shin was being played with, yet Connor didn't feel that way as Shin avoided or deflected every bullet zooming towards him.

Even when they were both in the Unlocked Mode, Shin had reached a deeper level than Connor. His speed, power, and reaction were also much higher than Connor's. Though he was weaker in fighting technique, all his actions were instinctive in the unlocked mode, which helped him rival Connor.

Shin easily deflected Connor's gunfire and when an opening appeared as he slipped backwards, Shin took advantage of it. Using Instant Movement Shin jumped at the defenseless Connor and swung the back of Gravity Blade towards Connor's shoulder. Connor had become tougher after his exchanges, yet bones would still break if he was hit with a increased weight slash.

Connor was in trouble, yet-

Connor: Predictable.

Shin: !

Right before Shin's sword slash struck... blood cut open from flesh flew through the air. Before realizing when it happened, Connor, surpassing Shin's expectations, his hands moved like lightning as he dropped his gun and took out a knife and stabbed the wrist holding the Gravity Blade. Shin flinched for only a moment and was about to retaliate, but in Connor's other hand appeared a new handgun pointed at Shin's forehead.

Shin: (His eyes are blood red? This brat, he fucking lured me in by pretending to be weaker than me when he had already grasped Demonic Power!)

Everything happened in an instant. Only Aqua, Misaki, and Kampa were able to see and keep up with their fight, so they saw Connor not hesitate to pull the trigger of the gun at Shin's head. It was already too late for anyone, even Aqua to stop the fated end for Shin... except for the person himself.

\- *BANG*!

Connor: Huh?

Connor more so than anyone else was shocked to see his bullet cut through the room without making contact with anything solid. Not flesh. Not bone. Not blood. Just air. It then took another second to Connor to realize that Shin had avoided his point-blank range attack.

Shin: Child Soldier... this is the Second Stage!

Shin: Lou... Lousy brat. You shaved off ten years of my life just now!

Connor lost.

Connor lost and Shin stood over him victorious.

The child soldier of the Middle East lost with no time to counter attack as the fight ended so suddenly. As fast a bullet a fist imbued with powerful Ki hammered itself into Connor's stomach and he was blown away across the room into a terrible crash landing, knocking him out cleanly to say the least.

Half of Team Japan had no idea what happened, the other half that could keep up with Shin and Connor's fight saw everything clearly.

The arm of Shin's that was stabbed by Connor had suddenly enlarged to about twice its normal size. That arm forceful grasped Connor's arm despite the knife stabbed into the wrist and Shin shoved Connor away so that his gunshot would miss Shin's head. Then almost instantly Shin's other arm now twice its size struck Connor on the stomach and with the sound of something breaking, Connor's consciousness was taken away as he was blasted clear across the Terminal Lobby ruthlessly.

Hikari: Shin! What is-

Hikari was initially happy that Shin had come out of that fight alive, but just a few seconds later Shin fell to his knees in pain having left Unlocked Mode with the battle over. Shin seemed as though he was suffering immense pain. His body began trembling, his arm gradually returned to its normal size, and his entire body was soaked in cold sweat.

Shin: This is the second stage of the Genetic Constraint according to Aqua. It enhances the body to an amazing degree, but it's difficult to control. The after effect is much worse than you can ever imagine. I'm still not at the level where I can exit this and be okay.

Aqua: Shin's right about that. I've gone through it myself, yet seeing it from the outside makes me wonder if Connor, who definitely has a few broken ribs had actually won. Outsider can only imagine the pain that you are in.

Unable to hear Aqua's voice anymore, Shin's started to tremble violently and clenched his jaw in pain. Shin crouched down on the floor and almost a minute later, there was a noticeable puddle of sweat on the floor mixed with the blood from the wound to his wrist, with Shin himself at its center. Anyone who observed this scene would think that the pain he was going through was hell, yet Shin himself would say that it was mild compared the first few times he's entered the Second Stage. The pain was normally worse, yet he was only in the Second Stage for a few seconds. In other words... this really was what Shin and Aqua would call mild crippling pain.

They sat in a circle and rest for a while waiting to recover and Mokoto and Jin's human creation, a teenage maid with black hair (Reminds me of certain maid who served the Commoner Sample of an all-girls elite school) brought out fruit and other snacks for the group while badmouthing Jin for this and that. It wasn't until then that Connor woke up. He immediately jumped up from the floor and then growled in pain where Shin hit him, and when he got a clear view of the situation, he could only sigh.

Connor: I see... I lost then.


	109. Chapter 109

WARNING: MAJOR METAL GEAR SOLID 4 SPOILER AT THE END.

Connor: I see... I lost then.

Shin: Yes you did, but it wasn't easy. Your attacks were ruthless and well thought out. If I got hit, it wouldn't just take away half my life, you know. I would die. Especially if you used your Trigger on top of everything else.

Connor: It's shameful to show mercy in a battle. It's better to incapacitate the enemy before showing mercy and not during a battle... you could have killed me with that strike since you were in the Second Stage, but if you act like that on the battlefield then you and your comrades will be the ones to die.

Shin: I know, I know. Stop talking like I'm some weakling when you lost to me. I know when to show mercy and when to go all out, and I won't hold back to keep my own life and everyone else's safe.

Connor: Really? Then what if they are also people who are just struggling in this world like us? And what if they are weak and feeble women and children?

Shin: If they really threaten us... then of course I won't hold back...

Hikari saw that Shin himself wasn't convinced about his own answer to Connor's question, so she immediately digressed from the topic back to their vacation plans

Hikari: Can't we stop here? Weren't we discussing about going to the beach in Hawaii and not sudden life and death spars? Since Connor lost to Shin we can all go now. Let's go before we waste any more time. Everyone is fine with 100 points for ten days right?

Misaki: Hey, doesn't God start a new mission every ten days? If you all go and I choose to stay behind... then am I the only one left when the next one starts? I planned on going, but it may not be a choice for me or anyone else.

Hikari: Relax, Misaki. I've already talked to God and it said that the time spent inside the Mission Worlds are only an instant in this dimension when it's for a trip like this. Even when we go on missions we return back here in twenty-four hours. No matter how long we are there, we will be back in the blink of an eye for the people here if they so choose to stay behind, so relax. We'll be back before you know it.

Shin: Then it is decided. Also, we don't absolutely have to go to Hawaii, but since we will be in the world of BTOOOM everyone should bring a weapon. Everyone other than the newest additions to the team may be wanted by Tyrannos Japan since we are survivors of the death game who were supposed to be dead. I still have some magical bullets in my ring, yet BTOOOM is Sci-fi and not fantasy. We will each bring a submachine gun. Connor, if you plan to exchange for a normal Sniper rifle and plan to take it along, disassemble it and I'll bring it with us in one of my Na Rings. This is just in case something happens and it will bring us some security... and let's all think about what else might happen.

They started to discuss what else they may need, but they were all heavily armed and Aqua always made sure to exchange enough of the 50 point communication phones that can work anywhere, so they were all ready and set to go... still, one member of Team Japan still had an objection.

Connor: I still can't agree with ten days. I understand the need to relax, but laziness is a scary trait. Once a person stays in a comfortable environment, he will develop dependency and loosen his guard. If we suddenly come back to the Mission Worlds from that environment... if it's even more dangerous than that Apocalypse Alice, I don't know how many of us will die having lost our edge. So I can't accept ten days... why don't we just go for five days? Just 50 points for this trip. Five days is enough for a trip to the beach, or anywhere else we choose to go.

Hikari was about to say something to refute Connor since this break meant a lot to her, but Shin nodded first and said that he agreed with his suggestion. He wanted a break just as bad, but hearing what Connor had to say made sense. Shin loved Hikari, but he had to be a responsible leader first and foremost.

Shin: Yes, you're right. Five days plus the remaining nine days in this dimension should be enough for me to get a hold of my new skills and relax. Also, this trip was originally my decision along with Hikari, and I'm making everyone spend valuable points... then let's make it five days... Hikari, don't look at me like that. I'll pay for your five days, so just let it go.

Hikari: Fine, but don't have to pay for my trip. I still have the 100 points from Orientation. Just take me out for dinner on this trip and I'll forgive you.

Shin: ...Too easy.

Hikari: What was that?

Shin: Nothing!

If it was only for relaxation, five days was actually enough, so the others didn't say anything about it and Hikari was fine with it as well after Shin promised a romantic date.

Once the trip became official it didn't take long to get ready. Shin watched as everyone arrived, along with the Human Creation of Misaki's, Mokoto, and the new Human Creation of Jin, the maid Miyuki Kujo (so Copyright... but brilliant all the same. Still, to be with someone more abusive than Hikari... Jin is a real M). They all held their hands and stood in a line. Then walked up to God together and exchanged time in one of the previous worlds that Hikari had already unlocked.

\- Btooom Mission World, Location Switzerland.

Going through that half-awake process again, when they woke up, they were already standing in front of one of the most famous ski and snowboard resorts in the world.

The pure white snow on the ground could even reflect their faces and the happy and smiling faces of other tourist filled each of them with warm felling in spite of the cold temperature. It was over all much better than the usual blood on the floor that would reflect their desperate faces and having to hear the cries of those being killed by monsters.

This was Shin and everyone else's second time leaving God's dimension for a trip, aside from Connor and Jin, so most of them were familiar with the rules like coming back where they appeared in five days. What was different this time around was that there was no rule about disclosing information regarding God's world. It seemed like because this was not the real world, God didn't care if they disclosed the information.

Shin: This is amazing! It was definitely the right choice to come here instead of Hawaii.

Aqua: Yeah, I'll have to agree. Did you always want to come here?

Shin: No, but I liked the idea of skiing and snowboarding since the characters in Persona 4 Golden went Skiing. They looked like they had a lot of fun, so why not copy them!?

Aqua: ...That is your sole reason?

Hikari: Hey, you two airheaded monsters! You do realize that we forgot to buy winter gear since Shin insisted on coming here at the last minute? Only the two of you with high level enhancements and the Russian mercenary are fine in this cold temperature!

Everyone aside from Shin, Aqua, and Kampa were unable to stand the cold in their causal clothes. Connor, who lived in the Middle East his whole life, was about to lose to the natural elements of Switzerland, so they were all forced to head into town and buy clothes.

The prices were ridiculously high like any tourist resort is, but for Players of God's Dimension money was no problem. Cash, silver, gold, and diamonds they had it all it abundance. Such things had less value than water for a team of God's Dimension. They used their vast funds to get into the best ski lodge and rooms. Then the next morning they went to have fun on the slopes. Connor had never seen snow before and Shin got to see his childish smile before he hid it.

Shin's mind was clear and peaceful as he watched his friends having fun. It was nice to see comrades, who were usually risking their life in battle, live as normal people… if normal people had Olympic level athleticism and showed off enough to draw the eyes of the other tourists.

Shin: I really hope no one is looking for us here in this world. I wouldn't be surprised if someone would post this on YouTube later if they have it here.

Shin said that, but not five minutes later he was snowboarding with the rest of them and, despite having never been on one before, he showed an ability that would have allowed him to join a professional team. Not only did Shin get to show off, he got to spend time with his girlfriends Hikari and Aqua in unexpected ways.

Hikari was not an athletic individual, even after going through three mission and three rounds of enhancements, yet, due to past experience on a family vacation, Hikari had experience skiing, and so was able to somewhat keep up with Shin on the slopes.

Then there was his other girlfriend. To everyone's shock, Aqua, despite all her experience and enhancements, turned out to be incredibly clumsy, whether it was snowboarding or skiing. Shin, at the time, found the clumsy Aqua cute (like this she's cuter than Hikari), yet when he offered to teach her, she hit him out of embarrassment and went back to the lodge they were staying in.

Shin: So cute... and totally worth it.

Hikari: You're hopeless, Shin.

Four days later.

The day after Shin had his romantic date with Hikari (dates cost too much! Having a girlfriend in the real world would force me to get three jobs!). It was around evening and Shin and the others were turning in for the evening. Shin and Misaki, wanting to have fun, went out into town while leaving the others behind.

Misaki: This is stupid Shin and it's going to get me in trouble with Mokoto.

Shin: Don't be so whipped, Misaki. It's just a contest to see who can pick up a girl first (Persona 3 and 4.).

Misaki: But I'm in a relationship.

Shin: Then you shouldn't have bragged that your relationship was better than mine and that Mokoto like you more than Hikari and Aqua like me! This is to decide who the better man is!

Misaki: By cheating.

Shin: Is it cheating if a girl accepts a drink at a bar or restaurant from a man? It's a gray area like that and it'll stay gray long as we don't follow up... or telling anyone. Especially the red haired 34D War Goddess! Now let's-

Shin was about to excitedly tell Misaki to start their competition, but a moment later Shin felt a powerful presence nearby. Misaki, although not as quickly as Shin, felt something was wrong as well having unlocked his Constraint, yet he was confused for more than one reason. The presence that they could feel was incredibly powerful. It was stronger than any final boss in existence they ever fought before, yet there was no feeling of danger whatsoever.

Misaki: Shin what is this?

Shin: Keep your guard up Misaki! Whatever it is may not seem dangerous... but feels just as powerful as someone on Sozin's level. Get ready to run and join up with the-

Drebin893: There's no need to be alarmed by someone like me now is there? I'm just merchant. Drenin893. Nice to make your acquaintance.

Shin: !

Shin was both shocked that someone had appeared behind him without him noticing... and also who that person was as he turned around. The man Shin saw standing behind him was an adult black man with bleach blonde short hair in his late thirties/early forties. The man wore a black suit and tie which made him look like a capable business man, yet Shin smelled a heavy stench of blood on the man (I doubt that the blood was his own).

Shin had never met the man in person before, but he knew of the man calling himself, and mostly that the real Drebin893 from one of his favorite video games.

Shin: Aren't you the one from Metal Gear Solid 4? The man who gave Old Snake weapons that worked and... but this is BTOOOM and not Metal Gear Solid! Also-

Drebin893: The very same. I'm the man you remember from the game, but it looks like your friend here doesn't know me as well as you do... Shin. Let me introduce myself again. My name is Drebin 893, or simply Drebin since I'm the one who will be dealing with you all from Team Japan. I'm one of the many members of a group called DREBIN, a huge network of underground gun launderers who replaced ID chips in guns in my world so they could be used by anyone. In what you call Metal Gear Solid 4, I personally helped out Solid Snake, or Old Snake as some called him, and Hal Emmerich on their mission to take down Liquid Ocelot, yet at the same time I was also assisting the Patriots by encouraging them to take Liquid out. At this current time the new DREBIN has expanded its operations and so we have become black market merchants of God's Dimension. We are neither enemy nor friend, so now Team Japan... let's talk business.

Shin: (Th-that is so copyright... but that's what this world is after all.)


	110. Chapter 110

Misaki and I were making our way back to the ski lodge where everyone was staying to report what happened. What had happened in town after speaking to the man called Drebin to be exact. I, for one, was quiet and was fine with keeping it that way until we made it back, but Misaki felt compelled to speak up.

Misaki: Shin, what do you make of all of that? What Drebin had to say forces us to reconsider what the people, the NPC's in this world really are.

Shin: I think we had this talk before, but it doesn't really matter... although I understand what you mean. What Drebin had to say doesn't change the way I look at things or my past actions, yet what he said just makes me feel that another storm is coming, comparable to when we learned of the Four Pillars.

That's right.

What Misaki and I learned in our first meeting with Drebin made me convinced of that. Not only the pressure Drebin release that made me almost certain that he was as strong as Sozin. What he told us of his organization and how he and it came to be... was the shock of a life time.

Drebin and the organization that he works for, DREBIN, were once your typical NPCs that my team and I have encountered. Between NPCs and human beings there was very little difference between them, yet the fact they followed the rules of God and were at the mercy of his control. Like Ryuta Sakamoto in BTOOOM, and the main characters of Apocalypse Alice, having their world setting changed or recreated for each Player Team within God's Dimension.

It wasn't strange for Player like us to see them as not real. Fake people to ignore or kill. That was the kind of existence that they had until recently.

Drebin893: What we believe happened was that an error occurred when God made the change from Horror Movies to Manga, Anime, and Video Games. The former Team New Guinea, a powerful team belonging to Blood Crusade was wiped when they had Metal Gear Solid 4 as their first mission in the new experiment. DREBIN was following them during their mission as they had come to an alliance of sorts and claimed their corpse since they seemed strange and appeared out of nowhere. I was there as well. That was when we found THAT and learned the truth of God's Dimension, and from there... we decided to not follow the fate that God had given us... even if the start of it all was a bug in the system.

I recalled what Drebin said next.

They found the watches that the Players had on them. He and a few others slipped on the watches out of curiosity, and from that point on God considered the NPCs as Players and they reappeared in one of the Terminal Lobbies. From there they learned the truth of their existence and became self-aware.

Unlike normal Players they had a lot more freedom, which was reflected in their team name, Team Freedom. They had to go missions like everyone else, yet they were able to freely recruit a fellow NPC into Team Freedom after completing a mission. Drebin obtained four Player Watches from the fallen team and so far had two missions, which brought up their total Player count to six. They also used a certain item from the exchanges to recruit a further three NPCs. Two died, so they currently had for seven members.

Drebin: There's is an item within the exchanges that has a similar power to recruit NPCs. It's a watch that allows an NPC to join one's team as a Human Creation/Player. Both the watch and we have the power to recruit others long as we explain the truth of God's Dimension that we learned of and they agreed to join. Also, Team Freedom isn't limited to twenty Players and so for each mission we can select members to go on the mission as representatives. Of course if all of our representatives die on a mission we all fall with them as well into hell.

Then Drebin went on to explain his appearance before them in the world of BTOOOM. Drebin wouldn't go into how he was able to appear within Team Japan's BTOOOM Mission World, which surely couldn't have been anyone else's even if other teams had the BTOOOM mission as well.

I was very interested in such a power, especially if this group could go to any world, even back and forth between God's Dimension and the real world, a power that even the Four Pillars do not have for their retired Players, but Drebin called it a trade secret and refused to divulge any further information.

Drebin893: What I'm here for is like I said, to talk business. DREBIN, which has become the core of Team Freedom, are still at heart merchants of death, so in other words we sell exchanges like God which is another power we have come to acquire that no other team has. They are just the low level item exchanges from the Sci-fi Weapons, Magic Tools, and Support Category that don't cost rank rewards, just points which are what my team needs for a project we are working on. We are even capable of delivering items to you and your team during your missions.

Drebin said what his very tempting business offer was. He also went on to say that they are not like the Four Pillars who wish to harm Team Japan, and because God is always watching them and knows their end goals he doesn't restrict their movements like when he took the Guide away.

The Guide was an essential existence for any team in the past. The Guide pretending to be a Player would watch over the team and wait till someone unlocked their Genetic Constraint. Then if the Guide judge that individual as acceptable they would test them. If they passed they would be granted the Leader Position and a one level increase in that person's Genetic Constraint stage.

The latter was a good thing, but it was the former that was important. The Leader Position allowed an individual and their team many benefits that beginner team don't possess. The Player with the Leader Position can quickly search through the wide sea of endless options called the Exchange System with a direct link to God, sort all the exchanges with ease, and most importantly have access to important information.

The information now available to a team was to know what world the next mission will take place in, if it's a Team Battle, and general information about other team of God's Dimension. It wouldn't tell you who you were facing off again next, but information like how many teams have Awakened (Team with three or more, or used to have three of more Unlocked Members) and the number of individuals who have Unlocked their Genetic Constraint and how many at each stage was made available.

The Four Pillars have Pillars been sending numerous team into God's Dimension for year and have learned a lot, but the knowledge and access of the Leader Position was near absolute for a team to survive God's Dimension. There were many reasons, but the biggest was that you wouldn't know what mission was next. Whether or not you were going into a cold tundra, the burning desert, the middle of the ocean, or space itself.

Drebin893: Now back to my group. The guide was taken away since the Four Pillars are abusing God's Dimension and the vast majority of team are connected to them. God allows the existence of Team Freedom simply because they were just another test sample of evolution. My team has their own ultimate goal, but like Team Japan, Team China, and Team U.S.A we have to play this game of God's. We're all equally bugs in its eyes in this experiment testing evolution.

Drebin then wanted to get into more details of this possible deal between Team Freedom and Team Japan, yet he noticed that all the new information he handed to us needed time to sink in and was for rescheduling until tomorrow. I agreed with Drebin's suggestion since this was too big for me to decide alone. That's why I wanted to bring along the others tomorrow.

Misaki: That guy told us to come back tomorrow at a coffee shop nearby before we all go back to the Terminal Lobby, but are you sure this is a good idea? It doesn't feel like a trap, but-

Shin: We have to go, Misaki. If the NPCs within the Mission Worlds have, or are beginning to have the power to affect God's Dimension, then it is safe to say they are a new power in this world. The NPCs! I have no idea how far Team Freedom's powers reach, but if the truly powerful NPCs like the ones we have to fight on our missions join them... it's best if we view them as people of equal importance and not brush them off as mere programmed by God fake humans as we have for others.

Misaki: Yeah. We are already dealing with the Four Pillars and Team Battles, so we shouldn't make enemies of them. Of course I'll beat them down if they threaten us. I haven't powered up recently for nothing!

Shin: Then I'll be relying on you then, but don't provoke them Misaki. I would like it if we could become friends, or at the very least not enemies trying to kill each other. That Drebin893 who was originally just an underground gun launder felt incredibly powerful, so I don't want to fight him at our team's current level. For now we'll tell the others what we found out and then tomorrow well figure out the rest.

Misaki and I had returned to the ski lodge our group was staying at and, although it was getting late, I called for an emergency meeting to tell everyone about what happened when we were in town. Wasting no time I got into the heart of the matter and told them about we encountered an NPC named Drebin893 from the Metal Gear Solid 4 Video Game who was possibly as strong as Sozin as far as I could tell, about Team Freedom, and how Drebin wanted to make an offer to Team Japan to sell Exchange Items.

All the others had shocked looks on their faces as I told them everything I learned of the NPC team of Players called Team Freedom. I also mentioned that he wanted to meet with us tomorrow at a coffee shop before our team returned to the Terminal Lobby and how I thought we should definitely meet Drebin again.

They were all worried about this meeting since Team Freedom was a team potentially made up of powerful NPC main characters and villains, but for those very reasons I believed that we had to meet Drebin again.

Whether or not we take him up on his offer is not a very important matter. What was important is that although they were just starting up Team Freedom was more than likely to be one of the more powerful teams of God's Dimension. Learning as much about them as we could on the off chance that we could end up facing them in one of the Team Battles was critically important for Team Japan.

In the end our group agreed to meet up with Drebin the next day at the coffee shop decided on beforehand. Our group arrived on time and a few minutes later Drebin walked in alone and sat down at the table we were gathered at as if it was the most natural thing in the world. How he didn't feel threatened as he was surrounded by an entire Player team didn't sit well with me. For him to show that much confidence that we couldn't kill him if things go wrong with this meeting made me lose confidence instead.

Drebin893: Good morning everyone. It nice to see that you came.

Shin: We wouldn't be able to relax if we didn't come. We do not know much about your side and all that we do has come from your mouth alone, so let's get down to business alright. We have to leave this world soon after all.

Drebin893: Then let us cut to the chase then. I don't need to go over what I told you and your friend again, right? If not, I'll tell you what DREBIN's, no what Team Freedom is all about? Ah it's kind of confusing since we go by both names, so how about when I'll use the name DREBIN when I am talking about my teams business dealings? Team Freedom will be for when I'm representing my Player team.

Aqua: It doesn't matter either way, so continue. Don't waste our time.

Hikari: Aqua!

Jin: Aqua's right, Hikari. Whether we accept this deal with this guy it won't change the fact that he is Team Freedom, a dangerous enemy team we could be fighting against one day. I'm suspicious as to why he hasn't just killed us, but no matter what the reason is, there's no reason to bow our heads to them. Well, if we have to I'll do it for the sake of the-

Shin: Shut up Jin. Please go on Drebin.

Drebin893: Ok then. The appeal of making a contract with DREBIN is that any team can make item exchanges from us during a mission. We don't sell original products, but you do not need rank rewards, just points. I'm sure all of you realize the advantage of this since without the role of Guide to pass on the position of Leader, no team can know in advance what the next mission is. You may end up in a city, desert, a snow storm, or even up there in space. It's impossible to prepare for any environment unless a team is willing to spend a large amount of points and rewards. Also, to carry it all would require a much bigger subspace item like Shin here's Na Ring or the lady there's RPG Bag, both of which costed you thousands of points and valuable rank rewards.

Aqua: So your offer is that we can only bring with us the bare minimum of items with us on the mission and if we need anything else we can call on you to supply us with goods.

Kampa: So how does that work exactly? Not telling us how you can sneak into another team's Mission World, how will you know when to come to deliver supplies? Will you be there from the start to finish?

Drebin893: No, but once you make the deal every member of your team will have the ability to call us. Just like when you are making exchanges with God you can use your minds to call for us and we will come, but because of a few restrictions there are rules to it.

Shuai: Like what?

Drebin893: First is that you can't call for us or have us deliver supplies in a battle state.

Misaki: Battle state?

Jin: It's a gaming term Misaki. In some games you're not allowed to access your game menu during a fight. You can't change out equipment or skills and can only do so after the battle is over and you're safe. I've actually played a game called XXXXX where you weren't even allowed to pause in a fight!

Drebin893: The game champion's understanding is right on the mark. Battle State. Meaning if you are in a fight or are being chased by a monster, DREBIN won't come. Next, your team as a whole can only call for us once per mission and we won't stay in the Mission World for more than twenty-four hours, and if staying in the world itself is dangerous then we will leave immediately afterwards.

Kampa: Makes sense. Even salesman of death who profit off war won't actually won't to take part in a war and suffer loss.

Drebin: We definitely won't as we value our lives. Now third, DREBIN is a neutral party and as such we won't go beyond the role of a shop. Whether it is combat or something else less dangerous, we won't interfere. And lastly, DREBIN only accepts Points and we don't accept IOU's or ranked rewards, and so all exchanges will be paid upfront and in Points.

We heard what Drebin had to say and took a moment to digest all this new information, yet there was one of us all to ready to ask a question.

Jin: Thank you for explaining everything.

Drebin893: No problem.

Jin: No, no, no, it was very informative, but... do tell me if I have this wrong, but rules 1 and 3 are restrictions placed on you by God for interfering in another team's mission? Rules 2 and 4 are your own organizations rules. I can't be 100% about 2, but for rule 4 that is definitely the case. Shin told us that you points for a large project after all. Do you mind telling us what it is?

Drebin893: Both the rules and our end goal are things I can't tell you anymore about. Anyways, I'm done with my sales pitch, so what will you all do? Will Team Japan accept and enter into a business deal with DREBIN?

Hikari: Before that I have a question. Our team has become recently eligible for team battles. If our Team Japan were to fight against your Team Freedom what will happen? You won't still supply us with goods, right?

Drebin893: Correct and at that time we will permanently break our contract, yet under such a circumstance there is a provision for my side breaking off our contract. Here.

Then as Drebin said that we all heard the voice of God in our heads explaining the details of the contract and if we wanted to accept.

\- MERCHANT'S CONTRACT HAS BEEN CREATED.

CONTENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: PLAYER DREBIN893, THE REPRESENTATIVE OF TEAM FREEDOM WISHES TO OFFER ASSISTANCE DURING MISSIONS TO TEAM JAPAN WITH EXCHANGE ITEMS FOR POINTS. WHEN THIS AGREEMENT IS CONFIRMED, TEAM FREEDOM MUST RESPOND WHEN CALLED FOR, UNLESS IT VOLATILES ANY OF THE FOLLOWING RULES.

1\. TEAM JAPAN CAN'T CALL FOR TEAM FREEDOM OR HAVE THEM DELIVER SUPPLIES IN THE BATTLE STATE EITHER AS A TEAM OR AS INDIVIDUALS.

2\. TEAM JAPAN AS A WHOLE CAN ONLY CALL FOR TEAM FREEDOM ONCE PER MISSION. TEAM FREEDOM WON'T STAY IN THE MISSION WORLD FOR MORE THAN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AND WILL NOT STAY LONGER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. ALSO TEAM FREEDOM WILL NOT APPEAR IF THE MISSION IS DEEMED TOO DANGEROUS, MEANING HAVING IMMEDIATE RISK TO LIFE.

3\. TEAM FREEDOM WILL REMAIN A NEUTRAL PARTY WHEN ENTERING ANOTHER PLAYER'S MISSION WORLD.

4\. TEAM FREEDOM ONLY ACCEPTS POINTS AND MUST BE PAID UP FRONT.

TEAM JAPAN PENALTIES: A PLAYER WHO ATTACKS A MEMBER OF TEAM FREEDOM WHEN THEY ARE CALLED FOR SUPPLIES WILL BE ERASED. IF TEAM JAPAN FOR WHATEVER REASON DECIDES TO CANCEL THE AGREEMENT THEN TEAM JAPAN MUST PAY A FINE OF EACH PLAYER PAYING 5,000 POINTS TO TEAM FREEDOM/DREBIN893. THEY WILL ALSO NOT BE ABLE TO RENEW THE CONTRACT.

TEAM FREEDOM PENALTIES: TEAM FREEDOM MUST RESPOND WHEN CALLED FOR LONG AS IT DOES NOT VIOLATE ANY OF THE ABOVE RULES. TEAM FREEDOM IS ALSO FORBADE FROM SELLING COUNTERFEIT/DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS TO TEAM JAPAN. TEAM FREEDOM CAN NOT ATTACK TEAM JAPAN UNLESS THE CONTRACT IS TERMINATED. TEAM FREEDOM CAN NOT DISCLOSE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT TEAM JAPAN OR OTHER TEAMS EXCEPT THEIR OWN. VIOLATIONS WILL RESULT IN TEAM FREEDOM BEING ERASED. TEAM FREEDOM MAY ONLY TERMINATE THE CONTRACT IF THEY FACE TEAM JAPAN IN A TEAM BATTLE, AND AT THAT TIME THE CONTRACT WILL ALSO BE TERMINATED AUTOMATICALLY. AT THAT TIME, TEAM FREEDOM/DREBIN PUST PAY A FINE OF 2,000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD TO EVERY PLAYER OF TEAM JAPAN, AND FAILING TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN THE DEATH OF EVERY MEMBER OF TEAM FREEDOM.

CONTRACT AUTHORIZED BY: DREBIN893.

CONTRACT ACCEPTED BY TEAM JAPAN: YES/NO

Drebin893: That's about it. There's a Merchant Contract skill within the exchanges God provides. It's an expensive B rank reward that is worthless in direct fights, yet when negotiating with others it comes in handy as God enforces the rules and penalties for breaking the contract. This includes both NPCs and Player alike.

Shuai: I guess so. God itself has confirmed the contract real and legit.

Drebin: Of course! Also, as a signing bonus I will give you these. It is one of the more popular items in the consumable exchanges.

Drebin reached into his pocket and took out a few slim metallic cylinder objects. Shin recognized them as epi-pens, yet their contents were vastly different from the standard.

Nano Machine Accelerator Package -

Raring 70.

A nano machine injection that increase Muscle Density, Cell Vitality, and Immunization Strength by 100 stat points temporarily for three hours. Only one may be taken per day without risk of overdosing and death. Consumables: 5. Requires 1000 Points.

Shin: Hmm, nice item. This would be very helpful for a newbies to have as they will be able to temporarily have the stats of someone who's enhanced. Also Hikari, Shuai, and Jin who don't enhance their physical specs would need these in emergencies... everyone, if no one has any issue with me agreeing to these terms please speak up. If not I'll accept Drebins deal.

I looked to my left and right at Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, Connor, and Jin and they were all for this deal. Now confirmed, I accepted Drebin's deal and chose yes to the Merchant Contract. At that moment Drebin and everyone on my team had an aura of light golden surround them. This must have been a sign from the powers that be, God, that each of us were bound by the rules Drebin created, including himself as well.

Drebin:893: Ok, the deal has been sign and dotted figuratively speaking. I won't hold your group up with my unexpected visit for any longer, so I'll be-

Aqua: Wait. Before you go can you tell us what you know about the other teams we could face? You obviously didn't make this deal with just our team, right? If your role is to offer support and you have no competition then it would only be good business to contract yourselves to more than one team in God's Dimension. So that's why you should know a lot about them.

Drebin893: Sorry, but that would be a betrayal of trust to give out another teams battle tactics, abilities, power levels, items, or how many people they have that have unlocked the Genetic Constraint. Such information is well guarded by my organization. In fact, it's impossible for you to even get it out of me with force as it is in the very contract if you look. Additionally, not only am I enhanced, as you might have guessed, but also my brain has a powerful seal placed on it. Neither Magic nor Psychics could hope to break through my mental defenses unless you're Trinity of Dove United.

Aqua: Really? That's good to know then.

Drebin893: Ah, so you were testing me?

Aqua: Of course. I would have liked it if you had told us, but if you did we all would have been forced to kill you no matter the risk. As they say, 'Rats don't live long and don't tell tales'. I wouldn't take the chance for another team to find a way to get information about us from you even if it was in the contract.

Drebin893: I'm impressed. Are you sure that you shouldn't be the leader here?

Aqua: I'm not suited for the job and Shin passes as a leader... barely. He may be a fool, but he's a fool who risk his life for everyone so we'll all make it back alive. Fools like him make surprisingly good leaders.

Shin: Am I being complimented or not? Also, who's a fool!

Aqua: Are you anything but that?

Then Aqua, with the most sincere, clear eyes that I have ever seen in my life, looked at me like a pitiful child. Fuck! Not one. Not one of my girlfriends look at me with respect. Maybe I should just create that anime Human Creation already.

Drebin893: Calm down Team Japan leader. You should take what the fine lady said as a compliment. Also, for impressing me here today I will tell you all something good. I can't give you specific information, but I can tell you this. Each team is different. Nationality, race, gender, language and personalities. They all come together to form teams here in God's Dimension, yet they can almost always be generalized into three types of teams.

Drebin then when on to explain the three most common types of teams within God's Dimension that were the following:

THE DICTATORSHIP TEAM - A team lead by an absolute leader and the rest follow him due to fear of being killed. The members can be ordered to do anything, but if the leader is taken out or is away from the team for too long they are likely to panic and prioritize their individual survival. Also, there's a clear difference in power between the leader and other members since the leader needs to maintain the position of strongest, so the others won't be too outrageously powerful unless they have the full trust of the leader which is rare.

THE COOPERATIVE TEAM - A team where they discarded individual survivability for the sake of the team's victory. If separated they can be picked off, but when together they become an incredible threat.

THE ELITE TEAM - Are few in number, but each member possesses power equivalent to an entire team. There are not that many teams like this, but they have the highest chance of surviving God's Dimension. The team that would go on to found the Four Pillars was an Elite Team.

Drebin893: Well, I think it is about time that I leave, as my ride should be here. If you need to find me from now on I'll be around somewhere. I'll even support you on the missions, but remember that I am a neutral party in your conflicts, so don't ask me to side with you and fight together. This is business. So long as you have the Points for us we'll come.

Shin: Okay then. I never expected you to become that kind of ally, so just being able to make some exchanges while in the middle of a mission is good enough. Also... did you say ride? Does that mean whatever method you use to cross world is a vehicle?

Drebin893: ... That's not a conversation for today. Another time. I'll be going now, so remember... EYE HAVE YOU.

Then in a puff of purple smoke Drebin disappeared right before our eyes. Aqua and I even had enhanced our eyes with our respective energies the moment the smoke appeared, yet neither of us were able to figure out how Drebin disappeared.

Shin: He left in a puff of smoke like a magician... I've got to learn that.


	111. Chapter 111

Everyone enjoyed their few remaining days in the Terminal Lobby after coming back from Switzerland. We used those days to train as well. To keep our fighting edge we made sure to vacation first and then train so we would be entering into the next mission with a fighting mindset... and then the last day before the next mission came. Like always, it was a day reserved for rest and relaxation for the most part, yet before they called it a day to rest up for the next mission the next day, a meeting was called for all members of Team Japan.

The meeting was called not by Shin the team leader, but Jin, one of the two newest members of the group. That itself wasn't a problem, but since they knew Jin's character they weren't looking forward to whatever he has to say, yet when they were told the contents of the meeting they were surprised.

Jin had summoned everyone to tell them that they should consider creating rules. Team rules for all present and future member of Team Japan to follow is what he suggested. His reasoning was that having rules clarified out loud, like what was okay, what was not, and what was expected of everyone would unify the team.

Shin agreed with this idea as he was beginning to understand that rules would be important as their team becomes bigger and bigger, with the upper limit being 20 members, yet that was something in the far future since they only had eight members at this time. It was a good idea of Jin's to come up with the idea of potential rules, but to not first go over with them with Shin, the team leader first before including the others was... whatever the case, Jin came up with five decent rules and the group began to go over them one by one.

RULE 1.

Shin: When we receive newbies in a mission, we will first get to know their profession, fitness level, and personality. Then the team will vote if anyone can become a temporary member, Trial Member for Team Japan. Those who can become Trial Members of Team Japan must have the ability to keep up with the team and can assist in during the mission, or can agree with and follow all commands by the official members of Team Japan within reason. We are allowed to save temporary members if it doesn't put the whole team in danger.

RULE 2.

Aqua: Two. Anyone who doesn't pass the team's vote will be given a weapon and gold. If it's a mission that takes place away from the civilization, then we will give them food and water instead of gold. If these people cause conflicts with veterans or temporary members, or if they put the team in danger, then killing them or impairing their movements is allowed.

RULE 3.

Hikari: Three. Every team member's points and rewards will be recorded at the end of a mission. Then the team will exchange enhancements based on what a member is good at. A team member can't get enhancements solely for their own survival. This isn't efficient for the team. After three warnings, the other members will hunt the rule breaker down.

RULE 4.

Kampa: Four. The leader, currently Shin, will be in charge of all Quest Items. We will vote if anyone has an objection. If over seventy percent of members agree, then the leader will share control of the Quest Items to everyone. If the vote fails, there will not be a second vote and they will remain in the hands of the leader.

RULE 5.

Shuai: Lastly five. The team's first priority is to protect the Psyche Force user, Mastermind/Strategist, and members with unique abilities that the team can't do without. If combat members have enough points and rewards, then they will buy enhancements for these three types of members, however, it won't exceed their 25% of their total points without the owners approval.

That was the basic outline that Jin suggested. Shin went over the rules in his head a few times and he was thoroughly impressed. The rules themselves weren't bad and were well thought out, but because they came out of the mouth of Jin...

Shin: We need to go over this in detail.

Aqua: Doesn't seem enough.

Hikari: There much be some trick here. It is Jin after all.

Misaki: I agree. Also, these rules you suggested protect you!

Kampa: Good, but this can't be only what YOU had in mind.

Connor: I don't want to discuss how I use my points and rewards, and I especially don't trust you Jin who came up with these rules.

Jin: You guy are making me cry! Also, half of your problems are with me rather than the rules. I was just doing my best for the team.

Shin: Yeah, but it is you. That's a fact. When you say such things it creeps us out.

Jin: ...I really am that kind of person, huh? I can't blame you. Well, let us at least go over them together first before throwing them out.

Like Jin was never bothered in the first place he asked, everyone went over the rules one by one and decided if there needed to be revisions. They all started from the beginning with the first rule.

Jin: Rule 1, does anyone have a problem with it?

Shuai: I do.

Jin: What is it?

Shuai: Under what guidelines will we choose new members? A previous team member of ours named Saki made choices like that (on Shuai himself), but later thought that other kinds of talents that you wouldn't expect could become an invaluable asset to the team.

Shuai was probably recalling how even that intellectual Saki said that those with skills outside of battle can be helpful to the team. A few like being able to build guns, magic items, and other worthwhile tools. Shuai was also mostly likely remembering that Saki also acknowledged Shuai before she died, as they worked together making high-end normal and magic bullets after coming back from the BTOOOM mission.

Jin: Shin, what do you think? You are the leader after all.

Shin: So you make up the questions without first consulting me, can't answer them, and hand them over to me like it's not your problem?

Jin: Hahaha, not at all leader. I have my own thoughts on this, but you are the leader and I am not that much liked personality wise (so you are aware!?). Also, settling things like this is the leader's role after all.

Shin: ...Fine. Shuai.

Shuai: Yes.

Shin: As for the criteria, you are right that we can't be hasty to a judgment on a person's worth, but when they first arrive in the mission most newbies will be a liability rather than an asset. For temporary members, they need to be able to offer additional combat potential to the group. Either in actual battle or in coming up with strategies (and hopefully not as dark as Jin's). Once we come back here to the Terminal Lobby we can discuss if they have a place on our team, but before then... actual usefulness in staying alive comes first.

Shuai: Ok. It wasn't like I totally disagreed with it, but it's just...

Shin: I understand.

Shin saw that Shuai was okay and moved on. Then onto the second rule about regarding those who can't become a part of the group.

Aqua: I think that it is fine as it is.

Jin: Thank you Aqua.

Aqua: But...

Jin: There it is.

Shin: But what?

Aqua: What happens if those who we don't acknowledge, have no talents and aren't useful even with enhancements after surviving a mission, yet still survive to the end? After we use a merit system during the mission to deem their worth, are we going to go for an equality system (Devil Survivor 2, Yamato Vs Ronaldo)? Can we even work with them after treating them as unworthy? When it was just myself before this team was formed, I didn't take care of newbies at all in the missions and afterwards I just let them do as they pleased if they happened to survive, and maybe gave them advice if they asked.

Jin: So both sides are pretty much independent. I am guessing that you are worried about what will happen if this other group that we can't work with gains enough members and enhancements they could become a threat to us.

Hikari: But aren't we on the same side even if we don't agree with or like each other?

Kampa: Don't underestimate what a bullied side is willing to do. Our side has the power and makes the rules, but once they know they can take us in a fight, no even if they just don't care anymore about surviving, they could still attack us. Our side is powerful, but if they choose to attack us here in the Terminal Lobby, or when we have to enter the beam for the next mission...

Connor: We would have to start watching their every move and always be on guard even here, the place where we are meant to rest and train.

Aqua: What do you think Shin?

Shin: ...Sorry. This is too big of an issue for now. If I say something on one extreme or the other then it may backfire on us later. Let's just wait for us to cross that bridge when we come to it.

Shin didn't have a real answer, so they left this rule alone as is for now. Then they went next to the third rule.

Shin: Connor you had a problem with this rule, right?

Connor: Yeah.

Misaki: I don't think that it is that bad a rule actually.

Connor: Well I do. I admit that getting exchanges for the whole team is important, but to what extent? All my points and rewards aren't mine? Will one person, like Shin decide? Or will we take a vote? This is a rule that takes away a Player's freedom.

Shin kind of agreed with Connor.

Shin said he didn't mind that much, but when he thought about it more and more he didn't like it. Shin's main goal wasn't to just survive with everyone. He wanted that, but he was living to become the OP main character of his dreams. Choosing something he didn't want didn't suit his personal goals.

Aqua: What Connor said isn't my main issue, but the very last line is. Who is going to enforce these rules? Even if you write it down, who here is willing to kill a comrade just for being a little selfish if that person is a valuable member of the group? Also, what if it's Shin? Or myself? Even if everyone here turned on one of us, as those with high ranking exchanges and having unlocked the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint who can stop us? And the fact we know each other's abilities and personalities is more of an advantage for us then it would be for anyone else.

Shin: Aqua is right. Jin, this rule only works under a Dictatorship type team. We are a mix of a Cooperative and Elite Team. We can work together with the best of them, but half of us (Aqua, Connor, me, and Jin himself despite acting like that) are individuals with strong personalities.

Jin: ...That is too bad, but our leader is right. Still, I would like it if we kept this rule to intimidate new members at the very least so they will act with the team's interest in mind.

Shin: I can agree to that. Next is...

Rule four pertaining to quest items.

Shin: Does anyone have a problem with me holding on to the Quest Items? Either my Na Ring or Aqua's bag is ideal for safekeeping them.

Aqua: No objections.

Hikari: I am fine with it.

Misaki: I hate to admit it, but Shin is second in a fight next to Aqua. He can keep it safe.

Kampa: I don't trust my ability to guard it.

Connor: I already lost to him.

Jin: Then it is agreed then! Looks like everyone here trusts our leader.

Shin: Shut up, Jin. You ruined a great moment there.

Now the fifth and final rule that Jin made up.

Hikari: The team's first priority is to protect the Psyche Force user, Mastermind/Strategist, and members with unique abilities. If combat members have enough points and rewards, then they will buy enhancements for these three types of members. However, it won't exceed 25% of their total points if you don't agree to give them away... since this obviously is talking about me in this and it is something out of the mind of Jin, I can't be objective, but I believe it is a fine rule to leave as is.

Shin: I'm fine with this as well and can understand the reason. Players like Hikari and Shuai, it will be hard for them to get points and the higher rank rewards, especially in team battles like we will soon be experiencing.

Jin: That is the point. Those two have different type of surveillance and support abilities which will be essential in missions and the team battles. Also, how will they feel as everyone else gets more points and rewards then them when they are supporting us from the shadows?

Connor: True. In war, those who help soldiers in the shadows can be seen as the truly important members of an organization. Not giving them their due credit can be bad for moral down the line. I am in agreement, but...

Shin: But?

Connor: Isn't Jin here the Mastermind/Strategist of the group? Why should we be giving you points and rewards? You're already an offensive fighter and like me you are exempt from Point requirements.

Hikari: Connor is right. I know that from experience magic and psychic force skills are expensive and cost a lot of rewards, but more so than Shuai (Unique Ability) and I (Psychic Force), you Jin have the ability to fight offensively. Isn't this a rule that benefits you the most?

Jin: It's true that it seems that way, but I can explain Hikari. It is by mere chance of fate that I could gain so many good exchanges so soon, but the so called Mastermind/Strategist after me, if I were to die, won't be so lucky, right? They are an important member of the group, yet more likely than not they will have little to no offensive capabilities to defend themselves for the first few missions. This rule is in place so that if I die in the next mission, the one to take my place will be looked after. Nothing more or less, but... I can see how someone great as you could see someone as lowly as me trying to take advantage of you and the team.

Hikari: ...I see. Sorry for accusing-

Jin: Ah, but if after you and Shuai, if there are any points and rewards left over, I'll gladly take them.

Everyone: I KNEW IT!

Jin: Hahaha!

Later after going through the rules (twelve times) to make sure Jin wasn't tricking them, Shin was holding a golden plate that was carved with these five rules and made a speech.

Shin: These are the temporary rules of Team Japan. We will amend them in the future if the situation calls for it. I hope that when we are to leave this world, the eight of us, or even more people, can still be looking at these rules with pride. That by coming together, no matter what we had to do and what we were able to defeat together, that there's nothing we can't overcome!

Then time moved by in a flash.

Due to the unusual guest they met, Drebin893, and knowing that the dangers of this world had increased they didn't have the mood to relax in the remaining days of rest, so they trained and trained some more.

Kampa taught them advanced shooting techniques and Connor gave them tips on setting traps and predicting enemy behavior. Aqua taught some people close combat techniques, but only Misaki and I were interested in them. The rest of the time the others asked about tips into getting into Unlocked Mode, which I had none (I was just a genius!).

Time passed by and I just spent the most of my time trying out my skills and new combination with Ki Energy and One-eye Ghoul mutation. Also, I used this time to understand ways to use the Second Stage of the Unlocked Mode even if I couldn't go into it of his own free will yet. After nine days... the beams cast down from God came and its rigid yet dignified voice sounded in our minds once again.

Shin: ...It's time. Time to fight for our lives once more. Can I lead everyone here to victory and greater heights? Or will I cause the fall of our team along with our lives? If the heavens fall, the earth splits in two, or armageddon occurs it doesn't matter. If there's only survival in this world then we'll survive together!

\- Enter the beams within thirty seconds. Target locked. Beginning teleportation to Hunter X Hunter...


	112. Chapter 112

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 1, HxH Greed Island

Plot - "Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live... A real life?"

The world changes when you click YES.

In God's dimension, you have to keep getting stronger, keep evolving to survive one horror movie after another. Do you kill everyone in your way to reach the end as a lone king? Or fight along with your comrades and survive through the support of friends?

Everything was just for staying alive. Until you find the secret of God's dimension. Who is the real enemy?

Terror Infinity - Side B

In a new experiment to push mankind to evolve, God has decided to send people into the worlds of Manga, Anime, Light Novels, Visual Novels, and Video Games.

Compared to horror movies, such worlds shouldn't be as terrifying and should be easily to return from, but... You would be very, very mistaken.

Welcome to Side B of God's World.

The Story so far -

Shin Kazama, an otaku disappointed in his life, chose YES when God asked if he wanted to know the meaning of life and wanted to live a real life. He was then transported to God's world of horrors and terror in a new experiment.

Team Japan had survived their third mission, Apocalypse Alice, and new members have joined Team Japan. Child soldier Connor and professional gaming champion Jin.

Returning to the Terminal Lobby after a desperate mission, they receive a message on a golden tablet left by God. Writing etched onto the tablet explained that Team Japan was eligible for Team Battle and would now encounter the team of other countries at random.

This news startled everyone. It was decided that Team Japan would go on a short vacation to recover from the recent horrors and the looming dangers beyond the horizon. There they unexpectedly met Drebin893 of Team Freedom. He was the Black Market Merchant of God's Dimension belonging to a team composed solely of NPCs. After a discussion, Team Japan and Drebin entered into business deal of support during their missions in which Team Japan would pay Drebin for supplies out of the exchange system while in a mission.

Now, having fully recovered and trained to the best of their abilities, Team Japan takes their first steps into their fourth mission, Hunter X Hunter!

A summary of Hunter X Hunter -

Twelve-year-old Gon Freecss one day discovers that the father he had always been told was dead was actually alive and well. His Father, Ging, is a Hunter—a member of society's elite with a license to go anywhere and do almost anything. Gon, determined to follow in his father's footsteps, decides to take the Hunter Examination and eventually find his father to prove himself as a Hunter in his own right. But on the way, he learns that there is more to becoming a Hunter than he previously thought, and the challenges that he must face are considered the toughest in the world.

\- By Animenewsnetwork.

A summary of Hunter X Hunter, Greed Island Arc -

To further his quest to find his father, Gon Freecss and his best friend Killua enter the world of Greed Island, a video game which Gon's father helped to create. Once inside the world of the game, Gon and Killua are faced with a combination of new allies and new enemies.

Gon's and Killua's journey through Greed Island continues. Searching for his father, Gon wanders around Greed Island until meeting Bisuke. Bisuke serves as their master and trains Killua and Gon, further enhancing their Nen abilities. The three encounter many troubles, as well as clues to Ging's whereabouts, and strive to emerge successful.

\- By Animenewsnetwork.

GREED ISLAND: Is a fictional video game in Hunter X Hunter. It is played on the Joyststion, a video game console of Hunter X Hunter which is out of print and sells at auctions for at least 8 billion Jenny (the world's currency).

The game transports its players' physical bodies into the world of Greed Island, only releasing them when they die (at which point they die in "real life" as well), when they win, or when they use a special card in the game that lets them out. It can only be played by people who can use Nen. In actuality, it is a real place, an island located east of the Orbian Continent.

Greed Island was first released in the World of Hunter x Hunter in 1987, created by Ging Freecss and his associates. It was produced and sold by Marilyn Inc.

Intended for the exclusive use of Hunters, its 5.8 Billion Jenny price tag is the highest ever for any video game; there were 20,000 pre-orders for only 100 copies. After its initial sale, the game disappeared from the market. In 1988, Battera offered to buy the game for 17 billion Jenny and 50 billion jenny for the clear data. However, no one came forward.

ACQUIREMENT DIFFICULTY: According to the Hunters' Tavern website, the difficulty level to get the game used to be at H-class (Easiest) since it's already available on public auctions, but because of the sheer high price it's been raised to G-class (Easy).

RING, BINDER, AND CARDS -

THE RING: All players will have a ring that allows them to use two keyword spells in the game.

1\. BOOK, By saying the keyword "Book", it will cause a Card Binder to materialize for the player's personal use to stash cards.

2\. GAIN, By saying the keyword "Gain", an item in its card form will turn back into its material form but can't return to its card form again.

THE BINDER: The Card Binder has a total of 100 Designated Pocket Cards; the goal of the game is to collect and fill these slots with the properly Pocket Cards. There are also a total of 45 unnumbered free slots in the binder for storing undesignated numbered cards. The binder can also be used to check the names of players met on the island. The binder does not materialize in the 'real world'. Only the three-slot binder obtained by passing the game can be summoned with the "Book" command after leaving the game. The same rule applies for cards and "Gain."

THE CARDS: All items that are picked up on the island transform into cards. These items can be materialized into item form again by holding it and saying "Gain". If the item is not placed in the binder within a minute, cards that are turned into items cannot be returned into their card form again and the player would need to find the same item once more to get the card version again.

Cards cannot be used outside of Greed Island, and will not respond to "Gain," unless they are one of the three placed in a special binder obtained by clearing the game. Then they may be used in real life. There are four distinctive sets of different cards. These are the 100 Restricted Pocket Cards, the 40 Spell Cards, the Unrestricted Pocket Cards and the Game Master only Cards.

Shin: "...Sorry everyone. That's about all I can remember of the game Greed Island. The above is from the last time I checked the manga's wiki?"

Hikari: "...How do you even remember all of that? Ahhh, why is my boyfriend such an otaku?!"

Shin: "Thank you."

Hikari: "That wasn't a compliment!"

Shin: "Ah, I almost forgot. There's this guy called Battera. He's a multi-billionaire who's spent most of his vast fortune of acquiring copies of the game Greed Island. His goal was to acquire one of the Designated Pocket Cards, "Breath of Archangel". He needs it to save the life of his lover. In the end he failed, but for many years he has been sending countless Nen Users to Greed Island to get the card. That's why there should be many, and I mean many Nen Users fighting it out on the island for prize he is offering... fifty Billion of this world's currency, Jenny!

Hikari: "Stop, stop, stop! Any more bad news and I'll go insane!"

Shin: "Don't worry Hikari. I'll protect you!"

Hikari: "Shin..."

Shin: "You're my second wife to be after all."

Hikari: "Too far! You just can't stop till you get to the part where you say something horrible after saying something cool."

Shin: "So I'm cool?"

Hikari: "Not close!"

Aqua: "Can you two stop fooling around? Shin, as a part of the otaku race you should know this story the best. Tell us where we are."

Shin: "Otaku race... fine, I'll tell you."

I looked around once more to confirm where we really were. Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, Connor, Jin, and I were in a small room that was crowded by the many Players and Newbies that would partake in the mission.

There was only one entrance and despite or attempts to leave the door has remained shut. The force field that God placed around the room to stop Players like us from exploring the world till the mission began was present as well.

The room itself had the light blue glow of a sci-fi type setting.

It had a design that would make others believe they were in the virtual reality like Tron, or maybe even inside a spaceship. It was a little funny since the starting point looks like a simple wooden hut of sorts from the outside. The point was that it looked foreign to those born in the modern age. It was all a part of the unreal setting to trick new players like Gon into believing that they really were in virtual reality, and not just a transported to another location with Nen.

Shin: "We should be at the starting point of Greed Island. When Nen users channeled Aura to the play station with the game inserted, they would be teleported to this location. Hikari, you couldn't see through these walls, right?"

Hikari: "Yeah. I don't think it's a force field, but the building itself that is rejecting me and my Persona Adrasteia. Though I have no idea why."

Jin: "It probably to protect the secrets of the game. I've also read Hunter X Hunter, and to my knowledge Greed Island is a one of a kind game worth billions of this world's currency. I don't believe there's another Nen powered video game like it in the world, but isn't that strange? If I was the president of a video game company and knew how much I could make with a game like this, and remember despite its original extremely high price there were 20,000 pre-orders, I would do whatever it took to get my hands on the games design plans!"

Shin: "Like send a Nen user into the game to spy?"

Jin: "Exactly! Ideally, one with a spy like observation power like Hikari's Persona. That's why Gon's father, Gin and his friends placed counter measures to stop such Nen users."

Misaki: "This is interesting and all, but can we get back to what we were talking about? We aren't corporate spies, so this has nothing to do with us."

Kampa: "Shin, please continue where you left off.:

Shin: "Okay. We are at the starting point of Greed Island and beyond those doors is the character pretending to be a lifeless NPC, but is really one of the game masters Eeta. She is the twin sister of Elena, the sister in charge of sending the winners of the game off with their prizes. Eeta is the game master of Greed Island in charge of welcoming new player to the game. She will explain to us the rules of Greed Island, give a demonstration of game abilities, and open the way to the outside for us."

Shuai: "Then why can't we leave this room now?"

Kampa: "We're not all awake, yet."

Shin: "Kampa is probably right. We all might be considered one person from this world's standpoint, so the game won't let us proceed until the newbies wake up. Ah, Connor, please check the bodies of all the newbies for weapons or anything suspicious. I don't want to be surprised like last time with the Derrick incident. He hid magic bait and Varanium Bullets on his person and who knows what else."

Connor: "Fine, but why me."

Shin: "It would be wrong if a man like me touches their bodies while they are unconscious. There are a few women among the newbies from the look of things this time. You're a kid, so no one will mind."

Connor: "They why not get Hikari or Aqua to do it?"

Shin: "Like hell I'll let my Aqua or my Hikari touch the bodies of other men!"

Aqua: "..."

Hikari: "..."

Connor: "...Fine."

Then as Connor began to check for weapons or anything else dangerous, I and the others discussed the contents of the mission... under the cold glares of my girlfriends and wives to be, I did my best to avoid their gazes and went on about the mission.

Shin: "Let's look over the mission again. From what I see we are just playing the standard game of Greed Island like Gon and Killua did. We explore the island and play the game. The final goal is to collect all 100 Designated Pocket Cards."

Hikari: "Our performance in the Game of Greed Island will also play a factor in the quality of the rewards that we receive in the end."

Shin: "That's right. Also, I'm not sure certain if Gon, Killua, or other characters will present during the mission since the main characters weren't listed this time to be protected, but in one of the side quest a character is mentioned. We should leave room for the possibility of others showing up, but that can be left to further investigation later on."

Aqua: "Alright. Now, from what I see about this mission, despite the reason for its high difficulty as an eighteen man mission being a mystery, it would have been a straightforward mission where we could take our time to complete... if only not for interference."

It was as Aqua said.

Every time that I would check my player's watch on my left hand and check the contents of the mission, I would feel dread rise up within me. I knew it would randomly happen, but I was still hoping that it wouldn't be now. That we would still have time to grow stronger and raise more New Player with enhancements.

Shin: "It really is true... we have to fight other teams, and it is almost at the highest difficulty."

GOD'S MISSION

HUNTER X HUNTER - GREED ISLAND, EIGHTEEN MAN MISSION.

MODIFIED STORY PLOT.

TEAM BATTLE.

MAIN QUEST: The Mission.

Objective: As a team, collect all 100 Designated Pocket Cards in one binder and bring it to the capital city of Greed Island, Limeiro. Failure will not result in the death of the team, but the base 1000 points for the mission will be forfeited and each Player must pay a 2000 point and D rank reward as a fine. After the Main Quest is complete and players have returned to the Terminal Lobby, each surviving Player with a G.I Ring can take one of the Designated Pocket Cards back as a free Item Exchange. TIME LIMIT - 90 DAYS.

Basic Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

Team Battle Reward: 1000 Points. This reward is only given to players that have not ended in a Negative Score.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Orientation - The first Player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges, and how to return home. 100 Points

2\. Card Collection - Collecting a Designated Pocket Card. No points will be given for repeats or if another member of the team has already acquired it once. 10 Points.

3\. Card 000 - Winning the Designated Card "Ruler's Blessing" during the endgame quiz. 1500 Points and D rank reward. The side quest #2, Card Collection is not applied to winning "Rulers Blessing".

4\. The Bomber - Defeating the Bomber, Ginthru. Rewards 4000 Points and two C rank rewards. Rewards every other Player 2000 Points and D rank reward.

5\. Speed Run - Completing the Main Quest within 30 days or less, 5000 Points and B rank reward. Completing the Main Quest within 31-60 Days, 2000 Points and C rank reward. Anything over 60 Days does not receive additional rewards.

6\. Enemy Team KILL - Killing a normal member of another team. Awards 2000 Points and C rank reward.

7\. GC Enemy KILL - Killing a member of another team who has unlocked the Genetic Constraint. Awards 7000 points and B rank reward.

8\. Total KILL - The killing of the entire enemy team, not counting Penalty 'D-Zero'. Every member will be awarded a C rank reward.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 for a Player killing a Newbie Player of their own team. A New Player is a New Player till they start their second Mission.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. D-ZERO Version 2 - Any player with 0 or negative points at the end of a mission, after all calculations are finished, will be killed, no exception. Those unable to pay a D rank reward for failing the Main Quest will be killed.

4\. Death Roulette - When a member of your team with a G.I Ring and card binder is killed, ten random Designated Card Slots from that player's binder will be awarded to the killer's binder. The rest will be transferred to an ally binder's card slots if vacant. If all three ring/binder holders are killed, the mission will immediately end and all surviving team members will be killed.

5\. Death by Reject - The Game Masters of Greed Island will be watching the main cities of the island at all times. If a team member causes an incident with large casualties or destruction within a city, then a warning will be given. If destruction continues that person will be ejected off the island. Any Player that is away from the Greed Island for more than ten seconds for any reason will be erased.

6\. Point CASUALTIES - Killing a member of the other team will give your team Positive 1 Point. The death of an ally team member will give your team Negative 1 Point. At the end of the mission these points will be multiplied by 2000 and every living team member will be awarded or deducted points equal to the factored score.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Mission Information.

1\. Only three members of Team Japan can wear a G.I Ring, allowing the use of binders [Book] and cards [Gain and On]. All three must be chosen at Starting Point with Eeta and once a ring is worn, it can't be taken off, traded or stolen. In the event that the hand/arm is cut off and the wearer is still alive, the G.I Ring will return to the owner as a spellbound item.

2\. Killing another party will allow you to gain their Designated Pocket Cards and half the cards in their Free Slot Zone.

3\. Team Germany will appear once 80 or more of the Designated Pocket Card are in the hands of one person, group, or organization on Greed Island. Team Germany will also automatically appear on Day Sixty-One of the mission if not yet complete.

TOTAL SCORE: Pending

Everyone, including me, looked at their watch and were overwhelmed – despite wanting to believe that we were prepared for this. This wasn't even the first time we looked the mission contents. Not only was this a mission with a high difficulty of eighteen, two less than Apocalypse Alice. Not even the veteran Aqua could stop herself from cursing out loud.

Aqua: "Fuck! I was hoping that I had misread it, but there it is clear as day on our watches. It said it was going to be random, but what is this? Our very next mission and it's a team battle."

Shuai: "Do you think we are ready for this? I can't help but feel that we are not."

Misaki: "We have no choice. This is reality and we can only face it!"

As we were talking, Connor looked at his watch and even his normally emotionless face showed signs of worry. I didn't know what he was going to say, but I wished that he had remained the calm, battle hardened, never bothered by anything child soldier that I knew. It would have brought me some piece of mind.

Connor: "Did you all read what was on the watch? There's additional information about team battles not included onto that tablet."

Shin: "Connor is right. There's other important information as well. Side Quest, Penalties and additional information."

Everyone looked at their watches and saw what Connor meant. There was information about team battles and how that would factor into the mission. There were four key points. When Team Germany will appear, Death by Roulette, Death Rejected, and most importantly Point Casualties.

1\. Team Germany will appear once 80 or more of the Designated Pocket Card are in the hands of one person, group or organization on Greed Island. Also, if the mission is not complete sixty-one days from now Team Germany will automatically appear as well.

2\. When a member of your team with a G.I Ring and card binder is killed, ten random Designated Card Slots from that player's binder will be awarded to the killer's binder. The rest will be transferred to an ally binder's card slots if vacant. If all three ring/binder holders are killed, the mission will immediately end and all surviving team members will be killed.

3\. The Game Masters of Greed Island will be watching the main cities of the island at all times. If a team member causes an incident with large casualties or destruction within a city, then a warning will be given. If destruction continues that person will be ejected off the island. Any Player that is away from the Greed Island for more than ten seconds for any reason will be killed.

4\. The most important piece of information, Point Casualties. Killing a member of the other team will give your team Positive 1 Point. The death of an ally team member will give your team Negative 1 Point. At the end of the mission these points will be multiplied by 2000 and every living team member will be awarded or deducted points equal to the factored score.

Shin: "The key point here is the Point Casualties penalty, right. The other penalties will make things difficult, but this last one feels like it is a rule that pertains to team battles and not the mission itself."

Aqua: "Shin is right. We are going to encounter another team. And judging from this message, a fight will be inevitable."

Misaki: "What do you mean?"

Jin: "Isn't it obvious? The rules that we were already aware of were bad enough. Killing a normal member like Hikari or myself of the enemy team will award a Player 2,000 Points and C rank reward. Killing an unlocked member like our leader Shin or Connor will award a Player 7,000 Points and B rank reward. These rewards are already so tempting, but it was still a possibility that we could have had peace."

Kampa: "There was?

Jin: "Of course! Gaining points are important, but what is more important is raising team members, right? In a short amount of time, from the time Shin and the others joined Aqua, you say that this team has been well made, but I couldn't help but think a lot of it is due to luck on our part. Just gaining two or three competent members per mission and having them end up with lots of Points and rewards... is too good to be true. Like we're the main character of a Web Novel."

Aqua: "Putting Jin's nonsense behind, I have to confirm what he said. Since the time I arrived in God's Dimension, I've yet to meet players with such high potential like those on this team. I doubt that a team like this will appear again if we are wiped out at some point."

Hikari: "So it's your guess that for other teams, making a strong and versatile team is near impossible? And with that being the case they might consider not fighting us and just focusing on their mission, whatever it is?"

Jin: "As expected of Hikari, our resident psychic of the team. You must have read my mind."

Hikari: "No one here would want to do that?"

Jin: "...True. Anyway, my point was that if I was the other team's leader and I wasn't at least 70, no 80% confident in coming out on top with most of my team members alive, I wouldn't risk it a battle with this team. And if it was only a matter of all the points and rewards clouding everyone's judgment, we could have traded newbies."

Shin: "...God, Jin you are smart, but too ruthless, you know. A sane man wouldn't reach that conclusion so fast. It's disturbing."

Jin: "Well, I have been called human trash before."

Shuai: "I don't get it? What is this about trading the New Players?"

Aqua: "Jin means to trade, no give up Team Japan's newbies to Team Germany. Each of them is worth 2000 points and C rank reward, remember?"

Jin: "Aqua is right. With the previous rules that we knew of we could have gotten rid of our useless newbies. At best one or two of them are worth keeping and raising up. The rest we would trade to another team for their newbies for us to kill. We would be farming large amounts of points and rank rewards."

Shuai: "It's that simple?"

Jin: "It could be. Now, let's assume each newbie is a normal member. We trade ten newbies to Team Germany and we end up at Negative 10, or -20,000 points from the Point Causality penalty. Then they trade ten newbies to us and we gain back those loss points, and we also gain 20,000 points, 1A and 1C rank rewards to be shared by the entire team for the individual kills. There are eight of us here, so each of us gain 2500, 1C and 1-2 D rank rewards without fighting! What we can also do is use the 20,000 Points, 1A, and 1C rank reward to rapidly increase the fighting potential of 1-3 team members to Shin and Aqua's level or higher in just one mission. Add that to whatever else we can get from the mission and I would say that it's a successful mission, or am I wrong."

Hiakri: "Th-that is..."

Shin: "It's diabolical... yet it wouldn't have been a bad idea."

Hiakri: "Shin! You're agreeing with a guy with a confirmed screw loose in his head?"

Shin: "Yeah, but it's the truth Hikari. Just think about it. This is an eighteen man mission from God. Our comrades make up eight members and at most two of these newbies are worth keeping around. So there are eight newbies that we don't need. Eight × 2000 and C rank rewards, and that is 16,000 points and 8C rank rewards that we can trade to the other team in good faith. And if they have the same number of newbies then we will end up with 16,000 points and 8C rank rewards for us. Each member here, including the newbies that we kept would have an extra free 1600 points and 2-3 D rank rewards to power up with."

Hikari: "..."

Shin: "Hikari, that's far more than how much Misaki and yourself made on your first mission. The newbies that we keep will also have the other mission rewards on top of that too. So long as one side doesn't become too greedy then like Jin said, they might be satisfied and not attack us."

Misaki: "The newbies should be given a chance to prove themselves, or die trying. Not outright bargained away for points or rewards. Isn't such a plan too much?"

Aqua: "Is it though? Not every newbie has what it takes to survive here. Apocalypse Alice should have showed us that. If a team member can't fight up close like Shin, use guns like Kampa, snipe like Connor, support us from the rear like Hikari, or have some kind of talent to support us in the Terminal Lobby that would make us want to protect them... then they have no place on this team. If a newbie can't fill or grow into one of those roles then we really should just trade them for some points."

Connor: "I agree with her. Useless people will always be useless and will weigh us down in critical moments.

Jin: "Yes, yes, you really get it Connor! Your war mentally comes in handy."

Connor: "Shut it. Anyway, I personally don't believe that it will work."

Shuai: "Why is that?"

Shin: "I think I know what he's talking about. For one the points are too tempting if you resolve yourself for the risk of wiping out. Not only does a single member of a team gets points and rewards for killing the other team, so will the rest of the team thanks to Point Casualties."

Aqua: "That's right. Ignoring unlocked enemies for now, if the other team had twenty members and I killed them all, I would gain 40,000 points and 20 C rank rewards. Now, add in 20 Positive points and that will add up to another 40,000 points and killing every member on their side give me another C rank on top of it all. One twenty man mission gave me 80,000 points and 11 C rank rewards not even counting the points from the mission."

Kampa: "I'll be... with that many points and rewards you can go home with 'Back to the Origin', or get one of the top tier A rank rewards that give you immortality or game breaking ability."

Jin: "See. It is just too tempting even if you lose more than half your team. Both sides could try to come to a truce, but the temptation will always be there. Once a shot is fired and someone dies... from then on its either them or you. Survival or death. There is also the matter with the Four Pillars as well. If Team Germany belongs to one of their teams in God's Dimension... in the end, only one side will remain!:


	113. Chapter 113

Hikari: "Wait a minute! Let's just get away from this talk about sacrificing newbies and struggles to the death for a minute."

Shin: "Hikari, I understand. I as the leader don't want to do such a thing even if it's possible, but-"

Hikari: "No Shin. I get what you and Jin were saying. It's true, giving away the newbies for our safety is a valid option. Also, planning with a mindset that the enemy team will definitely attack is important as well, but you're not doing something equally as important."

Shin: "What?"

Hikari: "Thinking up ways to avoid fighting in the first place."

To avoid fighting? If it was that easy I would spare no expenses in trying to do so. I'm not greedy for points since I'm confident in my ability to make among the most within Team Japan. I'm sure I can also find a Hidden Side Quest somewhere and complete it by the skin of my teeth. That's why if there's a way not to fight another team of God's Dimension at this time I'll take it.

Jin: "Then do you have a method to ensure that we can survive without trading or fighting Team Germany?"

Hikari: "In fact I do. You may be smart Jin, but both you and Shin are too bloodthirsty."

Shin: "Can you not group me up with that thing? So what's this idea of yours?"

Jin: "Now I'm a thing, huh."

Hikari: "It's simple, Shin. We don't fight."

Shin: "...Huh?"

Aqua: "I don't get it either."

Hikari: "It's simple you two. We don't fight. We run away. We don't even look the enemy in the eye and run out the clock!"

Misaki: "I still don't-"

Hikari: "That's because you're stupid. Now let me explain."

Misaki: "You-"

Ignoring Misaki, Hikari began to divulge her grand master plan to survive the Team Mission without fighting. Her solution in a nutshell was very simple... Team Japan gives up the mission. The Basic Reward, Main Quest, and most Side Quest rewards. We give up everything and hide somewhere we can't be found, or a place easily defendable for a sustainable people of time. Hikari wanted Team Japan to forfeit the mission of Hunter X Hunter and wait till the mission time limit of ninety days runs out and take on the 2000 points and D rank reward penalty willingly.

Hikari: "Side Quest Reward 4, The Bomber. Defeating this Bomber character will reward 4000 Points and two C rank rewards, and every Player 2000 Points and D rank reward! This is the key to our salvation."

Aqua: "So you mean for us to-"

Hikari: "Yes! We just need to defeat this person and we can all make it out of this mission alive without fighting Team Germany. We'll let them complete the mission which is probably the same as ours and just focus our efforts into defeating The Bomber. Defeating him will reward us 2000 points and a D rank reward and we'll also have the team battle reward of 1000 points. We pay a 2000 point and D rank reward penalty for failing the mission and we'll still have an extra 1000 points at the end."

Kampa: "I get what the lady boss is saying. We won't make a lot of points, but it's a way to feel good about avoiding the Main Quest and Team Germany."

Hikari: "That's exactly right, Kampa. Also, who's the lady boss!"

Shin: "Now, now don't worry about our Russian friend here Hikari and get back on point. I feel stupid for not seeing it myself, but it is a good thing that you did. This is a valid option for our team to take."

Hikari: "I know right. This way we won't have to fight to the last man against Team Germany."

Connor: "I can only call your idea a cowardly plan. Coming out at just 1000 points is embarrassing when my first mission I made over 5000 points had a B rank reward. We should just fight. Those of us who survive in the end will get to become far more powerful by wiping out the other team."

Hikari: "And what? If only you survive in the end, in the next mission your team will only have Newbies. That very mission could also be another Team Battle since they are random. There's no rule saying that it can't occur twice in a row and if it does Connor you have no hope of surviving alone."

Connor: "Even if alone I'll survive. Snipers either make it back from an assignment, or are picked off by the enemy. Worrying about my chances of surviving until the next day... I've long since stopped doing something so pointless."

Hikari: "Sh-Shin!"

Hikari looked towards me as if she wanted to cry right then and there. She didn't know whether to be angry at Connor, or be sad about the ten year-old's way of life till now. I felt the same so I could only pat her head like a child to make her feel better, but honestly... I'd rather only think of Connor as a trustworthy comrade than a tragic child of war. God! Now I want to go to Aqua and have her say something to make me feel better.

Shin: "Let's... let's just move on with this plan of action. Now, who's for and who's against the idea of giving up the mission and focusing on The Bomber? By a raise of hands who for Hikari's plan?"

Shin counted and too his surprise nearly everyone was for Hikari's plan.

Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and I were for the cowardly plan of avoiding Team Germany. We all believed that it was just better to take the safer option than taking unnecessary risk. We were all fine with running away with just 1000 points.

Only Connor and Jin were against the plan and wanted to fight Team Germany despite the risk. They wanted to fight Team Germany and gain the large amounts of points and rank rewards. They also didn't believe it was possible for them to just avoid the enemy team.

Shin: "Then it is decided. For the time being we'll make it our highest priority to just avoid Team Germany and kill the Bomber, but I won't let us forget about the mission either. We won't go for a speed run, but we will still try to actively collect Designated Pocket Cards. If we can defeat the bomber first then we'll seriously consider forsaking the Main Quest. On the other hand if it looks like we can collect all 100 cards before encountering Team Germany we'll take."

Aqua: "Good idea, Shin. I may have agreed for Hikari's plan, but we shouldn't discard the possibility of properly completing the mission either. Also..."

Shin: "What?"

Aqua: "I'm just a little suspicious is all. No matter how much I try to tell myself otherwise it feels like God is giving Team Japan an out with this option. Just killing The Bomber and hiding somewhere and we're free and clear.

Misaki: "Now that she says it out loud I have to agree. This is definitely an out for the Team Battle."

Jin: "Well, it couldn't be that. God has deemed Team Germany much stronger than us. We did end up coming to the mission first after all. They must be stronger than us. So much stronger in fact that God has allowed Team Japan a way out of danger."

Shin: "..."

I heard this and felt my heart clench at this realization. I find it down right frightening that God, an existence that wishes to test mankind by throwing them into danger for evolution, would give any of them an out. A somewhat easy out depending on how strong The Bomber is on an eighteen man mission.

I had to wonder now if this is because the enemy team has definite connections to the Four Pillars. Not only will there not be negotiations... maybe Team Germany has Players like Connor and Jin who don't need points for exchanges on their side.

Shin: "Haha! The future looks both bright and gloomily at the same time. Well, such is the fate of main characters like me."

Aqua: "Whatever the case with Team Germany is... let's forget about it for now as they won't suddenly appear on us. Team Germany will only arrive once one person, group, or organization on the island collects 80 of the 100 Designated cards of the game. That, or sixty days in this world pass. Our first priority is to gain all 100 cards by our ninety day deadline when we aren't certain we can all pay a D rank reward penalty if we can't find The Bomber."

Hikari: "I guess. If we can't find him we can only complete the Main Quest as fast as humanly possible."

Jin: "Aqua is right. Team Germany is our biggest threat, but we can't forget the mission either. Remember that this is a Eighteen Man difficulty, almost the highest level possible for a team and that's what we should be worried about. Shin, it's unfortunate, but I don't remember that much about Greed Island arc of Hunter X Hunter. I never did watch the 2011 remake all the way since the beginning was a joke when compared to the original anime."

Shin: "No problem. Also, you should give it a chance. I was of the same opinion like you, but once it got the Chimera Ant and Hunter's Election arcs it was amazing! The original staff of the first anime were just too skilled, so much so that they could even add elements that perfectly fit and enhanced the story. The 2011 remake was just too bright and colorful at first to differentiate itself from the first anime. We were probably turned off by that. For anyone who is interested they should begin by watching the original and it's OVAs, and then switch to the 2011 remake at the Chimera Ant-"

Hikari: "Shin!"

Shin: "...Fine. I'll explain about the game called Greed Island in Hunter X Hunter. I've told you about how to win the game and some of the mechanics, but not everyone thing. First to mention are the other player playing the game Greed Island like we will be. What's important to note is that everyone on this island is like Aqua."

Kampa: "Like Aqua?"

Shin: "Yes. Specifically, everyone on this island has the same power... the same energy called Aura as her. Everyone on Greed Island is a Nen User!"

Saying so I begin to tell everyone about Nen and Aura.

Nen and Aura.

Nen (Mind Force) is one of the defining features of the manga Hunter X Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi. It is a technique that allows a living being to use and manipulate in a variety of ways their own life energy (Aura). The word "Nen" can also be used in conversation to refer to aura.

What is a Nen ability? It is a skill to utilize 'life energy,' aka 'Aura'.

Nen is an energy produced by the human body. A skill to utilize or enhance Nen is called a Nen ability. Nen, which has a profound connection with both the mind and the body, can be regarded as the total energy of a human. There are very few people who can use Nen without training. Those who are born with the ability to use Nen are often venerated as immortals, geniuses or superhuman. Nen is such a special energy. Furthermore, there is usually some Nen left on the works of great artists.

What can Nen be used for?

Basically, Nen is used for attack and defense. Nen attacks are particularly effective against ordinary people, who are incapable of using Nen, and can cause them irreparable or even mortal damage. Because Nen attacks use life energy, they are better suited for killing than damaging inanimate objects. In addition to that, there are very many ways to attack with Nen.

For example enhancing the body, strengthening the weapon, or conjuring weapons out of Nen. The possibilities are, in theory, limitless, only bound by a user's imagination. There are also people who have acquired unique Nen skills such as healing, prophesying, counterfeiting, and creating doppelgangers.

Shin: "This is the basics of the basics. There's a whole lot more, but you're not Nen Users except for Aqua. I'll tell you more as we move along the island, but if we encounter... no, we are sure to encounter Nen Users, so I'll tell everyone here the Four Fundamentals of Nen. Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. Aqua, you're our resident Nen User, so please explain what these are."

Aqua: "Okay."

Aqua began her explanation about the Four Fundamentals of Nen as the others and I listened in.

TEN.

Making aura stay around the body is called Ten (Wrap Around). This technique allows a Nen user to contain aura by enfolding their body with it. All human beings possess aura, but unbeknown to most of them, it slowly leaks away. This is the most basic technique. Thanks to it, the body will be strengthened and the aging process can also be slowed down. It is best to adopt a natural posture when practicing Ten.

ZETSU

Zetsu (Sever, Suppress) stops the flow of aura from the body completely. It is a technique whereby a user suppresses the Nen formed by using Ten surrounding them and suspends the small natural leakage of aura from their body.

Zetsu closes all of the aura nodes so that Nen is fully contained within the body, therefore it can help the user to conceal their presence or recover from fatigue. If Zetsu is executed properly the user will be hard to detect. Thus it is very suitable for clandestine actions. However, Zetsu must be used carefully because it leaves the user's body defenseless against the enemy's Nen. In Zetsu state, it is very dangerous to even take a weak Nen attack, or to come into contact with the enemy's Nen.

REN

Ren (Practice) involves training with and improve the aura formed by using Ten. In this technique, the user expands their aura nodes and generates more aura than normal while keeping it from flowing away. If practiced properly, Ren will allow the user to produce and use unusual amounts of aura. It can be compared to a basic physical exercise, which means it is essential for anyone who wants to become strong. The moment when a Nen user shows their Ren is the best moment to evaluate their potential.

HATSU

Hatsu (Release) is the technique of freely releasing the aura cultivated by Ren and is the last one of the four fundamental Nen techniques. From simple abilities like Gon's Jajanken to crafty abilities like Hisoka's Bungee Gum, every single one of them makes use of Hatsu. It is truly both broad and deep. It is the release, or transmission of one's aura so it can be projected to carry out a certain function. In essence, Hatsu is one's personal expression of Nen that creates a special and unique paranormal ability (colloquially called a Nen Ability). A good Hatsu should reflect a person's own character; one can never truly master Nen if they only copy other people's abilities.

Aqua: "Basically it's this. Ten is the standard in a fight as it defends you all except from other Nen and special attacks. Zetsu is for sneak attacks and recovering. Ren is going all out with one's Aura for offense and it's what I use in fights. Hatsu is... like one's special techniques, but not from exchanges. They're the ultimate expression of your power as a Nen User, so if trained right it is incredibly powerful. Its only weakness is that it takes a long time to master one's own Hatsu, decades of training where you can never stop improving it, and that it's ineffective to try to learn the special moves of others."

Connor: "So how strong in general are Nen Users? At Aqua's level?"

Shin: "It depends. In this world many people actually know Nen, yet very few know how to fight with Nen like Aqua does. Even on this island there were only a small percentage of dangerous Nen Users. In the Manga most of the Nen users were just normal people. They were trash who knew Nen, found a copy of the game, and took their chances and entered Greed Island thinking they could win. Eventually, those like them became players who just play the game to feed themselves since you can convert cards into the games cash, or Jenny, and at best may steal cards from others. The actual amount of player who play the game seriously amount to a small percentage of the population overall."

Misaki: "What about the ones that can actually fight?"

Shin: "As for Nen Users who are skilled in combat... it's safe to say we'll be fighting against a different sort of threat than in H.O.T.D, BTOOOM, or Apocalypse Alice. In those worlds we dealt with foes that used raw power and numbers to beat us, yet Nen Users are different. It's best to assume that all combat Nen User are skilled martial artists. They're not mindless like monsters, or regular human being under their armor. No one here can directly compete with them except for Aqua, Misaki, Connor, and myself. Also..."

Hikari: "Also?"

Shin: "Nen is scary. Especially Hatsu. Remember how Aqua can't learn regular exchange skills like how Ki Energy or Mana can? That's because Nen is extremely specialized. Individual Nen Users lack the kind of versatility that I possess, yet in a single area they could completely surpass me. Also, in exchange for narrowing the scope of their ability Hatsu, the special technique of a Nen User is powerful."

I then went over the different types of Aura from which Hatsu is born from.

Enhancer - Enhancement is the ability to use aura to increase the natural abilities of an object or one's own body. Therefore, Enhancers are able to greatly increase their physical attack and defense and are best suited for close-ranged melee combat. Enhancement is the most balanced category, allowing users to spread themselves evenly between offense and defense and become very strong using only simple abilities. One of the examples of more complex Enhancement abilities include enhancing one's healing factor.

The Hatsu for an Enhancer would be like the main character of HxH Gon's Jajaken.

Transmuter - An affinity for Transmutation means a person can change the properties of their aura to mimic something else. Similar to Emission, things created via Transmutation are pure aura. Transmutation is often mistaken with Conjuration due to their similarities. A simple way of thinking about it would be that Transmutation allows your aura to mimic properties of a substance, whereas Conjuration allows you to change your aura into actual substances. Transmuters can copy the properties of real things.

The Hatsu for a Transmuter would be like Killua's ability to turn Aura into electricity.

Conjurer - Conjuration is the ability to create a physical, independent, material object out of one's aura. Once a person has mastered the conjuration of a certain object, they can conjure it and dispel it in an instant, whenever they want. Conjuration is the only way in which Nen can create things that ordinary people (unaware of Nen) can see and touch. Furthermore, objects or entities created by this technique have a subtle "independence" to them. This means that they can continue existing even if they were at a considerable distance from the Conjurer, or even if the Conjurer themselves are not aware that they have yet to be de-materialized. However the use of "IN"can hide an object materialized from aura from experienced users of Nen. Conjured objects can have special abilities imbued into them.

The Hatsu for a Transmuter would be like Kurapika's ability to create chains out of Aura.

Emitter - An affinity for Emission means that a user is capable of controlling the deployment of their Aura while separating it from their body. Aura usually decreases in intensity very quickly when it is separated from the source body, but strong Emitters can separate their aura from their body for long-periods of time and still be able to maintain it.

The Hatsu for an Emitter would be like Greed Island's Razor's ability to create energy balls of Aura to attack.

Manipulator - Abilities belonging to Manipulators allow the user to control living or non-living things in a certain way (and manipulate the Aura itself), the main advantage being able to 'manipulate' enemies. The degree of control is principally determined by a condition that usually puts the manipulator at risk (attaching objects onto the enemy, touching the enemy in a certain way) and of course the larger the risk, the better the degree of control.

The Hatsu for a Manipulator would be any means to control another person, or their own body.

Specialist - It is possible that the effect that occurs can give some insight into how they should direct their ability when they first try to determine their Aura type. Specialization is anything that doesn't belong into the other five categories. This is the vaguest Hatsu category. For example, a Specialist ability that allows one to use all Hatsu types at 100% efficiency. Specialist ability allows one to steal any other Nen ability (provided that the right conditions have been fulfilled). It is possible to become a Specialist later in life, although it is more likely for Manipulators or Conjurers which is why it is placed at the bottom of the chart that displays a Nen User's affinity for types of Hatsu.

Shin: "These are the types of Aura Nen Users use to create their Hatsu techniques. Also, on the final Aura type Specialist, our own Aqua here is one such Nen User although she was originally a Enhancer Nen User. Aqua's Werewolf Bloodline, Wolverine Genetic Mutation, and Enhancer Nen combine together to form her full wolf monster form. In this form Aqua is a Specialist Nen User and her Hatsu is when her wolf form takes of the properties of her Adamantium skeleton and her natural Enhancer Nen reaches brand new heights as it strengthens the body by more than ten as I could see. Also, from the last time I saw it she was in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode as well. It was born from a mutation of Aqua's three main enhancements and she has little control of it, she can barely go into a hybrid werewolf form for a few seconds, but... in that form no one can hope to beat her. Even if I went into the Second Stage as well, I wouldn't last three seconds. Of course, Aqua Specialist Nen is heavily combat based which is why it is so terrifying. There are other non-combat, but still dangerous Specialist abilities, but we shouldn't worry too much about meeting such an individual on the island. Specialist are extremely rare after all."

Those who had never seen Aqua transformed took my words to heart, but those like me who have seen Aqua transformed couldn't completely relax. We all knew that if a Nen User with even a quarter of Aqua's full power existed on the Greed Island... there would be no surviving the mission.

Aqua: "Don't freak out people. I have Nen, and I watched a bit of Hunter X Hunter, so I know that there shouldn't be any insane forces of the island that could wipe us out. What's important to remember is just as Shin said, Nen is very specialized. I'm for the most part an Enhancer Nen User, so I wouldn't be able to deal with ranged attacks like you, or the others can without relying on exchanged weapons like Sci-fi and Magic Guns."

I saw where Aqua was coming from and had to agree. It was then that Jin stepped in with his analysis of the situation.

Jin: "Hmm... I see. What Shin said about Nen Users is correct, but there could be more to it than what he said. This is a mission after all. An eighteen man mission from God after all. Nen users who play the game seriously and are willing the kill for cards... may have increased to the whole population of Greed Island. If I had to guess I would say that the people on the island all have Low-Mid Class Hunter's Nen, with maybe at most a handful of Upper Class Nen like Aqua."

Shuai: "What makes you so certain? Besides from the mission difficulty?"

Jin: "The mission contents. Greed Island is a game that Gin Freecss and his friends made with fun in mind. A game that, as long as you play the game properly, you don't need to kill others and become stronger in Nen. That's the game they envisioned, yet the mission is basically - no is telling us that we can and should steal cards from other players. I'm assuming that there might have been a rule change to Greed Island."

This was frightening to all of us. Our side had a variety of skills and weapons on our side, yet our opponents on the island were master martial artists with high end abilities, and may be in large numbers unlike the original Manga.

Shin: "Our worries just keep on piling on, yet we have no more time to think any more. Look. The Newbies are finally waking up."


	114. Chapter 114

I watched as the ten newbies of the Hunter X Hunter mission began to stir into conscious. They all looked groggy and defenseless. Helpless even. I could consider the idea that another team of Players may not want to engage my comrades since it could lead to mutual destruction, but not these ten Newbies here. Definitely not them.

As long as the other team is even slightly stronger than us, they will want to kill us for the points and rewards and right here are 10,000 points and 10 C rank rewards. Also, their deaths would give them an additional 20,000 Points, and burden us Team Japan with a Negative 10 Team Score which is equal to a -20,000 point penalty on myself and everyone else in Team Japan.

Once they kill one of our team members, even a newbie not accepted into the team yet, we can only kill one of them back. If not... all of us will probably be erased by the end of the mission by God. Who has 2000 points to spare for the negative score? So we can only fight back... once someone opens fire and claims a life, then only one team can leave alive!

Shin: "Whatever. Let's just get it over with."

The ten newbies got up from the ground as Shin said this.

Seven males. Most between the ages of 20-40 with the exception of a teenager who looks to be about thirteen, yet could be fifteen or sixteen. Shin couldn't tell as the teenager had a young face, yet dressed like a first year high school student.

Three females.

A beautiful woman probably right out of college who men probably threw themselves at her feet for a chance to date (if Aqua didn't have the better BWH, Wolverine mutation, and Werewolf Bloodline I might have fallen for her). A women just over thirty who looked like a professional women with a high income (still good looking, yet my Hikari would look much better at this women's age). Then lastly... was a stunning beauty that took his heart away just from looking at her.

The last women Shin gazed upon seemed to be about the same age as himself. Seventeen to eighteen years of age. A young slender girl with unblemished skin, not unhealthy white, but full of life and energy. Long silk black hair that reaches down to her waist and deep purple eyes that can see through one's soul. In a word... this female Newbie was a true Yamato nadeshiko of Japanese society that regular men are not allowed to touch without facing divine punishment.

Shin: "..."

Hikari: "Shin..."

Shin: "Yes!? (What is this killing intent!?)"

Hikari: "WHAT IS WRONG?"

Shin: "Ah... Hikari! Please speak to the newbies and gain the points. That's all I was thinking about. Really?"

Shin wouldn't admit to Hikari that he lost himself in the beauty of another girl that he had met for the first time. Of course it wasn't like he liked the girl or anything. Putting aside emotions and stuff like that he was still drawn to his own women.

Hikari was so incredibly cute even without her tsundere point that Shin just wanted to hug her for all eternity. Aqua was so incredibly sexy even without her enhancements that Shin wanted to dive into her 34D body and just kiss her for all eternity. The female newbie in front of Shin may win a beauty contest between them, but that was it. Shin's heart wasn't moved by just beauty anymore after entering into an emotional and physical relationship with first rate beauties like Hikari and Aqua.

Shin: (Well, before I would have just lost my mind here and now when I saw her since she's like a combination of Miyuki of 'Mahouka' and Sera Kang from 'Breakers: New Wave', but I've grown up in my own way so I won't be tempted by her. Knowing women and having gone through countless life and death battles I've steeled and tempered both my heart and soul. Unless she was an Anime character I wouldn't pursue her if she is only a pretty flower which has outwardly good looks.)

Having strengthened my mind and heart from the peerless beauty before me I was about to once more call for Hikari to begin the Orientation for the Newbies, yet I was interrupt by a loud shriek.

A woman immediately screamed as she patted her body then ran to the corner of the room. She had just fully come to and realized that she was not where she was supposed to be. Maybe she thought she was kidnapped and about to be violated by men and had a look of terror on her face. Well, I couldn't blame her. I wasn't a female, yet that would be a great fear of mine if I were.

As for the other Newbies they were making a loud disturbances... except two individuals. The young teenager and to my surprise the peerless beauty. Putting aside the youth, I naturally assumed that the girl was a sheltered little girl protected by parents and family, yet she was looking around the room with eyes sharp as a blade, not wanting to miss any detail. Both the youth and peerless beauty I had high hopes for and had already considered making them temporary members of Team Japan. As for the others... let's hope they can just live long enough to impress the team, or die without pulling us down.

Shin: "Nice. At least two of the Newbies don't look bad. Hikari! Explain the situation to them."

Hikari: "Okay, but later we're having a talk about wandering eyes, Shin."

Shin: "Fine fine. I get it. Look, but don't touch right? Don't worry I'm a somewhat honorable man."

Hikari: "...You are not even somewhat... forget it!"

Then Hikari with a bitter smile began the Orientation. She started to explain God's Dimension, Mission Worlds, and its rules, including death, enhancements, that we'll be going into the world of Manga, Anime, Light Novels, Video Games, and Visual Novels. It was going okay and the Newbies had yet to flip out completely till Aqua decided to but in into the conversation.

Aqua: "Just like what she told you, we are currently in a Manga/Anime. You're all actually lucky. Here, you can get injured and die, but it's more of a normal death from being beating to death by a martial arts Nen User. Back when this was all horror movies you might even die in an unimaginable way. You should know if you ever watched horror movies. Like getting infected by a virus, impaled by an Alien's tongue, sucked dry by a vampire, or even eaten by numerous scarabs! That stuff happened all the time."

Hikari: "Aqua! Don't interrupt me and stop it with that. Just look at them now."

Aqua went on and all about her bad examples of ways to die, scaring the Newbies half to death until Hikari put a stop to her. Hikari then went back to finished up her explanation of God's Dimension. After Hikari received the reward notification she nodded at me (a face full of contempt for me) as confirmation that she received the reward. Also, the moment orientation was complete the door to the room unlocked and slid open.

The ten newbies seemed a bit bewildered at it all.

Especially since they were in a sci-fi looking room. I couldn't tell if this made them believe, or laugh at such an absurd plot like God choosing people at random to test the potential of mankind and evolution. I could understand their worries, yet as soon as they step out of this room, talk to Eeta, and walk outside they will have no choice but to accept their fate.

Still, I wanted to make them feel better about what was going on. I won't put myself in their shoes, I won't become a savior, yet one of the reasons for the betrayal in Apocalypse Alice may have been my attitude towards those I didn't acknowledge. I won't be overly friendly and I'll tell them what I want for them, but I won't back them into a corner.

Shin: "Now with that out of the way it's time to discuss what we will all do out there. This may be the world of a Manga, but it's a dangerous word filled with both people and actual monsters who won't hesitate to kill any of us. That's why we discuss position. Please tell me your occupations and abilities. I will determine if you have the qualifications to join my team by your abilities and character. If you have the ability and join my team you will have the highest priority in protection and gear, but as a trial member your lives will be below my established comrades until you survive this mission, or prove yourself during the mission. I won't ask you to die for me, yet I won't die for you if there's a high chance myself, or my comrades will die. Those without the ability to join my team, yet still want to can become trial members as well can, but they must follow every order without disobeying even once, even if it means fighting a death match. If such a person refuses an order from the team, or puts us in danger in any way I won't hesitate to leave that person somewhere half dead for the monster to feed on you... still, for those you without ability, yet want to be accepted, I suggest becoming a trial member."

Shin looked over at each and every newbie in the eye as he spoke. There was no bloodlust, yet everyone in the room instinctively knew that Shin wouldn't budge on his decision or allow anyone to talk back in anger or fear. Shin and his group held an aura of power about them and that they were in charge was made clear as day.

Shin: "Lastly, for those who can't and choose not to become trial members you'll be under restriction during this mission. If you can't become a member, then I will give you a weapon, but that's only for self-defense. I won't allow you to explore Greed Island on your own. I wouldn't normally go so far as to restrict your movements, but this mission we will be fighting another team. If they kill any of you that will seriously harm, no devastate the team as a whole. Once we find housing and a method to gain money on the island, you'll be fully provided for. Housing, clothes, and food, but your actions will be heavily restricted. You can just live in peace till the mission is over with, but that's it. Anyone here who breaks my rules, threatens, or bullies another person, that individual will be punished and if there's no hope for you to redeem yourself you'll be left for dead somewhere."

Shin looked at the conflicted eyes of the Newbies and knew he had succeeded. From what he learned from Saki there were two ways to get people to do what you want. Side with the majority and steer their train of thought to what you want, or give out options that don't disadvantage you. Shin remembered this and sought help from someone devious like Jin. Back in the Terminal Lobby they came together and perfected his introduction to future Newbies.

The three options strategy Shin thought up didn't push the Newbies into despair and gave them the slight illusion of freedom of choice. There was not even one option that would disadvantage Shin within the three fake choices. They fully knew where they would stand with each option and knew that each choice had enough good to offset the bad. From Shin's point of view he could only see that there was no chance of anyone rebelling against the team with such agreeable and comfy terms.

Also, it was clear to them that they couldn't oppose Shin and his team. Lastly, if what Hikari said was true and they were in the world of a dangerous Manga then why not let others protect them and wait for a chance to grow stronger with points later. Whether it was for one day being able to protect themselves, or to rebel again Shin and the others, it was just the smart thing to let themselves be protected this mission.

This is what Shin was going for and he succeeded beyond his expectations.

Shin: "Lastly, let me make one thing clear to you all. This offer of protection goes away for the next mission if none of you decide to become trial members or official members after this mission is over and you have a chance to power up. This is a world where the strong live and the weak die. Not a world where the strong protect the weak at the cost of their lives. There's no foolish ideas of equality to be found here. Those who work hard may be rewarded and those who don't can only live under a strong power no matter their rules. Now, please tell me your occupation, a bit about yourself, whether or not you're interested in becoming trial members. Afterwards I'll decide each person's roles and we can finally begin. It's time we begin the game of Greed Island!"


	115. Chapter 115

The doors were open and Team Japan could proceed and start the mission of Greed Island, yet first they had to look over the potentials of the ten Newbies. Shin listened in as he allowed each one to introduce themselves, state their occupation, and list their skill sets, yet overall he was bored.

Shin: (With the exception of the guy who used to work at JUMP as an editor and met Masashi Kishimoto, Tite Kubo, Eiichiro Oda, and Wellsford, everyone is boring. They have no useful skills and all of them agreed to not become trial members and wanted to be kept somewhere safe for the duration of the mission.)

Shin had little hope for this batch of Newbies and felt dispirited after such a grand speech on his part. Just as Shin was feeling stupid for using his first grand speech to a worthless batch of New Players he was taken back by the introductions of two newbies. The first was the young teen and the second was the peerless beauty.

Hikari: "So your name is Renji, right?"

Renji: "Yes! Fifteen years old and Middle School third year. I have no job. My abilities... I have none to speak of. My personality is nice, if I do day so myself, and I've never complained when I had to take care of my grandmother while my parents are away. She lives with us, by the way, and she's nice. She injured her back a few years ago and needs help every now and again."

Hikark: "...That's nice (She say while really thinking "Why is he talking about his grandmother" here and now?). So you have no worth abilities and have only average fitness, so you can't be accepted outright as a trial member of the team. You should just-"

Renji: "No, I want to volunteer to become a trial member."

Hikari: "Why? It's not impossible, but you don't have the ability. If you come with into battle you could very well die. You will, at times, be asked to enter into a battle against Nen Users. It's your choice, but why?"

Renji: "Because I want to be accepted. In the real world I have no outstanding talents and was bullied in school a lot. That's why I want to power to fight back and become a strong man! To teach them a lesson and change myself for the better."

Shin: "..."

Renji: "Also, I don't want to be protected. I'm no coward and want to protect myself. I wouldn't feel comfortable knowing danger is right outside. I'd rather face danger head on!"

Shin: "Good. If you have the will power to face the dangers of the mission, we'll welcome you aboard Team Japan as a trial member. You'll have to follow reasonable orders from us, but you'll be well armed and have comrades to watch your back."

Renji: "Thank you! I won't let you down leader."

Shin: "Just Shin is fine. Only Kampa calls me leader while being serious. The others do so sarcastically."

Renji: "Okay, but leader sounds better and more official. I'll wait till I become a full member to call you directly by name.'

Shin: "If that's what you want."

It felt strange to be called leader when it wasn't sarcastic, yet I still had a favorable impression of Renji. Renji was a man like myself when I first appeared in God's Dimension. An average man wanting to do his best to survive (I wasn't this upbeat though). Where Renji volunteered to face his new environment head on, other hid behind those in power in safety. I needed to see if Renji could remain calm enough in danger to see if he can keep up with us in battle, but my first impression of him was that he was a kind and courageous young men.

Hikari: "You're the last one..."

Kisara: "My name is Kisara. Second year High school student. An elite school that is heavily sports and competition oriented. I'm also the vice-captain of my school's female Kendo team. I'm a scholarship student with an athletic recommendation. I was also being scouted by Japan's Olympic team."

Misaki: "I thought she looked familiar."

Shuai: "That's right! I've seen you on TV. You're the famed Miko of the Sword, right?"

Kisara: "Could you please stop that? That's an embarrassing nickname I'd rather be without. I've never even been in a shrine outfit. I'm only a little good at kendo as well. I'm not even the best, but-"

Aqua: "But because you look the way that you do, you're put in the spotlight, right? Still... you must be somewhat skilled to be considered to be a part of the Olympic team. I know since I was once an Olympic prospect in swimming."

Kisara: "No, I'm not that skilled in kendo, or better way to say it is that it doesn't suit me."

Hikari: "..."

Shin: "Hikari? You're in charge of greeting them, so get to it."

Hikari: "Ah, sorry. So Kisara... I actually have to say this upfront, but you're really beautiful (she says this while smiling, yet is worried that she may be a threat to her. Girls are scary)."

Kisara: "Thank you. I hear that a lot, but looks alone won't let me survive here, right? This is all so... unreal, but I don't believe this is all some elaborate trick either. You all have auras of those who have faced death directly and survived. Ah, I know this because my father was in the army in his youth, joined the police force, and was one of the few Japanese to fight terrorists from overseas."

Hikari: "Ter-terrorist?"

Kisara: "Yes. Haven't you ever heard that Japan is filled with foreign spies and criminals in hiding? There's some truth to it and my father... who's now deceased, dealt with those sorts people with his colleagues and friends as heroes of justice. They never left the country, but they were once responsible for bringing down overseas criminal activity down by 87%. You all have the same warrior's aura as they did."

Hikari: "I... I see. Quite the interesting back story (said the former middle school internationally wanted hacker). I don't suppose that that story was-"

Aqua: "Hikari stop being jealous of her and get on with it. We don't have all day."

Hikari: "I'm not... fine. So Kisara what are your talents? Women without combat training like our Aqua here are generally weaker than men and can't fight. I support the team from the back and I'm an excellent marksmen with a handgun. I don't know how useful a plain wooden sword would be in this world and you don't seem to even have kendo sword on you."

Kisara: "I know and wish that I did. If this Greed Island is as dangerous as you said it will be, then I wish that I hadn't left it in school. Do any of you happen to have a real sword that I could borrow? I don't need a gun."

Shin: "Why do you need a real sword? Kendo isn't suited for real combat, right? It will take time to adapt to live combat swordsmanship, so you're better off with a gun for the moment."

Kisara: "You're correct about your assumption about Kendo, but I'm not originally a practitioner of Kendo. That's just a school club activity that I do to socialize with my friends. From my father I learned real ancient swordsmanship. I'm the successor of the XXXXXXXX Sword Style."

Hikari: "That's... that's... you're just too amazing! I give up! Just... just don't keep him to yourself!"

Kisara: "Um..."

Kisara had a look of confusion as she was forced to watch Hikari, a girl that she barely knew, begin to cry on the floor of the small room. Aqua who knew what was going on looked over towards the man ultimately responsible for it all, Shin, and seeing him confused as well she could only sigh to herself. Both at the situation itself and her own choice of men that made her want to join Hikari on the floor.

Aqua: "Sorry. Don't worry about her too much. She has very low self-esteem. It was always low, but a certain someone made it worse. Shin, say something?"

Shin: "...Kisara... can... can you say what your sword style is again?"

Kisara: "Ah, yes. I'm the successor of the XXXXXXXX Sword Style."

Shin: "...One more time please. I... think that like what my Uncle and Aunt have always told me has come true. I've read and watched too much Manga and Anime that I can no longer distinguish between reality and fiction. This place is also not helping me with that, so… please just say it one more time."

Kisara: "...Okay. I practice Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu (Flying Heaven Govern Sword-Style). It's an ancient kenjutsu style from the Sengoku Jidai. Developed to allow a single samurai to defeat numerous foes single-handedly and was created by Hiko Seijuro I. Have you heard of it? A former student now Manga Artist used it as the basis for his Manga. I forgot his name and the name of the Manga, but I believe they are both popular. I remember reading a little bit of it when I was...are you alright?"

Aqua: "Shin? Shin! Snap out of it!"

Shin had temporary lost his mind at that moment.

The beautiful, youthful, high school girl Kisara turned out to be a swordsman. Not a kendo girl, but real live swordsman... swordswoman? Whatever the correct term for a female sword practitioner was, it still placed her on the same level as Saeko of H.O.T.D, Saya from Blood Plus, Saber of Fate Stay, and Asuna of SAO... and that wasn't even the best part.

Shin: (Kisara claimed herself to be a practitioner... successor of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu!)

Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.

Also known as the "Black Ship of the Land", was hailed as the strongest sword style of Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story Manga, also just called Rurouni Kenshin or Samurai X.

Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu is the sword style of the main character Himura Kenshin, the former man slayer with a cross shaped scar on his face who vowed to kill no more and use his sword for peace in a new era. It's an amazing series and the main character's sword style is just as amazing.

Practitioners of this style use a combination of immense speed, agility, battojutsu, and acquired observation based pseudo-clairvoyance that permits a practitioner to anticipate an opponent's movements. Both offensive and defensive maneuvers are executed with minimal movement in order to increase a practitioner's ability to counter-attack and to conserve energy. The Hiten Mitsurugi is designed to be able to take down several opponents at once. It's so powerful that even though Kenshin's training was incomplete, he was one of, if not the greatest, contributor to the Ishin Shishi being victorious in the revolution.

The style commonly has the user keep one hand on the sheath at all times and also stresses two-step attacks in order to ensure that the practitioner is never off guard while executing said attacks. Arguably its most well-known trait is the surreal speed practitioners of this style can use in battle (known as Shinsoku, or godspeed), allowing the user to accelerate, maneuver, and strike at speeds most eyes are unable to properly follow. This allows the user to close considerable distance in seconds and strike down enemies before they can react.

Shin: "It's real... It's real! Hear that Chika! Manga and Anime do have real world foundations! Hahahaha!"

Hikari: "Sh-Shin?"

Aqua: "Fuck! Our terminal otaku leader has finally lost it."

Jin: "Don't be like that. I've also know about that sword style from the Manga and I can't believe it's real."

Shin: "Kisara!"

Kisara: "Yes!"

Shin: "Can you... Can you really use Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu? Are you really a sexy, sexy female swordsman who uses Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu?"

Kisara: "I.. ah... Sexy?"

Shin had lost the few inhibitions that he had, grabbed Kisara by her shoulders, looked her straight in the eye and asked her question after question with no regard that for intimacy. It was clear for all to see that Kisara had little interaction with men, with that being the first time a man other than her own Father had touched her person. Kisara's beauty that drew everyone's eyes towards her has had the reverse effect of frightening others away from her. Especially men and it didn't help that she had a big and scary Father that practiced real swordsmanship and owned his own very real and very sharp Katana.

Shin met a girl with Manga like qualities that was a peerless beauty. A stunningly beautiful young woman with looks that take one's breath away who uses his favorite fictional sword style was right before him. Then there's Kisara. Kisara, a pure young woman couldn't help but think about the boy who would dared approach her not for her beauty, but swordsmanship, a trait that normally pushes the opposite sex away. It was the beginning of a grand romance... and the male lead's first and second girlfriends were witnesses.

Hikari: "Shin! Personal space. Look, but do not touch is what you said."

Aqua: "Shin... cool it already and let go of the girl."

Shin: "Ah, sorry Kisara. The idea of a real life practitioner of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu... I lost myself for a second (and your body didn't help)."

Kisara: "It... it's fine.

Kisara said so, but she had a hard time looking Shin in the eye after his sudden embrace. She had never meet a man who held so much desire for her before and... she didn't hate it. Kisara saw that it was more then just physical attraction and that made Shin stand out more than the other boys their age. Also, Kisara couldn't help but notice that Shin was very good looking.

More so then the person himself was aware of, Shin was incredibly good looking after all of his enhancements from Ki Energy whole enhancement and One-eyed Ghoul Mutation. Shin also had a body more fit then professional athletes which was a major plus for an athletic girl like Kisara. Just like Shin, Kisara found someone who was close to her ideal man just now. This realization was too much for a pure girl like Kisara who sacrificed most of her life to the sword and never bothered to open up a girl subscription magazine, so to calm herself down she could only fall back on what she knew best... the sword.

Kisara: "Also, to answer your question from before yes I can use Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu... just the real life version of it. That student I said went on to write the manga made up some things about the sword style. Especially the techniques. The principles of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu are real. A combination of immense speed and agility, battojutsu, and acquired, observation-based pseudo-clairvoyance that permits a practitioner to anticipate an opponent's movements. Also, both offensive and defensive maneuvers are executed with minimal movement in order to increase a practitioner's ability to counter-attack and to conserve energy. Those are real, yet not at the fictional realm like in the Manga depicts. True Shinsoku(Godspeed) is impossible with the human body."

Shin: "Ah, don't worry about the laws of fiction. We're above them now. Remember the exchanges Hikari mentioned? Well, they're as real as you and me, and with them you can increase your Muscle Density and Reaction Speed as stats. Real stats like from games! Having a body that breaks the sound barrier and eyes that can see in slow motion a sniper's bullet from a distance is all too possible for us! Also, I know for a fact that the truly absurd techniques from the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu from the Manga and Anime are real. As long as you have the points to increase your stats and exchange for the skills, you can become as strong as – no stronger than even Kenshin!"

Hearing me say all of this, Kisara's eyes lit up like the sun. If her eyes weren't a dark shade of purple I would have been blinded. As someone of the modern age using real ancient swordsmanship, the idea of learning and actually applying in reality the superhuman skills from books and TV was very appealing for her. It seemed that this peerless beauty here wasn't a helpless flower like I originally thought she was, but was actually a fierce warrior deep down. That was for the best. Team Japan had plenty of close range fighters, but we indeed lacked a true swordsman.

Shin: "I have to ask you something now. Kisara... can you kill another person? If you have the resolve to survive this harsh world I'll offer the means and opportunity for you to showcase your abilities. I don't know how strong a real world Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu practitioner is, but even just 1/10 the potential shown in the Manga... I want you here beside me (forgot to say on the team as well, but it should be okay)."

Kisara: "I... I have never killed someone before. I just studied it because it's my family's technique was forced upon me... but-"

At that moment a chill shoot through my spine as I looked at Kisara with downcast eyes. It wasn't an overwhelming killing intent like Aqua's, cold like Connor's, but an almost unnoticeable yet sharp and lethal bloodlust that was the complete opposite of her appearance.

Kisara: "I've never killed. I never wanted to kill another human being... but there is someone out there that I desperately want to cut down. That's why... if I can only survive this new world by killing others I'll do it. Please let me onto your team."

Shin: "...Okay. welcome aboard Kisara, but first..."

Shin took a step back from Kisara and opened up the subspace of one of his two Na Rings and took out an item that he exchanged for in excitement back in H.O.T.D that he rarely used and then forgot. It was a Katana. A true Japanese sword. Shin had exchanged for it on a whim to practice sword techniques from fiction, but ultimately lost interest in it. Especially after acquiring the magic sword Gravity Blade.

Shin now handed the sword and its scabbard to Kisara. It was a wonderful piece of work that would be placed in a museum or sold for a small fortune, but in the end it was a normal sword without Sci-fi or magic enhancements. Kisara, still stunned over the subspace item of Shin's, now held and unsheathed the sword from its scabbard and was amazed at the quality of the sword.

Her own family had a rare Katana of similar value in storage and was well taken care of, yet Kisara saw that the one handed to her by Shin was brand new without a single flaw. Such a weapon was impossible to recreate with the level of modern blacksmiths who lived in an age where guns and missiles dominated over the sword and other ancient weapons of war. Technology improved over the years, but the there was no longer an era of war where blacksmiths made hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of swords for armies, and strived for greater heights with the sword by putting their heart, soul, and ambitions into the forging.

Still, it had no value to Shin and only cost him 100 point as it wasn't a sci-fi or magic weapon. To Kisara, however, it had immense value. Shin wouldn't know it, but if such a fine work was presented to her Father six months ago as a gift when he was still alive he would not have hesitated to hand over his own daughter to him for marriage. Families like her which valued ancient weapons over diamonds and gold may have even fought to the death over the Katana in her hands now.

Shin: "Kisara. From this moment on you're trial member of Team Japan. You and Renji will be given gear, but in substitute of a gun I'll give you this Katana instead. It's practically brand new and has yet to taste the flesh of enemy blood (I've accidentally cut myself practicing sword draws). Use this sword and survive this mission together with us and you'll become an official member. Don't do the impossible, but accomplish all that you can do without dying."

Kisara didn't say anything, but she nodded silently. I didn't know what drove this woman to consider picking up a sword, a killing weapon for the purpose of taking another's life in a much more brutal fashion than guns... but I knew two things. Today is the day Team Japan gained an invaluable power. Secondly, the sword of the successor of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Kisara will not disappoint.


	116. Chapter 116

It was time to go.

We had all spent enough time in this cramped room and we needed to start the mission, yet I needed to talk to my comrades first. I told the Newbies to go on ahead without us. This included trial members Renji and Kisara, and I had Connor escort them out the room. The Newbies were curious as to why, but none of them had the standing in Team Japan to question us. This was just a conversation between office Players of Team Japan. Connor was an official member, yet since he doesn't talk much and could be told later it was okay if he was not here.

Shin: "Do any of you here have any issues with the way I'm treating the New Players? You're my important comrades, so what you all say matters."

Hikari: "I think that you've handed them wonderfully... even if you looked at that Kisara woman too much. They also don't seem to be that impressive, or members of the Four Pillars. We can trust them for the moment as they weren't pushed into despair like last time."

Aqua: "I also have no problems with how you handed them Shin... but I wish we didn't have to deal with them. Actually, the best method is to cut off their limbs and leave them here. We don't have the energy to take care of powerless newbies when we encounter the other team... this is the most rational method."

Hikari: "That's far too much, Aqua."

Kampa: "No. Aqua may be right. This is the rule of the battlefield. They are still not our comrades. It's not worth it if the six of us die trying to save them... and we also can't give them to the other team. Otherwise we will be at -10 Team Battle Points or Negative twenty-thousand Points if they all get killed. Then we will have to kill ten of Team Germany's people to even it out."

Misaki: "I somewhat agree with Kampa, but..."

Shuai: "I know what you mean. They're a liability, yet I have – no we have all been on the side of the powerless when we first arrive here."

I saw the conflicted thoughts of my comrades and we considered taking a vote. It was harsh, but if it looked like we couldn't avoid a battle with Team Germany... with the exception of Renji and Kisara, should we kill off the newbies at that time, or let them live and take their chances? I didn't even want to actually go through with this kind of vote, and it was then that Jin gave his impute.

Jin: "There's another option. We can have the Newbies act as bait. They can't protect themselves and, not counting Kisara and Renji, they are worth 16,000 points and eight C rank rewards to Team Germany, and a Team Battle Point each for the team, so they are ideal bait to draw out Team Germany into an ambush. We keep them in reserve as bait. This is a logical strategy in case we decide to face Team Germany and crush them in one move."

Hikari: "Jin your plan more diabolical than Aqua's plan to just leave them as stumpy torsos on the ground. Also, we're going with the assumption that we won't be fighting them. Defeat Bomber and find a place to hole ourselves up for the last thirty days of Greed Island."

Jin: "It can't be helped that we consider the possibility, right? What if we can't find a stronghold to hide in? If the other team has more people us, better equipment, and are more powerful than our strongest members Shin and Aqua, then why wouldn't they want to attack us? Even if they don't attack you in the beginning and we come to an agreement, how can you be sure they don't do it in the rest of the mission? Instead of risking our lives when they finally attack, why don't we use them as bait instead?"

Jin made a good point, yet for the time being we pushed this issue to the side for now. We still went down the path of avoiding Team Germany, but if it is impossible for us to avoid them... Jin's plan will allow the core members of Team Japan a higher chance of survival.

Shin: "Like what was etched on that gold tablet: Cruelty, justice, or evil might not exist in this dimension... only one team can survive till the end. If you don't want to die then surpass your limits and evolve!"

To catch up with the others we finally left the room all players begin in at the Greed Island Starting Point and walked through the hallway. Like the small room from before, the hall carried that sci-fi'ish look as well and there were beeping sounds on top of that. Anyone who didn't know better would unconsciously accept the idea they were in a game.

Renji: "Leader! Everyone! What took you so long?"

The door on the other side of the hallway had already been open and the rest were waiting there. Connor, Renji and Kisara, and the others were gathered around an unmoving individual sitting on a floating chair. This person's name was Eeta. Eeta stood motionless as the newbies kept bombarding her with questions that weren't being answered. There were stairs leading down in the room where the players exit into the fresh air of Greed Island, yet a force field kept anyone from going down the steps.

Shin: "What's going on?"

Connor: "The lady won't talk unless we're all here. She spoke a few sentences about all of us being present before she can begin the introduction and then she stopped talking."

Renji: "Yeah. Now that we're all together we can finally begin."

Renji was right on the money. At that moment Eeta, who had stayed as still as a statue, moved into motion. One by one she looked at both the Players and Newbies and gently smiled.

Eeta: "Good. All eighteen special players have been confirmed. Welcome. I've been waiting for you."

Aqua: "For us?"

Eeta: "Yes. An individual named G.O.D has made contact with us Game Masters of Greed Island. As per his request, the eighteen of you will be the one of two special teams of new players to participate in Greed Island. And as such there is a special rule I must convey before we start."

Shuai: "One of two teams? That's-"

Shin: "Not now Shuai. Let her finish before we get into that."

Eeta: "The first rule for you special teams is this. The G.I Rings. Here."

Eeta extended her right hand and three golden rings materialize into existence out of thin air. From there a tiny amount of Aura shrouded the three ring and they floated towards us. By coincidence the rings hovered over to me and dropped into my palm.

Eeta: "As a special team you will be treated as both individuals and as a group. You will be given only three G.I Rings, yet each of you will be able to collect cards. When a non-ring holder of your team acquires a Designated Pocket Card, or a Spell Card that isn't given to a ring holder, then they will be transferred into the Books of any of the holders of a G.I Ring. If you don't specifically say who the card will go to within one minute, then they will be randomly assigned."

Jin: "Can non-ring holders use cards?"

Eeta: "Yes you can, but without a G.I Ring all cards in your possessions will automatically be transferred to a ring holder within sixty seconds no matter what, so please keep this in mind. Also, if there's no room in any of the Binders of the three ring holders, the cards you pick up will be automatically destroyed on contact."

Jin: "Interesting. What about stealing cards? We haven't heard the rules from you yet, but we know G.I Ring holders can kill others and steal cards. Does this also apply to non-ring holders?"

Eeta: "This new rule applies to all humans on Greed Island. It's a new game rule established a while ago when the popularity of Greed Island declined. Anyone with a G.I Ring can steal cards from another by killing them. All Designated Pocket Cards will be directly entered into a players Binder along with half their Spell Cards. From there the death of someone in the field like from natural causes or killed by monsters, all Designated Pocket Cards all drop from the site of death and after sixty seconds they will destroy themselves if no one picks them up. Now, to answer your question, only the Pocket Cards will drop if you kill another since you're not the holder of a ring. Consider a non-ring holder to be an outside force with only some of the benefits of being a player."

Jin: "So it's more effective for a ring holder to kill for cards. In a large and chaotic battle if the holder of a G.I Ring kills a player, then the cards will go directly into the Binder. Should anyone else do so, then the cards will drop for anyone to pick up. What an interesting and deep game this is! Thank you for answering us."

Eeta: "...No problem. It's my job."

Misaki: "So even the residents of this world can tell how strange you are."

Jin: "Hahaha! Even NPCs can see me for the trash that I am. Wait! I can even say NPC on Greed Island and not have it count as a Spoiler. Lucky!"

Shin: "Then just stop pushing your luck Jin."

Eeta: "That's all for the special rules. Would you all like to hear the explanation of the game Greed Island? There will also be a demonstration."

Shin: "Ah, sure. Why-"

Hikari: "No thanks. We're good. Shin you already explained everything two us. Twice in fact and in great detail. I don't want to hear it a third time."

Shin: "Come on. What's the-"

Eeta: "Acknowledged. Greed Island tutorial is complete. You have all been presented with the bare minimum amount of information. More details are at your disposal can be found within the game. Try and find it. After selecting the three holders of you G.I Ring you may proceed to the island."

And with that Eeta returned to pretending to being another NPC of Greed Island no longer responding to any of us.

Shin: "So... Who wants a ring?"

Kampa: "You decide leader."

Jin: "They should just go with those with the ability to protect their lives. Also, those who will kill the most. As long as you have a G.I Ring you can kill another player and take their cards without picking them up."

Shin: "Okay then. As the leader I've made my choices."

Along with keeping one G.I Ring for himself, Shin called over the two Players he had decided to hand over the remaining two rings to. In the end he gave the remaining G.I Rings to Aqua and Connor and his reasons were simple.

Shin: "I'm the leader who's normally in charge of Quest Items, so it makes sense for me to hold on to one. Aqua is the most veteran and strongest Player. As a main combatant she can take the Cards of others when needed. I gave the last ring to Connor because he is an able fighter and can attack from a distance. He can pick off enemies from afar and protect his ring as it'll be hard for others to kill him. Is there anyone here that disagrees?"

I asked my comrades this and they all agreed with my decision for who would hold onto the G.I Rings. Once finalized, Aqua, Connor, and I (now wearing a third ring) placed the rings on our fingers. The three rings glowed softly for a moment and the next it stopped as Eeta reawakened one last time,

Eeta: "G.I Rings fitted. Beginning registry. Players Shin, Aqua, and Connor have been registered as the holders of the three G.I Rings. Please do not lose them. You may now use the stairs. Lastly, good luck on your quest and have fun playing our game, Greed Island!"


	117. Chapter 117

Having finished the Greed Island tutorial all eight core members of Team Japan, the two trial members, and remaining eight Newbies descended from the Starting Point and Game Master Eeta. The veterans of Team Japan and the trial members walked down the spiraling staircase somewhat confidently, but the same could not be said of the others.

The Newbies were nervous at the thought of walking into the open. The Starting Point was confirmed to be safe so far, yet the outside was not. By human nature, people understand that the inside of buildings are safe and can be protected, yet the outside world was filled with countless unknown elements. It is the reasons that NEETs and the like rarely come out of their rooms, much less their houses.

Also, this was the world of a fictional Manga filled with potential dangerous like Nen Users. The Nen Users are more likely than not martial artist with special combat abilities. The Newbies were, by all accounts, normal men and women without enhancements, so even a weak and frail Nen User could kill them. They had every right to be afraid, yet once they final reached the open fresh air...

Renji: "Amazing! The air is so clean and the skies clear! You can't see this kind of thing in Tokyo!"

Kisara: "You're right! A prairie as far as the eye can see. Not a building in sight expect the one behind us. You can even see the mountains far off in the distance!"

Renji, Kisara, and the other Newbies marveled at the view in front of them. Even the veteran Players felt the same at the environment around us. If one never left an industrialized nation like Japan it would be impossible to see such a sight. For the first time in their lives understood why some people felt the need to visit places like Africa, the Middle East, and China.

Even when some countries are known to be dangerous, places where one can be killed or kidnapped, the beauty of the scenery outweighed the risks and would be remembered throughout their whole lives. It was all too easy for us to get lost in the beauty of Greed Island like they were now... if not for the dangers lurking over the horizon.

Aqua: "Shin... can you feel it?"

Shin: "Of course. The experience of the Undead Assassins of Apocalypse Alice has really made me sensitive to this kind of thing. Somewhere out there... someone's watching me... everyone here."

Connor: "We can't see them from here... but they can see us and there's several of them from different directions. Maybe a Spell Card you told us about."

Shin, Aqua, Misaki, and Connor could feel killing intent from a distance due to unlocking their constraints. Kampa as well could feel they were all being watched due to his mercenary experience. Shin recalled the same thing happened in the Manga. The players of Greed Island would target the new entries into the game as soon as they leave the Starting Point.

It wasn't to kill, but to keep future tabs on them. Information on other players is important in the game of Greed Island. They would use Spell Cards like "Adhesion" and "Trace" to keep track of them or know all the cards in their binders were. Then once a new player acquires a rare acquires card they would swoop in at their own convenience and snatch away any cards.

Just looking at the Manga, Shin didn't think they were in any real danger, yet he couldn't shake off the possibility. There was an intense bloodlust in the air flowing from multiple directions. A more focused killing intent than the monsters from Apocalypse Alice, similarly to the Btooom Soldiers and Commanders, yet more sinister. For those just wanting to 'Greet' the new players of Greed Island it was too fierce. Once Shin conveyed this to everyone they snapped out of their daze and became aware of the seriousness. That they were now prey to all the hunters of the island.

Shuai: "What do you suggest we do Shin? I've read Hunter X Hunter as well, so I know that they won't be too strong, but God could have changed the plot on us. It is an eighteen man mission after all. The people here are encourage to steal Cards by force now as well."

Jin: "I say we just pick a direction and see what happens. We can't really avoid them if they use Spell Cards to fly toward us. This is also to test the waters of Greed Island. We need to understand how strong the Nen Users are. Whether it's to complete the Main Quest or take out the Bomber, this is important information that we desperately need."

Shin: "Alright then. Then let's proceed forward. Follow me. I've memorized the map of Greed Island from the wiki, so I know how to reach the first city Gon and Killua entered. Prize City Antokiba!"

Five minutes later.

The eighteen man group walked through the Prairie undisturbed so far.

Aqua, with her heightened five senses, took the lead and Shin gave direction right behind her as they made their way to Prize City Antokiba. Connor was placed at the rear and the rest of the team were placed on the two sides of the Newbies. Team Japan took these positions in case they were attacked and it didn't prove long for their suspicions to be proven right.

Aqua: "Watch out! I hear something from above!"

Connor: "I see it! Four sources of light are flying towards us and fast!"

Shin: "Everyone on guard! They're here!"

From the sky I witnessed four orbs of light shoot down from the skies above and fall to the ground about twenty meters ahead of Aqua and myself. The lights of the orbs quickly cut out of existence and revealed four human beings in their places.

Four men.

Four men having already taken out their Binders.

I didn't recognize three of the generic looking men in tank top shirts, but the fourth and must imposing of the four I recognized. It was the first Greed Island player that Gon and Killua met on the island, Latarza. In the original story Latarza placed "Trace" on Killua, introducing Spell Cards for the first time, and then quickly escaped before Killua could kill him. Later on Latarza ran into two members of the Phantom Troupe and was killed.

Jin: "Shin. I feel that this guy is strong and I'm no warrior. He was just a small fry in the Manga, right? They are all carrying metal bats and Latarza is armed with a Chinese sword in one hand."

Shin: "As I recall Latarza was one of the more honest players of the island who fought just with cards, but now he looks intimidating."

Shin and Jin quickly came to an agreement that their opponents looked to be fiercer than expected. In his mind Shin compared the human Nen Users to the human Btooom assassins sent by Tyrannos in his second mission. The three unimportant Nen Users appeared to have strength near that of a Btooom Soldier while Latarza felt intimidating like a Btooom Commander. They obviously didn't have the Sci-fi armor or BIMs, yet as Nen Users they had Aura to strengthen their bodies and a special one of a kind technique called Hatsu. Shin also imagined that their fighting style would be different from the midrange Btooom Soldiers and Btooom Commander.

Latarza: "This is... the Prairie near the Starting Point... so is this your first time in the game? Hmm."

A wave of bloodlust hit our side as Latarza looked on at us as prey to take advantage of. The intimidation was harsh, yet the eight veteran Player of Team Japan had faced stronger, but the ten newbies weren't faring well. Both the men and women had been frozen in place and did not even have the courage to run away. Kisara, and to a lesser extent Renji, fared better, but they were both incapable of making the first move to attack if needed. It was to be expected. Only tested warriors could act calmly under pressure while rookie soldiers needed to first accustom themselves to life and death struggles.

Shin: "Who can say? We could be newbies just starting out... or skilled players coming back to the game after using "Leave". What do you think? Want to test us?"

Latarza: "Hehe, so you know about leave, huh? It's possible for you guys to be veterans although more than half of you look incredibly weak, but... then why did you not take out you Binders when we appeared?"

Shin: "..."

As Latarza spoke those words Shin cursed in his mind. He had half-assed it by mentioning a rare card to make him think they were all experienced players, yet not taking out his Binder on reflex backfired on him. It showed Latarza that Shin and the others were complete amateurs. Still, Shin tried to safe his lie.

Shin: "Do I even need to take out my Binder? There aren't any Cards that can harm another person and if you try to use a card like "Trace"... I'll kill you before you activate it! Those who don't recognize Mount Tai can't complain when they get stepped on by their superiors."

Latarza: "..."

Wow, what the hell am I saying! Mount Tai? Step on? What am I the hero of some Wuxia novel? I can even see the stares from my comrades on my back. Well, it looks like my bluff had some effect on Latarza. He may be a bit stronger than originally, yet he still had a cowardly personality.

Latarza: "I... excuse my behavior then. So what clan do you belong to?"

Shin: "Ah (what the hell is a clan?)... So you've been in my presence for so long yet you can't tell? What a shame. It looks like it is time to teach you to not oppose the heavens (Aaaaahhhhhhh! I just don't care anymore. This Chinese boss persona is too much. Let's just fight it out)!"

Latarza and his men look startled at my bold words straight out of Battle Against the Heavens and recalled their books knowing a fight could start at any minute. Hikari behind me, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at my performance, or complain about provoking a fight. She completely didn't get what I was going for, so I told her in a whisper that the enemy couldn't hear.

Hikari: "Shin what are you-"

Shin: "This is for the best. Who knows what kind of Spell Cards they have. It's better to let them think that they can't best us with cards. Also, others are watching so it better for us to appear as strong warriors rather than prey to be-"

\- *BANG*!

As Shin was talking with Hikari, the child soldier of Team Japan had taken out a handgun and hammered a bullet charged with Demonic Power into one of the nameless Nen Users by Latarza side who've been silent so far. The man was already in a state of Ten and could repel 2-5 bullets from a handgun just fine, yet the man couldn't withstand the additional force from Demonic Power. Latarza and his comrades, but more so Shin and the others, were surprised and looked at Connor as smoke floated out from the muzzle of his gun. The fallen corpse of the Nen User lay bleeding out on the ground. In the original plot bodies were supposed to be Rejected off Green Island, yet this body stayed to rot on the island.

Connor: "..."

Shin: "...Connor?"

Connor: "Ah, sorry. I thought that was the go ahead just now."

Hikari: "Please say something before you start shooting!"

Connor: "That's not possible... realistically."

Latarza: "Why you... kill them and take their Cards!"

Connor released another spray of bullets hearing that, but the three remaining enemies moved away in time. The Nen warrior were more then capable of dodging bullets. The two nameless Nen Users ran towards Team Japan with Aura reinforced legs and Latarza used his powerful legs to put some distance between him and Team Japan before attempting to use a Spell Card to escape. Latarza acted like a ruthless thug, yet in the end he was a coward. Once he saw the corpse of his comrade he didn't hesitate to think about leaving the others behind to escape by himself. Latarza was incredibly fast as he used Gyo on his legs to effective gain incredible speed equivalent to a speeding car, yet Shin now holding the Auto 9 was keeping up with Instant Movement.

Jin: "Keep one alive! We need their Intel. Also, don't show your abilities if you can help it!"

Jin yelled this that, but he wasn't sure his straight forward and now bloodthirsty comrades heard him. Shin ran to catch Latarza and the veteran of Team Japan moved to protect the newbies.

Shin: "Not escaping!"

Latarza: "No! Stay away! BOOK! Magnetic Force! To-"

\- *BANG*!

Latarza called for his Binder and took out the card "Magnetic Force" from within. He immediately attempted to use the card and at the same time the sound of a gunshot interrupted him. Latarza didn't feel any impact on his body, so he thought Shin missed, but all too quickly the color drained from his face. The card "Magnetic Force" now had a circular hole at its center courtesy of the Auto 9 RoboCop unlimited ammo gun. Shin accurately put a bullet through the card and a few moments later it dispersed in a puff of pink smoke. Furious at having lost his means to escape and knowing the same thing could happen again Latarza swiftly turned around with his right palm extended and aimed at Shin.

Latarza: "Sonic Burst!"

In that instant Latarza's Aura was channeled through the outstretched hand and three red rings materialized into existence. The three red rings screeched loudly and rocketed towards Shin who was about to catch up. The three rings released a terrible shriek as they zoomed towards Shin who now had his guard up.

Latarza: "Baka! Like just that can-"

Latarza was left speechless towards the end of his sentence. His Nen Hatsu, Sonic Burst, was a technique that wasn't overly powerful and had its demerits, but Latarza had faith in it. It was so incredibly loud even with his headphones on it left him slightly off balance and the attack used up a lot of Aura as well. These were fatal opening in battle, yet if Sonic Blast hit it would without a doubt cause grave internal damage due to the sound waves resonating within the body.

Latarza had pride in his Hatsu.

Latarza had faith Sonic Burst could kill long as it hit.

And that was why Latarza was silent and frozen in place as he saw Shin shrug off his Hatsu like it was nothing. Latarza saw Shin raise his arms in a guard in defense, something aura like wrapped around his body, and the dark coat resonated and turned a shade of crimson, yet that alone shouldn't have spared his life from the lethal Sonic Burst Hatsu.

Shin: "Don't look down on magic armor!"

Shin survived without injury due to his magic armor Lesser Fenrir Coat.

Lesser Fenrir Coat.

Thin, flexible, dark armor with the shape of coat. Made from the fur and leather of a direct descendent of the monster wolf Fenrir. High durability and resistance to physical force, magic, spiritual attacks, and even Psyche Force. It was also a stellar item that passively increase stats.

It was a first rate magic armor that had saved Shin's life more times than he could count, yet it was only till recently did he find its value as a true B tier magic equipment. A recent discovery as Shin was training in the Terminal Lobby showed him how to improve his defense to a much higher degree.

By channeling one-third of his Advance Ki Energy into the Lesser Fenrir Coat, he was shown a new layer to magic enhancements. It showed that some magic items were still alive. His coat constructed from the remains of a magic beast were semi-alive and would awaken when fed with enough energy.

The coat didn't return 100% back to life as a magic wolf, but for thirty seconds the coat's abilities skyrocketed. The durability of the Lesser Fenrir Coat that would glow a crimson light could tank or reflect bullets from Connor's anti-material sniper rifle and his Sci-fi rifles with the exception of the Ibis Trigger. Also, Shin found that all his stats increased by 50% and in a dark area all stats would increase to 75%, finally allowing him to rival Aqua's stats.

This first class defensive power was born from just feeding one third of Advance Ki Energy. Two-thirds and the ability could last for a full minute. Poring all of one's Advance Ki Energy even showed a more spectacular performance, yet Shin found that it wasn't ready for live combat yet and sealed the method for the moment.

Shin: "You can't out run the impenetrable Overpowered me for half a minute can you!? Your cards are mine now!" (Editer's reaction: Oh come on Shin! You were supposed to keep your abilities a secret, not scream out their time limits!)

Latarza: "No! Stay, stay away!"

Shin: "Are you really going to make me-"

It was then as I was sure of my victory that a dark shadow flew by me in a flash.

The peerless beauty with long black hair held no killing intent for me and sprinting with almost inhuman speed, so I missed her, but the same could not be said for Latarza. She cut through the space of the Prairie like an arrow and arrived before her sole target. Latarza was a martial artist and Nen User with some skill, but the combination of using up Aura, the shock he received from Shin, and the speed of the peerless beauty arriving before him made him unable to take proper action in time.

The woman before him with long black hair, Kisara, with her purple eyes flashing a deadly light, katana still in the scabbard and one hand at the hilt drew the sword with her entire being. In a blur, the sword at Kisara's side was drawn and aimed at Latarza's exposed neck.

Latarza: "Aahhh!"

Latarza still possessed the innate instincts and reflexes of a martial artist and his body took half a step back to avoid the slash even as his mind panicked. In the end, Kisara was a normal human and woman at that. Even with perfect skill she was a step behind those with special powers and inhuman strength... but-

\- *SNAP*!

Kisara's Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu was not a cheap sword style to be outdone by a weakened and cowardly opponent like Latarza. Even in real life the sword style was flawless and swift. The first sword draw missed, but a second strike from the scabbard hit Latarza's s squarely in the neck not a second later. The light in his eyes went out as his neck was twisted in a horrible way and his body powerlessly fell to the ground.

Latarza: "Gyhaaa!"

Kisara: "Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, So-Ryu-Sen(Twin Dragon Flash)."

So-Ryu-Sen.

Seemingly a simple Battōjutsu strike, Sōryūsen is the first of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu's two-step Battōjutsu moves. After the first strike with the quickened sword, the user wields the empty sheath along the same path as a blunt weapon. After the sword strike lands, the sheath strike delivers a pulverizing blow capable of crushing bone and shattering wood. The first slash can kill, but if the sword slash misses, the sheath strike acts as powerful insurance, preventing an opponent's attack and delivering a crushing blow when it's least expected.

Shin: "..."

Shin saw the sequence of events that lasted two seconds and left his opponent defeated with a broken neck and was stunned. Kisara was fast, not super human, but there was no wasted movements in her running, or sword strike. Her movements were that of a peak level expert, or maybe even a true master swordsman.

Just that one move showed that Kisara and Latarza were worlds apart in skill. Shin was reminded of the skillful swordsman and granddaughter of Sozin Kaiyo, and the Disease Girl from Apocalypse Alice Kiri. He knew that if Kisara had even a small amount of special abilities or a better weapon, she could have defeated Latarza at full strength. As of now Shin couldn't imagine Kisara defeating a Nen User as flawlessly as she had just done, but her future was certainly bright and had high hopes for her.

Shin: "Ah! I almost forgot about the cards."

I was distracted for a moment by Kisara's potential as a future member of Team Japan and forgot about the Cards. It wasn't me, but Kisara who killed Latarza and so he should have dropped ten random cards. I looked over his dead and unmoving body and found not ten, but only five Cards on his person. I considered letting the Newbie Kisara get the points for collecting them, but she seemingly in a daze, so I chose not to bother her yet. I picked up the five cards in Kisara's stead and examined each one. Three Jenny cards for currency, 1 Spell Card "Accompany", and a Designated Slot Card 93 "Book of Life".

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, CARD COLLECTION - 10 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin: "Points are nice, but what a cheap bastard. He didn't even have a full ten cards on his person. Well, in a modified Greed Island a person might not want to keep all of his possession on himself. You'll just become an attractive target. Maybe there's a bank or system in place to hold valuables-"

Shin liked talking to himself, but only then realized that this wasn't the time or place. He could still feel the gazes of others spying on him. Half of Team Japan's observers left seeing their display of strength, but the other half stayed vigilant.

Shin: "The others should be finished by now. Kisara lets..."

Kisara: "..."

Shin: "...Do you need a minute? Is this your first time killing someone? You can think things through as we head into town, but for now let's regroup with the others."

Kisara: "Sure. Also, I'm fine. The strict sword training beat into me by my Father wasn't for nothing and I fought on something like autopilot. In the real world I didn't like that side of myself... the side of myself that knew I could kill on demand when needed, but today it saved my life."

Shin: "I see. That's a good thing here in God's Dimension, but you actually didn't have to come back me up. I would have been fine alone and this guy's a Nen User. You could have died from even a shallow blow even though you were the more skilled fighter. Just martial arts prowess isn't enough to survive here. Nen and special abilities dominate this battleground."

Kisara: "I knew that, but... this world is scary. A world where people don't hesitate to kill you and show such unchecked bloodlust in broad daylight is dangerous. Just now... I found that live combat where you risk your life and the lives of your comrades... is both exhilarating and addicting, but much more so frightening. If I did not summon up my courage to fight just now I probably would have let the growing fear get to me and would never be able to raise my sword again."

Shin: "...I see. How admirable. You shouldn't forget that feeling. Breaking things and cutting down monsters are actually incredibly fun unlike what society tells us, but this world is far more frightening than it is fun. Trust me on that... let's head back to the others."

Kisara: "...Alright."

As we were walking back to the others I noticed Kisara's hands shaking as she kept one hand on her katana at all times... yet I didn't say anything.

I've already long decided that the only woman that I care about being corrupted by this world was Hikari. Hikari had developed into a support role that doesn't fight upfront and that brings me no small amount of peace of mind, but I won't and can't allow Kisara to follow a similar path.

Kisara has already shown the strength of a person having made 1000-2000 point Basic Rewards enhancements after 1-2 missions with her fighting ability and technique, and she was an extremely rare swordsman at that. If not for the lack of a special energy or mutation to strengthen herself with Kisara would be Team Japan's third strongest in close combat, below Aqua and myself, but greater than Misaki. That was just how special Kisara was. Far better than me who just ruthlessly swinging around a magic sword.

Once Kisara receives the support of God's Exchanges System, she'll become a huge asset to the team. Kisara might actually be able to acquire all the fictional techniques of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu thanks to her mastery of the real world version long as she gain the Muscle Density and speed enhancement to execute those techniques. Skill Mastery for those sword techniques isn't beyond her.

Team Japan has plenty of front line fighters, but in a team with a maximum number of 20, having one or two more wouldn't hurt. That's why I won't coddle Kisara like I did for Hikari. I need her strength for our growing team. I don't want her to break emotionally along the way, but I can't shelter her from this world and its horrors if I'm to make the best use of her strength. Hikari was naturally suited to be a support role so things turned out for the best, but for Kisara who fight up close and personal it would be detrimental to her growth.

Kisara: "..."

Shin: "..."

Still, as we walked back and regrouped with the others I couldn't help but be curious. If Kisara is really afraid then how can she fight so well? What's that resolved look in her eyes? What motives her to master and hold the sword in the real world where guns and bombs dominate the battlefield in the modern age? And lastly... this peerless beauty who I assumed to be just another pretty flower... just who does she have her eyes set on to cut down?


	118. Chapter 118

Jin: "That's about all that we learned from one of the flunkies of Latarza. It wasn't much, but it's something. Neither one even had any Cards on them. They just took out their Binders before to intimidate us."

Shin: "I see... it's scary how you completed an interrogation in the time it took Kisara and I to come back. Also... why were the corpses set on fire and cremated? Everyone here also looks like they're about to vomit."

Hikari: "Don't... just don't ask."

Misaki: "They were too sad a sight, so I had to at least do this much by setting them ablaze."

Shin: "Jin... just what did you do?"

Jin: "Hahaha! Nothing as bad as they're making it out to be. We just had a little talk was all."

Shin: "..."

When Shin and Kisara returned, the other Nen Users were defeated and better yet captured alive by Aqua and Connor. Then from the mystery interrogation Jin performed on the two sidekicks of Latarza we all learned a few things about Greed Island that we didn't know beforehand. Greed Island's social order had changed from what was originally seen in the Manga, OVA, and Anime.

1\. Clans: With the new rule stating that players can kill another player and acquire their Cards it has been proven that it wasn't possible to survive in small groups. Small groups would be picked off by larger, or more powerful individuals, so large groups of players have been established. They protect one another one another and gather the Designated Pocket Cards for clearing the game.

2\. The two largest and rivaling clans: Moderate Clan and Savage Clan.

• The Moderate Clan is the largest clan made up of those who play Greed Island, but don't particularly want to kill others if not necessary. They'll still kill you for a Designated Pocket Card, but they would first ask if you wanted to work for them for compensation.

• The Savage Clan is smaller than the Moderate Clan, but there ranks are filled up with those who wouldn't hesitate to kill just for Jenny (currency). They activity hunted down all the smaller clans and forcefully recruited new players of Greed Island to Farm (Jin's game term) Monsters for money that is used to buy spell cards.

Jin: "Latarza and his three men belonged to the Savage Clan. They wanted to kill off the useless ones in our group and take back those with potential to join their monster Farming operation. There would have been no chance to move up in the organization and we would have been worked to death as slave labor. Hahaha! It's actually ingenious when you get over the morality of it all. Also, I bet if Hunter X Hunter wasn't aimed at kids, teens, and young adults, they would want to torture the men for amusement and use the women... for other *Services*. I guess we're lucky, huh?"

Jin said those things like it was no big deal, but the Newbies weren't smiling and laughing at the possibility of such a world. They were only afraid of dying a horrible death, but only now did they realize there were worse fates for them. The term slave labor was foreign to the people of modern society and happened only in third world countries. The idea of being forced into hard labor, beaten, or worse for the women, they had never once considered that it could happen to them. Not even the veteran Shin knew what could possibly happen if they spawned into the worlds such as "God and Devil World" or "Rising of the Shield Hero", fictional worlds where law and order had come to an end, or slavery is more than possible and if not already legal.

Renji: "Come on everybody! Our side won in the end and we're just fine. We can rest and worry all we like later when we reach the next town, so don't look so scared."

Misaki: "You'll sound more impressive if your legs stopped shaking."

Renji: "Hahaha... Well, even great warriors are said to piss themselves in their first battle according to my grandma. Just this should be okay."

Kampa: "Still more convincing if you stopped."

I looked at Renji and felt that it couldn't be helped.

Like with the other Newbies, he had just went through a lot. The killing intent of a Nen User, the danger of death, watching Connor put a bullet through a man's skull, a battle to the death, torture(?), and lastly realizing that in this world there were fates worse than death. Kisara, who had the ability and willpower to fight was special, or was the oddity here and the other Newbies were normal. In Hikari, Misaki, and my first mission there was the possibility of being eaten by THEM and wander through all of eternity as a zombie. For the Newbies it was a fate as a slave if they didn't have the power to protect themselves.

I should praise Renji for just pretending to be okay with everything, but that bravado was fading away as we spoke. Of the two trial members of Team Japan I personally held a higher opinion of Kisara than Renji. So much so that I didn't believe it was wrong now to consider making her an official member due to her performance, but it wasn't okay to ignore developing another Newbie. Even if Renji was the type that could only grow stronger by the power of God's Exchange System, we shouldn't forget about him. Renji has shown signs of having the ability to adapt to the horrors of this dimension and such a talent, and it is a talent here, should be nurtured... but how?

Shin: "How should I... that's it! Renji!"

Renji: "Yes leader?"

Shin: "Take this. This is yours now."

Renji: "Look, look! Prize City Antokiba is just up ahead!"

Aqua: "We get it already, so calm down."

Misaki: "Aqua's right. Remember last time how you were so up ahead of us when were last attacked and you were cut off from us?"

Renji: "The past is in the past, so stop worrying. There's no foe that we can't defeat... I'll go up ahead to check out the city."

Kampa: "He's... certainly spirited now."

Shin: "Too much so if you ask me. Maybe I shouldn't have given him a sword."

Renji reached the entrance to Prize City Antokiba and waved at us with his new sword.

That sword originally didn't belong to anyone from Team Japan. It once belonged to Latarza. It was the Chinese sword that he was armed with, but went unused before his death. Along with Latarza's cards, Shin brought along the Chinese sword that had fallen in the battle. It wasn't a Quest Item or magic weapon, but Shin found that it looked cool and dropped it in the Na Ring subspace.

Shin later took out the Chinese sword as he was thinking of giving it to Renji. Swords bestowed a feeling of courage and strengthen to the holder. It was a false strength in the hands of an amateur, yet the increased mental strength was real enough.

Renji when presented the sword and asked if he wanted it and he took it without hesitation and all too quickly fell in love with the sword straight out of a Wuxia Novel. Shin thought it was a just a normal nice looking sword as he was spoiled by his own Gravity Blade, yet that wasn't the case. According to an expert of swords, Kisara, the sword wasn't worthless at all and should be worth a small fortune to collectors.

Kisara knew more about Japanese swords than Chinese swords, yet she still claimed that the sword was a masterpiece like her own katana given to her by Shin. It was a weapon hard to come by in the modern age and regularly never touched the hands of those of average households. Hearing this, Renji grew more excited, yet Shin and the other veterans weren't moved in the slightest.

To the core members of Team Japan it was a normal and somewhat nice looking weapon with no powers. They've seen swords with gravity magic, guns that can wreak havoc on magic creatures, energy sci-fi guns from a Trigger, and just recently a damning performance from Kampa's Unicorn Beam Magnum. No matter how much Kisara or Renji claimed how great the sword to be, it had as much value as a wooden stick in their eyes.

Still, Renji valued the sword greatly. They were attacked by Nen Users two more times before reaching Prize City Antokiba and with his new sword and confidence Renji stood his ground... yet his sword never tasted blood. Renji had to leave the actual fighting to Shin and the others, but at the very least he didn't cower away and stood to protect the other Newbies from harm.

Hikari: "It's no magic sword like Gravity Blade, but he treats it like it a great treasure. It honestly has less value than a 100 point Desert Eagle. I can kill more people with a handgun than Renji can with his sword. Renji must know that only with enhancements and training can one use a sword in battle? He's going to get himself killed, Shin. You shouldn't have given it to him."

Shin: "I still think it's better than him cowering away. Also, I gave him a Handgun, SMG, and magic Body Armor with magic protection just in case. People like him, who don't get scared into submission, should be cultivated into official core members of Team Japan. We shouldn't always expect quality Newbies like Kisara, Connor, and Jin every mission."

Shin said this to Hikari, but the next second they all saw a confident Renji picking a fight with a small gang of Greed Island players. Kampa and Misaki went over to bail him out, yet the others could only sigh.

Shin: "Well... there should be hope for the future, right?"

Hikari: "Just keep telling yourself that."

Shin: "..."

Prize City Antokiba

Antokiba, or better known as the "City of Prize", is a city on Greed Island and the closest to the center of the island. The walls in the city are pasted up with many reward posters which players can complete to gain Jenny for Cards, or Cards themselves.

On the 15th of every month, a major contest is held here in which the winner is rewarded with a Designated Pocket Card. Many players go straight to Antokiba when beginning the game Greed Island, so a lot of basic information about the game can be gathered in the city.

Gon and Killua first arrive in the city on September 11th. Several days later they win the rock-paper-scissors tournament held this month and obtain the card #83 "Sword of Truth" as a result. However, soon afterwards the Card is stolen by long-time players using tactics and variety of Spell Cards. After being trained by Biscuit in Nen for more than 2 months, they return to the city in January and win another specified pocket card, #84, the "Paladin's Necklace".

Jin: "Look there! Tomorrows the day for the monthly tournament. If we win a few games of Heads or Tail we'll acquire Designated Pocket Card #92 "Swap Ticket"! We can definitely win it."

Shuai: "I know you are a gamer, but don't get excited about something like this. Besides we can't partake in the tournament anyways. Collecting the Cards are not our main goal, and if we win the Card we'll become targets for other players."

Shin: "Shuai's right... but maybe we should think about-"

Aqua: "Enough you two otaku and gamer freaks. Stay alert. You're the one who told us about his ability."

After entering Antokiba our group stayed on high alert. The reason was because of one individual. A character that we must be both heedful of and seek out at the same time. The antagonist of Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island arc, the Bomber.

Bomber, real name Genthru, is a mass murderer and dangerous Nen User. Different from those we've encountered thus far and he leads a group called Bomb Devils which includes his comrades and only friends Sub and Bara.

Genthru is tall and very thin. He has lanky arms. In the 1999 series, he has brownish red hair, while the 2011 series gives him blond hair. He has a pointed chin and angular glasses that give him an evil look complimenting his chin and cheekbones, giving him a generally pointed look.

Genthru has demonstrated that he is quite a formidable foe on numerous occasions. A ally of Gon and Killua on Greed Island, Tsezguerra had even surmised that he could only hold Genthru off for a limited amount of time before he reached Gon, further emphasizing the threat he posed to the group.

He has shown both considerable agility in reaction and Nen as well as the ability to manipulate even the most clever individuals as he managed to fool the entire group of Greed Island players comprising Nickes' group for over 5 years, all the while planting bombs on each one.

Genthru is a Conjurer with remarkable skills in Transmutation. He is a capable, experienced, and dangerous Nen User who is able to use all five Nen types, either in one of his Hatsu abilities or in combat. He makes ample use of Ryu in combat, both to strike and defend himself from his close range explosive Hatsu. The fact that this ability has no effect on him while it is often lethal to others, proves that he has a great amount of aura and is able to control it most efficiently.

However, his abilities have a few flaws that experienced or forewarned opponents may exploit to their advantage: for example, one can minimize the damage from Genthru's Little Flower by using Ryu (or similar techniques like Ko) on the part touched by him. Furthermore, since he uses Gyo in his hands in order to protect himself, the rest of his body is coated with little protective aura. When he uses Little Flower on both of his hands, any Nen-enhanced attack on the rest of his body would result in severe damage.

Shin: (Genthru has two Hatsu, or special moves he employs that we have to be on the lookout for.)

◆ Little Flower (A Handful of Gunpowder): Genthru gives his aura explosive properties, creating small yet deadly detonations in his palms. He employs this ability offensively by grabbing hold of an opponent and triggering the explosion. If used correctly, this move can easily kill a Nen user in one shot. He can only grasp things as large as a basketball. He protects his hands from the explosion with Nen technique "Ko". Because of this, the resulting explosion is significantly less powerful than Countdown, his more powerful Hatsu. Aside from combat, Genthru uses this ability as a deterrent to threaten other or discourage them from trying to touch him.

◆ Countdown (Sound of Life): Genthru can attach a bomb to a victim by touching them once and saying the word "bomber". Once this condition has been met, he then needs to explain both of his abilities in full (and in proper sequence) to his victim. The bomb is then conjured and its countdown timer starts at 6000. The timers are linked to his victims' pulses, counting down faster if their heart rates increase. Though Genthru is a Conjurer, he has some affinity for both Emission and Manipulation to make this ability possible. Genthru can detonate the bombs at any time when touching thumbs together with Sub and Bara, with all three saying the word "release". In order to nullify this ability, the victim needs to touch Genthru and say "I caught the bomber".

Shin: "I am keeping a look out, but everyone should be careful as well. Bomber is fast and can easily sneak away after touch/planting a Nen bomb on you. His hair color is different depending on which Anime you watch, but his body type is how I explained. Jin also figured out that towns are established safe areas for clans, but if it's just killing a few people in a short period of time the Game Masters won't interfere."

Hikari: "How about we just call it a day? We picked up a few more Jenny Cards, so we can get some food and pay for a room. The newbies are also tired from all the walking that we did. Tomorrow can start gathering funds and start collecting information about Bomber."

Shin: "Sounds like a plan. We'll still have eighty-nine days to either complete the Main Quest, or find Bomber. I know of a great place here where we can get so spaghetti and if we finish it within three minutes we can get a-"

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Shin was about to say a "Garugaida" Card, but a sound like a bomb going off interrupted him from telling his team. Shin knew what was happening going on, told the others to stay put and on guard, and ran alone towards the source of the explosion.

Three blocks of running later Shin found a large crowd of NPCs and players surrounding in a circle the body, or what remained of the body of the victim. The victim was a well-built man in his early 20's with the lower half blown away. Shin knew this was the result of the Bombers Hatsu, Countdown. It was deadly explosive Nen attack that could be activated from a distance.

Shin: "I thought that maybe looking for his handiwork would help us locate him, but he can activate his ability from a distance. Who knows when he placed Countdown. Maybe his restrictions of telling his ability is gone as well. An eighteen man mission from God... it's definitely possible!"


	119. Chapter 119

G.I Player A: "Who... who could have done this?"

G.I Player B: "Don't be stupid! We all heard the ticking sound. It's obviously him."

The crowd around the dead body that did not fly away like in the original talked in angry, but fearful voices. It was obvious that Bomber had been active for some time. The people were sacred of the mysterious, mass murdering Nen User who kills with bombs from a distance without once revealing who he really was. They were all scared of the name Bomber and his actions... yet some saw it as an opportunity. Some looked at the horrible scene with excitement and greed while others looked on in fear and disgust.

G.I Player A: "...Hey, did anything drop?"

G.I Player B: "Nope! Not one Card. Damn! Must have been a new player, or he handed over his cards to his clan. Fucking waste of a good death if I've seen any."

G.I Player C: "It wouldn't have mattered anyway. This was clearly murder and not an accident. The Cards wouldn't drop, but go directly to the Binder of Bomber."

G.I Player: A: "Fuck! I forgot about that! Damn, I need to sell off a decent Card if I want to afford my apartment in Aiai."

G.I Player B: "Forget about money! If he had dropped a rare Card I could have bought my way into one of the big clans as an inner member. The upper management of Moderate Clan don't even need to use force for women to spread their legs for them as they are swimming in Jenny Cards. In Savage Clan you can have the pick of your own slaves who will do anything that you say out of fear. This was my chance!"

G.I Player C: "Just give it up. If you want a rare Card or a woman so badly you might as well hang out outside the Spell Card Shop in Masadora like others do and steal from those who come out. There's a lot of competition, but it isn't impossible gain a rare Spell Card from the stupid ones who don't move with their clans if you wait long enough."

G.I Player B: "Tch, I might have to. Let's go."

There were quite a few people like that in the crowd as they all looked disappointed that nothing was dropped by the dead man and began to disperse. They ignored the tragedy of the murder itself and ranted about their own problems, missed opportunities, and cursed the victim for not leaving a single Card behind.

Shin: "..."

Nickes: "A shameful sight, huh? Bickering over a dead man's nonexistent Cards."

Shin: "...Who are you? Why are you bothering me?"

I recognized the man in front of me, but pretended otherwise.

The man's name was Nickes and he was the founder of the Greed Island alliance of player. The members agreed to split Battera's reward and work together to clear the game. Things were going well for them towards the end with after five years of playing Greed Island they had gathered 90 or so of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards, but that is when Bomber interfered.

The Bomber hid amongst the alliance for a long time and set his Hatsu "Countdown" on each member. Bomber, using the threat of death by bomb, blackmailed the alliance into gaining all of their cards. The alliance had no choice, but to agree, but in the end Bomber still killed them with his Nen and that included Nickes.

I recalled the Nickes from the original plot was the kind of man who could only get things done with numbers and relying on comrades... never just himself, but the man in front of me was not like that. Nickes has an aura of strength and self-confidence about him that the original lacked.

Nickes: "Sorry to take up your time. I heard about you and your comrades from some of my men who were staking out at the Starting Point. My name is Nickes. I'm leader of the Moderate Clan. My men told me that without showing your Nen abilities your group took over ten Low-Level and one Mid-Level Nen Users with ease. Including even Savage Clan's Mid-Level Nen User Latarza. You've showed your worth. I've come to invite you and your group to my clan. We have a sure fire plan to clear the game. Those who join will be protected from other clans and if you're as strong as others say you are, your status and reward from Battera when we clear the game will be much higher than others in the clan. What do you say?"

Hearing this abrupt proposal from Nickes I was taken back, yet not overly surprise. I was no longer under the impression that the main characters Gon, Killua, and probably not even Biscuit, were playing this version of Greed Island, but it looked like the other background character were still here.

The scenes involving those characters were for the most part still happening like encountering Latarza after leaving the Starting Point. Nickes saw the handiwork of the Bomber and came to recruit the main character, I mean me. Only this time I don't think Nickes would be okay with outright saying no. It was okay in the Manga, but he's a part of the revised "killing is okay" version of Greed Island and did not look to be a weak willed man.

Shin: "Is this your Moderate Clan's handiwork?"

How's that Nickes?

My question gave the impression that I disliked that sort of ruthless killing and may not want to join a clan. Also, Nickes might reveal crucial information about the Bomber, the key to avoiding Team Germany. Better yet, if the Bomber, Genthru was hiding in the Moderate Clan and introduce to him his name will be recorded on my Binder!

Once that happens and my group acquires the right Spell Cards we can take him out at our leisure. Then for the remainder of the mission we can just focus on finding a location to live to avoid Team Germany and maybe hunt for Cards in our spare time.

Nickes: "Don't worry. This wasn't the work of my clan or any other clan at that. A player hunter of the most violent type and rumored to work solo, nicknamed Bomber. That man there was killed by the Nen of a mass murder hiding out on Greed Island. All that we know is that Bomber is a Nen User of either Emission or Manipulation. That's all we know. That man is an aberration of the highest order. If his identity was known all of the clans, even Savage Clan, would work together to hunt him down. You have nothing to worry about by joining us."

Shin: "Nothing to worry about? Are you serious? You're clan from what I already know is the largest and you don't know this mass murderer's identity. What's not to say that someone in your clan is Bomber? If you don't know his identity then how can you be sure?"

Nickes: "..."

Shin: "From my point of view as a new player I can't even be sure that you're not the Bomber. I have no plans to join a clan unless you can guarantee that the Bomber isn't among you."

Nickes: "..."

Now hammer this last part in. He may dislike that I'm refusing him, but with this he should let me go. Now, it's time to once more summon up my inner Wuxia spirit.

Shin: "Also, I mean you no disrespect, so let me just say this. I'm not here to play Greed Island like the rest of you here on the island. I'm on a mission."

Nickes: "Mission? You're not working for the fifty billion Jenny prize or the game prize from Battera?"

Shin: "No I am not. I'll tell you since you are the famed leader of the Moderate Clan. My name is Shin and my group is here to hunt down the Bomber and anyone seen working him. One of his victims here on the island was the son of a prestigious business man worth almost as much as Battera. We know he is still on this island, so we came here to dispose of him."

Nickes: "I can believe that. Bomber has claimed more lives than we can count. Rich, poor, children, he makes no exception for his victims."

Shin: "Yes. Once were done with that my group plans to leave the island for good. Sorry Moderate Clan leader, but we are neither your ally, friend, nor enemy on this island. It's fine for you to ignore us even if other clans attack us. Sorry we can't meet your expectations... but if you would please hear me out I have something that I want to ask."

Nickes: "What is it? You've already refused my generous offer?"

Shin: "I know, but the thing is... I happen to know the name of Bomber."

Nickes: "You do!"

Shin: "Yes. The Bomber might be playing under an alias... but would you Moderate Clan leader happen to know a man by the name of Genthru? He's the Bomber, and is a thin, tall man who wears glasses and has a real pointy look to him."

\- PENALTY 2, SPOILERS, DEDUCTED 20 POINTS!

Shin didn't hesitate to reveal the name of the Bomber Genthru. 10 points weren't worth crying about for a veteran like himself who makes on average between 5,000-10,000 points per mission. It was actually better to use spoilers to control the plot of a mission than to be afraid of them.

Shin: (Now having revealed the name of the Bomber either two things will happen. The first is that Nickes doesn't know him, but will believe that I'm hunting the troublesome Bomber and let me go. He might even agree at a later time to send reinforcements. The second possibility is that Nickes is actually working with the Bomber and is just playing dumb. That would be bad, but also an opportunity to figure it out right now.)

I watched Nickes' face for any clues as to his inner thoughts as he took a moment to process this sudden new information.

Nickes: "Genthru? I don't know anyone with that description. Let me check. BOOK!"

Nickes, without any hesitation summoned and opened his book without fear or worry. He opened the back end of the book to check the names of all the Greed Island players that he knew. I checked for signs of anxiety or hidden killing intent, yet I didn't feel such a thing from him. Then a minute of eager searching later Nickes sighed as he reported the bad news.

Nickes: "Sorry. I haven't met such a man before and I'm sure that I've met nearly everyone on the island. Still, we now have his name and a description, so we can now look for-"

Shin: "Please refrain from looking for the Bomber. Just leave that to my group. Also, don't tell anyone what you heard from me."

Nickes: "Why? Together we could-"

Shin: "Nickes, WE can't trust anyone else. The Bomber could be using an alias to hide in your large clan, or might have a spies in the all the big clans. He and his group have been here on Greed Island for five years, so they could even be hiding in your most senior staff. Let's not take any risk here."

Nickes: "I, I see. Then what should we do? The Bomber is a major threat to my clan – no all the clans and players on the island and his actions have been intensifying as out late."

Shin: "I know, but please endure for now. He might strike if any one clan has a monopoly of the cards, but till then he won't risk exposing himself till it's worth the risk to reveal himself. That's how those who like to stay hidden in the shadows work. My group will independently look for the Bomber. Just keep collecting the Cards for now Nickes. I'll contact you when we find him and together well defeat him!"

Nickes: "...Alright. We'll speak of the subject another time."

After eating dinner and renting rooms for the eighteen members of Team Japan in Prize City Antokiba...

Shin: "And that's how I tricked the bastard into becoming my ally! Using words like WE or US on a guy who likes to team up with others will win them over no problem. He'll might even contact us if he finds a clue to Bomber. Also, as the leader of the Moderate Clan he must have a lot of Designated Pocket Cards. Before we parted I promised him Bomber's Cards if we defeat him, but if their two forces have enough cards... I suggest that we take out both sides and take their cards. If we can gain 90 or more of the cards for the game I'm willing to risk running into Team Germany before collecting all 100 Designated Pocket Cards."

Hikari: "Shin... You're the-"

Jin: "Best! Hahaha! I couldn't have ever hoped to have done better. As expected of our leader and ace member of Team Japan!"

Hikari: "Jin! Shin was already bad enough and now look at him! You're too bad of an influence on this already broken otaku!"

Hikari kept telling (yelling at) Shin that it was reckless to mess around as he did with Nickes, but Aqua, having finished off on of her cigarettes and smiling, surprisingly came to his defense.

Aqua: "No, Shin did an amazing job today. Without having any of the responsibilities we have basically gained a high position in the largest group, Moderate Clan. Once we find means to gain money and more secure housing... Team Japan will have complete domination over Greed Island! Hahaha! If we also play our cards right we could trick the Nen Users to kill Team Germany for us!"

An army of Nen Users under their command. Thinking of such a possibility Shin believed that they had discovered the method of overcoming all obstacles of the mission.


	120. Chapter 120

Greed Island: Day 2/90.

Team Japan woke up from the inn they were staying at in the early morning. There were few people out, only NPCs setting up their various stores. One couldn't buy spell cards in Prize City Antokiba, but without a doubt each store held a purpose.

Excluding where monster cards could be exchange for Jenny Cards, the NPCs of Greed Island were the background setting of the quest. A quest to finds a little girl's lost dog. A quest to help out at a shop for a day. A quest to solve a man's business problems. Even if such quests wouldn't give out Designated Pocket Cards towards completing the game Greed Island, they would give out the needed items, clues, or the funds to start certain quest for Designated Pocket Cards. The NPC of Greed Island were both the setting and its heart for those playing the game even in times of conflict between clans.

Shin: "Though this has nothing to do with us who aren't planning to properly play Greed Island."

I was watching the others of my team preparing to leave Prize City Antokiba with no intention of seriously playing Greed Island.

Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, Connor, Jin, Renji, and Kisara were ready to depart. Our goal was to go to the rocky area of Greed Island to make money, or Jenny as it was called. In the original plot this location was filled with monsters generated by the G.I Game Masters that could be turned into Cards to be sold, and was also where Gon and Killua met their second Nen Master Biscuit Krueger and trained hard for three months. Everyone on Team Japan always had on hand gold or platinum, but normal universal currently like those held no value of Greed Island.

Just Jenny Cards.

Jenny Cards could be obtained from quests, but the far more effective method was for the player of Greed Island to defeat the Nen created monsters scattered across the island. Similar to most RPG games, defeating a monster rewards a player with dropped loot. The monsters on Greed Island would be turned into Cards when defeated and those Cards could be exchanged for other Cards through quests, or at a shop for Greed Islands Jenny Cards.

Shin: "Monster hunting for items actually sounds pretty fun, but... to collect these Cards for just our livelihood fells like a distraction for us who are on a mission from God, but we had no choice. We needed a place to sleep and who wants to camp out when there are towns and cities."

There was also an additional reason. It was to keep the eight newbies in line who couldn't and chose not to become trial members like Kisara and Renji. We needed to keep our side of the promise to feed and provide shelter so they would not interfere with us. Yesterday, the incident with the Bomber had an effect of rattling the Newbies badly. A person who only needed one touch to kill you. Who knew if they were actually ready to bolt and make a run for the hills even if they knew it was pointless.

My team couldn't afford to watch them 24/7 and they hadn't committed any offense worth cutting their arms and legs off. Still, if a member of Team Germany were to catch a newbie and kill them, putting Team Japan at Negative 1 points... we would have no choice but to strike back even if it meant half the team wiping out. That is why in this dire time we need enough money to keep the Newbies' minds at ease. Better housing in good neighborhoods with security to calm their hearts.

Also, as long as we fit the image of the providers they will instinctively listen to us in emergencies without any back talk. They need to believe that we can protect them from any threat. From starvation or the sword of a Nen User.

The only ways to make a large sum of money in Greed Island, enough for eighteenth people, which includes 10 dead weight mouths to feed was either to sell a rare card, or defeat monsters. My Team Japan held only one Designated Pocket Card, but we all weren't so desperate to sell off a valuable card for game money.

Jin: "It can't be helped."

Shin: "Jin..."

Shin was lost in his thoughts as he watched his comrades get ready to leave. It was then that Jin appeared by his side. A person he both relied on, yet didn't want to interact with. Jin had his usual fake smile plastered on his face, but Shin didn't immediately turn him away. Jin was annoying at times, but he hardly ever said pointless things. Like Shin himself, Jin held a unique view of the Mission Worlds that others lacked.

Jin: "To properly play Greed Island... Even without players no longer hesitating to kill others for cards would take much longer than three months, 90 day to complete the game. We were probably given a short 90 days because God is telling us to kill other players to gain Cards. Think about it. Even a powerful Nen User like Bomber choose to hide his existence and wait five years for others to collect the cards for him. Gon, Killua, and Biscuit only beat the game in less than six months only because they were the winner in a series of battles over the last 90-100 Designated Pocket Cards."

Shin: "Well, I wouldn't want to spend even a year on this Island (lie) though I wish we could play this game like in the Manga. The game looked fun, yet probably even more so for the players. Kirito even said to the Game Master of SAO, RPGs are just boring to watch and better to play the game."

Jin: "I feel the same, but Shin, what you did was probably the correct method of completing Greed Island. At first glance God is telling us to steal the cards we need for the mission, but that is extremely difficult battle. Moderate Clan, Savage Clan, and all the other smaller clans will be gunning for us if we attacked their members or hold any rare Cards. Your method with Nickes was the correct one."

Shin: "Convincing Nickes that we are only here to kill the Bomber? I did gain his trust and if we do happen to defeat Bomber and report the news, or include them in the plan his trust in us will be set in stone. It would be the perfect moment for us to steal his cards... but how do you figure this is the right choice?"

Jin: "We weren't given a side quest for defeating regular Nen Users. We received points for defeating monsters in Apocalypse Alice. Why not Nen Users? Even if monsters have more brute strength at their disposal, Nen Users are humans with brains to think up plans. Shin, if our Team Japan were surrounded by 1000 monsters of the last mission I believe that we could escape without losing a single official member's life. If we were to face the coordinated strike of 1000 Nen Users who has a leader to advise them from the back... only you or Aqua could hope to escape alive. Maybe one of you would be near fatally injured as well."

Shin: "...You're probably right. So God didn't give us a Side Quest to defeat Nen Users, just collect Cards because it doesn't want us to only consider killing other for Cards? Making pacts with the clans on the island is the key to completing the mission?"

Jin: "It's the most efficient method, but not obvious. A normal person wouldn't risk meeting the powerful leader of a big clan alone and accepting the spoiler penalties as proof of hunting down the bomber. Maybe we should go meet the Savage Clan next."

Shin: "Why?"

Jin: "We could play them as well. What if Nickes' base of operation in the Manga is now the HQ's of the Moderate Clan? That cave that they so desperately tried to hide. Relaying this kind of information to the biggest enemy of Moderate Clan, Savage Clan, could win them over. We let the two sides fight and wear each other down. Then we strike and take all the Cards!"

Shin: "As always you come up with insane plans that makes me want to apologies to my mother in heaven for making a bad friend like you Jin."

Jin: "Hahaha! I feel that it's worth considering. It's my gut feeling that the two biggest clans, Moderate Clan and Savage Clan, along with the Bomber are the key to gaining all of the Cards! Moderate Clan that has the largest force on Greed Island. Savage Clan that ruthlessly murders others for Cards. The Bomber who's been active for five years killing players and maybe taking their cards. I'm certain that defeating those three will allow us to gain 98 out the 100 Designated Pocket Cards!"

Shin: "I see.., our highest priority is still the Bomber, but if we play our cards right... Control the timing when all the Cards are together... It's possible to have 98 of the Designated Pocket Cards as Team Germany arrives! Then long as we swiftly win the quiz for the final card just as they arrive and make it to Limeiro we can win!"

An hour later.

After telling the Newbies that they would be back by sundown, the core members of Team Japan and the trial members Renji and Kisara left Antokiba after buying a complete "Island Map". The more expensive complete map of Greed Island used up most of Team Japan's funds, so they absolutely had to acquire Monster Cards and exchange them for Jenny Cards if they wanted to provide for eighteen people.

There was only one location Shin and the others knew where monster where so they went in the direction of the Magic City of Masedora. From where they were currently staying, Antokiba, there was a mountain to the north. Then pass the mountain rumored to be occupied by bandits (A Greed Island Quest) begin the entry into a vast rocky area. It was there that Gon and Killua completed their Nen training with Biscuit, but also where they hunted for Monster Cards before moving on to actively search for the Designated Pocket Cards.

Shin: "The rocky area. We're finally here and past the mountain now and we've avoid that annoying quest of shameless bandits who would have taken all of our money and the very clothes on our back."

Kampa: "That was actually a good thing that they were there. That forest was excellent for setting up an ambush for others. This is also the fastest route to Masadora where Spell Cards can be bought. If the interference from the bandits wasn't an issue then clans like Savage Clan would set up shop here. That's what I would do in their position."

Connor: "Don't let down your guard. This area's rock formation are excellent for launching sneak attacks as well. The rocks are as large as building and wide. Without keeping a constant watch from the high ground, an army of Nen Users could be on us before we knew what happened."

Shin: "True, but we don't even need to take such precautions with Hikari and Shuai here. Hikari! Scan the area with your Persona. Locate all hostile enemies. While you're at it find a space where we can hunt for monsters without running into any other players."

Hikari: "Okay!"

Happy to finally be of use, Hikari took out her SEES Evoker and went to work. Pulling the trigger and aiming at her head, blue flames surround her and the Persona Adrasteia materialized into existence from the flames. Hikari then ordered her Persona to scan the entire area and came back with a full report of confirmed enemy Nen Users, monsters, and areas that didn't seem to be the hunting grounds of any clan.

Shin was very impressed. Hikari's skill with her support type Persona had increased. Summoning a Persona still burdened Hikari's mind, but she didn't need it to stay as active for long to get a complete scan of her surroundings.

Shin: "Good! Hikari please send me the Game Map to my head so that I can know what is happening in real time. I'll lead us to a safe hunting ground. Everyone stay on guard. Connor stand on top of the rocks from high up and guard us with your rifle. Don't transform with your Trigger as it drains Trion. You're still at the entry level, so it'll run out in no time. The priority is to stay hidden. Don't attack any human if possible, but if they spot us or look to suspect we are nearby... put a bullet into their heads!"

Connor: "Acknowledged."

Shin: "Shuai prepare to set up a barrier around our hunting ground. It just needs to warn us if anyone enters. We can't keep burdening Hikari to continue summoning her Persona to update the Map App, so you'll be in charge of security along with Connor."

Shuai: "Alright"

Shin: "Now everyone. We'll, be here till it gets dark and then head back to Antokiba. Well exchange Monsters Cards for money and then call it a day. Lastly... Aqua."

Aqua: "Yes? If it isn't serious, or say something like you want to hold hands I'll hit you."

Shin: "That... that's not all that I wanted to talk to you about."

Aqua: "So you were going to ask?"

Shin: "Never mind about that! This is important."

Aqua: "Fine. What do you want to talk about?"

I looked at Aqua straight in the eye to confirm my idea. I had an ideal about how to strengthen the team and increase survivability rate as well, but it wouldn't work if she didn't cooperate with me or thought that it wasn't possible.

Shin: "I want to conduct a small experiment with you and the two trial members."

Kisara: "Experiment?"

Renji: "Us?"

Aqua: "What kind of experiment, Shin?"

Shin: "Nen Training!"


	121. Chapter 121

Day 20/90 of Greed Island.

Standing before Shin and his comrades was a monster. It wasn't their first time seeing a monster as they've been into the worlds High School of the Dead and Apocalypse Alice, yet the monsters looming over them were the largest by far. Countless humanoid giants with only a single eye rampaged as they took long strides towards Team Japan.

Cyclops -

Card Number: 572

Rank/Copies: G-333

Description: Among the giants, the Cyclops are the largest. They prefer moving in groups. They attack creatures that enter their territory. When their weakness, their eye is attacked they become surprisingly fragile.

Shin: "Everyone keep it up! Like in the Manga they still only have two attack patterns! A downward smash or side swipe! Their bodies then stay still for a few seconds so take that time to hit their eye. Remember that any other attack will be-"

Misaki: "Just shut up already! I'm still not use to this hardcore fighting, so stop distracting me!"

Misaki said so as he jumped to the side to avoid the downward smash of a giant Cyclops's wooden club. Misaki successfully avoided the club, but the wind that followed after almost blew him away and off balance. Shin was worried for a moment, but Misaki showed that he wasn't completely overwhelmed.

Misaki: "Fucking Cyclops! Burn in hell!"

Misaki propelled himself towards the Cyclops in one burst from the soles of his feet. Misaki couldn't yet fly like Sozin from Avatar, but his short distance jumping power now ranked number one in Team Japan. The Cyclops was not yet ready to initiate the next attack and Misaki did not let that chance go. Still in midair he delivered a spinning kick to the creature's eye.

The Cyclops covered its eye in pain as it roared for all to hear. Two seconds later the monster evaporated into a puff of smoke becoming the monster card 'Cyclops'. A Monster Card that could be exchanged at a store for money that Shin didn't hesitate to swiftly pick up and place in his binder.

Shin: "Good work Misaki! That makes five now. Get five more and your quota will be filled."

Misaki: "Screw five more! Do you realize how hard it is to actually avoid giant monsters swinging large clubs at you? It isn't as easy as the Manga made it look and I don't have a speed technique like you!"

Shin: "Well I don't have a god damn makeshift jet pack, so stop complaining! You're one of our main fighters now. Having unlocked your constraint, you can better use your body's power and speed. Even without Unlocked Mode, your combat ability and degree of control over your enhancements will reach new heights. This is the perfect opportunity for you to grasp your fighting ability in a non-Unlocked Mode state."

Misaki: "You still make it sound easy."

Shin: "It is easy. We all have enhanced bodies and skills, so giant monsters that telegraph their attacks and have little attack variation are easy to take out. Aqua and I have already filled our twenty-five quota with the cyclops. Connor finished first by taking on forty. Hurry up. We are already moving on to the next group of monsters spotted."

Misaki: "You!"

Misaki looked like he really wanted to hit me or burn me alive, but he left to take out his frustrations on the cyclops. Misaki bitched and moaned about it, but he was clearly a good fighter. In a battle without relying on enhancements, skills, tools, and without going into Unlocked Mode, Misaki was by far the better fighter between us.

Shin: "He'll be fine alone. It's time to move on."

Melanin Lizard -

Card Number: 697

Rank/Copies: E-100

Description: Giant lizards capable of swallowing a whole cow. Can cause death by suffocation with its weight. Has a sensitive mole on its back, and has developed camouflage to hide it.

Kampa: "Connor! Take the shot!"

Connor: "Lead it a bit further to the left. A rock is obstructing the shot."

Speaking through the Communicator Phones with Connor, Kampa lead the giant yellow lizard monster through the rocky area to create an opening for the child soldier.

Using the modified infinite ammo M41A Pulse Rifle, Kampa unleashed a rain of bullets into the nose of the lizard. It did little to no damage, but it grabbed the monster's full attention away from Connor, who was lurking in the shadows waiting for the perfect shot. The giant lizard followed Kampa with bloody rage, wanting nothing more to swallow him whole, yet Kampa never let it come close.

Kampa, as a mercenary, wasn't just stupidly firing his rifle. He kept himself aware of the distance between the creature and himself. Not only could Kampa guarantee the monster would never get close enough to him, he had the confidence to perfectly protect any comrades by his side, even if his opponent could retaliate with a gun of its own. This was an ability that he had as a world ranked mercenary that no one else in Team Japan could duplicate so easily, if at all.

Connor: "...Target locked on. Terminating."

Connor, hiding 1500 meters away watched as the foolish monster chase after Kampa. Its weak spot was finally revealed and in the blink of an eye Connor lined up the shot and fired without pause.

\- *BANG*!

Connor fired a single bullet from the anti-material rifle capable of punching through armored trucks. The bullet cut through the space between Connor and the giant lizard, and without deviating hit squarely at its one and only one weakness: its mole.

The bullet cut through the meat of the giant lizard and exited through the other at its belly. The giant lizard's scream resonated in the air in anger and panic, yet like all other monsters it evaporated in a puff of smoke, leaving behind the Monster Card "Melanin Lizard"... that was supposed to happen, but the dead body of the monster still remained and had not turned into a card

Kampa breathed a sigh of disappointment and called back Connor on the Communicator Phone.

Kampa: "This is it for Melanin Lizards. We must have run up the full 100 monster cap after taking out twenty-seven of them this past week. Let's meet up with the others. Aqua should be fighting Bubble Horse, Shin and the newbies are trying to catch Marimocchi, Hikari and Shuai are working on catching Remote Control Rat, and Misaki is having trouble with the pudding slime monsters. Let's help out one of them for now."

Connor: "Acknowledged... but I can hunt for more Cyclopes alone."

Kampa: "You can, but why not work with the others? You're still new to the team and don't get that well along with the others. You're a team player and do your part, but there's more to a team than that. I'm guessing that you missed that in the past and that's why your organization fell apart, right?"

Connor: "..."

Kampa: "You're also a kid. Despite your past, no because you've lead such a life you need to learn to have fun every now and again. You're ten years old, but you've lost all ten years of your life. That sin lies with the adults around you who were supposed to do good by you, but now your life is your own, Connor. If you don't learn to have fun now you'll grow up into a boring adult who can't feel any excitement outside war zones. Those are the kinds of adults who made you what you are today."

Connor: "...I'm heading out."

Connor hung up his phone and moved back to the cyclops hunting ground. Kampa's words had some effect on him as they were both men of the battlefield, yet ultimately he couldn't accept such pretty words. Kampa chose his life as a soldier. Connor hadn't. It was forced on him and he could only excel in his new life or die... like so many of his other good friends.

Little boys and girls both fought for their lives yet most of them didn't make it. They didn't have the ability to make it and died, or did have the ability to make it yet still died. Connor wouldn't have made it as well if he did not discard his childhood and ultimately surpass his limits.

Connor: "...This gun is all that I need. Real world or God's Dimension... even alone things will be fine long as you pull the trigger."

Marimocchi -

Card Number: 673

Rank/Copies: D-80

Description: Small being that moves with ultra-high speed. It has the hardness of a gumball, so its attacks don't cause any damage. However, if you receive direct hits it can be very irritating.

Renji: "Leader! Three of them are coming our way at once!"

Shin: "Great! I'll capture two. You and Kisara try to capture one on your own this time. They may be impossibly fast, but long as you discover the pattern before they escape they're easy to catch. They can't damage you as well, so don't hesitate to attack!"

Renji: "Okay!"

Kisara: "Yes! We won't fail!"

The three moving black fur balls, Marimocchi, finally arrived. Seeing people they followed their preset programming of Greed Island. They didn't escape right away like normal animals and moved around us, yet their movement speed increased by leaps and bounds. They perfectly made use of their bouncy body type to ricochet from one place to the next at impossible angles. Even with Instant Movement I wouldn't be able to catch a Marimocchi with speed alone without going into Unlocked Mode... but I didn't do that, so instead I opted for a "wait and then strike" approach.

Shin: "Fast, but not good enough!"

I channeled Ki Energy towards my eyes and immediately experience a boost in perception. It wasn't as effective as "Gyo" from Nen that specialize in application of Aura, but it allowed me to somewhat follow the Marimocchi's lightning fast movements all the same. Thirty seconds later I saw through each of the three Marimocchi's movement patterns and targeted two. I stretched my right hand towards my side and fully extended the left arm straight outward. Once two of my targets brushed past where my hands waited for them I swiftly snatched up the two Marimocchi with ease before they knew what happened.

Shin: "Got you!"

They squealed in shock at having been caught and a puff of smoke later they transformed into two Monster Cards "Marimocchi"! Seeing the two cards in my hands I was filled with joy. It wasn't just because these Monster Cards could be turned into cash for us, but because I can visually see my personal growth now that I can catch a Marimocchi with ease when compared to when I first started out. At first it was very difficult to catch even one after an hour of trying in vain. They may have predictable movements, but it was no exaggeration to call those small critters lightning fast. Aqua was here with us earlier and it took her three tries to succeed in catching them and myself seven.

Coming to the realization that I needed to increase my eye sight was the key. Not only did it make catching them easier, but it also reminded me that I rarely, if ever, channel Ki Energy into my eyes in combat. It said in the description of Ki Energy that Ki increased stats, not just physical strength like how I've been using it. It is no "Gyo", but I should be able to see things that I normally wouldn't be able to see. I actually knew all of this, but I kept forgetting. Never putting it into practice regularly. Looking back, if I had done so in my fight against Disease Girl Kiri in Apocalypse Alice I wouldn't have struggled as much against her. Definitely not knocked around and requiring the assistance of both Aqua and the main character Shinnosuke Arisu.

Renji: "Leader! We caught it... More like Kisara caught it, but I helped!"

Shin: "So fast! As expected of Team Japan's peerless bea-, I mean peerless samurai girl! You may have a better eye than I do."

Kisara: "It nothing. Along with flawless and quick movements, seeing through enemy movements and their very thoughts is the specialty of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. I've only been doing what I've been taught by my Father since the day that I was born... but what really helped was this new power that you and Aqua have given us. I can't keep up those 'eyes' for long and Renji was able to react in time to disturb the Marimocchi movement pattern. Without both of us it would have been impossible to catch one so fast."

Renji: "Kisara is right! This power isn't a lot, but it's amazing. When that energy circulates through my body I feel like a new man! I wish my grandmother could see me now."

Shin: "Again with your... never mind. I understand the feeling all the same. When we get back to the Terminal Lobby the two of you can start going down that enhancement path if you like, or something different as well. We don't know yet if this type of power suits you, so for the meantime just use your Aura in emergency situations. If we encounter Team Germany you newbies will become their ideal targets as the least enhanced members of our attack group. Escape. Attack. Assist. How you train your new power will determine if you live another day or not."

Looking at the two of them I felt that this experiment was a complete success. We have three months here after all, so why not use that to train the newbies? Such an ideal has been on my mind since I learned how long this mission could last and where we were in the world of Hunter X Hunter. Of course, I knew that there wouldn't be any great results with normal methods. Renji was a normal young teen and was definitely no athlete or warrior. For a normal teen like Renji it would take a year of hard training to become competent in a fight. More so to even reach professional athlete or military level fitness.

Kisara, upon closer examination, appeared very thin and lady like, but her body was composed of strong muscle that didn't show through her clothes and not an ounce fat on her. Kisara's body was perfectly tempered for sword combat which was a plus, yet she couldn't become any stronger unless she went down a pursuit of strength like female body builders. Not only would that look... undesirable for Kisara, there would be only so much she could do as a female. Even compared to Aqua, a women who can punch and kick better than most men and already has the body of an Olympic athlete in the makings, Kisara is on the smaller side.

To summarize, neither Renji nor Kisara had the time or option to become stronger using normal methods, so... I chose to use an unconventional option impossible for normal men and women in the real world.

Shin: "As I thought... it was the right choice to unlock their Nen."


	122. Chapter 122

Day 26/90 of Greed Island.

Today was Team Japan's last day of hunting monsters in the rocky area between Prize City Antokiba and Magic City Masadora. They had spent the last 3-4 weeks steadily collecting Monster Cards that can be exchanged for Jenny Cards for funding.

They had exchanged hundreds of monster cards for a large sum of money. If they now just wanted to live on Greed Island, even with eighteen mouths to feed, as long as they lived modestly, it would be possible to afford housing and food for 2-3 years if they didn't spend any Jenny on Spell Cards.

Team Japan didn't plan to stay so long on Greed Island, so they had enough funds to perfectly provide for the newbies, the core members' housing, food, and anything else that they may need. They no longer needed to hunt monster for funds, but that was not why they were leaving.

Over the last twenty-six days Team Japan had just about used up all of their luck. They had made it a point to avoid other players and clans, yet recently more and more players would enter into their hunting grounds. They would find players carelessly wandering into their hunting grounds and they disposed of them swiftly, yet those were rare occurrences where the players were randomly lurking through the area in search of easy prey.

It wasn't at a level to be worried about, but the last three days Team Japan had to face off against seven groups of Nen Users looking to kill them. This was a major concern for Team Japan, so while the two newbies were off training under the watchful eye of Connor, the core members of the team met to discuss the problem.

Jin: "It's probably that. We must have killed too many Nen Users belonging to some clan who runs this area. No one would believe it to be a coincidence. The mortality rate is high on Greed Island, but to have so many members disappear in one area you would grow suspicious, correct? I would as a clan leader."

Aqua: "Jin is right. This location is no longer safe for us and we have no more need to hunt monsters. Let's head to a new city as quickly as we can. Also, we haven't been able to find any information on Bomber in Antokiba to date. We've even had Hikari scan the search. He's either in a different city, or lives in the wilderness. Whichever it is we need to move on from Antokiba."

Kampa: "It's highly likely that it's the latter. Remember what Shin said. A large clan leader like Nickes of Moderate Clan doesn't know a man matching Bomber's description. If he was lying, then Bomber, or the whole of Moderate Clan, would have found and killed us by now. We can believe in Nickes, so that means he's out of the public eye of such a large clan of Nen Users."

Hikari: "I agree with Kampa. We should begin searching for Bomber all around the island. No point in staying here. If it's me and Adrasteia, we should be able to track him down if I'm escorted around the island. Also, when Aqua and I were out shopping for supplies one day we heard that he regularly strike all the cities of Greed Island. We can wait for the moment he strike next and I'll immediately use my Persona to locate Bomber as I have his description!"

Shin: "Good. Now let's pack up the newbies and move to the next city. If we wait any longer we may be attacked again, but by a much larger force."

Shuai: "When do we depart from Antokiba for good?"

Shin: "Depends on our method of travel, but I want to do it today. We still have a few hours till sundown and then we can sneak off in the darkness of the night as one large eighteen man group, or as a few small groups can head out alone. With the latter option I, accompanied by at most two more, will head to Masadora. Then we'll buy a Spell Card to come back and then I'll use the "Accompany" that we picked up from day 1 from Latarza to take us all there together."

Shuai: "You want to move in a small group right? You'll think that we'll be attacked by others if we move in a large group?"

Shin: "Obviously. Also, the Newbies aside from Kisara and Renji can't defend themselves. Also, Greed Island is much larger than it was in the anime and even if I ran the entire way it would take me five to six hours to reach Masadora. With this group it'll take eight to ten hours. With the Newbies... it'll take more than half a day and that's without considering breaks. That's too long. At night, in the darkness, surrounded by Nen Users, I can't count on them to not hold us back. If we decide to move as one group and we're attacked by a large clan I won't hesitate to abandon the Newbies and run with everyone here."

Shin: "Renji! Kisara! We're about to head back to-"

After discussing plans with the others I walked away to inform the Newbies and Connor, who was watching over them, of our plans. I found the Newbies sitting on the floor training their Aura. I called out to them, but quickly stopped myself realizing that it was pointless.

Kisara and Renji were both meditating with deep concentration and couldn't hear my voice. They couldn't hope to hear, or realize that there was another presence among them as their practiced "Ten". This kind of deep concentration proved that I was right to have Connor watch over them, but more so showed their sincerity.

Shin: "Good grief. I'm happy that they are training so hard, but what would they had done if I hadn't left Connor here and an enemy Nen User appeared? So, have they been like this the whole time, Connor?"

Connor: "Yes. They've been at it since you left, but... is there any real point to this training? I understand things like Trion and Demonic Power now, so I can say clearly that they're progress is pitiful when compared to just getting powers from God. I also meditate on my own to cultivate energy. My progress is small, yet compared to theirs it's the difference between heaven and earth."

Shin: "Well... it shouldn't be pointless. Even a small amount of power can be helpful in an emergency."

Saying so, I recalled what happened three weeks ago on day 2 of Greed Island. I consulted with Aqua, the only Nen User of Team Japan, and Jin, who was smart and also understood Nen from reading the Manga. It was about the possibly of unlocking Renji and Kisara's Aura, their life force, like how it is done in Hunter X Hunter universe.

As I recalled from a wiki, Aura is the life energy produced by all living bodies vital for survival. Aura from all parts of the body has a tendency to flow together, producing one mass of energy. This happens without the individual's awareness, typically resulting in a slow leak of aura continually escaping the body. If one were to lose their entire aura, it would be equivalent to using up all the energy keeping them alive, which would be fatal. The pores or points on the body from which aura flows out from are called "Aura Nodes". Controlling those nodes is the first step to being a user of Nen.

A student learning Nen trains to manually open and close their aura nodes so that they can control the flow of their aura. One typically learns this process slowly and gradually through meditation. The second method, colloquially called Initiation or Baptism, starts by having one receiving an influx of aura from an experienced Nen User that forces these nodes to open.

Despite how quickly it works, the method is typically frowned upon due to its danger to the student if the user is inexperienced or has malicious intent. Initiation via physically attacking another with the use of an enhanced aura typically causes permanent disability or death.

There is, however, a way to initiate that is less harmful to the student's body — gently jolting open another's Aura Nodes forces the student to learn to control their Aura flow, or else risk suffering severe exhaustion or death. This method is called "Gehou". Once one has opened their aura nodes, they will be able to see their own Aura as a shroud surrounding the body due to the nodes of the eyes being opened.

This was the method that I suggested we use. What I wanted was for Aqua, a Nen User who can use "Gyo" to see if there were any traces of Aura/life energy in their bodies. Then if it was confirmed that it was possible, I wanted her to forcefully awaken their Aura so that the two trial members could become Nen Users just like herself.

The reason that I wanted to see if Nen could be learned from regular people without exchanges is because, from what I know, Jin's Mana is poisonous to others in the Witch Hunter universe and could even harm Kisara, as she isn't a woman from that universe.

Connor's Demonic Power might turn them into mutated monsters as they didn't have a demon bloodline, and his secondary Trion can't be taught but only born with, as far as I know. My own Ki energy was too slow to cultivate even when I have the power and given that Ki itself from many sources are infamously known for how long it takes to reach a practical level, I would not see any immediate results.

From what I knew, only the Nen from Hunter X Hunter had the method to suddenly being able to use Aura if stimulated from another person. It carried a high risk of death even for those born in that universe, but I wanted to try this method out. If it worked then I can have all the core members of Team Japan without special powers, like Kampa, learn it. It could also become an amazing method to strengthen future Newbies when they first arrive to God's Dimension.

Lastly, but still important, Greed Island was the best place in the world to learn the basics of Nen. Biscuit herself confirmed that if one played the game normally, without all of the violence, one's Nen ability would become stronger. I had no intention of sending them to fight Nen Users or members of Team Germany, but collecting Monster Cards would be both good for the team and their training.

Our first test subject was Renji.

Unlike Kisara, who was scouted to become a trial member, or the Newbies who had no voice or responsibility for the Team Japan at this time, Renji was a trial member who volunteered despite not having the qualifications in physical ability or possessed a special skill. This meant that if Renji wanted to stay among the core members of Team Japan team like he has been, that he was required listen to our reasonable orders, or be banished back down to the status of a newbie with no voice when it came to decisions. If Renji refused, he would have been kicked out of the team, but to my surprise he hastily agreed to the experiment if there was even a small chance he could learn Nen.

From there, Aqua examined Renji's body with "Gyo" and discovered that there was a very small amount of life energy present. Aqua didn't know if it was Aura from Hunter X Hunter, or something like Ki Energy, but Aqua believed that by using an Aura without killing intent she could unlock that small power. Jin also commented about the possibility that the life energy in normal humans was faceless till something imprints of it. This was an interesting theory, so we had Aqua examine those with special powers. Almost everyone had what was called the faceless life energy inside them, around the navel, so they could learn Nen, but Misaki, Connor, and I were different.

Misaki's life force was converted already into Haki (Life/Mind energy). Connor's life energy was taken over by Demonic Power (his heart Trion). My life energy had been fully converted into Ki Energy. Jin then made a guess that it was impossible for the two of us to learn Nen unless it was exchanged for and inserted into the body by God.

With it confirmed that it was possible for Renji to gain Nen Aqua preformed "Gehou" on him... and the results were not desirable. For who knows how long, Renji was in intense pain and losing what little life energy that he had as it flowed out of his body. As an emergency measure, when Renji was confirmed all but dead, Hikari hastily casted her Water Spirit (Healing) and Lightning Spirit (Stamina) magic buffs on him.

The end result was that Renji survived, gaining Nen and the power to use Aura, but was in bed for the next five days. This dangerous and inhuman experiment turned away those with ideas to gain Nen for themselves. In the end they weren't Manga and Anime characters, so such powers were dangerous to acquire and so quickly without God's assistance. One might, at the very least, need a higher level of the Genetic Constraint to use this method safely.

Even if it was not a lot of power, having Aura could save a person's life, yet no one wanted to us this near lethal method to gain Nen anymore and with the pitiful amount of Aura like was seen in Renji afterwards no one thought that it was worth it... all except Kisara that is. The supermodel level beauty and swordsman Kisara volunteered to have her Aura unlocked as well so that she could help out as much as possible. Some tried to warn her away, yet Kisara was stubborn to the very end, and so I gave Aqua the go ahead.

The result... had a mix of ups and downs. Kisara didn't struggle as hard as Renji to gain control of her Aura after it was released, especially after being buffed by Hikari's magic from the start. Kisara didn't struggle so hard to gain Nen simply because she had a near perfect level of control over her physical body and had a strong mind sharpened by her years of swordsmanship training.

When Kisara and Renji were resting afterwards from unlocking their Aura, it was discovered that Kisara and her family knew of the concept of the Genetic Constraint, but their word for it was 'Enlightenment'. The founder of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu discovered it after partaking in many life and death battles with the sword. He found that Unlocked Mode brought out the best in his swordsmanship, so he thought of training methods to awaken it in his students and own children who would inherited Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.

Very few people in Kisara's family would every reach enlightenment, yet just the training methods strengthened the swordsman's mind that allowed them to consistently fight at their peak ability and gain perfect concentration when preforming complicated attacks. In sports it would be a state like being "in the zone", a version of it where it could be entered whenever one pleased, but still a state below the Unlocked Mode, which is born from life or death struggles. Hearing this, everyone understood that without that type of hardcore training for years, it would be impossible to learn different types of powers with God's Exchange System. Aura could save their lives, but it could take their lives all the same.

Renji and Kisara rejoined the core members in hunting monsters after recovering, yet they didn't become super humans. A few lectures from Aqua and they could use the basic moves, but their Aura was pitifully low and they could not use their powers for long. Still, I had Kisara and Renji train hard to gain what power they could. I had them practice Ten, Zetsu, and Red everyday, and through the Hatsu training method Water Divination, the method to discover one's Nen type by executing Ren over a glass of water with a leaf floating on top and watching the resulting reaction, we discovered their Nen types and had them practice that as well. There were no great leaps in progress and I was okay with that, but some of us saw it as pointless.

Connor: "If I had to rank their Nen as it is now... it would be at best 1/10 of what a D tier Low Level Hunter Nen should look like. It has no value in a fight against Nen Users, or Team Germany's enhanced members."

Shin: "I don't argue with you there, but maybe something will be born from this like Skill Mastery. If they reach a certain level maybe when they get back to the Terminal Lobby they can get exchanges for a discount, or free. Skill Mastery is confirmed to exist, so it's a possibility."

Connor: "..."

It was clear as day that Connor thought it was pointless. He might be right, but I didn't believe that it was. Any small amount of power could save their lives, so how could it be a waste? As long as they continue to train and try their best, something will definitely come of this. Still, we couldn't hunt for monsters and train here anymore, so it was time to go. I forcefully woke up the two Newbies from meditation and had them follow me, along with Connor, back to the others.

It was moving day after all.


	123. Chapter 123

Day 26/90 of Greed Island.

Shin: "We'll be going now everyone. Stay hidden in our rooms in Antokiba. You have enough supplies, so don't go out unless it's an emergency. If you do, and find someone suspicious following you, don't hesitate to kill. So long as the incident isn't too big, you won't risk the penalty."

Hikari: "We know already. You're not parents leaving your children at home alone. Just go already. Your constant otakuness has been getting on our nerves lately. A break from you would do us all some good."

Shin: "Come on now! We might be gone longer than just a day. If Masadora isn't a safe place to live we may have to go to another city like Aiai or Soufrabi. It's possible since Masadora has the only store on the island that sells Spell Cards, that players from all over the island might be fighting it out all over the city. Stealing each other's cards, turf wars, and things like that. Worst case we can be gone for a few days or more than a week to find a new location to set up base."

Aqua: "A week without Shin... Hikari is right. Sounds like a vacation to me."

Shin: "Hahaha... very funny. Anyways, everyone just stay safe and call me if anything comes up. This is the first mission in a while where our Communicator Phones actually work, so let's use them while we can. Let's keep in contact every six hours for the time being. Also, Renji and Kisara."

Renji: "Leader!"

Kisara: "Yes?"

Shin: "You can't go outside for a while, so just practice the basic Nen for now. Ten, Zetsu, and Ren. Also, we know your Aura types thanks to Water Divination. Renji is a Transmuter and Kisara is an Emitter. Practice your Hatsu with Water Divination to bring out a stronger effect."

I finished relaying my orders and checked my supplies. Gravity Sword, Lesser Fenrir Coat, and two Na Rings filled enough supplies for a small group to travel for one week (and I took out Kampa's Unicorn Beam Magnum in case he needs it for an emergency). I also had in my possession enough Jenny Cards to buy more supplies from another town or city if the need arises. We were now all set to go.

Shin: "Then I'll see you all later. Bye my lovely wife to be Aqua. Bye my lovely wife to be Hikari. I know it's impossible, but try not to miss me too-"

Aqua: "Just go fool idiot!"

Kisara: "One man and two wives... and you all get along so well. Amazing."

Hikari: "Don't take this otaku so seriously Kisara! He's a delusional fool who believes he's the main character of a story."

Aqua: "A story about his delusional harem adventures nobody reads."

Hikari: "Yeah. If you're not careful he'll add you to the harem within his mind and that's the end. From there there's no escape even if you save up 50,000 points."

Shin: "...I'm going now."

Leaving the others back at the inn we were staying at in Antokiba, I departed the city with my temporary small party of four. Coming along with me to Magic City Masadora were Shuai, Connor, and Jin.

I choose Shuai for his ability to set up security nets with his Shaman tools and because he could create a temporary defensive base on the road with his with his Earth Elemental Gnome. I brought Connor for his sniping ability and capacity as a scout who was able to move alone without raising attention. As for Jin... he wasn't useless now that he has magic enhancements and I also wanted to work with him as recently I didn't have that many chances to see him in action due to me watching over the trial members Kisara and Renji.

Shin: "Jin. Did you ever make any progress with Skill Mastery yet? That was the reason you exchanged for all of those low level skills that boost your ability to wield magic, right?"

Jin: "Hahaha! I'm glad that you've asked! The answer to your question is... not at all!"

Shin: "..."

Jin: "Don't look at me like that. I'm trash, but I'm not 100% useless... at least when it comes to magic. I'm coming closer is what I believe. Using Frostbolt as a starting point I've come up with two moves... well, three actually, but the last one is a close combat attack that's more of a concept than anything else. The first move I thought of is a simple offensive attack that'll damage and slow down those that it hits. The second is to change the environment to my liking. I've yet to reach Skill Mastery, but I should be able to use the first two if push came to shove."

Shin: "That's nice to know. How about you Shuai? Made any progress with your abilities?

Shuai: "Not so much. I can set up Kekkai Barrier faster and the power has gone up, but that's about it. Ah, but I can use Gnome a whole lot better! I can even keep here active at all times. She's even here right now following us from below underground."

Shuai then as proof ordered his Earth Elemental to come out. Gnome's head cutely popped out of the ground like a certain arcade game and smiled towards us all. Shuai then, like a father praising his daughter, patted Gnome on top of her head and had her return to the earth.

Shuai: "The longer I keep her out the better I get at controlling Gnome. It's easier to keep her manifested while she's connected to the earth like this, but it's my current goal to be able to keep her out anywhere for 24/7. The next time I have the points and rewards I plan to advance Gnome to the next level."

Shin: "How envious. I should look into getting a pet or familiar to fight alongside like you. A majestic beast or spirit that can use magic would be nice."

Shuai: "Gnome is a not a pet! She's my trusted partner! Really a daughter to me more than anything else. I use her to fight, but don't go treating her as less than human."

Shin: "Okay... daughter? How did you reach such a conclusion? I think would think falling in love with your cute Earth Elemental Gnome that's still a child, raising her up with enhancements so she'll grow older and mature, all the while influencing her in a Hikaru Genji like way would be the normal thing to happen."

Shuai: "That's just you!"

Shin: "Really? ...Hey have you've ever read that manga based on Hikaru Genji where the main character is asked by his super model level aunt to sleep with fourteen girls in her Hikaru Genji project? The romantic scenes are great, but the story is very compelling as well."

Shuai: "...You're not allowed to be alone with Gnome."

Shin: "Shuai... what kind of man do you take me for? I already have two wives you know!"

Shuai: "I think you've answered your own question leader."

Shuai held no respect for his leader in his eyes, and seeing this I turned away unable to face him. Jin was happily humming the opening of Final Fantasy 10 as if he didn't have a care in the world, so I turned by sights over to Connor, the child solider of ten years of age, for conversation. Connor was not one for small talk, but at this moment, where Jin was being Jin and Shuai was overly protective of his female Earth Elemental, Connor was the best choice for a conversation partner on this long walk to Magic City Masadora.

So far Connor had stayed out of any of our conversations and just kept a vigilant look out for danger, but as leader I should create some dialog between us. Connor doesn't socialize with anyone of Team Japan. He'll work together with anyone and can accept the orders of those whose strength he has acknowledge, but that is as far as it goes. It is okay to not have friends, or be overly nice to others, but there is no reason not to try and get along better with others. Connor benefits as a child soldiers with combat experience and his sniping are invaluable to the team, but I don't want this reason to be why he isolates himself.

Shin: "So Connor, how's it going with your training? You have Demonic Power and Trion Energy at your disposal, but it must be rough to handle both."

I tried asking about his training for starters. Connor is the military type despite being a kid, so a question like that won't seem too personal, yet it is personal as well since it involves him. As the leader, it isn't strange for me to be asking this... although I should have asked this a long time ago now that I think about it. Anyway, Connor as a solider should answer my question without hesitation. That'll be the opening.

Connor: "Demonic Power is increasing in quantity bit by bit with training, but no large leaps as of yet. I can also fully use Demonic Power to enhance both my natural body and Trion Body to several times from my already heightened new standard and apply that power to my guns with the exception of my Trigger weapons. I can only enhance the combat body and not Eaglet, Lightning, or Ibis. Trion gets in the way and I don't know how to combine them offensively. As for Trion, no progress has been made and I have yet to be able to use what little Trion I have outside of the Trion Body."

Shin: "I see. You should see if you can combine your two powers together. I bet you anything there will be an amazing improvement in your combat ability. You've unlocked your Genetic Constraint like me, so I know you can do it. If you have any questions just come to me. It was hard at first, but I can perfectly combine Ki Energy and One-eye Ghoul Mutation."

Connor: "..."

Shin: "...Okay. Just don't hesitate if you have any questions."

In the end... Connor's silence and aura saying "Leave me alone" scared me off.

Day 27/90 of Greed Island.

It had just pased midnight.

I expected for the four of us to reach Magic City Masadora by now, or to be almost there, but one thing or another slowed us down. Half the time, thanks to Shuai's surveillance network of artificial ghosts, we knew if we were about to run into any group of players hunting monsters or hunting other players, and avoided them, but this just slowed us down as we had to take longer routes then we wanted to. The other half was where the four of us couldn't avoid a fight. Even when we tried to go around them, Nen Users would pursue us one after the other. When we defeated a few of them we learned from Jin's... interrogations that they weren't specifically looking for us, but just hunting anyone they came across.

During this trip to Masadora we did luck out with getting a few Monster Cards and even two Designated Pocket Cards, "Doyen's Growth Pills" and "Paladin's Necklace" from some Nen Users who probably just stole them from their last victim, but even gaining a few more cards for the Main Quest didn't make me feel better. The trouble with the Nen Users is that you can't tell if someone is a threat or not. Obviously you can tell by Aura amount and the sense of danger around them, but the problem is Hatsu. The Nen ability of a individual, also called Hatsu was an unknown factor in combat. It really lived up to the name of the anything that you can imagine ability.

Most Nen Users on Greed Island didn't bother to use, or didn't know how to use Hatsu. Some knew, but theirs were just basic ranged attack of Nen or strengthened weapons, but what was frightening is that even a weak Nen User might have unexpected power. Connor, who mainly fights with guns, bombs, and knives, just recently fought a wimpy looking small man who could use Magnetism and repelled all of his attacks and ripped his weapons out of his hands. Well, Connor, quite frightening to both enemy and allies alike, chased after and beat the man to death with Demonic Power strengthened legs and arms.

That was Hatsu's threat.

Connor won in the end, but the point was made. Even if the Nen User wasn't strong in a fight, the right kind of ability could mess us up. Thinking back, Latarza could have really hurt anyone on Team Japan except me if they had met his Sonic Blast Hatsu head on like I did. If the man Connor fought had better control of his Nen and had stronger comrades, then we could have been in a real jam without the support of firearms. Kampa, who uses guns to fight and especially Aqua with her Adamantium exoskeleton would be disadvantaged when fighting that Nen User from before. The unknown factor with Nen and Hatsu was downright terrifying under the wrong conditions.

A Nen User who can cause headaches and make it hard for you to focus could seal Hikari and her Psyche Force and magic buffs.

A Nen User who can control oxygen levels can seal Misaki's Firebending and Dragon Slayer Mutation.

A Nen User who can control metal can seal Aqua, Kampa, and Connor as already explained.

A Nen User who can control intense heat over a wide area can seal Jin's specialty ice magic.

I couldn't imagine a Nen User who can completely seal me, as I'm so versatile, but the fact that I can't discount the possibility that one exists is frightening. As it is, I would prefer to face an Island of Btooom Soldiers, Btooom Commanders, or Elite Monsters. With Nen Users, all you have to do is meet that one guy under bad circumstances and you can die without putting up a fight. There's no absolute power in Nen, but Nen has infinite possibilities that make it indefinitely close to an absolute power. That's what makes Nen so deep and profound.

Shin: "What a long journey. It might not be till late morning that we get to Magic City Masadora."

It was while I was saying this that Shuai turned over to look at me with a worried look on his face. Then he softly began to speak.

Shuai: "Shin."

Shin: "What is it? I thought that you weren't-"

Shuai: "Never mind about that! We're being followed."

Shin: "Followed?"

Shuai: "Yes... and it's by someone incredibly dangerous!"


	124. Chapter 124

Terror Infinity - Side B

Chapter 13, HxH Greed Island

Day 27/90 of Greed Island.

Early morning after sunrise.

Masadora

Also known as the "Magic City" is a city on Greed Island. It has a fantasy-themed appearance. The building are very color and vibrant, and large jellyfish floats hover about the city's skies.

Masadora is the only city on Greed Island where players can buy Spell Cards and nowhere else. With 10,000 Jenny one can buy 3 random spell cards in the spell card shop. Many players who have given up on the game come to this city to look for a "Leap/Leave" Spell Card to get off of the island. Taking advantage of that, Gon and Killua were able to exchange some of their Leap cards for some Designated Pocket Cards.

Connor: "...Why do these jellyfish float?"

Shin: "Umm... well, you can't question nonsense like this in magic and fantasy stories like Hunter X Hunter. If you start questioning everything that you see and think 'Why?' you'll go insane. Especially in HxH."

Jin: "That's right Connor. You should just enjoy all of this... you're a kid after all."

Connor: "..."

Shuai: "Hey, what about the guys who are still-"

Shin: "Just ignore them for now, Shuai. If they attack us inside the city it is to our advantage and not theirs. We'll see how they react once we leave Masadora and use a Spell Card to immediately return to Antokiba. We'll stay till late afternoon here in the city and acquire Spell Cards while we're at it. If they let us go then we were only just temporary prey they could do with or without. If they still follow us after waiting so long in Masadora, then it'll show that they are not your average player killers. If they have no intention of letting us go... we'll cut them down as we make out way to the next city."

With that said I lead everyone deeper into the city of Masadora. Our designation was the city's Spell Card shop, so we didn't bother with the various quests to gain cards as we asked a Greed Island NPC for directions. We went straight there and entered the Spell Card Shop. We had plenty of Jenny Cards between us so we could over a hundred Spell Card packs, but if our luck was good we wouldn't need to.

Shin: "You know what to do Jin?"

Jin: "Of course! Leave it to me! The best gamers are also the best cheats as well, even without cheat codes.

Shuai: "I'm worried."

Connor: "..."

There was a problematic rule for us concerning Spell Cards. The rules stated that we could only open the three card packs outside the store for the whole world to see. All four of us were all very much aware that the Spell Card Shop was being vigilantly watched by multiple eyes of predators.

Hostile Nen Users of various clans.

If they see that we acquired any rare or halfway decent Spell Cards well be marked by the clans keeping watch of the Spell Card shop. Also, not opening the card packs and leaving right away draws too much attention as well. They could kill us for the card packs and if they have a luck increasing item on hand like "Risky Dice", they could acquire rare Spell Cards with ease.

We were all aware of the risk involved with buying Spell Cards, yet we had a plan as we walked out of the Spell Card shop. Jin, holding the ten packages of Spell Cards, opened them without any hesitation. After the first pack was opened Jin looked startled and swiftly opened the other nine packages. Everyone could see that with each new one opened Jin's face grew more and more solemn.

Jin: "Aww, man! What trashy cards! We spent all of our money and look! All "List" Spell Cards! Our, our weeks of doing part time jobs for small change... it's all gone!"

G.I Player A: "Hahahah! The moron used all of his money and just got packs of "List"! I always thought that such a thing was an urban legend!"

G.I Player B: "How unlucky! If he was going to waste his money we should have stolen his Jenny Cards instead. Wait, he's still placing those worthless Cards in his Free Pocket!"

G.I Player C: "Hey, we should still check to see if he's telling the truth."

The man who said that approached Jin to offer fake advice about guaranteeing success the next time he buys Spell Card packs and glance at his (Connor's) Binder. The man slimed through the Free Pocket and found that there were indeed thirty copies of "List" occupying 30 of the 45 free spots of the Binder.

The man couldn't hold back his laughter seeing as Jin didn't have a single good card to his name. The man informed the others even the men of other clans about the funny matter and they all laughed together... never bothering to use a Spell Card to check the contents of anyone else's Binders as Shin, Jin, Shuai, and Connor walked away in shame.

Once they were sure they were in the clear Shin couldn't help but laugh as he took out his Binder and flipped an already pre-owned "List" Spell Card.

Shin: "Hahaha! Playing the fool worked like a charm! It really suits you Jin."

Jin: "Thank you. I'm used to playing the undesirable roles. I'm trash, but they are worse off for not bothering to use a Spell Card on you Shin."

Shuai: "But it's understandable though. You didn't use a Spell Card, so no one would expect you were disguising your Cards."

Jin: "Still, this is a world where the 'anything ability' called Nen exist. Someone should always be on alert for a little bit of magic... like so. Illusion Shroud!"

Connor had opened up his Binder back to the Free Slot Spaces and Jin moved his hand to hover over the Cards. From there a veil of mist scattered forth from the cards within, revealing their true form. What was once thirty copies of the worthless "List" Spell Card were now a variety of thirty Spell Cards.

Seven "Accompany".

Six "Magnetic Force".

Eight "Contact".

Four "Clone".

Four "Blackout Curtain".

And lastly, a very rare "God's Eye".

Illusion Shroud.

This was the result of one of two magic spells that Jin has in his possession. A low level D tier magic to create illusions. Jin couldn't grand illusions like those created by the Vongola Famiglia Mist Guardian, but for staying invisible to the eye for a short time or for creating simple disguises, Jin's Illusion Shroud magic spell got the job done.

Shin: "Hahahaha! Jin, Connor, and Shuai! Lady luck and the heart of the cards were on our side today! We have gained all the cards that we need to survive Greed Island. Especially the very rare "God's Eye" which is important if we want to keep the option open of acquiring all the Designated Pocket Cards!"

Shuai: "Should we have bought more cards then?"

Jin: "No. Just ten packs was enough. If they assumed that we had the Jenny Cards to pay for dozens of Spell Card Packs they would have robbed us the first chance that they saw. Remember, Binders record the names of every person that you've ever encountered on the island. We can't avoid this, so we have to maintain the image that we're trash just barely getting by and failing when it counts."

Shin: "I agree with Jin. We're going to be staying in the city for a while, so let's not draw too much attention to ourselves. Still, we should make the most of this time. Jin go around town and learn as much about the social structure of Masadora and information about Bomber. Shuai go with him. Connor, watch and make sure those two don't get into any trouble."

Shuai: "What will you do?"

Shin: "I'll get in contact with Aqua and the others and inform them of the situation. We originally planned immediately return to Antokiba, but I'm worried about our pursuers."

Having said so I split off from the group and walked around Masadora alone. After a half hour of walking and, finding that no one was following me, I stepped into a local park. Only Greed Island NPCs were around, so I felt safe for the moment. I took out my Communicator Phone and called for my redheaded war goddess Aqua to update her of what has transpired.

I told her that in the early hours after midnight, Shuai realized that a group Nen Users were followed them.

According to Shuai, they were invisible and completely undetectable from visual perception as his ghosts were unable to see them following us. It was a warning from his Earth Elemental Gnome that alerted him as to what was going on. Gnome hidden underground, like a master Earthbender from Avatar, felt through the vibrations of the ground, showing that a small group was trailing them and were invisible.

Shuai then conveyed this to Jin, Connor, and I. We were surprised that someone could so effectively stay out of our surveillances and our sharp senses unnoticed. I was reminded of the Chimera Ant Meleoron's Hatsu Perfect Plan, who had the ability to stay invisible or completely outside a person's senses. It was scary to think about what would have happened if they attacked us... but, like I feared, this was what Nen was. The dangerous 'anything ability' that can kill you if you meet the wrong Nen User.

After the warning that we were being followed, we all proceed with caution as we prepared to be attacked... yet in the end, our pursuers didn't attack us. Last time Shuai checked, after we had entered the city, they were waiting for us 500 meters outside Masadora.

Shin: "That's what happened."

Aqua: "I see. We definitely have to be grateful for Shuai's presence. Without him you wouldn't have any idea of an enemy tailing you."

Shin: "Yeah, but it would have worked out if you were with us, Aqua. It seems like it's only our visual perception that is being blocked. If it was you, with your Werewolf Bloodline and Wolverine Genetic Mutation you would have realized we're being tailed the moment they started."

Aqua: "Then maybe I should have come along on your boy's outing."

Wait. Is she mad that I didn't invite her? That's... kind of cute.

Shin: "I would prefer a walk through a beautiful island like Greed Island with just you, but... the sentiment counts. Maybe later we can-"

Aqua: "Enough foolishness, leader. What will you do from here out?"

Shin: "For now I'm considering heading to a new city or town for us and then coming back for you and everyone else with a Spell Card. I have to wait for what Jin and the others find out, but, from what I've found, Masadora has too much conflict for my liking. I don't believe anyone was following me in the city, but I know that if any of the players knew I had rare cards on me they would lynch me in the middle of the street."

Aqua: "It's that bad, huh? Who knows what would have happened to us if we had decided to play this game like everyone else."

Shin: "Just two things. We would have collected all of the cards early on in one large battle... or been picked off one by one by the larger clans on the island. I do feel that we are a bit too passive for my liking, but we made our decision to fight like this. Bomber is our highest priority. Staying out of trouble is our second."

Aqua: "You know the second is impossible for you, right? Just look at you now! You're being followed by dangerous Nen Users who have the patience follow a target for hours, maybe days if needed, before they strike... just try to stay alive. If you need to just returned to Antokiba with a Spell Card. If you don't want to waste a valuable card, don't worry. We can always steal some from players the next chance that we get."

Shin: "I have no intention of potentially bringing back my troubles if they use Spell Cards to follow us, but I understand. I'll do my best to not die out here like a beaten dog and I'll keep the others alive as well. Hey, how about once find a new city to live in we rent a place just for ourselves? It feels like a good step in our relationship. You, me, and Hikari under one roof as a happy-"

Aqua: "..."

Shin: "I can't believe that she hung up on me! Why is my first wife-to-be so shy?"

Shuai: "You have another women you call a second wife-to-be as well."

Shin: "...Really? It can't be that."

Connor: "..."

Shin: "Why are you staring at me without an ounce of respect in your eyes?"

Connor: "..."

Jin: "Now, now. It's time we leave Masadora since we have the Spell Cards that we need to return to Prize City Antokiba. We're ready to depart when you are leader."

Shin: "I see. Good. Now then... it's off to a new city where we'll be staying for the remainder of the mission. Onward to The City of Love, Aiai!"


	125. Chapter 125

Terror Infinity - Side B

Chapter 14, HxH Greed Island

Day 28/90 of Greed Island.

The four of us walked under the dark night sky as the day passed. It was normally a time where people chose to rest their bodies. It was too dangerous to be moving around at night when Nen Users could be hunting down other players for Cards, but we were not concerned. As veterans of a team from God's Dimension, we have all been enhanced to some extent, so we didn't need to rest. Also, one of us held abilities that perfectly warned us if we were approaching anyone, or the other way around. There were also two strong fighters and a strategist in our group, so in the event of a fight we were by no means weak even if we come across a small clan of Greed Island players/Nen Users.

Shuai: "My feet hurt. Just because I can keep going doesn't mean that I want to keep walking for hours on end."

Connor: "...Weakling."

Jin: "That's a bit too much, Connor. Even I'm-"

Connor: "That means that you're weak."

Shin: "Also, no one cares about you."

Jin: "Don't be like that! Shuai and my own enhancements aren't as physical as Connor's or your enhancements Shin. Also, as bad as I am, it isn't my fault that Greed Island expanded to such a size. We've been walking since noon and we're only about half way to Aiai."

Shin: "Just keep walking."

We walked, walked, and walked some more to reach our far off destination after leaving behind Magic City Masadora.

Aiai

Also known as "The City of Love", and it's a city on Greed Island. The atmosphere on the streets of this city feels like it is based upon classic romantic simulation games. A pink heart-shaped object floating in the sky is its symbol. In this city there are all kinds of clichéd situations and events that can lead to love. This city was our current designation after leaving behind Magic City Masadora. It was decided unanimously, yet not all of us could get behind the plan.

Connor: "...Why are we choosing to living in a city with a floating heart above in the sky?"

Shin: "I told you not to think about those things."

Connor: "...It's a giant pink heart."

Shuai: "I feel the same. I don't have girlfriends like you Shin, so I'm not looking forward to this move. It's like a single man moving to France!"

Shin: "Don't you have Gnome?"

Shuai: "I'm not into kids! Besides, Gnome is like – no is my daughter!"

Shin: "Okay... anyway, Shuai and Connor, the two of you should know exactly why we are moving to Aiai. You two were with Jin when he discovered that it's the safest city on Greed Island. I personally don't want to sleep at night holding on to GB (Gravity Blade) worrying if someone is going to kill me in my sleep. I would rather hold on to Hikari or Aqua!"

Shuai: "Is that your only reason?"

Shin: "..."

Jin: "Hahaha! In any case Aiai is the safest place for us to set up base, like what we discovered. Also, I personally love girl simulation games... although I can't seem to win over a girl without the walk-through. I wonder why?"

Shin: "...Who knows?"

City of Love Aiai.

There was a very good reason as to why we are heading there, even outside my personal motivations. According to Jin, who had bribed a few players at a bar by paying for drinks and sucking up to them, Aiai has the best and safest housing environment on Greed Island. The reason was because Aiai, as the city of love, drew to it the most couples. It drew both Greed Island NPCs and players. For those unable to leave Greed Island, or those who have no desire to leave, and have settled down with a significant other, Aiai is the ideal city to live in. Renting or buying a home in Aiai costs significantly more Jenny Cards than any other city or town on the island, but those houses have the best home security and are patrolled by police NPCs.

Additionally, Jin discovered from those players at the bar that Aiai is the territory of the largest clan, Moderate Clan. The Moderate Clan members do kill other Greed Island players for their cards like everyone else, but they have made it a rule that killing in the city is outright banned and punishable by death. The only person acting in exception to this rule is the Bomber, but security is so tight that City of Love Aiai has the least terrorist incidents by far of any other town or city on Greed Island.

Jin: "That's how it is. As long as you have the funding, then Aiai is the best city to live in on Greed Island. It's pleasant and no one outright kills another. Also, if you're willing to pay an extra price, you can bribe Moderate Clan for protection, but we don't need such a thing. It'll hinder our movements and we already have a link to their leader Nickes thanks to our leader here."

Shin: "That's why it's an ideal place to set up base. The comfort will keep the Newbies safe and, more importantly, in line. Once they know they are safe they won't dare argue against us no matter what demands we make of them."

Jin: "Yes, but it's annoying how they are just living off our hard work. We should... seriously consider making them bait when Team Germany arrives."

Shuai: "You two are evil. Glad I'm on this side."

Connor: "Never mind about the cowards. What will we do about them? They're still following after us. Is this plan of yours ready yet?"

Shin: "Ask Shuai. He's the one who sent Gnome ahead to set the trap. Actually, isn't the reason you're acting so weak because you gave all your Spiritual Power to Gnome?"

Shuai: "The trap is almost done. Just a few more minutes till its complete, but I think the enemy numbers have increased. I don't know if they are going to attack soon, but-"

Shin: "Don't worry. We'll begin the plan. I'm done with this hunter and prey crap and I won't let more show up. From here on out... we're the hunters!"

Savage Clan Member 1: "...So how is it? Have they still not notice us?"

Savage Clan Member 2: "Hmm, I'm not sure."

Ten Nen Users were following after Shin's group as they continued towards Aiai, yet the group they were following shouldn't be aware of this. The group of ten were being masked in one of the Nen User's Hatsu, Mirror Wall.

Mirror Wall was variation of "En", the Nen ability to expand the Aura from the body and identify everything that enters into that field of Aura. "En" is usually used to search form enemies or increase one's defensive awareness, yet this Nen User uses his Aura to reflect light, creating a sphere of space around the user that is invisible to outsiders. Mirror Wall was even hard to notice when using 'Gyo' on the eyes, so it's normally impossible to notice unless one was aware of being followed prior, yet...

Savage Clan Member 2: "I don't think that they can see us, but I can't help but believe they are more on guard than usual. We've been following them for over a day, so-"

Savage Clan Member 1: "You're too cautious! If they knew they were being followed they should have escaped to a city, or made a move at this point. Look! Half their group looks exhausted from all the walking they did. Who would leave themselves that vulnerable just to trick us?"

Savage Clan Member 3: "In any case maybe we should call for backup? It's late, but most of us from the Savage Clan operate at night. We can call for at least 100 medium level Nen Users if we want."

Savage Clan Member 1: "You're both too much. No one is going to like it if we call for them to kill a bunch of kids who probably don't have any rare cards. They are a greedy bunch, so they are going to want some compensation for their troubles, those bastards! Besides, we only suspect that they may have something to do with our missing clan members. We didn't have anything better to do or any other suspects, so here we are. I won't call for them. Let's just kill three of them and interrogate the surviving fourth."

Savage Clan Member 2: "We'll, it isn't YOUR call to make. That's why we called for the boss."

Savage Clan Member 3: "So what should we do Binolt?"

The nine present members of Savage Clan looked towards their leader. This was the man who ruled over the ruthless Savage Clan with an iron fist, Binolt. The man had short, spiky hair and a bony face set with bulging eyes and serrated teeth, giving him the typically ferocious appearance of a criminal.

In the original Greed Island arc of Hunter X Hunter, Binolt was a player and is also a high-class criminal despite being a Blacklist Hunter. He is wanted for committing numerous acts of murder without any apparent concrete justification.

Binolt's personality was apparently that of a hardened cannibal, who loves to rip apart and eat his victims, but he preferred hair above all else. His preferred 'prey' were young women aged between 20 and 25 years (22 being the most sought after prey). However, Binolt has been shown to possess some martial arts etiquette, requesting to spar with Biscuit "as a martial artist" after learning her true age and strength.

Biscuit rated Binolt's strength on par with a Class-D monster in the original Greed Island. According to her, he could have easily killed Gon and Killua before they fought him as part of Biscuit's training. Binolt mainly fights with a set of scissors that is strapped around his waist; by cutting and eating his opponent's hair, he can learn everything there is to know about them.

Binolt is also confident in his hand-to-hand combat skills, although he was no match for Biscuit. As part of Gon and Killua's training, he had to fight them for several days non-stop, which vouches for his high level of stamina. He was also convinced he could heal and fight without sleeping for a whole week.

Binolt's Nen type was never officially confirmed. However, since his ability is a form of psychometry, he is most likely a Specialist. He is a skilled Nen user, especially in battle, since originally he was much stronger than Gon and Killua, who had defeated some of the Heavens Arena fighters. He has shown proficiency in three of the four basic techniques: Ren, Zetsu, and Hatsu, get his Zetsu was imperfect when compared towards Gon and Killua.

Binolt has only shown one Nen Ability.

Scissor Hands (Demon Barber): By cutting his target's hair with his favorite scissors and eating it, Binolt can learn about any sort of physique-related information about his opponent. It is with this ability that he realized Biscuit's true age and strength.

Binolt: "...We'll attack now. I love hunting prey like this, but I want to taste their hair as well. I prefer young adult virgin hair of women, but these four seem just as tempting for whatever reason. Especially the one with white hair. He looks decently strong. Also, we won't call for back up. The nine of you are good enough to handle the other three, but leave the white haired one to me!"

Savage Clan Member 3: "Boss. I'm getting a bad feeling like this is a trap. We should definitely-"

Binolt: "Huh?! Are you giving me orders?"

Savage Clan Member 3: "No, of course-"

"No, of course not", is what the Savage Clan member wanted to say, but... he never got the chance to finish his sentence as his life was already extinguished. It happened in an instant. The man's head left a bloody trial as it rolled on the hard and cold ground of the island, while Binolt took out a handkerchief from his pocket to clean one of his beloved pair of stainless steel scissors.

Binolt: "Baka! How dare he make me dirty my scissors with his filthy blood? He knew that I hate to be ordered around."

Savage Clan Member 2: "Boss! They're starting to move and are running away!"

Binolt: "Fuck! It must have been the smell of blood from that guy. Your Hatsu doesn't hinder smell. That's why we stayed down wind. Fucking trash!"

Binolt cursed and in anger kicked the deceased Savage Clan member's detached head with enough force to splatter it into oblivion. It was a gruesome scene that scared even members of the ruthless Savage Clan, yet the act seemed to have calmed Binolt down.

Binolt: "What's done is done. Let's not get upset and get down to business. They haven't used a Spell Card to escape, so they probably don't have any decent Cards. We'll chase after them! I'll take on the one with white hair and the rest of you take care other three, but keep one of them alive. Don't fail me, or else-"

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Binolt: "!"

Binolt and the other members of Savage Clan looked on at shocked at the scenery before them. In the direction Shin and his group were running a large cloud of dirt and rocks erupted and covered the entire area for miles. Shin, Shuai, Connor, and Jin who they assumed to be the prey had taken their first actions to reverse who were the prey and who were the hunters.


	126. Chapter 126

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 15, HxH Greed Island

On the route between Masadora and Aiai a new battle has begun for the players of Greed Island. As the leader of the Savage Clan and nine of his followers were about to launch an attack on Team Japan's leader Shin, Shuai, Connor and Jin, when a great cloud of dust and gravel exploded up obscuring and covering the surrounding area.

Savage Clan lost visual contact with Shin's group and started feeling uneasy. To the west was a forest perfect for hiding in the night. To the east was rocky terrain that could conceal anyone who enters. To the north was a road that was clear of any obstruction, but if one were to run at full speed without stopping they could safely make it to a small village. Binolt and the other pursuers have only just now realized that Shin and his group had chosen the perfect location to escape from their pursuers.

Binolt: "Follow them!"

Binolt roared at his men as they chased after Team Japan, with their fear of Binolt fueling their bloodlust.

Connor: "...Tch! Only three chased after me?

Connor was displeased as he ran towards the forest to the west using the smoke screen of dirt summoned by Shuai's Earth Elemental. Out of Team Japan's nine confirmed pursuers, only three of them choose to follow after Connor using "Gyo" to find him through the cloud of dust. It might be because Connor's appearance was that of a child they forgot about the fact that he looked to be the second strongest of the group, yet that worked well for him now. If they underestimated him then he would easily take them out.

Connor had been ordered to swiftly take care of the enemies who would follow after him and from there he was to offer support fire with his long range sniping. Connor agreed that this was for the best instead of outright escaping, so he abruptly turned in front of the forest and took out his SMG.

Connor: "Fall."

Channeling Demonic Power into his gun, Connor raised his weapon and opened fire on his pursuers who had finally caught up after following him through the cloud of dust. The enemy couldn't move out of the way in time, but as Nen Users they weren't in any way helpless. The enhanced bullets struck the Nen Users, but each of them used Ken to protect themselves. Connor didn't stop firing as he slowly took steps backwards into the forest, yet most of the bullets were bouncing off their Aura and the very few that didn't barley drew any blood.

The Savage Clan members took more and more confident steps forward knowing Connor's assault couldn't afflict any critical damage. The bullets hurt, but they weren't something that was impossible to endure. Demonic Power enhanced the bullets fired out of the SMG, yet the three Savage Clan enemies were mid-level Nen Users with powerful Auras.

Connor realized that as well and ceased firing altogether and ran into the woods. The Savage Clan Nen Users saw Connor flee and feared what their leader Binolt would do if he learned that they let the prey escape. In a panic and willing to take risks they dashed after Connor who retreated into the woods and stopped using "Gyo" since he was already spotted... yet that was a careless mistake that lead them to miss the trap underneath their feet.

\- *BEEP*!

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Remote Control BIM.

One of the Savage Clan Nen Users stepped over the space where Connor had last stood and the last thing he heard was the beep before a BIM set off by Connor exploded. Unbeknownst to them Connor had placed a powerful Remote Control BIM and set it off underneath his feet. The Aura of the Nen User could repel bullets, but was not strong enough to safeguard a BIM that was additionally charged with Demonic Power. That one Nen User of Savage Clan's lower body was blown to pieces and the upper half flew away burned black with no signs of life to be seen.

Savage Clan Member 1: "Fuck! Leader really liked that guys Nen ability. He'll kill us even if we bring down the brat!"

The two remaining Savage Clan Nen Users with were filled with both dread and rage. Fear towards their short tempered leader and rage towards the child soldier Connor... but once more Connor remained level headed and used the opponents carelessness to act. Connor slipped into the darkness of the forest and hid himself. Connor was no master assassin, but he was a expert sniper. It was too easy to erase his presence and hide within a dark forest. The furious Nen Users unable to locate Connor ran deeper into the forest after him. They looked left and right even with "Gyo" to increase their perception, but to no success they couldn't locate where the child soldier escaped to.

Connor: "...Trigger On!"

Out of sight of the of the enemy and hidden in the shadows of the forest while he sat on top of a tree, Connor took out his C-Class Trigger and activated it. In a flash a veil of light covered Connor's being as the C-Class Trigger started up. The transformation was started and completed swiftly as Connor's flesh and blood body was swapped out and replaced by a Trion Body most suitable for welding Trion Energy. Connor couldn't normally use Trion Energy with his living body, but in his transformed state he could wield both Trion Energy and Demonic Power. Connor re-emerged with exactly the same in appearance as he opted out of a Border Uniform, yet his body had still changed.

With a higher level of strength with a body powered by body Trion and Demonic Power, Connor moved from place to place, tree branch to tree branch swiftly, yet silently. Within a few seconds Connor flanked the two furious Savage Clan members as they were fruitlessly searching for him. It was only at the moment when Connor materialized a rifle from his Trigger did the two finally come back to their senses. With the 'Lightning' Sniper trigger set to rapid fire Connor opened fired at the two Savage Clan members backs. Lightning lacked power, but it made up for it with bullet speed and rapid fire action. It also had the option to spay Trion bullets like a machine gun as demonstrated at this moment.

'Lightning' was a Sci-fi weapon, but it was powered by the energy called Trion, and so it could harm magic and spiritual beings. Nen was no exception. Dozens of bullets constructed from Trion cut into the backs of the two Savage Clan members and their level of Aura wasn't going to protect them against a sci-fi weapon even with low power like 'Lightning'. Once the barrage of bullets stopped the bodies of the two Savage Clan members fell to the ground helplessly in a bloody mess.

Connor: "...Too weak. It wasn't designed for power and I don't have much Trion, but you can't call this a Sci-fi weapon. Maybe with a higher level of Trion I'll see an improvement."

Connor would never admit it to the others, but he loved Sci-fi weapons. Not Sci-fi shows, just the weapons. It was a warped hobby due to his background as a child soldier, yet it was his only childish interest all the same. That's why he knew that as a Sci-fi weapon his weapons were lacking, and could only hope that the source of their power, Trion Energy, would help improve their performance as he gained higher levels of Trion. While Connor was in engrossed in such thoughts as his Communicator Phone began to ring. He answered the phone and heard Shin on the other side. Shin confirmed that Connor had defeated his foes and then tasked him to support Shuai and Jin.

Connor: "What about you? Need back up?"

Shin: "Yes, but... I'll manage. Only one, an extremely powerful fellow followed me, so the others must have chased after Shuai and Jin. I'm sure Shuai and Jin's trap will succeed, but pick off from a distance those who survive. I'll be fine on my own."

Shin then hung up, and while Connor could hear distress in Shin's voice, but he chose to follow his orders as he had no reason not to. Also, although he was a foolish otaku at times, Connor respected Shin as Team Japans leader and his ability to match that position. Connor doesn't trust others, but he can trust in other people's strength. Especially those that he himself acknowledged like Shin. With no doubt Connor then moved on to find the best vantage point to support Shuai and Jin.

The Shaman and Magician of Team Japan, Shuai and Jin, ran towards the rocky area toward east using the smoke screen of dust and dirt summoned by Shuai's Earth Elemental, Gnome.

Shuai: "Go-Good! We're finally here!"

Jin: "Don't get out of breath when you chose to set the final trap way over here, Shuai. Anyways, don't pass out. The enemy has already caught up!"

Jin looked back and confirmed that fact. Of the original nine pursuers, more than half, five, choose to follow after Jin and Shuai using "Gyo". Connor was obviously the stronger opponent, yet because Jin and Shuai appearance were that of young adults who looked more capable, the five choose to go after the two.

The five Nen Users of Savage Clan with strong Aura strengthened legs dashed through the cloud of smoke and caught up with Shuai and Jin. They were armed with swords and similarly dangerous weapons and would not hesitate to dirty them in blood. In no less then fifteen seconds they would reach them.

Shuai took out his SMG and opened fire at them knowing that normal bullets, even Magic Bullets would helplessly bounce off the enemy's "Ken", yet this was all a part of Jin's plan to get the enemy in a false sense of security. Seeing the confidence in his enemy's faces Jin smiled back.

Jin: "My first time killing people... well, they're NPCs trying to kill us, so who cares! It's a game after all! Haha, Frostbolt!"

Jin raised his right hand that now flashed a strange pale blue light. Similarly to the Frostbolt Magic Attack Scroll a beam of ice magic would be released, but the actual spell was much faster than the Attack Scroll which had a delay of 5-6 seconds. The magic name had to be spelled verbally, yet once said it only took 1-2 seconds for the spell to activate and be released out into the world. From Jin's extended hand a pale blue beam of light shoot out like lightning and smote a Savage Clan Nen User. The enemy was not expecting such an advance technique like turning Aura (Mana) into an element and could only watch while still alive as his body was swiftly frozen solid by Frostbolt with a look of terror on his face.

They were all surprised at Jin's cruel attack, yet the man in question wasn't finished yet. With a incomplete new spell Jin pointed his pale blue glowing hand towards the ground and released the beam of ice. The beam impacted the ground and began to spread in all directions as a thin layer of ice covering the earth. The field of ice covering 20 meters in all directions wasn't at the level of "Ice Field", the original skill in the exchanges that at its most basic level can even reach 50-100 meters with ease, yet it would still destroy the enemy's balance.

The Savage Clan Nen Users knew this better than anyone else and with their forward momentum they jumped into the air. They would lose their balance once they landed, but before that their dive they would take Shuai and Jin's lives with their "Shu" reinforced weapons. The Savage Clan Nen Users were certain in that belief. The enemy were excited to see their weak prey about to lose their lives, yet they see Jin and Shuai smile. Then Jin looks over to Shuai and spoke calmly.

Jin: "Shuai! They're close enough!

Shuai: "O-okay. Gnome!"

Shuai shouted as the Savage Clan Nen Users were about to take Jin's and his own life. The ground at the moment began to shake violently and large and wide cracks became visible to the eye. Savage Clan Nen Users were stunned speechless as the earth caved in and they all, including Shuai and Jin, fell down a deep hole twenty meters wide and a quarter of a mile deep.

Shuai: HOI! JOSO! KETSU!

As the two veterans of Team Japan fell, Shuai conjured a Kekkai Barrier directly below them. A floating transparent purple cube came into life and acted as a foot hole and stopped their descent... but only the Shaman and Magician of Team Japan. The Five remaining Savage Clan Nen Users without foot holes like Jin or Shuai, or able to reach the walls could only fall towards the bottom lamenting their fortune. As they hit the very bottom of the pit they were all servery injured. No one died as they were all mid level Nen Users, but half broke their legs and the other half broke something else.

Jin: "Hmm... you're not my idea of a trap expert since would prefer explosions, but... this is good enough."

Shuai: "Stop complaining and finish the job!"

Jin: "Okay, okay. Sorry for getting off topic at such an important moment, but... isn't it already over now? I never got a chance to use my Progressive Knife from EVA... but oh well. That's life! Hahaha, really, it's a shame we don't get points for killing Nen Users!"

Jin and Shuai stepped off the Kekkai Barrier onto the edge of the surface of the pit. Jin turning back around showing his usual smile, yet eyes with a hint of madness as he looked down the pit at the Savage Clan Nen Users. Then he took out from the pockets of his wrinkled blue coat an assortment of bombs, more accurately BIMs, and then he threw them down into the pit without hesitation and watched as the pit was filled with flames from explosions.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

A pillar of flames erupted from the pit forcing Jin and Shuai back. If they were caught in the blast they would have been incinerated, so they could imagine the fates of the Nen User at the center of the blast. The flames died down all too soon. Jin and Shuai looked down the pit unable to see through the black smoke rising to the surface.

Shuai: "Wow... what overkill."

Jin: "Too bad we don't get extra points for overkill. Now, Shuai take us down to the bottom of the pit. They may have dropped some good Cards. If we don't pick them up within sixty seconds they'll be lost to us forever."

Shuai: "That's all that you can think... Jin! Watch out!"

Shuai was the first to notice the dark figure emerge from the smoke and flame filled pit. Out of the five Savage Clan Nen Users caught in the trap and hit with dozens of BIM, only one managed to escape with his life due to a defensive Enhancer Hatsu to absorb damage for a short time. The lone Savage Clan Nen Users filled with fury having reached the surface looked over towards Jin and Shuai with bloodlust. Jin reacted by taking out his knife and Shuai readied his shaman tools. The Savage Clan saw this and laughed madly and in a moment of carelessness he reached out his hand to strangle them... and it was gone.

Savage Clan Member: "Gyyaaaa!"

The enemies right hand had been effortlessly sliced off by a black knife Jin in a panic swung in defense. The Progressive Knife from Evangelion. Even though the knife looked bland, totally black, about thirty centimeters long, and created using indinstinguishable materials, just a light swing could slice through metal like it was air and that's what happened to the enemy's hand. Jin didn't feel any friction when he was slicing the man's Aura or flesh. The only weakness was if the target was too big and the knife got stuck inside it. The knife would stop its vibration and became just like a normal knife and lucky that didn't happen.

Savage Clan Member: "You fuckers!"

At last taking out his own weapon and reinforcing it with the last of his Aura, the Savage Clan Nen User ran towards the two with every intention to tear them apart even with only one good arm left, when-

\- *BANG*!

A laser like bullet from over 3200 meters away cut through air and space to reach the last Savage Clan Nen User and pierced through the back of his head. The bullet dug through the skull and out through the forehead in a split second. The enemy Nen User was right in front of Jin and Shuai, and was just about to tear them apart, but immediately fell over helplessly with his fury and life equally extinguished.

Shuai: "Was that Connor? We're saved!"

Jin: "Indeed. Was that the Eaglet Trigger? That was perfect for long distance snipping. As expected of our child soldier sniper genius! Hahaha! Too fierce!"

Immediately after Connor called Jin and Shuai on the Communicator Phone. Connor confirmed that he was responsible for that kill and also that his side has been cleared up of all enemies. Shuai asked about Shin, but Connor said that he wasn't sure and that his opponent should be decently strong according to what Shin reported when they last spoke. Jin believed that Shin would be fine on his own but should still go meet up with him for support. With that settled Jin and Shuai collected any Cards dropped by the Savage Clan Nen Users in the pit, only Spell Cards, met up with Connor exiting the forest, and marched north to regroup with their leader.

Team Japan's leader, Shin, alone ran north following the road which lead to the closest village using the smoke screen of dust and dirt summoned by Shuai's Earth Elemental, Gnome. Shin had no intention of escaping alone as he was just another diversion.

Shin had two hopes as he escaped north.

1\. Judging himself to be the strongest the enemy would focus their efforts on going after him.

2\. None, or few enemy would follow after him who he could then quickly dispatch. Then he could proceeded to attack the enemies aiming for Shuai, Connor, and Jin with sneak attacks in the darkness of the night.

It was a plan thought up by Jin. Splitting up the enemies tracking their small group of four. Shuai created the opportunity for them to force their enemies out into the open and they split into three groups. Shin himself didn't like the idea of scenario 2 since it placed his comrades in the most danger, but if it succeed the battle would reach a swift end... still, Shin was glad that #2 didn't play out as he turned around to face his lone pursuer.

Shin: (The majority of the pursuers didn't chase after me... but I'm glad that at least this guy choose to follow me. If not someone would have absolutely died.)

The sole enemy Nen User and enemy player of Greed Island in front of Shin was someone he recognized from the original story. A man standing tall with a belt bag filled with scissors which reflected a deadly light. A look of madness in the man's eyes that did nothing to hide his bloodlust.

Binolt.

Shin recalled that he was the Greed Island player and Nen User who had had attempted to take the lives of Gon, Killua, and Biscuit. A Black List Hunter and also wanted criminal. A serial killer who used scissors to cut apart his many victims. Binolt was an enemy who wouldn't hesitate, no who would love to kill his targets brutally, yet that was not what most concerned Shin at this time. Shin had ran into Nickes previously and knew that Bomber was on the island, so he had already expected to see every character from the original plot except the main characters, but it was the difference in strength than what Shin remembered that had him worried.

Shin remembered that Biscuit said Binolt was a weak Nen User that was only the equivalent of a D rank Monster Card... but that was not the case in reality. Like Nickes, Binolt appeared to have had experienced a boost in strength due to God's 18 Man Mission, but what Shin felt from Binolt surpassed his expectations. Shin felt an overwhelming feeling of danger from Binolt that had more to do with his Aura that was the equivalent of Aqua's Upper Class Nen. The threat Binolt represented wasn't in his Nen or amount of Aura... it was his skills as a Hunter. An elite Hunter specialized in hunting down others as a Black List Hunter. In other words... it was skill and experience.

Not raw power or a special ability, but pure skill developed for battle after long hours, days, months, and years of training along with the experience of countless life and death battles as a Black List Hunter. That was Binolt's strength. Shin had not even crossed swords with Binolt yet and he knew that it was impossible to win against him with normal means. There would only be a desperate struggle the likes of which Shin had almost forgotten over the last month since Apocalypse Alice awaiting him if he fought Binolt by himself. Strangely, it was all a familiar feeling. The almost crippling sense of death brought him peace of mind. Not that he was an addict for bloody battles, but because it allowed him to not think about his problems and think with unmatched clarity.

Binolt: "There's no need for a lot words here, right? I'm the Hunter seeking your life and you're the prey attempting to fight back by drawing me away from the others. Only the victor leaves here alive."

Shin: "..."

Shin said not a word as he glared down Binolt.

It was a moment to say something protagonist like, but he had no room for games against this opponent. Even as Connor called to inform Shin that everything was going as planned he didn't dare let his eyes wander away from Binolt. Binolt came after Shin and Shin alone looking for a good fight, but he was a serial killer first. If Shin showed even the slightest opening he knew that Binolt would reap his life.

Shin: "..."

Shin made a motion to take an item out of the subspace Na Ring to arm himself, but before he could do so Binolt moved. Taking it as the starting signal, Shin saw that Binolt over thirty meters away take a single step forward, yet in the next instant he was right in front of him armed with scissors. Shin had no time to escape as a lightning fast slash traveled towards his head. Not knowing when Shin had entered Unlocked Mode he took evasive measures to avoid the scissors about to take his eye. Leaning his head he avoided the slash and readied for the second pair of scissors by punching Binolt's hand away.

Binolt eye's flashed with excitement upon Shin reaction speed in the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint, and he accelerated his movements to a new level going all out. In the span of a second ten slashes were executed to Shin's panic. Leaning back for extra space Shin slapped away the scissors with Ki reinforced hands and jumped back with Instant Movement.

Shin: (Aura reinforced scissors!)

Shin looked down at his hands covered in cuts leaking blood, but had no time to do so for long. With a mad light in his eyes Binolt admired the red liquid on his beloved scissors and laughed maniacally. Binolt desiring more blood immediately jumped forward like a wild beast. Shin jumped back once more without hesitation using Instant Movement and raised his bloody hands now emitting a green light towards Binolt.

The left hand shined with a green light as it fired off countless Hollow Bullet.

The right hand shined with a green light as it fired off countless AP Bullets.

The two Ki Energy emission attacks modded for destruction and penetrating power flew towards Binolt. After exchanging for the techniques through God, Shin could now rapid fire emission attacks with low consumption cost to his Ki. The charging Binolt couldn't evade the barrage of Ki attacks in time, and so he choose to welcome them.

With a pair of scissors he deflected the fast moving AP Bullets that arrived first. They were fast and would cut through his flesh even with a powerful 'Ken' protecting him, but they didn't hold much power. One after another Binolt perfectly deflected each bullet as the reached him... until the Hollow Bullet made contact.

\- *SHATTER*!

The Hollow Bullets expanded as they impacted Binolt's scissors and destroyed them. Binolt now unarmed could only move away from the line of fire, but still a few Hollow Bullets and AP Bullets buried themselves in his body. He had put his all into defending himself with Aura, yet he was still injured. Shin took this chance to finally draw out Gravity Blade from the his subspace ring as Binolt picked himself back up. The damage was far from fatal, but Shin felt that this was his chance. Grasping the handle of his sword tightly Shin used Instant Movement to close in and then slashed at Binolt.

Shin: "Gravity Blade, Ten Fold Slash!"

Binolt seeing Shin's sword about to behead him, he retaliated with a spare set of scissors. The black dyed magic sword with increased weight met the flimsy pair of scissors. The result should have been that Shin downward slash overpowering Binolt blocking with scissors, yet the black blade was repelled. Shin was surprised and noticed the intense light of Aura around the pair of scissors.

Shin: (Ko!)

Binolt pushed Shin away with brute force. The scissors empowered with all of his Aura were now weapons equal to Gravity Blade, but Shin seeing this knew that in exchange the Aura strengthening and protecting Binolt was weakened. One good slash of Gravity Blade will reap Binolt of his life.

Shin: (I'll also use Ki Energy to strengthen the Gravity Blade.)

Binolt eyed Shin's sword which was only now being empowered by some kind of energy. He saw that direct clashes of power were to his disadvantage if Gravity Blade was already so powerful that it could combat Aura. Binolt resolved and excited himself at a battle where he couldn't allow Shin to attack, and dashed forward. That instant it looked like he took a single step as he reached Shin. Shin swung his sword to slash at him, but halfway in the motion he was forced to block a fury of stabs. Cut, stab, slash, and thrust of scissors as Binolt kept attacking in an inhuman rush of irregular movements.

Binolt hands moved like lightning and waved in a snake like manner to confuse his opponent. All attacks were aimed at vitals that pressured his opponent. Binolt's opponent, Shin, wanted to dish out his own attacks, yet he had no room to do anything else but defend against each the deadly pair of scissors that would either disable him, or take his life in an instant.

Binolt saw how desperate Shin had become and rejoiced. The excitement and euphoria accelerated him faster and his prized scissors could no longer be visually seen as they moved and Shin could only defend himself with pure instinct and was failing. Cuts were visibly seen all across his body. Nothing fatal as Shin had activated Silver Dragon Scales as an emergency defense and all cuts were shallow, yet the blood covering his body would make one think otherwise.

Binolt's scissors shined with a deadly light as they moved towards Shin's head and then he reacted. Shin couldn't follow those inhuman movements of Binolt's, yet he had at all times made sure to be aware off all attacks on a course towards his head. Shin entered into the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode just before the scissors could cut and disappeared from Binolt's sight. It was only an instant, yet that instant gave Shin plenty of time to counter attack.

Shin: "Gravity Blade, Thirty Fold Slash!"

Shin struck Binolt hard with Gravity Blade reinforced by Ki. Binolt with difficulty successfully blocked the heavy and sharp slash, yet was unable to react to the kick to his side. A hard kick from a three times expanded leg strengthened with Ki blew Binolt away and damaged the rib cage. Binolt rolled on the hard floor and swiftly returned into a fighting stance. Blood was thrown up, yet Binolt didn't allow Shin to leave his sights for a second time. Shin still thought it was a chance to finish Bolt off, yet the pain in his side told him he was wrong. The scissor thrown at the last minute and embedded in his left leg only reminded him that he was still outmatched in this battle.

Binolt: "...Hey! You only made your move when I was about to cut off a lock of your hair. You must have known of my Nen ability, right? Who in my Savage Clan told you!? I need to kill them later for telling such a secret!"

Shin: "..."

Binolt: "Whatever. I don't need you. I'll just interrogate your comrades after I'm done here."

Binolt had his suspicions that Shin knew of his Hatsu to consume hair and learn every detail of that person's body, and he was right. Shin knew from the original plot Binolt's abilities and knew he couldn't allow him to eat his hair. Binolt was an experience warrior and Nen User. If Binolt had a perfect understand of Shin's strengths, weakness, skills, and limitations he would be able easily deal with him. That is why Shin took extra care to avoid having his hair cut even if it meant being slashed, it was better than having his information leaked after all.

Shin: (But I didn't want to have my mobility lessened. This doesn't look good. Binolt's strength is impressive and his techniques far surpass my own makeshift attacks even in the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint. I can barely force a stalemate with the speed and power of the Second Stage. The way I fought depended on combat instincts. It was normally enough when I could overpower my enemies. However, if our strength were at a similar level, or greater than my own, I couldn't defeat someone like Kisara who mastered the sword to the peak of perfection, or Binolt who mastered the art of killing men. Especially with a damaged leg on top of that. The others should be finished up by now. We might have to work together to defeat Binolt.)

As Shin couldn't see a way to win without the aid of his comrades his antisocial magic sword, Gravity Blade spoke at a volume Binolt couldn't overhear.

GB: "Try out the new move we've been working on. It has a wide range and is very fast. As long as your enemy powers his weapons with his Aura and not his physical body we cut him down in one slash, and even if he does it'll still be a near fatal injury."

Shin: "...Okay. We'll try it out!"

GB: "Alright... but please just skip the worthless chant that has no purpose."

Shin: "...Sorry I can't resist."

Binolt: "Huh? Were you speaking to someone just now?"

Shin ignored Binolt as he focuses on the task at hand. The new, yet incomplete move his magic sword recommend was one of the two discovers he made recently after Apocalypse Alice in the Terminal Lobby. One was the discovery to increase his defenses and stats to a very high degree temporarily, and the other was an AOE sword attack. It would certainly bring him victory if it hits, but if it misses Binolt would be on alert and it won't succeeded again.

Binolt was just that level of opponent... yet it had to be done. It was a dangerous gamble, but in God's Dimension life and survival could only be found by facing death. Shin took a deep breath and enters into a wide stance with his legs and raises Gravity Blade overhead while channeling Ki Energy. The sword was held horizontally and the usual free hand firmly gripped the sword arm for support. That Ki Energy reinforcing the blade then went further and condensed into the bladed edge of the black magic sword.

Shin: "You were already spared in one life time. There won't be a second."

Binolt: "Huh?"

Shin: "...Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste, Touch, Thought. And unto the six mortal senses... Good, Evil, Neutrality... And further unto each, Purity and Corruption. The thirty six earthly desires of this world."

Binolt: "What?"

Shin: "I am facing the muzzle of a cannon towards you. You are a flimsy pair of scissors. I am a cannon. In timing, power, and reach my weapon surpasses yours. I won't say that you didn't do well, but you fall here. Be thankful to become this sword slash's first victim!"

Binolt looked at Shin as if he was looking at something ridiculous and laughed out madly. Once he was finished laughing a mad smile crossed his face as he rushed towards Shin, ignoring his own injuries.

Binolt: "A Cannon? What are you on? How could you hide such a weapon? What a joke! Is it another pesky emission attack!?"

Shin: "Do you know what the flying sword is? Let me show you. One Sword Style, 36 Pound Cannon!"

Shin swung Gravity Blade with his entire soul behind the slash, yet Binolt hadn't even reach attack range. Binolt thought Shin made a retarded mistake... but it wasn't a mistake at all. It was Shin's victory that Binolt didn't grow suspicious and get out of the way from what was to come next. At the moment the sword slash reached the highest level of force, Gravity Blade for an instant reached thirty-six ton weight and the Ki Energy on the blade's edge was savagely released forward towards Binolt in a spiraling slash. It was too late for Binolt to dodge and he was bisected and blown away in the wide, spiraling, flying sword slash.

Binolt: "Ghaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

As both top and bottom half of what remained of Binolt fell to the earth of Greed Island Shin was rewarded with a pleasant surprise. It was the rigid and dignified voice of God that usually brought despair, but now was bringing good news.

\- SKILL MASTERY REWARD!

WITHIN 70% ACCURACY YOU HAVE EXECUTED THE FOLLOWING SKILL - ONE SWORD STYLE, 36 POUND CANNON! ONCE YOU RETURN TO THE TERMINAL LOBBY YOU CAN EXCHANGE FOR THE COMPLETE ONE SWORD STYLE, THIRTY-SIX POUND CANNON SKILL FOR 1/10 OF ITS POINT VALUE AND D RANK REWARD!

Shin: "I didn't expect to reach Skill Mastery so soon."

Shin looked over the bloody and bisected remains of of Binolt in awe. He then looked at his sword in doubt that he had just delivered such a powerful sword slash through the air like right out of an Manga or Anime. Using the same move as one of his favorite swordsman, Zoro from One Piece, Shin was on a high like no other, yet he still couldn't believe that he used 36 Pound Cannon without exchanging for it from God.

GB: "It's nothing to be surprised about. Your learning speed, precision, and power are all at their highest in Unlocked Mode. It really might have been a fluke, but all times before you were just practicing in your normal state."

Shin: "I don't feel better knowing that my hard training was proven worthless long as I'm in Unlocked Mode."

GB: "Well, if you didn't use half your time to memorialize and recite those lines you might have succeeded without Unlock Mode. Also, you can't normally use those lines in battle without getting killed."

Shin: "..."

Shuai: "Shin!"

Shin looked away embarrassed from his own magic sword and towards Shuai, Connor, and Jin in the distance. They were still a ways away and running towards him, yet with his superior eyesight he could see that none of them were injured and felt relived. The pain from unlocking the Second Stage was still bad and the cuts over his body weren't helping, but overall he felt better now that everything was over.

Shin: "I definitely need a new shirt. Those scissors ripped my clothes and are soaked in blood. Even with Silver Dragon Scales, everything other than the Lesser Fenrir Coat is ruined. Good thing I have spare clothes in my Na Ring... am I forgetting something imp- Ah! Cards! Binolt in passing said he was the leader of Savage Clan. He was also a character in the original plot. BOOK! Now let's see. He must have a few good cards on-"

Shin was stunned into silence as he looked into his Binder.

As an owner of a Binder all the Cards of the people he kills go directly into the Binder and does not have to pick them off the ground like most of his comrades. That also meant he didn't know what Cards entered his Binder till he looks for himself and when he did... Shin didn't have words for his windfall equal the difficulties of his battle against Binolt, leader of the Savage Clan and held the majority of their rare cards.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, CARD COLLECTION - 430 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Defeating Binolt earned Shin a surprising 43 of the Designated Pocket Cards and 30 types of Spell Cards. Shin and the rest of Team Japan had no intention of completing the game called Greed Island so they could avoid a battle with Team Germany, yet-

Shin: "Somehow or another I'm almost half way finished with the game. Hahaha! Like the king of games I must really have the luck of the cards!"

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger and Deltoren

In Connor's battle his sci-fi weapons cpuld hardly compare to others shown in the original Terror Infinity, but there's a reason for that. It's because Trion and Triggers can be improved Infinitely. Kampa's EMP Rifle in the original was outrageously powerful when it was infinite ammo model, but Connor's Lightning will reach a similar, if not greater level once his Trion Energy improves or he starts modifying the Trion bullets themselves. It also functions best as a sniper rifle and machine gun, so there's that too.


	127. Chapter 127

Terror Infinity - Side B

Chapter 16, HxH Greed Island

Day 57/90 of Greed Island.

City of Love, Aiai.

Watching the many annoying couples, both NPCs and real players alike pass by through the city streets I could only sigh to myself. Almost two full months have passed since all of us of Team Japan arrived in Greed Island and it has been a long almost two months at that. Less than four more days till Team Germany's predestined arrival on the land of Greed Island and the much dreaded Team Battle. Not everything has gone our way and a few unexpected things have.

From the very beginning of the mission Team Japan had chosen to discard the main mission to collect all 100 Designated Pocket Cards in an attempt to avoid the Team Battle with Team Germany. For this hazardous plan to avoid the Team Battle to succeed we needed to complete the Side Quest to hunt down and defeat Bomber, Genthru. We all assumed that it wouldn't be too hard to locate him as we had his physical description and Hikari's scans, but it turned out to be far from easy.

Despite all of our efforts we have not been able to track down the Bomber, Genthru. After collecting enough funds to live comfortably on Greed Island and setting up our new base of operations in the City of Love Aiai, Team Japan then placed their full efforts into searching for Bomber.

Thoroughly making our way and searching through every city and villages on Greed Island, making contacts with players and using Jenny Cards as bribes to create informants, and even having Hikari use her Persona Adrasteia to scan every nook and cranny of the island we have all been unable to find a single trail leading to Bomber. We even made contact with the leader of Moderate Clan Nickes a few times and nothing turned up.

Our plan to discard the main mission and a way to avoid the Team Battle was falling apart and dangerously so. It was despairing to even consider that we wasted almost two of our three months on Greed Island on a wild goose chase... yet it wasn't like we had run out of options. Unexpectedly we had a real shot at collecting all the Cards necessary to complete the main quest.

A week ago it was discovered by looking at the Card Rankings that 98 out of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards have been discovered by the players of Greed Island. Eighty Cards were needed to summon Team Germany, but because no one group, clan, or alliance held all the Cards the requirements for Team Germany's arrival have yet to be met.

According to my own recent talks with Nickes he had confirmed of the 98 Designated found by the Players of Greed Island his Moderate Clan has gathered sixty Cards, thirty of which no other group possesses. Nickes also mentioned that after the falling out of Savage Clan after their leader Binolt died, not knowing Team Japan is responsible, no other group or clan possess many, if any Cards after Moderate Clan used their vast numbers and Spell Cards to steal from every group on the island.

The Bomber is the only other truly active player on Greed Island who has Cards. Nickes is also under the impression that Binolt and his elite group was killed by Bomber, and took their rare Cards... not knowing that Team Japan is possession of forty-four Designated Pocket Cards, forty-three of which were stolen from Binolt, and thirty-one of which no other group is in possession of. What is most likely is the Bomber has the remaining Designated Pocket Cards and exclusively at that, and probably more Cards after his five year killing spree on Greed Island.

◆ Moderate Clan - 60 Designated Pocket Cards. 30 Exclusive Copies.

◆ Bomber, Genthru - Unknown number of Designated Pocket Cards. Rumored to hold 17 Exclusive Copies.

◆ Team Japan - 49 Designated Pocket Cards. 31 Exclusive Copies.

It was a shame I couldn't find the Bomber, but it was very possible to acquire all the Cards by taking out Nickes and Bomber. Nickes was easy to find and for better or worse Bomber might target us is we take out Moderate Clan and steal their Cards. Moderate Clan was a large organization with hundreds of Nen Users who work together to steal Cards from others. Nickes and his clan definitely weren't the type of opponents ten fighters of Team Japan (Remaining eight are useless) could hope to face... but as the days pass it is beginning to looks like we will have no choice in the matter if we want to survive.

It was at this time that I decided to consult with Jin. Jin was never that much for the plan to avoid Team Germany and he was smart. Even without discussing it with others I'm sure he's thought about our problems and possible solutions more than anyone else. That was why I felt it was best to discuss Team Japan's situation with Jin first. It was as I was about to look for him back at the apartment building wenhad rented out in Aiai that the man in question approached me on the street of the city. I couldn't help but wonder if Jin was reading my mind and was waiting for just this moment to approach me, but I dismissed such thoughts as I conveyed my concerns and my ideas as to how to turn the situation around for the better for.

Shin: "Hopefully like the leader of Savage Clan, Nickes holds all of their rare Cards. If so and we can swift take down Bomber we can escape a battle against either an army of Nen Users or Team Germany. I have more than enough of his trust to call him out alone with false information about Bomber."

Jin: "Hmm... I see. Then we'll have to move quickly. If Bomber kills off Moderate Clan like in the original plot and has enough of Cards he'll have more than eighty Cards."

Shin: "And Team Germany will appear. I'm aware of the situation."

Jin: "Good because we need to make a move sooner rather than later. Facing off against Team Germany without dealing with the Bomber is the very worst scenario for Team Japan."

Shin: "I know... also, I told you not to talk to me on the streets of Aiai. It feels disgusting to speak to a man in this lovely dovey city."

Jin: "Hahaha! I know, but I've come to speak to you about the Bomber. I'm come to the conclusion about a few things about this mission as well. This includes the method of luring out Bomber."

Shin: "Really!? Then get to it. I'll tolerate your existence for a while longer."

Jin: "Hahah! Just for a while? Very well. I'll leave the best for last, getting to Bomber for later. First I want to go over our prizes for collecting all 100 Cards. As it's getting more and more likely to occur I've seriously considered which three Cards we should bring back with us as Quest Items."

Shin: I forgot about the prizes. From what I recall all the 100 Designated Pocket are... kind of out there. A lot of them are amazing, but I wonder if they'll be useful to us."

Jin: "I'm in agreement, but there are definitely three most haves for us. Card number #017 Breath of the Archangel. Card number #019 Poltergeist Pillow. Lastly, card number #024 Hypothetical T.V. I believe these three will be of great value to Team Japan!"

◆ Breath of the Archangel - This card summons forth an angel whose breath can cure any injuries sustained upon a player. She only appears once and afterwards, the card is destroyed. Severe damage or close to death, this angel will cure any injury and disease in one breath.

◆ Poltergeist Pillow - This card allows the user's spirit to explore the world at your own will, providing that you sleep on it first. This card can be useful for spying on other people or just plain exploring the world in a different way. Whilst in your astral form, you are able to pass through solid objects and you can't be seen by other creatures. You will turn into a real ghost though if you don't return to your body within 24 hours

◆ Hypothetical T.V - This card brings forth a Hypothetical Television. It allows the user to input a potential situation or question, and the T.V. will display a 30-hour-long documentary about all the possibilities. The remote also allows you to record any part of it for later playback

Jin: "I believe Breath of the Archangel will become a magic spell once brought back to the Terminal Lobby and it will restore all injuries, but probably not energies like Ki or Mana. Team Japan lacks a true priest class or clerk class, but allowing the support role Hikari to learn it would be helpful to us all. Poltergeist Pillow is perfect for spying when we stay in world's for long periods of time. Hypothetical T.V is what I'm most interested in. If its description holds true it has high value. Knowing every possible scenario in advance can become Team Japan's absolute trump card! ...Though I believe it's far too overpowered. I can't help but imagine that God will place a restriction on it. Also, it will only be helpful on very long missions like this and not possible to make full use of during missions like in Apocalypse Alice where we had just six hours to complete. Lastly, my best bet is that it's a one-time consumable item as it would allow any team to best know how to complete any mission."

Shin: "Even so all your suggestions seem right on the money for will benefit Team Japan. What else do have or was that it?"

Jin: "I have one more idea, or ideas. Hearing about your many Hidden Side Quest accomplishments in High School of the Dead and Apocalypse Alice I couldn't help but think about the nature of the missions. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that there are Hidden Side Quest... no, Bonus Missions for us here in Hunter X Hunter outside the main mission here on Greed Island!"

Shin: "Really? Like what?"

Jin: "For example defeating all the Game Masters of Greed. This is the first Bonus Mission. The original members shouldn't all still be on Greed Island like Gon's father Ging, but taking down those like Eta and Razor should reward us something. There's also the option of leaving Greed Island and retuning the same way the Phantom Troup did in the OVAs to steal all of the Cards. This is the Second Bonus Mission. Now, the last Bonus Mission that I can think of is blowing up Greed Island and making the game impossible to play anymore. Sounds plausible and a little fun, right?"

Shin: "They all sound plausible... but impossible for us at the moment. The first Bonus Mission I imagine to be impossibly hard to defeat the Game Master. They have absolute authority of Greed Island. The second Bonus Mission has the same issue as we'll become the enemies of the Game Masters for illegal entry. We also can't leave the island without facing being erased. As for the last one... that's just insane. A weapon that can blow away this island is too expensive in the exchanges and we risk get hit in the blast. I doubt even one or two nukes can blow away this large island."

Jin: "I agree and I also don't believe our team has the power to complete any of the three Bonus Missions at this time. I just thought I'll tell you. You seem to have a real knack at completing Side Quest and Hidden Side Quest according to Aqua, so I thought you'd be interested in my ideas for Bonus Missions as well."

Shin: "Aqua, huh? (Is she still mad about my actions way back in H.O.T.D? I hope not.) Anyways, those kinds of Hidden Side Quest or whatever you call them might be real, but they are too dangerous for us and we also don't have the time or room to take on the extra danger. It is almost certain Team Germany will appear in the next four days. We also failed to find a location where we can hide out and defend from Team Germany for the remaining month that we planned for. We don't have the ability to search for more dangers."

Jin: "It is unfortunate, but we have to risk running into Team Germany. If we still plan to not fight with them we can complete the mission by obtain all 100 Designated Pocket Cards and leaving Greed Island. To do so... we first have to gain a certain Designated Pocket Card. This Card will give us the advantage we need to control the flow of the Game and we must acquire it within the next two days at the latest before Team Germany arrives four days from now on Day 61! Card number #002 'Patch of Shore'! Acquiring it will not only give us the edge in the Main Mission, but reveal Bomber for us as well!"


	128. Chapter 128

Terror Infinity - Side B

Chapter 17, HxH Greed Island

Card number #002 'Patch of Shore'

It was this one Designated Pocket Card that will determine Team Japan's fate. We had all known that Card #002 was the only card left in the game of Greed Island that no individual, group, or clan owned since the start of Greed Island. It was a Card that Team Japan needed now that the plan to take out the Bomber, Genthru early in the mission fell through so horribly. Jin had speculate that the reason the Bomber, Genthru, couldn't be found was because God was clocking him from all of Hikari's scans. This was a reasonable conclusion as I gave Hikari Genthru's description and she had been scanning towns and cities where he attacked. With that in mind we had to wonder why if finding Genthru was impossible how was it a established Side Quest on our Player Watches instead something like a Hidden Side Quest, and it was Jin who arrived at the answer to this mystery.

In the original plot Genthru first revealed himself to the main characters Gon, Killua, Biscuit and other comrades when they acquired Card number #002 'Patch of Shore' from a Greed Island Game Master. It was also the very last Card besides Card number #000 'Rulers Blessing' left undiscovered by any player on the island. Whether for the plot, or urgency it was a reasonable conclusion that all the main forces on Greed Island will act once 99 of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards are acquired. From there on a battle for all 100 Cards will sweep across the island and soon, Team Japan will be at its epicenter.

Day 58/90 of Greed Island.

Across the early morning blue skies of Greed Island a orb of bright light carrying fifteen people shoot through the air at high speed. Using the Spell Card 'Accompany', the fifteen man group flew over countless cities and small villages to reach their destination, and a few minutes later they had they landed right outside a certain cities borders. Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, Connor, Jin, Kisara, Renji, myself, and five frightened looking Newbies have made it to our designation where we can gain the critical Designated Pocket Card that will determine Team Japan's fate on Greed Island.

Aqua: "We're here. We should- "

Shin: "Haha! I can never get enough of this. Flying spell cards are the best! I have to exchange for a flying spell, or Void Instant-"

Aqua: "DO. I. NEED. TO. HIT. YOU. LEADER?"

Shin: "...So this is Soufrabi? Alright guys let's not mess around and get serious here!"

Hikari: "...I feel the need to start insulting you five times a day again... otaku loser."

Ignoring the obvious disdain in the eyes of the two woman I'm involved with I really did become serious and recalled what I knew about this city where our next battle awaits.

Soufrabi.

Also known as Port City Soufrabi is a city of Greed Island.

Soufrabi is city with a beautiful line of cliffs that is ruled by the pirates, Razor and the Fourteen Devils. The lighthouse on a headland of the city is their secret den. To be allowed to fight against the pirates, a player is required to form a team of exactly 15 people and come here together with his teammates. If they can drive away the pirates, they will be rewarded with a very rare and important item and this rare Card, Card number #002 'Patch of Shore' which is our utmost objective.

In the original plot Gon, Killua, and Biscuit come to this city for the first time in a group of 15 including the members of 3 teams Kazsule, Asta and Yabibi. Because most of the group's members lack fighting skills, Killua, Biscuit, and Gon intentionally lost their matches against Razor's pirates. The three later return, having recruited stronger players like Hisoka and the members of Tsezguerra's team. This new group defeats Razor and his pirates who leave Soufrabi as compensation. A non-player character then thanks the group and rewards them with the Patch of Shore card.

Others may know where 'Patch of Shore' can be acquired, but Team Japan, and most likely only Team Japan knew that the condition to start the quest for 'Patch of Shore' was to arrive to Soufrabi with 'Accompany' in a group of fifteen, the same number as Razor and the Fourteen Devils. After discussing it with Jin and then the others we decided that Bomber, Genthru would only appear after 'Patch of Shore' is acquired. That's why we decided for the first time to complete a game quest for the sake of a card, but knowing that we needed a fifteen man group to activate the quest we needed five more bodies along with the eight official members of Team Japan and the two trial members Kisara and Renji.

Not including the useful Newbies and trial members Kisara and Renji, there were eight Newbies who made the decision to not interfere in the mission and do nothing, but enjoying their days on the fantasy land of Greed island.

The men using Team Japan's funds to go on dates with women, and the few women buying clothes that could only be called a mix of high class clothing and cosplay. It was sickening watching as we all worked hard to survive they were having the time of their lives... yet that was the deal we made for them. They wouldn't interfere in the mission and Team Japan would look after them long as they we were not inconvenienced.

Still, we seemed to have spoiled the newbies, yet that turned into our favor in the end. With a bit of convincing and telling them they would not be in danger and that afterwards their pocket money would increase, were able to recruit five able men from the eight newbies who originally chose to do nothing. They five men were frightened at the prospect of the danger involved, yet the chance of gaining more funds is too much to resist. Leaving behind the one man and two helpless women back in Aiai, the able five men and Team Japan headed out towards Soufrabi together.

Hikari: "It's a really huge city. I've been here before and I'm always amazed."

Misaki: "Who cares about that? So Shin what do we do first? Coming here in a large group activities the condition for the quest, right?"

Shin: "That's right, but that's only the first condition. The second is to meet the right NPC. In the original plot long as we speak to a certain female NPC she'll tell us where Razor and the Fourteen Devils are. It's a bar, but it might have changed."

Aqua: "Then let's do some information gathering. Let's split up into three groups. Shin, Hikari, Renji, and the Newbies in one group. Misaki, Shuai, Kampa, and Jin in another. The last will be myself, Connor, and Kisara will be the final group. It's early in the morning, but since this is such a huge city it might take days or weeks to find one NPC without clues, but we have no choice but to find her today or tomorrow at the latest."

Hikari: "Then we should regularly contact each other with the Communicator Phones every three hours. Well also make contact with one another if we find the NPC."

Shin: "Alright then everybody. Let's move out!"

101 on how to obtain an SS rank card like 'Patch of Shore' on Greed Island.

Step 1. We gather information using the keyword 'Patch of Shore'.

Step 2. Someone will appear and offer us new information, "If you do this, I'll tell you that".

Step 3. Fulfill the conditions and confirm the authenticity of the information.

Step 4. If it is true information then continue forward. If false go back to step 1.

Step 5. Fulfill the conditions and acquire the Card.

Everyone on Greed Island knew this much, but because our group had fulfilled the first condition by arriving to Port City Soufrabi with Accompany and fifteen people, while others were constantly given answers like "What's that?" or "Don't bother me", Team Japan were given real answers.

For example: Clues as to the nature of the quest and to stay away if we knew better. Things like that. It didn't seem like much, but with every other player getting no decent answers it looked to us that the quest did activate properly and only for us.

Still, there were a lot of NPCs to go through. It took hour and hours to find her, but around late evening we discovered her. The same depressed looking NPC who gave Gon and friends the correct information that they needed. Also, she herself was the human form of 'Patch of Shore'. It was Aqua's group that located her and we all gathered together to hear her speak.

Shin: "Can you tell us about the 'Patch of Shore'?"

Female Quest NPC: "I can probably tell... you guys..."

Hikari: "Then please tell us."

Female Quest NPC: "...Pirates control this town. It is said that somewhere in this area of the ocean there's a completely submerged cave called the "Residence of the Sea God". 'Patch of Shore' would actually be its entrance. Various treasures sleep there. Hearing of this legend of the submerged cave several years ago, fifteen pirates came to this town."

Shin: "Who were they (Ah, I was enjoying this so much I got caught up in the atmosphere)?"

Female Quest NPC: "...They were Razor and his Fourteen Devils. They came to Port City Soufrabi looking for "Residence of the Sea God". The fishermen of this town all underwent torture, and then killed for its location. All those who then knew of 'Patch of Shore'... like my Father and Brother... they were...

Kisara: "...How sad."

Misaki: "Sad? This is all a-"

Shin: "Misaki, just leave it at that okay."

I told Misaki not to pursue it, but even I was shocked. It was quite obvious that Kisara was really moved by this girl's, female NPC created from Nen's story. Well, even I was a little moved, but Kisara was halfway about to cry. I do not believe that Kisara is like me who enjoys this scene right out of an Anime, yet all the same she was almost moved to tears. I could only ponder as to why.

Female Quest NPC: "If you can drive the pirates away... I can tell you. I heard it from my older brother before he pass away... the location of 'Patch of Shore'...!"

Shin: "You have nothing to worry about. Your father, brother, and all your comrades of Soufrabi, we'll bring justice to Razor and his Fourteen Devils! Just tell us where the pirates are hiding out!"

Female Quest NPC: "...Thank you."

Aqua: "Way, way too into this our leader is."

Shin: "..."

And like so we were told of the location to meet the invading pirates.


	129. Chapter 129

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 18, HxH Greed Island

The darkness of the night was staring to take over the evening sky as we made our way towards the base of Razor and the Fourteen Devils. The female NPC directed us to a bar like in the original plot, yet unexpectedly we didn't need to win a game against any of the flunkies drinking alcohol there first to confront Razor. We simply told them that we were here to banish the pirates away from Soufrabi and they kindly lead us outside of the city towards their base of operations. And on our way there Jin called out to us all to speak about an important matter.

Jin: "...It's probably that."

Shin: "What is that?"

Jin: "This is just a passing thought, but wasn't that a possible Bonus Mission for us back there. "Residence of the Sea God". In the original plot Gon and the others never actually went into the cave, yet it should exist. At least for us. If my guess is correct... obtaining 'Patch of Shore' and entering "Residence of the Sea God" for its treasure should be a Bonus Mission for us Players to complete."

Kampa: "What makes you so sure?"

Jin: "Razor and the Fourteen Devils. They have been occupying Port City Soufrabi for a long time, right? They should also know of its location after interrogating the city, so why is it that they are still here?"

Misaki: "Isn't it just a part of the story?"

Jin: "Maybe so in the original plot, but looking at it with logic it's strange. If they actually had the treasures hidden in the "Residence of the Sea God", why is it that they were partying at such a dump of a bar? It wasn't actually that bad, but if they had found the treasures and wanted to stay on Greed Island they could be partying with the highest class of women and drinks in City of Love, Aiai. I of course could be wrong, but it's possible that after obtaining 'Patch of Shore' and using the card we can enter the "Residence of the Sea God" as a Bonus Mission."

Shin: "...Probably, but there are a few issues. The first is that we can't afford to use up a hard to obtain 'Patch of Shore'. Maybe we could 'Clone' the Card, but it might not work with a fake. Also, I can't imagine completing a Quest called "Residence of the Sea God". Can anyone here? From my experiences Hidden Side Quest and the like raise the difficulty and change the plot of the mission. The same should apply to these Bonus Missions as well. This is also a possible Bonus Mission we can only start by defeating THAT Razor and obtaining a very rare Card. It should terribly dangerous and I don't believe we have the power to survive such a Side Quest. Still, hearing what you have to say we should consider it for later. We can always come back later to the Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island Mission World when we're more powerful."

Renji: "An adventure inside a secret cave full of treasures! Sounds exciting. As long as I get enhancements first I'm all for it!"

Aqua: "Cool it. Anyways, if we're planning to see if this is a Bonus Mission we'll have to take back 'Patch of Shore' with us as our prize since there's the possibility we can't collect any Cards after completing the game. Breath of the Archangel, Hypothetical T.V, and Poltergeist Pillow. We have decided on those three Designated Pocket Cards for our rewards if we happen to complete the game, but we'll need to switch one out with 'Patch of Shore' is we want to complete this Bonus Mission."

Hikari: "Everyone! We can discuss this later. We're here!"

As Hikari pointed out we were here. The hide out of Razor and the Fourteen Devils built on a cliff and overlook the beautiful ocean reflecting the darkness of the night was a lighthouse. According to the nameless pirate that lead us here it was a once normal lighthouse reinforced into their stronghold. The lighthouse had the perfect view to check all the passing ships of Port City Soufrabi which made it attractive for the pirates to make into their base of operations... according to the story plot of the quest of course. In reality I doubt these lazy pirates, well... did any pirating.

The pirate that led us here to the lighthouse flipped a hidden switch to open the doors. We followed after him inside and five minutes he led us into a wide and open indoors gymnasium. Volley Ball Court, weight lifting equipment, and all kinds of things were scattered about the room and current being used by many pirates... and there in the far back of the gymnasium was him.

The spiky haired man wearing a clean white T-shirt and shorts which showed off his ripping muscles through the fabrics. The man of the hour who was our target to defeat in the game quest, but above a powerful Nen User, Razor. In the original plot Razor was a criminal in the past, but was caught by Ging and given a life sentence. Ging would then later enlisted his help to create Greed Island. It was during this time that the two became friends and Ging told Razor about his son Gon.

As a fighter Razor is an extremely powerful character in the Hunter X Hunter universe. It took a skilled Hunter and masterful Nen user such as Ging to end his career as a criminal. The mere display of Razor's aura can frighten off even pro Hunters. Although his abilities in an actual fight are unknown, it is safe to assume he is a ridiculously dangerous opponent who does not hesitate to use his immense power to crush his enemy.

Furthermore, the Troupe members didn't attempt to enter Greed Island illegally for the second time after running into him, showing that they are unwilling to face him again. Even a dodgeball game is potentially lethal to most contenders, and only fighters of the caliber of Biscuit and Hisoka can come out of it physically and mentally unscathed.

He also has a great force of mind and astounding concentration, as not even the stress of a match caused his several Emitted Nen beasts to disappear or perform poorly. Like the other Game Masters of Greed Island, Razor is in possession of a special card that allows him to ban trespassers from the game and send them back to the "real world

As a Nen User, Razor is a powerful Emitter who has also demonstrated good skill in Enhancement and Manipulation. He has a very strong Aura whose power has been acknowledged even by members of the Phantom Troupe. When he placed some of it on an ordinary volleyball, Killua said that it weighed as much as a bowling ball. Combined with his strength, Razor can easily destroy anyone hit by the ball.

Kampa: "So that's Razor. That guy... is terribly strong."

Renji: "Ye-yeah. Much more intimidating than how he looks in the Anime and he was already did look frightening."

Shin: "If a Newbie like Renji can tell that I know I'm not mistaken. He's strong. Stronger than the Btooom Lord and Diseased Girl of Empress' Grave 44... Aqua! As a fellow Nen User how would you rate him?"

Aqua: "Who knows? He's well above me. I'm not even sure if my full wolf form could I take him on. If I had to guess by the strength of his Aura... I would have to say he has A tier Master Class Nen or higher since his Aura is over ten times greater than my own Aura that's at the B tier Upper Class Nen. Shin, you said this would be a sports competition correct?"

Shin: "Yes?"

Aqua: "Then we're lucky. In a direct fight without holding back Razor could massacre us all with little effort."

Misaki: "Ha! You're all too worried about nothing. I, I can definitely take this Razor guy on my own."

Shuai: "Then why are your legs shaking?"

Misaki: "...Th-that's-"

Hikari: "The thug here must just be excited to fight is all. He's so excited that he might even piss himself in front of us all."

Misaki: "Fuck off!"

As we all made fun of Misaki's plight we started to feel more relaxed, but for a few of us it was impossible to completely calm down. Razor's presence was far too overwhelming to completely relax. Misaki and the other who had gone through hardships were intimidated by his strength, and those like Aqua and I who had walked the line of life and death more so than everyone else could stay firm before him, yet our hearts were still in a panic.

Razor... this man was strong!

Razor: "Who are these guys?"

Pirate: "Guests. They seem like they want us to leave."

Razor: "Ooh? Then let's get started. Alright, those here to challenge us pirates. Who's your leader?"

Shin: "Ah that will be me."

Razor: "Okay. What's your name?"

Shin: "Shin."

Razor: "Okay Shin. Let's hurry on to the main topic and let me explain how this challenge will go down. Your side will get to decide the format of this match. You have one of two options.

Shin: "Two?"

I was surprised to hear this. This scene did not happen in the original plot of Hunter X Hunter. Razor simply said that he would have the challengers fight in single duals of sports. Fifteen VS fifteen. Then after the first seven duals are complete, if Razor sees that he will lose at this rate he'll call for an eight on eight dodge ball match. The opposing side didn't have any other right then to send a representative for the sports dual. Nothing else.

Razor: "You have two game formats to choose from. Fifteen single sports duals, or a fifteen man team sports battle against me. The first is self-explanatory. You fight us pirates in single sports duals. One win per person and a player can only fight once. Also, your side be allowed to decide the sport for the dual up to the seventh game and the equipment will be provided by our side. A side that obtains eight victories wins. Now as for the second format it will be a team battle with every member of your side fighting against me. If you choose a team sports battle then my side gets to choose the game and location. The team sports battle will also have an objective. Long as this object is complete then the number of surviving players on your side will not matter. Please decide your format."

Shin: "..."

This had come as a surprised. Not only were the rules of the single dual altered, but there was an option of a team battle from the start. The plot had been changed. Most likely due to this mission having the difficulty of an eighteen man mission from God rather then something that Team Japan did. This was the first quest of Greed Island that Team had bothered to complete, so maybe other quest were like this.

Shin: "Can you give us a minute to talk amongst ourselves to decide?"

Razor: "No problem. Also, be aware that this is your only chance to challenge us."

Shin: "Only chance?"

Razor: "That's right. You have discovered the hideout of us pirates. It's only natural for us to move to another city or even island. We still have some business here for the next two days, but we're in no rush. That's why if you chose to leave now, or lose this challenge we may disappear for a while. Please keep that in mind."

Shin: "...Okay."

Taken back even more knowing that this was my, our one and only chance to defeat Razor and the Fourteen Devils made me depressed. Team Japan needed the Card 'Patch of Shore' to lure out Bomber and put us at an advantage when collecting all 100 Designated Pocket Cards. I can't imagine that the card would disagree forever, but it may appear in a place we have no idea of, or in the worst case... in the hands of Team Germany when they arrive in a few days. In any case I needed to speak to my comrades. Leaving the worthless Newbies out I called over the official and trial members of Team Japan to discuss our options.

Shin: "So what do you guys think that we should do? Stay with our original plan of single matches, or take on this new team format?"

Shuai: "I honestly can't tell which is better."

Misaki: "Same here."

Shin: "Aqua? Jin? You have any ideas."

Aqua: "...I think we should go for the team format."

Hikari: "Why? It isn't like all fifteen of us will perform better together."

Aqua: "It's not better, but not at all. This will be a direct battle even if it is sports. We had originally planned on losing the first seven matches with the five Newbies, Hikari, and Renji, but there's no longer any guarantee that Razor will still challenge us to an eight on eight Volleyball match when there's now the option of a group battle from the get go. Maybe he will, but to force his hand we need to win at least four of the first seven matches, and we can't afford to send out that much manpower. Only Shin, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, Connor, Jin, Kisara, and I can possibly win against Nen Users. Kisara herself is a big 'if' here as well as she has no enhancements or items from the exchanges. We don't have the luxury of sending any of us six to force Razor into a final eight on eight match up with a powerful Nen User like Razor."

Jin: "I agree with Aqua. With the current situation we can't guarantee the final showdown with Razor like in the Manga and Anime. Also, there's a risk involved with the single duals that I'm worried about. I can't help but feel that each match will be dangerous and may not have the option of forfeiting like we planned. The Newbies are useless, but we can't have harm come to Hikari, Team Japan's Psyche Force/Persona User. Like it or not we aren't all at a level yet where we can all solo Nen Users in a straight up match. I suggest the team match up. Have the weaklings retreat while the strong focus on Razor."

Shin: "...I'm inclined with what Aqua and Jin proposed. If no one has a reason to object I'll tell Razor that we'll select the team format."

With no objections I went back over to speak with Razor and told him of our decision for the team format sports challenge. For some reason he looked both impressed and excited.

Razor: "Alright then. If your side wins, we will leave the island. Is that okay?"

Shin: "Yes."

Razor: "...Good."

\- *SNAP*!

Razor snapped his fingers then immediately afterwards his powerful Aura exploded outwardly, forcing me, the others, and even his own pirate comrades to take a few steps back. Razor's Nen was just that strong. It was far more then ten times Aqua's own Nen like she originally assumed. I couldn't help but think that Team Japan were about to begin an impossible fight to the death against Razor, but I was partially mistaken. A fight to the death was about to start but has already begun here and now.

Razor explosive Aura that shining brightly split off into fourteen different directions. Razor was left surprisingly a little weak, yet he more than made up for it with his new comrades. The fourteen split off pieces of Aura hit the ground and then and there started to take a somewhat humanoid physical shape. They all varied in size, each with a number 0-13 painted on their shirts, and appeared similar to humans, but they were not.

Razor's signature Nen ability and Hatsu: Fourteen Devils.

They were Nenju. Creatures born from Emission Nen that were capable, or incapable of taking independent action by the skill of the Nen User. His 14 devils vary in size and shape, but a consistent factor seems to be their color pallet, which involves a plain, white body, and a blue head, which seems to be shaped in either a jester fashion, or a dome shape which has yellow balls protruding from it.

Razor: "Okay, I'm ready. This is my team. Including myself we are Razor and the Fourteen Devils. To drive us pirates out you must defeat us. Now please follow me as the game will take place outside. The game will be Capture the Flag!"


	130. Chapter 130

Terror Infinity - Side B

Chapter 19, HxH Greed Island

After telling us all the theme of the challenge that would allow us to acquire 'Patch of Shore', Razor followed by his Fourteen Devils lead us back outside the lighthouse and out into the open. The darkness of the night had completely taken over as we left behind the lighthouse and did not return to Port City Soufrabi. Razor carrying two poles with one red and one blue flag tied to them led us on a half-hour walk under the light of the moon above, we reached our destination. A forest. A very wide and dense forest packet with trees as tall as buildings. According to Razor this will be the site of our competition of Capture the Flag.

Razor: "Okay. We're here. I'll leave it to Devil 0 here explain the rules. He will be both the referee and player for my side. Please begin Devil 0."

Devil 0: "Of course! I'm Devil 0 and I'll be your Judge. Pleased to meet you all."

Hikari: "Wait wait wait! How can the judge be allowed to partake in the game? That's unfair if he won't call your side on any rule breaking!"

Devil 0: "Don't worry. I'm Devil 0 of Razor's Fourteen Devils. I can't be destroyed unless by the will of my creator Razor, yet I myself hold no power and I'm weaker than a three year old child. I hold no power whatsoever and I'm just filling in for a spot. I'm also programed with an absolute neutral and fair personality. If my creator breaks any of the rules that I'm about to explain he will automatically lose the game. Rest assured."

Hikari: "That is only if we believe you."

Aqua: "Let it be Hikari. We can only trust their side for the moment. If we have to start questioning everything there will be no end to it. Devil 0, please continue."

Devil 0: "Okay. The match will commence between Razor and his Fourteen Devils VS the fifteen challengers lead by your leader Shin. The match will be in Capture the Flag. Before the game begins I'll explain the rules. Please remember the following 5 rules.

Saying so, Devil 0 began to explain the five rules of the Capture the Flag Match:

◆ Rule 1: Each side takes a pole with a flag tied to it and will plant it randomly in the forest after twenty minutes of game start. Once the pole is planted draw a twenty-five meter circle radius around the pole. The goal of the game is to take the enemy's flag outside the circle to win the game. Moving the pole, flag, failing to plant it after the twenty minutes, or failing to draw a circle around the pole will result in an automatic forfeit of that team.

◆ Rule 2. Each team can have one person, The Guardian, defend their pole inside the circle, but no one else is allowed to enter that circle except the enemy team. The Guardian can leave the circle, but once they do they can no longer go back in the circle. Any team's player, even The Guardian that tries to head back in will result in a forfeit.

◆ Rule 3. Defeating the opposing Team Guardian is an automatic win. In the event of a tie the victory will be decided by the team with the most number of surviving players left.

◆ Rule 4. One can attack their opponents, even if the other side is unable to continue. With the sole exception of the Guardian, only capturing the opponents flag will win the game of Capture the Flag.

◆ Rule 5. Unable to continue means unconscious, dead, or leaving the forest that has a 7000 meter radius from its center. In case of unconsciousness, that person will be Ejected outside the forest and back towards the Pirates hideout for medical treatment and can't rejoin the game. A Nenju that is defeated or recalled is considered unable to continue and can't rejoin the game.

Devil 0: "That's it for the rules. Challengers! Please enter the forest with a pole that's tied with the blue flag. Using emission, I'll launch a harmless blast of Aura that will flash yellow and can been seen anywhere within the forest. That's the signal that you have twenty minutes to plant your pole before the match officially begins. After those twenty minutes I'll launch a green light which is the signal that time is up and that both sides can proceed to clash and take each other's flags. Until then neither side can fight with each other and must stay a proper distance from each other as well. Lastly, I'll use a red light to signal the end of the game when either there has been a confirmed victory, or rule breaker which will result in a forfeit. Now... please enter the forest! Each side has twenty minutes to get ready!"

It has been more than ten minutes since Devil 0 lite up the sky with a yellow emission blast. The game will soon begin and there were only a few minutes left before both sides will clash.

Shin: "We have less than ten minutes left. The pole and flag have been planted, so let's go over the plan one more time everyone."

Aqua was chosen to become the Guardian of our team and protect our team's flag tied to the pole while the rest of us spread out to intercept the enemy. Our plan wasn't to aggressively target Razor's flag, but to take out his Ninju, the Fourteen Devils. The reason that we didn't target the enemy's flag and focused on the Ninju was because the existence of Razor. Hikari using her Persona Adrasteia had already confirmed that Razor was the sole person inside the circle where their flag was planted and his Ninju were outside that circle. That meant that Razor was the Guardian of the enemy team.

Razor was an existence that everyone on Team Japan agreed was impossible to defeat in combat. Maybe by coming together as a team it may be possible to take him on, but there will certainly be casualties on our side. That was why Jin had suggested that we take out the Ninju. Defeating the Ninju born from his Aura before Razor recalls them back to himself could shave off his strength. Also, the Ninju would be easier opponents to take out and if we were to take out enough of it would force Razor out of the circle where the pole is planted.

Shin: "Connor! Properly hide yourself as you find a vantage point of Razor and the flag. If Razor moves away from the pole immediately fire at it with rifle and blow it outside the circle along with the flag! You may also target the Ninju, but if you do you must relocate yourself to a new hiding spot. "

Connor: "Understood."

Shin: "Aqua. Defend the flag with your life! We can't let Razor or his Nenju take it out of the circle and win this game... but if your life is in danger don't hesitate to run away."

Aqua: "Which is it idiot leader? No matter what you say I'll protect the flag to the end. Just worry about yourself and don't make me leave to come save you."

Shin: "Okay (even though I was just worried about you). Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, Jin, and I will take out the Ninju and force Razor to make a move."

Misaki: "This will be easy! I've been looking forward to go all out with my new Dragon Slayer Mutation!"

Shuai: "I'll do my best. As long as I have Gnome I'll mange."

Kampa: "I quickly cut down the Ninju with my gunfire. Hahahha! I wonder what's stronger, Razor or this Unicorn Beam Magnum?! I kinda want to test out this baby."

Jin: "Hahaha, everyone seems to be in good spirits... so I feel bad for dragging everyone down with my existence. I'm useless, but I'll try to do something. Don't want to be called a burden and kicked out of the team."

Shin: "Jin, as much as I want to you'll find a way to be useful. Hikari!"

Hikari: "Yes, oh great creepy baka otaku leader?"

Shin: "...Hikari, after you apply your magic buff spells and install a Game Map on everyone retreat to the edge of the forest with the Newbie. Stay out of any fights! Use your Persona to scan the forest and constantly keep us informed of enemy positions on the Game Map. If you need to convey something more detailed use the Communicator Phone. Also, if a threat comes your way don't hesitate to run outside the forest. Your scans are critical to the team's survival if we are to hunt down Bomber and possibly confront Team Germany. Your life has the highest priority so don't die meaninglessly."

Hikari: "Okay. I'll do my best!"

Shin: "That's my girl!"

Aqua: "..."

Shin: "You know that I love you too, right Aqua."

Aqua: "Just get on with it!"

Shin: "Okay (ignoring my first wife's glare). Lastly, Kisara and Renji. Along with Hikari, Shuai, and Jin take one of the five Nano Machine Accelerator Package we received from Drebin. Muscle Density, Reaction Speed, Cell Vitality, and Immunization Strength will be increased temporarily for three hours. Along with Hikari's magic spell to strengthen you they will give you strength the power to temporarily hold power comparable to those who have been enhanced, but by no means does that mean you should fight. If a threat comes and with the highest priority being Hikari, you take her and the Newbies out of the forest and protect her with your lives. Do you two understand?"

Kisara: "Yes. I protect everyone with my sword. I won't fail you."

The peerless beauty and swordsman Kisara looked at Shin with serious, yet sparkling eyes. Kisara's determination to do her best for the team was being conveyed, yet her beauty was too much for Shin to handle and had to look away embarrassed from her pure eyes. Shin also had to look away from the other two women of he was in a relationship who were glaring at him as well.

Shin: "Ah... so Renji! Are you ready for your first major battle?"

Renji: "Leave it to me leader. I won't let any danger come towards your woman!"

Shin: "Great that you understand. I'm liking you more and more my new comrade. Keep it up!"

Hikari: "...Baka boyfriend."

Aqua: "Stop messing around or I'll really hit you... No, I should just hit you now for good measure. What do you think, Shin?"

Shin: "...That's it everyone (Ignoring the glare and now threats of my first and second wife to-be once more). We only have one minute left so get into position! It's do or die! Hikari, the magic buffs!"

Hikari: "Alright. The magic buffs won't last that long, so it's my recommendation that we end this battle as swiftly as possible. I'm beginning... Wind Spirit! Water Spirit! Lightning Spirit! Fire Spirit! Earth Spirit!"

Each of us of us were veiled in a rainbow of lights from the five magic buffs from Hikari's spells. Offensive power, defensive power, speed, stamina, and most of all our healing factors were increased. Hikari's magic buffs will last for twenty to thirty minutes and for those who took the Nano Machine Accelerator Package will have four stats increased by 100 points temporarily and will last three hours. Now Team Japan for the duration of this game of Capture the Flag will be at their strongest!

\- *BOOM*!

It was then that a bright green light illuminated the forest. It was Devil 0's using Nen emission to light up the forest as the staring signal of the match.

Shin: "This is it. Everyone move out!"

Razor: "Hmm... What a spirited bunch that we have here. They're competing well against the Nenju. Not even ten minutes have passed and a few were taken out. I might have to go out sooner than expected."

Razor said so as he stood by sides his teams pole tied with a red flag. Through the eyes of his Ninju, the Fourteen Devils, Razor was able see the battles across the dark forest under the light of a full moon. Razor's side were losing more and more warriors as time passed, yet he could only smile confidently at the sight. It was as if losing his Ninju wasn't a minus for him.

The truth was that if Razor didn't recall his Ninju himself and let them be destroyed he would only regain less than half the Aura he expended on each Ninju. Razor knew not going out yet and not recalling the Fourteen Devils was to his disadvantage, but he couldn't help enjoying the battle and was excited about what would happen once he joins the battle... but till then he'll enjoy the show Team Japan was putting on for him.

Razor: "A few of them have good movements and even those who don't use their ability well and work together flawlessly. Ahh, I can't wait to mix it up with them."

Saying so, Razor returned to watching the battle through his Nenju with a smile on his face.

The Fourteen Devils.

That was the name of Razor's Nen Hatsu.

It was a Nen Ability to split his Aura into 91 parts (Not counting Devil 0 that cost almost no Aura to create) summonning 14 Ninju. Each Ninju given more Aura and were larger than the last, and who will act on his accord to fight for him. While Razor himself stayed behind as the Guardian protecting his team's red flag, he sent the Fourteen Devils to take the blue flag of Team Japan.

The match had just begun and Shin had just confirmed from Hikari that Razor had sent out all 14 of his Ninju to attack, leaving one behind, Devil 0. Shin figured that Razor would just recall the Fourteen Devils if his side went into attack him aggressively, and with the Communicator Phone he told his scattered comrades across the forest to stick with their plan to first take out Razor's Ninju.

Shin: "Take out the Ninju and force him out! The more of his Aura that's wasted before Razor comes out will determine victory and defeat!"

Shin's comrades who heard this command over the Communicator Phones and moved to intercept the Fourteen Devils. Everyone had been given a Game Map which includes a crude map of the forest alongside enemy and friendly positions. It wasn't the best real time map even with Hikari constantly updating it, but for battles like these within a dark forest it was by far an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

Misaki: "Found you!"

Misaki was the first encounter the enemy Ninju of the Fourteen Devils.

Devil 3.

A Ninju bestowed three parts of Razor's overwhelming Aura. It was definitely one of the weaker Ninju and smaller, yet none of Razor's Fourteen Devils themselves were weak at all. Devil 3 saw Misaki about strike him with a fist enveloped in flames and jumped back. Misaki was surprised by the reaction speed of Devil 3 and missed his chance to defeat it in one shot.

Devils 1-13 like Devil 3 couldn't speak human language like Devil 0, yet it still laughed crazily at Misaki's missed attack. Misaki was pissed off as he was about to follow after him, yet sensing danger he back off. Misaki witnessed Devils 3 conjure a blue ball of Emission Nen in its hands, one that resembled a dodge ball and hurled it at him.

The Nen Ball came soaring towards Misaki's head at 200 MPH and only thanks to Observation Haki he moved his head out of the way in time was his life spared... but not completely out of danger as a new danger was sensed. Behind Misaki and catching the world record baseball speeding emission Nen Ball was Devil 1. Devil 1 caught the ball with ease and swiftly threw it back at Misaki.

Misaki due to Mantra Haki understood the danger he was in without turning around in that instant. He was about to die. Misaki's knew that if that ball hit him in his back he would die, or the very least crippled for life. He would need repairs from God to be able to walk again... yet Devil's 1 and 3 weren't going to offer him that chance.

In that split second before the ball hit Misaki's instincts kicked in and he had entered the First Stage of Unlocked Mode. It was the first time since Apocalypse Alice, but he did not question it and allowed himself to move on full autopilot. Underneath his feet flames surged and rocketed him away out of danger.

Misaki watched in horror as the missed Nen Ball smashed into the ground and left a three meter radius crater five meters deep. Only death awaited him if he allowed him to be hit by that Nen ball, so Misaki didn't wait for the two Ninju to strike again. Misaki raised both hands and fired two high output blue balls of fire towards Devil 1 and Devil 3. It was the same attack that eviscerated Kiri's Demonic Knight back in Apocalypse Alice. Misaki was certain if it hit a fragile Nenju they would die 100%. Devil 3 managed to avoid the blue fireball by the skin of its neck, yet Devil 1 who couldn't avoid it was burned to black ash on the moment of contact.

Devil 3 feared for its life and attempted to run away and gain distance before attacking again, but Misaki didn't allow that. A jet stream of flames rocketed Misaki forward and all too soon caught up with the escaping Devil 3 and was defenseless as he released a flaming ax kick at its head.

Misaki: "Fire Dragon's Claw!"

Misaki's flaming ax kick cut down Devil 3 straight down the middle in burned it to ash just like Devil 1. Misaki landed back to the ground safely after his attack exhausted. The battle not lasting even twenty seconds, yet Misaki felt as if a year had been shaved off his life... still, Misaki smiled triumphantly at his victory over Devil 1 and Devil 3. His victory proved that he was no longer on the side that was protected by those like Aqua or Shin, but now had joined their side, the side that stands at the forefront and protect their comrades.

Devil 0: "Ninju's Devil 1 and Devil 3 are out! They are unable to continue!"

Misaki heard this announcement shouted across the dark forest by Devil 0, yet he could not be bothered to care anymore about a defeated enemy and he already celebrated briefly. The battle between Devil 1 and Devil 3 was not long, but for Misaki he was very stressed out. After confirming with the Gaming Map that no enemies were nearby he allowed himself to kneel to the earth relax and left Unlocked Mode. The pain was unbearable, yet it would only be worse if he stayed in that state for too long.

Once Misaki could breathe normally after enduring the pain of unlocking his constraint he called the others with the Communicate Phone to warn them about the Fourteen Devils. That even the low numbers ones were strong and fast, could throw deadly emissions Nen Balls, and that if you don't keep a watchful eye on the Game Map they could sneak up on you at critical moments. He also mentioned if not for exchanging for Observation Haki and Mantra Haki he would have died without knowing what happened. Finished relaying his report Misaki stood back up and headed towards his next opponent.

Misaki: "This... these guys are nothing! Mokoto... Ren... I won't die here, so wait for me!"

Recalling the name of the two girls he loved most in this world, his childhood friend Mokoto and little sister Ren, gave Misaki the strength to bear the pain he was in and walk forward towards the next enemy.

Kampa: "Raaahhhhhh!"

Kampa's roar resonated throughout the dark forest as he fired the pulse rifle. At that moment he was face to face with Devil 9. A Ninju bestowed nine parts of Razor's overwhelming Aura. It was one of the stronger half of the Fourteen Devils sent to defeat Team Japan and reach their blue flag.

Like Misaki had warned, the Ninju were incredibly powerful. He had barely avoid a large Nen Ball that brushed by him and snapped in half a dozen trees behind him. Kampa had not unlocked his constraint like Shin, Aqua, Misaki, and Connor, but as an experienced world ranked mercenary with the title of Overlord he could sense the threat all the same. Kampa knew he couldn't allow Devil 9 to attack him again, so while keeping a close eye on the Game Map for any more Ninju, he roared loudly as he unleash a hailstorm of bullets at the Ninju. The M41A-M that had been upgraded into a magic weapon slowly tore apart half of Devil 9's body, yet the Ninju showed inhuman spirit, superhuman endurance and durability. Even with half its body gone it still glared down Kampa and summoned a Nen Ball incomparable to Devil 3's and was about to ruthlessly throw it at Kampa when-

\- *BANG*!

The eyes of a sniper enhanced by Demonic Power locked unto Devil 9 from a great distance away and fired. From a location unseen a yellow bullet of Trion Energy flew through the forest and smashed through the head of Devil 9. Clean, through the head, and without resistance. What was left of Devil 9 body fell to the ground and disappeared retuning back to Razor as Aura.

Devil 0: "Ninju Devil 9 is out! It is unable to continue!"

Kampa heaved a sigh of relief and thanked Connor over the communicator Phone. If not for Connor, Kampa would have been forced to stop firing and hit Devil 9 with the M41A-M attached grenade launcher. He could have blown Devil 9 away, but in that time to switch attacks Devil 9 could had reaped his life.

Kampa: "Thanks Connor. You saved my life back there."

Connor: "No need for thanks. This is what a sniper does. I'll have to relocate as I feel Razor's eyes on me after firing that one shot. I will have to hide myself again."

Kampa: "Okay. I'll move to support the others. The higher numbered Ninju are terribly difficult to deal with alone. Only if you get the drop on them like you did, only leader and Aqua can take them on alone."

Kampa didn't hear anymore from Connor, so he turned off his phone and went to regroup with the others. Kampa would have normally tried to talk to Connor more, but there was a time and place and this was a war zone for Team Japan. At the right times worthless chatter between comrades as bullets come flying overhead could lift the spirits of a soldier, but during the wrong times it could distract and cause the death of a brother in arms... and against an opponent like Razor this wasn't the time or place to fool around.

As a mercenary and the oldest member of Team Japan Kampa had a responsibility to protect and show a good example to his comrades. Shin, Hikari, Misaki, Aqua, Shuai, Connor, Jin, Kisara, and Renji were not his fellow countrymen, yet all the same they were his brother and sisters in arms who would have each other's backs. As both a man and soldier... that was enough for Kampa to lay his life on the line for his team.

Shuai: "Gnome! Earth spears!"

Shuai ordered his Earth Elemental Gnome to attack the three approaching enemy Ninju. Devil 2, Devil 4, and Devil 7 rushed towards Shuai, yet swiftly scattered as five earth spike erupted from the ground in an attempt to impale them. Devil 2 and Devil 4 were slowed down by the surprise attack, but with inhuman reaction speed Devil 7 with the most ability all too quickly renewed the attack. Devil 7 saw a lone defenseless Shuai with Gnome by his side and didn't hesitate to rush and attack, but-

Jin: "...Just as expected. Ice Shell!"

Jin appeared out of thin air behind Devil 7 with a deadly light in his eyes. Using Illusion Shroud to launch a sneak attack Jin readied his spell to take Devil 7's life. From Jin's right hand a bright blue light glowed, yet didn't immediately shoot out like Frostbolt. Jin needed more concentration to condense the ice magic and when it was finished he launched his make shift magic spell.

Crafted from ice magic, an extremely hard shell of moving ice shot outward with the speed of a bullet and struck Devil 7's back. The Ice Shell tore into the sturdy Ninju's back and to everyone's surprise expanded and covered Devil 7 in a layer of hardened ice.

\- SKILL MASTERY REWARD!

WITHIN 70% ACCURACY YOU HAVE EXECUTED THE FOLLOWING SKILL - "ICE SHELL SPELL! ONCE YOU RETURN TO THE TERMINAL LOBBY YOU CAN EXCHANGE FOR THE COMPLETE "ICE SHELL SPELL" SKILL FOR 1/10 OF ITS POINT VALUE AND ONE D RANK REWARD!

Devil 0: "Ninju Devil 7 is out! It is unable to continue!"

Jin: "Yes! I've final hit skill mastery! My two months of training weren't for nothing!"

Shuai: "Celebrate later! Gnome, earth wall!"

Devil 2 and Devil 4 finally caught up and were about to take revenge on Jin for Devil 7 when Shuai interfered. Gnome called up a wide and tall wall of earth to hinder the two approaching Ninju, but it was only a temporary delay. Two Nen Balls thrown by the Ninju crashed into and blew apart the wall of earth. Jin and Shuai, seeing the two Ninju now rush in and crafting new Nen Balls, prepared to intercept them, and luckily a comrade's gun arrived to lend a hand.

Kampa: "Raaahhhh!"

The muzzle of Kampa's M41A-M Pulse Rifle turned white as a continuous stream of bullets were fired at the Ninju. Devil 2 was immediately torn to pieces and so was the right half of Devil 4, yet with incredible spirit Devil 4 endured and escaped the storm of bullets. Kampa experience from previous fights expected this much resistance and immediately shot out a grenade from the attached launcher on the pulse rifle and accurately hit Devil 4.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The forest was lit up. The Sci-fi grenade enhanced with magic properties created a large blast that knocked Shuai, Jin, and even Kampa off their feet. A blaze of intense heat could be felt on their skin. A normal man would have been turned into ash by that level of destruction, yet Devil 4 survived with unexpected tenacity with 2/3 of its body destroyed and rest caught on fire. Devil 4 more than half up in flames hopped forward on one foot aiming for Jin, yet was caught by Shuai.

Shuai: "HOI! JOSO! KETSU! METSU!"

Shuai boxed the damaged Devil 4 in a purple Kekkai Barrier and set it to explode. The square box shrieked and collapsed in on itself in an implosion. The already damaged Ninju didn't survive Shuai's attack and vanished into small traces of Aura.

Decil 0: "Ninju Devil 2 and Devil 4 are out! They are unable to continue!"

Shin: "So everything's going well?"

Kampa: "Yes! I've met up with Shuai and Jin. Connor has hidden himself and no one has gotten close to Aqua guarding the flag and or lady boss's group by the border of the forest."

Shin: "Okay. Things are looking up for us... but you should know that Hikari hates it when you call her lady boss. Only I'm allowed to bully her."

Kampa: "Hahaha! It's a term of endearment. Nothing more or less. I'm also not interested in little girls and I have a wife. She's the heiress of a billionaire and movie star with blonde hair with all the right proportions. A little girl can't match her. I met her a few years back when she was kidnapped by terrorist and her father hired me to rescue her from the villains."

Shin: "...Are you actually an action film star! Shit, you have to me more about this later. Anyways, Kampa, I'll call you back later. I've finally found some opponents worthy of my time."

Kampa: "Alright. Stay safe."

Shin hanged up and returned the Communicator Phone and returned it to his subspace Na Ring. He usually kept it on his person, but felt that it would most likely be damaged in the coming battle. Shin saw them coming on Hikari's Game Map, yet before he knew it he was surrounded by three Ninju.

Devil 8.

Devil 11.

Devil 13.

The three Ninju were among the strongest of Razor's Fourteen Devils and were on the larger side, especially Devil 11 and Devil 13. Razor had known right away that Shin and Aqua were by far the two strongest of their group, but with Aqua acting as Guardian he could only have fun by sending the three powerful Ninju Shin's way. Razor was about ready to go out himself, but he first wanted to know if their leader Shin was worthy of his time. He was only on the island called Greed Island to face his benefactor, Ging Freecss's son Gon after all.

Shin: "What bad taste! Does he want to wear me down more than the others before he steps out? Well, bring it on Fourteen Devils!"

Shin misunderstood Razor's intentions, but in the end it didn't matter. Shin could only survive and gain the qualifications to face Razor if he defeated some of his strongest Ninju. Devil 8, Devil 11, and Devil 13 weren't opponents easily to take on alone and definitely not together. Their power, speed, durability, reaction speed, combat instincts, and Aura were far above their lesser Ninju brethren... but Shin was not the leader and (self-proclaimed) ace of Team Japan for nothing. On Team Japan only the most veteran Player, Aqua herself, could match or surpass Shin. Additionally, at this moment he was strengthened by Hikari's five Magic Buff Spells and was under the maximum Stat enhancing effects of his Lesser Fenrir Coat due to it being night time.

That was how Shin could met the crazed glares of the Ninju before him and to top it off he had entered into the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint. After many life and deaths battle, like Aqua and Connor, Shin could now too enter into Unlocked Mode of his own free will. Shin's power increased by several folds even with just the First Stage of the Unlocked Mode. Ever since he reached the Second Stage, it was getting easier for him to enter the Unlocked Mode. He just had to believe he was in danger. Furthermore the after effects had lessened by a lot. In other words, he could enter the First Stage without any worry now. Shin would have been forced into Unlocked Mode anyways against his current opponents, yet doing so of his own will reduced the strain it placed on him by a noticeable degree.

Shin: "Come!"

Shin brought forth his four Kagune tentacles and unleashed them on the three Ninju. The three Ninju were taken back by the odd ability Shin showed, yet they effortlessly avoided the ruthless blood red tentacles trying to capture them. Shin wasn't shocked wasn't at this result and expected it. The Ninju, Devil 8 that was attacked by two Kagune tentacles was forced to retreat to a location Shin desired and without any delay he opened fire at the Ninju. From the left hand Ki emission projectiles flew and from the right the Auto 9 Robocop Gun reinforced by Ki Energy ripped through the air... all impacting and shredding Devil 8 apart.

Shin: (That's one!)

Shin saw Devil 8 was left in a half-dead state, yet before he could finish the job two deadly Nen Balls were thrown towards him. Each emission attack from Devil 11 and Devil 13 were lethal and soared faster than 700 MPH. Using Instant Movement Shin moved just out of the way as the two Nen Balls flew passed, yet the air pressure as they passed made him stumble. Shin barely recovered himself, but the large Devil 11 closed in towards him and threw an attack. Not a Nen Ball, but a regular punch that'll obliterate the life of the average Nen User. Shin saw the threat before him, yet did nothing to avoid the punch but instead intercepts the punch with his forearm of his right arm. Devil 11 was surprised at this action, yet completely taken back when his attack was repelled.

Silver Dragon Scales.

Shin's well timed counter and increased physical defense blew away Devil 11's punch who was exposed to a counter attack. Swiftly stepping forward, Shin brought in his left hand to his chest and with his entire weight then unleashed a devastating left punch into Devil 11's body.

Shin: (Soul Crushing Strike!)

The sound of a sonic boom rang throughout the forest as both external and internal damage was dealt to the Ninju. The left fist empowered with lethal physical force and Ki Energy exploded into Devil 11's chest and blew apart the Ninju like a balloon. Another attack came. A Nen Ball hurdled towards Shin's head and being forced to dodge took away his feeling of victory, yet overall he was calm.

Shin: (All good! Just a bit more and-)

Shin thoughts were interrupted by a shocking sight. The weakened Ninju Devil 8 and the already powerful Devil 13 began to glow with the light of Aura. As if attracted by each other like magnets Devil 8 lying on the ground half dead and Devil 13 standing before Shin flew towards each other... and merged! A blinding light illuminated the forest before Shin's eyes and what now stood before him from the remains of the two Ninju... was a monster.

Fourteen Devils - Devil 21.

A Devil with an ominously crooked painted number 21 stood before Shin. Shin gazed at the slim and adult sized Ninju of Razor with fear. It was a primordial fear when facing a superior existence that shakes one to the core. Shin had seen in the Manga and Anime that Razor's Ninju, the Fourteen Devils could fuse, yet a Devil with a number higher than thirteen was never been seen in the original plot.

Shin: "Wh-what is this!? Were the others just disposal pawns and those over number 20 are Razor's actual fighting force for battle?"

Shin could only guess at the nature of the Ninju before him emitting a dark and deadly killing intent, yet even that did not last long... Devil 21 moved. In a flash of a second and unable to escape, Devil 21's fist slammed into Shin's face. At the very last moment he guarded with Silver Dragon Scales, yet he was still knocked off his feet and slammed hard into a tree. In pain Shin coughed up a mouthful of blood and his head spun as he was hit with also enough force to knock his head off. For a moment Shin had no idea what was going on, yet his instincts were still intact.

An ominous dark blue Nen Ball filled with killing intent was launched towards Shin. Instinctively Shin moved away, yet the tree he was leaning on and the surrounding earth were blown away – no disintegrated on impact of from the Nen Ball. Shin was blown away ten meters through the air, but the shock knocked back his consciousness.

Looking around in a panic Shin saw Devil 21 about to throw another Nen Ball, so he escaped through the dark forest with Instant Movement. Devil 21 looked indifferently at Shin as he put space between them and all of a sudden loudly laughed manically and gave chased after him. Shin was traveling with a speed technique, yet Devil 22 easily tailed behind him and was decreasing the distance between them by the second.

Shin: "Fuck! One-fifth of Razor's Aura creates a beast like this! Bullshit! How strong is Razor at full strength, or a Ninju with all of his Aura!?"

Shin couldn't outrun or allow himself to be brought down by Devil 21, so he knew he could only fight. Shin drew his magic sword Gravity Blade, stopped, and leaped with backwards with Instant Movement ruthlessly brandishing his sword. Devil 21 was surprised by this attack and could only put up a guard. Shin and Devil 21 clashed in a test of strength with their lives on the line. With the full force of a collision behind it, Shin's Gravity Blade with increased weight, and armed in both Ki and Na Ring force field, ruthlessly hacked off Devil 21's left arm and blew it away.

Devil 21 recovered itself and returned the favor of having its arm cut off with a full power Nen Ball thrown towards Shin. Shin couldn't avoid the Nen Ball so he chose to clash against it. As the Emission attack reached Shin, entering the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint for increased power he threw a Soul Crushing Strike with a fist coated in Silver Dragon Scales. The two forces met and the Nen Ball was hit away into the far distance. Bones within the arm shook despite the defensive Ki skill and his hand badly damaged from the Nen Ball, yet he could care less.

Shin: "Go to hell!"

Shin hollered as he ignored the pain of his burned flesh and leaped towards Devil 21 with the increase speed and power of the Second Stage reached Devil 21, but as Shin was about to slash the Ninju jumped into the air to avoid. Devil 21 felt the difference in power between them shrink as Shin entered the Second Stage and chose to fight with greater caution to his dismay. Shin wanting to end the fight once and for all released his Kagune reinforced with Silver Dragon Scales to ensnare the Ninju before it touched back down. Devil 21 used its great strength to try and break free from the four Kagune tentacles coated in silver armor, but not daring to let this chance go Shin gave the Ninju one last blow.

Shin: "One Sword Style, 36 Pound Cannon!"

The Flying sword slash cut through the space between them and cut down Ninju Devil 21 still caught in midair by the Kagune. The two halves of the Ninju hit the ground dead and evaporated into Aura.

Devil 0: "Ninju Devil 8, Devil 11, and Devil 13 are out! They are unable to continue!"

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

The final and even more epic battle against Razor concludes next chapter!

Also, Hikari's Game Map are like lesser versions of Soul Link and Psyche Force Scan, but just in one skill. Game Map can't match either, but because it can link up to countless more people than Soul Link, scan an area, and cost less as came in with the Persona ability it's not something to dismiss are worthless.


	131. Chapter 131

Terror Infinity - Side B

Chapter 20, HxH Greed Island

Razor's face was full of glee as he witnessed the many battles taking place throughout the forest. Through the eyes of his Ninju, the Fourteen Devils, Razor he was able witness to Team Japan's struggles. Misaki, Kampa, Connor, Shuai, Jin, and most of all their leader Shin. He saw their exciting and action packed battles and could no longer keep his normally dormant battle spirit from rising to the surface.

Razor: "Hahaha! These challengers are amusing. They don't have a dominating strength, yet they have a willpower to live and struggle no matter how great the threat... yeah, this is enough of the pregame. Now for the main event!"

Razor had lost more than half of the Fourteen Devils along with a lot of Aura, yet he could only grin happily as he snapped his fingers to recall his remaining Ninju to gain back what little Aura he could. With the exception of Devil 0 that has almost no Aura expenditures, all across the forest the remaining Fourteen Devils lost their human form, reverted back to Aura, and flew back towards Razor. Surrounded in storm of his own Aura Razor felt much better and more powerful than he had before.

Razor: Ninju Devil's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 13 were defeated over course of the battle. That's 63 parts of Aura and I only recovered 12 from their remains. Devil's 6, 10, and 12 were recovered safely for the full 28 parts. I kept 8 parts, so I have now 48 out of 100 parts of my original Aura. 48%... not bad. A little under half, but that's enough to have some fun."

Saying so Razor began to move and walked right out of his team's circle to go on the attack. Razor was the Guardian and which meant that he was in charge of protecting the flag and more importantly the red flag that would could spell his defeat if it leaves the circle for any reason. Razor also could not return back inside the circle for any reason. Razor knew it was a risk to leave his flag unattended and that his remaining Devil 0 held no power what's so ever... but long as he made sure no one could approach his flag then...

Razor: "It'll all work out one way or another. Now..."

\- *BANG*!

Once the sniper felt Razor was far enough away from the pole and red flag he attacked. From the from the muzzle of the Eaglet Sci-fi riffle and from a distance of 4,200 meters away, deep within the dark forest a single bullet was fired. The Trion bullet shot by Connor traveled the distance in an instant to strike the enemy pole with the hopes of blasting it outside the circle.

Razor: "Scary, scary. He hid himself perfectly. Too bad he released killing intent just to shoot down a pole!"

Razor said all this leisurely as he vanished from where he was standing and reappeared, outside the circle and between the pole and sniper shot was coming from. With one hand coated in powerful Aura, Razor as if hitting a fly swatted down the Trion bullet soaring across the dark forest.

Connor: (How did he-)

Connor, seeing all of this from afar was left even more speechless than he normally is. Razor's action was well outside his years of experience as a soldier fighting in the Middle East. From there, Connor could only watch as Razor conjured an extremely bright ball of emission Aura and threw it at him despite the distance between them, yet it did not matter. His attack could reach. Unable to escape in time the Nen Ball soared with a velocity surpassing that of a bullet and crossing the distance between them and hit Connor head on. Luckily for Connor he was in a Trion Body form, yet the Nen Ball tore apart and destroyed that body, so Connor was forced into a Bail Out, landing well outside the forest unable to move due to the side effects of the Trion Body Being destroyed.

Devil 0: "Challenger team's Connor has left the forest and is out! He is unable to continue!"

Razor let out a sigh of relief hearing that. Connor, the enemy team's sniper was the biggest threat of all. He had so perfectly hidden himself that Razor was forced to bait him out to discover his location. If not, when Razor left to face Shin and his comrades, Connor could at his luxury blow away his red flag outside the circle.

Razor: "The boy is both too inexperienced in super power battles of Nen and is young. He couldn't grasp that my strength and speed was enough to reach and repel his attack. Also, the boy should have had more patience before he took his shot. This is what determined the failure of his team's first chance at victory... Anyways, I should hurry. Seeing my strength it looks like the enemey leader ordered the retreat of the weaker combatants."

Razor look unconcerned at such a development and briskly ran forward through the dark forest. With each new step Razor's speed increased dramatically and had soon become a blur as he swiftly traversed the forest. The forest was extremely vast and wide, and Aqua and her team's flag were on the other side, but with his Aura strengthened legs he would reach her in the next sixty seconds.

No one stood in his way to his disappointment, but as if jinxing himself the light of death bared down at him. Traveling through, no Bulldozing through the formerly dark forest was the bright pink light of a beam attack. Trees, rocks, unfortunate animals nearby, and the very earth the beam traveled down... everything was vaporized on its path towards Razor.

Unicorn Beam Magnum.

A highly customized beam rifle designed with an energy condenser. The power of four regular yet already deadly beam attacks were released from the large and lethal Sci-fi weapon from the Gundam universe in Kampa's hands. Each shot of the Unicorn Beam Magnum cost an expensive E-cap battery, a total of five within its Magazine. Two were used for practice in the Terminal Lobby already, but Kampa couldn't hesitate to not use it here. Kampa himself had felt the threat of Razor, but it was Shin who ordered him to finally use the weapon that had been uselessly straddled to his back all this time.

Razor down to his core felt the threat of the deathly light approaching him and became serious for the first time in a long time. Razor focused a quarter of his maximum Aura into a single emission Nen Ball that had the weight of one hundred bowling balls and hurled it dead center into at the approaching beam. Razor already had less than half of his total Aura, so this decision would disadvantage him later, but he had no time to hesitate when he might not even have a later in the next second.

Razor: "Devil's 25 - Super Heavy Ball Number 1!"

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The super beam attack and Ultimate Nen Emission attack collided with one another and lit up the dark forest in a blinding white radiance which was followed immediately by a terrible explosion that ripped apart the very earth. Razor stood his ground against the burning hot winds, deluged earth, and trees flying through the air ripped out of their roots, but the same couldn't be said about Kampa. The blast had almost instantly knocked him out and he flew backwards helplessly. Kampa was still alive, but had suffered terrible burns that would need days to heal even if he used a Healing Potion.

Devil 0: "Challenger Kampa is out. He is unable to continue!"

Razor, impressed and satisfied, watched as Kampa was ejected outside the forest back to the pirate lighthouse base for medical treatment. He honestly didn't think that much of Kampa, yet for him to send a chill down his spine that hadn't been felt since his battle with Ging excited him to no end. Razor now had less than a quarter of his total Aura left, yet he had no regrets after such an exchange of power. Razor wanted more, to feel more alive... so he turned his head to the right for his next challenge.

Razor: "I can't get enough of these high thriller battles... can you entertain me for a bit like your friend?"

Shin: "Wasn't that grand display of power enough? Either of your attacks could easily sink a naval ship in one attack. Let's fight on a smaller scale shall we!?"

Smoke from the slowly burning forest destroyed normal visual sight, yet the two using special energies, Aura and Ki Energy in focused around their eyes could see one another. Razor had less than a quarter of his Aura. Shin was battered and the effects of Hikari's Magic Spells wearing off. Both were far from their best conditions, yet neither thought of running away from this battle.

Razor: "So you're the only one, huh? The scary redhead woman is still standing by your side's pole and blue flag. You ordered the rest to retreat back to the border of the forest?"

Shin: "Of course. Like I'll allow them to face a monster like you head on. Besides, I alone am good enough to take you on and bring victory to my side!"

Razor: "Hmm... that so? Confidence is good, but do you know what I hate?"

Shin: "..."

Razor: "It's cowardice. It isn't you, but those people who were staying on the sidelines this whole time. I think someone over there was activity using something like 'En' to scan the forest, yet the rest... isn't it better to be rid of them?"

Shin: "!"

Shin could only open his eyes wide and unable to move as Razor swiftly conjured a Nen Ball and threw it towards an unknown and far off target. Not Shin was ready for any attack coming his way in Unlocked Mode, but off into the far distance... it took Shin a few moments to realize what was going on and when he did... he was horrified.

Hikari was still within the border of the forest alongside Kisara, Renji, and the five Newbie men. So far no enemies have come close to them, yet Hikari, Kisara, and Renji didn't let their guards down. Especially after Shin gave a retreat order to the main combatants after Razor made his appearance. That was why despite wearing herself down with constant activation of her Persona Adrasteia and Magic Spell usage on everyone on the team, Hikari kept scan the forest for all dangers... so she was the first to become aware of the approaching danger towards them

Hikari: "Hit the deck!"

Hikari, not waiting to see if her warning was heard, ducked down to the ground. Kisara and Renji, having experienced dangers alongside Team Japan the last two months and now sensitive to the Nen of others, followed after Hikari and ducked down. The five Newbie men heard the warning as well, yet were not able to act under pressure like the others... and couldn't react to the lethal Nen Ball approaching.

\- *SPLAT*!

Of the five Newbie men, one was hit in the stomach by the Nen Ball thrown by Razor and exploded into a fine red mist of blood and internal organs. Hikari, Kisara, and even a man like Renji were left sick and speechless at the sight and the four remaining Newbies weren't faring better, but what truly terrified them was a voice. The rigid and dignified voice of God was heard and left a terrifying message.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM JAPAN DIED. TEAM JAPAN -1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY 0 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -1.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: 0.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Hikari: "Wh,wh,wh, what?!"

Hikari and every official member of Team Japan felt terror at this message. No one could have predicted this. They were all under the assumption that the Team Battle penalty would only apply when Team Japan and Team Germany fought and killed one another, yet as it turned out any death whatsoever on a Team Battle mission meant a deduction of points.

Team Germany hadn't arrived yet, but Team Japan was at Negative 1 Team Point which was equal to Negative 2,000 points when the mission ends... yet the horrors were not yet over. Hikari, Kisara, and Renji were in a daze as yet another Nen Ball came hurdling towards them. They were still duck and the Newbies were standing, so the result was obvious and worse than they could imagine. At the Nen Ball eviscerated one Newbie man into a blood mist, the ball of concentrated Aura curved and took out the remaining three Newbies into blood mist as well.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: FOUR MEMBER OF TEAM JAPAN DIED. TEAM JAPAN -4 TEAM POINTS AND TEAM GERMANY 0 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -5.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: 0.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Hikari: "Na-negative five!"

Renji: "Negative 5 Team Battle Points... Isn't that Negative 10,000 points at the end of the mission?!"

Hikari: "...We have to get out of here! Don't mind running away. Everyone get of the forest. This is an order!"

Hikari after saying so contacted the others. As no more Nen Balls were flying anywhere it meant Shin was busy fighting Razor. Hikari couldn't contact him, but Aqua, Misaki, Shuai, and Jin who had yet to be defeated answered her call. Everyone talked over the Communicator Phone's open line and all agreed to leave the forest... well, almost everyone was allowed to leave the forest and Capture the Flag game.

Devil 0: "Challengers Hikari, Misaki, Shuai, and Renji have left the forest and are out! Unable to continue!"

Shin heard the announcement from Devil 0 and wondered why hasn't everyone escaped yet, but he wasn't allowed to think too deeply over it. Shin had just wanted to run away with everyone at this time having that Team Japan were at Negative 10,000 Points, but he wasn't allowed to. For the sake of the team so that they knew that they hadn't come here for nothing, he and Razor were locked in a battle to the death to bring them victory... and yet Shin was on the losing side. Shin was facing off against a weakened Razor with not even a quarter of his strength left, yet he was still by far stronger warrior. His Aura as low as it was, was greater than his own Advance Ki Energy. Shin kept attacking Razor with sword, fist, Ki emission attacks, and Kagune, yet each and every attack to take away Razor's life was effortlessly avoided by him.

Razor has so far been restricted his attacks to just using his physical body, yet Shin was pushed to the edge. His Nen enhanced fist could turn rocks into atomic dust and his Nen reinforced legs were like swords that could cut through steel. Razor's power, speed, and combat judgement were at least two or three tiers higher than the monster Devil 21. Shin had almost immediately been forced into the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint and barely, just barely, was he holding on for dear life. So far he had avoided a fatal strike by focusing solely on defense, and with the protection of his magic armor and defense skill the few close calls had just remained a few close calls

Razor: "Hmm... you can't keep up with me, but you have an interesting variety of skills you wouldn't expect on a Nen User. Are you a Specialist?"

Shin: "Who knows? Maybe I'll tell you when I'm standing over you after I win!"

Razor: "That so? I really don't see that-"

Razor stopped mid-sentence and turned his head around and after a moment used 'Gyo' to enhance his vision. Shin didn't know what Razor was up to by looking away in the middle of a battle, but this was a chance. The Aura around Razor's body had decreased as he was focusing it around his eyes. Razor was monstrously strong, but Shin was confident that in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode and with his strongest attack, he could take Razor out with his current subpar defensive Aura. Shin was about to do just that, but Razor's words stopped him.

Razor: "I see. I wasn't expecting for our battle to be a diversion."

Shin: "...What?"

Razor: "To occupy my attention with your strongest fighter and send someone under the cover of the smoke of the burning forest to reach the enemy flag, I didn't see that. It was a good plan, but her 'Zetsu' isn't quite there yet. It would have been better if she had used the higher form 'In'."

As Razor was casually saying all of this Shin was left half with questions and half answers. Shin could imagine that the remaining players in the game besides himself; Aqua, Jin, and Kisara were planning something to take the enemy's red flag, yet he the leader didn't know the details of this plan. Much less that they had made him a tool to distract Razor. This made him both proud that his team could act without him and sad that he was left out... yet such thoughts didn't matter now. What did though was that without being told it was his job to slow down Razor so someone could reach the enemy flag. Razor had discovered this plan he was not let in of, yet he still had to stop Razor from going after them.

Shin: "Razor! Your opponent is me. Until you defeat me I won't allow you to leave or attack my comrades!"

Razor: "...That so? Then let's end this."

Razor, as soon as he said those words, disappeared from Shin's sight. With godly footwork having not been used so far in their battle Razor moved to take a position behind Shin. A Lethal Nen Ball had already appeared within his hands and without hesitation he threw the ball at Shin's exposed back. Shin only felt immediate danger from behind him not knowing what it was. Shin was clues and helpless to get out of the way, so the only thing he could do was prepare himself. In the Second Stage where he gained absolute control of the body he strengthened the muscles on the back past their limits. Then after coating the outer layer in Silver Dragon Scales he channeled one-third of his Ki Energy into the Lesser Fenrir Coat for maximum defense.

Then the Nen Ball of Razor's hit Shin's back and-

\- *CRASH*!

...he was blown away. Unlike the five Newbies Shin did not disintigrate into fine red blood mist thanks to his three layers of protection, yet he was all the same blown away. Sent flying at 300 MPH Shin crashed into a sturdy tree and broke it into two before falling back down to the earth.

It was only for one attack, but seeing Shin survive after become somewhat serious impressed Razor. So much so that he immersed himself in that feeling as he turned around to start his pursuit of the enemy aiming for his flag... completely forgetting that Devil 0 had not confirmed Shin's defeat, or how Shin miraculous brought himself back up and used instant Movement to reach his side. Razor only noticed at the very last second... that Team Japan's leader still in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode brought forth a storm to bring him down.

From the navel where Ki Energy dwells, the normally green energy was suddenly dyed a beautiful and radiant light blue, swelled up and entered into every part of Shin's body, turning the individual into a catalyst of pure destructive power. A higher tier of energy then escaped into the air, and all too quickly concentrated around his left arm as a torrent of power. Razor brought up a defensive technique, a shield of Aura with the number 20 painted on it at this critical moment, yet it was obvious to all that Shin held the far greater power at this moment. The blue torrent of destruction then concentration further around his left fist and he struck Razor's shield head on.

Shin: "Spirit Wave!"

Razor: "Devil's 20 Guard!"

\- *CONTINUOUS EXPLOSION*!

The torrent of ruthless Ki Energy and energy shield of Aura met and an explosion like no other occurred in a blinding light. Not the level of destruction as when the Beam Magnum and Razor's Devil's 20 Ball met head on, but a true clash of special powers that shook the battlefield and caused every living creature within that forest to feel overwhelmed by an invisible pressure. When the light of Shin and Razor's special moves final died down after ten seconds... in a patch of forest burned and removed of all grass, rocks, trees, where a small crater was formed of their clash... only Razor stood standing. Razor rubbing his sides looked down at Shin who was now unconscious and being ejected outside the forest with immense respect.

Razor's defensive technique saved his life, yet the ribs on one side were broken and would hinder his movements. Additionally, he now had very little Aura remaining after using a lot of his Aura for that defensive technique. Razor had no intention of letting Shin and his team win just because they impressed him time and time again as he would to protect his flag, yet he couldn't help but think he could really lose this match thanks to expending so much strength... and that excited him even more as he looked up in the direction Shin was Ejected from.

Razor: "It's a shame that in the end you didn't have enough power to finish me off. If not for the battle with Devil 21 and being forced to use the defensive move to protect yourself... I wouldn't escape with just a few broke ribs. If your side happens to win then it'll be because of you. Hahaha! These challengers really are the best! It'll be a boring ending if I took this chance to just go after their flag now!"

Razor finished paying his respects to a worthy foe turned around and ran back to his flag to protect it from Team Japan's last attack.

Kisara: "Ha... Ha... Ha... Almost there!"

Through the dark and smoke filled forest under the full moon was a lone girl. That girl, Kisara was currently sprinting as fast as her body could take her on her journey towards her target... the enemy Razor and the Fourteen Devil's red flag!

It was far too dangerous of a mission for a trial member of Team Japan without enhancements to attempt, and alone at that, but it was the mission that she agreed to. Right after the five Newbie men were brutally killed by Razor's Nen Ball, receiving Negative 5 Team Points (-10,000), and Shin beginning his downhill battle against Razor, Jin had contacted Kisara and everyone else. Everyone understood that they couldn't allow anyone to remain in the forest who couldn't face Razor, yet Jin had other plans.

Jin proposed that from Team Japan that only just Hikari, Misaki, Shuai, and Renji to escape, and for Kisara, Aqua, and himself to stay. Hikari thought Jin was insane to stay after getting penalized Negative 10,000 points, yet he said that it had to be done. They were injured and tired. It would be unreasonable for them to come back and get 'Patch of Shore' another day even if Razor might relocate and Team Germany's arrival in the horizon. That why they needed to gain the Card at all cost.

Jin knew from their two months together collecting Monster Cards and tracking Bomber that Kisara was incredibly fit and fast, but more importantly then that she was most skill in the Nen application of 'Zetsu'. Even Aqua who has been using Nen for much longer and had a higher level of it than Kisara, yet she admitted Kisara was oddly enough superior to her in the art of Zetsu. That was why Jin wanted Kisara to use Zetsu and the cover of the smoke of the burning forest to reach Razor's red flag and take it out of their circle for Team Japan's victory.

Jin was confident, or pretended to be confident about Kisara being the best choice, yet his plan did not end there. While he himself would also make his way to the enemy red flag under the cover of Illusion Shroud, he would also make use of Aqua. Jin couldn't be confident that Shin would win against Razor, even if Aqua left their Blue Flag undefended to support him, so he wanted Aqua to support Kisara. Specifically, once Shin was defeated (avoiding saying killed) Jin wanted Aqua to support Kisara if Razor moved having noticed Kisara. Not committing to defeat Razor, but doing everything she could to slow him down.

Everyone of Team Japan were all hesitant about this dangerous plan without consulting Shin who's locked in battle against Razor... yet not wanting this battle to end a complete loss they agreed to Jin's plan for victory. That was why after being entrusted with the hopes of Team Japan to bring them victory, Kisara as if her life depended on it... which it would very soon.

It was as Kisara was less than a quarter of the way to the enemy Red Flag an explosion of life energy struck and knocked her off her feet and made her fall hard on the cold forest ground. Not as intense as when Kampa's Unicorn Beam Magnum and Razor's Devil 25 Nen Ball collided, yet the force of two extreme types of life energy clashing, even from a distance effect all those alive within the forest. The right side of Kisara's head was bleeding from the fall, yet she picked herself up and renewed her sprint towards her goal... when she then heard the voice of Devil 0 relaying bad new to all of Team Japan.

Devil 0: "Challenger Shin is out! He is unable to continue!"

Kisara felt her heart sink hearing this tragic news.

To Kisara and other trial member Renji, the leader of Team Japan, Shin, was like an absolute and powerful existence. Shin had led them as they hunted down monsters, protected them more than once from hostile Nen Users of Greed Island with amazing abilities, and even gave them power in the form of Nen. Additionally... since that first day of Greed Island she had found her eyes wander towards Shin. Kisara didn't know if she liked Shin as she had no experience with men, yet all the same she worried for him and that dulled her movement and saved her life. Kisara had slightly slowed down and looked towards the direction where the last sounds of Shin and Razor's battle was heard, and saw it.

A glowing blue ball of Aura hurdling through the air and towards Kisara's head. The Nen Ball that Kisara was sure would rip off her head oddly missed her and zoomed past her due to Razor not expecting her sudden drop in speed and see the attack coming. Kisara, feeling that her life was spared, was woken up from all her worries. All thoughts ceased and her senses were sharpened to the limit as she fell back onto her Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu training.

Kisara renewed her sprint towards the enemy flag while taking in all her surroundings. Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu was known for its God like speed, but the core techniques of the sword style needed more than just speed. What was required was a sharp mind to taken in a opponents everything and one's surroundings.

The movements of the arms, legs, head, friction of the clothes, eye moments, outer and inner emotions of the opponent, and even the very air itself were all taken in by Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu practitioners. Additional, staying in a state of Zetsu like Kisara was left one especially defensiveness to special attacks, yet increase their sensitive to life energies like Aura far more than they normally could.

This all allowed Kisara to avoid one Nen Ball that would have torn her head off and another Nen Ball that would have hit her torso and splatter her into a fine red blood mist like her fellow five Newbies. Before the attacks arrived she was already making preparations to avoid the lethal attacks thrown by Razor... but she was reaching her limits.

Kisara, despite being a master of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, had very little combat experience against such ferocious and fast attacks like Razor and above all else she herself was a normal human girl. She was still under the effects of the Nano Machine Accelerator and was given additional Magic Spell Buffs by Hikari before she separated, yet ultimately they were shallow abilities when compared to Whole Enhancements and Genetic Mutations from the exchanges.

Kisara also had yet to unlock her constraint as well, so it took her all to avoid those last two attacks and although the enemy flag was not too far off she was exhausted mentally. Relying only on her inborn abilities had pushed Kisara to the edge and was seeing only blurs now. She knew that she didn't have what it took to avoid another Nen Ball... yet it still came anyways. A Nen Ball faster than the last was on a collision course for Kisara and despite knowing danger was approaching and that there was nothing she could do... Kisara believing in her Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu and recalling her motivations to continue to swing the sword, one that she had yet to tell her comrades pushed her past her limits.

\- MENTAL REALM LIMIT BROKEN!

REWARDED 500 POINTS. MENTAL CAPACITY INCREASED BY 20 POINTS, INTELLIGENCE INCREASED BY 10, REACTION SPEED INCREASED BY 30 POINTS!

It was a small a reprieve to avoid death, yet the permanent increase in Reaction Speed restored her vision and allowed to just barely avoid the Nen Ball about to tear off her lower body by rolling forward. Kisara's life was spared and that forward roll had taken her into the enemy's circle where the pole and Red Flag was planted, yet she knew that it was the end. Kisara saw Razor smiling to the side outside the circle with another Nen Ball ready. He looked exhausted from all his battles so far, yet he had it left in him to attack one last time.

At this close a range between herself and Razor, Kisara knew she couldn't avoid Razor's Nen Ball with even three times greater speed and reaction time, so she could only hope for a miracle she had no idea would come and with all her remaining Aura channeled under her feet she jumped with all her strength. If she was hit by the Nen Ball in midair as she was she would be killed, but if not than she would grasp the enemy Red Flag and her momentum would shoot her out of the circle and give victory to Team Japan.

Razor saw through and admired the beauty of Kisara's sacrificial dive, giving her very life in an attempt to bring victory to her comrades, but he had no intention of letting the battle end like this. Razor grasped the Nen Ball tightly and went into a throwing motion, yet at the last minute he jumped high into the air. Razor looked down to see the red hair of the enemy Nen User Aqua passing by with claw extended from her knuckles and his right leg detached from his body floating through the air leaving a trail of blood.

Examining the entire situation within an instant Razor saw that he was in checkmate. He still had his Nen Ball ready to be thrown, yet that was the last of his Aura. Even if he used it to take either Aqua or Kisara the other would be able to reach his Red Flag and bring it outside of the circle. No matter who he choose only a loss waited for him... yet he was not deterred.

Not one to leave battles half unfinished with a "Good job. You got me beat", Razor continued his throw to take out Kisara. Aqua had all of her strength having not participated in the battles till now. She was also a powerful Player, if not more so than Shin, so if she gave her all to defense Razor doubt that he could take her out with just a Nen Ball. That was why he aimed for Kisara the only one he could defeat. Aiming right at Kisara who had just grasped the Red Flag as she flew through the air, Razor let go of the Nen Ball to unleash a devastating spike to claim her life and-

Jin: "...Frostbolt!"

Hidden under the cover of his magic spell, Illusion Shroud, Jin reemerged a distance away with an extended hand glowing a pale blue light. Jin had ran to the enemy flag as well in case Kisara failed under the protection of his spell, but concerned with not being detected his speed was reduced greatly and as a result the last to arrive to the scene. Jin saw the critical moment of his team's victory and defeat he raised his right hand and fired his offensive magic spell Frostbolt.

The beam of ice reached Razor as he was about to swing down and froze his throwing arm solid. Razor was completely caught off guard, yet with incredible physical strength he broke the ice coating and spiked the Nen Ball down towards Kisara, but by then the battle was over. The Nen Ball blew way his own pole and left a large crater in its wake, yet both the Red Flag and Kisara were well outside the circle determining victory or defeat... and it was Razor and the Fourteen Devils who were defeated.

Outside the circle Kisara as if for dear life still had the Red Flag clasped in her hands covered in an ice cold sweat. Kisara was so frightened that she wasn't even sure if it was okay for her to breathe, but the message that resounded in her head and her head alone shocked her back into life. It was the rigid and dignified voice of God confirming the rewards of a Hidden Side Quest

\- HIDDEN SIDE QUEST COMPLETE!

FIRST PLAYERS OF GREED ISLAND'S HISTORY TO DEFEAT RAZOR IN THE CAPTURED THE FLAG GROUP BATTLE. TAKING THE FLAG REWARDS ONE PLAYER. ADDITIONALLY TAKING OUT RAZOR AND THE FOURTEEN DEVILS REWARDS THE ENTIRE TEAM. DIFFICULTY 1-30 DAYS 10,000 POINTS AND 1 A RANK REWARD. DIFFICULTY 30-60 DAYS 5,000 POINTS AND 1 B RANK REWARD. DIFFICULTY 61-90 DAYS NO REWARDS. PLAYER KISARA AWARDED 5000 POINTS AND 1 B RANK REWARD.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Hoebagger

Mental Realm was unlooked for Kisara because she pushed her concentration to the limit as a normal person. Kisara already possessed physically fitness above average, so she wouldn't unlock Physical Realm.


	132. Chapter 132

Terror Infinity - Side B

Chapter 21, HxH Greed Island

Day 59/90 of Greed Island.

Female Quest NPC: "It is always darkest under the light house."

Shin: "..."

Having defeated Razor, we went to claim out prize for driving Razor and the Fourteen Devils off Greed Island. They had terrorized the people Port City Soufrabi for far too long. We met up with the down-cast female NPC who lead us to Razor to tell her the good news. From there, in a terribly, terribly roundabout trip we had no business taking, she lead us back to the abandoned lighthouse that was once Razor's base. Upon entering we found that Razor had really left the base behind, so it was safe to enter. We all entered the lighthouse tower and followed her up the stairs where the high power beacon was held.

Female Quest NPC: "Right here. It's the window."

Having reached the floor below the top of the lighthouse beacon, the female NPC looked out the window towards the coastline as the sun was beginning to rise after a hard fought night of battles for Team Japan. It was really a pretty sight... yet no one here was in the mood to enjoy the breathtaking sunrise.

Aqua: "Shin. You do it."

Shin: "...Why can't you? I'm in no mood and you have the most energy here. Most of us were either beat down or running away for our lives. I definitely haven't fully recovered from my injuries and using Spirit Wave yet."

Aqua: "Just do it and stop complaining. You're the leader here."

Shin: "Fine... it's true that you can see the coastline from here, but how do you get to the 'Residence of the Sea God'?"

The female NPC then proceeded to hang her upper body outside the window to press a hidden switch masked as one of the bricks making up the tower. A beam of light then shot from the top of the lighthouse and stretched out into the distant sea horizon.

Female Quest NPC: "This beam of light marks a spot on the ocean floor... that is where the underwater cave will be... but there was never any treasure, or at least any that I or anyone else of Soufrabi are aware of. It probably doesn't exist. I'm very sorry for deceiving you all."

Shin: "Ah... there really isn't any?"

Female Quest NPC: "Correct. That is a holy cave, so only a few select knew of its location. That legend about the treasure is nothing but an exaggerated myth due to young sailors never returning after entering the cave's deepest chamber. That was how the people started believing that some great treasure that was being protected by... something unknown."

Shin: "...That so?"

Female Quest NPC: "Of course, Razor didn't believe this. I always wanted to tell them the truth, but they'd just think that I was lying."

Shin: "That means no one ever told them how to find 'Residence of the Sea God'?"

Female Quest NPC: "Of course. It's a holy place to us. Those of us were born from the ocean cannot do things which defile it. That is what everyone said before they were killed."

Shin: "..."

Female Quest NPC: "I can finally look out at the sea again in peace... the sunrise... the ships docking... the ocean surface reflecting all the colors of the rainbow. To me... this ocean view is better than any treasure."

The female NPC who looked out into the horizon no longer looked depressed as she once had and then in a puff of smoke the female NPC was gone and in her place was a single Card, 'Patch of Shore'. I let out a sigh of relief seeing this hard fought rare Designated Pocket Card and ordered Connor to take it. He picked up 'Patch of Shore', and after confirming his 10 point reward he placed the Card in his Binder.

Shin: "So this is finally over and done with. Good riddance."

Hikari: "Seconded. Ahh... do any of you have any idea how frightening it is to see human blood mist? Five at that!? God I almost pissed myself then and there. I'm going to have nightmares for weeks!"

Everyone present was in agreement. No one was happy to finish this difficult quest that only rewarded one Card to the winner and resulted in the deaths of five Newbies of Team Japan. It was only natural for all of us to feel unsatisfied as we left the lighthouse in silence with no intention of ever retuning.

Having left behind Port City Soufrabi we all returned to our base of operation within Aiai. Back there, hearing the story of the suffering of Soufrabi was honestly very moving, yet I couldn't enjoy it as much as I should. Even hearing about Kisara's remarkable Hidden Side Quest, no one, not even she herself, felt like celebrating. We have gained some things, but the team was left in a state far from desirable.

First there was the condition of the team. After receiving emergency treatment from the Razor's pirate staff and consuming the last Low Grade Healing Potion, Kampa was resting up unconscious in another room. Kampa was a critical element to Team Japan's offensive, so in his current condition it was a major loss for us. Then there was crippling weight of Negative 10,000 points to each and every member of Team Japan. It was all too overwhelming. As it stood the plan of confronting and defeating Bomber Genthru held little meaning now that everyone couldn't be saved unless we confronted and wiped out Team Germany.

Aqua: "How could we be so stupid!? How could we only believe that only deaths between two teams count? God never said that! Fuck! We also wasted so much time with this plan, so how can we overturn this situation? We acted too passively and now we're paying the price!"

Hikari: "...Sorry. Because of my plan to avoid Team Germany we reached this state. Even if this was always going to happen after facing Razor... we wouldn't be strapped for time like this. Team Germany will appear soon and we've made no concrete plans to face them head on."

Shin: "Don't take on the blame Hikari. I as team leader made the decision to follow your plan. We failed on too many fronts. Not locating Bomber. Not securing a base of operations we could defend against Team Germany. And above all not knowing about the true form of the penalties till it was too late. Our thinking was far too shallow."

Shuai: "One example was our potential plan to trade Newbies who held no value to our team, right? I never liked it, but it was flawed."

Misaki: "What do you mean?"

Shin looked around first to see where Kisara and Renji were. Like he last recalled, they had gone to check on the three remaining Newbies who had not died. They were in a panic over the Negative 10,000 point notification and that the five men that they spent two months with were dead, yet our return relieved them somewhat. Also, having two fellow Newbies Renji and Kisara helped them out as well. This was help for the team, but although I trusted Renji and Kisara as true members of Team Japan, in my opinion it wouldn't be good to discuss our previous plan to trade Newbies in front of them.

Shin: "Well, think about it. Early on what Jin and I had thought up to trade newbies was too easy of a solution to our troubles. As long as both teams kill an equal amount, then it doesn't violate God's goal, yet you still get the points and rewards from individually killing them. Then why don't all the teams use this method to avoid battles? Even if some are mortal enemies everyone should wish to survive. Like us and any of the Four Pillars' teams. Once someone dies, it will minus one point, yet the other team doesn't get any points. Newbies have the choice to kill themselves so that the team that betrayed me will lose one point and the teams can't continue with trading newbies. At the same time... both teams will be forced into a battle."

Jin: "A team member could also die early on in the mission as well like what happened to us. God doesn't want us to farm points or cooperate that easily, if at all. God wants us to kill each other until someone evolved to the highest stage."

Aqua: "You're right, but talking about this anymore is pointless. Now that not one, but five members of our team are dead... we can only strike back! Team Germany will arrive sooner than we expected and there will be no peace. Just war until one side is wiped out!"

Shin: "...I'm in full agreement. Team Germany won't allow us to claim the lives of five of their members, even Newbies if we can't offer them the same number. Even if we did, we would still be in the negatives. We can only fight till only one side stands."

Jin: "Then we are in agreement? I'm worried about why Bomber hasn't shown up despite our hope he would contact us when we defeat Razor, but for now our priority is to eliminate Team Germany. Depending on how long the conflict lasts, we may have to accept that we won't be able to complete the mission, but it'll okay. If each of us kill at least one member of the enemy team we can all take the-"

\- *EXPLOSION*!

\- WARNING: DAMAGE EXCEEDING 50% OF GREED ISLAND'S TOWNS, CITIES, AND POPULATION HAS JUST BEEN REACHED. PENALTY "DEATH BY EJECTION" HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN.

At that moment the world changed. From all around them explosion could be heard outside which shook the very earth. Not just one or a few, but dozens, hundreds of explosions could be heard. Team Japan was not affected by the blast with the exception of a power outage, yet an indescribable sense death loomed over each one of them. Something earth shattering had just occurred, yet Shin and the others felt that it was just the beginning of something terrible.

The windows were closed in their apartment in Aiai, yet everyone felt a chill wind swept through them as if the grim reaper was present. They all felt it, but Shin, Aqua, Misaki, and Connor, all those who had unlocked their Genetic Constraints and were most sensitive to danger, immediately felt that something was terribly wrong on the island.

They could feel it. More than one great threat to their lives suddenly appeared on Greed Island. They couldn't calm down in the face of the overwhelming sense of impending danger. This sensation was so strong it was making them anxious. One part of the danger came from the north towards Masadora and the other part from the Starting Point to the west. Shin was most concerned with what was happening to the west. The sensation of danger was preventing him from even turning his head. Whatever was going on, Shin knew that it was not good for him or anyone in Team Japan.

Shin: "Hikari! Use your Persona! Scan the island to see what is happening. Also, scan The East and West of our location. There's something dangerous in those two directions!"

Hikari: "Y-yes!"

Jin: "Wait! Ignore the west for the moment. If it is the Starting Point it is obviously them! If they have a Psyche Force user like Hikari then doing so won't help us. They can block each other, so we won't gain too much information. Also, it'll reveal our location. We aren't in a condition for a head on confrontation. I have a guess as to what's happening outside, but if there are a good number of survivors outside we can hide ourselves among them."

Hikari: "Shin?"

Shin: "...Do as Jin says. I was too rash. We can't panic now and draw attention to ourselves yet. Ignore the west and gather information on what's happening. Then check out the East."

Hikari: "Okay! Adrasteia!"

Hikari summoned her Persona Adrasteia and began to scan her environment. First was the city of Aiai, then other towns and cities of Greed Island, and lastly a distant forest to the East. It took Hikari a few minutes to grasp everything and then began to tell everyone what she had discovered.

Hikari: "First if the City of love Aiai. From what I've witnessed through the eyes of Adrasteia... is that the city has been devastated. An untold number of explosions have occurred through the city and claimed many lives. Other cities of Greed Island are in a similar state as Aiai and the smaller towns have been wiped off the map. I never bothered to know the total population of Greed Island, but it's my best estimate that, like that notification said, half or even more of the population... has been killed in the resulting blasts"

Misaki: "Half! How could so many people have died in one night!?"

Shuai: "This is obviously the work of Bomber! This is just like the original plot, but on a much larger scale. He must have used his Nen ability, the Hatsu 'Countdown' to kill all these people. The high fatalities was because Bomber placed bombs on actual people."

Aqua: "Shuai is probably right about what happened. Bomber – no Genthru killed hundreds of Nen users across Greed Island and took their Cards. He has most likely collected 80 or more of the Designated Pocket Cards. That's why the sensation of danger towards the Starting Point... is probably them. Team Germany! And at this timing..."

Shin: "Don't worry about it too much Aqua. It's sooner than we expected, but it's just by a few days in the end. Maybe we could have staked out the Starting Point, but there's no point in worrying what could have been. Hikari, report what you discovered to the East."

Hikari: "Alright. Within a forest towards the East I've found three individuals. It's still like there's a hazy barrier around them, but one of them is certainly the one you described as Bomber. I don't know what they are doing, but-"

Hikari was about to continue her report on Bomber when my Binder materialized on its own. Not having been given the BOOK command, but due to the effects of a Spell Card that allowed two players of Greed Island to communicate over long distances. The system message sounded all too friendly... yet the sense of foreboding I knew that was on the other end of this call couldn't be ignored.

\- ANOTHER PLAYER HAS USED "CONTACT" ON YOU!

Genthru: "...Hello? I know that there is someone on the other end."

Hikari: "Th-this is timing is..."

Shin: "I know... hey, is this Genthru by chance?"

Genthru: "Oh how surprising for you to know who I am... but not really. I've heard just know from Nickes that you were hunting me down... Shin. You are working for some guy's father whose son that I've killed, right? I didn't learn about you till just recently, but when Nickes was begging for his life he tried to use that information to save himself. Pathetic right?"

Shin: "So I'm guessing that he's dead."

Genthru: "You don't sound sad, or shocked by that. Nickes believed that you were really comrades even as he sold you out, but it's nice to see you care just as much about your partnership as he did."

Shin: "Cut the crap, Genthru. You aren't the type to leave others alive, also... all of this destruction is your doing, correct? Although I don't know what Nen ability did it this was definitely you."

Genthru: "...Yes. I killed Nickes, along with Moderate Clan, and a whole lot of other people with valuable Cards. I know have 98 of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards. It's a shame that I missed your group... but that'll soon be corrected."

Shin: "Well, as you know we're also after you too, so what is this? You're declaring war?"

Genthru: "Something like that, but first of all let me congratulate you on your recent success."

Shin: "...What do you mean?"

Genthru: "Hehehe, playing dumb is pointless. Didn't you just acquire the extremely hard to get rare Card 'Patch of Shore'? I know that you have it. I've confirmed it with 'List' and I have spies... did have spies stationed in Soufrabi. They informed me that the quest had been activated. 'Patch of Shore', which no player has ever acquired until now, has surfaced. It could only be you and your team."

Shin: "So what?"

Genthru: "...Hey, how about we make a deal?"

No one on my side believed for a second that Genthru wanted to make a peaceful deal, yet we didn't say so out loud. It would be bad for Genthru and whoever else is with him to immediately appear before us and have a fight break out. All of us were severely exhausted from the battle with Razor and Kampa was in the worst condition and needed time to rest. A fight right now was the last thing on our minds, so we played along with Genthru's game and ended the call hearing all that he had to say.

Genthru said that if we came to Dorias in three days' time with 'Patch of Shore' and hand the Card over, that they wouldn't harm us. If we failed to comply then they would go all out to hunt us down. That alone was fine in itself. From the very beginning Team Japan has been gunning after the Bomber, AKA Genthru for the points and rank rewards, yet this was not the best time. Genthru had certainly collected over 80 Designated Pocket Cards, so Team Germany had arrived in Greed Island.

The original purpose of defeating Genthru was to avoid Team Germany, but now that they were at Negative 10,000 points to survive the Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island mission and Team Battle... Team Japan needed to claim five of Team Germany's lives to even out the score, so fighting Genthru was now a negative rather than a positive, yet it wasn't completely pointless to face him. If we happen to defeat Genthru we can gain the 2000 Points and D rank reward for each member for doing so and the one who personally defeats him gain 4000 points and C rank reward, but the second half doesn't matter. The point was that it means Team Japan would only need to kill four members of Team Germany instead of five if everything works out.

Shin: "Genthru and Team Germany. We only wanted to face one of them, but it is now certain that we have to face both. I don't believe that we made a mistake in our preparations in avoiding Team Germany, but our passive strategy backfired on us."

Jin: "I have to agree... this is irrelevant now, but remembering Kisara's notification? Depending on how fast we finished that quest to defeated Razor she would have been rewarded much more, yet I believe that there is more to it than that. I don't know yet if Bomber would have still contacted us, but if we defeated Razor earlier then he wouldn't have had time to set up this mass terrorist bombing. The dangers of our battle against Razor would have potentially increased, yet if Moderate Clan were still around, even just 1/3 of them then it would be easy to kill off Bomber, acquire all 100 Designated Pocket Cards, and then escape to Limeiro before-"

Shin: "Jin... just shut up."

Aqua: "...Shin."

Off to the side and at some point having taken out her signature pack of cigarettes was Aqua. She had a solemn, yet resolute expression on her face as she called out to Shin. Shin didn't know yet what Aqua wanted to talk about at this critical time... yet all the same he felt foreboding. Aqua was about to say something that he wasn't going to like, but also something that he wouldn't be able to talk her out of. Shin was the leader of Team Japan, yet Aqua was someone who wouldn't bow down to anyone when she was sure of herself. It was what Shin loved and admired about her... and right now something he would hate her for.

Shin: "Aqua... what is it?"

Aqua: "...Shin, we don't have the manpower to properly face off against both Bomber and Team Germany who have obviously arrived just now. You and the others focus on Team Germany. As for Bomber... Genthru... please leave him to me."

At the same time as Shin and Team Japan were speaking to Genthru, thirteen people stood on the prairie outside the Starting Point of Greed Island. They were all of German descent and young. Between the ages of 20-30, yet with the single exception of a young woman about fifteen. Half of them were dressed in strange military uniforms, some in just strange clothing period, and four in just normal everyday wear. On the military uniform there was an insignia of the back of their back of a bright sun illuminating poorly dressed people... and the words Mass Enlightenment and Team Germany in bold print to display their allegiance to their organization.

Abigail: "Fucking island heat! I really envy those of the past that had the Guide and leader Position. They knew in advance what the next mission was and could prepare. What about us? We have to spend valuable points and rewards for a storage item just for clothes so we can match any environment. Goddammit! Ahh, I just can't stand tropical islands and the like. It reminds me of that one place. That island in 'Eden no Ori' and those fucked up kids can go to hell!"

The thirteen members of Team Germany were lead through the prairie by the youngest among them, a 14-15 year old girl. With the height of a just elementary school graduate she was a frail, pale, and depressingly small girl who had no business on a dangerous island filled with monsters and Nen Users like Greed Island, yet those following behind her felt no concern for the small girl leading them. In fact... deep down in their hearts what they felt was not worry, but fear for the little girl.

They all felt fear deep in their hearts towards their leader that they couldn't defy without grave consequences, yet among them were two who held the courage and standing within the team to speak freely in her presence. One of them was a man named Adam. An adult in his early 20's that naturally gave off an aura of strength and wisdom. If Abigail and Adam stood next to each other, people would assume that he was the leader of the team or that Adam was her older brother, and definitely not her subordinate.

Adam: "Leader, the heat isn't that bad. Our uniforms have magic inscriptions that reduce the burden of our environments, but I agree that it isn't perfect. We also have no need to always stay in uniform. Later on when we can find shelter you can-"

Abigail: "Hot...! I'll just change here. Adam, hand me the storage bag!"

Adam: "Please calm down leader! Also, you can't change in public just because you're hot and don't see anyone here as the opposite sex!"

Abigail: "But I can't stand it!"

Adam: "Just cool it. Remember that you have pitiful stamina in your human form, so calm down. You got too worked up in 'Shingeki no Kyojin' when the Armored Titan appeared. You lost all color in your body and we had to let Webber carry you that last stretch of the mission."

Abigail: "Shut up, shut up, shut up! Really Adam if you were not my second in command I'd take your head for talking back."

Adam: "Just keep your clothes on, okay? I'm not into little girls. Anyways, Webber, how's the new enhancement going? I thought you were going to be a straight up Earthbender, so why did you choose the Bane Enhancement from Batman?"

Abigail: "Yeah. It is one of the cheaper enhancements that begin at C tier and... also those tubes coming out of your body are creepy. Sure it's quite powerful, and especially when combined with your fighting style... but really, just looking at you makes me want to hurl."

Abigail said all of this while looking towards the largest man of their team. He was a large muscular man over seven feet tall with the width of two fully grown men. Throughout his body, from his neck, torso, arms, and legs, were hardened plastic tubes at regular intervals which were distributing a yellow chemical through his body. Hearing Abigail's words, the large muscular giant couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Webber: "Don't be like that leader. You don't get that much satisfaction from throwing rocks at people as you do with your bare hands! Really, this power is almost terrifying. If we just kill a few more people and get my reaction speed up to par when we go back, then… Haha, I won't be scared anymore even if I have to go face to face with an Alien!"

Klaus: "Idiot! We won't be seeing any more of them now with the change of mission format. Also, what's to be afraid of when you can crush a hard rock into dust fragments?"

Saying so was the only other individual of Team Germany besides Adam allowed to converse with Abgail freely, Klaus. He was a slim and very unimpressive man in his 20's who wouldn't do well in a fight, yet as he walked he showed a level of confidence that said otherwise. Those who didn't know better and just judged from appearances would imagine Klaus as the second weakest member of Team Germany next to the little girl Abgail... yet those who did know better knew that a great and terrible strength laid deep within his small frame.

Webber: "Hahaha! You know, coming from a man with even more terrifying strength… I can't take you seriously, Klaus."

Klaus: "Really? I've always thought of myself as plain."

Abigail: "In what way you monster? Now, moving on, Erwin. How's it going with the search? Have you found anyone signs of Team Japan yet?"

Abigail looked back to speak to the most intelligent looking individual within Team Germany, Erwin. From his short height and slim frame he obviously wasn't a fighter despite wearing on his head a metal helm of sorts, but Abigail still showed him some respect as she spoke to him. Erwin wasn't one of the unlocked members who have the right to speak freely to her, yet his place within the team was of great importance to overlook this fact most of the time. Abigail had also used up a lot of personal favors that she had accumulated in Mass Enlightenment to acquire this rare Player who can easily unlock the potential of the Mental Capacity stat.

Erwin: "...No good, leader. This island seems to have been hit by terrorists or something close to it, but it's still too populated and I can't sort out through those that have special powers as everyone had special powers. If can locate any of them once then I'll be able to recognize them in my scans even in a crowd of thousands."

Abigail: "Good. Team Japan has just awakened. Sooner than our superiors expected, but that's good for us. It takes time and a lot of points to cultivate a powerful Psyche Force User or equivalent. If it turns out they lack a Psyche Force user then they won't be able to block us out and we can brainwash their weaker members. Speaking of which, will the brainwashing of the four Newbies hold?"

Erwin: "Yes. Even if I'm unconscious, as long as I'm alive the brainwashing will hold with Psyche Chain skill. I've also checked their potentials and, like we first thought, they are horrible. There won't be any value in recruiting them into Mass Enlightenment like Webber or Adam. We should just await for the next batch of Newbies upper management sends our way. What should we do with them?"

Abigail: "Well, I didn't have my hopes up to begin with. For now we'll protect them till we return to the Terminal Lobby and dispose of them there. We can just make a game of it. Tell them that only one of them can join us, give them some weapons, and let the trash kill each other. Hopefully, even the winner will die from injuries sustained and we won't have to dirty our hands. Still... althogh I don't want to start or end this mission with -3 Team Battle Points, but if it becomes too troublesome to protect then than we'll find a way to kill them here. I won't give Team Japan the points!"

Adam: "So what's our first order of business leader? Locate Team Japan or complete the Mission? Team Japan's leader has been highly rated by the upper management, right? If not why would there have been given a kill on sight order? He's probably one of the strongest in that new team. We also don't have a complete understanding of their team's enhancements and power levels. If they have three people as strong as him... then let's treat them as having equal power, keep a distance until the mission ends. That's my recommendation."

Erwin: "What the hell are you suggesting Adam? We have an order to kill him at all costs. This order currently has the highest priority for all Player Teams of Mass Enlightenment. Just because you haven't been brought up by Mass Enlightenment doesn't mean you can ignore their orders! Doing so is blasphemy to our great cause to enlighten the masses one day to our organizations glory and grand purpose!"

Adam: "Stop speaking like a mindless zealot! If it's an order from Abigail I'll comply, but not to people that I can't see. Our lives are on the line. Not theirs. If Team Japan is too much for us then-"

Abigail: "Relax Adam. We'll be okay. Our original objective won't change."

Abigail looked off into the distance as she was addressing Adam and her team. Seeing something in the far off distance, a Nen User of some random clan spying on her and everyone else... she smiled. Abigail, entered into the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint, reached down to pick up a fist sized stone and moved it into a throwing motion. Her arm and hand holding the rock suddenly grew three times its size and at the moment of release a light enveloped her arm and then reverted back to normal in an instant. The Nen User over 3,000 meters away and hiding behind a large rock had no idea what was going... Even when the stone impossibly crossed that distance of 3,000 meters and curved to slam into the man's temple with pinpoint accuracy, killing him where he stood.

Abigail: "We'll wipe out all those of Team Japan! No mercy or negotiations in any shape our form! In our last team battle we were forced to not do battle against Team Kenya as they were of Blood Crusade. They also had the super star of the new generation, The Reaper. We had no choice but to concede the mission to them... But not this time! 2,000 points and 1 C rank reward for normal members. 7,000 points and 1 B rank reward for unlocked members. This is my chance to rise up! My name will be one to be feared here in God's Dimension and once we return back to the real world I'll be eligible to join the upper ranks of Mass Enlightenment. Especially after I take him out... Team Japan's ace player and leader, Shin!"

Abigail laughed maniacally as she led her teammates through the prairie. Her comrades felt fear from Abigail, but also security from being under someone so powerful with such high ambitions. Following Abigail would lead to their own rewards, so they pushed down their fears as they followed after her. Mass Enlightenment's Team Germany made their way towards the second starting city of Greed Island, Rubicuta City.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

I believe in a previous chapter I mentioned something about exclusive Card, but let's forget that. Genthru with 98 of the 100 Cards sounds better. Also, I've edited Side B's main page, H.O.T.D chapter 1 with real proofreading, and Exchange System post. The last one isn't a big deal and was just done to clarify to a new reader about rank rewards with now proper definitions, but the first two were my attempts to tell future readers about Terror Infinity - Side B. About how close, yet different it is to the original. With no middle ground there are only those that love or hate Side B, so with this it is my hope that those who will read Side B will either give it a real chance, or just drop it early without feeling tricked.


	133. Chapter 133

Greed Island: Day 62/90.

Three days after the terrorist act committed by Genthru and the resulting arrival of Team Germany, Team Japan began to move into action. Today was the day that Genthru told us to meet him at Dorias. Today was also the day we also planned to face off against Team Germany. The reason we planned both battles today was because we didn't want anything unexpected to occur and be put on the defensive. The risk that if we focused on Genthru, Team Germany could ambush us during or immediately after the battle, or vice versa would spell the end of Team Japan. Both were real possibilities.

Team Germany apparently had a Psyche Force user according to Hikari. Hikari was sensitive to Psyche Force as a Persona user and so she could tell that someone was broadcasting wide area scans over Greed Island looking for suspicious activity. Jin believes that the only reason that we haven't been found by the enemy is because they can't tell us apart from the players of Greed Island, but if they locked onto us even once we wouldn't be able to get off their radar ever again. As for the other enemey Team Japan needed to deal with, Genthru/Bomber, who killed the mass majority of Greed Island players could have spared the spies he had watching over the island. Like those watching over Soufrabi. It wasn't odd in the least that Genthru would have the remaining cities of the island under his watch in case the remaining player plan to take action against him, or Team Japan would try something to get out of the deal that they made to meet in Dorias to hand over Designated Pocket Cards to him.

The point was that both forces were capable of surveying for threats. That is why we choose to be ones in control of the battles. To be on the offensive dictating how and when these battles proceeded would give us the edge we needed. With that in mind, Team Japan agreed to split up into three groups.

◆ The First Attack Group: The group to face off and distract Team Germany - Shin, Hikari, Connor, Kisara, and Renji.

◆ The Secondary Attack Group: The secondary group to take out as many members of Team Germany as possible - Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and Jin.

◆ The Third Attack Group: The group to confront Genthru and his group - Aqua.

The first attack group, including myself, Hikari, Connor, Kisara, and Renji, will directly face off against Team Germany without hiding and draw them out into the open. The purpose is to draw out Team Germany's strongest members while the secondary attack team attacks their rear. If the entire team approaches then we're to prolong the battle and make an opening for the secondary team and if half the team or fewer arrive then we're to prolong the battle, yet offensively attack to take out their members.

The secondary attack group which includes Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and Jin will attack Team Germany after the first group commences the attack. The secondary groups priority it to target Team Germany's weak Newbie and support members for the purpose of killing off enemy of their team to undo the Negative 10,000 point deficit. If Team Germany splits up then the secondary group will target those left behind where ever it is at that they are staying, in other words their base of operations which will certainly include their Newbies. If Team Germany stays together and moves to crush the first group then the secondary group will attack their rear while the enemies are distracted by the first group.

Now, as for the third attack group consisting of only a single member of Team Japan...

Aqua: "Well them I'm off."

Aqua stood by the doorway of our apartment building. As usual she was had in her mouth one of her signature cigarettes to calm her nerves... yet she was anything but calm. On Aqua's face was nothing but seriousness. She knew that a battle awaited her once she left alone and that it would be a battle that would determine the safety of her comrades. Aqua and Aqua alone volunteered to square off against Genthru by herself. Team Japan didn't have the man power to split off into a proper third group, so the strongest and most veteran member of Team Japan, Aqua, would go out to meet and defeat Genthru. It made sense in a way with our low manpower, but...

Shin: "Aqua... you don't have to be the one to go out and meet Genthru. I can take your place and you can lead the others on the attack of Team-"

Aqua: Shin, don't ever say such a thing again. You can't hesitate to do what is necessary because of personal feelings. You're the leader of Team Japan and you have a responsibility. Don't betray the team's interest for my own or yourself. I don't know how today will turn out. I also don't know if all of us can come out of this alive, but I know one thing. If I die you may regret not taking my place, but you won't ever be able to forgive yourself if everyone other than me dies in the event that you take my place. In life when there are only bad options to choose from... always choose the option that will leave you with the least regrets."

Shin: "...Sorry. Please forget what I said."

Aqua: "...Don't worry about it. I... understand your feelings. Anyway don't worry about me. Whether we switch plans or not wouldn't change the fact that I'll be in danger. Also, I told you once before. I'm not cut out to lead others. Within Team Japan you have the most charisma. Even without a strategic mind like Saki or Jin, you alone can lead Team Japan. That's impossible for me."

Shin: "Really, I don't think that I'm that great. Also, you could definitely do a better job than me."

Aqua: "I can only agree with the part that you're a foolish otaku with delusions of grandeur (I never said that), but you're still better than me. If nothing else just believe in that."

Aqua said those last words to Shin and left. She didn't wait to be seen of by the others and left just like that. Similar to their first meeting in H.O.T.D, the lone wolf Aqua walked off. Shin didn't believe that this would be the last that he would see Aqua again... yet all the same he felt that it was wrong to let her go alone to meet Genthru in Dorias. It wouldn't be wrong to call it a death sentence if something goes wrong, yet Shin could only watch her leave. Shin was angry, but knew deep down that he didn't yet have the power to protect everyone around him from harm this time.

Shin: "Powerlessness... It's the worse. No wonder villains don't hesitate to dive into darkness just for a chance to be rid of this awful feeling. I'll be stronger next time, so Aqua... please don't die."

Shin said so out loud, but Aqua was long gone and on her way to Dorais. Shin stood there for a good few minutes before turning back. Shin wouldn't stop worrying about Aqua, but he had more things to worry about. Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, Connor, Jin, Renji, and Kisara. If Shin fails today then all of his comrades, his new home would disappear, so knowing this Shin steeled himself for the upcoming battle.

Soon after Aqua departed, the rest of Team Japan stirred into action. Everyone, including the badly wounded Kampa has healed from the desperate battle against Razor three days prior and were ready to fight once more. Leaving the three uninvolved, non-trial member Newbies behind, we were ready to depart from our apartment in Aiai and head towards where we learned Team Germany was currently the most active, the Magic City Masadora.

Unbeknownst to them, it turned out Jin had made contacts with the players all across Greed Island. Jin had not told anyone this till after Team Germany arrived. They were aware that Jin had contacts, but not to the extent that he was now telling us. That he had loyal contacts placed all over Greed Island was news to even Shin. He did so in case they were to ever confront Team Germany and couldn't avoid confrontation. From his experience in MMORPG's, wars were won by those who arrive at the battlefield first and prepare for battle. It wasn't an absolute rule, but it was the one advantage Team Japan had as they were the first to arrive in the mission.

Using his contacts, Jin learned that a group of thirteen arrived in Masadora the day before last in groups of 5-6. He believed this was certainly Team Germany. According to the reports, Team Germany was making the most out of the chaos Genthru brought on to extort Cards, specifically Spell Cards from other players. Moderate Clan, what was left of Savage Clan, and all the decently strong clans were disposed of by Genthru terrorist bombing, so there was no force on Greed Island to openly oppose them.

Jin: "Now, one last time we'll go over the information at hand before we depart to Masadora."

Hikari: "You know Jin, I already said this, but I don't want to believe that you hid this all from us... but because it is you I can. I'm also not mad that you did."

Shin: "I know right. It's like 'As expected of Jin', and definitely not in a good or bad way."

Jin: "I can't tell if I'm being complimented or not."

Shin: "You're not, so just go on."

Jin: "Hahaha, alright then. Everyone! We can't allow Team Germany to act freely anymore. It's my belief that their mission shouldn't be the same as ours, or they would be more forceful in their card gathering operations. They would also target cities other than Masadora. I don't know the specific of their mission, but for the moment they are just gathering Spell Cards. We can't allow them to gain Spell Cards like 'Accompany' or 'Magnetic Force' which will allow them move around the island as they please anymore."

Kampa: "And the plan is still the same, right? First attack group will lure out Team Germany after entering Masadora. If the entire Team, or a majority arrives, then the secondary attack group will back them up. If only half the team or less moves to counter Shin's group then we'll make our way to Team Germany's base of operations. After disposing of, or weakening the first group of enemies, Shin's group will try to lure out more of the enemy and we'll strike during that time."

Jin: "Correct. Team Germany isn't staying within any of the cities on Greed Island, so they are certainly camping out somewhere. They stayed in the other starting city for a half a day according to my contacts, but they left and never returned. I've been told that they don't use Spell Cards to arrive to Masadora each day and just walk in through the front gates. This tells us that their base isn't too far from Masadora. They likely chose that location so that it wouldn't be necessary to use Spell Cards simply for transit. No more than three hours away is my best estimate. If it isn't that far off I'm sure Hikari can locate them."

Shin: "And that'll be the start of the battle. We'll head to Masadora. There Hikari's Persona will locate Team Germany, and their Psyche Force user will most likely locate her back in response. If they find us within their Spell Card hunting grounds they'll certainly come after us... well, all of us who are found in their scan."

Misaki: "What are the chances that this is a trap?"

Jin: "Irrelevant. Team Germany is most certainly the more powerful team selected to appear after us. We can't face them head on, but we have to do so in order to undo our Negative 10,000 point score. I can't say for certain that we all won't die today, that nothing will go wrong, but I'd rather believe Team Germany will look down on us and that the plan we came up with will succeed."

Shin: "Jin's right. We have no choice in the matter. We can only do our best and survive together, or fail pathetically and die together. Our fates our one. Aqua has already head off and now it's our turn! BOOK!"

Having said the key words my Binder appeared in a poof of smoke. Reaching into one of the Free Pockets I took out the Spell Card that'll guide us to the battle in Masadora with our fated foe. Team Germany!

Shin: "Let's move out! Accompany ON! To Masadora!

Within a dark and dense forest two to three hours away on foot from Magic City Masadora there was an abandoned village. Several people were sitting in a room quietly in one of the abandoned house. It was a worn down building with no electricity, but it functioned for is singular purpose as a temporary base of operations that was close to Masadora, the city where the most Spell Cards could be found.

Erwin, a man who had his eyes closed the whole time and made little interaction with his teammates, suddenly opened his eyes and was the first to notice the abnormality. Then a few moments later three others, Abigail, Adam, and Klaus felt it as well. That someone far off was watching them.

Abigail: "Oh, so Team Japan finally made their move, huh? They also seem to have a Psyche Force user as well. How is it Erwin? Are they closing in on us?"

Erwin: "...No. Team Japan seem to be lying in wait in Masadora. I count five members standing right outside the Spell Card shop. I can tell it's them as they are standing around a girl in her teens who had summoned some type of spiritual familiar that enhances her Psyche Force."

Abigail: "Masadora? Hmm, did they hear of us collecting Spell Cards? A spy amongst the NPC players? They might have someone who's a capable strategist. We're lucky. If the Bomber hadn't killed off most of the players we could have been facing an army of Nen Users. Anyways, I'm curious about this familiar. There are too many enhancements, so I can't recall one that increase Psyche Force."

Klaus: "There are a few as I recall leader, but it might be a Persona. How rare. I've heard from other teams that even those with the potential as Psyche Force user can't always acquire the support type Persona. She might have a higher potential than you Erwin.

Hearing this, the only other female of Team Germany aside from Abigail, began to laugh hysterically. She was a mature woman in her mid 20's and was very attractive as she laid back on a chair with a dress on. Unlike the others she preferred not to wear the Mass Enlightenment Uniform and liked to wear nice clothes from the Entertainment Category of the Exchange System.

Cora: "Hear that Erwin? He's saying you're weaker than some little girl!"

Erwin: "Nonsense, Cora. Speak only after you become the team's second Psyche Force user after raising you Mental Capacity to 1250."

Cora: "No thanks. I'm fine with just being the team's shield."

Abigail: "Enough you two! Erwin, how strong is their Psyche Force user?"

Erwin: "I can't say anything about her future growth, but at the moment I'm much stronger than her and more skilled. Her Persona is powerful enough to block any detailed scans on the enemy like potential abilities or personalities, but the fact that I can get visual images shows that she is still too green. There's a guy with white hair, a girl with long black hair with a katana, a young teen with a Chinese sword, a boy of Middle Eastern descent, and a teenage girl who I believe to be the Psyche Force enhancer. Even in her presence I'm almost certain that I can brainwash their weaker members as long as I'm close enough. I've also memorized each of them. If they escape with a Spell Card I am confident that I can easily find them again."

Abigail: "Excellent! It was definitely the right choice to use my connections to get someone like you on my team with the talent for Psyche Force. Hahaha, I feel bad for over half the teams out there that lack one. Now then... let's move out!"

Adam: "Wait! Erwin, do you only sense five members? Some could have died in a previous mission, but there could be more hiding out to ambush us."

Erwin: "That's unknown. I only sensed them after they located us. It may very well be a trap to ambush us after we arrive."

Abigail: "I see... then let's test that theory. Adam, Kurt, and Webber. Take an 'Accompany' Spell Card and head to Masadora as an exploratory attack group to test the waters. Make a scene and attack Team Japan. If you do this their possible reinforcements should come running. If they escape, or try to lead you to follow them then the possibility of being lured into a trap is high. If no one comes to their aid... we'll move out to crush Team Japan in one fell swoop!"

Abigail immediately gave the order for them to head out, yet Klaus, one of the few within Team Germany with the right to speak back to Abigail called out to her. Abigail sensed the urgency in his actions and spoke to him away from the others.

Klaus: "Leader, is this arrangement really the best? Adam goes without saying as the third strongest within the team as he's so hard to kill, but Kurt and Webber's enhancements aren't at the level to fight another team without backup. I'll admit that Kurt's magic is impressive and Webber's burst power is second only to myself, but overall they're fools. Also, a confined space like a city doesn't work in their favor. Even after taking the Genetic Constraint Stimulation drug they have yet to unlock their constraints. They also don't have a strong willpower like myself, Adam, or you. Erwin mentioned a white haired man who is most likely the priority target. I doubt they can survive after-"

Abigail: "Klaus. Do you think that I'm retarded? I'm aware they stand no chance against him. Together their powers are damning, but it isn't like I expect them to win. We need to figure out his current fighting power for us real members of Team Germany to take him out."

Klaus: "So you really were abandoning them. Well, not like I care."

Abigail: "That's right. On Team Germany only Adam, Erwin, you, and myself are anything other than disposable pawns. The others took that drug to release their constraint, yet they failed to unlock after 5-10 missions together. They have little value and because of them we couldn't search for that many Hidden Side Quest or Bonus Missions. It better to use them to test Team Japan. Anyway, I did say I would send Adam along with them. They shouldn't die too easily."

Klaus: "I'm still worried."

Abigail: "Well, I'll send Lutz along with them if it'll make you feel better. If those two get injured, Lutz can keep them alive. It shouldn't be a problem with his expensive healing spells that he's finally acquired... now, let's test Team Japan's powers! Let's see whether they are prey to be swiftly killed or enemies on equal grounds! Hahaha, Shin of Team Japan, I hope you don't disappoint. When I look back after rising up in the ranks of Mass Enlightenment I don't want to think that my promotion was undeserved!"

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Hoebagger

In the next chapter a character makes racist remarks. Just check out the authors notes to understand the reasons why.


	134. Chapter 134

Above the skies of Greed Island a large ball of light flew through the clouds. This ball of light contained nine individuals each bearing an expression of resolute determination. Using the Spell Card 'Accompany', this group left the City of Love Aiai in route to Magic City Masadora. Reaching their destination, the ball of light crashed down within the city and unveiled the individuals within. Shin, Hikari, Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, Connor, Jin, Renji, and Kisara. These nine people were the fighting force of Team Japan, excluding their most veteran Player Aqua who set off alone to confront the threat of Genthru. Her mission was of vital importance. Aqua was tasked with retrieving the remaining Designated Pocket Cards that they needed to compete the main mission of Greed Island.

Team Japan's leader, Shin, went into Unlocked Mode upon safely touching down on the streets of Masadora. Carefully looking around, his eyes appeared unfocused, yet the truth was far from that as he did not miss any detail – no matter how small. His senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell all flooded him with information. In the first Stage of the Genetic Constraint, where instincts were at their sharpest, Shin took in everything around him and his comrades. A few moments later he exited Unlocked Mode and let out a sigh of relief while silently enduring the recoil of the First Stage. Shin had grown used to the recoil, but it had yet to disappear for good.

Shin: "...Good. I don't feel any kind of threat towards us. I wouldn't miss an entire enemy team hiding out to ambush us unless they were all skilled assassins. Now let's go through the mission one last time without going over individual roles. From here the secondary attack group made up of Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and Jin will act separately from my first attack group. While the first attack group made up of Hikari, Connor, Renji, Kisara, and myself will make our way to the Spell Card shop the secondary attack group will depart Masadora on foot to a distance well away from the city."

Shin continued. Thirty minutes from now Hikari will use her Persona to locate Team Germany, which they believe to have set up their base not that far from Masadora. Hikari will then relay the coordinates of the enemy base to the secondary attack group with her Game Map and will then proceed to stealthily make their way to that location to wipe them out.

The secondary attack group lead by Jin were to also stay in constant contact with Hikari through the Communicator Phones because the plan may change depending on Team Germany's response. The first attack group will buy time for the secondary attack group to reach the enemy base if half of their team or less arrive in Masadora to attack Shin's group. If the full force of Team Germany arrives then Shin will have Connor use 'Magnetic Force' and 'Accompany' to reach and then bring the secondary attack group back to Masadora.

When the Secondary attack group completes their mission, whether they succeed, fail, or need to be called back, Connor or Shin himself will move towards them with a Spell Card to pick them up and leave with another Spell Card. In the case that Aqua finishes her own battle and is in good shape she'll be sent instead to pick up the secondary attack group and bring them to safety.

Hikari: "Shin everyone understands the plan. We've gone through it over and over the last few days. Rather than hearing the finer details I'll like to know what we'll do if the plan turns to shit?"

Shin: "Don't say shit Hikari (I'm the one who kisses that mouth). Also, there's no point of thinking about failure. If the plan fails... well, we'll finally have the time to talk about our relationship and family planning... in the afterlife."

Hikari: "...Okay. If we all die I'll agree to your harem plan."

Shin: "...That has a nice ring to it, Harem Plan (The Darkness sequel), but I'd rather that-"

Misaki: "Can you two stop messing around?! This is life and death!"

Shin: "Fine, fine, fine. Everyone move out. Misaki ruined my fun with Hikari, so we might as well start this life and death struggle."

The tension in the air due to the upcoming battle all but disappeared after listening to Shin's carefree words. Whether it was on purpose or not they didn't know, but for the moment their fears were pushed back. Shin did something worthy of a leader by bringing up everyone's spirits before a great battle, but seeing the eyes of his comrades devoid of respect Shin would never guess that.

Shin: "Tch, these guys. Whatever! Forget you all! Now, Hikari, Connor, Renji, and Kisara. To the Spell Card Shop!"

At last the first attack group and secondary attack group of Team Japan split up. The secondary attack group left Masadora on foot and the first attack group made their way towards the Spell Card shop in the heart of the city. Not long after, Shin and his group soon reached the shop and was surprised at the lack of people around, both inside the shop and out on the streets. Whether it was due to Genthru's terrorist attack or Team Germany's bullying for Spell Cards, there were no players to be seen.

The last time Shin was here he recalled that clan members were stalking the shop, yet now there was not a soul in sight. This was convenient for Team Japan as he didn't have to worry about Nen Users wanting to jump them. Thirty minutes passed in silence as they stood outside the Spell Card shop and as planned Shin's first attack group began to lure out Team Germany.

Shin: "Hikari it's time"

Hikari: "Understood. Persona! Adrasteia!"

Taking out her SEES Evoker Hikari pointed the muzzle of the gun at her temple and opened fire on herself. A grand blue light and blue flames enveloped Hikari and now standing behind her was the Persona Adrasteia in all its splendor and grace befitting its status as a Support Type Persona. The being, born from the sea of Hikari's soul, stirred into action and began to scan the area with Psyche Force. The scan spread far and wide pass the limits of Masadora and five minutes of searching later Hikari discovered the enemy.

Hikari: "I've located a group who I believe to be Team Germany. A ways away to the North of Masadora is an abandoned village hidden within a dense forest. A group of thirteen are staying together within one of the better kept houses and I gathered a description of each member... but I was soon shut out from discovering anything else. Their Psyche Force user immediately masked his team."

Shin: "Masked? What about us? Also, can you break through?"

Hikari: "Sorry, I never thought of masking our presence and I'm not that good at it after trying it out. If I give it my all maybe I can break through the mask... but I would be too worn out to summon my Persona afterwards till I recover. Sorry."

Hikari, not feeling too useful in this battle, held her head down and to her surprise Shin reached for her shoulder pulled her in closer to himself. Shin didn't make any romantic moves, but just showed reassuring smile. As a leader Shin had to make tough calls, but only for Hikari would he allow himself to reassure like this.

Shin: "You get depressed too easily, Hikari. Don't worry about it. You've been more than helpful. Your Persona has high potential, but not ease of use, yet you still found there base which was our main priority. That's what's important. Relay the information to Jin and the others over the Communicator Phone line. We don't know how soon, or if they will react to our presence, but it's time to prepare for their arrival. Once they scan for us we'll split up."

As Hikari started to call Jin's group Shin looked towards Connor. Despite knowing that a deadly battle was about to begin he remained his usual calm and silent self. This reassured Shin and the others.

Shin: "Connor and I will act independently and attack Team Germany when they arrive. Connor, don't reveal to soon that you're a sniper. Fight at close and mid-range at first. Then when the time is right... wipe them out from a distance!"

Connor: "..."

Connor remained silent, yet his eyes told the other all that they needed. A look of resolve and confidence in his abilities was clearly shown. Whether alone or in a group Connor had no intention of running away and will kill those who need to be killed. Still, since he was in a group he had no attention of letting his comrades fall in battle before himself. Connor has seen too many of his comrades die in the real world and had no desire to see it again.

Shin: "Hikari, you take Renji and Kisara with you and hide. Use your Persona to mask your presence and watch the city. You're to give us support as we battle them, but don't directly confront them. If they come after you and neither Connor nor I can make it, then immediately runaway if discovered. With Jenny Cards as compensation Jin has prepared spies equipped with Spell Cards to take you away at key points of the city. Don't wait for us."

Hikari: "I'll run away to the best of my ability."

Hikari confidently said so, yet Shin's worries had not been erased. Since one woman he cared about was already somewhere he couldn't see and was fighting for her life alone, Shin didn't want to see any harm come to Hikari another woman that he cared for. If not for her critical support abilities with her scans and magic buffs he wouldn't have hesitated to send Hikari somewhere safe to hide out. Team Japan couldn't do without Hikari's assistance in this critical battle to recover from the Negative 10,000 penalty, so he could only pray to the false God of this dimension that no harm would come to her.

Shin: "Renji and Kisara. It's a shame we don't have any more Nano Machine Accelerator items, but you have no choice but to fight as is (I didn't want to call for Drebin893 just yet in this mission for more supplies). You'll be Hikari's bodyguards and you'll protect her with your lives. She's invaluable to both the team and myself. You two have the least enhancements and can easily die, but I trust you. You're members of Team Japan and here you will prove it. Don't fail me!"

Renji: "Don't worry about us leader. I know that I'm weak, but I've definitely become stronger than when I first arrived here. Nen, training together with everyone, and experiencing death struggles with everyone has made me a new man. You can leave Hikari to us. I promise even if it costs me my life I'll protect her. That's what a man does."

Kisara: "I feel the same... although I'm not a man, but a swordsman of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. Also, this isn't where I'm meant to die. My own life and my comrades, I'll protect both and slay all our foes with this sword!"

Shin looked with pride at the two trial members... no, the two new core members of Team Japan. The two newbies looked incredibly frail when you thought about who they were about to face, a group of Players with powerful enhancements, yet as the two of them held their respective swords in their hands, one a Japanese Katana and another Chinese in design, there was not one trace of fear to be seen. This was a mission that didn't show a hint of kindness to the Newbies, yet Renji and Kisara proved themselves in one way or another so far. Especially Kisara who allowed Team Japan to overcome Razor in the Capture the Flag game. Shin could trust them with his back and Hikari's safety.

Shin: "Team Germany will certainly use a Spell Card to move to Masadora. We'll split up when Hikari senses them approaching and receive Magic Buffs from her. This is it! For both the team and yourselves no one is allowed to die!"

One hour passed since Hikari purposely alerted Team Germany of their presence within Magic City Masadora. Nothing of importance occurred except that the average number of players on the street increased, but the reason for that was simply that it was around Noon.

Unlike the happy-go-lucky NPCs walking around Masadora waiting for someone to begin a quest, the players looked too depressed to start anything. Shin didn't know how to feel about this. Every person on Greed Island were killers who killed for Cards, yet they still had the spirit to play Greed Island for the most part. Shin and his friends have been placed in danger far more than a few times, yet he didn't hate the world of Hunter X Hunter's Greed Island and wished for a day to play the game normally.

Shin: "*Sigh*! To want to come back here one day in spite of everything... once more I realize that I'm abnormal."

Hikari: "...Shin! To the North moving at high speeds is a group of four. They'll touch down in any minute!"

After an hour of waiting they arrived. By now Hikari, Kisara, and Renji had gone into hiding and feeling a group of people approaching with her scans she relayed this information to both Shin and Connor over the Communicator Phones. Using her Persona Adrasteia Hikari discovered a group of four from the Team Germany base moving towards Masadora with a Spell Card. They crossed the distance between them in no time at all using the Spell Card 'Return' and touched down on the streets of the Magic City. The veil of light that carried them to Masadora dimmed down and revealed those within. There were four members of Team Germany.

All male. Half in uniform and the other half wearing magic robes.

A man in his early 20's who seemed calm despite knowing a battle was about to begin had a katana strapped to his waist. A large giant of a man with tubes running across his body wore a uniform that looked far too small for him. A tall and skinny man in a red robe for magicians had a wide grin on his face as he looked forward to killing his prey. And lastly, a man who looked a looked normal in a white robe seemed incredibly weak when compared to his comrades, yet he had a discerning eye that wouldn't miss anything.

Adam: "Alright everyone you all know the deal. Webber, Kurt, and Lutz. The three of you will move together and I'll move solo. Webber and Kurt are in charge of offense. Lutz, stay in the back and avoid being sniped. You'll provide support and also be the look out. Your objective is to kill the priority target of God's Dimension, Shin, and their Psyche Force user if you can. This should cripple Team Japan and allow us to easily take them out at our leisure."

Lutz: "Adam, I may have once been a surgeon, but I'm not that confident in my observation abilities in a battlefield. I also lack a sixth sense like you."

Adam: "Just do it. It's unlikely that Team Japan has a talented sniper, but we can't be too careful. Also, Webber and Kurt. You two always go overboard in battle, but you better not allow Lutz to die! His spells were incredibly expensive. Leader will kill the two of you if something happens to him."

Webber: "Hahaha! You worry too much Adam! We're just dealing with a few Japs. I just need to take a single step to kill one. The others are unneeded, you should take them with you. If I can kill a few of them alone... Hahaha, I can increase my Muscle Density and Reaction Speed stats so that I can finally rival Klaus!"

Adam: "Do as you're told racist bastard. Just-"

\- *BANG*!

The sound of five gunshots aimed at Adam's head resounded across the city of Masadora.

The glowing red bullets infused with Demonic Power were aimed at Adam's blind spot, the back of the head. It was the weak point for all living creatures. The bullet would ruthlessly tear through his flesh, yet this did not happen. Without turning around, Adam drew his katana, a sword with a clear crystal blade instead of steel, and deflected each of the bullets. The bullets, having lost there strength, harmlessly flipped through the air and fell into Adam's free hand were he then began to examine the bullets in detail.

Adam's comrades were shocked at the sudden attack, but even more so by his supernatural level of sword technique. With his keen eyes, Adam examined the bullet in his hand and when he was finished allowed bullet to finally fall to the floor.

Lutz: "So fierce! As always your sword skills borderline on the supernatural."

Adam: "...Interesting. Rapid fire and enhanced with an energy. The bullet is very high grade stuff not available in the real world. Also, I found the bullets laced with Demonic Power."

Adam turned his head to the side towards the direction the five bullets were shot from. Standing on top of a building a good distance away was a lone boy with dirty blonde hair who was of Middle Eastern descent. Cradled in his hand was a SMG too large for someone his size to hold and the recoil should force him back when fired, but by how used to the weight of the gun and how he held it showed his familiarity. For him it wasn't a toy, but a part of his body. The moment Adam and the others spotted Connor he disappeared into the city.

Adam: "A child soldier? Fuck, he fired from that distance effortlessly and accurately as well with a machine gun. Hahaha, he's mine! The three of you stay together and try not to die too soon!"

Lutz: "Adam, wait-"

But it was too late. Adam chased after Connor with inhuman speed and was unable to hear his teammates' cries, but even if he did he wouldn't stop. His mind was too preoccupied with the idea of fighting a child soldier of amazing skill with the gun. He was normally one of the more responsible members of Team Germany, yet when his switch is flipped he won't stop unless it's a direct order from Abigail... and this time she choose not to stop Adam.

Abigail was observing the situation through Erwin's Psyche Force abilities, 'Psyche Force Scan' and 'Soul Link'. This allowed her to see what was happening through Erwin's scans and as there was no word from her the three left behind had no way of stopping Adam's pursuit.

Webber: "Just let him go, Lutz. We can handle the Japs on our own."

Kurt: "That's right. Webber's power and my magic will kill any number of Team Japan's fighters. Just follow us and you'll be-"

Kurt stopped himself as a fierce bloodlust impacted their group of three. Webber, Kurt, and Lutz looked beyond the crowd of people having gathered around them from the earlier gunshots, and spotted the one letting out bloodlust. A male around 17-18 years of age wearing a dark coat was staring them down. His intent to fight was clear.

While Shin was confronting Team Germany's Webber, Kurt, and Lutz alone, the former child soldier Connor was leading the battle crazed Adam into the center of the city of Masadora.

The alleys were long, looked identical, and above all were heavily damaged by Bomber's terrorist attack three days ago which added on many obstructions. It was far too easy to get lost, yet the two of them were not bothered in the slightest. One had perfectly remembered the map of the city in Unlocked Mode while the other held instincts that wouldn't allow him to get lost as he gave chase.

Adam was closing in on Connor as he held the greater movement speed, yet as he turned a corner about to slash Connor... he was gone. Vanished like a ghost. Adam had only lost sight of the child solider for a moment, yet that was enough for him to hide himself in the shadows of the half destroyed city buildings. It was a skill that those like Connor had to hide within the darkness before they took their enemy's life.

Adam: "Have I been lead into a trap? Haha, even I can't sense your presence... but you're no professional assassin. I had the chance to train with the Chinese Assassins Clan in the real world after joining Team Germany. You won't be able to hide and attack at the same time without revealing yourself to me!"

Adam tried to purposely lure Connor out with his words, but it was no use. Unlike Shin or his other comrades, Connor did not have the so called fighting spirit. Fighting or killing were a means to an end. Connor might have some pride in his sniping skills, but wouldn't feel the need to dominate over his opponent in close/midrange combat.

Connor: "..."

Connor was prepared to silently wait out the battle. It was clear from the first confrontation that Adam held a supernatural level of awareness and would be hard to take out with his current sniping restriction. Shin had also made it a point for them to not defeat, but grab Team Germany's attention until their comrades arrive to the enemy camp and launch a surprise attack. Additionally, Connor was responsible for picking up the secondary attack group when they succeed, or rescuing them if things turn sour.

Five minutes passed like this.

Sounds of a destructive battle taking place somewhere else in the city could be heard. Shin was most likely facing the three other members of Team Germany at this time and were all engaged in a fierce battle, but Connor and Adam's battle was the opposite. No side made the first move.

Connor's reason was that he didn't think he could overtake Adam without transforming into his Trion Body and showering him with the fast and rapid fire power of the Lightning Trigger. Adam hadn't made the first move yet as he wasn't sure of Connor's full capabilities. Adam knew that Connor had a Demonic type enhancement and from what he knew that destructive magic was a specialty for them and couldn't be so easily deflected like the bullets from before.

Another five minutes passed like this, each heartbeat feeling like an eternity. It was then that a large quake and wave of heat spreading outward could be felt by all within Masadora. It wasn't a natural earthquake, but something else that shook the city. Connor did not risk contacting Hikari and being overheard, and so was unaware of what was happening, yet Adam, as if someone was speaking to him seemed to know what was going on and his expression changed for the worse.

Adam: "Fucking trash! Now I have to go and... whatever. Sorry child soldier. This kind of wait and see battle can be fun as well... but it time to finish up here!"

Connor didn't respond to Adam's words, but Adam had no need to hear or see his foe. Along with his training every cell in his body told him that Connor was still nearby and only needed to be flushed out... so he drew his katana. A sword with a beautiful crystal blade that gave off a deadly light as it reflected the light of the sun up in the sky. It was an expensive B tier magic sword with many attack skills installed. With his hand on the handle of his katana still in its sheath, Adam drew his sword.

Adam: "Crystal Element Sword - Explosive Light Slash!"

Adam's katana was filled with an orange light as it gave of a deathly aura. Adam swung his sword around and with each swing a strange orange energy was released and pained glowing lines on all the walls and buildings nearby. Those seemingly harmless painted lines turned a shade of red and then a moment later white.

Connor, who was in hiding, felt a danger approaching and jumped out of the half destroyed building he was lying in wait in and through the open window. Right as he exited through a window, the whole room was drowned in a fire birthed from magic that swiftly burned down the building. The impact from the blasts almost sent him flying. Now in the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint, Connor turned around in midair and stepped on the wall in front of him to stabilize the fall.

As soon as Connor got on his feet, he swiftly rolled away feeling more danger approaching. Numerous red line faster than before glowed white appeared on where he was just standing and more, but smaller explosions and magic flames followed after him. Connor knew he was not safe in the open and ran behind another wall. Adam smiled gleefully at Connor's frantic running and gave chase.

Adam: "You can't outrun me! How about I show you a different element?!"

Adam sprinted after Connor with inhuman speed, having entered Unlocked Mode as well. Connor himself was using Demonic Energy empowered legs to run away, yet Adam's physical enhancements were superior. Adam only needed two more seconds to catch up to Connor, but he wasn't some helpless child that would allow himself to be cut down so easily. From his pockets Connor took out a Blazing Gas BIM and threw it behind him. The toxic gas was released and forced Adam to stop the pursuit and retreat. More BIMs were thrown by Connor and detonated with the fog of Blazing Gas and ignited into a large explosion. The wide area blast blew Adam away and crashing into a wall hard.

Adam: "Gyaaa! Y-you!"

Adam embedded into the wall of a building badly injured and covered in burn marks still attempted to pull himself out, but was then bombarded by a shower of bullets from a SMG charged with Demonic Power. The bullets shredded every inch of Adam's body and destroyed the building behind him as well. When Connor stopped firing the area before him was clear of all obstructions.

Connor: "...Strange."

Connor, in a state of confusion, approached the destroyed building shrouded in a cloud of dust. Connor was certain, literally seen his gunshots cut into Adam's body. His gun had missed the brain, but for sure Adam's heart should have been torn apart from the hail of bullets along with the rest of his body. His life should have been forfeited... yet there was no notification from God that he gained points for killing a member of Team Germany, or that Team Japan's -5 Points for the Team Battle had been reduced to -4.

Connor: "...Are you kidding me?"

Connor was not one to be surprised. Especially after entering God's Dimension against his will... but what he saw, no what he didn't find shocked him. The man who was supposed to be dead, Adam, his body was nowhere to be seen. Connor momentarily considered the possibility that Adam was under the rubble of the building he just shot to pieces, but he soon discovered a trail of blood leading away from the building.

Connor: "...Military tactics and common sense is shit here. Well, at least I managed to show the enemy that I was a midrange fighter and not a sniper... can't wait to put a bullet in that guy's head. No, I'll blow it clear off!"

Connor, for the first time in a very long time, complained like a kid at the ridiculousness of it all, but soon returned to his normal stoic self. Connor then proceeded to get in contact with Hikari five minutes later having made sure that no one was around, and discovered the enemy had retreated. The battle was over for the moment.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

Extra long chapter next!

Warning: In the next chapter Team Germany's Webber is very racist to those from outside his country. It just something interesting yet wrong from the original. Definitely not my personal feelings. I believe such a thing was in the original because the author felt that it was interesting and gave his writing impact, or had a personal bias. I believe it's the former as racism is used in a later chapter for a very strong scene between Zheng and Clone Zheng in their first Team Battle. It might be common in modern Chinese novels as I've also seen it in a few, including the popular God and Devil World. I'm no expert on the subject, so I'm not sure.


	135. Chapter 135

As Team Japan's Connor lead Adam away deeper into the heart of Masadora, the three members of Team Germany left behind; Webber, Kurt, and Lutz, watched as their field commander left and were now faced with a new danger. Standing before them now was a man in a dark coat with white hair. In one hand was a magic sword, a katana dyed in the color of darkness and the other was a Beretta Auto 9 resembling the main weapon of a certain RoboCop. This man, Shin, matched Team Germany's description of the priority target of Team Japan. The Player who belonged to no organization and has shown a dangerous level of potential that must be stepped on at all costs even if it meant the lives of an entire team of God's Dimension.

Shin: "..."

Lutz: "He's definitely from Team Japan. Very strong sensation of wanting to kill us. He also matches the description of the priority target assigned to us by the higher ups... hey, it's dangerous to stay out in the open without Adam's defenses. We may get sniped standing here. Not sure if there are anyone else from their team around us as well. We should-"

Webber: "Hahaha!"

The muscular man laughed out loud at the healer's words. Webber had great confidence in his strength and thought very little of the small Japanese youth before him. So much so that he couldn't understand why the upper management of Mass Enlightenment and the other organizations of the Four Pillars placed so much interest on Shin. To people like Webber, power determined everything. The title "enemy" is also decided by power, particularly when this enemy is powerful enough to gain respect and fear. That's how Webber saw things, so he couldn't understand how a small kid like Shin, who doesn't even have a distinguished background like his leader Abigail, could ever hope to be such a threat to a large and powerful organization like Mass Enlightenment.

Webber: "You worry too much Lutz. He isn't weak, but I don't feel that he's that strong either. Kurt and I are good enough to handle the Jap. Just staying in the back and ready your spells to heal the small cuts we get from crushing his skull!"

Kurt: "I prefer that we melt him. Just the smell of flesh burned by fire... is intoxicating!"

Lutz: "Tch, you two freaks. Don't get carried a-... wait a minute you two. Leader has something to say to that guy, so don't start fighting yet."

Shin who was watching the enemy had no idea what was going on, but then saw Webber and Kurt of Team Germany shut up at that instant. Lutz stepped forward and looked Shin directly in the eye. Shin assumed that the battle was about to start, but to his surprise Lutz who was just on guard for any sudden attacks completely let down his guard. His expression changed as well and had a faint smile across his face. Shin didn't know the man Lutz at all, but even he could tell that something was off... especially after the man in front of him suddenly began speaking with the voice of a teenage girl.

Lutz/Abigail: "Testing, testing... good. I'm getting through. Now, Team Japan's infamous Player Shin... you are Shin correct?"

Shin: "..."

Lutz/Abigail: "Prick! Whatever, I'll take your silence as a yes. Let me introduce myself. My name is Abigail. Leader of Team Germany and a rising star of Mass Enlightenment."

Shin: "...Mass Enlightenment. That's-"

Lutz/Abigail: "I've heard that you had a run in with them in the real world. Well, it's the very same Mass Enlightenment that you know of and my Team Germany is backed up by them. I myself am descended from one the founders of Mass Enlightenment who served our great leader still alive to this day, Deep Zero."

Shin: "Enough pleasantries. If you're of Mass Enlightenment then it's obvious that we can't reach a peaceful agreement in this mission. Also, my team is not in a position for peace talks."

Lutz/Abigail: "Oww, did someone die on your side? I believe this is your first Team Battle as well. You need to kill a few of us due to some mistake on your part, right? Then I guess peace really was never on the table then. How unfortunate."

Shin couldn't help but frown hearing Abigail say that. From the moment Shin heard her voice he knew that Abigail had nothing but contempt for him and wanted nothing more than his death. Even if Abigail dared to talk about peace and cooperation Shin would never believe a word that comes out of her mouth.

Shin: "Why are you bothering to talk to me then? You're also not interested in peace talks."

Lutz/Abigail: "I just wanted to make that fact clear. I want to enjoy hunting you down so that I'll have a good story to tell my bosses later. It'll be anticlimactic if after wiping out your Team Japan and seeing you grovel for forgiveness at my feet. That's interesting... but not good enough. I want to hunt you down, corner you, and enjoy it as I rip you apart while you still have a defiant look in your eyes!"

Shin: "...That so?"

Lutz/Abigail: "Absolutely! You may be unaware of this, but you're the number one priority target of Mass Enlightenment, even of all the Four Pillars to take out within God's Dimension. To have reached the Second Stage after only two missions and without the assistance of drugs goes to show your future potential... and we of Mass Enlightenment especially can't allow such a threat to us go. We have a policy of pulling out the weeds early on before those weeds grow into an expansive jungle. That's why you are my ticket to the top! Killing you will raise my status within Mass Enlightenment. Some tell me that I'm a greedy whore who would do anything to reach the top... but I'm okay with that. Those without power and recognition in my world get stepped on by the strong. They have no choices. Even men and women who are descendants of former Players without power and backing aren't even allowed to choose their life style, who to marry, and how to die. You're the key to my future Team Japan leader and even if I have to throw away my entire team to do so... I'll kill you and take your head back as a prize!"

Shin: "...Thank goodness. I feel better."

Abigail: "Huh?"

Shin said so without a hint of deception or conceit. No matter what Team Germany was like, whether they were saints or demons, Team Japan had, needed to wipe out that team. Team Japan was currently at Negative 5 Team Points. If nothing was done then when the mission ends every member of Team Japan would be penalized -10,000 and will be erased. No one on the team would survive. Not even Kisara who stumbled upon a 5000 point and B rank reward Hidden Side Quest.

For the sake of Team Japan's continuing survival within God's Dimension they needed to kill five members of the enemy Team Germany no matter the cost. That's why even if Shin discovered that Team Germany was a team of saints rather than demon... no, even if Team Germany was a team just like Team Japan filled with decent people who just wanted to survive the hell called God's Dimension... he would still give the order to wipe them out.

Still, even knowing that it would leave a bad aftertaste to Shin. Shin believed he was a somewhat good guy with only slightly warped morals. He does kill, but only to survive or help his comrades. The most radical incident in Shin's life was the time he offered to help Hikari get rid of the criminals bothering her family in the real world. They were an evil group of people by any standards. Shin was no hero of justice who thought he was making the world a better place, but if the people who were after Hikari for her past crimes were generally good people... he didn't believe he could have gone through with it, or at least used a different method to settle things. In fact, the police were after Hikari as well, but Shin choose not to confront them.

What does all of this tell Shin? It told him that he was not a good person and would commit evil for the sake of survival, yet he would hate himself and look for an opportunity to find another solution... and that was what he was most worried about. If a method to survive the -10,000 existed, but it meant an even greater danger to his team then he could possibly take it. If Team Germany were people who lacked malicious intent and they suggested another means of fixing Team Japan's problem... even if it was a potential lie to save their own lives, Shin didn't know what he would have down at that time if Team Germany showed their sincerity to live or survive... so that was why Shin was thankful.

With Abigail's words just now he learned Team Germany's true colors. They were linked to the organization Shin hated the most out of the Four Pillars for their crimes against Saki, Mass Enlightenment. Additionally, Team Germany weren't looking to just survive or retaliate for the first bullet shot by their enemy team, but truly wanted to kill off Team Japan. Lastly, Shin could tell that Abigail desired nothing more than to see himself die at her hands. Even without the Team Japan's penalty or the paranoia of if and when will another team attack you one the mission, Abigail made it clear that she would sacrifice her team to see Shin and his team die horrible deaths. And her reason for doing so... was something equivalent to a promotion at a large company.

Shin: "Yep. I definitely won't feel bad after killing you all off and on the off chance that I do... I'm sure a night with my cute glasses girl hacker wife, or my mature 34D war goddess wife would make me forget trash like you."

Abigail: "What are you on about?"

Shin: "Nothing that concerns you Team Germany bitch! If you want my head then you're going to have to work for it, but be warned. I'm a highly desirable man. Only the finest of women are allowed to get close to me. Even if you want my head I doubt that you have the qualifications to get within five feet of me."

Abigail: "...Hahaha... how confident you are for a lowly man like yourself. One man against a behemoth like Mass Enlightenment isn't commendable, but is of the upmost foolishness. I admit I'm not at the top of the hierarchy of Mass Enlightenment, but it isn't wrong to call me a noble lady. My status and power even as an individual dwarfs your own, Japanese trash! You may be a priority target, but I'm starting to think that you're not worthy of my time after speaking to you. What a disappointment. I'll let my underlings deal with you. Only if you survive and fare well against them will I consider gracing you with my presence."

Shin: "...Can't we just get on with this? You can call yourself a noble lady and you sound young by your voice, but you're obviously just another bitch. I don't demand my women to be pure, but you know... you just seem... right? You get why I don't want to deal with you more than I have to... bitch!"

Abigail: "!"

Abigail was silent for a moment, but Shin, and especially the members of Team Germany on both sides of this conversation could feel Abigail's anger. Her bloodlust was so great that she wanted nothing more than to skin him alive. If not for Klaus keeping her somewhat calm of the other end if the Psyche Force link then she would have used a Spell Card to immediately rush over to Masadora.

Abigail: "...Webber, Kurt, and Lutz. Kill him! We're not good at showing mercy and we have no need to. Bring me his head! The one who kills this guy will not only keep the full 7000 points and B rank reward for doing so, but I'll throw in an additional 5000 points and B rank reward to his killer and 2000 and C rank reward for everyone else once we get back to the Terminal Lobby. This is your chance to rise up in the ranks alongside me, but remember this... don't fuck up!"

Abigail without waiting for a response ended the Psyche Force link and released control back to Lutz. Lutz looked groggy, but he soon recovered.

Lutz: "Ah... that brainwashing stuff always gives me a headache. Anyway, leader is serious about offing this guy to offer such high rewards?"

Kurt: "Hahaha! Leader is the best and I'll be the one to reap the most of her generosity! With those points I'll become one of the elite members of Team Germany like Adam and Klaus. Sorry Webber. I know you have a hard on for killing foreigners, but he is mine! Just be satisfied for supporting me!"

Webber: "Oh really? Alright Kurt it's the usual rules then. Whoever kills their target first wins Loser exchanges 1000 points worth of stuff for the other and since he's the infamous priority target let's make it 5000 and C rank reward! How about it do you still feel so confident?"

Kurt: "Sure. Haha, you'll probably have to ask from a loan from the others. Also, try not to castrated. There's nothing more pitiful than giant man like you losing his proof of manhood!"

Webber: "Aren't you talking about yourself? Seems like I have the advantage. Haaaa!"

The giant of Team Germany, Webber laughed out loudly as he gazed upon his prey. The strange plastic tubes embedded across his body began to funnel a strange mixture through the tubes. Shin was reminded of a certain villain from Batman, but it was only after Webber's already large body started to expanded and grow was he certain of the connection. The mutated muscles looked similar to the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint, yet Shin saw it was far more unnatural and deformed than the Second Stage. Webber who was now fifteen feet tall and had layer upon layers of muscles and now no longer looked human aside from his face covered in visible red veins and bloodshot eyes to match.

Webber: "Come on samurai monkey. Show us your famous karate and swordsmanship!"

The muscular man Webber laughed madly then raised his fist and smashed the ground, knocking the stones of the payment of the city away. The flying stone were almost as powerful as bullets, instantly killing a few on looking players and G.I NPCs unable to defend themselves. The rocks also blocked Shin's vision. Right as he was using the Gravity Blade to block the stones, a large object overhead blocked the sunlight on. That muscular giant of a man had jumped into the air and was now holding a boulder several cubic meters big and hurled it towards him at high speed. Shin jumped backward as the boulder crashed down where he once stood and stabbed into the ground with a loud bang. Seeing all of this Shin lost all confidence in his physical strength seeing the boulder a half a meter deep into the earth.

Webber: "Fight like a man!"

Webber roared loudly as he returned to the earth. Then with speed unbecoming of his giant size Webber swiftly closed in on Shin and released a fury of punches. Shin didn't desire to even test the doped up giant in hand-to-hand combat, and so retaliated with his magic sword instead. Gravity Blade and fist clashed. Webber's unparalleled strength should have crushed a man three times Shin's size and strength, yet he stood his ground guarding each attack with the magic sword. The increased weight magic slash of Gravity Blade allowed Shin to repel Webber's heavy fist and retaliate. Webber was absolute in strength, but Shin had the edge in speed, agility, and reaction speed even outside Unlocked Mode. Every time Webber's fist was stopped dead cold by Gravity Blade, Shin swung his sword 5-10 times in retaliation.

Shin: (Hard! Is there really only muscle under his skin?)

Shin struck multiple times with an increased weight Gravity Blade, but he could only cut through skin and was repelled by Webber's muscles tougher than steel. To cut Webber require him going into Unlocked Mode, or sacrificing speed for more weight increased slashes. From that display Shin saw Webber abnormal strength and durability as the biggest threat to a close combat fighter like himself. When Webber showed the slightest opening during this exchange Shin didn't hesitate to hammer in Ki reinforced bullets from the Auto 9 in armor piercing mode. At such close distance, without Instant Movement Shin himself would not be able to dodge but the muscular man stood there and took all the shots with no hesitation. The bullets only barely penetrated his skin before they were caught in between his muscles.

Webber: "Haha! Come again. Come attack me again you skinny monkey!"

The muscles of Webber's body then began to expand until he they reached a new level of thickness. The bullets on his chest were pushed out by his muscle. Shin was taken back once again. If he were to ask Jin then he would agree that Webber was an ideal "Tank" position in a MMORPG. Of course he doesn't have "HP", yet without a doubt normal and low level energy attacks wouldn't work against him.

Shin: "Aren't you taking the term "All Muscle and no Brains" too seriously!?"

Webber: "Don't piss your pants now Japanese monkeys, and come play some more! Too bad you are too skinny, as skinny as a monkey that can't throw a punch!"

Shin instinctively knew Webber was about to attack and expected him to rush forward, but to his shock Webber took a mismatched martial arts stance. Webber yelled like a beast and threw a right hook that only cut air. The air pressure would have harmed Shin if he was closer, but Shin was more than ten meters away and only felt a light gust. It was only as Shin believed that Webber mutated muscles had really devoured his brain... Shin saw an unexpected threat from the side. The large boulder Webber threw earlier was floating about the ground to his side and now came crashing into Shin. Unable to move away in time Shin destroyed the large boulder with a fist coated in Silver Dragon Scales and executed Soul Crushing Strike. He was successful, yet was blown off his feet and rolled along the ground.

Webber: "Hahaha, so you have strength tiny man. Well, I'm not down yet Jap!"

Saying so Webber brought his hands together and slammed the earth. The streets of Masadora shook on impact and the space in front of Webber was occupied by dozens earth spears stabbing out of the ground. The wave of spear were soon to collide head on with Shin and so he jump into the air with Instant Movement to reach the roof of a nearby store.

Shin: (Similar to Shuai's technique with Gnome, but I can't spot an Earth Elemental... Could is it be Earthbending from Avatar!?)

Shin discovered the nature of Webber second enhancement that was from the same universe as Misaki's Firebending, yet he had no time to figure out a counter measure. Standing off to the side on top of another roof top was Kurt. His right hand was raised high and hovering above was a 10 x 10 foot red fireball radiating a deathly heat. Even from a distance it felt like Shin's skin could melt off at any moment, and then-

Kurt: "Don't forget about me! Grand Fireball!"

\- It was thrown. Fueled by bloodlust Kurt hurtled the Grand Fireball towards Shin's rooftop. With Instant Movement Shin jumped to the roof of the nearest building and watched as the fire magic melt off the roof of where he just stood. With one in each hand Kurt crafted two more Grand Fireballs and began to hurl them in succession.

Shin: (Destructive, but slower than Misaki's Firebending!)

Shin confirmed this by moving from one rooftop to the next with ease to avoid Kurt's fire magic. Kurt looked upset as Shin continuously dodged one fireball after the next. Shin seeing this couldn't help but think Kurt was too arrogant.

Shin: (Sure, in pure offensive power this fire magician would be rank second within Team Japan right behind Kampa, yet he was just throwing his magic around blindly. If Kampa has the ability to lead his enemy while staying safe himself, here Kurt is just throwing powerful magic spells left and right and unable to predict where I'll jump next).

Shin didn't feel that Kurt was a threat and moved to take him out. Another Grand Fireball was hurled towards Shin and after dodging once more he jumped from building to building with Instant Movement to close in on Kurt. Kurt jumped off the building he was on and began to run. Kurt then looked back and a look of fear consumed Kurt's face as he saw the white haired youth approaching with the Auto 9 raised and aimed at him.

Kurt: "Fl-Flame Wall!"

\- *BANG*!

In defense Kurt summoned a thick wall of burning fire to intercept the incoming bullets. The bullets were charged with Ki, yet before they reached Kurt the bullets were melted. Kurt heaved a sigh of relief, but Shin landing down to the ground and approaching reminded Kurt that he was not safe yet. As Shin neared Kurt readied the low power, but faster Fireball Spell, but his opponent sudden turned tailed and bolted. Kurt was confused, but soon understood hearing the sound of air being sucked in by something.

Shin saw that behind Kurt was the third member Lutz who at some point taken out a large sci-fi looking gun. The gun had a long barrel that sucked in air and shot out a super compressed cannon ball of hardened air. Shin jumped away as the air cannon ball zoomed past, yet was shocked by the aftermath. The air cannon ball obliterated the building it came into contact and the next five large building behind it.

Shin: "What the hell was that?!"

Webber: "Don't get surprised at a mere Sci-fi gun, Jap!"

Webber had final caught up to Shin and began chasing him down. In fear of the Lutz's Sci-fi gun and Kurt's fire Shin was forced to retreat. It was not because of Webber at all, yet the man in question believed otherwise and became excited. The more excited or angry he became the more power and speed he released. Shin was using Instant Movement yet Webber was equally as fast. In addition, Earthbending and enhanced strength allowed Webber to create mini earthquakes with each step he took. Webber was becoming faster and faster, but Shin losing stable footing was losing his balance. Kurt and Lutz getting their act together saw this as a chance to finish Shin off and offered support fire as Webber gave chase.

Shin: (If I can't escape then attack!)

Feeling cornered and entering Unlocked Mode, Shin kicked the ground with Instant Movement towards Webber. The First Stage of Unlocked Mode increased Shin's power and speed. The sudden increase of both surprised Webber who could only take a spinning high kick to the face and then become used as a platform to be jumped off. Shin's target wasn't Webber, but the midrange fighters Kurt and Lutz. Shin was confident he could something about Webber while in Unlocked Mode, but the destructive power of the fire magic and Sci-fi weapon were the bigger present threat.

Shin: "Ki Bullet!"

Shin put away both his sword and gun into the Na Ring and brought his hands together. His hands glowed bright green with Ki Energy and then unleash a heavy barrage of emission attacks. The Ki Bullet skill was the least modified and energy consuming emission attack besides Ki Blast, so Ki Bullet could be fired in large waves like a machine gun. Both Kurt and Lutz weren't capable of moving away in time so they could only defend. Kurt brought forth a wall of flames and Lutz charged a magic protective necklace around his neck. Both defenses held out under the barrage of attacks, yet Shin was unconcerned. The previous attacked stopped the two enemy's movements and gave him an opening for a slow, yet very effective emission attack.

Shin: "Far Bullet!"

From Shin's two hands a weightless and transparent bullets of Ki Energy were launched. One Far Bullet cut through the Flame Wall and pushed back Kurt while the other hit Lutz and destroyed his protective necklace. Capitalizing on this opening Shin reverted back to another round of Ki Bullets. Kurt wearing a low grade magic robe over his uniform didn't take critical damage but the same could not be said for Lutz. His Sci-fi gun was destroyed and had bullets cut into his flesh. Lutz was not dead, but Shin couldn't see him returning to battle and would probably bleed out on the ground.

Webber: "Fucking Japanese monkey! Get crushed!"

Webber with impressive speed caught back up to Team Japan's leader. Shin admired the giant muscle brain Webber and his body appeared fine after his full force kick in the First Stage, but that was it.

Shin: (The power was there, but no technique. Earthbending is the greater threat, but with my Ki skills I can-).

It was at that moment Shin noticed the earth shift. The ground under his feet was pulled towards Webber who laughed with joy with his eager fist raised.

Webber: "Fuckers like you always assume that I'm retarded! Die!"

Shin: "!"

Webber raised his large and thick mutated arm and slammed down his fist blowing Shin away far into the distance. He felt satisfied having finally hit Shin, but noticing a hard yet light feeling on the moment of contact irritated him to no end.

Webber: "That guys lessened the blow as he was hit. I hate to admit it, but the Jap is a good fighter... hey, you two get up already! You two aren't dead!"

Kurt: "Fuck you Webber!"

Lutz: "...I need a few minutes for my self-recovery to finish. Major organs have been damaged and massive loss of blood, I'll heal your wounds later, so finish this up already. Leader is already mad that he's making fools of us and that I lost the Heavy Mass Air Bazooka."

Kurt: "Fine you useless priest. Hey Webber... let's do that! If he isn't dead it'll flush him out!"

The muscular giant of Team Germany punched Shin away with an enormous force, but he still lived. The punch held monstrous strength, yet he instinctively guarded himself with Silver Dragon Scales and kicked at the man's abdomen with the full force of Instant Movement. Shin flew away and crashed through a restaurant of Masadora, then the force carried him away almost fifty meters before he stopped. Shin jumped up as soon as he landed. He felt a sense of pain from the shoulder that was struck. Every movement of his was accompanied by unbearable pain, but he clenched his teeth and ran through another building. There was no crowd of people to hide within, so Shin found a half destroyed home that was clearly abandoned. After he was some distance away from the scene of battle, Shin finally got a chance to check his injury by looking under his coat.

Shin: "What the hell!? I'm wearing magic armor for crying out loud!"

There was a visible fist mark on his shoulder, and the joints under the area were dislocated. Fortunately he had fairly high toughness after his enhancements and wearing the Lesser Fenrir Coat, plus he warded off some of the impact when he was hit. Though this also demonstrated the muscular man's power. As long as he hit anyone, that person would most certainly lose the ability to fight.

Shin: "That guy is also smarter then he look with that last move to draw me in closer, but he still seems to lack control over his power… he didn't give off a sense of danger, otherwise I would have gone into the Unlocked Mode automatically from the start. Still, only Aqua with her Adamantium skeleton could hope to walk away after hit by Team Germany's giant... Gahhhh!"

Shin clenched his teeth then pushed up on his shoulder. In exchange for extreme pain he pushed the dislocated joints back into place. Shin moved his arm around again. Aside from a bit of pain, there was no more issues. The pain was far from pleasant, but it was better than using Ki and stamina to repair his body in his opinion. Possibly the One-eye Ghoul Mutation and its high speed regeneration was Shin's greatest strength as it allowed him to recover from crippling and near fatal injuries, but it came at a steep cost of his stamina. Healing from all wounds could become a cheat level ability if used throughout a battle, but it would mean nothing to be unharmed if he could no longer battle. That was the reason Shin normally refrained from healing even serious wounds in mid-battle, and till his Cell Vitality stat is high enough it will have to remain as a rarely used trump card for emergencies.

Shin: "...Good. I've already healed for the most part anyway. The arm is functional and I can work through the pain in Unlocked Mode. Now the question is... what now? Should I return and try to kill a few of them, or should I hide out and buy time for Jin's secondary attack group to reach the enemy base? Probably the former if I want to drag out a few more members of Team Germany to-"

\- *BURNING SOUND*!

Going over his plans Shin was startled by loud crackling sound. The sound was getting louder by the second and was accompanied by a burning smell and the screams of people in the distance. Shin considered the possibility that a large fire had started due to Kurt's rampage of fire magic, yet the smell and sounds were stronger than they should be for just a mere fire. Additionally, Shin felt danger slowly approaching from all around him. Shin finally left his hiding place to look outside and found that a sea had submerged the streets of Magic City Masadora... a sea of flames and molten earth.

Shin: "How is that... did the giant also have Lava Bending?"

Shin was in a daze as he witnessed the path of destruction as magma continuously spurred forward and devoured the streets, building, and people running for their lives, and it was only by his Communicator Phone was he woken up from the surreal sight. It was Hikari on the other end telling him that the area of Masadora that he was in, one fifth of the city was being devoured by a sea of magma and flames that was expanding by the second. Hikari was warning Shin to escape, but he decided against it as he needed to take care of the enemy now before the magma swallowed the city. Shin didn't want to relocate the battle with Team Germany, so it was best to take out the one destroying Masadora.

Resolving himself to the upcoming danger Shin entered into the First Stage. Dashing forward and kicking the earth Shin jumped over the river of magma and onto a building not yet alight by the magma. From building to building with Instant Movement steps to travel through the burning city Shin followed Hikari's Game Map towards the enemy. Some building were intact or not completely burned down, but most were indeed burning to the ground and Shin could not avoid that and also didn't need to. Running through flaming rooftops Shin was under the protection of his magic coat armor and Silver Dragon Scales.

Shin: "There they are!"

Stopping on the rooftop of a building yet to be destroyed by the magma Shin gazed into the distance. Shin spotted the three enemy members of Team Germany in the distance 200 meters away on top of high building. He couldn't tell what they were up to from this distance so he gathered the Ki spread throughout the body and concentrated it on his pupils to enhance his vision. With his new enhanced sight he witnessed Webber and Kurt standing by the edge of the rooftop, and a wounded Lutz sitting on the floor.

Shin: "What are they doing?"

Shin couldn't understand what was going on at first, but thanks to his Ki enhanced eyes no only could his vision clarity and reaction speed be temporarily increased, but the ability to discern energy increased as well. With his eyes Shin saw Kurt leaning his on Webber's shoulder and Webber with an outstretched hand. Energy was passing back and forth between them and it was both increasing in strength and very little of it was being wasted. In the direction Webber's hand passed by magma sprang to life and overflowed endless down the streets of Masadora.

Shin: (The doped up giants Earth Bending plus the skinny robed man fire magic equals a makeshift Lavabending? A combination technique? Doing so increases their individual power and decreased consumption cost? Was there a skill like that in the exchanges or did they come up with it on their own?)

Shin marveled such a fascinating technique that allowed two players he didn't believe to be that strong to potentially burn down an entire city, but not long after he snapped out of it. Shin understanding how the enemy was destroying the city wasn't important. What was important was to stop it and permanently at that. Shin wanted to drag out the battle for the secondary attack group to reach the enemy camp, but Webber and Kurt's combination attack was too dangerous to let pass. Long as the two can flood an area with magma and flames Team Japan will never be safe from Team Germany.

Shin: (One or the other, or both... they have to disappear from this Team Battle!)

Determine to do just that Shin began to swiftly cross the 200 meter distance between them with Instant Movement jumps. The surrounding area around the three Team Germany members was the worse off from the magma attacks. There were very little to no safe footholds for Shin to use, but there were just enough for him to safely reach the enemy... and that's where it hit him.

Shin: (Isn't this too convenient?)

It was just as Shin thought realized this a trap was sprung right under his feet. As he was jumping from one foot hold to another not even twenty meters away from his target a column of flames sprang up to consume him. Shin withstood the blast of flames with the defense of the Lesser Fenrir Coat and Silver Dragon Scales, but unfortunately his momentum was disturbed and was unable to reach his next foothold. Shin could only curse at his reckless actions as he fell into the sea of magma and flames.

The three members of Team Germany looked down at the sea of magma and flames of their own creation with glee. Their trap had worked perfectly. Team Japan's leader and the priority target of the Four Pillars had fallen helpless into the sea of magma and flames and was burned alive. They were upset that they wouldn't get the sole rewards for killing him, but it was far better to work together to defeat Team Japan's leader than to return to their own leader Abigail to explain how they failed.

Kurt: "I'm glad the enemy didn't figure out my trap in time. Flame Mine spell. It has to be set beforehand, so it would have gone to waste if he discovered it in advance."

Webber: "Hahaha, don't worry about such things! That Jap foolishly ran into the obvious trap himself. The Japanese monkey can only blame himself for burning alive in the pool of magma. Still, I'm exhausted after the combination attack. Hey, Lutz, hurry up and heal us! You can't do anything about the energy, but you can heal the fatigue, right?

The priest/cleric of Team Germany, Lutz, who had hadn't completely recovered from the injuries he received from Shin, stood up with much difficulty. He could heal his own injuries with ease with his spells using Faith Energy, but he could not heal indefinitely. He could fully heal two near fatal injuries, six medium injuries, ten lesser injuries, and recover stamina for twenty people. Lutz had a slow Lesser Self-recovery Spell to heal his own wounds with minimal energy cost, so instead of wasting a spell on himself Lutz chose to save them for an emergency.

Lutz: "Fine. Stamina recovery magic spells don't use too much Faith Energy. Staying Power!"

A yellow light shined from Lutz's out reached hand enveloped both Webber and Kurt. Both men were exasperated after their battle with Shin and the combination technique Relay, but after bathing in that yellow light both felt fully rejuvenated.

Webber: "Hahaha, I always feel reborn from your spells! You're a small man Lutz, but at times you have your uses now and again."

Lutz: "...Hey, don't you think that something is strange? We haven't gotten any notification about killing him. You can't think because it's a combination technique, or God sees the magma as not our ability we didn't receive the rewards"

Kurt: "Screw that! That is clearly our-"

\- *SLASH*!

Right outside the tall building they were standing on. At that moment a red and silver mass of flesh shot out of the sea of Magma and flames with a trail of red fire following behind. The mass of flesh traveled up the side of the building and jumped high into the air as it reached the roof top. Webber, Kurt, and Lutz stared at mass of flesh of a Kagune reinforced by Silver Dragon Scales before them that then began to fall apart to reveal a humanoid monster in the eyes of the enemy. In the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint and hovering in the air was humanoid monster with one black eye shining with a red radiance of death, and in his hands was a magic sword reinforced with Ki raised over his head. He was no longer content with drawing out the battle. The humanoid monster, Shin, looked down at the three members of Team Germany and mercilessly swung down his sword.

Shin: "One Sword Style, 36 Pound Cannon!"

The magic sword with increased weight magic and reinforced with Ki cut apart the air and released a vacuum blade of wind towards the giant of the enemy team, Webber. Webber was able to react in time to the flying sword slash came crashing towards him. Webber raised his muscular and mutated arm to block the slash, but both his arm and a chunk of his shoulder was cut off by the flying sword slash.

Kurt: "Damn you!"

Kurt saw the giant of his team fall to the floor and lie in a large pool of his own blood. Kurt was about to ready a fire spell to burn Shin alive while he was still in the air, but before he finished chanting his spell four blood red Kagune tentacles erupted from Shin's back and all too quickly stabbed into his chest. His magic robe once more saved his life, but Kurt no longer had the ability to fight. Shin saw that the two main fighters of the enemy team were no longer able to fight and he turned to face the sole survivor of the enemy team Lutz.

Shin: "...Their previous wounds are gone? Are you a healer?"

Lutz: "...Yes."

Lutz was petrified as he stood in Shin's presence and didn't hesitate to tell the truth. Taking a closer look Lutz could see that Shin was badly wounded from his burns, yet his black and red left eye and killing intent made Lutz unable to act. All that he saw was a demon. It was as if he was in the presence of a dangerous monster that would eat him alive if he so much a said anything to displease him.

Shin: "...Heal my wounds and stamina to peak condition. Also my energy. If you do so I'll allow you alone to escape. Your team members die here. If not then I won't hesitate to be rid of Team Germany's troublesome healer here and now, and make Team Germany experience -3 Team Points. So... what will it be? Live to fight another day, or die here and today?"

Lutz: "...I, I can heal your wounds and stamina to peak condition, but I can't restore energies like Ki, Mana, or Blood Energy. That's a A tier-"

Shin: "Just do it then!"

Lutz: "Ye-yes! Large Healing! Staying Power!

Shin was cautious as Lutz extended a hand towards him radiating magic power, but soon dispelled his doubts to his intent. An extremely pleasant sensation spread throughout his body as a yellow and deep green light enveloped and seeped into his body. The whole process didn't last more than ten seconds, yet as all his injures were healed and stamina replenished. Shin felt that he had stayed the weekend at a high end relaxation resort. Even the pain that normally accompanies Unlocked Mode couldn't be felt anymore.

Shin: "Oh my great god of animation... this is just too much! I definitely have to have Hikari or a future Newbie exchange for real healing spells... hey, you, what was the healing spell that you used. Its tier, cost, and general information about helping spells. Do that then you can leave."

Lutz: "Th-that's... Leader will-"

Shin: "...Can your leader hear what we are saying now, or can she take you over like before?"

Lutz: "Yes and no. She should be able to see us through our team's Psyche Force User through his ability and we can communicate with one another, but she can't brain control me without my permission. My Mental Capacity is too high as a magic enhancer. Leader can see and hear us now, but she isn't saying anything to me right now"

Shin: "Good. Tell me about healing spells and your own abilities. I won't ask you to tell me about your comrades' abilities, power levels, or weapons as your team will immediately come over. It's is in both our interest that we take a step back and plan our next attacks."

Honestly, Shin thought about just killing Lutz for the rewards, but he had other plans. What he learned about Team Germany's leader was that she was a haughty girl with a lot of pride.

Shin: (Killing three members of her team would maybe upset her, but killing two and then sending one of their members back alive after healing the enemy leader to near peak condition, effectively making any plan to wear him down ruined and learning about an enemy's abilities... that was far more humiliating and effective for both me and Team Japan.)

Shin didn't just want to defeat a few members of Team Germany. He wanted to completely wipe out Team Germany. Humiliating Team Germany's leader Abigail had a high chance of drawing the main force of the enemy team and leave behind those unable to compete with Shin. Then while Shin revived back at full strength, Hikari, Connor, and the two Newbies Kisara and Renji stall the main force of Team Germany, the secondary attack group lead by Jin would take out those left behind at their base... meaning their Newbies and possibly Lutz after his harsh battle. That was why Shin was willing to let the enemy healer go despite the risk of doing so. Shin was curious if Kurt really wasn't given any instructions, but that wasn't important now. Three of Team Germany's members lives were in his control after all and Hikari will warn everyone if reinforcements arrive.

Shin: "You can leave once you're done, so tell me about your spells. I won't ask about your other team members like I said."

Lutz: "Okay. About, about healing spells..."

Lutz began to explain that he could use five healing spells at his time:

◆ Small Healing - Heals light wounds almost instantly. Requires 4000 Points and C rank reward.

◆ Healing - Heals bad wounds within 2-3 seconds. Requires 6000 Points, C rank reward, and Small Healing.

◆ Large Healing - Heals near fatal wounds within 5-10 seconds. Requires 8000 Points, B rank reward, and Healing.

◆ Level 1 Phoenix Revival - Restore a lost limb to peak condition within 30-60 seconds. Requires 5000 Points and two C rank rewards.

◆ Staying Power - Recover Stamina. Requires 5000 Points and two C rank reward.

◆ Lesser Self-Recovery Spell - Passively recover from injuries. Actively speed up recovery with additional energy. Requires 8000 Points and B rank reward.

Lutz: "Those are my spells. The healing and stamina recovery skills above for higher enhanced are those with highly enhanced individuals as the lesser skills and healing potions start to lose their effects. Also, higher level healing spells are the only way heal injuries inflicted by power magic and spiritual attacks which is vital in the end game. Also, the AA Tier Level 3 Phoenix can even revive the dead for one person once in their life time, but it has to be right after death occurs and can only be used for an individual in one life time."

Shin: "Interesting... you can go now. Just tell your bitch of a leader to come over before I die of old age."

Shin no longer minded Lutz who he had confirmed to be just a healer without a weapon and looked over to both Webber and Kurt lying on the ground in pools of their own blood. Shin had half expected that one of them were faking their injuries, yet there were no signs of movement at all from the two. Their wounds weren't immediately fatal, but too much time has passed. Without treatment they would certainly bleed out... not that Shin was willing to wait that long. Shin took out the Auto 9 intending to end their lives then and there. Lutz looked on in worry and looking around, but made no attempts to save their comrades lives. He knew Shin would break off their deal to let him go if he so much as said a word of protest and so he could only watch as Shin pulled the trigger of his gun pointed at Kurt's head.

\- *BANG*!

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The bullets aimed to take away Webber and Kurt's lives missed as the roof supporting them all fell apart from an explosion along with every other floor of the building. Shin falling to the first floor was confused, yet he was still calm enough to enter into Unlocked Mode. Shin couldn't immediately fine the unconscious Webber and Kurt who fell through the rooftop floor, but spotted Lutz falling alongside with him. Shin pointed the muzzle of the Auto 9 at Lutz and opened fire not caring for their promise. Countless bullets ripped into Lutz's body, but he immediately cast the Active ability of Lesser Self-Recovery to stay alive. Shin soon realized that only a bullet hammered into the head would kill Lutz, but before he could follow through a shadow swiftly grabbed Lutz and pulled him up the building.

Shin: "Fuck!"

Sending out Kagune tentacles to the floor as support Shin landed safely on the first floor of the now unstable building about to collapsed and immediately looked up. Up above on what was left of the rooftop was a man with a crystal katana at his side looking down on him carrying his three comrades. It was the skillful swordsman that had chased after Connor. Currently, the man's clothes were shredded and covered in blood as if he was killed by a firing squad, yet despite those injuries he was alive and carrying his comrades with ease.

Adam: "Our leader Abigail says good job on beating these three and gathering information about our important healer, but you should have just killed them then and there, and not given me enough time to circle back. We'll call this battle a tie. Leader says she'll come over in a bit and to wait for her. If not we'll hunt you and your comrades down 24/7 without rest. BOOK!"

Adam finished speaking took out his Binder with the command word, took out a spell Card and left together with Webber, Kurt, and Lutz back to their base. Shin, exiting Unlocked Mode no longer feeling anymore danger fell to the floor sprawled out and let out a sigh of relief for the first time since their arrival. Shin's wounds and stamina had been restored to full thanks to Lutz's spells, but it was only now that he felt truly relived.

Shin: "I guess I might have made a mistake by not immediately killing them, but if Team Germany had come after me right after I finished them off... I definitely would have died if reinforcements arrived. Taking the time to have the enemy priest heal me was more important than just three Team Battle Points that could have been easily taken back by wiping me and the others out. Well, at least I've acquired their full attention so Jin and the others can move easier. Their leader is oddly obsessed with me and is not making the best decisions. I also doubt the enemy priest can heal anymore for a while. I've gained more than I loss and that's what counts."

Shin said that, but he was still worried. Team Germany was much stronger than his own Team Japan despite their reckless behavior. Simply put on average they were all more enhanced than Team Japan and had more information about combination of enhancements.

Shin: "That alone was bad enough, but the man who rescued his comrades... was very dangerous. I didn't sense his existence when he arrived and was right before my eyes. I need to see how Connor fared against him to understand this feeling better. I'll also tell Hikari that I'm okay."

Again taking out the Communicator Phone made contact with Hikari and Connor. He asked Hikari if the enemy is around in Masadora and she said no. Shin chose to call a regroup after hearing this information so that Hikari can reset her buffs the moment that the enemy returns.

Shin: "Alright, time to-"

Shin was contemplating about how to travel through the sea of magma and flames when he saw something shine light on the floor. Shin recognized what it was and was surprised. There was rubble from the collapsed floor of the building all around so he was really surprised to find it. It was the arm of Webber that he had cut off and attached to it... was his Player Watch. Like his own, a Player Watch would display a team's mission assigned to them by God and sometimes important details of a mission, or Mission World.

Shin: "...Now I'm curious. I wonder just what their mission here is besides hunting us down? It could help us down the line as well."

Convincing himself so Shin checked Webber's Player Watch to see Team Germany's Mission from God in the World of Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island.

GOD'S MISSION

HUNTER X HUNTER - GREED ISLAND, THIRTEEN MAN MISSION.

MODIFIED STORY PLOT.

TEAM BATTLE.

MAIN QUEST: The Mission.

Objective: Once all 100 Designated Pocket Cards are collected by one individual's binder the doors to the capital city of Greed Island, Limeiro will open. Infiltrate the capital city and assassinate List and Dwun and retrieve the game data of Greed Island on their person. If after the Main Quest is complete and Team Germany has collected the 100 Designated Pocket Cards, each surviving Player with a G.I Ring can take one Designated Slot Cards back as a free Item Exchange without having to collect the Cards themselves. TIME LIMIT - 30 DAYS.

Basic Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

Team Battle Reward: 1000 Points. This reward is only given to players that have not ended in a Negative Score.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Orientation - The first Player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges, and how to return home. 100 Points

2\. Card Collection - Collecting a Designated Slot Card. No points will be given for repeats or if another member of the team has already acquired it once. 10 Points.

3\. Card 000 - Winning the Designated Card "Ruler's Blessing" during the endgame quiz. 1500 Points and D rank reward. The side quest #2, Card Collection is not applied to winning "Rulers Blessing".

4\. The Bomber - Defeating the Bomber, Genthru. Rewards 4000 Points and two C rank rewards. Rewards every other Player 2000 Points and D rank reward.

5\. Enemy Team KILL - Killing a normal member of another team. Awards 2000 Points and C rank reward.

6\. GC Enemy KILL - Killing a member of another team who has unlocked the Genetic Constraint. Awards 7000 points and B rank reward.

7\. Total KILL - The killing of the entire enemy team, not counting Penalty 'D-Zero'. Every member will be awarded a C rank reward.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 for a Player killing a Newbie Player of their own team. A New Player is a New Player till they start their second Mission.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. D-ZERO Version 2 - Any player with 0 or negative points at the end of a mission, after all calculations are finished, will be killed, no exception. Those unable to pay a D rank reward for failing the Main Quest will be killed.

4\. Death Roulette - When a member of your team with a G.I Ring and card binder is killed, ten random Designated Card Slots from that player's binder will be awarded to the killer's binder. The rest will be transferred to an ally binder's card slots if vacant. If all three ring/binder holders are killed, the mission will immediately end and all surviving team members will be killed.

5\. Point CASUALTIES - Killing a member of the other team will give your team Positive 1 Point. The death of an ally team member will give your team Negative 1 Point. At the end of the mission these points will be multiplied by 2000 and every living team member will be awarded or deducted points equal to the factored score.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Mission Information.

1\. Only three members of Team Germany can wear a G.I Ring, allowing the use of binders [Book] and cards [Gain and On]. All three must be chosen at Starting Point with Eeta and once a ring is worn, it can't be taken off, traded or stolen. In the event that the hand/arm is cut off and the wearer is still alive, the G.I Ring will return to the owner as a spellbound item.

2\. Killing another party will allow you to gain their Designated Slot Cards and half the cards in their Free Slot Zone.

3\. Team Japan will appear before Team Germany. Team Germany will appear once 80 or more of the Designated Slot Card are in the hands of one person, group, or organization on Greed Island. Team Germany will also automatically appear on Day Sixty-One of the mission.


	136. Chapter 136

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 25, HxH Greed Island

One hour after the first battle with Team Germany.

The city of Masadora was in a state of ruin. The first incident caused by Bomber, real name Genthru, resulted in massive casualties and the destruction of the city by more than 50%. The latest incident to take place in Masadora sealed its fate. The battle between Team Japan and Team Germany was too fierce. Their battles claimed the lives of many and flooded a good part of the city in molten lava that was still burning even now. As a result, all of players of Greed Island who stayed in the city after the Bomber incident left for good. Additionally, the NPC that gave out quest for Cards were nowhere to be seen.

Shin: (Wow, we really ruined the game Greed Island. Team Japan is not as responsible as Genthru or Team Germany, but we definitely had our part in this.)

Shin and his comrades were marveling at destruction of Masadora of their own construction from a roof top of a city building. Shin, Hikari, Connor, Kisara and Renji had regrouped after the first battle against Team Germany. They were all alive and were currently resting up for the next battle as they were sure that there was going to be another battle soon. Team Japan and Team Germany had engaged in one battle so far and neither side had lost any lives, but by no means was the battle a tie like the enemy Adam of Team Germany tired to claim it to be before he left with his three critically wounded comrades.

Connor had repelled Adam, an unlocked member and magic swordsman of Team Germany. Although in the end Connor couldn't take Adam's life to contribute to the Team Battle, he was sure that he had critically injured him. Of course, Connor and the others, having heard of the battle considered the possibility that Adam might have a powerful survival ability as he was hit with a barrage of bullets and still had enough energy to rescue his comrades, it was still clear as day that Connor won their battle.

With some difficulty on his part, Shin dominated the battle against three of Team Germany members; Webber the Bane enhancer and Earthbender, Kurt the fire magician, and Lutz the team's healer. Shin nearly died from their powerful enhancements and combination attacks, but Shin overpowered the three in the end. Adam, having escaped from Connor, managed to rescue and escaped with his comrades. Shin wasn't that disappointed even though he didn't get any kills. Shin had forced Team Germany's healer Lutz to restore him to full health and hand over information about his abilities.

Shin: "And then there's Hikari, Kisara, and Renji. They never even entered the battle. Connor and I are basically unharmed, but the same definitely can't be said of Team Germany. All four of them were critically injured to various degrees, so they won't think that they had tied, much less won. They lost far more than they gained from this exchange."

Hikari: "I agree. Also, they basically got defeated by just two members of our team. Haha, the fools! I bet they are scared that we may have more forces hidden somewhere on the island... but they'll still come here to finish us off thanks to your provocations, Shin. You really do have a talent to piss off girls."

Shin: "What does Team Germany leader's gender have to... no, that isn't important. In any case it did seem like they really want to kill me. They'll come for my head and that will be there downfall. As long as the five of us resist, then it will give the others the chance to attack Team Germany's base. Their Newbies, injured members resting, and those staying to protect them... they'll all die today!"

I was certain of this and the others held a similar belief. It was both a belief that our comrades won't let us down... and a belief where we couldn't afford for them to fail. In any case, we were more positive about our victory than our defeat. Especially Renji. Tightly grasping his Chinese sword in his hands he looked the most positive out of all of us. It was a characteristic of his. He was a bullied kid in school, yet after being surrounded by friends he could trust he naturally became a bright kid. He didn't have Kisara's combat potential as a fellow Newbie, yet just his presence had become something vital to Team Japan.

Renji: "That's right, but we shouldn't just passively defend leader. We should kill a few of them if we have the chance."

Shin: "Well, aren't you ready for a fight? Your spirit is a good thing, but just focus on protecting Hikari. After fighting the enemy I can confidently say that you wouldn't last five seconds against even their weakest member, but at the very least you can use your life to take an attack for Hikari."

Renji: "Why are you assuming that I'll die!?"

Kisara: "Why would you assume that you'll survive? A small difference of strength can make all the difference in a battle, and you and our enemy have a difference in power that is like day and night. Just look out there. What can you don't against someone who flooded a city in lava?"

Renji: "...I can run. My grandma would always praise my ability to run away from danger."

Shin: "Enough about your grandmother."

Shin then turned away from Renji and the others and looked into the distance towards a certain city.

Dorias.

It was the city that Team Japan agreed to meet up with Genthru. Genthru had threatened us to meet him to hand over our Cards and by herself, Aqua volunteered to meet him and fight him alone. There were reasons behind this, but Shin couldn't remember any of them as he thought about Aqua's safety. It had been a while since Aqua departed alone to meet Genthru in Dorias. Their battle should have begun by now, and hearing no notification from God about her victory or defeat worried Shin to no end.

Shin: "...Hikari, could you check the situation in South for me?"

Hikari: "South? Aqua, huh... Okay! I'll look to see how Aqua is-"

Connor: "Hold off on that. The enemy is approaching!"

Connor who had been silent this whole time and surveying the skies was right. A ball of light from a transportation Spell Card was flying towards Magic City of Masadora at a fast speed and would land in a few minutes. They were still a ways away, but Connor with eyes reinforced with Demonic Energy, and then with Hikari's Persona both confirmed this. Like Shin wanted it looked like Team Germany had taken the bait to come after his team, but all too soon the realization that another struggle of life and death was approaching made it impossible for him to feel glad.

Shin: "This is it! Hikari, Renji, and Kisara move to another building across the street and hide. Hikari, can you mask yourself from their Psyche Force user with your Persona?"

Hikari: "I can try, but I don't have the confidence to do so if we all split up."

Shin: "Then just mask the three of you. It doesn't matter if the enemy spots us. Remember you are not to engage the enemy. If they find you use smoke grenades to runway under cover of the smoke towards one of Jin's spies to escape. Don't engage, but if it's impossible to escape just support from the back. Leave fighting on the front lines to Kisara and Renji."

Hikari: "Will do."

Shin: "Connor, move to the outskirts of the city and ready long range sniping. If they enemy approaches you then feel free to fire and I'll back you up with sneak attacks."

Connor: "Understood."

With everything said they separated. Hikari, guarded by Renji and Kisara by her side, left to find shelter and hide. Connor, using the C-Class Trigger, transformed into his Trion Body and escaped towards the outskirts of Magic City Masadora. Shin now alone ran forward towards the center of the city using himself as bait. Team Germany seemed to be obsessed with him, and so Shin wanted to use that obsession to draw them away from Hikari, Renji, and Kisara, and at the same time create an opening for Connor to snipe the enemy.

The first battle was just to gain Team Germany's attention, but this battle was the real deal. His comrades in the secondary attack group would be moving in to attack the enemy base to acquire Team Battle Points, and that was his job as well. To wipe Team Germany out, or gain enough points to negate the -5 Team Battle Points sustained from the Battle with Razor.

Shin reminded himself on last time that he felt an immense pressure weighing down on him. Without even seeing it Shin knew that Team Germany, with a greater force than before touched down within the city of Masadora. Then a few seconds later Shin felt a foreign set of eyes on him which felt similar Hikari's own Persona scans.

Shin: "This feeling of being watched is stronger than before. Team Germany's Psyche Force user really came! This will make it easier for the other to launch an attack if he's preoccupied with chasing us. Now... it's all about staying alive."

Shin then ran towards the source of danger, but made sure to not get too close as he didn't believe he can come out alive in a reckless frontal assault. Shin would much rather draw in the enemy while staying on the defensive, and when Connor begins his attack he would use that chaos to claim a few of the enemy member's lives. That was Shin's plan... but not the enemies. As Shin waited for a response from Team Germany he felt a strong vibration underneath his feet. Shin looked down and could now see expanding cracks across the city streets. Shin didn't know what was going on, so he entered Unlocked Mode to prepare for anything, but it wasn't good enough.

Webber: "Japanese monkey boss! You weakling that only knows how to run and fight cowardly. What are you waiting for! Hurry up and come down!"

Two large hands, one mutated rough hand another that looked fresh with no skin grabbed Shin's legs and with no way to resist was pulled down underground. Shin only had time to take out his magic sword from a Na Ring before he was dragged somewhere underground with no viable light.

Within an abandoned store of Masadora three members of Team Japan were sitting down of the floor and awaited good news from their comrades out fighting Team Japan. They were waiting in silence, yet one of them, Hikari who had stood up in a panic. What she discovered was not good news, but bad news.

Hikari: "This... this isn't good! The enemy is coming!"

Renji: "What's wrong? What's happening out there?"

Hikari who, in addition to masking hers, Renji, and Kisara's position with her Persona, was watching the city of Masadora and knew what was going on and began to tell her two comrades. Hikari witnessed as Shin was pulled down underground by the giant of Team Germany, Webber. If that wasn't bad enough the other members of the enemy Team were searching for their location following the directions of their Psyche Force user. Hikari had masked their location with her Persona and was sure that the enemy didn't know exactly where they, but with only so many places to hide and being led by someone with the ability to search wide areas, Team Germany were coming closer and closer to their hiding spot.

Renji: "Is.. is leader and Connor dead?"

Hikari: "No. Nothing of the sort. Shin will be fine. There's also been no notification from God. Shin, he's a useless otaku, but he's strong. He'll come back once he is done with that giant. The enemy is also ignoring Connor for the moment, so he's okay as well. The problem is us. Any minute now the enemy will find us and there will be a battle. We have to prepare."

Kisara: "Then we'll follow Shin's advice. We'll protect you Hikari as best we can and try to put some distance between us and try to escape Masadora. We just have to buy some time for Shin to come back... I'll try to do something as well, so even if it means leaving me behind... please runaway."

Hikari and Renji couldn't believe what Kisara is asking of them, but she was resolute in her decision. Even though she was a Newbie, she held the greatest combat strength in the group. Hikari could use a handgun with proficiency and Renji had become somewhat able with the Chinese sword picked up from the first day of the mission, but if a battle broke against Team Germany's enhanced warriors only Kisara's Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu would allow her any hope of competing with them, or at the very least stall them. As the strongest member present and the duty to protect Team Japan's support member Kisara knew if it came down to it, her ability would be her give the time needed for Hikari and Renji to escape.

Kisara: "Renji, once the enemy breaks in take Hikari away. I'll hold off Team Germany."

Renji: "Wait, I wasn't raised to leave a girl to fight alone! I'll-"

Kisara: "Your job is to protect Hikari! You promised Shin, right? Then keep your promise."

Renji: "But-"

Hikari: "Sorry, but we're out of time. They're here!"

Just as Hikari gave that warning the wall of the building they were hiding in was smashed through. Debris and dust filled the store and once the dust began to thin Hikari, Renji, Kisara could see the enemy. One young girl and two men in the 20's.

Standing up front was a skinny white man with his fist extended. The man didn't look like anything special and had an underwhelming appearance... with the exception of two arms with green skin and arms thick as tree trunks. Behind him was an intelligent looking man with a metal helmet over his head looking over towards Hikari and her Persona Adrasteia with interest. Next to him was the young woman in her early teens and despite looking like the weakest person present having a sickly appearance... those with a high enough level of strength knew not to assume that she was weak. In fact, the girl who held a confident and prideful expression on her face was the strongest person in the room.

Abigail: "There they are. Took some time for Erwin to track them down. Also, Klaus, couldn't you have held back a little. It would be too boring if your punch caused the building collapsed on top on them. I want to capture them. That way we can distribute the points the and rewards however we want, or in case Webber can't finish off their leader and he comes running back... we can execute them right in front of him!"

Klaus: "Wow, that's just... you're far scarier than me. I shouldn't be the one called Team Germany's rage monster."

Abigail: "Shut it! Anyway... that's a Persona, huh? Pretty cool. Much flashier than your Psyche Force skills Erwin. Do you think that she can brainwash us?"

Erwin: "No need to worry. I'm properly protecting us. Also, I won't be outdone by her. As long as I'm wearing the Magneto's Helm I'm 100% immune to her mental attacks."

Abigail: "Good. Then Erwin. Klaus. Capture-"

Abigail was about to give the order to restrain the three seemingly helpless members of Team Japan in a corner of the store, but their carelessness lead to a counter attack. Kisara using Zetsu and showing no signs of moving disappeared from their sights and immediately reappeared by their side. The peerless beauty swiftly passed by Klaus before he could react and she drew her sword towards Team Germany's leader Abigail. Abigail saw Kisara at the last minute and readied herself, but Kisara's next action took her by surprise.

Kisara: "Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Ryutsuisen (Dragon Hammer Flash)!"

Kisara jumped high towards the ceiling and jumped back down using the ceiling as a platform. With the momentum of the fall/jump Kisara with two hands slashed down her katana towards Abigail's head in a flash. If Shin had seen this he would have called doubt when Kisara said the real world Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu wasn't as ridiculous as the Manga version, but Kisara would argue that it wasn't that abnormal of a technique. Using bizarre movements while moving at high speed looked ridiculous from the outside, but for the person she's about to cut would be confused and wouldn't know how to react.

Abigail: "Wow!"

Abigail took a step back to avoid Kisara's downward slash, but she was off balance. Kisara landed and continued her attack with a sword slash towards Abigail's neck. Kisara felt that despite the feeling of danger Abugail wasn't that physically strong and would use this chance to take her head. Kisara was confident that she could do this before Abigail's allies could help her, yet-

\- *CLINK*!

Kisara's katana met Abigail's hand unexpectedly and was repelled. This left Kisara speechless. Not just because Abigail's hand flash before it repelled her sword and that there was a metallic sound, but because Abigail reacted at all. Kisara was certain that her last two attacks should have cut Team Germany's leader with her level of fitness that was less than even Hikari's, yet the enemy still managed to avoid her attacks. Kisara could only come to the conclusion that despite her speed and irregular attacks Abigail held an extremely high Reaction Speed to react immediately like she did.

Abigail: "Bitch!"

Kisara: "!"

Abigail's right hand glowed with a deadly light and in a swing motion slashed at Kisara. Kisara didn't know what Abigail had planned, but her instincts as a swords forced her to the ground. A thin string of light was released from Abigail's hand. Kisara ducked down in time to avoid it and the string of light slashed through the walls of the store they were in. Abigail was then about to attack again, but-

Abigail: "Erwin! Below!"

Abigail warned Erwin who was Kisara's next target. Kisara felt that she couldn't defeat Abigail. Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu relied on speed, but more so than its ability to read the opponent's next action. Kisara felt that she was physically stronger than Abigail, yet her opponent held a much higher Reaction Speed and lost in observation skills. Add in that Abigail held a special ability and comrades present, Kisara accepted that she wouldn't make it out alive. That's why Kisara at the very least would take out the weakest enemy present Erwin. Low to the ground Kisara rolled forward towards Erwin and when she was right before him she slashed at him.

Kisara: "Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Ryushosen (Dragon Soaring Flash)!"

Rising to the ground with her arm against the blade for additional force Kisarsa aimed her katana at the jaw of Erwin. Erwin as a pure support role member of Team Germany wasn't a fighter and was helpless against Kisara's ruthless sword slash, but unfortunately a comrade arrived in time and blocked the sword with his green arm.

Klaus: "Not so fast little girl! That's a dangerous weapon you know."

\- *BREAK*!

The top half of Kisara's katana flew through the air as Klaus stepped in between Kisara and Erwin. Klaus, with eyes dyed in chaos and bloodlust had blocked Kisara sword slash with his exposed arm and the collision of the two broke the sword and the rebound almost made her almost drop what remained of the sword. Kisara began to finally despair as she couldn't believe how a living person's flesh could feel as if she was slashing at reinforced steel.

Kisara had confidence in her strength even as a girl, but what was it good for against someone with enhancements like Klaus. The sword can cut through all of creation is a belief that all swordsman including herself believe, yet even with godly techniques there is a minimal requirement of physical strength needed behind a sword swing to cut through flesh and bone, and much more for steal... Kisara didn't possess such strength, much less godly sword technique, so the result was-

Abigail: "What the hell do you think you're doing, bitch? Are you trying to kill us?!"

Kisara: "Kyaaa!"

Abigail, catching up to Kisara, kicked her hard in the back and sent her crashing into the floor and then sat on top of her and restrained her arms and feet with a shining white piece of string. Abigail just wanted to kill Kisara for the stunt she pulled, but she wanted her as a valuable hostage, a source of information, or maybe plaything depending on her mood. Still, Abigail looked clearly upset for some reason and Kisara looked satisfied despite her own situation.

Abigail: "Klaus, the other two ran away during the time it took to restrain her. Can you locate them?"

Klaus: "...Yes, but I can do more than that. It seems the girl Psyche Force user can't keep her support type Persona out while moving. Just wait a minute and they'll be back."

Abigail and Klaus didn't question Erwin and just patiently waited for something. Kisara was glad that her actions gave her comrades a chance to escape, but this eerie calm made her worried... and after a minute passed her heart sank. Hikari and Renji during the commotion Kisara made exited through the back door of the building and one minute later, like Erwin promised, the two of them had returned. Hikari had a shocked, confused, and betrayed look on her face as Renji with his sword pointed behind her back lead her back within the building. Kisara and Hikari herself couldn't believe what was happening.

Hikari: "Renji... Renji you bastard! Are you crazy? Do you think they will let you live if you kill me!? Impossible! They will just kill you. Hell, I'll kill you for this, or I'll have Shin kill you later. Your choice! Hey, I know that you can... Renji?"

Hikari kept calling out to Renji, but he didn't respond. Renji's eyes were filled with pain. His whole body was shivering, but that sword in his hands was fixed on Hikari's back and never wavered. Abigail smiled to herself and had everyone leave the store and into the open air. Klaus carried the restrained Kisara with one hand with ease and Abigail and Erwin walked alongside the captured Hikari and Renji without worry.

Erwin: "Now that her Persona isn't present it's easier take control of Team Japan's members, but we were lucky. The girl samurai here must have undergone mental training, so I can't control her. The Psyche Force girl seemed to have enhanced her mental capacity, so it's not easy to control her either. So I can only control the youth next to him. Sorry leader, but if you want to keep them alive you'll have to restrain the girl there as well."

Abigail: "No, you did a good job, Erwin. Anyway, we can kill them now, but I'm worried about their leader not having shown up yet. There's been no notification of his death, or Webber's death. Their leader should have been turned into ground meat by now as Webber's close combat is only second to Klaus here and they're in a confined space. I'm worried. There's also the gunner that fought Adam who has not appeared yet."

Klaus: "You worry too much leader. Team Japan is only so much. We can-"

Before he finished talking, they heard a huge impact and beastly shout from the distance. Abigail ordered Erwin to see what it was, but there was no need as several seconds later, two people appeared out on the street. One was Shin and the other was Webber. Shin's had entered the Second Stage of the Unlocked Mode by now. His face was full of blood, his muscles were all puffed up, and his hand was grabbing onto the giant Webber's neck and four blood red Kagune tentacles had dug into the four joints of his limbs as well.

Webber was still alive and attempted to struggle for freedom, but the sound of bones being snapped ended this last struggle. Webber's body lost all strength. Shin's face was covered in blood and looked calm having just broken the giant's neck, yet his eyes, one black with a red pupil, told another story altogether. Shin spit blood in his mouth that did not belong to him and held a sword next to the giant's neck to show that his life and death was for him to decide.

Shin: "I know you have a healer in your team. Your team can regrow an arm even after I cut his off once before and I've experienced his healing spells personally. I only snapped his neck... he's still alive, but can't last much longer. Let go of Renji, Hikari, and Kisara, and let them leave! Then the four of us can battle it out on your terms, take him away so your healer can save him... or we'll trade losses! Choose!


	137. Chapter 137

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 26, HxH Greed Island

Previously, when Shin had went ahead to confront Team Germany in the city of Masadora he fell into a trap. From underground, Webber, the Bane Mutation, Earthbender, and giant of Team Germany, snuck up on Shin and dragged him underground before he could react. When Shin could finally free himself from Webber's clutches, he found himself in a pitch black man made cave underground forged by Earthbending. Shin needed to concentrate Ki around his eyes to increase his perception just to see, yet it was far from perfect.

Webber: "You ready for round two Jap!? Your cowardly attacks won't work again! Ahahaha!"

Webber already souped up by the fluids running through the tubes across his body yelled loudly as he summoned the earth around him into a makeshift armor. His large body, except for his joints, was now covered in heavy stones that would immobilize the strongest of men, yet as Webber charged towards Shin his speed didn't seem to be hindered in the slightest. Webber's stone armored hand swung down to smash Shin's head.

Shin, already in the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint, dodged to the side and retaliated with Gravity Sword with an increased weight slash, but to his surprise he couldn't cut through Webber's stone armor. Webber unhindered swung his arms around to hit Shin, but using Instant Movement he retreated backwards to avoid any damage. Instant Movement allowed Shin to overwhelm those like Webber who relied on just physical power, but in a cramped space like the self-made cave Webber could easily catch up to him.

When they were in the dark cave, due to the lack of light, he didn't receive much damage. The giant's strikes were extremely powerful, especially his hands with the added power of his stone armor which could crush the wall into powder with just a punch... but aside from power, his senses, vision, and control over his power were weak. During the initial clash of offense, defense and retreat only a few of his punches scratched Shin, with most of them missing. Though these few grazes still knocked Shin to the wall. When one side's power overwhelms by too much, all techniques can become useless as a wise man once said.

Shin didn't get too close to the Webber afterwards and used his superior speed and magic sword to attack from the sides. After increasing the weight of Gravity Blade to the limit without sacrificing speed and reinforcing the blade with Ki, after a few slashes the Webber's body was painted with cuts having penetrating through the stone armor and flesh. Several of his tendons were cut off and if it wasn't for fear of the extreme strength, Shin would have probably gotten his magic sword into the giant's heart.

Webber was being pushed back by Shin's attacks despite this having a environment that gave himself the best advantage... but he wasn't an idiot. After several sword slashes he knew he would die if he continued like this. Unable to hit his target while receiving cuts little by little the glooming realization made him shout with the insanity of a savage beast. Webber ignored everything, his own injuries and better judgement and charged at Shin, letting his black dyed magic sword stab into his stomach and cut his intestines in half. But at the same time he also got a hold of Shin and enclosed his body in his arms. Shin struggled in Webber hug, but his strength was too overwhelming.

Webber: "You can't keep running anymore, right Jap! You Japanese monkey! Break free and try to run again if you think you are really a monkey! Just become ground meat! Weaklings that only knows how to run should die!"

With that the pressure on Shin's body was magnified by several folds. Shin could hear the sound of his own bones fracturing from the bear hug attempting to smash/bisect him in two. Drowning on his own blood, Shin began screaming like mad and spitting up blood. The near death sensation fell upon him. This wasn't the first time he really experienced this sensation since he entered the mission, but he was worried that it was going to be his last. The power coming from Webber's arms were too strong that even though activating his Ki, Silver Dragon Scales, and wearing the Lesser Fenrir Coat kept him alive, but it wasn't able to help him escape. If he let this continue, it won't take more than ten seconds before he gets crushed, and it was at this time he heard the dignified and rigid voice of God.

-QUEST REWARD 4, DEFEAT THE BOMBER, GENTHRU - REWARDS 4000 POINTS AND 2C RANK REWARDS. EVERY OTHER PLAYER OF TEAM JAPAN ACQUIRED 2000 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Shin: (Bomber... then Aqua did it!)

Hearing this message of Aqua's success and that she was still alive gave him no small amount of relief and renewed hope. Since the time Aqua left alone to face Genthru there's been a bottomless hole in the pit of his stomach. Was she alive? Was she hurt? Did she need back up, but stubbornly chose not to? Such thoughts kept Shin on edge more than his battles with Team Germany... so just receiving one sign that Aqua was alive rejuvenated his spirit like no magic spell could ever hope to.

Shin: (I can't die! After going through so many dangers... knowing that Aqua's alive and that my comrades need me... how I can die here?!)

Filled with renewed hope and bloodlust towards the enemy holding him back, Shin opened his mouth and bit the giant's shoulder, devour Webber's tough flesh and bone. A taste of blood rushed into his throat. He felt a violent and blood thirsty emotion surfaced from within. His genetic constraint finally unlocked again at this crucial moment and entered the Second Stage. Shin's muscles began convulsing, two seconds later his muscles puffed up three times there norms. This was the symbol of the Second Stage, the ability to control his body at will and unleashing all its potentials.

In this form Shin held the highest strength, but it didn't end there. After unintentionally swallowing Webber flesh and it reaching his stomach a new found strength swelled up from his core and felt alive. As if he never noticed how desperately his body was starving for something, and now finally feeding on this something every cell in his body resonated with newfound energy. Shin's injuries began to heal, his stamina recovered, and overall strength grew as well. The feeling of euphoria was too much for Shin as he even ignored the next notification from God.

\- SPECIAL ABILITY TRAIT UNLOCKED. BY POSSESSING A MUTATION OR ABILITY THAT ALLOWS ONE TO CONSUME THE BLOOD, FLESH, ENERGY, OR THE SOUL OF ANOTHER ORGANISM, STATS MAY BE INCREASED AND POSSIBILITY OF ACQUIRING ABILITIES FROM THE DEVOURED. TO EFFECTIVELY INCREASE ONE'S POWER WITH THIS METHOD AN INDIVIDUAL MUST SEEK OUT STRONGER AND A WIDE VARIETY OF ORGANISMS WITH SPECIAL POWERS FOR GREATER INCREASES IN STRENGTH. DEVOURING A NORMAL OR INFERIOR ORGANISM WILL ONLY RECOVER STAMINA, WITH NO INCREASES TO STATS OR SPECIAL ABILITIES.

\- AS A ONE-EYED GHOUL, YOU'VE DEVOURERED THE FLESH OF A SPECIAL ORGANISM! MUSCLE DENSITY+100, CELL VITALITY+30, IMMUNIZATION STRENGTH+50!

Webber: "Ghaaa! Go to hell Japanese monkey!"

Shin: "Fucking racist! You go to hell steroid junky!"

Webber was still yelling, but before he could say another word, a huge force emerged from within his arms and knocked him to the far off cave wall. Shin now freed look over towards Webber with a primal bloodlust filling his body. For some reason, Shin wanted to drink his blood, eat flesh, and chew on bone. As soon as he knocked Webber away, he jumped at the giant. The two huge powers clashed into each other. Endless combat instincts streamed into Shin's head from Unlocked Mode. When his hands clashed with the giant's, he kicked the ground and jumped over to Minima's back, which twisted Minima's arms then... pah! His arms snapped. Webber let out a scream and then Shin knocked him to the floor of the cave and snapped both his legs as well.

It still wasn't over as Webber used his stone armor as a proxy to control and move his body, yet Shin gave him no chance to recover. Shin released four blood red Kagune tentacles brighter than ever before and, further strengthened by Silver Dragon Scales, flew towards the Helpless giant four limbs. Each tentacle stabbed straight through the stone armor, gouged into flesh, and stabbed bone. Shin looking down at Webber unexpectedly laughed seeing as he recreated a popular scene from Tokyo Ghouls, but unfortunately he didn't have the time to reenacted the scene to completion. Shin's Kagune lifted Webber up into the air, taking full control over his life, and kept slamming his body against the cave ceiling till a hole to the surface was made. With each time Webber was slammed against the cave wall he screamed, yet Shin showed indifference to it.

Shin: "Thanks for being a useful wrecking ball. Let's go!"

Saying so Shin still holding on to Webber jumped to the surface and ran back to his comrades... but not without first calling a comrade.

Shin: "I know you have a healer in your team. Your team can regrow an arm even after I cut his off once before and I've experienced his healing spells personally. I only snapped his neck... he's still alive, but can't last much longer. Let go of Renji, Hikari, and Kisara, and let them leave! Then the four of us can battle it out on your terms, take him away so your healer can save him... or we'll trade losses! Choose!

Team Japan's leader Shin yelled out his demands. He was fine with fighting them here, or allowing them to take measures to save Webber, but his main priority was saving his comrades. Kisara was being restrained by Klaus and Renji seemingly under some kind of spell held a sword pointed at Hikari's back. It wouldn't even take one wrong move for everyone present to end up dead... and Shin wouldn't have that.

On Team Germany's side most of them were in a panic. With the exception of Abigail who didn't seem to care if Webber died by Shin's hands and just wanted to kill Shin and his comrades, Klaus and Erwin cared very deeply about his death. Not because they thought of Webber as a friend, he was just a professional colleague and was a racist of a man, but his death meant a -1 Team Battle Point.

Of course, if they kill Shin's captured comrades then -1 point wouldn't mean very much, but looking at Shin who had clearly entered the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint... they wouldn't dare believe that it would end with just only one side receiving casualties. If Abigail ignored the enemy leader's demand for negotiating then at best just one of the seven individuals present standing on the street of Masadora would leave alive. The next move was Abigail's decision. She looked at Shin with both interest and contempt at the man in front of him. She was a noble lady of Mass Enlightenment, yet a commoner like Shin was making threats, so she felt offended at him talking back.

Abigail: "The leader of Team Japan in the flesh. You've also reached the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode like in the reports and you even have high level of enhancements and magic gear. No wonder those three couldn't take you out earlier. Fuck, they weren't that much different than you in Exchanges cost and had you outnumbered... they're all trash! Hey, Erwin, have that kid there read out their mission."

On that order Erwin ordered Renji to move. Renji's body trembled then his voice forced through his mouth. Shin seeing this felt intense hatred seeing his good natured comrade and friend being manipulated. Shin had to use all of his self-control to not just rip off all of their heads off. Renji moved slightly away from Hikari and approached Abigail following his orders.

Renji: "...Collect all 100 Designated Pocket Cards and reach Limerio."

Abigail: "...I see. Well, putting my own motivations to skin you the fuck alive for all the trouble that you've caused me... I have no reason to listen to your demands. Remember this Team Japan leader as the unspoken rule when two teams meet. If both teams are on the same level, then we will exchange information, such as how to survive a specific Mission Worlds or how to run away when the plot changes on you. That's just how it is. You can't provide us any information and nor are you in a position make any demands. Also, Team Japan's power is far less than my Team Germany! If the powers of two teams are unequal... Erwin!"

The Abigail shouted out her command and Shin watched as her right arm glowed and began to transform. Once the light died down what was once a human arm was replaced with a purple metallic arm of a robot. The metal arm looked foreign attached the body of a little girl like Abigail, yet it seemed perfectly natural to her, if not better than her own flesh and blood body. That metallic arm's finger tips than began to glow Abigail raised it over head in a chopping motion. Shin felt danger from the enemy leader's stance and moved to dodge... but he couldn't and felt that he lost control of his body.

Erwin: "Psyche Chain! Seal of Life!"

Erwin had casted a Psyche Force skill and crowd control magic spell with Shin as the target. Psyche Force Chain was a more powerful form of brainwashing with the added effect restricting the target's movements. Seal of Life was a magic spell to further restrict a target as it weakened the connection of the body of mind. Erwin aimed both at Shin, but was surprised that only one, Seal of Life, took effect. A blue magic formation appeared under Shin that weakened him, yet as Psyche Chain was used to take hold of his mind a silver aura wrapped around Shin and repelled the Psyche Force skill.

Shin was saved from one danger, but two more were still in effect. Shin had little control of his own body and Abigail's metallic arm from its finger tips released a white glowing string that sent shivers down his spine. The only thing left in Shin's mind was that death was looming in. Everything slowed down at this moment. Hikari looking over with tears in her eyes, Kisara looking ashamed at our own defeat and not being able to protect her comrades, and Renji in pain as his mind was being toyed with... and Abigail's attack coming closer and closer to slash him. Shin felt helpless, yet this moment in time inspired him.

Shin: (If the Second Stage of the Unlocked Mode gives absolute control over the body, does the nervous system counts as part of the body? When you unleash the nervous system's potentials, then your reaction speed will...)

Shin's whole body was violently convulsing. Because of the speed it was convulsing, everyone could only made out his figure, but his body and face became blurred. The world around him had slowed down to almost a standstill, yet his thoughts did not. Using the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode to push his reaction speed to the limit gave Shin the time to think before Abigail's attack hit him.

Shin needed to reverse the battle to his advantage, but first he must free himself from the magic spell binding him and at that time recalled such a method from his training sessions with the monk Sozin about Ki Energy. If one circulates a large amount of Ki, but only for a split second and emit that Ki outwardly it was possible to remove low level magic spells that restricted your moments. Shin had never tried this method before, but with no other choice then to try he did... and it worked! A burst of Ki Energy shot out from Shin's entire body in all directions and broke the magic formation under his feet.

Erwin: "I, I can't... I can't hold him with the Life Seal anymore!"

As Erwin finished his warning, Shin ducked down under Abigail's light string in a flash. Shin dodged the attack, but the cut on the side of his head told him that he had just barely avoided death. Another light string from the enemy's hand was released towards Shin... but the target wasn't him, it was the man still in his custody, Team Germany's Webber.

Shin couldn't tell if the light string was either meant to pull Webber to safety or to slash him in two so that Team Japan doesn't get the Team Battle Point for killing him, but whatever the case it was clear that negotiations had broken down for good. That's why Shin no longer hesitated to kill Webber. Through the weak point of the human body, the ear, Shin released a Hollow Bullet that traveled through the ear canal and Webber's head exploded just before Abigail's light string cut Webber in two.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 5, ENEMY TEAM KILL - 2000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -4.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -1.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Shin ignored the excitement in his heart to have finally started to reverse Team Japan's negative score and leaped towards Abigail. Abigail was upset that she couldn't kill Webber, but was more confused as Shin's body began to glow with a powerful silver magic aura. She couldn't guess what was coming, but the force of magic around her foe was similar to a tier A magic spell and feared such a possibility. Shin raised his right hand and extended it forward as if he was grasping something as he heard music and a rhyme replaying over and over again playing in his mind. The song kept going on and on until Shin felt compelled to say it out loud.

Shin: "【 Deceiving the night Beguiling the world The darkness that saves the girl of the endless night 】Holy Sword Switch!"

The trigger that will activate the magic was pulled. Upon doing that a silver sword born of magic appeared in Shin's hands. Shrouded by light was a shining silver sword of heroes. A sword of hypocrisy that resembles a sword that a hero carries into battle. However, part of the blade is fake, or was before. The actual range is shorter than even a knife and the true form of the magic resides in that short portion, but that was before. Now the two-handed sword can display its powers as an actual sword while also having a small dagger form as backup.

Passively, Holy Sword Switch protected Shin from nearly all forms of brainwashing such as when Erwin tried to take control of his mind with Psyche Force Chain. When active and the sword summoned the actual two-handed sword, once the sword is stabbed deep into the heart of anyone effected by magic or mind control, the sword silver will sever that alignment away... yet Abigail couldn't possibly know this. All she was a majestic holy sword appear in Shin's hands that radiated power.

Abigail then watched as Shin threw the silver magic sword towards her with all of his strength. Not understanding its true nature Abigail chose not challenge the holy sword and moved to the side and let the sword pass by her...towards the person directly behind her, Renji.

Renji still under control of Erwin and not given a command to move to the side couldn't avoid the silver holy sword stabbing into his chest... yet that was Shin's aim. To Abigail and the others shock the silver holy shrank to the size of a small dagger pierced just into his heart. From there a silver aura enveloped Renji which freed him from the Psyche Force brainwashing and a similar silver aura enveloped Erwin which caused him immense mental damage and he fell to the floor unconscious. Holy Sword Switch safety removes all forms of brainwashing from its targets, but under its description it never once said that it would sever the connection for the brainwasher peaceful.

Abigail: "Erwin! Fuck, Klaus, kill the two girls!"

Shin: "Hikari, smoke grenade!"

The two team leader gave out commands. As Shin went to attack Abigail with Gravity Blade to keep her distracted, with no longer a sword pointed at her back, Hikari acted as instructed and took out a smoke grenade in her pocket. Klaus was also following his orders as he moved green scaled hands to crush Hikari's head before crushing the killing his captive Kisara... but a few inches before he could reach her head something impacted his side.

A large Trion cannon ball fired from a distance blew Klaus away, saving Hikari and freed Kisara from his grasp. From the city outskirts, their savior Connor who had been ordered by Shin to take his shot when there was a opening was glad his attack hit, but was more so shocked that Klaus was still in one piece. Connor had just unleashed the high power Ibis Trigger to kill Klaus who was about to kill off Kisara and Hikari. The Ibis was Connor's most powerful weapon available and held the power to destroy even the most durable of heavily reinforced tanks, helicopters, and building as it was designed to destroy heavy armored Trion Soldiers, yet Klaus was only blown away and not killed.

Connor: "...Don't think too much about this fantasy nonsense. Just fire!"

At the same time as Hikari pulled the ring and throwing the smoke grenade and a thick white smoke began to fill up the area, Connor switched out his weapon. He switched to the less Trion consuming Trigger Eaglet, another shot was fired. Using the smoke screen to his advantage he planned to first pick off the unconscious Erwin, but a white flash was reflected from within the smoke and blocked the Trion Bullet.

It was then that two figures came rushing out of the smoke screen. One was Shin with a long cut down the right side of his body and Kagune released and carrying Hikari, Kisara, and an unconscious Renji away. The other was the lone figure of Abigail with a furious expression clear across her face. Abigail was never exactly a stunning girl, but her anger clearly seen on her face made whatever good looks she had fade. She now chose to go after the bigger threat of Team Japan's sniper than to finish off Shin and the others.

A light string pulled Abigail up a tall building and she now had the perfect view to spot Connor in the distance. There was a great distance between them, yet both were capable of striking each other at this range. Team Japan's sniper Connor had the same clear view as Abigail and he switched to the rapid fire Lightning Trigger and entering Unlocked Mode for higher skill and precision, he unleashed a barrage of shots at her. Each shot despite the distance and successive attacks were all aimed for the middle of the enemy chest, showcasing Connor's superb sniper talent. The multiple long range Trion bullets should have certainly kill Abigail, yet a light string floating around her blocked each shot of the enemy sniper.

Connor was stunned and had no more Trion to use after using the initially energy consuming Ibis and other Triggers. Shin also had his regular anti-material rifle in his Na Ring, so long distance combat was now impossible. Connor considered exiting the Trion Body and confronting Abigail at midrange with Demonic Power and handguns that he had on his person, but the enemy attacked first. A string of light swiftly closed distance between them, wrapped around, and severed Connor's right arm. Connor understanding that fighting Abigail wasn't possible now exited his Trion Body and his in the shadows of the city. Abigail considered going after the enemy sniper, but feeling that it could be a trap decided not to.

Abigail: "A substitute body! Was that a Trigger? He's a sniper so I want to get rid of him... but if Team Japan after all of this has more forces waiting to attack us its best to retreat. Besides, I already got one of them and it is only a matter of-"

Erwin: "Le-leader!"

Abigail: "Erwin? So you're your awake. Good, we're leaving. Is Klaus still alive after getting blasted away?"

Erwin: "...I'm terribly sorry, leader. Klaus is alive, but after getting my Psyche Force backfired on me my control over him is... he's gone crazy!"

Abigail: "Tch, then just get him back under control! It takes too much energy on my part to subdue Klaus alive when he goes berserk."

Erwin: "Sorry, but my head hurts too much. If I even try in my current state I'll go into a coma. Fuck, leader, his mind has fallen into madness… I can't control it! I can't suppress it anymore… if he continues, he will kill everything in his sight!"

Abigail: "...Then let him go mad. Just get out of his way and join up with me. We can see how much power Team Japan has if they can repel Klaus when he goes crazy. If he can kill every one of them here, then we will start the hunt, wipe out their team!"


	138. Chapter 138

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 27, HxH Greed Island

Shin, Hikari, Kisara, and Renji had escaped from Team Germany thanks to Connor's efforts supporting them with sniper fire. Shin, who had used three of his four Kagune tentacles to pick up and carry his comrades to safety was glad, but currently he was conflicted. His first instinct was to escape with his comrades away from Masadora, but as a leader he knew that they should stay.

There has not been any word or notification from God that the battle at Team Germany's base had begun. He, Hikari, Connor, Kisara, and Renji were supposed to be the bait to draw their attention away from the surprise attack on their base. It was a shame that more of Team Germany's members hadn't come to Masadora, yet they had lured out their leader, a powerful fighter who easily captured Kisara, and the all too important Psyche Force user who needed to be away for the surprise attack on the enemy base to have any chance of success.

There has yet to be any word, but if his comrades were about to launch their attack then Abigail, Klaus, and Erwin couldn't be allowed to return before the attack starts. That was why Shin was conflicted. His own group was not in a condition to keep fighting, but for the sake of the team's victory over Team Germany they had to endure for a bit longer... even if there was a good chance that someone would-

Hikari: "Shin!"

Shin: "Is it the enemy!?"

Hikari: "No... Renji is bleeding!"

Shin stopped running and looked over to confirm this and saw that it was true. Renji, was still being held by his Kagune like the others in case they needed to suddenly move, yet unlike the others a stream of blood was running down his body. Shin immediately released his comrades safely onto the ground and moved to Renji's side taking out a medical kit from a Na Ring. Shin examined Renji and found that there was a small hole cutting through his chest leaking blood. By its exact location... the wound was around the heart.

Shin: "Fuck! Renji might not be dead, but his heart by have been nicked. This is their leader's doing with that glowing string! Hikari, cast Water Spirit buff on Renji again! I don't have the tools to save him, so I'll give you a Spell Card for you take Renji and Kisara away. Contact Drebin after you're in a safe place since he won't appear if you're in a battle state. Use the points gained from defeating Bomber to buy a healing potion or whatever! Anyways, just save him!"

Hikari heard the serious in Shin's voice and immediately moved to Renji's side. She casted the Water Spirit magic buff that increased healing factors of the target by 150%, but there was no visible signs of Renji looking better even as the blue aura of the magic spell surrounded him. Hikari then proceeded to apply all of her magic buffs on Renji hoping for some kind of reaction. A rainbow veil of lights surrounded Renji and looked just a little less pale, but his condition was far from a complete recover.

Hikari: "He... Renji might be stable, but I don't-"

Kisara: "Renji is stable. I've been taught basic medal knowledge as a part of my sword training to know where to cut if I want to kill, disable, and even how to heal my own wounds if injured in a fight. I can tell this from his breathing, but I needed a closer look to-"

Shin: "Then what are you waiting for!?"

Kisara: "I would like to, but my hands and feet are tied... literally."

Shin: "Ah, sorry."

Shin had forgotten, but Kisara's hands and feet had been restrained by Abigail using some kind of special string or webbing that emitted a white light. He felt bad for yelling at Kisara like that and apologized to her before moving over to free her. Carefully Shin had used Gravity Blade to free Kisara and he took note of the light string. It was the very same string that Abigail used to slash at him and cut through his strong body and Silver Dragon Scales protecting when he was fighting Abigail. It was an incredibly sharp tool when he had fought the Team Germany leader, yet the string that was around Kisara's wrist and ankles was strong yet soft without edges.

Shin: (Just what is this ability? Strings that can be soft or sharp and robot hands... I can't make heads or tails of this ability.)

Shin was curious about this mystery, but now wasn't the time. He just watched as Kisara examined Renji. Kisara confirmed that Renji was going to die if he didn't receive emergency care and surgery, but he could hope to last another hour or more under Hikari's magic buffs. Shin and Hikari were relieved to hear this. As long as they could summon Drebin and buy healing goods for Renji he should make it. The only thing to worry about was whether or not Drebin would appear in time after being called.

Shin: "I can only hope for the best. BOOK! Hikari, here's an 'Accompany' Spell Card. Take it and go to safe city to call for Drebin."

Hikari: "What about you?"

Shin: "I'll stay to draw away Team Germany's attention. Now-"

Shin who saw that this wasn't this end for a teammate and about to see his team off to safety... when that hope was crushed with the appearance of a green giant of a man. From far across the city of Masadors a green monster had jumped clear across the city to land right above the head of Team Japan.

Shin felt an approaching danger from above and without wasting time to look up before releasing Kagune tentacles to swiftly grab his comrades and escape with Instant Movement. Escaping to safety, where they just stood was crushed underfoot by an enemy. The entire area shook as a green, extremely muscular, giant man stood where there was now a crater. Shin looked at the green giant with fear and rage and the green giant looked back Shin with madness and bloodlust.

Shin: "Fuck, give me a break! First Bane and now The Hulk! Is Superman going to fly down to Masadora to kick our asses next?!"

Putting aside Shin's ranting, he had guessed correctly about the enhancement of the green humanoid monster, Klaus, before him. Klaus was Team Germany's strongest close range fighter and possessed physical strength beyond even Webber was due to his genetic mutation.

A tier "Hulk Genetic Mutation".

The Hulk enhancement was one of the pure Muscle Density increasing Exchanges. The power gave Klaus the body of the Hulk. This came with immense physical strength, durability, near endless stamina, and resistance to most poisons. Additionally, its greatest feature was that the angrier Klaus becomes the stronger he becomes and his Muscle Density will temporarily increase by many folds.

This was the perfect enhancement for Klaus who despite acting rational most of the time had deep rooted anger issues which were only magnified after exchanging for the Hulk mutation. Also, Klaus was one of Team Germany's three members who had unlocked their constraint and he had reached the First Stage, so unlike Webber who only had power and some skill to his name, Klaus was a warrior with a good amount of control over his power and not just rampaging when skill was required.

Even when Klaus goes crazy like he currently was, he was still more of a warrior than a beast like his appearance would suggest. The First Stage additional gave him greater depth of power and understand of his enhancement. His power and rage were so great that Abigail had ordered Erwin to keep a constant mental lock on Klaus due to the danger that he presented to herself and her team... but still, it wasn't wrong to say that Klaus was Team Germany's trump card.

Klaus: "Hahahahahahaha! Me Klaus, time to smash!"

Shin wanted to say how retarded Klaus sounded, but before he could Klaus bent down, kicked off the ground with enough force to distort the very earth as if an earthquake hit the area, and jumped towards Shin with speed rivaling a bullet train. The green giant's power was real and frightening as his appearance. Instinctively, Shin was forced into the Second Stage of Unlocked facing down the green humanoid giant. Shin couldn't dodge in time still carrying his comrades with his Kagune... so the only thing he could do was throw them to the side and take the hit.

Shin: (Silver Dragon Scales!)

Shin used all what little that he had to defend as he channeled a large amount of Ki into Silver Dragon Scales for defense, but Klaus' charging giant body blew Shin away and into the air leaving behind a trail of blood. Propelled through the open skies and over buildings, Team Japan's leader traveled over half a mile and fell to the earth. Hikari and Kisara who witnessed this couldn't believe how a person could hold so much strength to tackle Shin aside where they couldn't even see his body land... but now they were about to experience this first hands as Klaus now looked towards the two defenseless girls.

Hikari took out a handgun she kept on her person and opened fire at Klaus... yet even before she opened fire she knew that it was a pointless action. Each bullet she fired just struck the green giants body, flattened on contact on that inhuman muscular body, and fell harmlessly to the earth. This scene, despite her time in God's Dimension of horrors and death was enough to drain the blood from her face and go pale.

Kisara by Hikari's side wasn't faring much better. Kisara without a weapon to even defend herself could only marvel in fear as how a living person could have muscles that didn't even allow bullets to bounce away with any power left over. Even steel would be dented or scratched if the full force of bullets didn't disperse after contact. The existence before her, Klaus with the Hulk Mutation denied everything that she knew about the human body and combat. Kisara couldn't even fathom how to confront such a monster.

Klaus looked down at the two girls with twisted glee and slowly began to extend his large and wide muscular arm towards them.

Klaus: "Don't worries. I'm kindest too girls. Gentle... I don't immediately turn them to red paste like men. Hahahaha!"

Hikari and Kisara could only watch as Klaus inched closer and closer. They didn't dare move out of both fear for the green humanoid giant mere presence, but also since it was pointless to run away seeing how fast Klaus was when he attacked Shin... That why they could only observe their final moments before death arrived for them, but it was then as Klaus was about to smash Hikari's body with his large hands when-

Renji: "Yaahhhhh!"

Klaus: "Ghaaaa!"

Renji who had regained consciousness after being thrown to safety by Shin alone with the others attacked Klaus. Renji didn't understand what was going on, but the pain of his dying body woke him up and cleared his head. Renji panicked when he saw the back of the strange green humanoid about to attack Hikari and Kisara, so picking up his Chinese sword from the ground he jumped towards Klaus.

Klaus in Unlocked Mode sensed something, a new threat behind him and turned around, but putting all of his Aura and soul behind his slash, Renji slashed out an eye and blinded the green giant. Klaus roared loudly in pain having one of his weak points cut out, but Renji in even worse condition threw up blood and clenching his chest having exerted himself too much. Klaus with just his now one eye looked down Renji sprawled out on the street floor with hatred and raised his foot. In great pain, Renji didn't bother to look at the enemy about to snuff out his life, yet instead looked towards the distance and towards a comrade running back to help.

Renji: "*Cough*, *Cough*, *Cough*! This is it leader... Sorry for causing you trouble earlier and pointing a sword at Hikari and messing things up. *Cough*... but I did good in the end, rig-"

\- *STOMP*!

Klaus stomped down his wide green foot on the fallen the Renji and smashed him deep into the ground. Nothing recognizable of a human being was left and there was just a pool of blood and smashed internal organs.

POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM JAPAN DIED. TEAM JAPAN -1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY +1 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -5.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: +0.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Shin: "Aaaahhhh!"

After being tackled head on by Klaus the green hulk monster, Shin was blown away clear across the city and smashed into the wall of the popular Spell Card Shop of Masadora. Shin was knocked unconscious after the impact, but woke up in severe pain after crashing through the wall of the store. Shin attempted to stand back up, but fell back to the floor and spat out blood. Needless to say he was critically injured after just one attack from Klaus.

Shin: "I... I have to get to the others... No choice, huh... Ahhhh!"

Shin screamed loud as he endured a burning pain throughout his body. In attempt to heal himself from his injuries sustained in battle Shin forced a high-speed recover through the One-eye Ghoul Mutation. It would allow one to recover from physical wounds and back to peak condition at the cost of stamina, Ki Energy, and the pain of reconstructing the body, but what Shin was currently going through was different.

Shin still needed Ki for a second round against the green hulk monster Klaus. That's why Shin accepted an even greater drain of physical stamina and pain to recover his body without Ki. It was more than possible to recover without Ki as it was originally an ability for ghouls and it worked, but Shin body felt as if it was both on fire and breaking down instead of the opposite. It was a pain comparable to the first time he had unlocked his Genetic Constraint, yet he steeled his mind to endure the pain as he couldn't afford to blackout now. The whole process took only ten seconds, but to Shin it had felt like an eternity, yet he was now back on his feet, unsteady as they were and ready to fight.

Shin: "*PANTING*... Fuck, round two fake Hulk!"

Shin ran out the Spell Card Shop at full speed while considering his options. He couldn't imagine safely escaping with his comrades long as Klaus was present. His power was unmatched, but his speed was not falling behind either. Shin himself could maybe hope to escape with Instant Movement, but not while carrying his comrades to safety. That's why-

Shin: "I'll fight. I don't know if I can defeat him with the one shot Spirit Wave, but even if I could I would be completely defenseless afterwards. If the rest of the enemy team joins in... I'll have to use that! Crimson Moon Formation!"

Loudly yelling out a strange name Shin channeled all of his Advance Ki into his magic armor, the Lesser Fenrir Coat.

Lesser Fenrir Coat.

Thin, flexible, dark armor with the shape of coat. Made from the fur and leather of a direct descendent of the monster wolf Fenrir. High durability and resistance to physical force, magic, spiritual attacks, and even Psyche Force. It was also a stellar item that passively increase stats and was one of Shin's most beloved exchanges. It was a first rate magic armor that had saved Shin's life more times than he could count, yet it was only till recently that he find its value as a true B tier magic equipment. A recent discovery as Shin was training in the Terminal Lobby showed him how to improve his defense to a much higher degree.

By channeling one-third of his Advance Ki Energy into the Lesser Fenrir Coat, he was shown a new layer to magic enhancements. It showed that some magic items were still alive. His coat constructed from the remains of a magic beast were semi-alive and would awaken when fed with enough energy. The coat didn't return 100% back to life as a magic wolf, but for thirty seconds the coat's abilities skyrocketed. The durability of the Lesser Fenrir Coat that would glow a crimson light could tank or reflect bullets from Connor's anti-material sniper rifle and his Sci-fi rifles with the exception of the Ibis Trigger. Also, Shin found that all his stats increased by 50% and in a dark area all stats would increase to 75%, finally allowing him to rival Aqua's stats.

This first class defensive power was born from just feeding one third of Advance Ki Energy. Two-thirds and the ability could last for a full minute. Poring all of one's Advance Ki Energy even showed a more spectacular performance, yet Shin found that it wasn't ready for live combat yet... but he didn't have much of a choice now. Shin needed to defeat the monster known as Klaus as soon as possible.

That's why Shin poured all of his Ki into the Lesser Fenrir Coat. The coat changed from a dark grey, to a shade of red, and further into a deep and dark crimson that reminds one of blood. The moon symbol on the back of the coat glowed white and at the same time an energy field wrapped around Shin's body. This was all proof of the ultimate power of the Lesser Fenrir Coat.

Shin called this form Crimson Moon Formation.

When one pours all of any B tier energy into the coat a change would occur and not just visually. There were three powerful effects that will appear. For one minute all of the wearer's stats would increase by 300%, and 500% under darkness conditions. All C tier and below skills could be used endlessly without the slightest Ki consumption. Lastly, but possibly the greatest ability was a defensive field.

A defensive energy field would wrap around the wearer and protect them from harm. It reflects most modern and sci-fi weapons, and weakens attacks from magic, spirits, and pure physical strength to a great degree. Shin didn't know the full strength of this shield and it certainly had more than a few defects, but what he did know was that as long as the defense field was active it was impossible to be killed and to face Klaus with the Hulk Mutation it was desperately needed.

Shin: "One minute. Just one minute, but in that time I'm invincible. Watch out-"

\- *STOMP*!

Time stopped for Shin as he looked forward. He watched Klaus still mutated as the hulk with a bloody left eye raise his foot over the Newbie and comrade Renji. Last Shin recalled Renji was unconscious and looked utterly helpless, yet now... he looked like a man with confidence. Shin could make out from the distance that Renji was looking over towards him and was saying something, but before he could process this Klaus used all of his strength to stomp down on Renji's body. Along with the sound of a splat and the earth shaking, Shin heard the notification from God that he most didn't want to hear. It was a confirmation of the death of a comrade.

Shin: "You monster!"

Shin entered the Second Stage. With enough force to shake the earth he kicked the ground and jumped towards Klaus with the fastest Instant Movement. Klaus saw Shin coming, but his speed far surpassed what he could hope to react to. Before Klaus knew it a fist as hard as a steel beam slammed deep into his chest that caused the green giant to take a step back. Klaus was surprised at Shin's new found strength, yet it wasn't something to be scared of, yet-

Shin: (Soul Crushing Strike!)

Soul Crushing Strike.

With the ultimate strength Shin could muster a fist that dealt both external and internal damage with Ki exploded in front of Klaus with a loud sonic boom. The external damage barely left a bruise, yet the internal damage ruthlessly began to destroy his insides. The internal damage stunned Klaus in place and splitting up blood, yet in no mindset to show mercy Shin continued to attack. One out the other and with rage in his heart Shin threw one punch after the other.

All Soul Crushing Strikes aimed to take his opponents life.

Shin: "Ahhhhhh!"

Klaus: "Ghaaaa!"

One Soul Crushing Strike.

Two Soul Crushing Strikes.

Four Soul Crushing Strikes.

Eight Soul Crushing Strikes.

Sixteen Soul Crushing Strikes.

Thirty-two Soul Crushing Strikes.

Sixty-four Crushing Strikes.

In the span of a few seconds more Ki attacks than either Shin or his foe could count landed on the hulk monster Klaus. Even with Advance Level Ki Shin normally couldn't release so many Ki skills or in such succession, yet in Crimson Moon Formation Shin could continuously deploy a C tier Skill like Soul Crushing Strike endlessly. Shin only had less than a minute left to act, so he didn't plan to hold back.

Klaus on the other end of Shin's attacks received terrible damage. Only because he had the Hulk Mutation with its strength and durability he was still alive, but if he let it continue even he would die. Klaus was too a warrior who had Unlocked his Constraint, so he endured his near fatal battle wounds and struck back. His large and powerful fist slammed into Shin and blew him back, but not only did was he not blown clear across the city like before, just a few feet back, but he recovered as if he wasn't injured in the slightest.

It was because of the barrier of the Crimson Moon Formation. At the moment of contact the translucent field around Shin protected Shin from most of the damage. The energy field around his body vibrated like it was going to shatter, but it held firm in the end. Still, Shin felt a part of his body was now numb as all the damage couldn't be blocked, yet he could still fight. Shin wouldn't allow himself to stop fighting till Klaus was dead and his enemy held the same attention.

Shin in the Second Stage with the Crimson Moon Formation.

Klaus in the First Stage with the ultimate strength of the berserker Hulk.

They charged towards each other and entered into a bloody brawl. Their fists kept striking each other and each time the ground shook. Soul Crushing Strike after Soul Crushing Strike landed on Klaus's muscular green body, yet his endurance endured. The large and rock hard fists of the giant kept striking Shin, yet the energy field with the addition of Silver Dragon Scales allowed him to hold firm.

One minute passed since the battle began and soon reached a conclusion.

Their battle ended in a draw.

Both Shin and Klaus fallen to their knees and glaring at each other were no longer able to move. Shin's Crimson Moon Formation expired and its side effects took effect. After Crimson Moon Formation fades the user's Ki Energy would be sealed for twenty-four hours. Shin still had his mutation to rely on, but it was far from a comfortable feeling, especially after getting a beating from the green hulk monster. Klaus was fairing even worse. His Hulk form reversed and he returned to his frail human form. Klaus' insides were all but destroyed and only his heart and brain were functional. Neither one of them had the strength to continue their intense battle, and-

Abigail: "Well, that was brutal! Muscle brain idiots! Now, it's time for the lead actor to arrive!"

It was a shrill voice that caused Shin's heart to sink even further after the death of Renji and bloody battle with Klaus. Shin with much difficulty looked up towards where the voice was coming from and discovered like he had feared Team Germany leader had choose this time to make an appearance. Abigail and besides her Erwin were standing on top of a nearby building and looking down at all of them.

Shin looking at them felt relieved that at least Erwin didn't look to well after receiving the backlash of having his Psyche Force cut by Holy Sword Switch, yet to his dismay Abigail looked to be in perfect condition. Also, Shin and his comrades still didn't know the true scope of Team Germany's leader. If they were to face her now, when they were all either defenseless or beaten... Shin, Hikari, and Kisara didn't believe that they could win against her.

Still, Shin with much difficulty stood up to not let Abigail believe this. Shin couldn't use Ki for the next twenty-four hours, yet he still had his mutation. That's why to show a display of strength on his part Shin released his Kagune and glared at Abigail, releasing so much killing intent that even his own comrades felt nervous just to stand beside him. Abigail just looked back at Shin with a confident smile, yet on a closer look she was sweating more than she should be.

Abigail: "What's with that defiant look? You can't fool me. You're obviously on your last leg."

Shin: "Do you want to try that theory out? There's nothing more I want to do right now than tear that bitch face of yours apart with my bare hands!"

Abigail: "Ha, what are you complaining about? This is a battle that your side started and you personally took the first life. Well, I would have come for you anyways, but don't believe yourself an ally of justice. There's no good, evil, or justice in this world. Just survival... and your time has come to an-"

It was at that moment a notification from God interrupted Abigail and brought new news. Good news for Team Japan and a nightmare for Team Germany. The blood drained from Abigail's face as she slowly began to process the notification.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: THREE MEMBERS OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +3 TEAM POINTS AND TEAM GERMANY -3 TEAM POINTS.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -2.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -3.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

It was a notification telling all Player of God's Dimension that not one, not two, but three people had died who belonging to Team Germany. No one present in Magic City Masadora had just died and especially not three. Three members of Team Germany were just killed somewhere outside Masadora, so that could only mean one thing, and Erwin using his Psyche Force Scan with must effort in his condition confirmed it.

Erwin: "It couldn't be... the base! They're being attacked! Team Japan got the points then they did it. This was all a diversion! Leader, we have to-"

Abigail: "Shut up!"

Shin: "So what will you do Team Germany bitch? Will you fight us, or return to save your comrades?"

Abigail: "You, you!"

Abigail was furious. Like Shin, she wanted nothing more than to tear him apart. Abigail was just about to jump down to kill Shin and his comrades, but what stopped her was a new presence. Behind her back was a child solider, Connor, pointing the muzzle of his SMG at Abigail and Erwin's back from the next building over. Connor originally attended to assassinate them with a surprise attack, but Abigail's guard never fell. He might be able to launch a surprise attack, but at the very least Abigail wouldn't die, so that's why Connor revealed himself to threaten the enemy to retreat and it was a success.

Even though he no longer had the Trion to use his Triggers, Connor channeled Demonic Power into his SMG and was ready to fire at will at Abigail and Erwin. Abigail sensed this threat and biting her lips until she drew blood... she gave the order to retreat. Abigail used her light string to retrieve Klaus who was unable to move himself, summoned her Binder with the BOOK command, and giving one last spiteful glair Shin's way Team Germany left Magic City Masadora for good.

Team Germany left.

After Team Germany left there was an eerie calm over the city of Masadora. Only Shin, Hikari, Connor, and Kisara were left in the city. All the recent battles had forced the few residents still staying within Masadora to retreat from the city and with no intentions of ever returning. There was just a peaceful silence and Shin didn't know how to feel about It.

Shin was happy that the fighting was over, or at least for them and for a little while, but he questioned whether it was all worth it. Shin, Hikari, Connor, Kisara, and Renji had successfully distracted Team Germany's focus away for the secondary attack group of Team Japan to launch an assault of the enemy base, yet they lost a comrade, Renji in the end. Shin himself killed Webber for +1 Team Battle Point and injured a few members of Team Germany, yet he wondered if Team Japan had really come out on top. Maybe someone objective would say that he and his comrades did well, but emotionally it didn't feel that way and that they only managed to stay alive due to blind luck.

Shin: "Maybe I'm just being selfish? I get the feeling that if Saki was still alive she would say that even when there were no casualties there's no such thing as a perfect victory. With that know it all look she would say that all though it was a shaky win, we still win, so accept it... also, you still have things to do."

Saying so to himself Shin contacted Aqua. Right now he wanted to know if she was okay as he only had the notification from God to go on. It didn't take long to make contact with his favorite woman who he idolizes most in God's Dimension. Aqua on the Communicator Phone sounded worn out and hurt, but she didn't say anything about it. Just that she was okay and could fight if necessary. Shin didn't know whether he should laugh or cry hearing how reassuring it was to hear this from Aqua.

Aqua was then told what had happened in the city of Masadora and about how Team Germany retreated back to their base, and in the end Aqua volunteered to back the secondary attack group. Shin was against this, but being reminded that no one on their side had the ability to use Spell Cards and that she was much closer to the enemy base than they were. Shin looked at himself and Connor, both had the ability to call for a Binder full of Spell Cards, yet were both in no condition to chase after Team Germany. Shin then looked back towards Hikari and Kisara who needed someone to protect them, and so he reluctantly allowed Aqua to back up Jin, Kampa, Shuai, and Misaki of the secondary attack group targeting Team Germany's base.

Shin: "I just hope that no one else dies. Just... just let this day end already."

The results of the battle within the forest and village of Team Germany's base revealed not long after Shin ended his call with Aqua.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED - TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -1.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -4.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM JAPAN DIED - TEAM JAPAN -1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY +0 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -2.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -4.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Authors Note:

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The scores above are not a mistake. More will be revealed next chapter.


	139. Chapter 139

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 28, HxH Greed Island

An hour or so after Shin had discovered the Main Quest of Team Germany and was regrouping with his first attack group comrades in Magic City Masadora, the secondary attack group made progress on their way to the enemy camp. Team Japan's Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and Jin made up this group. They were given the location of Team Germany's hide out on Greed Island by Hikari and it was there task to attack the enemy at their camp as the first attack group distracts half their forces in Masadora.

Kampa: "So how is it? Can you see any moment from the enemy camp, Misaki?"

Misaki: "...Not yet. No one has come in or out since we've spotted them. We also can't get any closer. Fuck!"

Misaki and Kampa were observing the enemy camp from a distance. Following the directions given to them by Hikari and her Persona Adrasteia they had located the enemy camp. Team Germany were holding up in an abandoned village within a dense forest. Life forms could be detected by Misaki who held Observation Haki and Mantra Haki, as he along with Kampa scouted out the area. Misaki and the others were confident that Team Germany was within the village and that it would be hard, but not difficult to sneak up on them, but they couldn't move any closer.

Kampa: "Don't lose your cool. For now let's head back to the others are waiting and give them out report."

Misaki: "Okay."

Feeling that anymore scouting was pointless they moved to return where their comrades Jin and Shuai were waiting for them. They walked away from the forest Team Germany was hiding within and they backtracked to their temporary base. After walking for ten minutes they found an odd patch of grass. Kampa reached down grasp it and lifted up a false cover made up of grass and sticks to reveal a hole.

Misaki jumped down the hole without hesitation and while carefully putting back the cover Kampa followed suit after him. The fall wasn't long and when they hit the ground they found themselves in a dark room dimly lit by torches. Inside this recently created bunker by a certain Earth Elemental were their comrades Shuai and Jin. They were resting on the floor to conserve their energy after walking for hours and when Kampa and Misaki returned they sprung up to greet them and ask how the scouting went.

Shuai: "So how was it? Do you think the plan will work?"

Misaki: "It's no good. There are no gaps in their surveillance net. Not even underground. Jin's plan to tunnel underneath the earth and launch a surprise attack won't work."

Jin: "That's a shame, but it's probably wasn't possible anyways. Shuai's abilities with Gnome aren't at the level to dig such a large tunnel. Maybe if he had all day and night, but he and all of us don't have that time. For now just explain to us what you discovered, Misaki. Meantime, Shuai, observe the surroundings with your ghost, but don't let them approach the forest. Who knows if Psyche Force can sense ghosts and the like"

Shuai: "Alright."

As Shuai sat in a corner and took out his Shaman tools to begin observing the area, Misaki and Kampa gave their report. Misaki with his observation skills could tell that there was security net of Psyche Force constantly active around the village and forest Team Germany was hiding inside. The land, the sky, and even underground everything was under their Psyche Force user's watch. It was impossible for anyone, possibly even Shuai's surveillance ghost to enter the security net without being detected.

Kampa: "So what should we do? I believe it's disadvantageous for us to attack the enemy team and alert them of our presence. If they have a sniper like Connor we're done for. They outnumber us already, and even using the forest as cover at least half of us will be taken out before before we even see the enemy's faces."

Jin: "We can only wait. We can only bet on Team Germany's Psyche Force user leaving together with their leader to confront Shin and the others. According to what we learned from our comrades back in Masadora Shin had done more than enough to provoke their leader. Also, this Abigail is paying a lot of attention to him. Too much in my opinion. She will definitely move to attack Shin and she'll take enough of their forces to do so and leave behind those not necessary or too injured. I doubt the full team can fight since we've heard from Shin that their priest class team member was heavily injured and drained a lot of his Faith Energy. They'll leave behind their injured members and assign just a few guards, 2-3 at the most, and head out with the main force to face off against our comrades in Masadora."

Misaki: "So everything depends on how much Shin pissed off Team Germany's leader... well, she's a girl so there's a good chance that it'll work, but I don't like it. Leaving things to chance isn't my style and I don't like betting our lives on it either."

Jin: "I feel the same, but we can only wait. If their Psyche Force user heads to Masadora then we attack. If he doesn't then well have no choice but to call it quits and reinforce our comrades in Masadora."

Kampa: "We have no other choice? Just the four of us aren't capable of fighting against Team Germany when they can see us coming. Even without a sniper they'll pick us off with their superior numbers. Also, we have to call either Shin, Connor, or Aqua if she's done fighting Bomber to pick us up as we can't carry Cards. By the time anyone arrives we'll be wiped out."

Having been said no one now disagreed with the demerits of a frontal assault on Team Germany while their guard was up. In manpower, enhancements, and tactics Team Germany would prevail in a battle against the secondary attack group composed solely of Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and Jin.

Misaki had unlocked his Genetic Constraint to the First Stage, Kampa carried on his back Team Japan's most powerful weapon the Unicorn Beam Magnum, Shuai's unique Shaman tools and Earth Elemental were extremely useful, and Jin had his improving ice magic and strategic mind, so they had that going for them, but it wouldn't be enough to overcome the difference in strength between them without the element of surprise. That's why they waited. They waited for a chance to attack and after thirty minutes passed...

Shuai: "Everyone, they're leaving! Also, the Psyche Force security net is down as well!"

Shuai yelled the long awaited good news. He quickly informed Misaki, Kampa, and Jin that a group of four from Team Germany has left the forest with a Spell Card in the direction of Magic City Masadora. Then at the same time the Psyche Force net had shut down around the same time. This was the signal for the second round against Team Germany, but it was Team Japan's chance to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy.

Jin: "Alright! The first condition has been cleared! Their Psyche Force user has left for Masadora. As long as that person is gone we can sneak up on the enemy long as we're carefully."

Kampa: "What are the chances that this is a trap to bait us to come out into the open?"

Jin: "Very low. Team Germany has only been on Greed Island for three days. I won't believe that they have so many Spell Cards no matter how much effort they put forth. The best Spell Cards are in the possession of Bomber and Team Japan with the death of the top players on the island. I may be an unreliable human being, but trust me here. They may have Spell Cards to travel left, but I'm confident that they won't have more than two Spell Cards to travel in groups after going back and forth from Masadora as they've done today. Only by capitalizing on their numbers can Team Germany wipe us out!"

Misaki: "Then what are we waiting for! Let's go!"

Misaki was the most eager to finally attack Team Germany and they were in agreement that it was the time to act. The four members of the secondary attack group returned to the surface and after making sure they weren't being watched they set off.

Adam: "I really don't have a good feeling about this. Leader is too rash."

Saying this to no one in particular Adam sighed to himself as he gazed up to the sky in the direction Abigail with three members of Team Germany just left with a Spell Card. He was currently outside the rundown house within the village where two of his comrades were recovering. Adam didn't think Team Germany was in the best position to be engaging in another battle so soon, yet his leader wouldn't have it. She wanted nothing more than to kill Team Japan's leader at the moment.

Adam: "Leader is too concerned with her promotion to think straight. I'm thankful that she didn't ask me, Cora, and Kort to join her on her rampage."

Cora: "Well, of course leader wouldn't go that far. The four Newbies under Erwin's brainwashing, and the seriously injured Kurt and Lutz need protection after all."

Stepping out of the rundown was the fashionable member of Team Germany who preferred not to wear the team uniform, Cora, followed by Team Germany's sniper and poison expert Kort. The two like Adam had obviously come out of the dark house to breathe in some fresh air and to discuss their current troubles. They would never do such things in Abigail's presence, but it was the norm of Team Germany to talk behind her back when she was not in earshot.

Adam: "Yeah, but only because Lutz only had enough Faith energy in his condition to heal Webber. If the entire team was able she would have just left behind the Newbies and had us follow her into battle. Abigail is normally capable... but at times like this she loses it."

Cora: "Are you one to talk? When you meet a decent opponent you are second in madness to Klaus and that's saying something."

Adam: "I'm aware of my own shortcomings. Anyways, Cora, don't stray too far even if you don't want to stay coped up in that house. You'll be protecting the newbies and our injured comrades alongside me. Kort, hurry up and move out. You're our first line of defense with your sniper power."

Kort: "Don't expect too much from be. I was originally a poison expert who fights up close. I can fire a rifle, but don't expect me to have the ability to cover the entire forest and village."

Adam: "Right then. You know your jobs. Even if leader's battle with Team Japan's leader will turn out as bad as I suspect… no one on this side is allowed die and force negative Team Battle Points on us."

After these words Adam and Cora returned back into the house and Kort, with a sniper rifle raised and leaning on his shoulder, walked out to find a vantage point to take out potential enemies and protect his comrades.

In Magic City Masadora of Greed Island a battle was being fought. The secondary attack group were no longer in contact with their comrades in Masadora as they were moving stealthy through a forest, yet the notifications from God told them that a complicated and enduring battle was being fought at this moment.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -4.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -1.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM JAPAN DIED. TEAM JAPAN -1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY +1 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -5.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: +0.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

The secondary attack group of Team Japan; Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and Jin were more than concerned as to what was going on in Masadora, yet they had their own job and had reach their designation. Team Japan were now just at the perimeter of the village within the thick forest. With Kampa leading the way, and Misaki with his premonition equivalent skills by his side, they lead the group to the village where Team Germany made their base.

They had done so without alerting the enemy due to the combination of their abilities. Shuai had Gnome the Earth Elemental silence their footsteps and discovered the most efficient paths leading to the village. Misaki discovered a hidden presence within the forest on the lookout for any enemies and ready to attack from a distance with his Haki enhancements. Kampa used his vast mercenary experience to discover hidden traps and mines set to go off and safely deactivated them. Lastly, although Jin had simply followed behind without a word he had thought up all possible traps, which included those born from special powers, and previously relayed this inform to his comrades.

Kampa: "..."

The mercenary of Team Japan silently observed the village and halted the groups approach with a previous decided on hand gesture. Kampa conveyed that he believed moving any closer will alert the enemy. Kampa couldn't find anything close to a trap within the village, but his experience that lead him to gain the title of overlord was screaming at him to stop.

It was a second sense born from battle that told experienced soldiers when they were watched, or something bad was about to happen. Kampa himself didn't know what it was for certain, but his best guess was that someone within the village and from Team Germany had incredible instincts that were on high alert. Just a few more steps into the village and Team Japan would be sensed approaching... but that did not matter for them. In fact, Team Japan was already well within range to attack.

Kampa: "..."

Shuai: "..."

Misaki: "..."

Jin: "..."

They each sent last minute signals to each other to convey that they were about to attack. Kampa retrieved from his back the heavy Unicorn Beam Magnum and readied his aim following Hikari's Game Map installed in his mind... His target, the house Team Germany were hiding within. According to Hikari's last update there should be eight people present within the house and it was their aim to take all of them out. Shuai and Earth Elemental Gnome were ready as well as they stood right behind Kampa. Misaki and Jin stood to the left and right of Kampa and were ready to sprint forward once the attack commenced.

Kampa: "...Rrrrrraaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Pulling the trigger of the Sci-fi weapon watching the stream of energy being released Kampa roared with all of his spirit and in return his weapon drowned out everything within the village and surrounding forest. The light of destruction was once more released on Greed Island and this time there was no counter attack to confront it. The powerful beam cut through and burned the village right down the middle towards it target. Then, when everything was said in down the village was nor more and the land was marked with a permanent black scar going on for miles.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 5, ENEMY TEAM KILL - 2000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 5, ENEMY TEAM KILL - 2000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 5, ENEMY TEAM KILL - 2000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- POINT CASUALTIES: THREE MEMBERS OF TEAM GERMANY DIED! TEAM JAPAN +3 TEAM POINTS AND TEAM GERMANY -3 TEAM POINTS.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -2.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -3.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Misaki: "Fuck! Just three points! How did only three of them die?!"

Jin: "That doesn't matter now! Even if they are still alive this is our chance! No way have they survived that ground razing beam attack unharmed! You and I will attack up close! Shuai attack from a distance with Gnome, observe the battle with your ghost. Kampa, rely on the M41A-M Pulse Rifle for self-defense and wait for the Beam Magnum to cool down and fire again. Also, don't forget there's an enemy within the forest who may have a long range weapon. Shuai will give you the coordinates to fire and I'll signal when to attack by launching a Forstbolt into the air!"

Jin yelled his final instructions and ran forward alongside Misaki. It wasn't in their plan for Team Germany to survive Kampa's Unicorn Beam Magnum, yet they considered the possibility of one or two escaping and thought up an attack plan. That's why with confidence in their victory they all moved to wipe out the enemy. They knew that they had to succeed as they had no idea as to the fate of their comrades in Magic City of Masadora.

From a demolished house lite ablaze a hand shout out from the burning wreckage. Then another hand emerged to the surface and pulling himself out of the rubble only mildly injured was Adam.

Adam: "Cora! Are you still alive? Shit, what was that?!"

Team Germany's Adam yelled that as he jumped out of the half destroyed house he once resided in. Adam looked around and looking for survivors, yet he only saw a village burning to the ground and a black scar across the land from a high power beam attack. If not for the notification that only just three of his comrades had perished during that attack he would had assumed that only he had miraculously survived.

Cora: "I'm... I'm still here!"

Cora yelled to gain Adam attention and he rushed over. The house had fallen apart on them, yet a blue light shined through the cracks of a fallen down wall which he recognized as Cora's signature force field. Both Cora and Erwin held this enhancement as support members of Team Germany, but her force field was of a much higher tier than his. That's why she was capable of blocking Kampa's Unicorn Beam Magnum attack in spite of how no one should have lived through that attack. Confirming the voice of a comrade Adam rushed over to her aid used his above human strength gained through increased stats, to lift and throw the fallen wall to the side to locate his comrades underneath. Under the force field generated by Cora with a large piece of wood stabbed into her side were the injured Kurt and Lutz, along with one of the still brainwashed Newbies.

Adam: "Are you alright?"

Cora: "I'm still living. I sensed danger approaching and managed to deploy my most powerful Defensive Force Field to block the beam, but it couldn't hold up and we were all blown away. Two of the Newbies were blown to pieces by that the blast and the other broke his neck from the blast and died. Only one Newbie is safe, but the rest of us are still alive as well."

Adam let out a breath of relief hearing this, but he couldn't relax yet. It was obvious that Team Japan had attacked their temporary base and more importantly with a powerful sci-fi weapon. Seeing as another attack had not arrived to wipe them out Adam had an idea as what they were facing having been read in of Mass Enlightenments data on God's Exchanges when he joined Team Germany.

An extremely power beam attack that could destroy an entire village like it just did was more powerful than Lutz's Air Condenser Bazooka that was C tier, so it was safe to assume that the weapon was at least B tier. Within the B tier sci-fi weapons were those that could deliver devastating damage in one shot when used and were extremely powerful, but seeing as another attack had not come their way meant Team Japan's weapon was only B tier. Only the A tier Sci-fi weapons could continuously fire such overpowered and deadly attack with only a few seconds of cool down with each new shot. Such A tier weapons still had to be cooled down so they wouldn't deform from the extreme heat from firing such damming attacks, but could definitely fire more than once within one minute or so.

Adam: "Cora stay hidden with your defensive shield ready! I have to go out and deal with the enemy before they can recharge their weapon. If they fire again... we'll all die!"

Cora: "Adam, I don't have the energy to put up too powerful of a shield. Can't... can't we just escape or join up with the others?"

Adam: "Sorry. Leader has the last spell card for travel. The others should be on their way soon, so hold out till then!"

With that said Adam swiftly pulled out the piece of wood embedded into Cora's stomach. Cora screamed out in pain, but began to feel better after Adam used a Hemostasis spray to close the wound. Then Adam, as he was about to head out and not minding that he was on the battlefield, pulled Cora in for a kiss. It wasn't known by the others, but they were in a relationship. Adam gave one final look back at Cora dashed forward to meet the enemy head on.

Following Hikari's Game Map, Misaki and Jin ran towards the last known position of the enemy. For whatever reason Hikari was no longer updating the map so they didn't have real time information to rely on after they attacked, but for better or worse they could still locate where the enemy was with other means. Misaki with his Observation Haki felt a lone enemy heading towards them at a neck breaking pace.

Misaki: "Jin stay back! Someone is approaching and he's fast!"

Jin: "Okay! I'll support you from midrange."

Jin stopped running forward and stood his ground, ready to unleash his magic when the time came. Misaki alone ran moved forward to greet the lone enemy. Team Germany's warrior with a crystal clear katana in hand, Adam, could finally be seen. Adam, in return, saw the approaching Misaki and increased his speed until he was just a blur. It was impossible for a normal man or enhanced Player to follow, yet Misaki's Haki enhancements made him Adam's worst opponent.

Misaki: "Ahhhh!"

Flames breathed into life around his hands and below the soles of his feet. Flames rocketed Misaki forward and straight towards the high speeding Adam. More so than the flames, Adam was surprised the enemy could keep up with him as only Abigail could do so in his team, but he did not run scared. Adam drew his now glowing crystal katana to match Misaki's flame coated fist.

Misaki: "Color of Armaments, Hardening!"

Adam: "Element Sword - Electric Light Slash!"

With the momentum of his charge, Misaki's flame coated and hardened black with Haki fist was thrown to smash through Adam's sword. Adam's katana spewed electricity that increased cutting power to bisect Misaki in one slash. Flames, electricity, and their additional respective powers clashed head on. Adam's blade cut into Misaki's fist by a few inches, but it was Misaki who won out in the power struggle and Adam was blown off his feet.

Adam: "Hahaha, not bad! Element Sword - Explosive Light Slash!"

Impressed with Misaki's power as a Fire Dragon Slayer, Adam went into Unlocked Mode as he flew through the air. The katana tightly grasped within his hands glowed with a deathly orange light. As Adam touch back down to earth he immediately swung his blade half a dozen times. Where Misaki stood six lines surface on the ground that glowed brighter and brighter.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Element Sword - Explosive Light Slash took effect and detonated around Misaki before he could hope to escape. The explosion that could tear apart any strong man engulfed him. Adam was both pleased and disappointed that the battle ended so quickly, yet was taken back by what he was now seeing. The flames created from that blast of his magic sword skill were being sucked in my something and quickly ceased to exist. Only smoke was left behind and a man leaving a trial of flames behind him jumped out completely almost unharmed.

Misaki: "Thanks for the meal!"

With his two hands extended coated in Hardening Haki, Misaki, filled with power and now in Unlocked Mode, faced the swordsman Adam. A blue flame breathed into life in front of Misaki's hands and began to expand by the second. The size of the fire ball grew so did the heat. It was a new attack of Misaki's that was not in the exchanges, but so powerful that it required him to protect himself with Color of Armaments, Hardening. When the blue ball of intense heat reached the size of a full person Adam took a step back in fear. He had an abnormal self-recovery ability from the exchanges, but knew that he would be incinerated on contact with Misaki's blue flames.

Adam: "Powerful, but takes too long to form Team Japan warrior! Element Sword - Air Light-"

Jin: "Frostbolt!"

With Misaki locked on, as Adam was about to let loose his next attack a pale blue ice beam interrupted him. With his incredible sixth sense Adam knew someone aimed an attack on him and jumped back. The Frostbolt spell froze solid the space he once occupied. Adam looked in the in the direction the beam came from and saw a teen in a wrinkled blue jacket smiling without a care with madness in his eyes. Adam had not seen the enemy approach at all and grew curious, but the-

Jin: "...The attack isn't over yet Team Germany."

From underneath Adam an earth lance erupted to the surface and impaled him as it shoot up into the air. Adam struggled to free himself unconcerned for the large earth lance stabbing through and Jin could only marvel at the sight.

Jin: "Shuai's surprise attack with Gnome from a distance failed? Connor's report was indeed correct then. Someone in Team Germany has something close to immortal! Just how do we go out killing him then!?"

Misaki: "Like this! Blue World Big Bang!"

The new technique of Misaki's was just a fire ball of the stronger blue flame of Firebending, yet he hoped to one day to have the power equivalent of a nuke, flew upwards towards Adam dangling from the top of the earth spear. The large blue fire had the firepower to snuff out any life and Adam seeing it approach knew he couldn't hope to dodge or survive a direct hit, so he used his last resort. From a pocket Adam retrieved a small gem and tightly grasped it till it broke within his hands. As Adam did so a blue veil of light enveloped him just right before Blue World Big Bang hit.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The blue fireball lit up the sky and blew apart the earth spear as well. When the blazing winds and smoke died down enough for them to see the aftermath of the blast... Adam was nowhere to be seen. Jin was surprised by this, yet his first priority was to check on Misaki. Misaki had slumped down to the ground and looked to have overexerted himself with that last attack.

Jin: "Misaki, are you alright? Earlier you were engulfed in his magic flames."

Misaki: "I'm... I'm fine. My Fire Dragon Slayer mutation came in handy and I breathed in a lot of the flames, but enough about me. Did... did I get him?"

Jin: "Don't let your guard down, Misaki! I felt magic power being released just before the fireball detonated. He's definitely still alive!"

Jin was correct. Adam had survived and was now 5000 feet away far off into the forest surround the village. To survive Misaki's Blue World Big Bang, Adam had to sacrifice a treasured B tier magic stone. The magic stone when destroyed would block all attacks below a certain level and then immediately transport the holder away. Adam had exchanged for it three missions ago and held on to it for an emergency, but deep down he felt cheated to have been forced to use it at this time.

Jin: "It should be an emergency escape spell or item that he used. It must have carried him far as he hasn't used this chance to surprise attack us."

Misaki: "Now what. Should we follow after him, or attack their base?"

Jin: "...We should attack their base. The enemy should be weakened from Kampa's attack, so we can wipe out a few good number of people from Team Germany. That guy... I think his name was Adam, I'm a bit worried about him sneak attacking us at some point, but we should take the risk to-"

It was then that over the Communicator Phone they were contacted by Shin's group. They informed them that they suffered a casualty, but were still alive. The good news was that they took out a member of Team Germany, but the bad news was they had lost Renji in battle and that the main force of Team Germany that left for Masadora were on their way back having been notified of someone on their side dying. Jin asked for how much time they had and according to Hikari using her Persona Adrasteia to track them... they are set to return in the next two minutes.

Jin and Misaki hearing this knew that they didn't have the time to both kill off any more members of Team Germany and escape the area like they hoped. They could only do one or the other. Kill a few members of Team Germany and risk being wiped out, our take their one kill and have Shin, Connor, or Aqua arrive to escort them away with a Spell Card.

Jin was very tempted to take the risk and fight as his side was still in good shape, but Shin as leader gave the order to retreat and would have someone pick them up. Hearing this, the usually calm and collected Jin was upset. He wasn't mad at the order to retreat as it was correct. Misaki, Kampa, Shuai, and Jin himself were still in good enough shape to fight, but it was unlikely that without the advantage of a surprise attack they could defeat the main force of Team Germany. It was the right call, but he was frustrated that they were going to leave there best chance to gain Team Battle Points to reverse their negative score.

Jin: "We have no choice, hub? Ahh, what a shame to let this chance go. Well, at the least today we proved to Team Germany that we're not so weak that they can just attack whenever they want. Today's battles should have brought us a few days to rest. It is also more to their advantage than ours to use that time to recover from their wounds."

Misaki: "Enough analysis already! Shin, if we're escaping we need either you or Connor to come get us."

Shin/Communicator Line: "Already on it. Connor and I wouldn't make it in time before they arrived, so I told Aqua to come pick you up. She made contact with us just now and she said she'll pick you up. She'll should be there any minute."

It was right then that Shin's prediction and two events spelling misfortune could be seen. From the skies of Greed Island a light source touched down where they had left Kampa and Shuai. That light source was highly likely to be Aqua, their ride out of there... but additionally a large explosion occurred in the same area. Then a second misfortune could be seen in the distance as a large orb of light was heading towards them. For Jin and Misaki it was all too much to take in at once, but only a few seconds later were they running back to their comrades.

When Misaki and Jin ran back to their comrades they were shocked at what they saw. Before them carved into the earth was a flaming large crater. Judging by the broken remains of a Sci-fi gun the cause of the explosion and crater was due to Kampa's Unicorn Beam Magnum being destroyed. The two Players looked around their surroundings and then found three of their comrades alive, but not well.

Shuai was down on his knees clutch his side that had a wound that was continuously bleeding. Kampa was standing tall and looked to be unharmed as he looked into the forest surrounding the village, yet looked very pale and sickly. The there was a comrade that they had not seen since early in the morning and had just arrived with Spell Card, Aqua. Team Japan's most veteran Player was standing next to Kampa with her adamantium claws drawn. Aqua's clothes were in taters and were for the most part burned black... and most shockingly of all her left arm was missing just below the shoulder where a stump now was.

Misaki: "You guys... what happened!?"

Aqua: "Calm down, Misaki. We have no time for this. I have an Accompany Spell Card, so let's get out of here. I can sense something dangerous approaching. Like I heard from Shin, Team Germany's main force is on their way back!"

Jin: "Aqua's right. We can talk later. Let's-"

Kampa: "...No! Shuai, Misaki, and Jin. Go with Aqua and get away from here. There's one last thing that I must do."

Misaki: "Wait, what are you-"

Aqua: "Misaki... just leave it. He... Kampa won't make it... BOOK! Accompany On! To Masadora!

Misaki and the others had a look of confusion as she retrieved a Spell Card from her Binder and carried everyone, except Kampa, with the "Accompany" Spell Card, but she didn't regret her decision. Aqua had arrived to just in time to see everything.

As Aqua arrived with a Spell Card she saw the events that transpired. From the forest a gunshot critically damaged Kampa's Unicorn Beam Magnum. Kampa was forced to throw it away before it exploded and Shuai created an earth wall to block the explosion, and the enemy within the forest used that chance to attack. The Team Germany sniper Kort, not having the confidence to fight with a sniper rifle without the element of surprise existed the forest and attacked Kampa and Shuai.

Kampa immediately fired at Kort with his M41A-M Pulse Rifle, yet the enemy with a sci-fi defensive shield blocked the initial wave of bullets and Kort aimed his rifle and shot Shuai in the stomach. Kampa, protecting Shuai from further harm charge forward unleashing a barrage of gunfire not allowing Kort to attack again. It was then as Aqua touched down on the ground of Greed Island it happened.

Kort threw three black ball at the ground in front of Kampa which detonated into a dark cloud of smoke. Kampa without hesitation ran through the cloud and not once stopped firing. Kort was hit with over a dozen bullets from the M41A-M Pulse Rifle, but having gone through enhancements himself survived and ran away back into the forest losing blood. Aqua swiftly ran over to Kampa's side and was about to finish Kort off, but stopped as she saw Kampa's condition.

Kampa had been poisoned.

The dark cloud Kampa ran through, despite holding his breath, was a powerful variation of Zyklon B in gas form. Kampa didn't die immediately after coming into contact with it, but he did not have much time left. Aqua with all her experience in the JSDF and God's Dimension made her an expert in the subject of death and she could see Kampa only had a few minutes left before the end. Team Japan had exchanged for medical supplies, but nothing powerful enough to save Kampa's life.

Kampa: "...What a good woman. Our leader... is definitely blessed. Far more then he knows... makes me want to see my wife once- *COUGH*!"

As he went into a coughing fit Kampa knew it was the end of the road for him. That was why he was thankful for Aqua's quick judgement and understanding. They didn't use words, but as men and women of the battlefield they just needed a single look to understand each other. Kampa knew he was dying, but he didn't want running away to be his last act as a man. Aqua realized Kampa's plight and didn't do anything to stop him when she couldn't figure out a way to save him in the next few minutes.

Kampa: "*COUGH*! (Cursing in Russian)! I wanted to embrace my wife at least one more time. I also wanted to see my boy grow up into a man. Team Germany, don't think you can take away my future without paying a steep price!"

Kampa then roared with his entire spirit to rejuvenate his body and chased after Team Germany's Kort into the forest. His body was dying on him, but till his last breath he would have it work for him. Kampa swore to himself then and there. If it his was fated to die on this battlefield then he would stay a soldier till the end. Rather than drown in regrets it was better to complete one last mission as the Mercenary with the title of Overlord and a comrade of Team Japan.

Defeat Kort and give Team Japan one last Team Battle Point!

Aqua, Misaki Shuai, and Jin safely escaped back to Masadora to regroup with the rest of Team Japan. It was three minutes later after they were telling each other the events that transpired and why Kampa was left behind all of Team Japan heard a message that filled them with hope and then sadness.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -1.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -4.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM JAPAN DIED. TEAM JAPAN -1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY +0 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -2.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -4.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Hoebagger

For those who want to know Kampa was killed, but he killed Kort before he died of poisoning. Kort actions technically killed Kampa, but no one was alive to claim the kill, so Team Germany didn't get the point.


	140. Chapter 140

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 29, HxH Greed Island

Day 65 of Greed Island.

City of Love, Aiai.

Early morning just before Noon.

Three days have passed since the first confrontation with Team Germany which resulted in the deaths of the regular member Kampa and Newbie Renji. Recalling that day Team Japan's leader, Shin in a far from happy mood, was standing on top of a roof within the city looked down at the city streets with a look of melancholy his face, despite Aiai's residents being in good cheer.

After the terrorist attack committed by Genthru/Bomber all the cities of Greed Island were critically damaged, yet Aiai suffered the least damages. That, combined with the destruction of a major city like Magic City Masadora created an influx of new residents wanting to live in the most popular and least damaged city, Aiai. The many citizens were currently in the mood of a celebration as just the day before the body of the terrorist Genthru was discovered and identified in Gambling Coty Dorias, so the people of Greed Island were celebrating his death along with hopes that their lives will no longer be threatened.

Sixty percent of the survivors of the terrorist attack were among the nonviolent players of Greed Island, so with no one considering creating new clans to replace Moderate Clan or Savage Clan, Greed Island had entered into an era of peace... or at least that was what they wanted to believe.

Shin: "...Do it."

Shin gave his command to his comrade and (bad) friend over the Communicator Phone while still looking down at the city of Aiai and its citizens. Shin didn't despise any of them and felt somewhat happy that they found peace, yet he couldn't enjoy it deep down and didn't hesitate to use them for his own ends.

What Shin and his comrades had in mind after much discussion was cold and evil, but it had to be done for the sake of Team Japan continued survival. That's why Shin gave the command to the man who wouldn't hesitate to do this dirty job that he couldn't ask of Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Shuai, Connor, or a newbie like Kisara to do. That's why Shin gave the job to him.

Jin: "On it." *CLICK* "Okay you three, follow me. We're in danger so keep close and try not to make a scene, okay! We don't want to be discovered, right?"

Jin, speaking to Shin over their cell line, had hung up to speak those following behind him. After confirming that they had no objections they began to follow him towards the center of the crowd of people in the streets of Aiai. The ones following right behind Jin and appearing incredibly nervous were the three remaining of Team Japan excluding Kisara.

The three Newbies were among those who Team Japan said didn't have the ability to become a part of the team like Kisara and who also didn't have the desire to volunteer to become a part of the team like Renji. There were originally eight such Newbies, but after the battle with Razor five of them had died which left just the three Newbies following after Jin.

If Shin was asked what he thought of those Newbies then he would say that he didn't care for them in the slightest. Shin originally came with the plan to protect/isolate the useless Newbies so that his comrades wouldn't be bothered, and then after returning to the Terminal Lobby they would have the chance to power up and gain the power to become a part of his team, but over the course of the long mission of Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island, Shin's opinion of them kept declining.

Shin and the others watch the Newbies enjoying themselves freely, out of danger, and complained when things went wrong. There were those in Team Japan like Aqua and Misaki who wanted to be rid of them, but because of the Team Battle penalties they had refrained from taking extreme action... but with the deaths of Renji and Kampa, and the three Newbies still complaining and not taking any action to help Team Japan, not even asking once if there was something that they could do... Shin, more than anyone else in Team Japan, was fed up and like so he and the others came to a decision for the sake of the team.

They made the decision to get rid of the worthless Newbies holding them back and would become a burden to Team Japan during their next and hopefully last battle against Team Germany. It was a cold-blooded decision, yet deep down no one was opposed to the plan. In fact, one of us had come up with an easy way to get rid of the three Newbies with the least amount of damage to Team Japan and had in fact considered such a possibility from the very beginning and had made plans before even leaving for the next mission.

It was Team Japan's magician, mastermind strategist, and man with openly dark thoughts, Jin. Before leaving the Terminal Lobby for our current mission, Jin had secretly exchanged for a few items from the game, "Assassin's Creed", Berserk Darts. It was a type of poison that would kill an individual with a low/normal Immunization Strength, yet had another interesting ability as Shin was about to see.

Shin watched as Jin lead the three nervous Newbies towards the middle of a street of Aiai and hand them three dart. The three looked confused, yet Shin had been told by Jin that he would say that it was a special item that they were saving for an emergency. Beforehand, Jin had lied to the three Newbies that the enemy were on their way and that they needed to escape. Then leading the three away from harm Jin would say that he has to leave to support the others, but before he goes he would hand them items that will increase their strength temporary once they prick themselves with the darts... and that's what happened.

Jin left the three nervous Newbies behind and a minute later it happened. They were unsure of what they should be doing, but they wanted some, any power to make themselves feel better and have a better shot at staying alive. Each of them then stabbed themselves with the Berserk Darts and a few moments later it happened. Instead of a rush of power like they were expecting... they began to sway and act funny. Then a few seconds after that a euphoric rage rushed through their veins and took them over. The three Newbies began to yell out loud, shove those close to themselves, and finally attempt to hurt and kill those walking nearby.

This was the most horrific effect of the Berserk Dart. Not just a poison, but a drug that compels the victim into a rage and assaults anything that moved. Shin felt horrible looking at the scene with last minute guilt, but making the choice that he did he watched them to the very end as he didn't have the right to turn away. The three Newbies induced by the Berserk Dart kept attacking those nearby, but there was a fundamental problem with this action. The three Newbies who attacked all those nearby were just normal men and women on a rage high, yet their victims were in fact Nen Users. All too soon the three were surround, restrained, and seeing their rage like state were killed without hesitation.

The better word was put down, but in the end it was all the same. It was death and deaths indirectly caused by those who they believed to be on the same side. For the sake of getting rid of dangerous baggage that would slow Team Japan down and not wanting to give the points to Team Germany, Shin and his comrades purposely sent a message with the blood of their Newbies to tell Team Germany that their battle comes to an end today. That today only one side will leave Greed Island alive.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: THREE MEMBER OF TEAM JAPAN DIED. TEAM JAPAN -3 TEAM POINTS AND TEAM GERMANY +0 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -5.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -4.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

With hearing that notification... it was over. I no longer looked down at the scene that I caused and left. Jumping down from the roof of the building and was back down to the city streets of Masadora. I let out a small sigh and started to walk far away from the crime scene and towards Team Japan's temporary loggings. Then a few minutes later a teammate came up and joined me on my return home.

Jin: "Yo, are you okay?! Shin, you shouldn't feel bad for what we did. We made the right call to kill off the Newbies who were just a burden to the team. When it's time to head for Limeiro we won't have the room to protect them. Also, we can't leave them behind. Team Germany is well aware that we are in Aiai, but they just haven't attacked. They won't pass the opportunity to kill the three Newbies worth a free 6000 points, B rank reward, and +3 Team Battle Points once we-"

Shin: "You don't have to reassure me, Jin. It just makes me feel worse because it's you. It's the Newbies like Kisara... and Renji who should be protected when things go wrong like they did. They were our comrades despite their lack of enhancements as they were willing to risk their life for the team and they actually did put their lives on the line for us They're fundamentally different from those three Newbies. They hid from danger, ate our food, and had fun on the island with their money while our comrades worked hard and some even died for the team. Also, they had the nerve to lash out after we returned from the battle with Team Germany. Saying things like 'what are you doing?" and "why can't you protect us like you promised?' They even badmouthed those who died fighting for Team Japan. I feel bad for the act itself of planning their deaths, but... I've lost any feelings of sympathy for them that I might have originally had."

Jin: "Hahahaha! Good! I was worried for a second, but it looks like... you're still a leader I can follow without worry."

Shin: "If that didn't just sound down right ominous Jin. What would you have done if... no, that doesn't matter. You're Jin after all. A different you would be too boring."

Jin: "Haha, and I'm sorry for that. Anyway, let's head back. Today's the fated day for us to wipe out Team Germany! I've spoken to my contacts around Greed Island. The preparations on our final plan to complete the mission and wipe Team Germany are finished as well."

Shin: "You sure are confident."

Jin: "It's not confidence. It's fact. Do you know why Team Germany has yet to attack us? They have a healer, so they should have recovered far faster than us after the last confrontation when we had to rely on goods from Drebin893. The reason is because they don't want us to choose death and commit suicide. Team Germany is in a bad spot, but it's clear that they are the still stronger team. They can kill us, but God will erase them if the battle ends in a negative score. I don't know how many points each of them have saved, but there's a high chance that just -1 Point in the Team Battle could mean the deaths of a few of them."

I get what Jin means. Thinking about it I could see the merit of Jin's conclusion. Normally, a person would spend all of their points and rank rewards unless they are saving up for an expensive ability. How strong you are determines whether or not you'll survive the next mission, so unless you had the confidence to survive and save up points, there wouldn't be much left over after the ten days in the Terminal Lobby are up. Going further, a Player is more likely to have rank rewards left over than points. For Team Japan on more than one occasion we all had D rank rewards left over that we couldn't use because we didn't have the points to use them for anything.

Jin: "And that's why Team Germany is waiting. They can guess that we have all the Cards necessary to complete the Greed Island game, yet have not done so because of our Negative Team Battle Score. Team Germany wants to wipe our Team Japan for the points and rank rewards, and to save their skins they need to make sure that they can kill enough of us to get out of their point deficit. That's why they will strike when we are certain to have hope to come out of this battle alive. When we are making our way towards Limeiro. When survival is right before our eyes no one will think about punishing Team Germany by committing suicide or killing off comrades to avoid giving points to the enemy. That's when they will strike!"

Shin: "That sounds good. We have to kill off five of them now to undo our -10,000 point defect and if they're that desperate to kill us they can be lead into a trap. We pushed Team Germany into a corner thanks to Kampa's efforts, but were practical in the same situation as before they arrived. That's why for the sake of our fallen comrades we can't allow Team Germany to walk away from Greed Island alive!"

Shin said this confidently, yet he knew that he just wasn't fighting just for survival. What dominated his mind at this moment was revenge. If Team Japan were willing to accept a -4000 Point deduction and complete the mission without fighting Team Germany... it would be possible to survive by just killing one more member of the enemy team and not killing off the three Newbies.

Team Japan held 99 of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards and will soon hold all 100. By completing the main mission Team Japan no longer needed to pay the 2000 Point fine they originally believed that they had to. Putting aside the basic mission reward and Team Battle reward that they only get if they don't end in a Negative, it is thanks to Aqua every Player had gained an extra 2000 points. Just killing one more member of Team Germany would have been enough for everyone to survive the mission and could escape safely... yet Shin didn't want that, so he didn't stop the plan to kill the Newbies who would bring us down.

Not even considering whatever small rewards that they would have left over after accepting -4000 point loss, or good and evil in this mission as there was none, Shin couldn't forgive Team Germany. Shin thought this way and so did the others. What they wanted wasn't just a chance to live another day, but to fight back against Team Germany. Either way it was a battle destined to happen, so-

Shin: (I'll kill them all. Every single last one of them!)

In a certain apartment building in Aiai.

Team Japan were resting up for the final battle against Team Germany. They had it all planned out, so now they were just using the time before they take action to rest, or make last minute preparations. The day after the battle with Team Germany, Team Japan called for the services of Drenin893 and gathered important items that they needed. Items to increase stats, healing goods to regrow Aqua's missing arm, a weapon to kill Team Germany and anyone else that'll get in their way. Team Japan was prepared, so all that was left was to use this time to relax before the final battle. Shin, Hikari, and Aqua were sitting around a dining room table. Shin was checking on Aqua after she was injured in her fight against Genthru and Hikari was making a light meal for everyone (Girl power is still low, but is no longer toxic like that time she knocked me out with cake).

Aqua: "Shin, you don't have to keep checking to see if my new arm is okay. The description of the item said that my arm would regrow. It's been two full days since then and all the flesh, bone, and even adamantium is there. It may not be perfect, but it'll do."

Shin: "But I'm still worried about you. How about getting undressed and letting me check your body in depth. Just show me where it hurts... or doesn't hurt and we'll take it from there."

Aqua: "Don't ask for sex before a final battle! That's what you would call a flag, right?"

Hikari: "And can you two not flirt in front of me!"

Hikari said that as she dropped plates of food in front of them. She was upset that Shin had just forgotten that she existed and the efforts she was making by making something to eat, but soon forgave him. Hikari had seen how upset Shin has been lately over the deaths of Kampa and Renji. So much so that he has barely eaten anything or slept since then and has just been making plans with his comrades for the final battle.

Hikari: "Anyways, Shin, try to eat something. If not for your high stats you would have collapsed by now. It's bad enough you've barely got any sleep, so just eat this."

Shin: "...Will I pass out again?"

Hikari: "Shut up! It was just one time that you passed out! Just be a man, gather your resolve, and eat!"

Shin: "Why do I have to gather my resolve just to eat a meal!?"

Aqua: "Shin just do as she says for once. You're our leader, so you need to be at your best for the upcoming battle. Just relax while you can and get back up your strength."

Shin was moved. Seeing that the woman care about him so much, even if Aqua would never admit it. Shin agrees to eat something. Hikari and Aqua looked relived and were then called by the other for something. Seeing the two leave Shin looked down at the plate in front. There was a look of disgust on his face. Not because the meal was made by Hikari, but because of something else. A change in his body after the battle against Team Germany three days ago.

Shin: "It isn't that I was too focused or sad to eat. It's because I didn't want to eat. After biting into that guys flesh... I can't taste anything. Just that. It's better than Ken Kaneki and other ghouls who felt disgust when eating anything other than human flesh. Glad that I'm not going out into the middle of the night looking for human flesh, but..."

Shin was beginning to notice a change within himself. Shin had more than notice that he has been becoming stronger, faster, and able to even think faster than what normal humans should be able to. Most shockingly was Shin's healing speed. Shin recalled that Klaus and Webber basically pummeled him into the ground not that long ago, yet he was completely healed. Shin also remembered that he was badly injured by Razor in the Capture the Flag game as well. He was injured all over, received a high powered Nen Ball to the back, and had a clash of power with Razor at the very end. Shin didn't have the time to think about it back then, but that injury also healed by itself. He had just relied on medical supplies as the last Healing Potion went to Kampa.

Shin reached for his back where he was once hit by the Nen Ball and felt scars here and there and the scar layer fell off revealing fresh skin underneath. Such recovery rate wasn't what a normal human should have. The only possibilities were either due to the Ghoul mutation, Ki Energy, or reaching the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint. Ghouls, even One-eye Ghouls had naturally high recovery rate. Ki was also a strong power that in addition to increase power and speed, but also increased healing speed. In addition, Shin's highest stats were Cell Vitality and Immunization Strength. Of course it might also be the Second Stage of the Unlocked Mode if recovery rate was also included in having absolute control the body at will.

Anyway, the extra recovery speed wasn't bad in itself and his changed taste buds wasn't pleasant, but it wouldn't kill him either or drive him to go out into the night looking for human flesh. It was just that he felt he was becoming less human like. In fact, after being in this world for so long, and getting numb to killings, perhaps even his mentality wasn't human anymore.

Shin: "Shit, whatever. A higher recovery is a good thing after all. I even gained free stats so I'm stronger than before. Also, becoming a non-human isn't a bad thing if I want to survive, protect my comrades, and ultimately become an Over Powered main character. It doesn't matter what becomes of me... as long as I still have a sex drive. As long as I have that and special powers I won't commit suicide. Now..."

Shin with a look of determination began to eat the food in front of him. It didn't have a taste, so it was strange, yet he still ate it. Shin still needed food to recover energy and for the upcoming battle he would need as much as possible.

(SMALL REMINDER. KURT IS FIRE MAGICIAN. KORT IS POISON AND SNIPER GUY. I MIXEX IT UP THE LAST CHAPTER AND HAVE FIXED IT. SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION.)

Abigail: "Fuck! Fucking Team Japan! That Shin bastard! I'll kill them all!"

Abigail was angry. Just before Abigail was still mad that Team Japan had successful killed Webber, Kort, and three of the four brainwashed Newbies, and just now her hatred and rage for Team Japan reached all new heights. She along with the rest of Team Germany had just heard from the notification from God about how three members of Team Japan had died, yet she didn't believe it. Not that no one died since it was an official notification from God, but she didn't believe that it was because of some accident, or that they were attacked by someone. Abigail knew what that notification meant and so she was furious.

Abigail: "Fuck that this is an accident. Team Japan simply killed off their Newbies, or useless members just so that we couldn't get the points later. Also, this is a challenge. Team Japan and their leader Shin aren't willing to accept any small penalty or easy method to escape the mission. They're at -10,000 points now after all. The only way they can hope to survive is to kill us off. They won't run or hide the next time that we fight. It'll be till one side completely wipes out! Erwin, bring out our last Newbie."

Erwin: "Him... but-"

Abigail: "But nothing, or is it that you're disobeying me?"

Erwin: "..."

Erwin along with the others could tell what Abigail planned to do, yet not one of them, even Adam and Klaus planned on stopping her. They all knew that if not for Masadora/Spell Card Shop being shut down and having no Spell Cards for travel left, Abigail would have at this moment and alone went after Team Japan despite the disadvantages.

Abigail was filled with rage and her enemy couldn't be reached at this time, and so to not become her next target they quietly handed over the Newbie. The last remaining Newbie who survived Team Japan's Kampa dreaded beam attack on their base, still brainwashed, slowly walked over towards Abigail like a zombie. Then once he was a few feet away Abigail took out a handgun and without hesitation pulled the trigger to put a bullet into his head.

\- PENALTY 1, NEW PLAYER KILL - NEGATIVE 1000 DEDUCTED.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +0 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINTS.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -5.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -5.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Abigail then didn't spare a second to look at her own victim and then turned towards her still alive comrades of Team Germany. Adam, Klaus, Kurt, Lutz, Erwin, and Cora. Including herself, each one of them were in perfect condition to fight at any time thanks to the healing spells of Lutz. Abigail was thankful that she still had her main combat force to wipe Team Japan, but by no means was she showing trust to them. Team Germany is only a tool for her to rise up in Mass Enlightenment after all. If her comrades disappointed her any more than they already had then she would rather dispose of them than offer them to Team Japan.

Abigail: "I hope you all understand. Thankfully, because a Mass Enlightenment Team had the experience of appearing at the end of a Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island mission in a Team Battle we know that we still have a chance to chase down and wipe Team Japan even without Spell Cards to follow after them... but that's also why no more mistakes will be tolerated! Kill them all, or else I'll kill you myself! I'd rather take the penalty than give Team Japan the points. Now with that made clear let's just wait for the end of this troublesome mission. Team Japan will certainly open the doors to Limeiro themselves and the final event quest... Hahaha, will far more favor Team Germany than Team Japan!"


	141. Chapter 141

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 30, HxH Greed Island

Shin: "Now, is everyone ready? Once we start there's no going back."

Shin looked towards the seven comrades around him. Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Shuai, Connor, Jin, and Kisara. Each one knew that a bloody battle was soon to begin, yet they all had a look of determination. Shin saw that not one of them had it in their mind to runaway from this battle in their minds and felt proud. Kampa and Renji were gone, yet Team Japan was still alive and going strong.

Shin: "Alright then. Then Aqua and Connor. Please hand me your Cards. That way we can start the final quest of Greed Island. The Card Quiz! BOOK!"

Aqua: "BOOK!"

Connor: "BOOK!"

Then on Shin's command all three of them summoned their Binders with the key word and opened them up. Within were the Cards Team Japan had acquired over the course of the Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island mission. Aqua and Connor search through their Binders and took out cards to give to Shin.

Connor handed over to Shin the 2 Designated Pocket Cards he had collect over the course of the mission. Aqua handed over to Shin the 53 of her 98 Designated Pocket Cards she had collect from defeating Genthru. Shin who originally had 44, now had in his Binder 99 Cards (Shin wanted to be the one to have all the Cards in his Binder, so after complaining the others agreed to not just give Connor's Card "A Patch of Shore" to Aqua). One by one Shin inserted each Card into the Binder and once there were 99 Cards and then-

Eeta (Speaking to the entire island): This is an announcement to all Greed Island player on the island. As of today, a Player has collected all 99 Designated Pocket cards in one Binder. To commemorate this event, ten minutes from now all players of Greed Island are invited to partake in a special quiz. There are 100 questions in total! All questions will be about the Designated Pocket Cards. The player with the most correct answers out of the 100 questions will win a prize. The prize for winning is Designated Pocket Card #000 "Ruler's Blessing". All Spell Cards can not be used for the duration of this event. Everyone, please wait with your binders open!"

Hearing this island wide message Shin and the others of Team Japan felt relived. For one the final quiz game didn't sound to have changed. Also, during this time Spell Cards usage was suspended, and so Team Germany couldn't strike at them at this time.

Shin: "Nice! To get the final card is still the same quiz that appeared in the Manga. We have this in the bag!"

Misaki: "Sure are confident. You sure you can answer each question correctly?"

Shin: "No problem! Don't look down on how an otaku spends the late nights on the web. I personally memorized the questions and answers for the final quiz of Greed Island. So has Jin."

Jin: "Haha, that's right. I'm trash, but I'm trash with a pretty decent memory. I wouldn't forget something that I read five years ago. Also, even if Shin and I forget a few questions we have a much better shot at winning this quiz than Team Germany or anyone else on the island."

Shin: "That's right. Team Germany that is associated with the Four Pillars wouldn't have any information about Hunter X Hunter or Greed Island since till just recently they placed all of their efforts into the previous horror movies format. They also wouldn't have past records of how to complete Greed Island as well and even if they did the questions might not be the same. Jin and I who both know all the original answers and studied the series Hunter X Hunter have the best shot of winning the quiz. As for the other player of the island they are just as hopeless as Team Germany. All of the active player of Greed Island were killed by Genthru and until just recently they were killing each other for cards rather than playing the game honestly. In fact they probably killed off those players for Cards. That's why neither Team Germany nor the players of the island have a shot in hell of completing the final quiz."

Aqua: "Then our victory is assured. Shin, for the first time since I've met you I'm glad that you are a pitifully, terminally ill, loser otaku. I'm thankful from the bottom of my heart."

Shin: "...Please stop. Your sincerity hurts more that any insult. Also, you did insult me and three times at that?! Hikari has recently stopped, so don't take over for her!"

Aqua: "Shin stop messing around. The game is about to begin so we need to know who will play the quiz game. According to the side quest any one of us can enter the quiz long as they are using one of the three Binders."

Shin: "Ah, that, I already know who we should choose. I was going to select Hikari."

Hikari: "Are you sure? I know that its a part of the plan, but..."

Shin: "Yes. As a support member you will naturally make the least amount of points within Team Japan as you stay in the back away from the main battles. While the rest of us will end up fighting Team Germany to reverse our -5 Team Battle Score, we will also individually be gaining lot of points and rewards because of the "Enemy Team Kill" and "CG Enemy Team Kill" Side Quest. That's why the Side Quest for collecting the final Card should go to you."

Hikari: "I guess, but I don't know the answers."

Shin: "Don't worry. Jin and I who know Hunter X Hunter by heart will feed the answers to you. There's no rule in place that says that we can't."

With that said Shin handed over his Binder Hikari. Then a few moments later Eeta returned to address the player of Greed Island that the game was about to begin.

Eeta: "The final quiz will now begin. Question 1: The elder who gave an important hint for "One Yard of Forest", was..."

A) Hira.

B) Hida.

C) Hiso.

D) Hiyu.

E) Hima.

Shin: "Ha, to easy! Hikari, pick B"

Hikari: "O-okay."

From there Shin and Jin began to hover around Hikari and feeding her all the answers to the quiz game. Hikari was slightly disturbed by how much Shin and Jin were enjoying the game halfway through, but she didn't say anything seeing as very rarely their answers differed. Like so Hikari correctly answered almost every question and found herself about to complete the quiz by answering the final question.

Eeta: "And now the final question! What is the name of Card #000?"

A) Ruler's Banquet.

B) Ruler's Invitation.

C) Warm Reception From Ruler.

D) Ruler's Destiny.

E) Ruler's Blessing.

Jin: "It's E."

Shin: "Choose E Hikari."

Hikari: "Do I look retarded to you two!? It's right there on the Player's Watch!"

With that short outburst Hikari choose E for the final question.

Eeta: "It's now game over! Now, I'll announce the player with the most correct answers. The highest score was 98 out of a total of 100! The name of the player who achieved this is... player Hikari of Team Japan! Now, once all Cards are held in one Binder the final game of Greed Island will commence! Everyone, please make preparations!"

Shin: "Ahhh! So close! We almost had a perfect score!"

Jin: "I know. I was slightly hoping that a perfect score could have been a Hidden Side Quest. Hey, do you think we can get a do over?"

Aqua: "Shut up you two! The important thing is that we won. Now we just have to wait for the final card and figure out what this final game is before-"

\- *PECK*, *PECK*, *PECK*!

It was as Aqua said so that it arrived. We were all still in our apartment building in Aiai and pecking on a closed window of the apartment was a lazy looking black crow holding onto a letter. The crow kept pecking at the window, so Kisara who was closest to the window opened to allow the bird entry. The crow then flew past Kisara and all of other to fly above Hikari's head. The crow soon left after dropped the letter and Hikari grabbed it as it slow fell through the air. Hikari looked around to see if it was okay to open it, and seeing no one opposed to it she opened the letter to find two items. Two Cards. One was Designed Pocket Card "Ruler's Blessing" and the other was an unknown Card called "Greed Island Treasure Box".

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, CARD 000 - WINNING THE DESIGNATED CARD "RULER'S BLESSING" DURING THE ENDGAME QUIZ. AWARDED 1500 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

\- QUEST ITEM OBTAINED!

ACQUIRED SPECIAL CARD, "GREED ISLAND TREASURE BOX". ONCE THE GAIN COMMAND IS ISSUED A BOX WITH THREE SLOTS FOR DESIGNATED POCKET CARDS WILL APPEAR. PLAYERS WITH A G.I RING MAY PLACE ONE DESIGNATED POCKET CARD INTO THE BOX. ALL CARDS WITHIN THE BOX CAN BE TAKEN OUTSIDE GREED ISLAND WHEN PLAYERS RETURN TO THE TERMINAL LOBBY. DESIGNATED POCKET CARDS WILL BECOME SPELLS, EQUIPMENT, OR SPECIAL ITEMS ONCE TAKEN OUT OF THE BOX WITHIN THE TERMINAL LOBBY. ONE TIME USE.

Shin: "So this is how we'll take the three Cards out of the game. Good. This is much better than going to the tower in near Masadora to exit the game like in the original plot."

Jin: "So what Cards will we bring out of the game with us?"

Shin: "We'll stick to what we came up with before, but add in the possibility of that Bonus Mission that you were talking about and switch out a Card... but first I'll add the last Card to my Binder to start the last of Greed Island."

Then Shin was handed the "Ruler's Blessing" Designated Pocket Card from Hikari and immediately placed the Card in the last empty spot of his binder. Shin"s Binder then glowed with a rainbow of colors and from the Binder a light shot up, passed through the ceiling of the apartment, and exploded in the skies above. A few seconds later a notification from Eeta, no her twin sister Elena rang throughout Greed Island.

Elena: "Attention! All 100 Card have been placed within a single binder. Last event quest has been activated! All players on Greed Island are not allowed to move around till game start and all player have no right to not enter the last event which is mandatory. The holder of 100 Designated Pocket Cards and their comrades will be transported 50,000 meters from the entrance of Limeiro in the next five minutes. Every other player will be randomly transported within 25,000 meters of Limeiro's radius in the next ten minutes. If the holder of 100 Designated Pocket Cards enters and remains in Limeiro for 3 hour and enters the study room of Dwun and List within Limeiro's castle, than that player and his comrades will win the game Greed Island. If another Player kills the holder of 100 Cards and can stay within Limeiro for 1 hour than they will win the game, be given all 100 Designated Pocket Cards, and the right to choose three Cards to take out of Greed Island. Announcement over! Please have fun with this event designed for the bloodthirsty men and woman occupying Greed Island!"

The news of this last battle terrified and excited the player of Greed Island. For those who didn't want to enter it was a death sentence since everyone would try get rid of their competition, not just the holder of all 100 Designated Pocket Cards. For those who did want to enter this was their chance. Moderate Clan, Savage Clan, Bomber, and other strong clans were no longer present on Greed Island. This meant that no great power could stop them and they all had a chance at winning the game. The bottom line was that that everyone, not just Team Germany would be gunning for Team Japan... but this was exactly what Team Japan wanted.

Misaki: "Ah, thank a different god than the one we know of here in this in hell dimension! That hazardous plan that Jin and Shin thought up will work now. It's a miracle."

Jin: "Not at all, Misaki. I always expected such a last event after acquiring the last Card. In the original plot of Hunter X Hunter the game is over once Gon and Killua have 99 of the Cards as only they can enter Limeiro and no one else. There aren't any more challenges, and that doesn't fit with God wanting to force danger on us and force us to evolve. Say we had 99, or 100 Cards in our possession just as Team Germany arrived to Greed Island. They would have had no hope of stopping us from leaving the game, but this last event gives the enemy team one last chance to kill us. I don't like it, but it's fair to give the enemy team just one chance to stop us before we complete the mission."

Aqua: "Still, despite the last event we still hold the advantage as we made preparations. Before the 3 hours are up we should be able to wipe Team Germany."

Shin: "Aqua's right! It is finally time for us know who leaves this island alive. Team Japan or Team Germany. We don't have much time left, so let's quickly choose the three Cards to take back and get ready. In just a few minutes... the final battle will begin!"

Team Japan three G.I Ring holders, Shin, Aqua, and Connor made their choices for the three Designated Pocket Cards to take out of the game.

Shin chose, Breath of the Archangel - This card summons forth an angel whose breath can cure any injuries sustained. Severe damage or close to death, this angel will cure any injury and disease in one breath. One Player may learn this as a magic spell. Can only be used once per day.

Aqua chose, Hypothetical T.V - This card brings forth a Hypothetical Television. It allows the user to input a potential situation or question, and the T.V. will display a 30-hour-long documentary about all the possibilities. The remote also allows you to record any part of it for later playback. Once the card is summoned with the Gain command it can only be used once and will break after finished displaying its contents.

Connor chose, Patch of Shore - A special card that leads one to the hidden undersea cave, "Residence of the Sea God" in the Hunter X Hunter Mission World. Use the Gain command and a light to guide you will appear and stay active for twenty-four hours. Once card is used it will destroy itself.

Once there choices were made it was time.

Elena: "Five minutes have passed! The holder of all Designated Pocket Cards and their comrades will now be transported 50,000 meters away from Limeiro. Five minutes from now all other players will be moved randomly within 25,000 meters of Limeiro. All Spell Cards can not be used for the duration of this event. Please prepare yourselves!"

With that announcement made Shin, Hikari, Aqua, Misaki, Shuai, Connor, Jin, and Kisara were enveloped in the light of a Spell Card and transported away from Aiai for the last time and towards the final battlefield. Capital City, Limeiro awaited them.


	142. Chapter 142

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 31, HxH Greed Island

Elena: "Ten minutes have passed! All other players of Greed Island will now be transported 25,000 meters away from Limeiro. To win the last event you must defeat the holder of all 100 Designated Pocket Cards. Please prepare yourselves!"

With this latest island wide announcement made they all began to move. Antokiba, Soufrabi, Dorias, Aiai, and Rubicuta. With the exception of Magic City Masadora which has fallen into ruin, players of the Greed Island game from all over the island were being moved by the light of a Spell Card and traveled across the skies towards a single target. Dozens, hundreds, thousands of individuals and large lights cut across the skies of the island and at last arrived back to the earth at their destination.

Limeiro

Full name is Capital City Limeiro. The capital of Greed Island that can only be accessed by those who have completed the Specified Slot Cards and won the End of Game Quiz to receive card 000-Ruler's Blessing. Not only the castle, even the streets of the city are full of energy. The last event of the game is held in this city. The big castle where, according to rumors, Gamemasters live is the symbol of the city. The Players who clear the game will finally arrive in the city and receive an impressive welcome as the ending. Gon, Killua, and Biscuit are the only players to have come to the city and met Dwun and List here.

In the current mission for Team Japan and Team Germany this city and its surroundings were to be the site of the final battle to decide the winner of Greed Island once and for all. It was a battle to show proof that the collector of all 100 Designated Pocket Cards did so not just with luck but skill, and one final chance to allow the players who failed to collect all 100 Designated Pocket Cards to claim victory for themselves... and a certain team just arriving 25,000 meters away from the city Limeiro had every intention of taking advantage of this situation.

Team Germany.

Along with the other players Team Germany had arrived. Their leader Abigail, Klaus, Adam, and Kurt all took a defensive formation around their support members Erwin, Lutz, and Cora, and Cora herself was ready to deploy a defensive shied at any time. They were once surprised by Team Japan and lost five members in just one day, so they wouldn't allow such a mistake again.

Abigail: "Fuck all of this madness! There are thousands of players running around and searching for Team Japan. Erwin, so how is it? Can you locate them? You better say that you can."

Erwin: "Give me just a... got it! I've located them leader! They are about 20,000 meters away from Limeiro. Also, not that far from us. I'll send you the images."

Then as he said Erwin shared the images he's collected from his scans with Soul Link. Abigail, Adam, and Klaus were given images of eight members of Team Japan running at full speed towards Limeiro. Abigail seeing this was very pleased. The images of the eight matched with each known description of Team Japan's members from previous encounters, so it was unlikely that they were planning an ambush like before. Also, they weren't that far away as they had to travel an extra 25,000 meters to cross as the holders of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards.

Abigail: "Ahahah! This is good guys. I bet their plan here is to first enter the city and ready themselves for our arrival. We can definitely kill them all."

Adam: "I agree. That way they can start the clock for the 3 hours that they have to stay within Limeiro. Also, even if they fail to kill us all off, long as they don't lose any more teammates and run out the clock they can escape the mission with a small penalty if they make it to the study. Take as many of us out while using the city to their advantage. It's a good plan since there will also be the chaos of other players of the island interfering."

Abigail: "Oh? Then it's best to ruin their plans then. Let's give chase! If we can kill at least one of them before they enter the city then it will make them more desperate to wipe us out. Hahaha, in a contest of strength Team Germany is superior! Now, let's go!"

On Abigail's energetic yet sinister yell, Team Germany gave chase to Team Japan. As individuals they were more enhanced, so their movement speed as a group was two to three times faster than Team Japan. Within a few minutes Team Germany could finally spot Team Japan in the distance. Abigail then began to laugh. They were now well within her attack range and with Adam's inhuman speed he could catch up and begin to quickly cut them down one by one. Everything was going well for her and Team Germany, and it was then that it happened.

Erwin: "...Ridiculous!"

Adam: "What is it Erwin?"

Erwin: "Team Japan has stopped and... dug a large hole? They then immediately jumped into the hole and closed the entrance. What are they..."

Kurt: "Do they plan to avoid us and all the players by digging a tunnel to Limeiro?"

Adam: "Impossible! If they had such an ability they would have used it from the start. If they dug a tunnel deep enough and it could reach the Limeiro then there would have been nothing that we could do, but wait for them to come out and attack us in the city. Erwin, how deep is the hole?"

Erwin: "Not too deep. A few explosives could unearth, or bury them alive. We can even just send Klaus to dig them out."

Adam: "Hahaha, what the hell are those guys doing!? I can't fathom how foreigners like them think, but it doesn't matter. With this its our-"

Cora: "Leader!"

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Before Abagail could turn around before sensing danger Cora deployed a Defensive Force Field near her. A Nen Emission attack aimed at Abigail landed on the Defensive Force Field. Not just one. Over half a dozen such attacks came crashing down on the shield. Abgail looked to the side in the direction that the attacks came from expecting to see a Player of Team Japan, but she was mistaken.

Nen Users.

Just regular Nen users/player of the island. Abgail and the others were pissed off that other players were using this timing to attack them right as they were about to wipe out Team Japan... but it couldn't be helped. The enemies in this last event weren't just Team Japan. Every other player was an enemy to be defeated. The less competition one had, the better your own chances of acquiring all 100 Designated Pocket Cards will be. There were teams present, but if a player wasn't with you than they were against you and needed to be killed. Anyone who hadn't runway the moment that they arrived as this event was mandatory were rivals to be killed. This meant both Team Japan and Team Germany were in the cross fires.

Abigail: "Tch, go to hell!"

Abigail was furious and showed the hesitation. Her right arm transformed into a metallic one and from her finger tips five strings of light left a beautiful trail as they flew towards the groups of enemy players and on contact they were hacked to pieces unable to counter attack in time. Abigail, seeing the bloody scene left out a relived sigh as she felt better having killed someone.

Abigail: "Ah that felt good. This ability that allows me to butcher people... is the best! Anyways, let's forget about them now and-"

Erwin: "Leader! Big trouble! From all around us... all of the players, thousands of Nen Users are converging on our location as we speak!"

Abigail: "What!? How could this-"

It was then that Abigail noticed something at her feet. A piece of paper that belonged to the players Abigail just slaughtered was blown by the wind and fell to her feet. She picked up the piece of paper in her hands... and all too soon ripped apart the paper, no a poster of a certain individual and yelled towards the heavens in bloody rage for all to hear.

Abigail: "Team Japan! I want you all to die!"

Team Japan even hidden beneath the earth could hear Abigail's yell of rage it was a voice that would normal induce fear in everyone who heard it, yet Team Japan were happy. At that moment the sound of her screams were pleasant to the ears. The reason was because it was proof that the plan that would push Team Germany into despair had begun.

Shin: "Hahaha! Hey, let's just wait another minute. If we do I bet they won't even have the ability follow after us. Any objections?"

Hikari: "Nope. This plan is the best. Just waiting here and imaging what Team Germany is going through right now is the best! Haha, I hope that they all die!"

Aqua: "I understand how you feel, but we won't get the Team Points or the individual points and rank rewards if they all die from this. We need them in a panic, not to be wiped out if all possible. Anyways, a minute is fine Shin, but we can't risk waiting any longer. We have to be the ones to finish them off. Not just for the rewards, but for our fallen comrades!"

With that said they waited. One minute passed before Shuai had his Earth Elemental Gnome open the seal to the hole they hid in and returned to the surface. Then after breathing in the cool and fresh air they all turned back to see the results of their plan and... it was madness. Pure madness that made them feel relived. Thousands and thousands of Nen Users were going at it in not too far away and right in the center of it all was Team Japan's dreaded enemy, Team Germany.

Shuai: "Oh wow... It really worked!"

Misaki: "Haha, they're just ganging up on them! How have none of them died yet?"

Shin: "Probably they're holding on thanks to the Defensive Force Field user. Anyways, with this we can call it a success! And we have Jin... and surprisingly Kisara to thank for this."

Jin: "Hahaha! I don't believe that I deserve any of the credit here guys. Definitely Kisara should be given credit, but not me. The plan to distribute false information around Greed Island... anyone could have thought of it."

Jin said that, but Shin recalling then plan in detail knew that he deserved most of the credit. The plan was executed the day after Team Japan and Team Germany fought each other. Jin had the idea of making use of the players of Greed Island, Nen Users, to attack Team Germany on their behalf. Shin and the others agreed that it was a great idea to gain their support the next time they face Team Germany, but they didn't know how to go about it, but Jin did.

Jin who could guess what kind of format the final event of Greed Island would take came up with a devious plan. Jin had Kisara, the best artist in their group and personally saw Team Germany's leader Abigail, sketch wanted posters (One Piece Format was Shin's idea) of her and distributed them across Greed Island. All the cities and towns were flooded with these posters with details about Team Germany. Their appearances, abilities, and such, yet Team Germany who went into hiding in wait of the final battle never knew this.

Now the players knew about Team Germany, so next came the incentive. Team Japan needed to give the players of Greed Island a reason to go after Team Germany. A reason to possibly risk their lives for some kind of reward or profit... and just a bit earlier today every person on Greed Island was given one. Everyone on Greed Island were just told the name of an individual who in all likelihood possessed all 100 of the Designated Pocket Cards needed to clear the game, and that person was...

Shin: "It was a great plan, but I don't know what to think of making out my Hikari as the target of everyone attention and in a bad way."

Hikari: "Who are you calling yours!"

Jin: "Hahaha! Don't worry about it Shin. No harm will come to Hikari. Indeed her name is on the wanted poster, but not her face. We had Kisara draw Team Germany's leader Abigail's face instead of Hikari right there on the center of the poster! We also gave written descriptions of what her comrades look like, so no harm will come to her our us. Just make sure not to speak her name around the Greed Island players."

Hikari: "Still... just look at what having my name has done! Shouldn't I cover my face or something?"

Aqua: "Calm down Hikari #2. It's the face of Hikari #1's face who's the target of everyone's hate and greed. You'll be fine #2."

Hikari: "Stop calling me by a number. Also, why am I Hikari #2 in your joke!?"

Hikari and Aqua went at this for a while, but overall the mood of Team Japan was at an all-time high. Thousands of Nen Users were obstructing Team Germany and Team Japan had the front seats to the show. Shin felt better about their situation and couldn't help but praise the plan Jin came up with. Also-

Shin: "Kisara, you also did an amazing job here. The portrait that you drew was perfect! It had such great detail and depth that you easily captured that bitch woman Abigail's face and essence. You can give the authors of Naruto and One Piece a run for their money if you were serious about becoming a Mangaka."

Kisara: "I, ah... I'm not that good. Very far from what a professional could have done. I'm just-"

Shin: "No such thing, Kisara. You're amazing. Not only are you a peerless beauty and swordsman, but you have the talent to draw Manga as well! You're extremely close to what I would call the ideal woman."

Shin said this with no falsehood, yet he retrieved mixed reactions from the women around him. Kisara looked off to the side embarrassed and wouldn't dare look Shin in the face. Hikari she glared at Shin and he felt her anger for hitting on another girl right in front of her. As for Aqua she just reminded silent and didn't look offended... yet this scared Shin far more than any yelling would have.

Shuai: "Anyways, things are finally turning our way now. Jin's plan was perfect."

Jin: "The praise is undeserving... but such a thing like a perfect plan doesn't exist and I personally deny such a thing. There is no such thing as a perfect plan. Not even I can't make one... unless the individual that made it has totally eliminated all desires and senses. Someone who can accept even their own death and the death of those around them for victory without a second thought. Maybe not even a first thought as it never crossed their mind as wrong. I'm trash, but still human, so that's impossible for me. Only such a person without a single care in the world can take on the perspective of a bystander till the very end. If this person also has remarkable wisdom and deductive ability, then he's the perfect mastermind, the strongest mastermind... unfortunately there is no such perfect human in this world. Perfection only leads to self-destruction."

Shin: "So it's better to be like us? Coming out with plans that can backfire and wipe us out with one mistake, but if it success then we get to live another day."

Jin: "Definitely!"

Misaki: "That's too depressing. Anyway, we've mess around far too long. Let's get started."

Shin: "Misaki's right. Let's move out. Hikari, Misaki, Shuai, Connor, Jin, Kisara, and I will head over into Limeiro. If the battle reaches the city we'll take them out. Aqua will sneak up to Team Germany, destroy their Defensive Force Field, and quickly escape using the crowd of players as cover. That shield that could block Kampa's Unicorn Beam Magnum is a real threat to us. Aqua, get rid of it! Connor is responsible for sniping. Once the Defensive Force Field is down Connor will snipe the enemy. Connor will snipe them all down, but his priority will be their Psyche Force user and healer/priest. Killing them will give our side a major advantage. Any questions?"

No one present raised an objection and so they began to move. Shin looked towards Aqua. Shin didn't like giving her these solo missions, but right now only she could do something about the enemy's Defensive Force Field. Aqua felt Shin's gaze full of worry towards her and approached him. Shin was confused, but was then happy at the idea that Aqua wanted to say something to him before leaving, or maybe even a kiss goodbye... but all that he got from her was a pat on the back. Three pats on the back that knocked him down to the earth and a malicious smile from Aqua as she then set off alone.

Shin: "Ah, what was that?! God, I'm sure there's a mark of a woman's hand print on my back now. Why not a hug or kiss? Where's the affection and show of love? What did I ever do to her!?"

Hikari: "Shin, you're hopeless in so, so many ways. How on earth do you imagine yourself building up a harem?"

Shin: "...Effort and manly spirit of a protagonist."

Hikari: "...Baka."


	143. Chapter 143

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 32, HxH Greed Island

A FRIENDLY REMINDER:

FROM HERE ON WHEN TEAM JAPAN IS SPEAKING OVER LONG DISTANCE I'LL BE PLACING SOMETHING AFTER THEIR NAMES. CP = COMMUNICATOR PHONE. SL = SOUL LINK, FOR WHEN IT'S EVENTUALLY EXCHANGED FOR. ALSO, IF IN A CONVERSATION A PERSON'S NAME DOESN'T HAVE EITHER DESPITE TALKING WITH A PHONE/POWER IT WILL MEAN THAT THEY ARE THE CENTER OF THE STORY AT THAT MOMENT AND THAT YOU SHOULD IMAGINE THAT EVERYONE IS TALKING TO HIM RATHER THAN THE OTHER WAY AROUND. IT MIGHT BE CONFUSING AT FIRST, BUT IT'S THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING WITHIN THE STORY.

Elena: "Holder of 100 Designated Pocket Cards, you have entered the Capital City, Limeiro. Stay within the city for the next three hours without exiting the city. Time will restart if you leave Limeiro. Once three hours have passed proceed to Dwun and List's study room within the castle to complete the Greed Island game!"

Shin: "Ha... Ha... Ha... Good. We finally made it!"

Having ran all the way Shin and his comrades, with the exception of Aqua, had entered Greed Island's capital city, Limeiro. Once they entered the city Shin received a notification from Elena telling him the last part of the event. To stay within the city for three hours and rush to Dwun and List's study room. Once Shin does so it'll be mission complete. Shin shared this information with the others and it caused one comrade, Jin to laugh.

Jin: "Hahaha, it's a good thing that the message was only heard by you, Shin. If not thousands of players would have realized that they were tricked and come rushing into Limeiro to kill us."

Shin: "Don't joke about that, Jin. If you... you specifically say something like that it's bound to come true. Your existence is like a bad jinx."

Jin: "Is there a good jinx?"

Hikari: "It just goes to show you how special you are, Jin. Now, the two of you stop messing around!"

Misaki: "Hikari is right. Time to get serious and put an end to this game."

Shin: "Fine, fine, fine. Hikari, summon your Persona and help us find somewhere that we can use for the next three hours that can be well defend, but first reconfirm Team Germany's current position and their situation. Connor, you're own your own. You know what to do, right?"

Connor: "..."

The child soldier of Team Japan Connor stayed silent, but he nodded to Shin's confirmation and began to move. Connor ran towards the tallest building on the outskirts of Limeiro and quickly climbed up to its rooftop. Once there and looking out into the distance he took out his C-Class Trigger and transformed into his Trion Body that enabled his use of Trion. Connor then laid flat down on the roof and took out his Ibis sniper Trigger and took aim. Shin, seeing this, took out his Communicator Phone and on their line contacted both Aqua and Connor to go over the plan one last time.

Shin: "Connor, remember your targets. The Psyche Force User and Priest. Aqua will create the opportunity, so just wait for her. I'll have Hikari guide you two."

Connor CP: "..."

Aqua CP: "I got it already and stop bugging me! Unlike you I'm doing my best to avoid an army of Nen Users. I'm using the Red Riding Hood cloak to stay under the radar, but if I go on the attack or make myself to obvious they'll notice me. Don't bug me. Just put Hikari on and stay out of this leader!"

Shin: "...Yes."

Shin did his best not to cry from the lack of affection from his favorite red head veteran (doing his best to not think about Aqua's child form as she wore the cloak) and passed the phone over to Hikari. Hikari had already summoned her support type Persona Adrasteia and begun searching for Team Germany and give their position to Aqua and Connor... but at that moment something strange happened. The moment that Hikari locked on to them... she lost them. Not just blocked by Team Germany's Psyche Force user Erwin, but completely vanished without a trace. Even Connor looking through the scope of his rifle and had just caught a glimpse of the enemy team lost sight of the enemy team.

Hikari: "This is... this is impossible! Shin... they're gone!"

Shin: "They're what!? Do you mean they masked themselves and you can't locate them?"

Hikari: "No. They... just vanished. They were fighting their way out from the army of Greed Island players and they just disappeared. Not even the players on the ground can find them and are just as confused. They are now just fighting each other in rage thinking it could help."

Aqua CP: "It's the same on my end! I had just found them and they disappeared. Additionally, their scents are gone as well. Even my tracking abilities with the Wolverine Mutation and Werewolf Bloodline are no help. Shin, what's going on?"

Shin: "I don't-"

Jin: "I think that I can explain. I suspect that this a different type of force field then what we've seen so far. A Stealth Force Field! Most likely a shield that makes those around the user invisible, and additionally blocks smell and hearing. Hikari not being able to find them means that it also has the power to block Psyche Force, or its just Team Germany still masking his group as they move."

Misaki: "Then why haven't we seen this before? If they had used it when we attacked the enemy camp then it would have been harder on us to attack them."

Jin: "...Maybe there's a time limit to this Stealth Force Field. They didn't use it to hide their base, or use it to walk up and sneak into Masadora to surprise us may be because it has a short duration and possibly long cool down time. It wouldn't stay active long enough for them to sneak into Masadora from the enemy camp, but they've must have decided that it would last long enough for them to enter Limeiro safely, or long enough for them to just sprint the remaining distance."

Shin: "..."

Hearing this Shin fell into a panic. Their current plan depended on Team Japan sniping Team Germany from a distance to kill off as many of the enemy Players as possible before they reach Limeiro. It was the plan that gave Team Japan the highest chance of success, yet it was their only plan. Shin and the others expected one or two members of the Team Germany to enter the city even under Connor's sniping, yet they couldn't have the entire enemy team enter the city.

Team Japan just wouldn't win.

Team Germany on average were more enhanced through God's Exchange System than Team Japan. Although they acted foolishly in the beginning Team Germany is the more experienced team as well. Also, within Team Japan that is just starting to get its act together only Aqua and Shin himself could hope to rival Team Germany's top fighters. If both teams are forced into a direct clash as is... Team Japan would certainly lose.

Shin knew this and knowing there was nothing that he could do decided to trust in his comrades. Shin wanted to be an Over Powered main character who could do everything, but because he was not that strong yet he decided to believe in his comrades. If there was something that Shin alone couldn't accomplish then there was surly a way for Team Japan altogether to accomplish whatever it is. That was his strong belief as the leader of Team Japan who has watched his comrades overcome even worse situations time and time again.

Shin: "Everyone! Locate Team Germany and use any method available to find them. Don't mind being spotted. It's more important to wipe them all out than keep playing it safe now! Go!"

With that command Shin and the others moved to higher vantage points to try to locate Team Germany. Shin used eyes reinforced by Ki Energy. Hikari used her Persona Adrasteia. Misaki used Observation and Mantra Haki. Aqua looked for any signs of them on the ground within the chaos of the battles between G.I players. Shuai sent out his ghost for surveillance and had Gnome check the vibrations of the earth. Jin himself didn't have an ability to search, so he just kept giving out ideas and possible locations where the enemy might he... but it was no use. Even when they came together and helped each other Team Japan just couldn't locate Team Germany. Whether they just couldn't spot them, the chaos of the battlefield, or both none of them could find even a single trace of Team Germany... and as for Connor.

Shin CP: "Connor, have you found anything?"

Connor: "...No."

Shin CP: "...I see. Don't worry about it. We know that you can do it. You're Team Japan's ace sniper after all. Your eyes are the best amongst us. Before any of us you'll find Team Germany and wipe them out. Just tell us when you've spotted them so we can back you up."

Connor then heard Shin hang up, but his words replayed themselves in his mind. He could hear in Shin's voice real trust in his sniping ability and as a comrade to be relied on. Connor would not say so out loud for the others to overhear, but he felt happy that he could once more have comrades who placed so much trust in him. After he disbanded his former mercenary group of child soldiers who all looked up to him, Connor thought that he would never have that feeling again. It was the best feeling... but it was also a heavy burden to bear as he's seen more than one comrade who trusted him on the battlefield die.

It was never because of a lack of ability or carelessness on his part. It just happens... like what happened to Renji and Kampa. Good friends, the best of friends could die at any moment in war. Still, Connor would always remember those who had fallen. Renji who although they were never that close had tried a few times to get closer to Connor without giving up. Kampa who was a soldier of the battlefield like himself, yet had created a life outside of war zones and extended a hand towards Connor and tried to have him find interest outside of combat so that he wouldn't grow up into a boring adult in his words.

Connor: "...Fuck it. Screw it all! Fucking bastards! Damn fictional powers getting in my way. Go to hell!

Connor cursed loudly. He cursed at the enemy who keeps talking things away from him and the nonsense of fictional super powers getting in his way of wiping out those attempting to kill to his comrades. Cursing everything out loud and in his heart increased his anger until it developed into pure rage. Connor's rage just grew greater by the second and without even meaning to he entered into the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint. Doing so increased all of his abilities which included perception as he looked through the scope of the Ibis rifle, yet he still could not locate the enemy team.

Connor: "Damn it all!"

Connor who had lied down on the roof of a building on stood up while still aiming his rifle into the distance outside the city. On Connor's face was a rare sight of emotion. Fury. He knew the enemy was out there yet just because they were invisible he couldn't shoot them. It was illogical to Connor and he wouldn't accept it... and that's when it occurred.

A new evolution.

Fueled by Connor's rage, from his naval Demonic Power that normally stayed in a dormant state ignited and began to spread throughout his Trion Body. Trion and Demonic Power then flowed throughout the body bring new levels of power, speed, and durability of the Trion Body, but it didn't end there. This new found power was something Connor hadn't yet grasped how to control ran wildly through his body and so a small amount of Demonic Power entered his heart. The heart was where the source of Trion was and when Demonic Power invaded... a line of power shot upwards from the heart and something snapped within Connor's head.

Connor: "Ghaaaa!"

From behind Connor eyes an intense throbbing pain could be felt and despite being in a Trion Body blood began to run down from his two eyes. Connor didn't understand what was going on, yet what occupied most of his thoughts at this moment wasn't the pain, but what he was seeing. Just before Connor was able to the blue of the sky, the green of the grass, the brown of the dirt, and the red of blood as Nen Users kept attacking and killing one another, yet now... there was just white.

Before the Connor's eyes the entire scenery had become white. The shapes were still there, so he hadn't gone blind, yet everything was white... except for one thing. The people. Around all the players of Greed Island fighting before him were aura of different colors and textures. Connor at first didn't understand what he was seeing, but soon understood. No, he had always known, but it was hard to accept that he knew without an explanation. Connor instinctively knew that the colors represented different emotions.

Red for anger, blue for sadness, green for happy, and black for hatred. The majority of the player that Connor could see had the either a red or black aura around them for anger and hatred as they fought amongst themselves for the 100 Designated Pocket Cards, yet they were not the same. The shape of the aura, how it flowed around them, and their texture each distinguished an individual from other people and no two were the same. Connor didn't understand how he knew or could see all of this, but suddenly recalling the one and only Manga that he reads, World Trigger, he soon knew the answer,

Side Effect.

This was Connor's newly acquired Side Effect. The ability to distinguish individual through a type of aura which showed in depth emotions. It was a similar ability of the mysterious S-Class Border Agent from World Trigger, Amon. Connor didn't yet know the full depths of Amon's Side Effect, but for the moment just accepted that he had acquired a similar ability.

Connor: "...What is that?"

From the corner of Connor's eye he saw it. Something. A large red and black mass of aura representing anger and hatred. That in its self wasn't strange now that he could see emotion. Where the main body of Greed Island Players was even a much large mass of black and red that almost swallowed up the horizon before him, but what was strange is that Connor couldn't spot any people within smaller mass traveling towards the city. The mass of black and red was about 4,000 meters away from Limeiro and closing in fast.

Connor: "Can't see any people within the aura... it's them!"

Connor realizing what he was seeing quickly informed Aqua and the others of his discover. They didn't understand how Connor found them, but he gave them no mind. Connor proceeded to charge the Ibis Trigger in his hands with power. Both Trion and Demonic Power for the first time which resulted in a yellowish gold radiance from the rifle in his hands. From there Connor simply aimed the muzzle of the Ibis Trigger rifle, took a stance to adjust to the recoil, and-

\- *BANG*!

Now less than 4,000 meters away from Limeiro after running for their lives was a certain group of seven. Team Germany. Abigail, Klaus, Adam, Cora, Kurt, Lutz, and Erwin. Under the cover of Cora second force field skill, Stealth Force Field, they had escaped the clutches of Team Japan's plan to have the players of Greed Island gang up on and kill them.

Abigail: "Fuck Team Japan to death! How dare they not only have the players of the island come after us, but also use my face on that poster as well! I'll skin them alive and that goes double for Shin and this Hikari woman of Team Japan!"

Adam: "Calm down leader. In the end thanks to Cora we survived and now have the chance to turn the battle around. They thought up of this plan because they didn't believe that they could defeat us in a straight fight. If they did think that they could win against Team Germany then they wouldn't risk a few of us dying back there and kill us all for the individual points and rank rewards. Once we get into the city it's our victory! A few of us may perish if they have something else up their sleeves, but the majority of us will definitely live through today and you'll get your revenge and promotion in the end."

Abigail: "Ahahahah! Your right Adam. Today is the day Team Japan dies by our hands! Erwin, what are they doing at the moment?"

Erwin: "Leader, they appear to be searching for us at this moment. They seem to be using many different means, but it's no use. Cora's Stealth Force Field combined with my masking is perfect. It blocks sound, sight, and even erases our scents. Adding in my Psyche Force ability to mask our presence it's perfect. I can't think of any means of discovering us aside from a wide area bombing or Large AOE magic attacks, and even then Cora can just switch back to the regular Defensive Force Field."

Cora: "Hmm, aren't I amazing? And once I get Psyche Force skills we won't even need Erwin to help me conceal us. Stealth Force Field has a short duration, long cool down, uses up a lot of stamina, and far lower durability against enemy attacks, but it's just as amazing as the Defensive Force Field in my opinion."

Abigail: "Then it was a good idea then for me to use a B rank reward to exchange the skill for you. Ahahah, we've duped Team Japan thanks to our superior enhancements and combination of abilities, and now we're almost to Limeiro. All that's left is to kill off Team Japan and claim my-"

It was then that Abigail saw saw it. From the outskirts of Limeiro coming from atop a tall building was golden light. Then with the sound of a bang a golden cannon ball of energy soared across the space between Limeiro and Team Germany at light speed. The cannon ball of energy crafted from Demonic Power and Trion smashed through Cora's Stealth Force Field.

Abigail at the last moment used a glowing light string to deflect the golden cannon ball, but the force was too great to stop and so she could only watch as it blew away her string and hit Erwin. The sniper shot from the Ibis impacted and crushed/eviscerated the top half of Team Germany's one and only Psyche Force user into a red fine mist similar to what Razor had once done to the Newbies of Team Japan, and just like what they saw at the time, Team Germany were lost for words at the sight.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 5, ENEMY TEAM KILL - 2000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -4.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -6.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Abigail: "Fucking sniper! They killed my Psyche Force user! How did he find us? Cora, just use the standard shield from now on. We're close enough to the city and lost most the players of the island. Hurry before another attack arrives!"

Cora: "Alright."

Cora raised her hands just and erected a Defensive Force Field around her team that had been reduced to six. Then just moments after another shot from Connor's Ibis Connors trigger arrived. The impact of the golden cannon ball created a large explosion as it hit the Defensive Force Field, yet it held on strong. Cora's Defensive Force Field once more showed its durability and was to be expected since it once blocked the beam attack of the Unicorn Beam Magnum.

Abigail seeing Team Japan's sniper's attack failed felt relived. If it could break through the Defensive Force Field it would have been the end for Team Germany and herself. It was a major loss to lose Erwin just moments ago, but it wasn't a loss that Team Germany couldn't recover from as they could just develop another Psyche Force user in Cora after this mission. As long as they wipe out Team Japan they would have the points and rewards to easily do so after all.

Abigail: "Erwin was useful, but there's still Cora. She'll even have better abilities than Erwin since she already has a few defensive magics. I can still recovery from the loss!"

Adam: "Leader, an enemy is approaching from the rear!"

Abigail: "!?"

Abigail looked back behind her team as they ran at full speed towards Limeiro and saw who it was. Who she was. Running at a speed that would put Olympic sprinter to shame was a woman in her early 20's with red hair with a red cloak trailing behind her back. Abigail had personally never seen the woman trailing behind them and slowly catching up, but she matched the description from a previous scan of Erwin. Abigail didn't understand why a lone member of Team Japan was chasing after her team... but the large caliber handgun in her right hand gave her an unknown sense dread that made her blood run cold.

Abigail, feeling that it would be too dangerous to allow Aqua to approach, transformed her left arm into its metallic form and summoned a glowing string to attack Aqua. The string looked harmless, yet Aqua knew from Shin description that it was the opposite. It was a glowing string that moved as fast as lighting and could become incredibly soft, sturdy, or in this case a razor sharp blade that can cut through buildings.

Aqua chose not to take any chances and went into Unlocked Mode. In the First Stage along with the combat instincts of her ancestors, Aqua's power, speed, and reaction speed increased. Aqua watched as the glowing string approached closer and closer and then with minimal effort and no loss of speed, evaded the string as it passed just by her neck.

Abigail: "Shit another Unlocked Mode member. She's Team Japan! Don't let her get close. Kill her!"

Team Germany followed Abigail's command. They each took out heavy weaponry taken out from a Storage Bag and opened fire at the red haired woman, Aqua, with a combination of modern and low level Sci'fi weapons. Aqua entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode as she saw the barrage of gunfire coming her way and sprinted away. In addition to the Second Stage, Aqua's powerful legs strengthened by her Wolverine Mutation, Werewolf Bloodline, and Nen allowed her to zigzag through enemy gunfire and approach Team Germany as a startling rate.

Aqua: (That gun is...)

Aqua who had almost reached the escaping Team Germany noticed something disturbing. Cradled in the hands of one of Team Germany's members, Kurt was a familiar weapon. It was the Pulse Rifle that once belonged to a comrade of Team Japan, Kampa's M41A-Magic Modified Sci-fi weapon. It was last seen in the hands of Kampa, but it was now in the hands of the enemy.

Aqua: "You bastards! You pilfered through his corpse! Go to hell!"

A furious Aqua charged forward. Still in the Second Stage and with as much Nen/Aura as possible strengthening her legs she ran until all what was left was a blur. Only Abigail and Adam could follow her swift high speed moments, yet they couldn't react in time. Now close enough Aqua raised her right hand tightly grasping a large caliber. The gun had a modern appearance, yet was neither a modern or sci-fi weapon in Aqua's hands.

It was a magic gun.

It was her trump card.

Thompson Contender Mystic Code.

The Mystic Code and gun of the Magic Killer when he used magecraft in battle against another magus. It was a powerful gun that can fire regular bullets with extremely high penetrating power, but its power as a BB tier magic gun lied elsewhere. The Thompson Contender Mystic Code special ability was to create Origin Bullets. By absorbing Mana, Ki, Nen, Psyche Force or other energy, one can fire Origin Bullets and these bullets were incredibly lethal to magicians and the like and could be called a trump card against them.

Origin Bullets 'Sever and Bind' magic power within an individual, permanently crippling them. A Player will need a whole body repair and three times the points to enable God to heal them if injured by the Origin Bullet. The performance of an Origin Bullet is greater when the magic power in the target is at its strongest, but has little to no effect on those without Mana/Magic power of any kind, yet lucky Aqua's target, the Defensive Force Field was a magic skill.

\- *BANG*!

From the Mystic Code gun a bullet made of bone was fired and flew towards Cora's Defensive Force Field protecting Team Germany. Cora, feeling danger as well, strengthened the shield as high as possible, yet that would turn out to be a fatal mistake. No one other than Aqua knew what was about to happen and when they did... they were left with a deathly pause. Right at the moment of contact Cora's powerful Defensive Force shattered as easily as glass and Cora fell over throwing up blood. Cora had died standing up before her face even touched the earth.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 5, ENEMY TEAM KILL - 2000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -3.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -7.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Adam: "Cora!"

Adam screamed as he saw his girlfriend die so swiftly before his eyes, yet the nightmare for Team Germany had yet to come to an end. The moment Cora's Defensive Force Field faded along with her life, Connor who switched out for the rapid fire and faster Lightning Trigger opened fire on Team Germany, specifically the healer Lutz. The Lightning Trigger now powered by Trion and Demonic Power enhanced the rifle to greater heights, so power and especially speed surpassed what Team Germany or even Connor expected. Abigail felt it was a lost cause to save him and tried to kill Lutz herself with a swipe of her glowing string, yet despite cutting his body in half a hole where his heart should be showed that the enemy had taken Lutz's life first.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 5, ENEMY TEAM KILL - 2000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -2.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -8.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Another member of Team Germany had all of a sudden fallen, yet no one, especially Adam cared to mind that. Adam just kept glaring at the Aqua who had killed Cora and gave chase. Aqua chose to escape here rather than fight and Adam followed. Aqua's adamantium claws and Adam's crystal sword would clash every now and again, but Aqua would keep escaping and gaining distance from Adam as they moved further and further away from what remained of Team Germany.

Abigail: "Fuck! Adam get back here! You're so dead for leaving on your own like this! Damn, Kurt get over here! Klaus, transform and begin tanking all the sniper attacks for us. Just get us inside Limeiro now!"

Under the threat of Abigail's glowing string ready to behead him if he disobeyed or hesitated, Klaus transformed into his Hulk form and began to charge forwards in despite of his now giant build. Abigail grabbed Kurt with her glowing string and then grabbed onto Klaus's strong and wide back. Demonic Power/Trion energy shots were then fired at Team Germany from Connor's rifle, yet all attacks just harmlessly bounced off Klaus's green skin and rock hard body. And like this... three of the surviving four members of Team Germany; Abigail, Klaus, and Kurt finally entered Greed Island's capital city, Limeiro, with a fourth member nowhere to be seen.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

This was a passing thought as I wrote this chapter, but couldn't Team Germany have stolen Kampa's Communicator Phone to spy of Team Japan? I think it's possible, but for the sake of the story I'm just going to say that it broke in Kampa's fight against Kort.


	144. Chapter 144

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 33, HxH Greed Island

Shin: "We're all here with the exception of one. Now all we have to do is wait for Aqua to return."

Within a mansion within Greed Island's capital city, Limeiro, Shin was addressing his comrades. A mansion not too close or far from the castle which would be their final destination. Once the three hours were up and Team Japan finished killing off Team Germany for Team Battle Points they needed to quickly make their way to the castle and into Dwun and List's study, but it was a mistake to take residence within the castle itself. This was something Shin and everyone could figure out, but Jin still began to explain the reason.

Jin had pointed out that both Team Germany and the players of Greed Island would focus on the castle since it the last stop for the holder of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards. Both the outside and also within the castle would be heavy defenses. If Team Japan took over the castle and waited out the clock then they would be forced into a defensive battle against all the players and Team Germany for three hours. Team Japan didn't have such power to defend themselves and the castle for so long, and that's why Jin proposed to break into the castle after three hours passed and then reach the study room.

Jin: "There's no need to focus on protecting the castle for that long. That's just a great waste of time and energy and could end up with our team wiping out. It's better to use what energy that we have to break through the enemies within the castle just once and reach Dwun and List's study. Now, as for how we'll spend the remaining two hours and twenty-five minutes, we'll-"

Shin: "It's great that you have a plan, but wait for everyone to arrive. Look, there our star of the show. The woman with Wolverine, Werewolf, and Nen enhancements who just showed a stellar performance not too long ago against Team Germany. Ladies and gentlemen let me present to you the lovely Aqua!"

Aqua: "What are you on about? I'm not appearing on a talk show, so get serious Shin."

Entering the mansion that was Team Japan's temporary base was Aqua. She appeared to have a few cuts from a sword here and there, but her strong regenerative powers had already activated and she was mostly healed. Shin was relieved to see Aqua again and now with her presence Team Japan was back together. Shin, Aqua, Hikari, Misaki, Shuai, Connor, Jin, and Kisara. They all looked at each and knew that things were going well. No one had died and they managed to kill three of Team Germany's members, including Team Germany troublesome Psyche Force user Erwin and healer Lutz.

Shin: "Connor taking out Erwin their Psyche Force user and that healer Lutz was big! Now our side has the absolute control of surveillance over the city and Team Germany can no longer heal from their wounds instantly. With no one to interfere or mask their presence or prolong the battle to keep them alive, we can plan out the attacks to wipe out Team Germany and breach the castle when it's time to move."

Jin: "Exactly. Hikari, could you scan Limeiro and give us the current situation of the city? From there I will adjust the plan that I have in mind."

Hikari: "Okay. Persona!"

Placing the muzzle of her SEES Evoker to her head, Hikari opened fire. From the sea of her soul blue shining flames ignited and from those flames came her support type Persona, Adrasteia. Now summoned, Hikari used Adrasteia to scan the city in detail and then relayed the information to everyone with her Game Map. The Game map was vague, yet Hiakri had a much clear image in her head, so she began to explain the results of her search.

Hikari: "...Okay. First, it seems like all the players have entered Limeiro. They are filling up the streets looking for Abigail who they believe to be me. They are both looking for the fake Hikari and fighting amongst each other which is good for us, but there are a lot of players within the castle like Jin thought there would be. Those within the castle appear to have come to a truce and are working together. I've also discovered within the castle Dwun and List's study room I believe. The two appear to be... just reading books and eating snacks! We're risking our lives for their shit game and they-"

Aqua: "Calm down, Hikari. They aren't important as we just have to enter the room. Not speak to them. What I want to know are the movements of Team Germany. When I was fighting with that one guy with the crystal sword we got separated when a wave of players running to the city came in between us."

Shin: "Aqua's right. We need to know their locations since we need to wipe them out. To fix our negative Team Score we need to at least kill two more members of the enemy team."

Hikari: "Don't worry about a thing Shin I've located some of Team Germany's members already. From my scans it seems like Team Germany's leader proceeded alone towards the castle and left behind her comrades. She is currently fighting her way through Limeiro's castle as we speak. The two left behind were the Hulk enhancer and their fire magician. The hulk man is currently going on a rampage to the west of Limeiro's castle and the fire magician is hiding northwest of the castle within a three story building and doesn't appear to be doing anything. As for the guy Aqua was just fighting... I lost him. Sorry, he just disappeared from my scans."

Jin: "That is a problem, but it's manageable."

Shuai: "Wait, did just say their leader just abandon her comrades? It doesn't make sense."

Misaki: "Ha? It think it makes incredible sense when you look at her character, Shuai. From what I've heard from the others with her obsession with Shin she is only out for herself. Team Germany is merely a tool. A means to an end if you want to put it a bit nicer. When I was a biker gang leader I've seen people like her. There's no comraderie between them like us. If her comrades are useful then she'll use them, but if they no longer have any value to her she'll throw them away without hesitation. Isn't it like that?"

Shin: "...Ha?"

Hikari: "...Hey, this is..."

Aqua: "...Wow."

Shuai: "...Misaki, are you okay?"

Connor: "..."

Jin: "This was... unexpected."

Kisara: "..."

Misaki: "What?"

Shin: "Ah, it's nothing. I just... we had all forgotten that you could be smart sometimes is all."

Misaki: "Fuck you!"

Hikari: "Now now. He just meant that you are overshadowed by those like Jin and myself, and Saki when she was with us, biker punk."

Misaki: "Did you just say that you were smarter than me and insult me too!?"

Hikari: "What of it?"

Misaki: "!"

Misaki went to sulk in a corner as Team Japan continued their discussion.

Jin: "Anyways, I believe what Misaki said was correct. With the loss of Erwin who was their team's eyes and the girl who was their shield, the probability of Team Germany wiping out is very high. Their leader Abigail came to the conclusion that her comrades were going to die and so it was better to rely on herself. She'll accept the deaths of her comrades and the negative Team Points that come with it and make a stand within the castle. She probably didn't kill them herself because she wishes for us to waste our energy on dealing with them and not putting all of our resources into taking just her down. The enemy leader went into the castle because we'll have to enter at some point and she'll be waiting to kill us all. Even if she still has Negative Team Battle Points by the end wiping us all out herself will give her enough points to survive alone."

Shin: "How selfish. I'll definitely make sure to personally kill her. Anyway, things are looking good for us. It's troubling that we don't know where their swordsman is, but we can manage. Jin you said that you had a plan, so let's hear it."

Everyone looked over towards Jin. All eyes were all on him as this was a serious discussion, yet he was acting the way he always does. A smile on his face like he was enjoying every second of this and eyes that shone with madness. Jin wouldn't mess around and normally he came up with brilliant plans, yet in spite of his good track record to date everyone couldn't help but feel that he was untrustworthy. He was far from it in reality, but it was just the aura that he gave off that would say otherwise.

Jin: "Then let me explain. It's a simple plan really. Shin, Hikari, Misaki, and Kisara will wait here at the mansion till the required time passes. Shin and Misaki will be left behind to rest up for the time to raid the castle. Aqua, Shuai, Connor, and myself will face off against Team Germany's pyromancer and Hulk enhancer. The combination of close range, midrange, long range, and Shuai unique abilities will help us wipe out the two. We'll wipe them out and by doing return to a +0 Team Battle Score. Then once we reach the time requirement Shin and Misaki will head out to raid the castle. Depending on the situation you're to either kill Team Germany's leader, or try to sneak pass her to reach the study room without a fight. Aqua, Shuai, Connor, and myself if we're able to continue fighting will either reinforce you two as you enter the castle or stay to protect Hikari our pillar of support. That's all."

Shin and the others found Jin's plan to be simple as he said. No complicated plans or the like. There was risk of danger as with any plan, but nothing relied simply on luck like the other plans that they had followed so far. The only irregular in this plan was Adam who couldn't be located by Hikari's scans, but long as Team Japan proceeded with caution then it wasn't something impossible to deal with.

Shin: "It a good and simple plan. It's a surprise since this is Jin's plan, but I won't complain."

Jin: "That kinda hurt Shin... even though it's well deserved."

Shin ignored Jin's protest and ordered his comrades to move. First Shin had Hikari applied her multiple magic buffs on everyone. It may not last that long as the effects of the spells only last 20-30 minutes currently, but he believed every bit of help couldn't be called a waste. Then Aqua, Shuai, Connor, and Jin left the mansion. Shin, Hikari, Misaki, and Kisara moved deeper into the mansion as it wasn't safe by the main doors if someone decides to break in. With this Team Japan's final battle within Greed Island truly started.


	145. Chapter 145

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 34, HxH Greed Island

Capital City Limeiro.

Hiding northwest from the castle in the center of the city was Kurt and he was alone. Kurt was hiding in a three story building. Battles were being raged outside which very well determined whether he lived or died, yet he refused to leave his hiding place without reason.

It was because Kurt was alone.

Both literally, but more importantly figuratively. After Team Germany was hit by Team Japan's successive surprise attacks before finally reaching the city he was the only normal member of his team still alive. His leader Abigail, Klaus, and Adam had all unlocked the Genetic Constraints and looked down on those who had not and were seen as dispensable.

Kurt: "Fuck! Even as leader left as she clearly abandoned her team she only spoke Klaus. She didn't even look my way... but that was probably a blessing. If that bitch had not forgotten my existence she would have probably killed me so Team Japan couldn't get the rewards like she tried to do with Lutz. Dammit! Webber, Kurt, Cora, Lutz, and Erwin... why did you have to die and leave me alone like this?"

Kurt was normally a battle crazed warrior like his former partner Webber and personally loved to burn the flesh of his enemies with his magic, but that was before. Now, Kurt's spirit had been broken. The reasons were Team Japan's relentlessly wiping out his team and the fallout of his own team, but the conclusion of the two left Kurt paralyzed and unable to take action. Even knowing that if he doesn't kill a few members of enemy team he would certainly be erased by God even if no one came searching for him.

Kurt: "Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't-"

Kurt kept praying to the heavens for salvation, yet he forgot one important thing. Whether or not the real god or gods of the real world would hear him out or not, the God of this dimension was cold and cruel. An existence that only sought out the struggle of mankind to study evolution. Such a God... would never answer a prayer for peace.

\- *RUMBLE*!

Kurt: "!"

Underneath Kurt's feet the floor shook. To be more accurate the entire three store building he was hiding in was shaking as if a great earthquake had hit. The strange thing was that it was only the building he was in that was experiencing this earthquake, yet that didn't matter in the end. Kurt could tell that the building was in danger collapsing and somehow he moved. Kurt intended to jump out from the window as he hoped for safety outside, yet he was disappointed once more. From the window he was running towards three grenades were thrown inside and detonated before him.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

From outside.

The windows and frames of the third floor of the building were blown off by the blast of the three grenades. Shortly after a man in a tattered red robe, Kurt, fell from the third floor and landed on the streets below. It was a somewhat long fall, yet his magic robe at the very least gave this level of protection. Kurt, taking out a sci-fi weapon, looked around to see if there was an enemy present and-

Shuai: "Let go of that weapon! That doesn't belong to you!"

And found one. Not far away and standing out in the open was Team Japan's shaman Shuai. Shuai was normally like air and rarely got upset, yet his eyes were filled with rage. A confused Kurt followed Shuai's line of sight and found the enemy looking at the M41A-M Pulse Rifle in his arms. It was a sci-fi weapon picked up from the corpse of Team Japan's gunner.

Kurt: "What! Are you that upset that I picked up this weapon from your comrade's corpse who died after killing one of my comrades? Fuck you! Hahaha! What's wrong with me using this gun it's mine now! I found it! Hahahahahahahahahahaha! If you want it back so badly take away from my cold dead fingers! Hahahahahaha! If you don't get burned alive first!"

Kurt had gone mad from the stress. In one hand he held the pulse rifle at his side and the other hand conjured a large fire ball. Bullets from the Sci-fi gun were let loose on Shuai. Just before they hit three layers of earth shields erupted from the ground to block the shots. Soon the walls of earth were blown apart by the power of the pulse rifle, yet on the other side Shuai was nowhere to be found.

Kurt: "Where are you rat?! You wanted to fight me, so let me burn you-"

As Kurt yelled like a manic he was stabbed from behind. Kurt looked behind his back to find a cute girl in yellow clothes, Gnome holding a bloodied spear made from stone stabbing into his side. Nothing vital was hit, but Kurt still threw up blood and he watched Gnome back up to retreat. In a fury Kurt released a fire ball at Gnome, but just before it hit, Gnome's body lost its shape and form and became a statute made of rocks that were then blown away by the fireball. As an Elemental Gnome could take on a physical form to attack and tank hits by using the natural elements, or revert to a spirit form hard to both find and harm.

Kurt's face had turned red with rage rather than because of his own injuries. He desperately looked around for Shuai or the Elemental. Then he found both. Shuai and Gnome were together and escaping around a corner into another street. Kurt who was forced into a fight, now losing a lot of blood, and being left all alone again was furious at Shuai. Enough so that he chased after Shuai despite his injuries for the sole sake of burning him alive. Kurt in great agony ran and turned the same corner as Shuai to chase him down, and-

-*BANG*!

A loud gunshot from an anti-material rifle rang through the city. Connor, who didn't feel need to use his Trigger used a normal sniper rifle to take the shot to blew off Kurt's leg as he turned to the corner in chase of Shuai. Kurt struggled and tried to reach for the M41A-M Pulse Rifle that feel from his hands when he fell, and seeing this action Connor with a hint of anger in his eyes proceeded to blow off the arm reaching for his fallen comrades weapon as if it was his own.

Kurt: "..."

Shuai: "...HOI! JOSO! KETSU!"

Shuai silently walked back to the dying to give him his last rights. Kurt had a stab wound and lost two limbs. He wasn't like Shin or Aqua and couldn't hope to survive such heinous wounds and continuing let him suffer like that was too cruel. Team Japan wanted Kurt and his teammates dead, but personally they didn't get anything from torturing others.

Shuai: "METSU!"

Shuai created a purple Kekai Barrier around Kurt's head and let it detonate. The barrier collapsed on itself as it imploded and when the smoke cleared Kurt's head was gone and his suffering had come to an end.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 5, ENEMY TEAM KILL - 2000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINTS.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -1.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -9.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Shuai then looked away from the corpse of the victim he had personally killed and walked towards Kampa's fallen M41A-M Pulse Rifle, finally reclaiming it. Shuai then worried if it was fine for himself to keep it and not give it to one of the other of Team Japan, but first he contacted Connor over the Communicator Phone. Just before he did he considered looting Kurt's corpse for any items, but remembering how much it disturbed him when Team Germany did so to Kampa, Shuai choose not to.

Connor CP: "We're done here. Soon we'll be executing the attack on the green giant of Team Germany. Time to fall back and regroup with the others.

Shuai: "Sure, but was that okay back there? You could have head shot the guy, so why did you shoot him in the legs?"

Connor CP: "I found that the enemy was too weak both physically and mentally to be a threat to us, and so it was worth the risk of incapacitating him so that you can get the points for killing him. I've already killed two members of the enemy team. It was fine to hand the kill over to you."

Shuai: "Is that so? Wait, was that your way of showing kindness to a comrade?"

Connor CP: "..."

Connor immediately hung up the phone and left his snipers nest to regroup with the others leaving behind a confused Shuai. Shuai then looked towards the sci-fi rifle and recalled that Kampa had once tried to make the child solider of Team Japan open up. Shuai then sighed to himself and ran after to meet up with the others as well.

Shuai: "You really had it rough Kampa... I guess in your place I'll give it a shot as well later."


	146. Chapter 146

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 35, HxH Greed Island

Capital City Limeiro.

Two and half hours have passed since Shin and Team Japan entered Limeiro. Far to the west of the castle where the final battle would take place was another battlefield. A battlefield of pure madness and chaos. Corpses filled the streets of the city and fire raged hard as the west side of the city was swallowed up in flames... but the battle that started here was not yet over. Directly in the center of it all was a monster.

A large muscular monster with green skin and chaos shinning within its two black eyes. This monster with the Hulk Mutation, Klaus was currently engaged in combat against with over a dozen Nen Users. These Nen Users knew that they were no match for the green beast in front of them, but the sadness of fallen comrades and the adrenaline of combat neglected the "flight" of their fight or flight instincts... so they could only do one thing at that moment.

Random G.I Player: "Get him!"

Of the twelve Nen Users present, seven of them charged at the green beast with weapons reinforced by Aura. The remaining five used this time to charge their respective attacks to kill the monster... but it was no use. The green beast that they feared as an unstoppable monster that claimed many lives within the city lived up to its reputation. Klaus, unconcerned about those before him simply screamed with fury. Its voice alone caused some of the Nen Users to stop as they were dazed and before they realized the end had come.

With speed unexpected for its giant status, Klaus swiftly evaded the incoming close range fighters and tore them apart. His fist could bend reinforced steel and it blew away all his enemies and turned them into pancakes of flesh and blood. The Nen Users who were about to attack from a distance were stunned by this scene and Klaus took this chance to approach and smash them one by one. When he was done their corpses didn't resemble anything close to a human form.

Klaus: "Me smash! Hahahahahahahahaha! Me did good, right!?"

Klaus rage filled roars traveled across the city of Limeiro and at that time he began to recall what previously happened. Before they had separated Abigail had ordered Klaus to destroy everything in sight. Team Japan, the Greed Island players, and even the buildings. Even in his state of madness he could recall this order perfectly, yet he couldn't have known that Abigail thought of him as a sacrificial tool.

Abigail only hoped that Klaus would gain Team Japan's attention and kill a few members before eventually falling. The normal Klaus would have found it strange to follow Abigail's orders to the letter, but his previous rage at the loss of so many comrades, transforming into the Hulk, and the many battles that increased both his adrenaline and rage led him not to question orders that would lead to his own demise.

Klaus: "Smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash! Hahaha, I'm so powerful and strongest! Who's will I tear apart and destroy next, and next! Hahahahahahahahaha!"

Aqua: "Fucking retarded! If you're looking for a challenge how about taking me on green ass hole! Or what am I too much for you?"

Klaus: "!"

Hearing the provocation Klaus turned around in a hurry with fury in his eyes. *BANG*. As he did a bullet from a large caliber held by a woman with red hair in her early 20's hit his face. The bullet had high penetrating power, yet it bounced off his skull. The woman, Aqua clicked her teeth and had an upset look on her face as she witness her high power magic gun doing zero damage to Klaus.

Aqua: "Damn, you really are all muscle! Not an ounce of magic or special energy within you. Well, lucky you. We get to play a bit longer freak!"

Klaus: "Girl with red hair needs to get smashed!"

With that little bit of provocation Klaus charged towards Aqua in a fit of rage. His reason for doing so wasn't because she was an enemy who attacked him or a member of Team Japan, but because she had looked down at his strength and that angered him to death. Klaus's situation in the mission had was not bright and he was all alone as he only had Abigail's last order to follow. The order to destroy everything and Klaus found solace in it and his own strength to bring forth chaos and destruction. And so, for strength that he had pride in, a strength that even brought fear to his comrades and almost previously brought Team Japan's leader to death, for Aqua to make fun of it was unacceptable.

Klaus: "Diiieeeeeee!"

Klaus clenched his giant sized fist hard and threw a right punch towards Aqua. It was a punch that would reap Aqua's life away. Even Shin needed various skills and abilities to survive taking hit from Klaus. Aqua possessed an adamantium exoskeleton that wouldn't break or bend under normal circumstances, yet everything else in her body would be flattened into a red paste if she took this punch head on... so she didn't.

Aqua: "I have no obligation to get into a punching match with a freak like you!"

\- *TEAR*!

As Klaus followed through with his punch a loud tearing sound could be heard. Something incredibly tough and resilient was being torn apart. This was a confusing sound to Klaus who couldn't find Aqua after throwing his deadly punch and it took him a moment to understand what had happened. What had happened to him. Something large and heavy had fallen to the ground and only did Klaus notice that his right arm from the elbow down had been cut off.

It was a shocking sight to see green blood dripping out from the blood wound that was once an arm, but Klaus paid it no mind as he looked towards Aqua who he finally found to the side. Aqua was completely and unharmed and she had entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode. Green blood dripped from three adamantium blade attached to her hand glowing with an orange light of her Aura. Aqua, with a swipe of her hand, flung off the dirty blood and pointed her blades at Klaus threateningly.

Aqua: "Ha, not even a scream. Damn, monster! Well, you're not that tough. While you do have extreme power and a speed to match... that's about all you are. My adamantium blades reinforced with Nen can easily slash and cut you down to size. Ha, Shin only struggled as much as he did against you because he didn't understand your potential. He also had comrades nearby, so he couldn't risk dodging the attacks he could and risk two girls getting attacked instead."

Aqua was saying all of this, but she was bluffing about how easily it was to deal with Klaus and she had to praise Shin for staying alive like he did. To face off against the green hulk monster in front of her now while protecting two girls was more than anyone, including herself could have done. Klaus was an extremely tough opponent by any standards. He had power, speed, and enough technique to pose a threat to anyone. Aqua had the benefits of two mutations and a whole enhancement, one of which was A tier, the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode, and a weapon in hand that would not break or bend, yet it took all of her strength to tear off Klaus's arm from the just the joint. If she were to aim for his heart protected by layers of muscles or the brain incased in thick bone, she didn't have the confidence to take his life in an instant. For Aqua, she believed that it would take a lot of hacking in slashing to reach those to vital organs and she couldn't imagine Klaus just standing there.

Aqua: (And look! His wound where I had cut off his arm had already closed... fine, let's fall back to plan B.)

Aqua, who believed it would take too much effort on her part to cut Klaus down decided to go with another plan. There was possibly a greater threat within Limeiro's castle waiting for Team Japan, so Aqua didn't want to commit to a do or die battle just yet which would leave her at the very least weakened for the remainder of the mission. Aqua's goal for meeting Klaus was to gain his attention and see if it was possible to kill him then and there.

Klaus: "I'll kill yooouuuu!"

Aqua: "Haha! I definitely gained his attention!"

Aqua laughed and started to run away and Klaus gave chase. The two began to run through the streets of Limeiro in a deadly game of cat and mouse with Aqua taking the lead and escaping capture every chance Klaus tried. Klaus was incredibly fast and not slower than Aqua herself, but Aqua wouldn't run in straight lines. Aqua would zigzag, take sudden turns through alleyways, and ran through abandoned homes. Klaus gave chase and powered through everything, but slowly he was beginning to lose her.

Not so much that he would lose sight of her, but never enough to catch and strangle her by the throat like he wanted... and that should have appeared odd to him. Aqua had a few chances to completely lose Klaus using the complexity of the terrain and the guidance from Hikari's Game Map downloaded into her head. Even if Klaus didn't know about the latter it should have occurred to him that he could be being lead into a trap, but the rage occupying his mind made him only see red and Aqua's retreating back.

Klaus: "Woman, stop running and fighhhtttt!"

Aqua turned a corner and Klaus followed after her, yet before his eyes she had disappeared. Klaus looked around and found that he had been lead to an empty town square. Then in the distance he found Aqua running away at a speed surpassing anything he had seen so far. In the Second Stage of Unlock Mode and reinforcing her legs with as much Aura as possible Aqua was running as if her life depended on it and it was in fact running with her life on the line.

Aqua had kept her speed at 85% so she wouldn't lose Klaus till it was now and now that she had lead him into the trap she reached her top speed and escaped. Klaus was then about to give chase when, *BANG*, something hard and heavy hit his right eye. A long distance attack from the Ibis blinded Klaus in one eye and temporary stopped his movements for another comrade to make a move.

At that moment a shot from afar impacted Klaus's eye the ground underneath his feet began to sink curiosity of a certain Earth Elemental. Before Klaus realized it a pool of quicksand formed under him and by the second his was sinking. Klaus had enough sense and power to escape the quick sand, but disturbing him even more was a sudden blinding light around his one good eye.

Klaus: "Rrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

All the little tricks to hinder his movement left Klaus in a state of rage so great that he could no longer form proper words and could only scream to convey his feelings... and taking this moment to attack Team Japan's secret weapon was released from the magician and mastermind strategist. Klaus could no longer see it, but a mass of metal with flames coming out of the back was flying towards him. What was flying towards him was something anyone from the modern age and had a good pair of eyes would recognize. It was a missile fired from a rocket launcher.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

An unearthly explosion occurred in the Capital City of Limeiro that shook the land.

Portable Surface to Air Missile.

This was Team Japan's trump cards that was exchanged for 2000 Points from Drebin893 for the sole purpose of wiping out Team Germany. Team Japan's magician and mastermind strategist, Jin was the one who paid for and thought to use it against Team Germany. Jin had guessed that the final event of Greed Island would be a large scale event with the majority of players actively participating, and so he wanted a weapon to eliminate both the players and Team Germany at once and when he had visited Drebin893 along with Shin his eyes fell to the portable surface to air missile launcher.

This was a weapon like its original that could destroy and burn everything within a kilometer. It was a weapon that didn't exist in portable form in the real world and Jin couldn't resist testing it out on the enemy. Jin exchanged for the missile launcher, but only having one missile and one that he couldn't test he could only save it for the day of the final battle. In the few days beforehand, Jin had Connor teach him how to fire it. Shin kept the missile launcher in one of his Na Rings and handed it back to Jin and his group who went out to take out Kurt and Klaus.

Jin: "...Maybe I should have taken the risk of it getting intercepted and fired this monster at Team Germany when they were all together. Once the woman with the Defensive Force Field died nothing would have saved them from being blown away of it hit. Team Germany's leader could have slashed at it from a distance with her light string, but-."

Shuai: "Ahhh... don't talk to me! Don't speak! Every little sound is killing me!"

Shuai was next to Jin as he fired the portable surface to air missile at Klaus and despite being a good distance away when they fired... they were still caught up in the blast. There was a grand explosion that blew apart the street Klaus was standing on and along with dust an intense shock wave of heat and sound hammered into them. When they looked around they confirmed the results, but they couldn't even see one inch into the distance under the heavy cloud of smoke from the blast and dust from the unearthed ground.

By pure destructive power no one who was still alive would question the reason such a powerful weapon cost only 2000 Points was because it's effective firing range gets the shooter and comrades nearby caught up in the blast. Jin, Shuai, Connor, and Aqua who had all escaped the blast felt dizzy and ached all over. They felt happy for the power, but were glad that they only had the one missile on hand.

Jin: "Hahaha! At least we're alive... even if the pain from the shock wave makes us want to die. It's kinda funny."

Shuai: "Enough with the talk about dying!"

Jin: "Fine, but contact Aqua first. I didn't get a notification from God so the hulk freak should still be alive somewhere in this mess."

Shuai: "Wait, that guys still alive after that!? No human can survive that!"

Jin: "He's not really human Shuai. He's the hulk, or more accurately a degraded copy of him at the very least. He's alive, but definitely barely at that. He was just saved by his abnormal Muscle Density and endurance based Mutation. I doubt he can fight anymore til he heals and is just cowering in this cloud of dust some-"

Then as if he jinxed himself it appeared as Jin turned his back towards destruction that he caused. A large shadow of a giant swiftly moved through the cloud of dust towards Jin and Shuai. Shuai was the first to notice the green, no, now black and bloodied giant burned by the surface to air missile as it stood behind Jin. Jin saw Shuai's petrified face and felt something was off, but it was too late.

Before he could attack, defend, or hope to escape Klaus used his remaining hand burned black to grab and lift Jin into the air. Jin's body was completely grasped by the giants's hand and slowly Klaus's grip on Jin increased till he began to throw up blood and internal organs. Jin could only helplessly stare at Klaus as his life was being squeezed out of his body and it was only then that his other comrades arrived.

Aqua's Adamantium Claws were out and ready to tear the enemy, Shuai had summoned Gnome and readied the recently retrieved M41A-M Pulse Rifle, and Connor raised the muzzle of the Ibis Trigger charged by Trion and Demonic Power at Klaus's head, but the giant in control of Jin's life sent a quick glance to everyone that spoke volumes. No words were exchanged, but it was made clear that if anyone of them approached he would tighten the vice grip on Jin till all of his innards spilled out. Thirty seconds past like this and once Klaus was certain that no one would try anything he spoke. His words were clear. After accumulating so much rage and frustration in this battle he had reached a temporary calm in the storm and madness of his emotional state.

Klaus: "I will now leave here. Don't follow or attempt to surprise attack me unless you want this man here to be flattened to death like your previous comrade."

Aqua: "Bastard!"

Aqua immediately wanted to hack Klaus to pieces, but she didn't move just yet. Klaus was no longer the fool from before who only had thoughts of destroying things and bringing chaos. Aqua didn't know what Klaus had in mind to survive, but she could guess that he wanted time to recover. Klaus had taken massive damage. Herself, Connor, and maybe even Shuai could kill Klaus in his current condition. Team Japan also had a Persona/Psyche Force user still alive, so escape was not possible.

That's why Klaus instead of fighting or escaping pointlessly, Klaus choose to take a hostage to drag out the clock til he fully recovers. Aqua didn't know what else Klaus had planned, but maybe that was it. He had no other plans and was just following his instincts to stay alive just a bit longer. Aqua found this this type of enemy more troubling than anything else. A desperate enemy that would do anything to live, yet had short term plans. Klaus was resolved to do whatever it took to survive, yet gave no thought to the future. As Aqua had feared... the current Klaus was incredibly dangerous to deal with without a plan, and Team Japan strategist was currently-

Klaus: "Now all three of you, leave or else I'll kill him here! I'm not playing-"

Jin: "Ha... Ha..."

Klaus: "Huh?"

Jin: "Haha... Hahahahahaha! How, *COUGH*, hilarious of you! The formerly green and now black and crispy freak is calmly giving out instructions. That, *COUGH*... so funny that I I'm about to die of laughter. Literally! You wouldn't be in this mess if you were like this from the start retard! Even trash like myself can see, *COUGH**COUGH**COUGH*... "

Klaus: "!"

Shuai: "Stop speaking moron! There are too many ways that you can die now!"

Shuai yelled filled with concern for his comrade, yet Jin couldn't hear him. Only the sounds of his bones breaking and Klaus's voice could be heard in his current tormented state. Jin was also only looking towards the enemy before him who had bloodshot eyes that conveyed his desire to kill him. Jin found that funny that the person Klaus currently wanted to kill the most was also keeping him alive by holding the enemy at bay. It was so funny in his mind that Jin for the very first time in his life thought someone was even more pitiful than himself... so it was unacceptable.

Like Shin who didn't desire a death from a low level villain, Jin wouldn't accept being killed by an insect in his eyes lower than himself trying to kill him. It was so unacceptable and combined with his own desperate struggle to stay alive... and recalling his own dark past something unlocked within him.

The First Stage of the Genetic Constraint.

Jin's eyes went out of focus as the sign of his awakening. His emotional state as he walked the line between life and death forced him into Unlocked Mode for the first time. Combat instincts flooded his mind and gave birth to countless ideas to escape his dilemma with his life intact. Jin's power, speed, and reaction speed increase in the First Stage, but those were of very little use while in the vice grip of a powerhouse like Klaus. Still, Jin came up with a last desperate act to save himself.

Jin struggle and threw up even more blood as he attempted to free his arm from Klaus's grasp and by some miracle succeed. Jin felt that the left arm that was freed was dislocated at the very least, but his attention wasn't to strike his enemy. Jin's aim was simply to touch Klaus's face. Klaus paid no mind to Jin as he saw him as no threat and had yet to realize he had entered into Unlocked Mode. Aqua, Shuai, and Connor were watching Jin's struggle to reach Klasu, yet what they were really confused about was the maddening smile across his face. Then at last Jin left hand reached Klaus's face and only now did he turn to face Jin... only to see the face of an enemy with eyes filled with more despair and madness than his own looking directly at his soul.

Jin: "Hahahahahahahaha! F-fuck off green monster wannabe trash... Die!"

Jin laughed as he concentrated all the mana in his remaining mana in his body and channeled all of it to his hand gripping the hulk monster's face. The process of using magic or moving energy always had some kind of delay, yet in Unlocked Mode even his speed and accuracy of using special powers were sharper and resulted in a faster activation. All of Jin's mana was converted into ice magic and began to spread across Klaus's face.

At first Klaus thought nothing of Jin's ice magic that had so far done no damage to him as it hit him and was about to laugh at Jin's efforts, but he soon realized that his overconfidence was a fatal mistake. The ice didn't just spread across the surface of face, but penetrated into his inner flesh and bone. Klaus realized the danger he was in being in Unlocked Mode himself, but it was too late to kill Jin as the ice had already entered into the skull and froze the brain.

Jin: "...That's that."

Jin with what strength he had left tapped Klaus's frozen head and the next moment it started to crack in a spiderweb like fashion and burst into over a thousand shards of ice. His Team Japan comrades could only watch in shock as the difficult Hulk enhancer of Team Germany fell so swiftly and without a struggle at the very end of his life.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 6, GC ENEMY TEAM KILL - 7,000 POINTS AND B RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINTS.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: +0.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -10.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Jin fell from Klaus's hand after the enemy was confirmed dead and no longer was applying strength to the vice grip. Aqua then in time caught Jin and when she looked to see how injured he was she found him unconscious. Then a few moments later Aqua and the others who were relieved that one battle was finally offer could hear another one approaching from the distance. A large mob of Greed Island players had chosen this time to appear. There original purpose seemed to be to kill the monster who caused destruction to the city and killed countless comrades, but seeing his headless corpse still standing, instead of thanking Team Japan they simple changed their target to them.

Aqua: "Shit! You chose a convenient time to clock out, Jin. I already have to deal with one no good man, so I don't need another. Shuai! Connor! We did what we came here for. Time to escape!"

Team Japan had finally returned to +0 Team Battle Points and the enemy Team Germany had just two living members remaining, yet they couldn't celebrate at all. Aqua carrying unconscious Jin, and Shuai and Connor right behind her they began their escape and the mob of players with no intention of letting them get away chased after them.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

I'll like to apologies if my description of the missile attack was off. I'm not a die hard military otaku so I just used my imagination a bit here. I did some research, yet I couldn't fine the kind of portable missile that would be as destructive as I needed without going full mushroom cloud.


	147. Chapter 147

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 36, HxH Greed Island

Elena: "Three hours have successfully passed! Player of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards may now enter Dwun and List's study room within the castle. Please don't leave Limeiro. If you do you must start over and the three hour clock will reset itself. Please have fun in this last stretch of Greed Island!"

Shin heard this bit of good news, yet he could only let out a loud sigh. On one hand this finally meant that he could proceed to end his fourth mission of God's Dimension at last, but not everything had gone his way. His comrades of Team Japan had successfully defeated two of the remaining four members of Team Germany, bringing their once despairing negative Team Battle score back to +0 at long last, but it came at a price that Shin didn't feel like paying.

According to his last call from Aqua the G.I players of Greed Island had been chasing them through the city and they were currently in hiding. They couldn't risk returning back towards Team Japan's temporary base within the mansion or meeting up at the castle in the center of Limeiro. Of course, it wasn't like it was impossible to lose the enemy players, but to safely escape while caring for the injured comrade Jin who had suffered at the hands of Klaus would slow them down.

Misaki: "So what's it going to be Shin? Do we head towards the castle, or wait for our comrades to return that might not make it for another 1-2 hours?"

Shin: "...We'll go now. There's no time limit for us to reach the castle so we could wait for the others, but we won't. Team Germany's leader has occupied that castle far too long for my liking. Who knows what she has set up, but I'm more of afraid of her now that she's like a cornered a beast."

Hikari: "You mean that she might do something desperate?"

Shin: "Exactly. She has no comrades left and a bleak future for coming out alive once this mission is complete. She's at a -10 Team Battle Score after all. We once brought up the topic of what we would have done if there was no more hope left, right? This is that, but instead of us it's the enemy. The enemy leader might collapse the entire castle if there's no more hope left for her. Doing so could result in a change of mission like killing all the G.I players or another stupid game... and so-"

Hikari: "You don't want to run over with a large group of comrades to scare her, right?"

Shin: "That's right. I won't call it a gap within Jin's master plan, but it's a slight oversight that we have to now be aware of. That's why... we'll give her hope by just sending Misaki and myself over to the castle."

Misaki: "Hope... wait! You don't mean to use us as bait, do you?"

Hikari: "Bait? So that's the hope you're giving to the enemy. She most likely knows that Shin and Misaki here are unlocked members of Team Japan. Ignoring the rank rewards that's 14,000 points for killing you two. That also erases -2 points from her Team Battle score to -8, or negative 16,000 points she'll be deducted if she completes her mission afterwards. Long as she has a few one or two thousand points saved up then she can survive this mission after taking the penalty."

Shin: "That's right. Good to see that your glasses girl character hasn't up and vanished with the appearance of Jin, Hikari. So you get it now. The enemy leader won't self-destruct if only Misaki and I go to the castle. Killing just the two of us will most likly erase all of her problems after all. It's a dangerous 2 VS 1 battle for her, but it's better than an 8 VS 1 battle she can't help but be dreading at this moment. She shouldn't know of Jin's current condition or the rest of the Team Japan, so she can only believe that our side is at full strength. The enemy leader is a prideful bitch with a personality to hunt us for all eternity just to get back at us. She values her life, but her hatred for me and Team Japan might make her choose the option that causes us the most damage to get back at us... even if it results in her death.

The others heard what Shin had to say and couldn't say that he was wrong. It would be safer to fight together as a team, but if doing so made the enemy chooses death and destruction for both teams... it wasn't a risk that they should be taking just because their team had recovered from their negative Team Battle Score and reduced the enemy team to just two members.

Shin: "Hikari, Misaki and I will head out now alone. We'll either fight the enemy leader, or try to bypass her and make it to Dwun and List's room. I want you to survey the city with your Persona and wait here for the others to eventually arrive."

Hikari: "Okay, but wouldn't it be fine if I came along as well? I won't join the main battle, but I can just hide within the castle and offer any support that I can."

Shin: "That's not a bad idea, but no. If Team Germany's leader even sees you she'll go after you. Not only are you our Psyche Force user or Persona user, whatever you want to call it, she's mad at you for the whole poster thing. It would be too big of a risk to take you along. Stay within the deepest part of the mansion in case an enemy arrives. Now Kisara..."

Kisara: "..."

Shin now turned towards Kisara, who had thus far remained silent. Kisara had appeared to be in good spirits when Shin had praised her for her part in their plan to wipe out Team Germany a few hours ago, but Shin knew better. Shin had seen that over the last few days Kisara had been depressed and rarely spoke up if not called upon. This has been going on since after the Team Japan's first confrontation with Team Germany.

That day Kisara had fought valiantly as a practitioner of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu and gave it her all for the team, even going as far as to risk her life to give her comrades a chance to escape, but at the end of the day she found herself helpless. She was all too quickly subdued by Team Germany, her comrades had not escaped thanks to the enemy Psyche Force user and had to be rescued by Shin, and later she could only watch as her friend and fellow newbie Renji died before her eyes.

Kisara knew from the beginning that she was outmatched by the enhanced Players and Nen Users of Greed Island in so many ways, yet she had some confidence in herself. Kisara had defeated a few low level Nen Users over the course of the mission alongside Team Japan and contributed greatly in the battle against the powerful Game Master Razor and his Fourteen Devils.

Kisara knew that she wasn't all powerful even with her trusted Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu training, yet the battles over the last two months slowly and steadily gave her confidence... but all of the recent events had destroyed what confidence, what pride she possessed in believing that she was useful to her comrades. Still, Kisara kept up a brave front whenever something was needed of her so as to not become a burden, but Shin having a great interest in his team's first true swordsman couldn't help but notice how she was feeling, and knowing that he was about to go off and leave Hikari behind... he couldn't allow her one and only protector to remain depressed any longer.

Shin: "...Kisara, I'm lending you this. You've lost your previous sword, so you can use this for now. I'm leaving Hikari to you, my comrade, so please protect her till the end."

Kisara: "This is..."

Shin from one of his Na Rings took out a sword and presented it to Kisara. Kisara dark purple eyes widened as the sword in question now in her hands was Shin's trusted magic sword, Gravity Blade. Gravity Blade was Shin's trusted partner and sword over numerous battle. The battles in the real world, the battles within a labyrinth in Apocalypse Alice, and all the recent battles on Greed Island in Hunter X Hunter. It wouldn't be wrong to say that aside from his magic armor that protects his life, Gravity Blade was his most important piece of equipment.

Kisara: "This is... too much. How can I-"

Shin: "I'm not done yet. I'm also lending you my Lesser Fenrir Coat. Along with this replacement sword that's far superior to your last comes this magic coat will protect your life. Ah, but the real gift here if the coat as just wearing it will allow you almost full access to its abilities. As a normal human you can't use the extreme gravity magic swings to attack like I can, but as a magic sword it's durability and cutting edge is greater than what you could hope to find in a sword in the real world."

Kisara: "But-"

Shin: "Kisara, don't worry about using my temperamental magic sword at all. I've already talked to her and told her to allow you full use of the sword. Really, all the girls around me can't stand leaving my-"

Hikari: "Are you a baka?"

Shin: "..."

Kisara: "Wait, I don't think that I'm-"

Shin: "Kisara."

Kisara: "..."

Shin knew that Kisara wanted to say that she was not worthy for the magic tools he was presenting to her, but he would not have that. Kisara didn't have that high an opinion of herself at the moment, but Shin held a high opinion of her. Shin didn't blame Kisara for her lack of strength and would in fact praise her for surviving till now and certainly believed her efforts to protect her comrades were not a waste.

Shin wanted to just say all of this, but he couldn't. Kisara was the type of person who held herself to a high standard and wouldn't accept someone comforting her when she fails. In this way she is similar to Aqua. Even so, she would get emotionally down if she didn't feel useful, much like Hikari. That's why, to lift the spirits of a woman like Kisara, it was best not to comfort, but to show that you believe in them as you give another chance for them to succeed.

Shin: "Kisara, till the others get back Hikari's life is in your hands. Not only do you have no choice but to protect her as she's the pillar of our team's support, but it's something that only you can do. No one else. I'm just lending you Gravity Blade and the Lesser Fenrir Coat to just bolster your abilities. This is for the best for you, Hikari, and myself. That's all, so Kisara can I count on you?"

Kisara: "...Yes. Also..."

As Kisara accepted the equipment and she then looked Shin in the eye. Shin, who was just in a serious mood as he talked to a comrade, became flustered. Kisara's peerless good looks that puts supermodels to shame were too much for Shin if he didn't have has guard up. This strange and pink mood made Shin consider what Kisara wanted to say to him, and then-

Kisara: "Shin... your hairs a mess now that I'm paying attention."

Shin: "...Ha? Is this the time to be caring for how I look? If you're not going to say that I'm handsome it's fine to not say any at all!"

Hikari: "Ah, I forgot to mention it as well. Shin, your hair is a mess color wise is what I think she's trying to say. Your black hair that turned white during the Btooom mission is beginning return. You're starting to look like a human skunk... just without the smell."

Shin: "I have feelings you know! Also, like I said this isn't the time for this!"

Hikari: "It also wasn't the time or place to hit on a girl. In words that you can understand you were taking advantage of Kisara's depression to increase your affection points."

Shin: "Hey, as a leader I was just-"

Misaki: "Shin, we're going now! Stop firing with your harem and finish up this mission already! A life and death battle is better than this crap."

Shin: "Like I said-"

Shin tried to say something, but everyone was already leaving. Misaki was walking away to exit the mansion without waiting for Shin, and Hikari was leading Kisara away into a basement of the mansion. Shin just stood there and despaired over his comrades' treatment towards their leader.

Shin: "These people... damn it I just can't win! First I'm told I'm turning from Ken Kaneki to Haise Sasaki by Kisara, a skunk by Hikari, and told off by Misaki. What the hell does a guy have to do to earn some respect around here?"

Shin, who didn't know the answer to that, could then only sigh and move to catch up with Misaki.

Around thirty minutes have passes since the three hour time requirement was filled, and Shin and Misaki left to infiltrate the castle of Limeiro. Within the basement of the mansion Team Japan occupied were Hikari and Kisara who had been left behind. Hikari was left behind to remain safe from the danger of confronting Team Germany leader Abigail and to support the team with her surveillance abilities. Kisara was left behind to look after and protect Hikari who was Team Japan's pillar of support with her Persona abilities. Kisara was insecure as to whether she could really protect Hikari, but having received Shin's magic sword Gravity Blade, magic armor Lesser Fenrir Coat, but more importantly his faith that she could protect her, it was no longer an option for her to fail.

Such thoughts were occupying Kisara's mind as she closely kept watch over Hikari. Hikari was currently using Persona Adrasteia to survey the city of Limeiro. Kisara was also on full alert in case something happened, but knowing she couldn't compare to Hikari she just made sure that she was ready for anything. It was then that she noticed a change within Hikari. It was subtle, but Kisara's heightened state caused her to note the shift in Hikari's face. Moments ago Hikari had her eyes closed and exuded a demeanor of calm serenity. She knew her role and had confidence in her capacity to fill that role. Yet Kisara now noticed a tight crinkling in the corners of her eyes. That, coupled with her slightly furrowing brow, caused Kisara to check in with her partner.

Kisara: "Hikari, what's wrong? "

Hikari: "...Do you want the good news, the important news, or the bad news?"

Kisara: "I've never been given three options like this... but start with the important news."

Hikari: "The important news is that Shin and Misaki have infiltrated the castle. They took care of a few random G.I players and are now engaging Team Germany's leader. The good news is that Aqua and the others will be back within the hour at the rate they are traveling. They have to be careful not to draw attention to themselves, but I'm sure that they'll make it back safely... if they don't engage the hundred man army of Nen users looking for them."

Kisara: "...The bad news is..."

Hikari: "...Our own small army of enemies appear to be looking for us."

Hikari then began to further elaborate on the bad news. According to her a dozen or so players were acting together to search for enemies. They were going house to house and ransacking everything in their search. Hikari discovered this and knew that in the next ten minutes or so the group of players will arrive to the mansion they were hiding in.

Hikari: "We have a choice to make. I don't want to call the others and put them in danger by rushing back, so we're on our own. We can either escape while we still have time before they arrive, or we can fight them once they enter the mansion. Escaping risks more players noticing us, but fighting has its own risks. Including you our expert swordsman we have grenades and guns to fight with. If we can win I think that we should fight rather than taking the risk of being spotted, but the question is if we can win."

Kisara: "If I can win, right?"

Hikari: "I didn't mean it like-"

Kisara: "Its fine. We'll fight here in the mansion and I will win! Still, we should act with caution. Hikari, do call Aqua and the others just in case. Shin left you in my care, so I'll win, but I won't say that it's impossible for me to fall. I'll hold off the enemy no matter what, but it's better if the others return sooner rather than later."

Hikari: "Alright. They'll be here soon, but first let me apply my magic spells. We need all the help that we can get. Wind Spirit! Water Spirit! Lightning Spirit! Fire Spirit! Earth Spirit!"

Kisara and Hikari herself were bathed in the lights of the five magic buff spells with the hope the extra strength would speed up their preparations. Then Hikari called Aqua's group and Kisara got ready to greet the enemy. Kisara was a straight forward swordsman and wasn't good at coming up with battle plans, but with Hikari and the advice of other comrades over the Communicator Phone they made preparations for the incoming enemies.

Within the mansion of Team Japan's base there was not a sound to be heard, but this did not deter those standing outside the mansion about to invade. Twelve G.I players searching for the holder of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards outside the castle were planning to search every building in Limeiro. They had comrades stationed within the castle, so it was there job to thoroughly search and would not look away from the dead quite mansion before them.

G.I player: "...Let's go in. Don't worry about making it loud!"

With that said two players walked up to the front doors of the mansion and with Aura strengthened hammers smashed in the front doors of the mansion and the group rushed in and as they did they noticed multiple fist sized objects flying through the air towards them.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

A dozen or so explosive grenades detonated in midair blasting the twelve Nen Users away. Three died immediately while the rest miraculously protected themselves with their powerful Aura and only suffered minor injuries. Then at the same time smoke grenades were thrown and the resulting smoke obstructed their vision in this time of confusion, and taking advantage of this was Kisara.

Kisara, using Zetsu, swiftly navigated thorough the smoke and reached the back of a Nen User and slashed with her sword. The Nen User was using Nen to strengthen and protect his body, yet the magic sword Gravity Blade easily slashed through muscle and bone and took his life before he realized what happened. Kisara was shocked at how easy that was and she marveled the swords sharpness, yet she couldn't do so for more than a moment.

The enemy noticed the smell of blood in the air and became alert. They lost three comrades in the explosion and one more to an unknown assailant. They were caught off guard, but no longer. The enemy Nen Users all used Gyo and found their sole foe Kisara within the white smoke that filled the mansion and rushed towards her. One Nen User raised a Nen reinforced hammer and dropped it on top of Kisara. Kisara with minimal movement stepped to the side as the hammer came crashing down past her, and then without waiting she slashed the enemy's neck.

Nen User: "Damn you!"

Kisara: "!"

Another Nen User carrying a hammer charged towards Kisara with inhuman speed and this time Kisara didn't move out of the way. Kisara could only raise her sword to defend and the two weapons clashed. Kisara looked like a frail girl so the enemy expected for her to be blown clear across the room with broken bones, yet she held her ground. The quality of the Gravity Blade, the stat increases of Lesser Fenrir Coat, a recently used Nano Machine Accelerator Package, and finally the various buffs from Hiakri magic spells gave Kisara the strength to hold her ground.

Kisara skillfully deflected away the Nen User's hammer with her new found strength. She then closed in and slashed twice at the enemy before her. Kisara grew confident having decreased the enemy number from twelve to six, but the remaining six still gave her a hard time. Each one wielding various weapons surrounded and barraged her with one attack after the other, yet even still Kisara held her ground. Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu which excelled in predicting attacks allowed her defend herself despite being surrounded on all sides, but she knew that she couldn't last much longer. The basic combat abilities of each Nen User were too high for Kisara, who had little fighting experience fighting multiple opponents or alone at that.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Fifteen seconds.

Twenty seconds passed and Kisara felt that she had reached her physical limits and that she wouldn't survive to reach twenty-five seconds. Kisara used her peak level swordsmanship to avoid fatal blows and had to accept lesser attacks and relied on the Lesser Fenrir Coat to lessen the damage, yet she was now at the end of her ropes. As a normal human girl it was commendable to have lasted as long as she did against superhuman Nen Users, but Kisara was not satisfied. She didn't want to fail her comrades anymore and wanted to return the trust they placed in her.

Kisara, fighting back desperately with those thoughts driving her, swung her sword and then help came in an unexpected way. As Kisara was on her last leg a newfound surge of power entered her body. Kisara felt that this power rising up in her was the power of Hikari's magic spells, but the increase in power was greater than ever before. Offensive power, defensive power, speed, stamina, and most of all our healing factors were greatly increased. This sudden burst of power gave Kisara the strength to fight back and her opponents suffered. The sudden boast in power caught the enemy Nen Users off guard and allowed Kisara to swiftly slash and kill five of the enemy Nen Users.

The only one who managed to avoid a fatal slash was the strongest of the group who stepped back in time. The last enemy Nen User, full of rage, looked back at Kisara who had slayed his comrades, but unconsciously took a step back fearing for his life. Kisara after the boost of power had her spirits rejuvenated released a killing intent so strong that the enemy immediately thought to run away... yet he stood his ground. The Nen User knew if he so much as showed his back to Kisara she would kill him before he would know what happened. That's why with his weapon of choice, a two handed sword, he charged towards Kisara.

The enemy moved at a speed faster than Kisara herself could match even under the effects of multiple magic buffs, yet with a calm mind she saw the enemy approach and began her counter attack. Kisara sidestepped the forward thrust as the enemy moved past in a full circular motion. Effectively using the centrifugal force of her spin she swung her sword in the same motion, slashing at the Nen User's neck and beheading him.

Kisara: "Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Ryūkansen (Dragon Coiling Flash)!"

Kisara finished off her opponent and gave one last look to the many people she had just killed. Twelve corpses spread all around. It left a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she soon accept it. It was either them or her, possibly even Hikari, so she knew that there was no other choice. Her sword training also helped her accept the deaths of others at her own hands. Kisara didn't take a second look at the bodies and began to return to Hikari's side.

Under the mansion within the basement was a lone girl who was on the verge of crying sitting on the floor and behind her was her Persona. This girl, Hikari, could barely held back her tears as she watched over the Capital City Limeiro with her support type Persona Adrasteia. Using her Persona to support her comrades from behind normally allowed Hikari to feel that she was useful, but as of this moment... it felt like a curse to her. Hikari could only watch through Adrasteia's eyes as her comrades fought for their lives and knowing that even if she went out there she couldn't be everywhere and that there would have been nothing that she could do.

Hikari watched as Kisara was fighting twelve dangerous Nen Users as an ordinary girl without enhancements using just sword skill. Hikari watched as Aqua, Shuai, Connor, and a critically injured Jin were running away from an army of Nen Users and the numerous Nen Users standing in their way to return to the mansion to help Kisara and herself. And lastly Hikari watched as Shin and Misaki fought for their lives against Team Germany leader Abigail and Hikari was most concerned about this battle.

Despite fighting together Shin and Misaki were fighting a steep downhill battle against Abigail's surprising hidden abilities... and then she saw it. A look of despair over the face of the man that she loved as he watched Misaki take a critical injury, and Hikari could no longer hold her tears... yet despite feeling helpless her desire to help him and all her comrades only grew stronger till they dared to consume all her thoughts.

The images of Shin saving her in High School of the Dead by never abandoning her flowed through her mind. The tenderness and sense of safety as Shin risked everything to stop the Btooom Soldiers of their second mission. The time where all of Team Japan came together to confront the darkness of the Labyrinth in the world of Apocalypse Alice. The difficulties of Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island that they faced together and were now just about to overcome at long last

Hikari's eyes went out of focus as she recalled all these memories, her body stopped trembling from the fear of feeling helpless and the thoughts of her comrades dying, and her tears stopped. Hikari stood up from the basement and looked outward as if there was more to the dark basement around her. At the same time her Persona that always stood behind, Adrasteia, radiated brightly with a blue light showing an increase of Psyche Force Power.

Hikari had entered into Unlocked Mode at last. Having unlocked the Genetic Constraint to the First Stage she could "see" everything around her with newfound clarity. People, places, things that were far away all felt so close to her that she could reach out and grab them... which lead to a new idea born from combat instincts flowing through her mind. Hikari locked on to the location of all her comrades scattered across Limeiro and silhouettes of them made up of information from Psyche Force appeared through her eyes. Information about each target flowed through Hikari's mind and she then raised her hand towards them to apply her magic spells towards her first target Shin.

Hikari: "Wind Spirit! Water Spirit! Lightning Spirit! Fire Spirit! Earth Spirit!"

Hikari applied her five magic buffs upon Shin from a great distance. Offensive power, defensive power, speed, stamina, and most of all our healing factors were increased the effects of the magic buffs... yet she was not satisfied. Disregarding the short duration of her spells she didn't feel that it was enough to truly help him and that's why she didn't stop there. Once more Hikari targeted Shin for her five magic buffs and didn't stop till until the effects would not stack any further.

Hikari: "Wind Spirit! Water Spirit! Lightning Spirit! Fire Spirit! Earth Spirit!... Wind Spirit! Water Spirit! Lightning Spirit! Fire Spirit! Earth Spirit!"

Two more times Hikari applied her magic buff spells for a grand total of three stacks of each buff. A grand rainbow veil of light enveloped Shin granting him the force of fifteen magic buff spells. Offensive power, defensive power, speed, and stamina that normal increase by an individuals standard by 30% was now 90%, and healing factors by 450%.

Hikari: "This... this isn't enough! I can't fight so I have to do much more! Wind Spirit! Water Spirit! Lightning Spirit! Fire Spirit! Earth Spirit! Wind Spirit! Water Spirit! Lightning Spirit! Fire Spirit! Earth Spirit! Wind Spirit! Water Spirit! Lightning Spirit! Fire Spirit! Earth Spirit!"

Hikari then locked onto all of her other comrades across Limeiro. They all needed her assistance and she didn't hesitate to do so. Hikari then like she did with Shin applied her five magic buff spells on all of her comrades to increase their chances of survival. She didn't know exactly how much how much her spells would help in the long run, but she could tell at the very least that Misaki and Jin who were badly injured were recovering after having their strength and especially healing factors increased.

Hikari: "Good. With this..."

Hikari wanted that she did all she could and can only hope for the best, however in the middle of doing so she fell to the ground of the basement in great pain. Hikari's body was convulsing violently like she was experiencing extreme pain. Tear were running down her face and she coughed up blood. Three seconds later, she opened her mouth and tried to breath yet her lungs didn't expand. The air couldn't enter her lungs.

Hikari who had been moving on autopilot didn't know what was going on till it was too late. She unlocked her Genetic Constraint for the very first time when she expanded her abilities as a Persona user and applied multiple magic buffs to her comrades all across Limeiro. The first time entering the Unlocked Mode was always the most dangerous. That pain felt worse than death itself. Shin, Aqua, Misaki, Connor, and recently Jin would say that they would always remembered the first time they experienced the pain as it's something impossible to forget, but Hikari was having it worse than any of them. Hikari's physical stats were lower than any of them, including Connor who did so before arriving in God's Dimension, when they unlocked their constraints. It was all too easy for her to now die from suffocation or something else... but thankfully help arrived.

Kisara, after defeating the enemy Nen Users invading the mansion, returned to the basement to find Hikari on the floor in great pain. She then swiftly moved to Hikari's side to examine her and discovered that she had unlocked her constraint. Kisara's family was one that knew about the Genetic Constraint and the effects, good and bad, that it could have on the body and so she knew what to do knowing that Hikari couldn't withstand unlocking her constrain. Kisara took a deep breath then kissed her without hesitation to begin CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation), the process that would keep blood flowing through her body. Kisara forced air into Hikari's lungs, and immediately began to pump her chest. While modern forms of CPR have begun bypassing blowing air into the patient's lungs, unlocking the Genetic Constraint was different than mundane situations. When Hikari began to breathe on her own, Kisara kept her body still so she wouldn't hurt herself, and did whatever she could to keep her alive till the aftereffects passed.

A few minutes passed like this and finally Hikari came out of the pain. Fortunately, the majority of the pain occurred in her mind and not her physical body. So although she was still feeling a little headache, it was not life threatening. Kisara noticed this and realized that Hikari's was a different type than the normal ones like Shin and Aqua experienced. A type that mainly unlocks the mental functions of the brain and one that saved her life as she had low stats.

Kisara: "Hikari, are you alright? I came back as soon as I could, but... I'm sorry. I should have-"

Hikari: "It's fine. You did what I couldn't do... but..."

Kisara: "But?"

Hikari: "I'm glad that Shin wasn't around to see this. For one it would worry him... but he would also have died from shock if he saw us kissing."

Kisara: "You can't call CPR a kiss, right? I like you Hikari... but I won't count this as my first kiss. That's for the man you intend to enter into marriage with. Anyways, how are you feeling now? You just unlocked your constraint."

Hikari: "That state of mind is the unlocked mode? I don't know. I felt like thoughts were moving on my instincts alone. When I concentrated I could see everyone as if they were in front of me. Nothing escaped my scans and..."

Kisara: "Hikari? Anyways this is a good thing that you unlocked your constraint. It's a much sought out ability in my family and one that I have yet to reach. Still I advise you to not unlock it again for the reminder of the mission. I don't think we'll be here much longer, but going into Unlocked Mode, especially with your low stats is very dangerous. Your DNA might fall apart if you use it too frequently in the beginning. Then you will die if you can't get back to God's dimension in time according to Shin. My family developed a method to survive and get used to the Genetic Constraint, but requires special medicines and weeks of rehab to restore one's body and to fully get used to going into that state as you please."

Hikari: "I don't want to do that again, so I'll listen to you, but there's something more important than my health that we need to deal with right now."

Kisara: "What?"

Hikari: "Shin and Misaki... they are in danger!"

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\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM JAPAN DIED. TEAM JAPAN -1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY +1 TEAM POINT.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -1.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -9.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.


	148. Chapter 148

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 37, HxH Greed Island

Hiding within the shadows of Limeiro a block away from the castle was a lone man. This man carefully looked around his surrounding to confirm what he already knew. That he was alone. The fighting still going on by the G.I Player were currently far away from the castle in the center of the city and so no one was around. The man hiding in the shadows couldn't help but sneer at the stupid NPCs of Greed Island who were fighting in blind rage not even considering that by this time it was better to stake out, or actually check within the castle for the holder of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards.

Adam: "Well, I can't blame them too much. Even I lost it for a bit when Cora died and I abandoned my comrades. Shit, leader is going to kill me... unless she too is already dead."

The lone man hiding within the shadows of the city, Adam, was preparing to enter complete his Greed Island mission assigned to him by God. Earlier Adam ran off in rage to pursue the killer of his girlfriend Cora, Aqua, but after losing her in the sea of G.I players swarming into Limeiro he started to think straight again. Adam looked at his current situation as a member of Team Germany and he could only see a hopeless road in front of himself.

Adam accepted the fact that his team was done for once Erwin, Cora, and Lutz fell in battle. This was further cemented when he would later hear notifications from God that two more members of Team Germany had fallen. The Team Battle Score was currently Team Japan at -1 and Team Germany at -9. This meant every living member of Team Germany would be penalized -18,000 points, and so even if no one else died, unless Adam killed nine regular members or three Unlocked members of Team Japan, he was destined to die. Team Japan had gained control of the finale in the city of Limeiro and Adam knew he couldn't reverse the situation by himself... so he chose the option of mutual destruction.

After losing Aqua earlier Adam backtracked to where a few of his comrades had fallen before entering Limeiro and picked up a certain item. Eriwn's Magneto Helmet that blocked Psyche Force. Adam donned this helmet to elude Team Japan's Psyche Force user and entered into Capital City Limeiro and waited till an opportunity arrived for him. It was Adam's current plan enter Limeiro's castle, kill Dwun and List, and complete Team Germany's mission as is. Adam planned to accept being erased by God for the chance to strike back at Team Japan who are still at -1 Team Points.

Adam: "Hahaha, I don't know who just died on their side, but I'm grateful. As long as no else from my team dies before I complete my mission... Hmhmhm, Team Japan won't be able to gain anymore Team Points! A -1 Team Battle Score, or -2000 points might not kill them all, even Cora's killer, but some of them should perish! Hahaha! I'm sorry for such a cheap revenge Cora, but this is the best that I can do my love!"

Only maddening thoughts of revenge filled Adam's head as he now made his way over to the castle, but he was not careless. The reason he had made sure to stay hidden for so long was to make it to Dwun and List without a fight. He was a warrior of Team Germany who unlocked his Genetic Constraint, but he was alone right now. Against Team Japan that still had so many members still alive he could only die if they group up and attack him like they did with Kurt and Klaus. That's why he stayed hidden and moved within the shadows till now and would continue to do so till the end.

Adam stealthily made his way towards the castle using his assassin training with his senses on high alert for any enemy attack. To enter the castle he planned to scale the side walls and climb up towards a window to enter, but to do so would mean exiting the shadows of the buildings and running to the castle walls. It was a momentary opening for an enemy to attack, yet it was a risk that he had to take... and one that was not overlooked by an enemy.

As Adam ran at full speeds towards the castle another presence followed right after him to pounce at his exposed back. Adam felt bloodlust at that moment and listening to his instincts he swung his sword first before he looked at his assailant. Two magic swords, one crystal and the other dyed in darkness clashed, and then backing away from each other, Adam finally saw who it was. A young and incredibly beautiful woman wearing a dark coat and holding within her hands a black katana. Adam had never seen her before, but he saw she matched the description of the sword woman of Team Japan Abigail, Klaus, and Erwin once fought in Magic City Masadora.

Adam: "You! How did you know that I was here!?"

Kisara: "...Team Japan has someone good at locating others."

Kisara didn't mean to tell any more than that as that was all there was to it. Earlier, as Hikari unlocked her Genetic Constraint and was scanning Limeiro to locate her comrades she discovered something unusual. A faint signal that indicated the presence of a living person. Hikari, without the interference of a Psyche Force user like Erwin, should have been able to accurately locate each and every living being within the city, yet there was one faint presence, Adam wearing the Magneto Helmet, that she couldn't properly lock on to.

Hikari, as she discovered this, was in Unlocked Mode and so she understood that the faint present was an enemy even if she didn't understand just how Adam was hiding from her scans. Hikari saw that faint presence moving towards Limeiro's castle and her instincts told her that this person was dangerous to Team Japan. Hikari mistook Adam's purpose in sneaking about as an assassination plot against Shin and Misaki within the castle, but all the same her action of warning Kisara about the threat and asking her to help Shin and Misaki turned out to be for the best.

If Adam determined to end the mission despite it being disadvantages to both teams was a threat that needed to be handled. Aqua and her group were still a ways away from retuning, so it was up to Kisara to confront Adam. Kisara was hesitant about leaving Hikari alone and defenseless, but another quick scan showed that there were no approaching enemies and that she would be safe from harm till Aqua and the others returned. Hikari and Kisara called Aqua's group to tell them of their plan to be on the safe side and despite some hesitation they agreed. Kisara was much closer and could reach the castle faster than their group still trying to escape many G.I players while caring around an injured Jin. That's why it was solely up to Kisara to confront Adam and yet-

Adam: "And only you alone came to stop me? Ha! How ridiculous! Crystal Element Sword - Explosive Light Slash!"

Towards the woman in front of him Adam didn't hold back wanting to end things quickly. Adam swung his prided Crystal Element Sword and slashed the ground. Five lines emitting light surfaces and traveled towards Kisara. Kisara, having heard about this ability from Connor, understood it was dangerous to stand still and she jumped away as far as her legs would allow her.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Where Kisara stood before was obliterated into black ash. It was a skill to draw lines with magic that would soon explode and one that she had to be careful of. Kisara escaped the blast, yet she was still knocked off her feet and she rolled across the ground to recover. Once she had finally stopped she immediately scanned the area with her eyes looking for Adam, but her opponent had found her first and swiftly appeared behind her.

Adam: "A little girl with no enhancements shouldn't come out in a battle like this!"

Adam swung down his sword with contempt in his heart for Kisara. His current plan to die just to get back at Team Japan for killing Cora was certainly one of a coward, but he still had his pride as a warrior. For the enemy to come to stop him was acceptable for him, but for a normal girl like Kisara to be his final opponent was downright insulting. That's why he swung down his sword with hatred rather than his usual excitement. The only good thing about killing the weak girl in front of him was that he could increase Team Japan's negative score to -2 for a -4000 point penalty... yet his predicted ending did not go as planned.

\- *CLINK*!

Two swords clashed once more. Adam slashed at Kisara's back, yet without turning around a sword arrived to deflect the fatal slash. Adam's greater strength blew Kisara away all the same, but swiftly recovering to face her opponent and she kept her life intact. Adam didn't know how Kisara did that, yet he didn't think about it for too long and started to attack again. Speed attained through greater stats allowed Adam to become a blur through Kisara's eyes, yet when he arrived to her left side intending to behead with his sword it was deflected away effortlessly by her sword and she immediately swung in retaliation. Adam jumped back to avoid the slash... but a red line of a shallow cut across his chest told him he didn't escape unharmed.

Kisara: "...Why are you running away?"

Adam: "Me, running away? Ha, idiotic! Just because you got lucky you-"

Kisara: "Lucky? You're just obvious. Just because you move faster than I can see doesn't mean I can't defend against a second rate swordsman like yourself."

Adam: "!"

Kisara, seeing Adam become furious and charge towards her, felt relived. She was not the type to converse with an enemy, but there was a reason for doing so against Adam. Adam with inhuman speed as if he teleported appeared in front Kisara brandished his sword. A myriad of sword slashes arrived one after the other to take her life, but again, again, and again his crystal sword was parried. Adam took a step back in confusion, yet despite the danger Kisara followed after him.

Kisara gave chase and whenever the opportunity presented itself she attacked Adam. Each swing of her sword was slow through the eyes of Adam, yet no matter how he tried he didn't have the ability to counter attack and could only defend. Kisara's sword swings were deadly and precise. She accurately attacked the gaps in Adam's defenses, so it took his all to just defend and escape with minor injuries and no space for him to use his magic sword skills. Adam didn't understand why he was losing, but Kisara did and capitalized on it. It was a difference in pure discipline and skill between herself and Adam.

Adam was a skilled swordsman who was at the top of the food chain of Team Germany with high enhancements and stats, possessing an incredible sixth sense, and who had unlocked his constraint to the First Stage, yet he lost to Kisara in sword skill. Kisara, the prodigy daughter of the family that practices Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, reached the peak of swordsmanship as a normal human being without the Exchange System from God, and trained her whole life in the sword was superior to Adam who had relied on his natural talents his whole life. Additional, as a swordsman Adam was at a disadvantage against Kisara's Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.

Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu was a sword style that excelled at predicting the next move of the enemy. Kisara couldn't use it at the superhuman level like in fiction, but against a fellow swordsman it was about as close to it as possible. Where an enemy swordsman like Adam was about to strike could easy been discerned by Kisara in spite of Adam's inhuman speed, and with her skill and the increased strength that came from Hikari's countless magic buffs stacked on top of each other and Shin's equipment, she was able to deflect his strong attacks and counterattack at his weak points. Yes, Kisara had the edge in a sword fight... but on the other hand it was only fighting without giving an inch that allowed her to stay alive.

Kisara's superior sword technique didn't change the difference in physical ability between her and Adam. If he calmed down enough and accepted the difference in skill she could soon be overpowered in any number of ways. Also, Kisara couldn't allow Adam to use his magic sword skills. Kisara was a pure swordsman without enhancements and didn't have the ability or the experience to deal with magic attacks like Adam's earlier explosive magic.

That's how and why Kisara didn't give Adam a moment's rest with her aggressive attacks, and her time came. A opening surfaced in for her to strike and she took it. Adam ruthlessly swung his blade down to split Kisara's head in two, yet with graceful footwork she in a split second pulled out and back in to avoid the slash position herself to attack an open Adam. Kisara let loose with all her strength a sword slash to Adam's right shoulder and the blade bit through his bone and flesh and into his torso. It was an absolutely fatal injury for even the strongest of men... yet he was different.

Kisara: "Kyaaa!"

Sure of her victory Kisara let her guard down for only a moment yet in that opening a kick from Adam blew her away over 10 meters. Thanks to the Lesser Fenrir Coat worn over her body she escaped with only a few broken ribs from the kick as she came crashing across the ground before she stopped, yet what surprised Kisara more was how she was attacked. Kisara stood back up with great difficulty and breathing hard and looked towards Adam who she was sure had been slain, but was shocked speechless. Adam stood before her with a long gash across his body from where he was slashed with Gravity Blade, yet despite the injury and a flood of blood escaping from the still open wound, Adam still alive he looked back at Kisara with a bright smile and eyes showing that conveyed his superiority and even greater contempt for her.

Adam: "Little girl, were you satisfied with inflicting such a light wound. Hahah, baka! I have the Dead Pool Mutation! A tier A mutation that allows me immortality. Such a wound won't kill me. Additionally, although I can die temporary, as long as I'm not erased by God I'll always revive back in the Terminal Lobby. Don't look down on me little girl!"

Kisara: "..."

Adam: "What's wrong? Having a hard time breathing with a few broken ribs? Ha, that's what you get for challenging me with such cheap swordsmanship! Shall I use these last moments of yours to teach you what a real swordsman is like?"

Kisara: "...What did you-?"

Adam: "No use begging for your life now! Crystal Element Sword - Wind Light Slash!"

Adam swung his crystal katana and the blade released multiple orbs of light now floating around Kisara. The orb's light grew brighter and then at its peak of illumination they detonated, but instead of an explosion, multiple giant blades of wind shot out in every direction and devoured the area around Kisara. The wind blades cutting into the earth created a cloud of dust that enveloped the area and when it cleared... Adam saw Kisara still alive, but just barely hanging on.

Kisara at the last minute took her chances by leaping away, but was still grazed by the blades of wind. There was a large cut on her back that slashed through her magic coat. Streams of blood ran down Kisara's back and she now looked deathly pale from blood lost and other injuries, yet the expression on her face was something other than that of a weakened woman on her last leg. Kisara glared at Adam with immense hatred in her eyes and wanted to cut him down where he stood.

The reason wasn't because of the pain she was in, but because of what he just said. Adam's earlier taunting had cut into Kisara's pride and identify as a swordsman. Her inability to kill Adam and him making fun of the sword style she inherited from her father struck a deep chord for her. It additionally reminded Kisara of her past failures where she didn't live up to the title of the strongest sword style Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.

Kisara: "...Haha... really, how shameful this is."

Adam: "So you're admitting your defeat? Good. Then you can die in-"

Kisara: "No. It's shameful as a practitioner of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu to be reduced to such a state, but even more so to be injured by a third rate swordsman like you. I thought I reached a sufficient level in the sword and only just need a few enhancements to compete with those like you, but I was naive."

Adam: "...Ha? Really, I've wasted enough time on you. Die! Crystal Element Sword - Terra Light Slash!"

It was clear as day Kiara was on her last leg after the previous attack, but Adam didn't dare to fight Kisara up close again and used magic to finish her off and left no room for her to escape. The Crystal Sword in his hands slashed the earth in front of himself and moments later hundreds of sharp rock fragments erupted from the ground and towards Kisara. The attacks were numerous and lightning fast, leaving no room to dodge, and would lead to a certain death of being skewered by rock fragments.

Kisara saw this all in the split second before the attack arrived... yet she was calm. She was disappointed in herself, yet at the last minute she recalled the words of Shin who trusted her and her other comrades. Realizing how pointless it was to worry about not being good enough when she could only fight and win to prove herself and protect her comrades, her eyes watching the positions of each rock shard aimed her went out of focus. Kisara didn't understand what was going as the world around slowed down before her eyes, but she didn't question or reject what was going on. Having unlocked her Genetic Constraint she could see each and every rock fragment traveling towards her to skewer her alive and predict when they would arrive.

Kisara: "Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Ryusosen (Dragon Nest Flash)!

Kisara having entered Unlocked Mode she raised and dropped her sword on a rock fragment in front of her with lightning speed superior to what she has shown to date. Once, twice, three times, a dozen times, a hundred times. Kisara, wielding Gravity Blade released a massive flurry of strikes pulverizing the rock fragments coming from all directions aimed at her. A technique of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu normally used to cut down an opponent with the sheer speed and number of slashes was executed by Kisara to perfectly defend herself against Adam's magic attack.

Adam: "Wha-"

Adam was left with speechless seeing how Kisara intercepted his magic attack, but had little time to think. His opponent had approached him without him realizing. Kisara, with greater speed than before, yet showing no signs of moving reached Adam and drew her sword. Kisara foot work was quick, efficient, had no wasted moments, and above all silent. Each aspect of her movements came to together and allowed her to reach Adam and slash before he knew what happened.

Kisara's sword left a beautiful arc as it approached Adam's neck and he barely had time to deflect the attack away, yet he was then immediately slashed twice across his chest. Kisara's speed and skill were now far beyond what he can defend against gave up defense and relentlessly attacked her. With his superior strength and speed dozens of swords attacks were released, yet with minimal movement Kisara just deflected Adam's sword or all together let it pass by her, and in turn Kisara continued to slash Adam.

Adam's sword as it cut through the space between then held all his power and speed behind each swing, yet was continuously and gracefully redirected away form her and left open for Kisara to slash. This exchange only lasted a few seconds before Adam took a step back, but a clear winner was seen. Adam was covered in over a dozen sword cuts all around his body and covered in blood and Kisara opposite of him had not one new scratch on her body.

Kisara: "...You're protecting your head more than any other part of your body, you know? Is that the weakness of your immortality?"

Adam: "..."

Adam didn't answer, but the answer was made clear. He was indeed immoral thanks to the Dead Pool Mutation, but he could still die temporarily. He could heal from most wounds, but he will technically die if he loses his ability to function, which meant having no brain activity. If his head was damaged greatly he could only count on reviving in God's Dimension to keep living, but it was not an option for him as he would be erased by God due to Team Germany's extremely high Negative Team Score.

Kisara guessed and now knew Adam's weakness... and so he chose to run. Adam gave up his fight against Kisara and sprinted towards the castle as his life depended on it. If he could enter the castle and somehow complete his original objective to kill Dwun and List he could complete his revenge... yet even that was not allowed. Adam was faster, yet predicting Adam's path Kisara moved to intercept him and now in front of him swung her sword at his head. Adam seeing Kisara's intentions managed to block the slash... yet it felt strange as if he hit something blunt rather than a sharp sword.

Kisara: "Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Soryusen • Ikazuchi (Twin Dragon Flash: Thunder)!"

It happened in an instant. The very moment Adam blocked the incoming attack his life came to an end. What Adam had blocked wasn't just Kisara's sword, but the sword still in its scabbard. As her opponent was occupied with the false sword attack the real attack arrived. Swifter than the wind Kisara drew Gravity Blade from the scabbard and let loose a horizontal slash that severed the top half of Adam's head from his body.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 6, GC ENEMY TEAM KILL - 7,000 POINTS AND B RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED - TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINTS.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: +0.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -10.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Kisara heard the joyous news directly from God notifying her of Adam's defeat, yet no emotion showed on her face. In silence Kisara just looked down at Adam's corpse that had fallen to the ground with the top part of its head cut off for a full thirty seconds before then proceeded to stab it through the heart and other vitals points. It was a frightening and bloody sight to behold if there were any onlookers, but Kisara didn't care for appearances. She had already fell victim once to a false sense of victory not long ago and even with a confirmation from God she could be sure of Adam's death as he was immortal.

It was then only after another thirty seconds passed that Kisara finally allowed herself to relax believing that she had really won... then it hit her. The backlash of unlocking her Genetic Constraint for the first time assaulted her. The pain was worse than anything she had ever experienced before, worse than even death and she just wanted to scream as loud as her lungs would allow her to, but she didn't. By her family's long held traditions Kisara had been prepared for the chance she would ever unlock her constraint and had been given herbal remedies throughout her life to become resistant to the recoil and had the mental fortitude not to succumb to the pain. Kisara just stood still for the next minute or so, spat out a mouthful of blood, and looked wobbly, but that was it. Unlike Shin, Hikari, and others when they first unlocked their constraints Kisara could still move and possibly fight immediately after if needed.

Kisara: "This is the Genetic Constraint... father, I did it. Like you always believed I finally unlocked my potential... and although it's too late to show you... there're still things to do for my comrades!"

Kisara was deeply thrilled to have unlocked the Genetic Constraint as it was a long cherished wish of her family that practiced Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu to do so, yet she couldn't rejoice in this feeling for long. Kisara took out her Communicator Phone and was about to contact Hikari to see if she should return or move to help Shin and Misaki, but then-

\- *CRUMBLING NOISE*!

Kisara heard a strange rumbling noise coming from the castle not too far away and saw thousands, tens of thousands of cracks alongside the walls of the castle and a blue light shinning through those crakes... and then moments after that...

\- *CRASH*!

The entire section of the wall exploded.

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A little while earlier.

In a large and wide dark stone throne room within Limeiro's castle were three individuals. Team Japan's leader Shin, his comrade Misaki, and the leader of Team Germany the Abigail. Taking aim Shin and Misaki had out their guns and were ready to fire at any moment. A few minute earlier Shin and Misaki infiltrated the castle of the capital city with the intensions of completing the mission having reversed their team score back to +0, yet ran into a trap from the enemy Abigail.

The two worked together and overcame her trap and gave chase to finish the enemy which lead them to where they currently stood. Abigail, sitting down on the king's throne looked down at Shin and Misaki with hatred and contempt, yet it were these two who who placing the greater pressure on their enemy. From the outside it looked like the two members of Team Japan had almost literally and figuratively backed Abigail against a corner with nowhere to go within the throne room, yet the enemy team's leader had all smiles across her face with no signs of feeling her defeat was near.

Misaki: "You have nowhere to run now! Stop your worthless struggle and just accept what's coming to you!"

Abigail: "...Defeat? Me? Ha, what are you on? This is where my final stand will take place and you just walked in like idiots. This throne room... this sealed space with just one way out... and this darkness is perfect for me to show off my true form. Ahahahaha! I don't do well in cities and wide plains, so you'll be the ones to die here!"

Shin: "Enough talk! I don't want to hear your voice ever again Team Germany bitch! I will kill you! I've never hated someone so much in my life. I will never forgive you. Never!"

Shin gritted his teeth, almost crushing them and blood dripped from the side of his lips. He had never felt such killing intent towards anyone even in the incident in Apocalypse Alice with Derrick and the Newbies. Shin's killing intent had never been so great or terrifying as it was now... and yet then Abigail just laughed hideously showing that she didn't care about the lives she took. It wasn't do to the understanding that one the battlefield of war there's no point in cursing the enemy to death because they weren't villains, but people with their own circumstances as well, no... Abigail laughed out loud simply because she didn't see why Shin would get upset about a few comrades dying and found it genuinely funny.

Abigail: "I don't need your forgiveness! As long as I kill you two here I'll have an abundance of points and rewards even if I take a penalty in the end! You fuckers did well by killing so many of my teammates, even going as far as to draw in all the powerful Nen users on the island to kill us, but it doesn't matter in the end. I can build an even stronger team once I kill you all and complete this mission. Hahahaha! Team Japan can all go to hell! You will all die here!"

Abigail looks back and forth between Shin and Misaki, and smiled before jumping up 50 feet into the air. Shin and Misaki reacted by shooting her with machine gun fire, but it was too late. Team Germany's leader and strongest member had revealed her true power.

Abigail: "...BURST LINK!"

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

I feel that the Kisara and Adam fight was a little forced, but that's just how it turned out. I had it planned for over six months in my head, but the story ended up different than how it was back then. Adam was supposed to attack Hikari and Kisara at the mansion, Adam loses and runs away, Kisara gives chase, and later Shin injuries Adam and Kisara finishes him off.

My previous plot didn't explain why would Kisara would go after Adam alone as her comrades were due to return any minute, so things were changed up to Hikari believing Adam was planning to assassinate Shin and Misaki from the shadows. Also, I suck at sword fights. I can write about Shin hacking and slashing with Gravity Blade against a monster or something, but not real sword fights like with Kisara and Adam.

Lastly, if you're wondering if this fight was really necessary since it was just Adam causing -2000 points of penalty to Team Japan... but it was. I'll tell you the answer of the what if question, "If Kisara decided to protect Hikari to the end" at the Final chapter of this arc.


	149. Chapter 149

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 38, HxH Greed Island

A little while earlier before the decisive final battle against Abigail, Shin and Misaki separated from Hikari and Kisara back at the mansion and set off towards the castle of Capital City, Limeiro. Shin and Misaki ran through the streets of Limeiro towards the castle and fortunately the two didn't run into any players and successfully arrived. The two stood outside the castle and thought about where to begin their infiltration, but it was a pointless discussion. Dwun and List's study room was in the center of the castle on a higher floor and there were far too few enemies still within that it didn't matter where they entered from... so they entered through the front doors of the castle.

Misaki: "How is it even remotely sane to just enter the enemy fortress through the front doors, Shin? Really, I don't tag up with you a lot, but is this how you've always did things during the missions?"

Shin: "Yeah."

Misaki: "...We all need to take a new leadership vote after this mission."

Misaki saying this, then with a loud bang, he kicked down the front doors of the castle with a fed up look. He agreed that it didn't matter where they entered, but he still couldn't get over Shin choosing to enter the front entrance. Misaki walked forward into the castle and Shin followed after him looking upset. The two carefully looked around for potential enemies despite having Hikari's Game Map app and in the end found their caution pointless. The inside of the castle was dark, yet one could make out its basic features and there were obvious signs of intense battles taking place not too long again. Destroyed furniture, craters in the floor from explosions, walls scarred by long blades and other weapon, and above all else...

Shin: "See Misaki. Nothing is wrong with entering the front door when all of our enemies have just killed each other before we arrived. There's a literal sea of bodies all around us. I don't know if it was the enemy leader, or they just got tired of waiting or working together and fought to the death to see who will be the ones to greet us, but look. They're all dead. I'm not going to run over to the other side of the castle and sneak in like James Bond when we both know everyone inside is dead."

Misaki: "Still, there's something wrong with us for entering through the front. Shit, you just don't get it because you've lost your common sense, Shin."

Shin: "Common sense went out the window when we learned we could create Anime character and childhood friends with Human Creation exchange and the floating ball of light we call God! Also, Misaki, why on earth are we arguing before the final battle and over something so pointless?"

Misaki: "Who knows? Shit, my common sense must be fading as well if I'm fine talking like this over this bloodbath... Shin, the Game Map!"

Shin: "What? Ah, I see it too. We must have been too loud just know... not my fault."

Misaki: "And it's mine!?"

Misaki actually feeling that he was at fault turned away from Shin and looked forward. There was a dark hallway before them littered with bodies, similar to the entrance hall of the castle, but Misaki and Shin both installed with the Game Map knew that they would soon have company of the still living kind. Although most of the players who entered the castle to wait for the holder of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards had died from infighting or at the hands of Abigail, there were a few players still alive hiding within the castle. According to Hikari's Game Map the largest remaining group of five were heading for the front entrance of the castle where Shin and Misaki were currently.

Misaki: "So what do we do? Avoid them?"

Shin: "Avoid? Why? There are only five weak Nen Users after us. Also I need to warm up a little in case we encounter Team Germany's leader Abigail. No, I want to run into her to get revenge for our fallen comrades. There was never good or evil in this battle, but I still won't forgive her. I need to prepare myself. I gave Kisara Gravity Blade and the Lesser Fenrir Coat, so I need to change my fighting style a little."

Misaki: "Will you be alright? You've been exclusively using that sword to attack and the magic armor to tank hits recently."

Shin: "Don't worry Misaki."

Shin saying so channeled Ki into one of his two Na Rings and retrieved his favored handgun he received from Aqua, the infinite ammo Berretta Auto 9 from Robocop. In addition, the skin around the back of the waist was dyed back and moments later four blood red Kagune tentacles erupted to the surface and wiggled around him. Shin's left eye, now black with a red iris, the Kagune revolved around him, and with the addition of the Auto 9 in his hands gave Shin a dangerous and above all disturbing look from where Misaki stood, yet Shin didn't mind it at all. With Ki Energy now flowing through his body as well Shin felt that he was at his strongest and could handle anything this castle could throw at him.

Shin: "I was never a real swordsman like Kisara and against that strange glowing string attack of Abigail's my magic armor is useless unless I pour all of my Ki into it. My recent style of fighting won't be too effective against Abigail. Her attacks are also too dangerous to tank, so it better to just get rid of the coat so I don't think to try in an emergency. I'll miss the stats that I receive from wearing it, but that's about it. You know, Misaki, I was originally someone who killed Btooom Soldiers, Btooom Commanders, and even that Btooom Lord Ryuta Sakamoto with my bare hands, and I couldn't afford to ever take a critical attack if I could help it, so this is for the best. This is a good opportunity. Against Abigail who fights at midrange the Kagune are the better weapon to use. I'll go back to basics and try out some new things as well."

Shin said this with confidence and looked forward as the group of enemy players finally arrived. Five players stealthily tried to approach from the corners at the opposite end of the hall with Zetsu, yet it was no use. Even with Zetsu it was impossible for Nen Users to escape the scope of Hikari's scan. Shin didn't know about the greater application of Nen's "In", but not Zetsu . With the tactical reconnaissance advantage of the Game Map Shin and Misaki could pick off the enemy as they liked, but Shin chose a frontal assault to challenge himself as he raised the Auto 9 in his hands and opened fired on the opposite wall of the hallway to show he knew of the enemies' presence. Shin fired continuously for ten seconds and then a few moments later the five players ran out from cover and down the hallway. They coated themselves with powerful Aura to tank any shots from Shin, but to their confusion he just let them approach.

Shin: "Misaki, I want to try some things out. Just take out one of them and I'll handle the rest."

Misaki: "...Fine, but don't play around too much. We're not here to fight the trash mobs."

Misaki sounded a little annoyed, yet he was all smiles as he began to accelerate down the hallway to meet the enemy. Misaki was a little annoyed at Shin's easygoing attitude, but was excited that Shin didn't even ask if he could handle the enemy and he too wanted to show his strength. Misaki and the five enemy players ran down the hall and were about to crash into each other at the center, yet Misaki with a sudden burst of acceleration by burning flames under his feet, reached the enemy. His body blazed with flames and he crashed into the player at the center of the enemy formation, his fist crushing the chest of the enemy, and sent him flying in ablaze towards the end of the hall he came from. The remaining four players were shocked at the scene, yet they had problems of their own to worry about behind them.

Shin: "Tch, showoff. He has no right to complain about me."

Shin stealthily approached the enemy while they were distracted by Misaki and entered into Unlocked Mode. When the four enemy players realized that Shin had approached and looked back they were scared speechless at what they saw. The four Kagune tentacles around him were wiggling, both shrinking and expanding, and morphing into all kinds of shapes. The four players looked at Shin with his one black/red eye and Kagune as if he was a monster, but the person himself was pleased. Entering Unlocked Mode and into the Second Stage allowed him absolute control of the body, but more importantly it was what allowed an individual to being to use Liquid Muscle that was one's Kagune to its full potential. Shin discovered this back in previous battles, but never fully tested it out due to relying on the Gravity Blade and Ki skills.

Shin: (First... Sharp blades!)

Shin in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode morphed the ends of his Kagune into sharp blades reminiscent of a grim reapers scythe. Additionally, for greater strength and sharpness the ends of his Kagune were reinforced with Silver Dragon Scales. The Kagune tentacles reflecting a deadly red and silver light were then at last sent towards the enemy players at lighting speeds.

One player appearing to be the leader holding onto a sword managed to escape with a shallow cut across his chest, but the others were not so lucky as the second most skilled had his right arm cut off and the remaining two were beheaded while standing. Shin took a moment to marvel the sharpness of the Kagune blades that just cut right through the Nen of enemy players, yet the battle was not finished.

The remaining two players overcame their fears of facing the humanoid monster before them and charged forward. Shin jumped back to avoid a slash from the enemy leader and then side stepped to avoid an emissions attack from the player with one arm left attached. The enemy thought they were pressuring Shin, but it was the opposite as he was more focused on his next attack.

Shin: (Next, blunt weapons!)

Shin's four Kagune next morphed into the shape of hammers and immediately dropped down onto the one armed player and smashed him into the castle floor. All that was left was a crater, flesh, and a blood stain on the floor. The last surviving player witnessing the death of all his comrades flew into an uncontrollable rage and lunged at Shin. Shin, unbothered by this, opened fire at the enemy to stall for time as his Kagune lost its shape and merged together into one mass.

Shin could morph his Kagune into anything that he wanted, but the more complex the form, the more time was needed for it to form. Five to ten seconds were needed for what Shin had planned and then it appeared. Shin's Kagune resurfaced, but not as four thin tentacles, but one large tentacle with the thickness of three grown men with its tail end in the shape of a mutated hand. This large tentacle reached out with speed unbecoming of its size and captured the last enemy player. The enemy had one free hand to use and attempted to hack at the large blood red tentacle, but even reinforced with Nen it could only cut into it a few inches and would quickly regenerate as good as new.

Shin: "Amazing. I've hadn't even applied Ki or any skills to it and it's so powerful. Yes, with this I can definitely defeat-"

Misaki: "Shin, stop playing around and just end his life! Look, the grip of that scary red hand is so strong he's throwing up blood."

Shin: "Fine."

Shin agreeing with Misaki that it was both cruel and a waste of time to mess around any longer had his Kagune throw away the enemy in its grasp... yet it was more than either Shin or Misaki expected as they saw what happened next. The enemy player thrown away by the Kagune hand crashed through a wall of the castle, lost his human shape, and what remained was a mangled corpse with not one intact bone left in his body.

Shin: "..."

Misaki: "...Shin, never touch me with that thing... ever."

Shin: "...Let's just go."

Shin having no words to say in the defense of his inhuman actions could only suggest to finally get going. Their destination... Dwun and List's study room at the center of the castle.

Shin and Misaki traveled through the castle in silence as they made their way towards Dwun and List's study room. So far they hadn't encountered any enemy players or Team Germany's leader Abigail. They had Hikari's Game Map active so they knew where all the few people within the castle were located, so they didn't have to stay as quiet as they were to avoid the enemy, yet they did. Not because of caution, but because of Shin display power not too long ago that left Misaki frightened and in awe. Misaki knew Shin was strong, yet despite handing over his gear to Kisara he still displayed tyrannical levels strength. Misaki believed that he too could have defeated the previous group of Nen Users they met at the front entrance, yet not as effortlessly as Shin had.

Misaki: "..."

Shin: "What is it Misaki? You've seen my Kagune before, so don't freak out every time you see it."

Misaki: "Ah, it not so much about that. Your ability is grotesque as always, but that isn't it. It's just amazing how strong you are without your best equipment. You were a normal youth like myself if you exclude my past as a biker gang leader. It's just amazing is all."

Shin: "Fighting with your life on the line over a dozen times and awakening your inner potential will do that for you. Also, my gear really has nothing to do with my strength Misaki. I use it because it's there. I'm no expert in martial arts or weapons as I've said. If I never exchanged for Gravity Blade or the Lesser Fenrir Coat my fighting style would adjust to what I have."

Misaki: "So you could have always controlled your Kagune like that? It isn't new?"

Shin: "Since I've unlocked the Second Stage for better or worse. I've just been relying on the equipment till now and haven't tried out what else I could do and recently I've found that to be a problem. I lent my equipment to Kisara for her sake, but it's also for mine, I think my One-eye Ghoul Mutation may have the better affinity than my sword techniques and Ki techniques against Abigail who fights from a range. It's a bit dangerous to try it out in a life and death struggle, but as I've been told that's where I shine the most."

Misaki: "Oh, wow, I never imagined that you would think about it that deeply Shin. I just thought that you gave away your gear to impress the Newbie chick Kisara without thinking. My bad."

Shin: "Huh!? What do you take me for? I wouldn't do such a thing without reason, you know... but so you think Kisara was impressed. Ah, as a leader I just wanted to make a good impression is all. No other reason. None whatsoever!"

Misaki: "..."

Shin, feeling the full effect of Misaki's stare that said "No respect whatsoever", got pissed off and promised himself to tell Mokoto that Misaki had been eyeing Kisara as well. Shin felt better having come up with the plan to get back at Misaki but also felt strange at the same time. Recalling that he had never had a male friend before to hang out with before entering God's Dimension gave him a strange realization. One that said Misaki had become his friend. Maybe what others would call a best friend in fact.

Shin: (Why am I thinking about this stuff now? Fuck, is this what they call a death flag and either Misaki or I are about to die? Nope, nope, nope, not happening!)

Thinking this Shin became extra alert to his surroundings and looked for anything and everything suspicious. It was paranoia born from his foolish otaku mindset, yet he was not wrong to do so. Shin and Misaki should have been doing this from the beginning, checking around every corner carefully and suspicious of whats hidden within the shadows, yet the advantage of the Game Map allowed the two to let down their guards and that could be a fatal mistake. It was then that Shin noticed it as they reached the center of the castle with three ways to go from here. According to the Game Map down hallway to the left leading to the dining room, down a hallway to the right lead to the throne room, and up the stairwell and then up to the third floor Dwun and List's Study Room could be found.

Misaki: "...Shin, I know that you personally want to kill the enemy leader and all, but we should just end this mission now that we're at -0 Team points. I'm no coward and want to get back at her for the deaths of Kampa and Renji, but it's an unnecessary risk for us. Team Germany is at -10 Team Points, a -20,000 Point penalty, so she and anyone else still alive will be erased from God 100% when their mission is complete or expires. Let's ignore her and-"

Then just as Misaki was about to take a step forward someone forcefully stopped him. Grabbing his neck from behind and flinging him back was Shin. Misaki fell backwards onto the castle floor and looked up at Shin furiously. Even if Shin wanted to fight Abigail that much he thought it was too much for him to forcefully stop him like that.

Misaki: "Shin, you looking to die!? Don't just throw others to the ground like-"

Shin: "Like you could, but you're misunderstanding here Misaki. I didn't stop you because I absolutely wanted to fight the enemy leader, but because you were about to die."

Misaki: "Huh?"

Shin: "Just look through there."

Shin pointed at a tile of the floor just in front of them, yet Misaki still had confusion on his face as he didn't see what was wrong. Misaki had Observation Haki that increased his perception and Mantra Haki which was an improved version of Observation Haki and allowed him to read the surface thoughts of other if he concentrated. He didn't see or feel anything wrong, but all the same his observational abilities told him that Shin was serious and not just messing around for fun.

Shin seeing that Misaki was still not getting what he meant, bent down to the floor over the tile he had just pointed at. Shin then took out a survival knife from one of his Na Rings and cut at the edges of the tile. Misaki was confused by this action, but even more so by what he saw underneath the tile. Under the tile the floor had been dug up and what was there in the newly free space was a metallic device.

Shin: "This is definitely a bomb alright. I think a pressure sensor type. You didn't notice this Misaki because there was no direct killing intent. Your Haki abilities are amazing since in some circumstances your ability to sense danger is superior to my own, but its weakness is that you've relied on it and failed to notice a planted trap since there's no living opponent pick up on. Well, I'm the same and we both relied on the Game Map too much. Psyche Force abilities don't pick up things like this, and knowing that Abigail used it against us."

Shin then looked to the hallway to the right, towards the throne room, where Hikari's Game Map said Abigail was hiding out in. Shin didn't understand why the enemy leader wasn't personally guarding the way to Dwun and List's Study Room, but putting together what he already knew and with another suspicion of his... Shin didn't want to admit it, but Abigail had them. She used her disadvantageous position of losing a Psyche Force User and Team Japan still having one against them. Shin and Misaki almost died from overly relying on the Game Map and their skills.

Misaki: "Shin, how did you notice this trap? Your observation abilities are below mine."

Shin: "Yeah, but I just looked at things differently than you is all. Suddenly I was worried about the possibility of a trap and looked around for anything suspicious and then for some reason I thought of Kampa. He's an expert at noticing things like this, so thought about how he would look at things and I discovered the trap just in time. I also noticed a few more trap around here."

Misaki: "That's all? You just asked yourself what would Kampa do?"

Shin: "That's right."

Misaki: "..."

Misaki looked at Shin as if he was strange creature as he then proceeded to point out all the hidden bombs around them. He thought it was strange. Misaki didn't notice the bombs at first, but now that he took a closer look he could locate them as well... but just barely. The traps set up were expertly done and left behind very small traces. Misaki could find them now, but it isn't something a normal person could find even if you were told beforehand. Additionally, Shin pointed to a few hidden traps that Misaki still failed to notice. Only someone like Kampa with extensive years military service could hope to notice such traps.

Shin: "...Misaki, we really might have to fight Abigail after all whether we want to or not."

Misaki didn't get it at first, but soon agreed after Shin pointed towards traps hidden in certain points on the walls directly under the ceiling, ones that they wouldn't step onto no matter what, and examined one closely. It was remote control bomb instead of the pressure sensor ones.

Shin: "The enemy probably planted additional bombs to destroy the castle if she needs to. I don't believe she believes that she can kill us with just that, but at the very least the study room of the castle where Dwun and List are waiting will be destroyed. There will either be a penalty or change of mission if that happens, and one that'll effect both teams."

Misaki: "And she's willing to do that?"

Shin: "Why not? She's already at -10 Team Points. What does she care about another penalty... but she still wants to fight us. If we had chosen to go after her, where I assume she's set something up for her advance in the final battle she'll gladly face us for the chance of surviving the mission. If we had proceeded to the study room while ignoring her she would have set off the bombs to destroy the study, accepting any penalty, hoping she killed at least one of us, and then she'd choose a new course of action. For someone in her disadvantageous position either plans work just as well for her. A cornered animal doesn't care how it survives long as it can live in the end... even if that means sacrificing half its limbs to do so."

Misaki: "...Any chance we can make it to the study room before she sets off any of the bombs? You can use Instant Movement and see the traps, and I can fly for a while with my flames with increased acceleration."

Shin: "..lt's s a risky gamble. We won't get lost on the way thanks to the Game Map, but if Abigail set something else up or she notice us we'll be risking heavy injuries and death if we fail to reach the room in time."

Misaki stood there in silence for a few moments and finally agreed with Shin. Team Japan was out of danger of wiping out from the Team Battle Score, yet a change in the mission, one that could benefit Team Germany more than Team Japan could change things for the worse. It was in Team Japan's best interest to just get rid of the unpredictable threat that was her, Team Germany's cornered leader Abigail, and choosing to do so Shin and Misaki walked down the hallway to the right where the enemy awaited them.


	150. Chapter 150

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 39, HxH Greed Island

WARNING: YOU NEED A GREAT DEAL UNDERSTANDING OF ACCEL WORLD, ANIME OR LIGHT NOVEL VOLUME'S 1-4, TO GET HOW ABIGAIL'S POWERS WORKED.

The present.

Shin and Misaki having reached the throne room and had spotted Team Germany's leader Abigail. She was arrogantly sitting on the king's throne and after a short exchange Shin and Misaki opened fire at her with machine guns. Shin for one wasn't surprised when Abigail dodged the shower of bullets, yet was surprised as she called out a name that revealed her true ability.

During the days before the final battle Shin spoke to Kisara and Connor, the only two besides himself who fought Abigail directly during the battle of Masadora in hopes of uncovering her ability, but they couldn't come to any conclusion. Besides the sharp and multipurpose glowing string weapon of hers, the only two things that stood out from Abigail was that she had a high Reaction Speed Stat and that she could transform a part of her body into that of a robot. A robot transformation was an interesting ability, but Shin couldn't help but believe one would need a greater power than that to stand at the top of the power Team Germany like Abigail had down with an iron fist.

Klaus with the Hulk Genetic Mutation.

Adam, a skilled swordsman with the Dead Pool Genetic Mutation.

Cora with Defensive Force Field.

Erwin and his Psyche Force power.

Lutz the Priest with powerful healing spells.

Kurt's powerful fire magic.

The giant Webber who had the Bane enhancement and was an Earthbender.

And Kurt, an assassin, sniper, and expert poison user.

They were all skilled and dangerous members of Team Germany, yet it was a small girl like Abigail who once led them all against Team Japan, so there must be more to her, is what Shin believed.

Shin: (Reaction Speed and robots. That alone wasn't enough, but...)

Now seeing it in person her transformation it made sense is what he now believed after the fact. The mecha themed Light Novel, Manga, and Anime where characters blessed with high reaction speed, or thinking speed with electronics could access a certain virtual reality space through a game app. A world that is said to have no limits and where human bodies were replaced by robotic bodies operated by human thought/will power. Robotic bodies forged from the scars of one's mind and heart with high combat power and able to break the laws of the world with the powers of desire and hope.

The power of the accelerated world.

Abigail: "BURST LINK!"

As Abigail shouted out her command word she was enveloped in a bright light similar to Connor's Trion Body transformation, but this was not Trion, but the power of a real life Burst Linker. Misaki kept firing at Abigail as she was transforming, yet all the bullets he fired were bounced off by an invisible force field, so both he and Shin could only watch as the light finally died down and revealed her new form. A bright purple robotic body stood where Abigail once was. It had a very humanoid shape, yet on her back around her waist was a large metallic lump that stood out.

Misaki: "What is that!?"

Shin: "...Misaki, prepare yourself. The enemy leader is a Burst Linker! It was an ability mostly restricted to the virtual world, but it looks like it can be used in the real world."

Misaki: "What can she do?"

Shin: "Who knows? Each robot, or Duel Avatar has their own ability that matches somewhat with their avatar's color and name. All I can definitely tell you is... do not expect many of your attacks to hit her."

Misaki: "What do you-"

Abigail: "Your trash leader means Reaction Speed. Only those with high end reaction speed from birth are allowed to Exchange for the Burst Link ability from God. It's a rare ability very few have ever acquired. I'm a descedent of Rapid, a former direct subordinate of Deep Zero who had abnormal powers relating to the Reaction Speed stat, and I possess the same ability. I'm an A tier, the Level 8 Burst Linker, Amethyst Queen! Please to meet you and get ready to die!"

Abigail, the Amethyst Queen's self-introduction was finished and started their final battle. The mysterious black lump on her back, an Enhanced Armament, revved up into life with a metallic sound. The Enhanced Armament quickly expanded and covered her bottom half from the waist down in a thick and large armor shaped as spider legs. Her new eight legs began to move with unexpected speed and she almost instantly arrived to a ceiling corner of the throne room and she looked down at Shin and Misaki with contempt. She was defying gravity by walking across the ceiling, but, like her appearance suggested, her robotic form had the attributes of a spider.

Abigail: "This form is powerful, but has a daily half hour activation limit till the Duel Avatar reaches Level 9 and Amethyst Queen isn't suited for open areas... but in here... Spider Pawns!"

Spider Pawns.

The first ability of Amethyst Queen gained as a Level 1 Burst Linker. From the spider half of her Duel Avatar she shot out for the ceiling corner purple metal eggs across the throne room. It happened so quickly that Shin and Misaki could only watch as dozens – hundreds – of eggs all too soon filled up the room. Neither of them knew what the eggs really were, yet both instantly agreed that they weren't anything good.

Shin: "Destroy the eggs!"

Misaki: "Don't state the obvious!"

\- *CONTINUOUS FIRE*!

Both Shin and Misaki sprayed the purple metallic eggs throughout the throne room with gunfire, yet the results were not what they wanted. The eggs could break under normal gunfire, but not fast enough thanks to their metallic characteristics. They managed to smash the majority of the eggs... but a remaining fifty-four eggs hatched. The eggs that survived the gunfire hatched and what emerged were... soldiers. Fifty-four purple poorly dressed metallic soldiers. Each stood three foot tall and fit the image of a chess pieces with the exception of having the lower body of a spider. They were armed with short swords and a shield, yet they appeared to be poorly forged. Shin and Misaki were now surrounded and Spider Pawns that began to slowly but surely inch closer to them.

Abigail: "Nice, huh? I can create thousands of minions if I want to, but they have a major weakness like a short lifespan and range where I can control them. Still cool, right?"

Shin: "Maybe if they didn't come out so grossly. Also, thanks for the info!"

Shin for the moment ignored the Spider Pawns closing in and opened fire on Abigail with the Auto 9. Shin charged the gun with energy and the bullets, reflecting the green light of Ki, shot across the space of the throne room, yet she made no effort to get out of the way. Over a dozen Ki reinforced bullets successful struck Abigail and there was resulting damage, but not where either Shin or Misaki expected. A thin purple transparent barrier flickered into life surrounding her body. Five random Spider Pawns that surrounded Shin and Misaki shattered spontaneously despite not receiving any direct damage. Abigail, seeing the shocked faces of her enemies, couldn't help but laugh at the sight."

Abigail: "Ahahaha! Fools! Try all you like Team Japan. I can't be harmed unless you kill off the folder class first!"

Misaki: "That so!?"

Misaki rushed forward towards Abigail. Over a down Spider Pawns stood in his way, yet a single blast from Firebending shattered and melted the metallic enemies. The Spider Pawns were numerous, yet were weak and their only strength were in numbers and mobbing their victims to death. Misaki, now close enough, then threw a large fire ball towards Abigail hidden by the ceiling corner. This time Abigail didn't chose to stand her ground and crawled away to safety with the swiftness of an actual spider.

Abigail: "Not fast enough! Queen's Silk!"

With a wave of her hands and revealing the skills true name, Abigail released 10 sharp glowing threads from her finger tips towards Misaki. Misaki, sensing the attack, detonated flames under his feet and flew backwards and watched as the threads sliced 10 feet into the floor effortlessly.

Shin: "Misaki don't recklessly charge ahead alone. A purple color Duel Avatar is skilled at both close range and distant attacks!"

Misaki: "I'm not an otaku like you! Like I'm supposed to know... Shin, incoming!"

Misaki warned Shin of the incoming danger. As Abigail crawled across the walls and ceiling of the throne room she released more and more metallic purple eggs. This time there were over 1000 such eggs about to hatch. Shin and Misaki wasted no time in destroying as many eggs as possible, but over 600 eggs survived to hatch and bring new threats to them.

400 Spider Pawns - Expendable soldiers to exhaust the enemy. An ability gained at Level 1.

145 Spider Knights - Five foot armored soldiers with superior attack, armor, and speed. Hold a minimum level of strength. An ability gained at Level 2.

80 Spider Bishops - Four foot spear bearing soldiers with great speed. An ability gained at Level 3.

40 Spider Rooks - Seven foot tall heavy armored soldiers carrying large maces. Were slowed, but make excellent tanks and held power to crush their enemies. An ability gained at Level 4.

And lastly, 1 Spider King - A grand soldier towering twelve feet tall, armed with a great two-handed sword and eyes that shined with intelligence. Holding the highest rank next to Amethyst Queen herself and had vicious offensive and defensive power. An ability gained at Level 7.

Abigail: "Kill! Kill them all!"

On Abigail orders all of her spider minions began to converge of Shin and Misaki's location as they stood in the middle of the throne room. From all sides swords and spears were sung towards them to reap their lives, yet were then intercepted by a red flash. Shin unleashed four blood red Kagune tentacles to block all the attacks and at the same time raised the Auto 9 and opened fire at all the spiders surrounding them. Each bullet fired was a head shot that destroyed over a dozen Spider Pawns, but instantly taking their place were more of the same. Misaki used that time to create a blazing ring of fire around them to bide time. Inside the ring of fire Shin and Misaki considered their options and outside the ring of fire were hundreds of enemies waiting to kill those inside.

Misaki: "Fuck! Fighting her here really was a stupid idea, Shin."

Shin: "I agree, but both roads were hell, so let's just kill the spider bitch once and for all!

Misaki: "Do you have a plan?"

Shin: "Not a good one. First-"

Interrupting Shin at the moment and carrying spears were five Spider Bishops. They braved through Misaki's ring of flames to impale them. Three spears were aimed at Shin and two at Misaki. Shin redirected the spears away from him with three Kagune tentacles and used the fourth to behead three Spider Bishops. Shin then looked to the side over towards his comrade to see Misaki creating a powerful flame arm around himself that melted both the approaching spears and the two Spider Bishops down to the ground.

Shin: "They don't seem to have much defense against flames. Also, don't waste so much strength just to kill two enemies, we have like, over 600 to take out. Possibly more if she gives birth again."

Misaki: "Stop! Just tell me your plan!"

Misaki glared down the enemies before him as he said this. The ring of fire finally died down and all the spider minions began to move forward. Taking the lead were six Spider Knights with their swords already raised and ready to slash him. Misaki entered Unlocked Mode and charged towards the six knights with his hands armed in red flames resembling a pair of wings.

Misaki: "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

Misaki further increased the temperature of the flames and, *SLASH*, as if his hands were blades he slashed through their swords and went on to burn them to the ground. The six Spider Knights were swiftly dealt, yet not giving Misaki a chance to breathe more Spider Knights took their places and were about to slash when-

\- *BANG*!

Their heads were blasted off by bullets reinforced with Ki. Like Misaki, Shin was being stampeded by the enemy, yet his Kagune kept them at bay while also thinning down their numbers. Misaki couldn't believe Shin could attack, defend, and cover his comrades back so easily, yet had no time to either admire or feel jealous of such skill. It was time to begin their counter attack.

Shin: "The plan is simple. Thin down the enemy ranks and attack Abigail when she has few spiders to take damage for her. Don't stay in one place or you'll get mobbed to death. Don't allow her to lay anymore eggs. Lastly, I'm leaving most of them for you to handle, fire power fool. Simple, right?"

Misaki: "Fuck! That's not a plan!"

Shin: "I'm not Jin and you're not smart enough for a complex plan. Just try not to die!"

Misaki was furious at Shin, but could only follow such half assed directions as Shin disappeared, having jumped deeper into the enemy ranks destroying all who crossed his path. Misaki ignited flames under his feet and in pseudo flight he flew away through the air and he began to bombard the spider army with continuous fire blast. Misaki, like Shin hoped, was wreaking the most havoc, but because of that he was singled out by Abigail and her army of spider soldiers. While in midair dozens of spears were thrown to impale and when he would return to the ground to rest he would be mobbed by hundreds of spider soldiers. It was a thin line Misaki was walking to decrease the enemy numbers, yet-

Shin: (He'll be fine. As long as I take care of the troublesome ones he'll manage one way or another!)

While Misaki worked hard to decrease the enemy numbers, Shin focused only on certain types of spider soldiers. The Spider Bishops and Spider Rooks. The Spider Bishops were fast and were throwing spears at Misaki. The Spider Rooks weren't too fast, but were powerful and could hardly be taken out in one attack. They were the ones giving Misaki the most trouble and so they needed to disappear. Also, Shin kept a vigilant eye on the Spider King. The Spider King had not joined the battle and had only stood on guard by the door to the throne room to hinder anyone trying to escape. With the exception of Abigail herself, the Spider King gave off the greatest sense of danger, yet Shin didn't go after it just yet. He wanted to thin the enemy ranks more.

Shin: "In any case, I can't have him say he's doing all the work here!"

Shin now facing twelve Spider Bishops who've surrounded him entered Unlocked Mode. Entering the First Stage raised his power, speed, reaction speed, and flooded his mind with battle instincts to overcome the situation... and Shin unleashed that all on the robotic spider army. Shin, having given away given away his magic sword, couldn't lock weapons with the enemy, but that was of no concern to him. Four Kagune tentacles waving around him morphed into sharp blades reinforced with Silver Dragon Scales. Transforming a Kagune into different shapes was once only normally possible in the Second Stage, but thanks to his practice he could do so even in the First Stage although not as fast.

Shin: "Die!"

With impressive agility the Spider Bishops charged forward to impale Shin, but he could only laugh at how they should have retreated instead. Shin's Kagune spun around him with blinding speed like a helicopter blade and instantly bisected and cut down all the spiders' soldiers from the waist. Shin continued this by stretching out the spinning Kagune blades and cut down all enemies within five meters of himself... except five.

Shin: (Tough armor!)

The Kagune tentacles eradicated everything nearby except for five Spider Rooks. They stood seven feet tall and had the width of three large men. They wore hard and thick purple armor that only showed light scratches from Shin's previous attacks which showed off their defensive power. In addition, in their right hands were maces with sharp spikes that would both break bone and tear out flesh. They possessed a formidable aura only below Abigail and the Spider King... yet Shin's fighting spirit did not once waver.

Shin: "I dealt with hard armor before and they had an infinite supply of bombs!"

Shin rushed towards the closest Spider Rook. It had enough reaction speed to react and raise its weapon, but he was unconcerned. A Spider Rook was tough, but slower than a Spider Bishop. Shin also looked at their weapon of choice, the mace, as a clumsy weapon when he thought back to the world of Btooom where he faced off against bombs. As to why Shin compared the Spider Rooks to the Btooom Soldiers just because they both wore strong armor-

Shin: "Soul Crushing Strike!"

...it was because he possessed a weapon that ignores external defenses like armor. With a sonic boom from the impact Soul Crushing Strike exploded into the chest of the Spider Rook before it could bring down its heavy mace. Shin's fist smashed the chest of the enemy, resulting in both outer and internal damage and its humanoid top half exploded into a small metal pieces.

Shin: "Far too effective!"

Shin's smiling at the results of using Soul Crushing Strike continued his attack. Moving from one Spider Rook to the next with Instant Movement Shin used Soul Crushing Strike to destroy the remaining four around him. Then not satisfied he moved across the throne room to continue his hunt for Spider Bishops and Spider Rooks. This greatly helped Misaki as he used his flames to burn down the enemy, and in no time at all the spider army of over 600 were reduced to less than 200, and only the lowly Spider Pawns and Spider Knights remained with the exception of the 1 Spider King.

Shin looking over the situation found that things were going well for him and Misaki. The tough opponents had been dealt with and the enemy army had been reduced to less than half. Still, the battle would turn bad for them of Abigail was allowed to give birth to more spider soldiers. Her robotic spider army weren't difficult to deal with. If not for being inside a building that could be flooded with an enemy army there would have been much better ways to handle Abigail, but they were inside the confined space of the throne room.

With no room to rest her army was slowly draining their stamina and this was especially true for Misaki. Shin's enhancements were better suited for stamina and recovery, while Misaki's were for burst of extreme offensive power in short durations. Misaki has also been going all out to burn down Abigail's army of spider soldiers and has himself become almost burned out, so Shin couldn't allow her to summon any reinforcements.

Shin believing Misaki could handle the rest and now set his sights on Abigail crawling across the walls... but she was not there. Melding with the shadows using an ability gained at Level 5, Shadow Walking, Abigail reappeared behind Shin and attacked. Her arms glowed with a purple light with the shape of a claw to tear at his back.

Still in Unlocked Mode and sensing danger Shin jumped to the side with Instant Movement and rolled across the floor leaving behind a red blood stain. As he stood back up and glared at Abigail multiple Spider Knights quickly crawled towards and surrounded him about to attack, but Shin gave them no mind. Without looking away from his main concern, four blood red Kagune tentacles were released, their tips had morphed into jagged blades and they hacked and slash at the Spider Knights

Abigail: "Wow, you have no right to complain about my powers being gross, Team Japan leader."

Shin: "..."

Shin had nothing to say to Abigail, but he did have questions. The biggest of which was her last attack. Her claw swipe didn't cut into him too deeply, yet his wounds felt like they were on fire. It was a similar, yet different sensation than the time he was shot with the black varanium bullets back in Apocalypse Alice. It was at the very least an attack that ignored his natural healing factors.

Shin: (The bleeding hasn't stopped and the wound burns something fierce... could it be an Incarnate System attack?)

Shin wouldn't bother to ask Abigail for the truth, but it was indeed the truth.

Incarnate System.

The Incarnate System is a secret ability of Brain Burst. It is the ability of a Burst Linker to use the power of will as a way to become faster and more powerful or to strengthen their moves in battle. Only a few Burst Linkers know about about this, including the Six Kings of Pure Color.

The theory is that normally, a Burst Linker's Duel Avatar - and presumably any other virtual reality avatar they use - is controlled by the Neurolinker reading the person's brainwaves. Essentially, it reads activity in the brain's motor cortex while piping information to the brain's sensory cortex. This style of control is dubbed "control via physical order".

However, there is a second, more difficult method to manipulating one's Duel Avatar - "control via power to image". Similar to willpower (though the Neurolinker likely cannot read abstract feelings like willpower), it uses the Burst Linker's ability to strongly picture something happening to bring about a change in the environment. As this is closer to using one's imagination, the Neurolinker is able to read this information. The players of Brain Burst have named this the Incarnate System.

The main use of Incarnate is in battle. By strongly picturing different ways to fight in your head, you can make that real. However, in pretty much all cases, these attacks are nothing that couldn't be done more easily by using tools your Duel Avatar already has. However, incarnate-powered attacks cannot be defended by normal means; they can only be defended by incarnate-powered defenses, or countered by incarnate-powered attacks. This is their main use in the Accelerated World. Because of that, most that learn of how to use the Incarnate System obey a strict rule of not using it in combat unless it's used against them first.

As Incarnation skills are used by solidifying an image in one's head, most Burst Linkers that use it attach a name to specific skills as a trigger to activate the image more quickly. However, unlike Special Moves, using incarnation skills doesn't deplete one's Special Gauge.

The four fundamental categories of Incarnate skills are the following: Firing Range Expansion, Movement Range Expansion, Attack Power Expansion, and Armor Density Expansion.

Shin coming to the conclusion that it was an Incarnate System attack understood the damage he had just received to his attack. Incarnate System attacks are imbued with the thoughts and emotions of its user and brought to life in the attack. Abigail's negative towards Shin were so great that her Incarnate System attacks will bypass his high healing ability and cause additional damage.

Abigail: "This is your fault you know. I just wanted to exhaust you with superior numbers and watch my army mob you two to death. Now... things get difficult. I'll show you the strength of the Level 8 Burst Linker, Amethyst Queen! Spider King!"

The Spider King.

Standing beside the throne room doors without having yet participated in the battle was the Spider King. A twelve foot tall purple armored knight with like thick spider legs like its counter parts. Abigail's strongest spider soldier that possessed the highest quality sword, armor, and ability among all of Abigail's spider soldiers. The Spider King's eyes now glowed with a deadly light as it stirred into action. Its target ordered by its master to kill at all cost was Shin and he complied.

The Spider King with speed surpassing any of its counter parts crawled towards Shin and swung down its massive sword at him. Still in the First Stage he saw this coming jumped and back with Instant Movement, yet the sword swung past where he just stood the wind pressure assaulted him throwing him off balance, sending him tumbling across the floor. The Spider King continued its attack with another swing of his sword and unable to avoid Shin resolved himself and caught the blade. Shin's hands began to bleed despite the reinforcement of Ki and Silver Dragon Scales, and was losing in strength in their clash.

Abigail, not one to let this chance slip by, crawled behind Shin as he struggled against the Spider King and was about to attack when she was repelled. A blue fire ball released from Misaki knocked Abigail back. She let her guard down as all her damage was currently being transferred to her minions, yet she didn't expect Misaki had the room to both attack her and fight her spider army.

Abigail: "If you want to die first then so be it! Velvet Silk Whip!"

Abigail produced spider thread from her hands, but instead of immediately throwing it like normal the thread began to coil together into a long one inch thick whip. Once complete the whip began to glow a deadly purple light as it was further enhanced by her willpower for an Incarnate System attack. The whip then flew towards Misaki across the throne room. Misaki, without understanding what her attack was, felt the danger it presented and his nerves went on overdrive and relied on Observation Haki. The glowing purple whip shot towards Misaki like lighting, but reading both the whip and Abigail herself he ducked under the whip. The whip zoomed over Misaki and slashed through everything it touched, including 100 of her spider army.

Abigail: "Don't dodge too much Team Japan trash! It'll be a shame if I can't kill you instantly after cutting you in pieces!"

Shin: "The one who dies is you!"

Shin still in a power struggle with the Spider King entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode to reverse the battle. Four Kagune tentacles fused together into on large mass and morphed into the shape of a hammer. The Kagune hammer further hardened by Silver Dragon Scales then stuck the Spider King on it right side and blew it away crashing into a far off wall. Shin was surprised and disappointed that the Spider King embedded into the wall was still alive with only a few cracks across its robotic body, but for the moment it was out of the way and he could now return his attention to Abigail.

Shin stayed in the Second Stage as he prepared to attack. With absolute control of the body he further strengthened his power to greater heights as his arms and legs expanded to three times their size. With power and speed more than tripled Shin jumped towards Abigail with the fastest Instant Movement. If he could get close enough and with Abigail's remaining low number of spider soldier to take damage for her than Shin planned to use the savage power of Spirit Wave to end their conflict, but it was not that easy.

Abigail was taken by surprise, but was not helpless. Her Reaction Speed was enhanced while using her Duel Avatar and saw the attack at the last moment coming in spite of Shin's great speed and avoided his charge. She may not take any damage, but her spider army was running low. There were less than 100 now and she didn't want to use resources unnecessary.

Abigail: "...This isn't fun anymore. Tch, I hate doing this as it hurts like hell, but I'll let you feel what hell is like as well. Lesser Self-Sacrifice!"

Shin: "!"

After missing Abigail with his last attack Shin ended up between two Spider Pawns. Shin paid them no mind as he could instant kill them, yet he noticed an abnormality. The two Spider Pawns began to glow ominously and cracks began to surface across their bodies. Shin still in Unlocked Mode felt an incredible threat and jumped high into the air using Instant Movement. Shin in midair looked down and then saw the two shining Spider Pawns reach a blinding peak in brightness and explode sending shards of their metallic forms in every direction as shrapnel. Immediately after the two Spider Pawns died a wave of intense pain coursed through Abigail that her Duel Avatar couldn't transfer away. It was the side effect of using the skill Amethyst Queen acquired at level 6

Abigail: "Fuck! Really, this is going to hurt me more than it is going hurts you, or your friend. Lesser Self-Sacrifice!"

Shin: "!"

Shin understood Abigail's intent at the moment, but it was too late. There was nothing he could do as he was still suspended in midair after avoid the previous explosion. Shin could only watch as the countless dozens of Spider Pawns and Spider Knights Misaki surrounding him began to glow and within a just one second it was over. All the spider soldiers throughout the throne room except the Spider King and Abigail detonated at her command, resulting in a wave of explosions and shrapnel flying everywhere.

Shin: "Misaki!"

\- *CONTINUOUS EXPLOSION*!


	151. Chapter 151

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 40, HxH Greed Island FINAL

\- *EXPLOSION*!

...Using the skill Lesser Self-sacrifice, Abigail had all of her remaining metal spider soldiers within the throne room except one self-destruct. Flames roared and shrapnel from all possible angles shot through the throne room... and in the middle of this explosion was Misaki, a member of Team Japan. At the very last second he covered his body in the Hardening Armament Haki to withstand the blast... but it was not enough.

Misaki: "Ah..."

Over a dozen pieces of metal stabbed into his flesh and destroyed his body. The explosion itself didn't have much effect on Misaki as a Fire Dragon Slayer, yet the large pieces of shrapnel pierced him and damaged all of his important vitals... and only his head was left unscathed, which he had been guarding with his arms. Misaki, losing too much blood from countless fatal wounds, fell to the floor and coming to his side was Shin.

Shin: "Misaki... Misaki! Hang in there!"

Abigail: "Ha, what are you even doing turning your back to the enemy. No matter. I'll use this time to restock on my spider soldiers!"

Abigail then, while in her Duel Avatar form Amethyst Queen, began producing metallic eggs from her Enhanced Armor, Legs of the Spider Queen. Soon over a thousand eggs filled the throne room and soon countless robotic spider soldiers of differ ranks would be born... yet Shin did not once look towards the enemy and kept watching Misaki as the life drained out of his body. Misaki was beginning to slip out of consciousness, yet a source of power began to rejuvenate both him and Shin.

Shin was confused at first before recognizing it as the magic power of Hikari's magic buff spells. Shin then looked around and found that Hikari was nowhere to be found. He had no idea where she was or how had she applied her magic spells, but was glad that she did. The enhancements from the buff were far stronger than ever before and the light within Misaki's eyes was retuning. Misaki's life had by no means been saved, yet that gave Shin hope... even though he was still bleeding out in his hands.

Shin: "Misaki! This, this isn't the end. Hikari's spells are even keeping you alive... I'll figure something out, so-"

Misaki: "...Shin... I failed."

Shin: "What are you-"

Misaki: "I failed. I killed Mokoto once already and her new life is tied to mine. I'm not stupid. I'm already dead and I've failed again. Mokoto... even Ren... I... At least Mokoto and I we be together in death this time."

No tears flowed down his eyes, yet Shin could see weakness and infinite sorrow on Misaki's now pale face. Misaki knew death had arrived and was just waiting for him to take his last breath, yet this was unacceptable for Shin. Shin was about to do whatever he could. Take out medical supplies from the Na Ring or even channel Ki into Misaki's body for some miracle to occur like in Manga and Anime... yet life was not fiction. Still Shin wanted to do something to save his best friend even if it left him even more vulnerable to Abigail preparing her army at this minute, yet stopping Shin from taking any action was Misaki himself.

Misaki: "Shin... don't do something pointless. you can't fix this. Just... just don't lose to her. I can't... so it's up to you to make up for my second failure... Shin...keep fighting until your last breath."

Misaki with the last of his strength said those words and... his life came to an end. His body was unmoving and the light had completely disappeared from his eyes.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM JAPAN DIED. TEAM JAPAN -1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY +1 TEAM POINTS.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: -1.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -9.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Shin: "..."

Shin heard the official message, yet it just didn't sink in. His mind had gone blank. Misaki was dead. Another comrade is dead. He failed to save another comrade. He failed to save a comrade, but more importantly his best friend. As Misaki laid in his arms now dead and lifeless... it was...

Abigail: "Haha! What was that? 'Until your last breath', he said! What a joke for a dying man to say. So... are we done with the grieving yet? I'm a busy woman and you're next Team Japan-"

Shin: "...What did you say?"

Shin heard Abigail words, but he couldn't accept them. Abigail dared to mock his comrade even in death. Sneering at his final words and mocking him. Making fun of the man who fought for his comrades and reborn childhood friend who he had promised to marry one day. Misaki, more than anyone else wanted to escape God's Dimension and had a clear vision of his future. Previously Shin was in a state of shock, but now... his mind and hatred were all focused on the enemy before him. Abigail couldn't feel it yet, but a boiling rage was beginning to rise within him.

Abigail: "What, you mad? Ha! You've killed, even wiped out my team – my pawns – for your own reasons. Remember? Why should I hold my tongue for trash like you and dead Firebender guy there? I'll kill you and your comrades, step on their cold bodies, and mutilate their corpses! Look, I'll show you now. Get them!"

On her orders the spider soldier army over 1000 marched towards Shin. Shin was completely surrounded and only a fate to be lynched awaited him... yet Shin wasn't paying attention to them. All he cared about now was killing Abigail who had just killed and insulted Misaki. The army about to kill him was just a part of the scenery as far as he was concerned. Along with his grief over a comrades death Shin was still in Unlocked Mode. Whether he liked it or not combat instincts rushed through his mind in an attempt to stay alive and kill Abigail in his current condition... but there was just one answer and he didn't like it. Shin was repulsed at the thought of it, but he hated the idea of letting Abigail walk away even more... and so-

Shin: "...Sorry Misaki. Let me borrow some of your strength. In exchange... I won't let her walk away from here alive!"

Then as the army of spider soldiers were close enough to swing down their weapons at Shin he raised the right arm of his deceased comrades and took a bite out of the flesh. The body was dead, yet lingering traces of Misaki's fiery life force could be tasted as the flesh and blood passed through his mouth and down his throat. The experience brought forth feeling of immense joy and disgust at the act, but such things were not important what was is now after consuming the flesh on another his energy had been restored somewhat and-

\- AS A ONE-EYED GHOUL YOU'VE DEVOURERED THE FLESH OF A SPECIAL INDIVIDUAL! MENTAL CAPACITY+30, MUSCLE DENSITY+50, CELL VITALITY+20, IMMUNIZATION STRENGTH+10, REACTION SPEED+55!

A message was sounded confirming a boost in strength for Shin, yet he didn't pay it any mind. The joy in sense of newfound power brought forth an incredibly euphoric experience, but the simultaneous guilt and disgust as he wanted to eat more... all these feeling assaulted his mind, tearing at each other, and... something snapped. Shin just sat there besides Misaki's body as the enemy army's weapons were swung down at him, and-

\- *CLINK*!

Shin's Kagune automatically reacted in response to the danger and wrapped themselves around their master. Swords, spears, and maces were swung over and over again to break through the Kagune defenses, yet they would continuously regenerate and come back stronger than before. Abigail couldn't help but frown seeing this. She wanted to enjoy the scene of her enemy being lynched by her spider soldier army, yet their inability to do so despite Shin staying in one place pissed her off.

Abigail: "Fuck! Stop cowering in that disgusting makeshift shell of yours and come out! Shit, Spider King, just go over there and kill him already. As long as I kill their leader there I'll survive this godforsaken mission. Heheh, and if a few more of his comrades do decide to show up and I kill them, I'll get lots of rewards and points! Hahh-"

Abigail in the middle of laughing historically subconsciously entered Unlocked Mode feeling danger and jumped back, bringing the Spider King with her as he was valuable. And then a moment later, from the cocoon of the tightly wrapped Kagune tentacles, a long black metallic tail with glowing red flesh within and sharp talons along one side of the tail punctured through the shell and twirled through the air. Then not a moment later the back tail swiped at all the surrounding spider soldiers, crushing and slashing everything they came across along with the floor itself causing a cloud of dust to rise to the surface.

Abigail, who had retreated, had her vision disrupted, yet she could still tell that her army of over 1000 had been reduced to less than 800 in an instant. Just one wave of this new metallic tail had destroyed over 200 of her forces. It was maddening. Confusion and fear threatened to consume her and it was then that she saw a humanoid figure carrying a body jump into the air and towards a corner of the throne room and that deadly tail, a Kagune, attached to his back followed with him. There were over fifty spider soldiers stationed there, yet with just one sweeping attack from the black armored tail they were all blown through the air and shattered into unrecoverable pieces. The humanoid figure, Shin, touched back down to the floor and carefully set aside the body his comrade missing his entire right arm. Shin took one last look at his comrade who was long gone with much regret and slowly turned his head around to face his mortal foe, Abigail, and spoke.

Shin: "What was that you just said before? About killing more of my comrades... then how about this? What if the one who dies is you? The leader of Team Germany."

Shin said so in a cold tone as he looked over towards Abigail. His voice was calm and collected, but it was so unimaginably cold and underneath it all... lied a raging fury attempting to be released to the surface. The bloodlust filling up the space of the throne room sent a chill down Abigail's spine from fear despite standing on the other side of the room. She was still inside her Duel Avatar Amethyst Queen, yet before his presence she felt helpless as a child before a large monster.

Abigail: "...Tch, don't get too full of-"

Gathering her courage Abigail looked back at Shin ready to face anything he has up his sleeve, yet she took a step back seeing his face, or what she could make of it. The right half of Shin's face was calm and without emotions and yet the other half, the left half was covered in a black mask with a bird like beak and in the center of that mask was the black and red eye of a ghoul.

Abigail: "...A... A Kakuja..."

Abigail at last understood what she was up against and what Shin had transformed into. As a member of the Four Pillars she knew about most if not all the enhancements within the Exchange System, together with what she had already deduced about Shin's genetic mutation and the clues in front her... she grasped what she was up against. The black armored Kagune tentacle or tail protruding downwards from the back, a mask covering the face formed from the Kagune climbing up the back and morphing into a mask around the face, and most noticeably a change in persona. These were all signs of one things and one thing only.

The Kakuja.

A Kakuja (Red One) is a Ghoul with a transformed Kagune. Though it is rare, it can occur through repeated cannibalization. In the world of Tokyo Ghoul, when a ward has a higher ghoul to human ratio, cannibalization is more common due to turf wars and limited food supply. Sometimes, the transformation is incomplete, and such individuals are called Half-Kakujas which appears to be what Shin has achieved.

It is said that through cannibalism, a ghoul absorbs Rc cells, and this uptake of Rc cells increases their concentration within a ghoul's body. If the concentration becomes high enough, it may trigger a mutation within the cells and lead to the formation of a new Kagune in the shape of a armor over the original Kagune or one's body. A Kakuja can evolve their armor Kagune further by continuing to cannibalize their kind.

Apart from the predatory Kagune ghouls commonly possess, a Kakuja has a special Kagune that clads the ghoul's body and functions like an armor. This new Kagune amplifies the Kakuja's strength, or diversifies his abilities, which makes fighting one of them especially hard. However, using a Kakuja Kagune is nearly impossible because most users tend to lose their minds while fighting with it. It is unknown why some ghouls are able to remain sane and others are not. One reason may be that all unstable/insane ghouls using Kakuja are half/incomplete as full kakuja aren't observed to have any problems maintaining control. It appears that a Kakuja Kagune can form a mask over the user's face if need be.

That is the Kakuja.

Team Japan's leader Shin had awakened a Kakuja, or an incomplete one judging from the half mask on his face. Abigail had never fought a ghoul except for Shin before, yet she did know what to expect now. An increase in strength in all areas and major boost in natural regenerative power. Additionally, he was under the effect of a magic buff somehow which probably increased his abilities further.

Abigail: "Still, no big deal. What a useless transformation. You're all alone, surrounded, and all so easy to kill! Velvet Whip!"

From both hands Abigail began to coil spider thread together into two long whips that then glowed with the light of Incarnation System. The two whips whirled around the throne room showing they could reach anywhere Abigail desired and decided on a target, Shin, she swung the two whips towards him. The whips with the addition of Incarnation System held unparalleled cutting power, so Shin only course of action would be to dodge. Abigail expected such a response and had already ordered her army to swarm Shin once he moved out of the way... yet that did not happen.

The two Velvet Whips were caught by Shin's Kagune with ease. Just before the attack arrived a fissure down the middle the new black armored Kagune behind Shin's back appeared and soon it spilt into two armored tails and intercepted the whips. Furthermore the black armored Kagune was reinforced with Silver Dragon Scales. The Velvet Whip that had never met resistance before could only cut a few inches into the armored tails before they were fully stopped.

Abigail: "What?!"

Shin: "...Your spider thread like attacks aren't that amazing. I would rather fight you than Doflamingo and I bet Straw Hat Luffy would agree. Spider Man wouldn't be fun to face either... but that's not Manag, right?"

Abigail: "You-"

Abigail's yell was cut short. Shin disappeared before her eyes and reappeared right in front of her and threw a fist smashing into her body. She saw it all as Shin, with newfound power and speed five times greater than normal, used Instant Movement to step in almost instantaneously, yet she could not react physically as a fist coated in silver scales released a Soul Crushing Strike that exploded into her Duel Avatar, blowing her away and crashing into a far off wall. No damage was inflicted as over thirty Spider Pawns, which took the damage for her, exploded, yet Abigail was left feeling helpless.

Shin: "...Your eyes at the last minute followed me, but you could react, huh? Like an inexperienced Sharingan user. Even if can see my moments, your body does not have the ability or speed to respond to the current me. In your next life time learn some Taijustsu from Rock Lee."

Abigail: "You, you..."

Abigail shouted at Shin as he looked down at her, but he didn't care about such things. Shin was calm and collected, yet it was closer to calm and disconnected to it all. He had a growing fury to tear Abigail apart, yet such feelings were not in control of his actions. As a side effect of the incomplete Kakuja Shin's mental state had become unstable. For some in his position they would lose their minds and go into a blind rage of insanity, Shin in a way had, yet it was a bit different. Shin's insanity took on his love for Manga, Anime, and games and altered his thinking pattern and began comparing everything to situations from his favorite fictional works.

Shin: "...Get up. That was one. There's no evil in this world and I'm no better, but I still won't accept it. I'll destroy that pride as a noble of the Four Pillars that drove you to fight us to the death. I'll spare your life two more times before I kill you. That way you'll know how helpless you really are little girl."

Abigail: "You! A little increase in power and you get cocky? Ha, I'll show you the difference between us! I'll go all out!"

Saying so Abigail stood back up from that last attack and faced Shin. She wouldn't allow him to look at her with eyes saying that she was weak, unworthy even, so she chose to use her full power and first she discarded her previous tactics. Summoning endless armies of spider soldiers was an impressive ability to wear down ones foes, but against those of a certain level of strength all it did was increase her side's body count and waste her resources, so she got rid of it. Abigail detached her enhanced armor, "Legs of the Spider Queen" that gave the ability to reproduce a great army from nothing, but by abandoning this power gave room for a new to move in.

Abigail: "Fangs of the Spider Queen!"

Shouting out this name a new a Enhanced Armor materialized into existence by Abigail's side and began attaching itself to her robotic Duel Avatar form. The four limbs of Amethyst Queen were reinforced by thick armor, with an especially large armor equipped to her right arm with large metal claws over her fingers. Abigail still had a human shape robotic form, so the transformation hardly seemed as amazing as when she equipped "Legs of the Spider Queen", yet Shin could tell that her threat level had skyrocketed several folds.

Fangs of the Spider Queen - An Enhanced Armor designed for pure offensive power, increases the combat ability of Amethyst Queen according to the number of and rank of the spider soldiers present. Also extends the power of Amethyst Queen's ability to use Incarnation System to any already summoned spider Soldiers. Until Level 9 is reached the Enhanced Armor can only stay active for three minutes and immediately afterwards regardless of the time of activation of the Duel Avatar is left it's activation period comes to an end. Abigail's latest ability gained at Level 8.

Abigail: "Become minced meat, trash!"

By the time she said this she erased the distance between them and a glowing metallic claw swiped at Shin's neck. Her new Enhanced Armor increased her power and movement speed by many times and allowed her to match her high Reaction Speed stat. Abigail now had the confidence to not let the previous embarrassment happen again, yet-

Shin: (Not enough, but she won't need that lesson with Rock Lee.)

...she was still caught. With arms coated in Silver Dragon Scales Shin grabbed the glowing claw and using that momentum she was tossed into the air. From there Shin jumped after Abigail with Instant Movement. While both still in midair Shin struck Abigail with Soul Crushing Strike and she was shot further in the air and smashing into the ceiling above. Crashing into the ceiling and without the Spider Leg Enhanced Armor she fell back down. It was a perfect chance to attack Abigail again, but Shin did not take it.

Shin: "That's two. Wait now as I thin the herd a bit."

Abigail: "What?"

Although unharmed, she was still reeling from the shock of his last attack, and so was too late to act. Shin turned away from Abigail and turned his attention to the vast robot army within the throne room. Spider Pawns, Spider Knights, Spider Bishops, Spider Rocks, and the Spider King. After Unlocking the Kakuja Kagune Shin no longer felt a threat from any of them even factoring in how all their weapons shined with the light of Incarnate System, yet they still hindered him. Each spider soldier absorbed any damage he inflicts to Abigail, or her Amethyst Queen Duel Avatar, and that was a problem.

Shin: "1 VS 1000. Smaller scale, but I can now join the ranks of Saito and Madara!"

Shin yelled loudly as he dived deep into the enemy rank and began his massacre. It was a foolish act as swords, spears, and maces reinforced with Incarnation hit his body from all sides, stabs and bruises covering his body, but in his current state all of his wounds were healing almost instantly and the weaker attacks were just reflected off thanks to his defensive skill. Shin now confirmed that the mechanical spider army were no threat to him he went all out. Shin was currently surrounded by over a dozen Spider Knights ready to cut him down, but moments later they were all destroyed and ripped a part into countless metal scraps as six Kagune tentacles erupted from behind his back. Four regular blood red Kagune tentacles and two thick black armored tentacles born from the Kakuja. All six swayed around their master in a menacing manner and were then given the order to attack without mercy as Shin began charged through the throne room.

The four normal Kagune tentacles stabbed into all nearby lightly armored Spider Pawns, Spider Knights, and Spider Bishops. Each attack was lighting fast and accurate, destroying the heads and torso of all their targets that then fell to the floor lifeless. The two armored Kagune tentacles, on the other hand, used their thickness and strength to attack. The armored Kagune with their attached talons on one side flattened and ripped apart the Spider Rooks and all other enemies in their path of destruction in the hundreds. Shin, the center of this destruction, made sure no enemy was allowed close or given chance to escape as the body count soared.

Shin: "Weak! Too weak. Even the cannon folder in UQ Holders are more skilled... except you I guess!"

As Shin finished a sweep of the throne room flooded with purple scrap metal across the floor a deadly killing intent assaulted him. One of the only two forces in the room who could oppose him moved. The large loitering Spider King crawled towards Shin with unexpected speed along with a change. Not just its sword, but armor was glowing brightly with the light from Incarnation System. One of the two armored Kagune moved to intercept the Spider King, but its shining great sword easily repelled the Kagune and kept charging towards Shin.

Abigail: "Ha! Don't get happy by defeating disposable trash!"

The Spider King attacked Shin from the front and Abigail, rejoining the battle, attacked from the rear. In addition Abigail resolved to kill Team Japan's leader and entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode. Her Duel Avatar, despite its robotic form, had internal parts that began to expand as proof of the increased strength of the Second Stage. The two were due to collide with Shin head on, yet he didn't run, but entered into the Second Stage himself. Shin morphed the two armored Kagune back into one large tentacle and the four normal Kagune into two thick yet swift tentacles.

The armored Kagune now reinforced with Silver Dragon Scales rushed straight towards Abigail and she met it with her larger metal claw. The two attacks meet and, although unharmed, Abigail was blown away and the armored Kagune was left cracked and bleeding from the clash. At the same time the Spider King attack began. Its heavy great sword was repeatedly swung in quick succession and would not have left even a skilled warrior with room to breathe, yet for Shin there was no threat defending with the normal Kagune. Instead of meeting the attacks head on each swipe of Shin's Kagune tentacles redirected the sword swings safely away from him. The Spider King was insulted with this type of defense and placed more force in its sword swings till they over powered and cut through Shin's Kagune.

Shin: (Now like Kira Yamato... catch!)

The shining great sword of the Spider King was swung down to cut Shin down the middle and he attempted to catch the blade with outstretched hands reinforced with Silver Dragon Scales. It turned into a failed reenactment of the Strike Freedom Gundam catching the Destiny Gundam's sword as it dug a few inches into his shoulder, yet fortunately being in the Second Stage he stopped the blade there with much difficulty. Shin laughed through the pain of the large cut through his shoulder and began his counter attack.

Unable to escape in time having its great sword grasped tightly the Spider King was stabbed and smashed repeatedly with Kagune tentacle and, not stopping there, Shin threw away the sword and jumped on top of the Spider King. In his Kakuja form Shin had fallen into a berserk state as he continuously assaulted the Spider King with Ki attacks. Again, again, and again, Soul Crushing Strikes were thrown into the Spider King and smashing it down to the floor. A few moments later Abigail recovered from the previous attack and looked back at the two as she was about to rejoin the fray, but was stunned silent at what she witnessed. A large crater had formed where Shin stood and directly below him was her prided and strongest mechanical soldier, the Spider King perfectly deformed and flattened into the ground with all life gone from its eyes. Shin then took a few steps away from the remains of the Spider King and looked towards Abigail.

Shin: "...That's three. Die!"

In that instant a pure and near uncontrollable surge of power from within Shin's body swelled up and rose to the surface. From the navel where Ki Energy dwells, the normally green energy was suddenly dyed a beautiful and radiant light blue, swelled up and entered into every part of Shin's body, turning the individual into a catalyst of pure destructive power. A higher tier of energy was born from his trump card, the Spirit Wave Technique, yet it did not end there. This pure Ki flowing within his body mingled with the Rc Cells from his mutation and grew stronger as a red miasma like energy mixed in with the pure blue energy of the Spirit Wave.

Abigail: "!"

Abigail suddenly sprinted towards Shin at her fastest speed moving on auto pilot seeing all this. A chill ran down her spine from the moment the dangerous storm of energy was felt against her skin. Every cell in her body told her that with her remaining number of spider soldiers she wouldn't be able to redirect all the damage and her Duel Avatar would be destroyed. She would be left defenseless and weakened once the Duel Avatar was destroyed, and despite her fears she had no choice but to attack before her enemy did.

Abigail entered the Second Stage and her right hand claw aimed at Shin's neck as it shined brightly with the power of Incarnation System. She placed everything on the line to strike with her strongest power and not even Shin's armored Kagune could hope to completely block that assault... so knowing this on his end he did not try. Shin didn't immediately focus pure energy of Spirit Wave into one part of his body and kept it spread throughout instead.

The first attack arrived.

The large shining right claw slashed through space to rip out Shin's neck, yet he saw it coming. Entering the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode and even deeper than Abigail he unleashed the potential of the nervous system to increase his Reaction Speed to the fullest. The world lost all color and everything began to slow down around him. Everything unnecessary at that moment was thrown away to see through Abigail's claw attack. Even then the attack was still moving at a normal speed in this frozen world, yet in Shin was the same with the increased power from the Kakuja, Hikari's multiple magic buffs, and the force of Spirit Wave flowing through his veins.

Shin: (...I'm thankful for you in a way, Abigail.)

\- *BOOM*!

Shin's left hand slapped away the shining bright claw and an explosion of energy occurred enough to force anyone back way... yet both Shin and Abigail stood their ground.

Shin: (All losses in this world are due to a lack of ability. I can curse a lot of things, but I can only start with myself. Still, I glad.)

\- *BOOM*!

Another clash occurred.

Without missing a beat Abigail slashed at Shin once more moving even faster than before and aimed at the center of his chest, but it wasn't enough. Shin kicked away the second claw attack with all his might in a spinning motion and this time he won in their exchange of power. As cracks began to flow along her Enhanced Armor fear and despair captured her heart. Abigail prided herself in her ability to react to any attack, yet Shin had just shown that he had surpassed her despite betting it all in her rush. His resolve to defeat Shin shattered and only thoughts of protecting her life remained and as Shin took a step closer with his left fist readied she used her right hand claw in defense rather than counter attack.

Shin: (You were strong, but not so strong that I didn't have any chance of defeating you without sacrifice. Now I know how desperate I should be to become stronger here in God's Dimension so that I do not lose anything else and make my hopes a reality. That's why I'm thankful for at least that, and-)

Polar opposite of his opponent and giving everything to offense Shin channeled Spirit Wave's pure energy into his left fist for one final attack and did just that. With his entire weight the left fist was launched forward and met Abigail's claw stationed in defense to catch the attack. The blue condensed life energy of Spirit Wave shined brighter than Abigail's claw glowing with Incarnation... and it was no contest.

Shin: (...it's fine for you to exit the stage here. My story doesn't need a heroine like you.)

\- *BOOM*!

The Spirit Wave punch smashed through the Enhanced Armor claw and exploded into Abigail's chest. It was the first time Spirit Wave had made a direct hit since it was exchanged for and it did not disappoint. The pure energy deformed Abigail's robotic body and blasted her remains clear across the throne room and smashing into the ceiling above. The Duel Avatar Amethyst Queen was deformed into unrecognizable scrap metal smashed into a crater glowed with a purple light and once it dimmed down was the original human form of Abigail fell the floor with thud.

Shin watched calmly as a weakened Abigail pushed her off the ground and stood back up. She was shaky on her feet and in a daze. Abigail didn't fly off into the distance like Connor does when his Trion Body is destroyed, yet all the same Abigail looked to have experienced some backlash. She had also received damage whenever she used the skill Lesser Self-sacrifice, so there was that as well. Shin didn't do anything immediately and just waited for her to collect herself and thirty seconds passed in silence.

Shin: "..."

Abigail: "...You... you! This, this isn't over!"

Abigail finally looking Shin in the eye and denied her defeat. Shin had not said a word, yet the one normal eye she could see with his Kakuja mask on conveyed enough. So did Shin just standing there while his enemy was in a defenseless state. Abigail could see that Shin thought the battle was over and there was nothing she could do, yet she was not done. She had a hidden card to play as she took out for her pocket a thin metallic cylindrical device with a red button at one end.

Abigail: "D-don't move! Don't come any closer! I, I have bombs placed throughout the castle. If you don't won't to face a penalty, change of mission, or even death... don't move even a centimeter, or else I'll blow this place to kingdom-"

Abigail said all this with a shallow bravado, yet she wasn't even allowed to feel that for long as she was interrupted. A black armored Kagune tentacle was released and like lightning struck true. Before Abigail realized what had even happened her right arm holding onto the detonation switch was ripped away from the rest of her body and was now being held by the Kagune and the detached limb was hanging in front of Shin's face. Shin reached out and removed the detonation device from the detached hand, and then looking over Abigail's arm he unhesitatingly took a large bite out of its flesh.

AS A ONE-EYED GHOUL YOU'VE DEVOURERED THE FLESH OF A SPECIAL INDIVIDUAL! INTELLIGENCE+20 AND REACTION SPEED+150!

Abigail couldn't hear this message, but even if she could it was not something that would concern her. It was clear at this point that Shin was just playing with her and could kill her whenever he wanted. To kill, or even devour her alive whenever he wanted to. Losing her ability to fight, seeing Shin eat her arm, and having no hope left of overcoming this situation... Abigail chose to run away.

Shin: "...Come on. This is it for us. Let's-"

Abigail: "No! St-stay away!"

Abigail was once a warrior who had reached the Second Stage and lead Team Germany through many battles and won... but now she was nothing more than a little girl running for her life. Shin watching as the enemy who dared to give his team such a hard time flee away through the halls of the castle... was disgusted and at last showed a face full of fury. Shin had kept his emotions and crazed thoughts in check as best he could during their battle, but at last such self-control was lost as he saw his mortal enemy flee... as if their battle didn't deserve a decent ending. That the enemy who was responsible for the deaths of so many of his comrades would at least remain an enemy, a proper villain to the very end for Team Japan... and not a unsightly coward who runs away.

Shin: "...You... You don't get to run away!"

Shin roared loudly and gave chase to the fleeing Abigail. No longer was he calm. No longer was he just a bit delusional about fiction and reality. From here on out... Shin was a berserker only seeking the filthy blood of his enemy.

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINTS.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: +0.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -10.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

Two Players on opposite sides of a deadly battle were running through the halls of the castle. Once more a notification from God about the success of one Team and the failure and loss of another Team rang through Capital City Limeiro for all Players, yet the two Players running across through the hallways of the castle didn't hear this message.

Shin was chasing Abigail in a mad rage. Half of his face looked like a blood lusting madman, with blood all around his mouth, while the other half was covered by his Kakuja mask that was smiling ominously in contrast to Shin's rage. It was no exaggeration to say that the moment that he caught up with Abigail she would be torn apart. Though the image of their chase looked so similar to a crime scene of an older male chasing a scared girl. Except one was crawling on the walls and ceiling in a mad manner like a monster with bloody hands and black/red tentacles flowing behind him, and the other was running away desperately with one missing arm still bleeding.

Shin: "Hahahahahaha... hey! Stop running spider bitch! Didn't you want to fight me? Didn't you want to kill me for the points and rewards, or are you too scared now! Hahahahah! Here I am! Weren't you guys so strong that you kept hunting after us? Didn't even want to talk about peace even if it was possible, right? A promotion you called it. Weren't you and your people able to kill Kampa, Renji, and even Misaki just now? Don't run!"

Shin was angry enough to vomit blood, yet for some reason he couldn't stop laughing like a madmen. He didn't know if it was because of his Kakuja Kagune altering his mind or that he had gone mad from the death of his friends, or eating human flesh more than once, but he didn't care. Shin didn't care about anything other than tearing the leader of Team Germany apart limb from limb, and Abigail saw that for herself, so she kept running.

Although both of them were in the Second Stage of the Unlocked Mode as they were running, Shin had reached a deeper level than Abigail, was in the better condition, and was letting his instincts take over. Shin's muscle enhancements of his arms and legs were stronger than those of Abigail's in her weakened state as he crushed all the stone floors of the castle with his every step charging forward like the wind of death. Shin then at last closed the gap between them and a Kagune tentacle slashed at Abigail's back. The slash was deep and caused her to trip and tumble across the floor and didn't stop till she hit a far off wall. Abigail, with difficulty and bruised all over, tried to stand back up and escape, but her pursuer wouldn't allow it.

Shin: "Fuck! I said stop running!"

Abigail: "Kyaaa! Stay away-"

The girl's prayers were not answered. One of the six Kagune tentacles around Shin shot like lightning out towards Abigail and stabbed her in the stomach and pinning her to the wall. Blood continuously leaked out form the wound and her body became pale. Abigail was unable to move, losing too much blood, and could only watch as Shin with a crazed look in his eye slowly walked towards her. She knew that there was nothing to stop him from killing her, yet she couldn't stop begging for mercy. Even though these were her last moments and used the last of her willpower to speak of forgiveness from a foe who would never show her any.

Abigail: "Wa-wait. Please let me go!"

Shin: "..."

Abigail: "I, I didn't mean to kill your comrades. I'm... I'm sorry."

Shin: "..."

Abigail: "I... I never wanted to hurt anyone. Not really. I just..."

Shin: "..."

Abigail: "You... You don't know how it is there. In the Four Pillars, in Mass Enlightenment, sure, we descendants of former Players have it a little easy, but..."

Shin: "..."

Abigail: "It is still hell in the end! Only the elites like The Reaper, Sun Knight, and ABYSS can choose their fates while the rest of us are just tools with the hope of breeding better tools for them later on. If I don't show results... I... I..."

Shin: "..."

Abigail: "...Say something... I said say something already! Just kill me or let me go. Just kill me or let me go. Just kill me or let me go. Just kill me or let me go. Just kill me or let me go. Just kill me or let me go. Just kill me or let me go!"

Shin: "...Why should I save trash like you? I'm not as kind as Kamijou Touma."

Shin could see that Abigail's willpower had finally faded as she could no longer form any meaningful words and just kept crying... yet he did not care. At this time it felt like his rage had completely taken over, yet also felt like he was detached from it all. Like nothing mattered, not Abigail or himself... but still... things needed to come to an end in this mission. Three comrades had been lost and the two responsible, Team Germany's leader and Team Japan's leader needed to settle things.

Shin: "...I can't forgive you... and nor do I want to. I also do not have the power or desire to save you from yourself and circumstances. I'm no good guy, but as a villain you don't have the right to be saved. If you wanted someone to save you you shouldn't have chosen evil. The is isn't a cheap Anime where a boy saves every enemy without killing anyone and later on all sins are forgiven and happily ever after. Actions matter. You wouldn't have even bothered to hear me out if our positions were reversed, so..."

Shin simply stared down at the feeble girl and former enemy before him. She was in great pain and in her last few breaths... yet he felt that it was wrong to kill her off like this. That's why using the Ki he had just recovered from consuming Abigail's arm to send her off with a bang. Shin had no respect for Abigail, but he still wanted to use his best technique to end things. Not for her per say, but for all those that had died. Those he killed, those he failed to save, those he didn't want to save. Such thoughts filled his mind as the green Ki within his body transformed into a catalyst of power giving off a light blue light. Shin then gathered that pure energy circulating through his body, raised his left hand high and into a fist, and-

Shin: "...Die!"

The Spirit Wave reinforced fist smashed into Abigail's face and everything exploded. Her body and the wall behind her were vaporized and destroyed by the high energy Ki attack... and everything came to an end.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 6, GC ENEMY TEAM KILL - 7,000 POINTS AND B RANK REWARD ACQUIRED!

\- POINT CASUALTIES: ONE MEMBER OF TEAM GERMANY DIED. TEAM JAPAN +1 TEAM POINT AND TEAM GERMANY -1 TEAM POINTS.

TEAM JAPAN TEAM POINTS: +1.

TEAM GERMANY TEAM POINTS: -11.

TOTALS WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY 2000 BY THE END OF A TEAM'S MISSION AND DISTRIBUTED TO EACH LIVING MEMBER. MEMBERS OF BOTH TEAMS WITH NEGATIVE POINTS AT THE END WILL BE ERASED.

In the haze of unconsciousness Shin felt himself moving somewhere. He didn't know where, but he did not care. He was too exhausted to care about such things. Not even if he was dead or alive. Fury, sadness, or something else had been exhausted till there was only a void left. What did occupy his thoughts were the images of his comrades who were walking beside him as he was moving towards an unknown destination.

Misaki, who Shin had met in his first mission, was walking along his right. His face showed that he was full of regrets, yet he kept walking forward beside Shin happy for him.

Kampa, who Shin had encountered during his second mission among other comrades, was walking along his left side. He showed a face showing some regret, yet he walked forward proudly alongside Shin.

Renji, who Shin had just met for the first in in his latest fourth mission, was taking the lead by walking in front of Shin. Shin could not tell what kind of face that Renji had, but his back showed courage and he never once looked back in regret.

Seeing his three deceased comrades walking alongside him and finally gradually fading away Shin emotions started to return... yet he was happy. Regrets about their deaths and his own actions began to surface one after the next, but Shin was genuinely happy to see his comrades one last time. That they would do him the honor of appearing before him one last time. Shin had many things to say to the three. Important feelings to convey to them... yet as a light appeared before them... and only Shin kept walking forward towards this light and his comrades stopped walking and were almost gone from this world...

Shin: "...Thank you and I'll see you again later. It's not over... at least for me and the others. See ya."

Shin said these words without looking back not even knowing if they were still there. Shin compelled to keep walking forward walked towards the light while his comrades slept in eternal darkness.

Within the castle of Limeiro's capital city only two individuals could be found moving inside. Everyone else had escaped or perished within these walls and only these two individuals, Shin and Kisara leaning on one another as they walked forward halls of the castle could be found. Shin who was thought to be unconscious yet still able to walk and Kisara was leading him forward had reached a set of stairs. Kisara letting out a sigh of relief that they were almost to their designation was about to take another step forward when-

Shin: "...Under the floor there's a landmine where you're about to step."

Kisara: "Kyaaa!"

Kisara screamed cutely as she was startled by Shin and receiving this new information. Fully believing his words, Kisara in haste jumped backwards still holding Shin, yet Shin weight and her previous scare made her fall backward and Shin was now on top of her. Kisara's face swiftly dyed red from the embarrassment having Shin pinning her down to the floor and didn't move, yet Shin using whatever strength he could muster pushed himself up and to the side. Shin was sighing at the mistiming of such a Manga like situation and spoke to Kisara in calm words not in the mood to play along in this situation.

Shin: "Why are you getting embarrassed here? You've basically been hugging me before I woke up to get us this far, right?"

Kisara: "This and that are totally different! Also, are you alright?"

Shin: "Physically yes thanks to my healing factors even though I've no stamina left, but I'm wasted spiritually. In the battle against the enemy leader I exhausted my Ki twice. Sorry, but can you help me to the study room?"

Kisara: "Ye-yes! That's why I'm here after all."

Kisara said so helped Shin back up to his feet. Shin was still wobbly and can barely stand, Kisara was there for him and lent him a shoulder. The two together began to walk forward once more and as Shin began to point out hidden traps around the stairwell leading to the next floor Kisara began to explain to explain to him what has occurred since he last made contact with the team.

How Hikari and she were attacked by roaming Nen Users and Hikari unlocked her Genetic Constraint and applied magic spell buffs to everyone of Team Japan throughout the city. How Hikari found Team Germany's Adam stealthy approaching the castle and feeling that it was safe at the base had sent Kisara to deal with him. How Kisara desperately fought Adam outside the castle and having unlocked her own constraints in mid battle and defeated him. And lastly, the present situation as they bypassed the stairwell and reached the second floor of the castle and we're now on their way towards the third floor where Dwun and List await.

Kisara: "After defeating Adam I witnessed an outer wall of the castle collapse... and found you. There were just the mangled remains of Team Germany's leader and you having fallen to the floor unconscious. After seeing that you were not hurt I called the others about what to do next. Aqua and her group had returned to the mansion safely and met up with Hikari hiding in the basement. I told them of what happened and they said to just take you to Dwun and List's study room. Their group was safe and had lost any trackers, but going out again could lead to another incident, so they said to just end the mission already by bringing you, the holder of all 100 Designated Pocket Cards, to the study room. It was a good idea and Hikari already checked the inside of the castle and there were no enemies present, so we went with this plan."

Shin: "...I see. It's good that everyone's okay. Also, sorry for having you lead me like this to the study room. You've just unlocked your Genetic Constraint and I know what kind of toll that takes on the body."

Kisara: "Don't worry about it, Shin. My father had prepared my body for the possibility of unlocking the constraint, or enlightenment as we called it with strict training in both body and mind and medicinal herbs. I won't say that it didn't hurt, but it won't affect my physical performance."

Shin: "Glad to hear that. Later, we should look into that medicine for future comrades although it looks like everyone except Shuai had already unlocked their constraints the hard way. Anyways, even if the plants are rare we should able to exchange for them and even make the medicine for cheap in God's Dimension."

Kisara: "That so? Then I'll try my best to create it if it'll help the team... also, about Misaki..."

Shin: "..."

Kisara: "...He's really..."

Shin: "...He left before us like Kampa and Renji."

Kisara: "...I see."

Kisara already knew the truth as she heard an earlier notification by God about a death in the team. After speaking with Hikari and Aqua's group who had all returned back alive she even knew who that person was, but she had to ask as it was unbelievable... yet she soon regretted asking. Shin's voice was calm, but the sadness in his eyes made her heart clench. She felt stupid for asking such an obvious question to the person who most likely saw Misaki's death personally. As a Newbie in this particular mission she had been exposed to the deaths of enemies and allies alike, having even killed a few people herself, yet she was still too young and didn't know what to say in a situation like this and she only made the already dark atmosphere worse with her words. That's why-

Kisara: "...Sorry."

Shin: "Huh?"

Kisara: "I... should have arrived earlier. Defeated Adam quicker. I was the closest reinforcements that you had. I could have helped you in that fight and maybe Misaki wouldn't have-"

Shin: "Kisara! Don't ever say that."

Kisara: "...But..."

Shin: "You were given a responsibility to protect Hikari and you're just a Newbie at that. You were never a part of the equation for the final battle. You actually did more than enough by slaying the other living member of Team Germany. The responsibility of Misaki's death belongs solely to those who were there. Also, we're not God's who can see the endings born of our choices. Even the perfect plan could have wiped out Team Japan with one mistake or unexpected action outside all predictions. Coming to the castle with just Misaki and me, waiting to move all together as a group, or me alone arriving to the castle to face Abigail... we can't know what will happen till it's too late. Maybe someone other than Misaki would have died... you could have died. We lost comrades due to our naivety due to this being our first Team Battle, but even if we did everything right from the start those three could have died. Maybe fewer, but different comrades could have died. Regret all you like later, but just be thankful for being alive to regret your choice, Kisara. That's a privilege only the living have. I don't know about myself, but you've done nothing wrong, but if you don't want to feel this way again then become strong enough to cover my back and those of your comrades. At the very least I'm hoping you and the others will be there the next time that I might make a mistake."

Kisara: "..."

Kisara remained silent, yet Shin saw her nod her head. Shin himself didn't understand the words that he just spoke from the heart, their true depths, yet if they helped Kisara move forward a little then he was happy. Shin didn't get to see her fight, but the fact that she arrived here after defeating an elite member of the enemy team proved to him and anyone else concerned that Kisara was a heroine who can compete with any fictional female sword wielding character.

The two continued to travel through the castle from the 2F to the 3F while avoiding all the traps previously set up by Team Germany's leader and finally arrived. Before the tired and worn out pair of Shin and Kisara was the study room within castle of Limeiro's capital city. The door was open and inside were two of the Greed Island Game Masters Dwun and List. They were anxiously waiting inside the messy and disgusting trash filled study room that looked exactly the same as the one that appeared in the Manga, Anime, and OVAs. The two of them welcomed us in and I, as the holder of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards, and Team Japan officially completed the Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island mission assigned to us by God.

List: "Welcome to Greed Island's castle. Thank you for making it this far."

Dwun: "Oh! Come in, come in. We've been waiting for a winner of this game even if you're not Ging's kid. You're still welcome! Come over here and have a seat."

Kisara: "Ah, the pleasure is ours. So-sorry for the mess along the way."

Dwun: "No problem, no problem. Greed Island has just become that kind of game. So, how did you like this updated game filled with death and gore?"

List: "Dwun, that's-"

Dwun: "It's fine right? We all agreed to this modified game in the end. So... what are your thoughts on this game? You loved it, right!"

Kisara: "That's..."

Shin: "...You know, despite everything that happened I wouldn't say this to Gon or Killua as they're still my idols... but just shove and go to hell along with your shitty game!"

Dwun: "Wh-what was that!"

Shin then had no time to enjoy Dwun's anger and or List's confused face as he along with Kisara had already entered the half-awake state and before the two Game Master's eyes... Team Japan disappeared off the face of Greed Island and the world of Hunter X Hunter.

GOD'S MISSION

HUNTER X HUNTER - GREED ISLAND, EIGHTEEN MAN MISSION.

MODIFIED STORY PLOT.

TEAM BATTLE.

MAIN QUEST: The Mission.

Objective: As a team, collect all 100 Designated Pocket Cards in one binder and bring it to the capital city of Greed Island, Limeiro. Failure will not result in the death of the team, but the base 1000 points for the mission will be forfeited and each Player must pay a 2000 point and D rank reward as a fine. After the Main Quest is complete and players have returned to the Terminal Lobby, each surviving Player with a G.I Ring can take one of the Designated Slot Cards back as a free Item Exchange. TIME LIMIT - 90 DAYS.

Basic Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

Team Battle Reward: 1000 Points. This reward is only given to players that have not ended in a Negative Score.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Orientation - The first Player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges, and how to return home. 100 Points

2\. Card Collection - Collecting a Designated Slot Card. No points will be given for repeats or if another member of the team has already acquired it once. 10 Points.

3\. Card 000 - Winning the Designated Card "Ruler's Blessing" during the endgame quiz. 1500 Points and D rank reward. The side quest #2, Card Collection is not applied to winning "Rulers Blessing".

4\. The Bomber - Defeating the Bomber, Genthru. Rewards 4000 Points and two C rank rewards. Rewards every other Player 2000 Points and D rank reward.

5\. Speed Run - Completing the Main Quest within 30 days or less, 5000 Points and B rank reward. Completing the Main Quest within 31-60 Days, 2000 Points and C rank reward. Anything over 60 Days does not receive additional rewards.

6\. Enemy Team KILL - Killing a normal member of another team. Awards 2000 Points and C rank reward.

7\. GC Enemy KILL - Killing a member of another team who has unlocked the Genetic Constraint. Awards 7000 points and B rank reward.

8\. Total KILL - The killing of the entire enemy team, not counting Penalty 'D-Zero'. Every member will be awarded a C rank reward.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 for a Player killing a Newbie Player of their own team. A New Player is a New Player till they start their second Mission.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. D-ZERO Version 2 - Any player with 0 or negative points at the end of a mission, after all calculations are finished, will be killed, no exception. Those unable to pay a D rank reward for failing the Main Quest will be killed.

4\. Death Roulette - When a member of your team with a G.I Ring and card binder is killed, ten random Designated Card Slots from that player's binder will be awarded to the killer's binder. The rest will be transferred to an ally binder's card slots if vacant. If all three ring/binder holders are killed, the mission will immediately end and all surviving team members will be killed.

5\. Death by Ejection - The Game Masters of Greed Island will be watching the main cities of the island at all times. If a team member causes an incident with large casualties or destruction within a city, then a warning will be given. If destruction continues that person will be ejected off the island. Any Player that is away from the Greed Island for more than ten seconds for any reason will be erased.

6\. Point CASUALTIES - Killing a member of the other team will give your team Positive 1 Point. The death of an ally team member will give your team Negative 1 Point. At the end of the mission these points will be multiplied by 2000 and every living team member will be awarded or deducted points equal to the factored score.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Mission Information.

1\. Only three members of Team Japan can wear a G.I Ring, allowing the use of binders [Book] and cards [Gain and On]. All three must be chosen at Starting Point with Eeta and once a ring is worn, it can't be taken off, traded or stolen. In the event that the hand/arm is cut off and the wearer is still alive, the G.I Ring will return to the owner as a spellbound item.

2\. Killing another party will allow you to gain their Designated Slot Cards and half the cards in their Free Slot Zone.

3\. Team Germany will appear once 80 or more of the Designated Slot Card are in the hands of one person, group, or organization on Greed Island. Team Germany will also automatically appear on Day Sixty-One of the mission if not yet complete.

TOTAL SCORE:

Base Survival Reward 1000 Points +

Team Battle Reward 1000 Points +

Card Collection - 44 Designated Pocket Cards, 440 Points +

The Bomber 2000 Points and D rank reward +

Enemy Team KILL 2000 Points and C rank reward +

GC Enemy KILL 7000 Points and B rank reward +

Total KILL, C rank reward +

Point CASUALTIES Plus One Team Point, 2000 Points +

Spoiler Penalty, - 20 Points

Current Points, 2 D rank rewards +

TOTAL CALCULATED SCORE = 15,420 Points and 2B rank reward!

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

A hat if question about Kieara not coming to Shin's rescue and here's the answer. Shin would have still killed Abigail all the same, but he would have fallen unconscious and Adam lurking around the castle would have discovered Shin and killed him in his sleep. From there Adam would continue his path of self-destruction and killed Dwun and List, changing the msisosn for Team Japan and they all end in a wipe without their ace member.

Second lastly, Total Kill means wiping the enemy team before God erases them. In the Team China and Team India battle, Team India all died, but their Newbies were erased by God and so they didn't get the reward.


	152. Chapter 152

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 41, HxH Greed Island Intermission

Shin closed his eyes and recalled everything that occurred within Greed Island. For a while, his mind could not calm down despite finally making it back to the Terminal Lobby after so many grueling battles within his fourth mission since arriving in God's Dimension.

Shin: "...Misaki... Renji... and even Kampa... they're all gone."

Misaki, a man who I realized all too late was like a best friend, my first best friend was gone... along with the woman that he wished dearly to protect. Misaki was gone, so like what once happened with Saki's two human creations she followed after him into the darkness of this Dimension. He was a straight forward and strong man who fought alongside me in the final battle. Misaki wanted to escape this dimension more than anyone else and had a genuine desire to live for his girlfriend and sister waiting for him in the real world, waiting for her big brother that I promised to protect... yet that promise was all too soon shattered.

Renji, who was a normal kid died under my watch. He wasn't as exceptional as his fellow newbie Kisara, yet he showed everyone he was willing to lay down his life for his comrades. He showed bravery that I never even imagined that he possessed and laid his life on the line to save Hikari and Kisara. Without a doubt before death's embrace took a hold of him he was a real man. I couldn't hear those final words of his, yet his feelings definitely got across... so much so that I will never forget those feelings for the rest of his life.

Kampa, who was calm, cool, and reliable was an ideal member of Team Japan. With his experience as a mercenary he helped everyone improve during training and on the battlefield he wielded his gun for the sole sake of protecting everything within his reach... till the very end. He had a young wife and child waiting for him in the real world, yet despite knowing his end was near he fought the enemy for his comrades rather than walking away for hopes of a salvation he knew didn't exist.

All three of them were comrades. All three of them were no doubt my friends. And all three of them had families waiting for them back in the real world, yet died fighting for their comrades... yet all three of them were under my leadership when they fell to Team Germany.

Shin: "...Fuck."

Many more things kept flashing through his mind as he had his eyes closed. The wonderful and equally dangerous Greed Island, the powerful Team Germany, and the fate of the newbies he himself did nothing to stop for the sake of his still living comrades. It felt like years had gone by in just those 8-9 weeks. When Shin finally opened his eyes, it was the same platform without an edge, the same sphere in the center, and six people injured to various degrees standing around him... and not the two comrades that left with him. The Newbie Kisara looking around the Terminal Lobby in surprise has joined them, yet the other newbie that he had acknowledged was lost on his fourth mission.

Shin: "...God! Heal everyone! Deduct the points from me!"

I yelled my demand towards the sphere of light hovering in the middle of the room. I recalled what Jin did when he increased one of my stats by 1. Figuring that I could do the same I didn't hesitate to use my points for the sake of my team. Several beams shone from the sphere and covered all seven of us. The beams that shined on everyone were not the least bit faint. The final battle with Team Germany and all the Nen Users on Greed Island took a steep toll on us all. It was for the sake of the plan to defeat our enemy, yet no one left that mission unscathed. Still, despite my state of mind I felt rejuvenated while having God restore my body to peak conditions.

Shin: (This isn't a bad feeling. I don't know why, but a feeling that I can control my body... not just moving arms and legs but control over my very cells. Of course, this should be a delusion. I have yet to reach even the third, much less the Fourth Stage of the Genetic Constraint.)

It took some time for all of us to finish the healing process and in the end it was Hikari, Jin, and Kisara who took the longest. From the looks of the beam all three of them had unlocked their constraints and were having their genes repaired. Jin and Kisara's beams were by far the thickest. Something looked to have half crushed Jin's already thin body and Kisara had numerous terrible wounds that I failed to notice before on her body.

I looked over towards all my comrades once all the repairs were complete. No one was speaking. No one looked simply happy to be alive despite surviving such a harsh mission. Well, that's natural. This wasn't a perfect victory where no one was lost. Two long time comrades and a new one were lost. Whether the real world or in fiction... it was natural to feel this way.

This was an irrelevant point to think about, but... this must be why. Death and despair. This awful feeling is why a lot of main characters in stories choose to return to a safe environment in the original world instead of staying in a fantasy world. It isn't like the real world is a safe place, but for the common man it is safe. It's statistically unlikely to be involved in any life threatening danger as a civilian. I sighed realizing once more that I was probably the abnormal here who enjoyed that mission with the exceptions of my comrades' deaths. It had ruined most of it, but disturbingly not all the joy that I felt was gone.

Shin: "Is it worth becoming special if I have to keep seeing my comrades... whatever! I'm too tired to think. Everyone rest for the day! We'll talk tomorrow, so for you're all dismissed!"

No one said anything as they left for their rooms. Shin did have to instruct Kisara on how to design her room, not to use her points yet if not for food, and if she wanted to she could make her own person with Human Creation. Shin was slightly happy to hear that Kisara wasn't interested in making a person, male or female. Shin saw that she didn't need anything else and left for his own room with his thoughts.

Shin didn't believe that a good night's sleep was going to cure him of this depression. He once had all the confidence in the world to survive any mission, yet that has all but vanished. Shin didn't want to return to the safety of the real world, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to continue as he was. Shin wanted enhancements, wanted to become a protagonist like from his favorite manga, and wanted to evolve and grow into something special, but... more than that he didn't want to see the blood of his comrades anymore, nor the endless terrors and deaths.

But was that possible? Could he obtain his ultimate goal without any sacrifice? Ally or enemy alike? Unfortunately, Shin didn't believe so as he sighed and returned to his room. Life never perfectly works out like in those shitty Mangas where no one dies that he alway hated, but now admired just a little. His thoughts were in such a mess that he failed to notice that Kisara watched him enter his room. Kisara had watched him disappear onto his room without saying a word as she had her reasons, She had saw the state he was in at the end of the mission, and so she knew that this wasn't the best time, and so...

A few hours had passed in peace and quiet and yet Shin couldn't bring himself to fall asleep. Too much has happened, but there was also something else keeping him awake.

\- *KNOCK*!

Shin: "..."

Then first time Shin heard someone knocking on his door he didn't bother to get out of bed and ignored it. He was in no mood to talk to his comrades at that moment.

\- *KNOCK*!

Shin: "...Again?"

An hour later and someone knocked on Shin's door. Shin was still in no mood to talk to anyone and since they weren't banging yet, then it wasn't an emergency either. Still trying to get some rest he buried his face in his pillow to drawn out all sounds of the world.

\- *KNOCK*!

Shin: "...What does this person want?"

An hour after the last time and Shin was still not asleep. For a third time he heard someone knocking on his door and this time he was fed up. Shin knew that it wasn't Hikari or Aqua as they could have just come in as they have permission, and anyone else he didn't want to bother with anytime soon. Still, Shin shot up from his bed and walked over towards his door to see who it was. If it was a guy he was going to throw a punch. If it was a girl he'll try to be reasonable and see what they wanted. If it's Aqua and Hikari wanting to make him feel better... like a gentleman he would generously let them in with a smile. And if it was Jin wanting to discuss the exchanges with his fake smile plastered on his face there would be more than just one punch coming his way and will get ONE PUNCHED!

Shin opened the door and allowed his guest inside. In the end, lucky for the person on the other side of the door knocking, it was a girl. Definitely not Jin who hate a Bad End waiting for him. In fact, it was the lone female and newbie of Team Japan after his fourth. The peerless beautiful and successor of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Kisara.

Shin couldn't help but remember the last time he invited a girl into his room, but despite willing to admit that he found himself attracted to Kisara, especially her sword style, he was in no mood for sex or making a move on her. It also felt a little wrong when he remembered that his best friend and his woman were no longer alive to finally escape God's Dimension and get married like they always wanted to.

Also, Shin felt much closer to Aqua and Hikari before they became intimate, and was not that close to Kisara yet. He wanted a harem, but by no means was he the kind of guy to attack any girl in sight and lay his hands on them. It really was more that Shin wasn't in the mood, but only now did he realize he was the kind of guy who needed to like/love the woman in front of him, and for that woman to love him back before making a serious move on them.

Shin: "So Kisara what is it that you need? I'm tired and so should you as we had battles that left us on the verge of life and death. You were knocking on my door for over two hours. Couldn't this have waited?"

Kisara was mildly taking back be Shin's blunt attitude. Shin never pampered her like most men and women that she knew in the real world and for that reason she liked him, yet he had always stayed cool and carefree for the most part. Shin did idolize her swordsmanship, yet not her person as much as she would have liked. Shin's current behavior was harsh. It was quite obvious to Kisara that the deaths of Misaki, Kampa, and Renji were taking a toll on him... And for that very reason she came into his room to speak to him.

Kisara: "I... I wanted to tell you something about myself."

Shin: "About yourself?"

Kisara: "Yes. I couldn't get it out of my mind. The image of you... your sadness by the death of Misaki and further by the previous deaths of Kampa and Renji. More so than everyone else you were-"

Shin: "Thank you Kisara, but I'll be fine. There's no need for you to worry about me, or tell me how to deal with loss. This isn't my first time and-"

Kisara: "And it may not be the last, right? I am not all that experience on the subject and I'm the same age as you. I don't have the right to lecture you, but... I'll still like to tell you about myself. How I came to be here in this dimension and how I chose to deal with loss. I don't think that I succeeded since I ended up here, but I... want to be of help to you."

Shin: "...Go ahead. For more than one reason I won't be falling asleep?"

Kisara's story began with the story of her family and their rise to fame and decline.

Even in the real world Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu was a sword style above all others. The first generation, Hiko Seijuro, who had founded Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu and unlocked his Genetic Constraint, they called it Enlightenment, was a unsurpassed swordsman who won battles, wars, fame, and honor during his time, but... it was only at its beginning did the sword style claim the name as strongest. Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu at its peak was during times of war. During times of war the sword style shined brighter than any other, but during eras of peace it declined. This natural decline could be said to happen to all sword styles and martial arts, as both peace and the introduction of firearms took away their value, but Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu that was the strongest suffered the most and the reason for it was because of its abnormal qualifications.

Only those that mastered it to its peak would realize that Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu sword techniques went hand in hand with the Genetic Constraint. Lightning fast attacks, the near inhuman physical strength needed for offense and defense, seeing through your opponents movements with but a glance, and the reaction speed needed to pull everything off. All of it could only show its true worth in Unlocked Mode, or better said only had true value in Unlocked Mode.

Other sword styles didn't demand such high requirements from their practitioners and could be used by any normal man or woman with training. Between those that studied normal sword schools and Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu there was an obvious disparity in performance in real combat. Those that had mastered Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu to its peak like Kisara before unlocking her constraint could dominant over others, yet it was a sword that was not kind to the average man unable to, or never had the potential to reach its peak.

Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu was originally only popular due to its masters who had entered into Unlocked Mode wielding god level strength with the sword on the battle, and so others wished to train hard to reach a similar level of strength. Even when it was an impractical sword style for the average man, the grandeur of the head of the school aspired others to continue training seeing that such power with the could be reached by mortal... and its decline to what it was today was determined by the times.

That aspiring figure that would draw in others hadn't appeared within the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu for a long time. In times where the sword was banned or armies now only fought with guns and bombs, the sword style lost its value. Of course, there were those that joined elite special forces in World Wars I and II who used the sword for assassinations when the use of a gun would draw too much attention due to sound. Those practitioners had unlocked their constraints in war, but they were now so distanced from society that they never returned to the main school, Kisara's family to take over Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.

Without an all-powerful master swordsman of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu it lead to a decline to what it was today. The main house of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu Kisara's home had no students in her time aside from herself. There were a few in her father's time, yet it had become wide spread that Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu had no value. Even the fact that if one had the talent to reach the peak you would become strong was overshadowed by the fact that you would be weaker than others if you didn't have that god level talent.

Kisara was born in the lowest point in her family's history, yet her father still bore hope for his family and Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. Although a girl, it was obvious from a young age that Kisara held a god level talent for the sword. Even with the body of a physically weaker woman, Kisara's divine level of skill and insight with the sword allowed to reach the peak at the early age of ten. Her father placed his hopes in Kisara, but knew that it wasn't enough. If she did not unlock her constraint, or reach Enlightenment, their sword school would collapse in their generation. He also doubt that a divine talent like Kisara would be born anytime soon in their family... that was why her father was exceedingly strict in her training.

Many methods were devised by the first generation Hiko Seijuro amd others on how to reach Enlightenment. Some were harsh and placed a great demand on the person, and some were outright inhumane. Training that disregard safety and proper rest was forced on Kisara for years after turning ten. Kisara had always loved the sword and Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, yet the strict training that practically took away her childhood freedom turned her love into hate. She also believed that the sword shouldn't be more than a hobby unlike her father who saw it as everything. In a world of guns and missile flying overhead there was little the sword could do even when one has reached Enlightenment.

Kisara loved the sword, but she had also accepted that the era where swords dominated the battlefield were long gone and were not coming back... still, Kisara endured the harsh training for as long as she could. Kisara endured her father's severe training as long as she did because she knew deep down that he loved her more than anything after her mother passed away when she was eight and that he just wanted to desperately return Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu to its place as the strongest like during its conception... but at the age of fifteen her limit had been reached.

Kisara without telling her father had applied for a scholarship to a prestigious sports high school with a Kendo program. She was accept without fail due to her lifelong sword training and only left father a few parting words before leaving. For the next two years Kisara lived in her school dormitories and lived her life like others her age. Kisara still practiced the sword out of habit from her life time of swinging the sword, but the sword was no longer her highest priority. Friends, school, and the latest electronic became her reason for living one day to the next. Kisara enjoyed such a life style for over two years... until she had gotten word from her father.

Kisara had little contact with her father over the years since she left. To her surprise he never tried to bring her back home for more intense training. Her father only contacted her through messages from the school. This actually upset her greatly that the father who had placed his unreasonable hopes on didn't try to reach out to her. Not to yell, apologize for his behavior, or say that things will be different. Not seeing a word for years, so she was surprised and put off by this sudden call from her father, but the holidays were around the corner and she herself had been considering returning home for break. Maybe he had thought to invite her as well. Holding such thoughts Kisara answered her phone, yet the conversation was far from what she expected.

Kisara's father had actually called her to warn her to not return home this break and hung up immediately after saying his piece. Kisara was left speechless as this call, yet not for the obvious reasons. Kisara had heard in her strong father's voice a sense of urgency and panic. He was a strict man of few words, so Kisara knew how to look under the surface to understand what he father was feeling... so she knew something was not right... that something was terribly wrong.

Kisara didn't know what was going wrong, but she wasn't able to let it go. Kisara without one word to her school left even before holiday break and returned home on a train... never cursing at her decision to go away to a school so far away from home as she did then. Kisara left school at around late afternoon and only returned back home early morning as families were just starting to wake up for the day.

After her train finally arrived back to her home town, where the main house of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu where it all started and reached its current decline, Kisara raced home. In her head Kisara knew that everything should be fine as she had immediately raced home, yet she could not shake off this foreboding sensation. Unable to calm down Kisara ran as fast two legs would allow her to reach home as fast as possible... but it was too late by the time she returned.

When Kisara reached home she smelled something in the air that terrified her. The smell of blood. She herself had never killed a man, but it was the honed instincts as a swordsman and her own lineage of warriors that wouldn't allow her to miss such a thing. Kisara opted out of checking inside of her house and directly went behind the house to the dojo where her father taught her the sword. Kisara went inside the dojo that had its door wide open... and found him. The man she loved as a daughter, hated as a daughter, and more importantly admired his swordsmanship as both a daughter and student. On the wooden floor inside the dojo Kisara found her father with a single stab wound to the heart lying of the floor in a pool of his own blood.

Kisara: "...After burying my father I discovered a few things in his study. My father had been contacted by some organization called by some ridiculous name like Absolute Reckoning... the group responsible for the murder of my father."

Shin: "That's-"

Kisara: "Four Pillars. I honestly didn't know about them till you told us about them before Team Germany arrived. I only knew of Absolute Reckoning and little at that."

Shin: "...I see. What did they want with your family?"

Kisara: "Apparently they once had a former student of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu who had joined Absolute Reckoning and had made a name for himself as a powerful warrior. He was a man who had won them many battles against their sworn enemies, but he had recently died at the hands of a man named Deep Zero. It was a major loss for Absolute Reckoning, but they acknowledged the strength of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu and wanted another swordsman from that school to join them."

Shin: "So they wanted you and you father?"

Kisara: "More my father than me. I was known as just a kendo girl and not a real swordsman since I've never entered any serious competitions outside school. I was also not even the best at kendo due to its incompatibility with real swordsmanship and myself not having the motivation to stand at the top in kendo rather than real swords. Anyways, the point is that they wanted my father to join, and if not him me to raise up into a strong member of Absolute Reckoning. My Father obviously turned down such a suspicious offer, but Absolute Reckoning did not take no for an answer. From their viewpoint all Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu practitioners already belonged to them and they wouldn't accept the possibility that someone else might try to recruit us. They would rather kill us off now than let our strength fall into another's hand. My father saw that they were dead serious, so in attempt to save his, no my life as a pawn for whatever war they were fighting he challenged Absolute Reckoning to a battle... and the result was as I've already told you. All of this was left in my father's study... which also included information about the one who killed my father. A name and that he was a member of the European Assassin Clan."

Shin: "Something like that happened... sorry."

Kisara: "Thank you, but I didn't tell you this story to for you to feel sorry for me. Partly it was because I wanted to tell you about my own connection to the Four Pillars. The second reason was after seeing how upset you were I wanted to suggest to you a way that might make you feel better."

Shin was surprised to hear that. If it had come from Aqua or Hikari he may have understood, but Kisara... it was unexpected. Kisara did end up seeing Shin when he was at his worst after Misaki's death and killing Abigail, but those memories were foggy for him. He remembered every event, yet he was so fueled by rage he couldn't remember how else he felt, or how he looked to others. It might have been because he had used his Kakuja Kagune for the first time as he wasn't in his normal state of mind when he began his counter attack against Abigail. The Kakuja form ceased after defeating Abigail, yet it left a haze till the time he returned to God's Dimension.

Shin: "… Did I really look that bad for you to come over here?"

Kisara: "Yes you did. You may not have noticed it, and it could because you haven't gotten any proper rest, but even now... you look lifeless. The others didn't notice it because they were feeling down as well."

Shin: "I see... wait, but you did. Why?"

Kisara: "I... I just couldn't help worrying about you. Not after seeing what I did."

Shin: "...So what is this method of yours to get over loss? To be honest I can't say that I've ever been good at it since I ended up here."

Kisara: "I'm the same. The death of my father who I had pushed away still haunts me. While I was enjoying my life he was facing a powerful enemy... for a while I seriously considered ending it all... but I didn't. The reason was because I wished to honor my father. Those around told me to slowly get on with my life and that I'll feel better... but that didn't sit right with me. I wished to do something for my father in death and for myself, so I chose to bear his death by accompanying my two objectives. Both of which are more important than my life. That's why I'm still alive today."

Shin: "Objectives? Do you mean what you said told me on the first day of the mission?"

Kisara: "Yes. For the sake of my Father and our family I'll once more claim the title of strongest with Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. I feel that after coming to this dimension and unlocking my constraint I'm much closer to that goal and have taken the first step, so despite the terrors I'm thankful. My second objective... is to cut down the man who killed my Father. My Father died a warrior's death, but I won't feel satisfied till I cut down then one who killed him. I won't forgive Absolute Reckoning for threatening my family, but since they agreed to a fight I won't pursue revenge. What I want is just to use my sword to prove the true strength of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. This isn't revenge or justice, just the honor of my family."

Shin: "..."

Kisara: "You don't have to go as far as I did, Shin. Still, although I once wanted to die for not being there for my father, by accepting his death and resolving myself to live by honoring what he meant to me. He was a harsh father, but calling me proved that he loved me more than regaining the title of strongest for our sword school which could have happened if he allied himself with Absolute Reckoning. That's why I honor him now with my way of life by continuing to swing my sword as a swordsman of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. That's why even if not to the same degree taking time to honor your fallen comrades might give you the strength to keep going."

Shin: "So how should I go about honoring Misaki, Kampa, and Renji? We've already killed Team Germany."

Kisara: "It could be simple as having a memorial service for our comrades. Also, informing the families of the deceased of what happened, seeing if they are doing okay, and see if the Four Pillars have threatened them."

Shin: "That's... not a bad idea."

Shin had always planned to go back to the real world to check on his family and the confrontation with Team Germany only reminded him of the threat they were all under. Checking on everyone's families... and telling them all that they're loved ones passed away felt like the right thing to do... while also terrible at the same time. It was the right thing to do, yet Shin now understood how unpopular of a job it was for police and military personnel to inform the families of those who have died. There might be no reason for going that far until it's time to leave God's Dimension once and for all.

Shin: "Thank you Kisara. I have no reason to refuse a memorial or checking up on their families. It'll be really good for us, but... our team has priorities we can't forget about. No matter how much we all want to pay our respects to the dead, I won't risk the living for them. My own strength is a bit below Aqua's, yet as the team leader and a key combatant, so I can't allow myself to be weak. Only after we made our exchanges will we go back to the real world... and I alone will go back. This isn't a vacation and I shouldn't need more than a week to finish everything up."

Kisara: "...I'll like to go back with you."

Shin: "No. Kisara, you should have a lot of points and rank rewards, more so than after my first mission, but you're still a Newbie. This is an important time for you to improve yourself, and the team is down two official members. I won't allow you to waste points on a vacation to the Real World."

Kisara: "This isn't a trip for pleasure. I... I want to visit my Father's grave one last time. It's shameful to admit after all that talk about honoring him, but I have not visited his grave since the burial. I spent all my free time practicing my sword skills, yet I may have been using practice as an excuse to avoid going back. Now that I've found purpose in my life, a means to reach my goals... I want to convey my thoughts to him."

Shin: "...Alright. You can go back with me, but only after strengthening yourself as much as possible. We won't go back for more than a week, so if I see that you need those last few hundred points and a D rank reward to go back, I'll stop you from coming with me. Understood?"

Kisara: "Yes! I also wish to become as strong as possible. For my Father, my family heritage, Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, and..."

Shin: "Kisara?"

Shin called out to Kisara, but he was unsure if Kisara heard him. With her face dyed red Kisara was looking away and fidgeting in place. Shin couldn't help thinking that the peerless beauty in front of him looked very cute at that moment, but more so didn't understand what was happening. Thinking so, Shin saw Kisara look back at him with her dark purple eyes.

Kisara: "If it's alright with you... could I fight for you as your sword."

Shin: "As my sword?"

Shin didn't understand what she meant at first. He was confused at Kisara's wording, yet soon calmed down coming to the conclusion that she just wanted to be helpful to him and the team. In Manga there should be a few swordsman who feel purpose for offering their services for a person or cause.

Shin: "Ah... Sure. Why not? I would be honored for you to be my sword. Not every day you run into a beautiful girl who can use Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. For you to-"

Shin was going to say help the team, but he was interrupted when Kisara moved in closer and kissed him. When her lips retreated from his own Shin was confused, and when Kisara went back in for a deep kiss with a very erotic expression on her face he couldn't think anymore and just went with it. This intense kiss lasted for over three minutes and when Shin was about to unconsciously move his hands to go further, Kisara moved away.

Kisara: "That, that... was better than I expected. I know that you already have two partners, but as your new wife I hope you'll still accept both my sword, body, and heart. I'll leave the date of the official ceremony for you to decide my husband. I love you."

Shin: "...Huh? Husband? Ceremony? What was... wait!"

Then a blushing Kisara left a confused Shin who really had no idea what that was. It then took him over a minute frozen in place to realize that accepting Kisara as his sword was her way of offering a marriage proposal of some sort. Such things happen in Manga and Anime all the time, yet Shin did not see such a thing coming, and both didn't want to and couldn't back out of this new relationship.

Shin: "...I feel like I accepted a responsibility heavier than marriage. So now I have a third wife without even pursing her? Have I really developed into the dense protagonist type? I'm still aware of the feelings of others, so am I the Shield Hero type protagonist? Well, that doesn't matter now anyways. What does... is how I'm going to explain this to my cute second wife who won't let me hear the end of this, and my mature first wife who can eat me alive and not in the good way?"

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Hoebagger

Ways back I said any movie world will be 10 points per day. That still stands for now, but the Real World is 50 points per day and to unlock it for the first time is a D rank reward. Shin and everyone who went with him to the real world unlocked it with the group trip function.


	153. Chapter 153

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 42, HxH Greed Island Intermission

The next day after the Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island mission, Team Japan regrouped within the Terminal Lobby. It had become a routine of Team Japan to always meet up the next day under the glowing ball of light in the center that was called God. It was a time to discuss the previous mission, consider future plans, and most importantly what exchanges they would get to best prepare for the next mission... yet today there was an unexpected, or all too expect event.

Kisara: "Good morning dear husband. I've hoped that you slept well."

Shin: "...Yeah. I did. Thanks for asking."

Aqua: "..."

Hikari: "...Shin (HER EYES ARE DEAD!)... what is this?"

Shin: "...Why, why are you asking me?"

Hikari: "Who else am I supposed to ask, you unfaithful man!? Also, stop looking away!"

Shin knew that he was upsetting Hikari more with his actions, but he didn't know how to face her, or the reality before him. Just one minute ago, all the members of Team Japan except one had gathered under the ball of light with the purpose to discuss the next move.

Kisara was the last to arrive. It was strange since Kisara gave off the aura of a punctual young woman, yet what was more were her actions as she made her appearance. After polity greeting her fellow comrades Kisara turned to run into Shin arms (I held her without thinking about it) and began calling him husband. Shin only had half a clue as to what was going on with Kisara, yet his two comrades, but more importantly two girlfriends and wives to be were taken back to Kisara's sudden display of affection for Shin.

Hikari and Aqua knew Shin was not the kind of man just wanted to be with one woman, but this sudden development took them by surprise. With the exception of the first day of the last mission, when Shin had basically gone mad having discovered a beauty like Kisara who knew Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, but since then they hadn't seen either one of them become all that close with the exception of training together a few times Shin and Kisara hardly interacted, and never alone.

Hikari: "Shin... so you were having an affair behind my back!"

Shin: "Wait, it isn't like that. Also, why did you think that I was?"

Hikari: "Obviously since you lost your mind after Kisara introduced herself. It was clear as day that you fell for her looks and sword techniques from Day 1! I thought it was strange that you didn't make a move on her during the mission, but the truth was that you were having an affair behind my back! I knew that you were a harem, gross, otaku, loser, bastard who grab any woman that you see and make her your own... but I thought you were more honorable then that. I thought that if you met someone new that you would at least introduce her to me and Aqua."

Aqua: "Why are you dragging me into this?"

Hikari: "But for you to sneak around and have an affair with Kisara without telling anyone... Shin, I misjudged you as a man!"

Shin: "Wait, wait, wait... this isn't the point, but you're up for the idea of more woman in our harem? Really, Hikari, you should have-"

\- *SLAP*!

Shin went silent having then been slapped by Hikari with all of her strength (am I in danger of the BAD END!?). Shin could see tears flowing down her eyes... but he couldn't tell if it was because she thought he really cheated on her, or if it was because all of his enhancements made slapping him the equivalent of striking a brick wall for Hikari... probably more of the latter. Neither knew what to say, and Aqua stood there as if it didn't concern her, so it was up to the main culprit behind today's drama and comedy, Kisara, to explain everything. Kisara explained that last night she spoke to Shin about a few thoughts and her own connection and tragic past with the Four Pillars. Afterwards, she confessed to Shin that she liked him (in a way I couldn't hope to understand) and he accepted her.

Kisara: "I've found myself drawn to Shin for some time and last night we promised to be together forever. I'm his sword and he's my master."

Aqua: "…Huh?"

Kisara: "You see, in my family there's a tradition that is passed down for us who train in the ways of the sword. We live our all to the sword, but a sword without purpose has no value, but we do not place much thought into military tactics or worldly affairs. If we have time to think up strategies to win wars, or of what we are fighting for is just or not, it's better to use that time to train with the sword to reach new heights. We are swords, but it is not we who decide who to cut down. That's why those of my family seek out a master who will guide us in life and if they are of the other sex then it's our utmost pleasure to serve them not just on the battlefield, but at home as well. The sword cuts down the master's enemies, masters create the environment to best hone the sword. My father did the same in his life time. He chose mother, a former gangster in her youth filled with justice! She led my father into helping the Japanese government deal with terrorist threats to the nation. She gave my father a place to showcase his ability, a purpose in life, the love of a woman, a place to call home, and a mother that will give birth their child and raise it with love. Ah, isn't it romantic!?"

Hikari: "...What a Manga like background. So wait. Shin agreed to let you be his sword, in other words to protect him and fight only for him. And since you a woman and he's a man, that means-"

Kisara: "Yes! We will be spending the rest of our lives together, side by side, through thick and thin. We are also healthy young adults of the opposite sex, so it's only natural for us to be together as man and woman. Husband and wife."

Aqua: "So Shin, how do feel about all of this? Not that it is any of my business."

Shin: "...It's sudden, but I'm not against it."

Shin didn't understand exactly how Kisara felt and what motivated her to take an interest in him, but hearing what she had to say filled in some blanks. From how Shin saw it, Kisara was raised in a household that valued the sword, tradition, and love were intertwined. Kisara at one time rebelled against her family, but not because she disliked the sword or her family. It was in fact the opposite.

Kisara was a maiden, a sword maiden who believed in love, and that love with a man and love of the sword were the same. Kisara loves Shin as a man, or at least cares for him greatly and respects him, and expresses that love with the example passed down her family. Offer up your body and sword to the person that you recognize. Girls in the modern age are told to get to know a lot of men first and find one that won't get in your way in life, but for Kisara, a man like Shin who can take care of her, recognize her talent with the sword, and desire her as a woman is her ideal man.

Shin: (So does that mean that Kisara is a weird girl, or that I'm actually popular with girls? Maybe both.)

That's the conclusion that Shin came to and he didn't seem to mind it that much, but Hikari did. Hikari came second in Shin's harem chronologically, so she somewhat accept Aqua, but she wouldn't so easily accept Kisara as Shin's third woman so easily. Hikari was never that supportive of the harem in the first place, so if it could be stopped at just two woman then Hikari at least wanted to try.

Hikari: "So... you really love Shin?"

Kisara: "Yes. Possibly from the day we first met, but I didn't realize it 'til the day of the final battle. He's definitely the man I want to serve as a woman and swordsman."

Hikari: "But, but he basically has a harem in the makings! Knowing Shin it could still grow much larger. Are you really fine with sharing your man with other woman?"

Kisara: "I'm fine with it. There's been a few prominent woman in my family who entered into a polygamous relationship before. Strong swordsman were once desired by many lords of the past, but that didn't mean that their backgrounds were always good enough to enter nobility as a husband or wife. It wouldn't be that odd to join a harem since it doesn't matter if those not the wife were commoners. Additional, those of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu would have high status in a family since they can support their master and loved one both emotionally and in times of trouble."

Hikari: "So your ancestors did it, so it's fine? What kind of reason is that?"

Kisara: "I'm a swordsman of an ancient sword school. Tradition mean quite a bit to me as I'm my family's last living member. I wish you wouldn't call it archaic or the like."

Hikari: "...Sorry."

And with that they saw Hikari fall in defeat. She loved Shin, but she didn't have that level of resolve to be a part of Shin's harem like Kisara. Aqua to the side who didn't want to acknowledge her relationship with Shin much less a harem, yet she also felt somewhat defeated when she looked at Kisara. There were complicated feeling in their hearts.

Kisara: "Please don't get down sister wife. I'm not trying to usurp your position as the second wife."

Hikari: "No, that's... wait who your sister wife!? Also, don't say second!"

The word second was a sensitive word for Hikari so she lashed out. Shin was happy to see this as he knew that Kisara was accepted by Hikari. It was then as Shin pondered on how to drag Aqua into the mix of this love comedy where he was the male lead when Kisara approached him with a look of worry in her eyes.

Kisara: "Shin."

Shin: "Yes."

Kisara: "...I don't mind in the slightest at all in joining your harem. I don't as I get along with both Aqua and Hikari. That's the truth... but I've heard that you also wish to bring Manga and Anime characters into the harem. That in itself isn't what I'm opposed to, but... there are amazing female warriors in fiction. That I couldn't hope to match any looks or the sword, so I was wondering if you were going to-"

Shin could see where Kisara was going and stopped her. He saw that what Kisara wasn't jealous of other girls getting close to him like Hikari did, but girls like similar to herself replacing her. Fictional characters who possessed otherworldly beauty and had sword skills above herself. Kisara took pride and comfort in her identify as a female swordsman, so other like her who were more beautiful and better swordsman made her feel insecure. Shin realizing this didn't find Kisara worries pointless.

Even a great female swordsman like Eris from Mushoku Tensei who joined the main characters harem felt confident in her place within the main character's harem because she knew after traveling down the path of a sword master and reaching Sword King status only she could stand by the main characters side in life threatening battles. The main character's other women, his green and later white haired childhood friend and the blue haired magic teacher weren't weak and had their own talents and skills, but only Eris who pursued great strength knew she could enter any battle by the MC's side without slowing him down and could be counted on the most.

This level of trust between her love interest and owner of the title as his best partner in combat allowed Eris to accept the harem as her family wholeheartedly as she knew she had an absolute place by his side that no one could replace. Eris has this, but Kisara did not. Kisara could become incredibly powerful down the line with enhancements, but if Shin created a female swordsman from fiction and she possessed all of her talents and beauty from fiction that Kisara was afraid that she would be overshadowed.

Shin: "Don't worry, Kisara. You're the only female swordsman I need. Both in battle and in my heart. Your confession was sudden... but I couldn't hope to ask for a better swordsman than you by my side. Why would I create a woman swordsman when they would only be overshadowed by you? I'm not that cruel of a man. You're the only one for me... swordsman that is."

Kisara: "Shin... you didn't need that last part, but I'm happy all the same. I won't let you down."

Kisara then hugged Shin and he held her back tightly. It was a lovely scene... that served to piss off the females and make the men feel nonexistent in this love comedy.

After the introduction of Shin's third heroine, Team Japan decided that it was time to get down to business and first on the agenda was discussing their points and rank rewards acquired during the Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island mission. Once this was down they could finally get down to business and start the next round of exchanges.

Shin was also curious about how many points they acquired during the last mission. He honestly didn't remember how many points that even he accumulated in the end. Shin was usually the most excited about his rewards as he could use them to power up to a higher level, to ultimately come closer to his ideal image of a Over Powered main character, but the dangers of the last few days of Greed Island and the death of his comrades occupied his mind and had not once thought about his rewards.

Shin: "But now I'm curious about my rewards. Speaking with Kisara also made me feel better. Now... let's see what how bright my future towards almightiness looks like!"

Shin stood up and closed his eyes to connect with God. Once inside the exchange system, he asked for his status, points, rewards, and current exchanges.

Shin -

Age: 17.

Mission's Survived: 4.

Exchange Points: 15,000 Points.

Rank Rewards: S=0, A=0, B=2, C=0, and D=0.

STATS

Intelligence - 237 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

Mental Capacity - 308 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

Cell Vitality - 685 [ +20%, +30% At Night ]

Reaction Speed - 691 [ +20%, +30% At Night ]

Muscle Density - 661 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

Immunization Strength - 768 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

EXCHANGE CATEGORIES

1\. Sci-fi Weapons -

● Close Range: None.

● Mid-Range: Robo Cop's Auto 9 Beretta Infinite Ammo Model.

● Long Range - None.

● Armor/Enhancement - None.

2\. Magical Items -

● Tools: Na Ring×2, Holy Sword Switch.

● Equipment: Gravity Blade, Lesser Fenrir Coat.

● Consumable: None.

3\. Support Items -

● Genetic Mutation Enhancement: S Rating One-Eyed Ghoul Mutation

● Whole Body Enhancements: Advance Level Ki.

● Skill/Techniques: Soul Crushing Strike, Instant Movement, Ki Blast, Ki Bullet, AP Bullet, Hollow Bullet, Far Bullet, Silver Dragon Scales, and Spirit Wave.

● General Goods: Binoculars×1, Medic Kit×2, Handgun×10, Communicator Phone, and Ration Kit.

● Other: Upgrade Certificate (2).

4\. Entertainment - Computer.

Shin blinked absentmindedly for a few moments to recover from his shock. The others of Team Japan were in a similar state of awe when they learned of their points and reward after connecting with God, yet Kisara and Shin himself were feeling more excitement than most.

Shin: "Shit! Let me calm down and count again. My god, it's really 15,000 points and 2 B rank rewards. 15,000 points and 2 B rank rewards! Where did they come from? Isn't this too much?"

Shin had to ask God in Detail about how he accumulated so many points and rewards. After completing Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island, Shin had in total 15420 Points and 2B rank rewards.

◆ The Base Survival Reward 1000 Points for surviving the mission.

◆ The Team Battle rewarded 1000 Points.

◆ Shin personally collected 44 of the 100 Designated Pocket Cards, so he gained 440 points.

◆ Aqua defeating Bomber Genthru rewarded everyone in Team Japan 2000 Points and a D rank reward.

◆ Defeating Webber of Team Germany rewarded Shin 2000 Points and C rank reward.

◆ Defeating Team Germany's leader and unlocked member Abigail rewarded Shin 7000 Points and B rank reward.

◆ The death of every member of Team Germany before the mission ended reward Team Japan a C rank reward.

◆ On the Team Battle Score, Team Japan ended up with +1 point, so everyone was rewarded 2000 points.

◆ Then for the two spoilers, Shin was deducted 20 points for the two sentence spoken to Nickes at the start of the mission.

◆ Lastly, the repairs for the entire team after returning to God's cost 420 points. Shin's own repairs didn't cost more than 15 points as he had mostly recovered after devouring the flesh of Misaki and Abigail which increased his stats and healing ability, although the latter was only temporary. Shin had actually saw what was wrong with everyone so he didn't order for a full body repair, yet it was so expensive because Hikari, Jin, and Kisara had unlocked their constraints for the first time and had suffered the recoil.

Shin: "I also had two D rank rewards from the previous missions, so in total I left Greed Island with 15,000 points and two B rank rewards altogether. My personal best! Hahaha, is this real!?"

Hikari: "As always you come out so much more ahead of us, yet you didn't even acquire the most points and rank rewards this time around."

Shin: "Well, I can't always win out. Even as a protagonist I've never been one for plot armor that always allows me to live and make the most in battles. Still, feel free to praise me all you like, Hikari. You too Aqua and Kisara. Feel free to shout to the heaven how lucky you all out to have a man like-"

Hikari: "Baka."

Aqua: "Terminal Otakus should keep quite."

Shin: "...No love."

Kisara: "Ah, I'm proud that you've made so much. It's amazing!"

Shin: "..."

Shin didn't know what to say to that. Shin knew Kisara wasn't lying and so he was happy at her praise... yet it felt like she was just false flattery him since she made more points and rank rewards than him in the last mission. And she a Newbie at that. It was more than excellent and was probably the highest total any Newbie of God's Dimension to ever acquire. That was why Shin was happy for her and jealous at the same time.

Hikari: "Now forgetting about that guy for now. Moving on I made 7,600 Points and two C rank rewards. My personal best and it shouldn't be that much below our average."

Aqua: "I made 8,530 points, 1B and 1C rank reward. Not bad. I even exchanged for that limb regrowth injection for 1000 points."

Shuai: "8,000 points, 2C and 1D rank reward for me."

Connor: "9,020 points, 1B and 1D rank reward. The items from Drebin cost 1000 points, so there was that and ended up with 9,020 points."

Jin: "Amazing! We really made a fortune this time around. Hahaha! Ah, by the way I made 11,000 points, 1B, 1C, and 1D rank rewards by chance after making the exchange for the surface to air missile. I got really luck by killing that monster with the Hulk mutation. It was luck, but I'm glad."

Kisara: "I... ah, I acquired 18,500 points, 2B, 1C, and 1D rank reward. This is definitely too much, right?"

Shin: "Not at all. Of course it would end up like this when you find a Hidden Side Quest and defeat an Unlocked member of Team Germany... I'm a bit jealous, but I'm happy for you, Kisara. As expected of the peerless, kick ass, female swordsman of my dreams. This time around you're definitely the star. Once you make your exchanges your power will rise to the top of Team Japan."

Every member of Team Japan acquired no small sum of points and rank rewards thanks to this last mission. It was too much to believe that all together they had close to 80,000 Points. It was mind bugging to them.

Aqua: "This is really insane. How could we have acquired all these points in just one mission?"

Jin: "Hahaha! We all shouldn't be too surprise with this outcome. Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island was a difficult enough mission when you start gathering all the Cards. Then there's the threat of Team Battles when negotiations fail and fight till one side is wiped out like with Team Germany. The greater the risk the greater the rewards as they say. It's a shame this team lost three fine comrades, but in exchange the survivors received a massive power up!"

Aqua: "Don't make it sound so nice Jin. Under normal circumstances we should have died against such a team. They had nine members with strong enhancements and a Psyche Force users more versatile than our Hikari. If not for the low number of Spell Cards to move great distance they would have been able to monitor our every action and attack as they please. They could brainwash those not enhanced, or lacking a strong willpower. They could of had information on our every move, every word we said, even our plans. They would at least not lose even if they were against a team stronger than us."

Hikari: "Then there was the chaos of the final battle. I hate to admit it, but without Jin's plan to wipe Team Germany by using all the Nen Users on Greed Island to Limeiro for one chaotic battle... we would have lost if we faced them head on."

Jin: "Hahaha! Gezz, you're embarrassing me."

Hikari: "I'm thankful for your plans, not you Jin."

Jin: "Hahaha..."

Shuai: "Why are you still laughing?"

Shin: "Enough about him. Now, if we're looking back at that battle I'll have to compliment the makeup of Team Germany. As Jin would say they had a variety of classes and many of which complimented each other. The Earthbender and Fire Magician coming together to flood almost an entire city in magma was ingenious. Such a technique would probably cost a lot in the exchanges and would have killed anyone but me and Aqua. The Defensive Force Field and invisibility combination allowed the team to move together undetected like that one Nen User. I can't say they had the best team work, but when they did they were stronger than us."

Kisara: "How did they know to get such abilities? I actually looked through the exchanges for a bit and I got a headache. No human could sort through and know which powers work well together like that."

Hikari: "I suspect it's because Team Germany had the backing of the Four Pillars. With the absence of the Guide they had to organize extensively of all their information about God's Dimension. I doubt it's perfect, but all the other teams should be more well-informed than us. Well, I think our side won due to our individuality and daring tactics, but we just barely got by and lost the three important comrades. Even those of us who survived in the end where in no shape for another battle."

Everyone present agreed with Hikari's statement. They won the battle against Team Germany, but it was far from flawless. Not only did Team Japan lose three members and were forced to purge the Newbies, the surviving Players were on their last leg. Shin had pushed himself beyond his limits to defeat the Burst Linker Abigail, a Newbie like Kisara was forced to confront Dead Pool immortal Adam, and Jin was nearly crushed into paste by Klaus who possessed the Hulk Mutation. Only Connor came out of the final battle unharmed which is mainly due to fighting in a Trion Body, but he too pushed himself beyond his limits to suddenly develop a Trion Side Effect to snipe the enemy.

Jin: "We really were at a disadvantage. We were even recovering from the fights against Razor and the Bomber. We should have been in no condition to fight them like we did... but it was Connor who saved the day. His long distance sniping kept the enemy in check and his Side Effect to sense malicious intent allowed him to take out a lot of their members, including the important Psyche Force user and Healer. With the exception of Team Germany's leader who the insane Reaction Speed, Connor's held the absolute advantage!"

Connor: "That's normal. A military unit with a sniper and a unit without a sniper are as different as night and day. In a world without enhancements long distance snipping and bombing are what win wars."

Kisara: "It as you say, but... only in the real world."

Connor: "..."

Connor of the modern warfare faction and Kisara of the ancient sword/martial arts faction glared at each other. Kisara obviously believed that the sword was the strongest weapon and Connor believed that the strongest weapons were guns. Neither were technically wrong in an environment like God's Dimension of endless possibilities... but this worthless conflict was giving me a headache.

It was time to choose their new enhancements and weapons from the exchanges. Everyone present had the means to acquire great Whole Enhancements (Energy), Mutations (Race), skills, equipment, or anything else, but Shin and Kisara had an announcement that they wanted to share.

Shin then told everyone that he will be going to the real world for a while alongside Kisara. Their goal was to check up on their families, but only briefly. It wouldn't be for as long as the last time after the Btooom mission. Just a few days, a week at tops. It was by no means a vacation, but some of the others wanted to come as well since it could be dangerous and would love the chance to return to the real world, but Shin put his foot down as leader. Only Kisara and he had enough rank rewards and points to waste, and so he wouldn't allow the others to do the same.

Shin: "This really isn't a vacation. I have no intention of even meeting my own family. I've been considering telling the families of our deceased comrades that they have passed away. I want to make sure that they are taken care of so I plan on exchanging for money as well... but I'm still not sure if telling them that they had died is the best thing. It'll just make them sad, but it could also make sure that their families don't wait forever. I don't know what is best, so I have to check in on them. Kisara also wants to visit her home on last time, and since she has the points she is coming along."

Jin: "Hmm, sounds like a good plan. Ah, but don't worry about my family. They've sponged off enough of my hard won money from game tournaments. They'll have more than enough to live off if they haven't gambled it way."

Shin: "...Okay. So I definitely won't be visiting your scum parents Jin who can rival Hayate's trash parents. Now, if anyone here wants me to do anything more than just check in on your families let Kisara or I know before we leave. The two of us will go after we make our exchanges. Now people it's time to go over the exchanges and power up!


	154. Chapter 154

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 43, HxH G.I Intermission

After a quick discussion concerning Team Japan's accumulated rewards from the latest mission and Shin and Kisara's plans to go to the real world, they were ready to move on. It was time for enhancements from the Exchange System of God's to power up the team. Then just as they were about to individually set off to begin Jin called out to everyone with something important to say.

Jin: "If we're going over the exchanges now we should discuss our enhancement paths with each other. We agreed that what we acquire will be our own decisions... but discussing options and ideas can't hurt, right? Also, knowing what others are exchanging for may give you ideas on how best to survive as both an individual and as a member Team Japan."

Hikari: "What a wonderful roundabout way of coming together to discuss and choose our enhancements paths, Jin. You almost fooled me."

Jin: "Hahaha, thank you."

Aqua: "That definitely wasn't a compliment. Anyway, if we're doing this then let's start with our foolish leader and grandmaster otaku, Shin. More than myself, he's becoming the core of Team Japan and ace. It won't be much longer then he's way more powerful than myself."

Shin: "Thanks for both for the insult followed by the compliment. Now, as for what I'm planning to get, I have it in mind to exchange for a Cultivation Manual of a specific martial arts school, another foot technique, and a Sci-fi weapon."

Hikari: "Cultivation Manual? What's that?"

Kisara: "Is it an exchange to learn a martial arts style involving Ki?"

Shin: "To answer Kisara there are exchanges like that where you can learn Karate, Judo, Chinese Kempo, sword styles, and even the fictional Gun Kata Theory. The more useful than they are in battle the higher the cost in points and rank rewards, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is Ki."

Shin began to explain in depth about Ki after passing Advance Level. Once Ki reaches the Advance Level or B tier stage, Ki begins to branch out in more than one direction. While his One-eye Ghoul Mutation just increases in basic strength when it moves up to A, AA, and finally S tier, Ki Energy could change in property as well as grow in strength. There were multiple directions Ki could take after tier B. These were all manuals with specific names ranging from tier A to tier S. Ki could gain an elemental power like fire, wind, lightning, plasma, gravity, healing, special properties, or is altered to match a specific style of martial arts.

Shin: "I plan to exchange for one of the more powerful martial arts Cultivation Manuals that deal with Ki. They are all B tier or higher and cost a lot of points since from the start they incorporate Ki into their fighting style. This makes the most sense to me as I don't have the rank rewards to move either Ki or One-eye Ghoul Mutation to A tier, so this makes the most sense. I'll also have a new Ki skill and weapon, so my strength will definitely reach a whole other level!"

Aqua: "Then go with that. I was being honest before. You are turning into Team Japan's ace. The stronger that you become the better it will be for the team."

Shin: "Thank you for the vote of confidence my first wife. It's great to see that I'm growing on you."

Aqua: "...And there goes the respect."

Finished saying that, Aqua began to tell the others about what exchanges that she wanted to get this time around after Hunter X Hunter, Greed Island. Aqua was a close range fighter like Shin and Team Japan's newest member Kisara. Aqua's Wolverine, Werewolf, and Nen enhancements made her a powerful force to be reckoned with, so much so Shin couldn't fully accept Aqua's claim that he was becoming Team Japan's ace Player, yet this time around she wanted to go in a different direction. Instead of an ability to increase close range fighting power, Aqua wanted a magic attack.

Aqua: "I'm confident in my close range fighting power, so now I wanted a magic spell. An AOE (Area of Effect) magic spell to damage a wide space at once. My magic gun, the Thompson Contender Magic Code is a wonderful weapon, but in the end it's a gun that fires one bullet at a time in a straight direction. Looking back, if I had a spell to target a wide area I wouldn't have struggled as much against Genthru. Lastly, I also think it's about time I try to master my full wolf form."

Shin hearing this shivered as he recalled the image of Aqua's full wolf form and the power that it held. Aqua held the Werewolf Bloodline genetic mutation, and so she could transform her body into more of a wolf like form like anyone with this enhancement, but hers was special. Due to a combination of highly compatible enhancements; Werewolf, Wolverine, and Nen, Aqua didn't transform into a regular wolf and had a very hard time turning into a werewolf.

When Aqua transforms she in a word becomes a monster. Both physically and mentally as her eyes only showed a desire to kill and destroy everything before her. With no control on her part all three of her enhancements would activate at once and turn her into a mutated monster wolf. Shin first saw the full wolf form of Aqua's in his first mission in High School of the Dead and then a second time in Btooom.

Aqua when transformed became a large wolf packed with powerful muscles reinforced with Aura from Nen (as both an Enhancer and Specialist), armed with fangs and fur coated in adamantium, and released a crazed killing intent the likes nothing Shin had encountered to date. The first time Aqua transformed in H.O.T.D she charged through an army of zombies that became meat paste as they just grazed her. The second time Shin didn't get to see Aqua fight transformed, but saw her drag the Btooom Lord away as it was about to release an explosion equivalent of a small nuke andtaking the blast head on, and although just barely she survive after the fact.

Recalling the strength of Aqua's full wolf form Shin had no doubts in his heart that his dear red head war goddess could kill and rip him apart with little effort on her part. The zombies of H.O.T.D, the Btooom Lord, Disease Girl Kiri, and even their recent difficult foe Team Germany... Shin was absolutely certain that none of them could hope to match Aqua once transformed. He could imagine the powerful Razor possibly being able to put up a good fight, but no one else.

Aqua: "That power has always eluded my control. I can partially transform into a werewolf to execute a powerful attack, but that isn't good enough. If I could master this power of mine then I can defeat enemy bosses or the teams of the Four Pillars! I want a power magic spell, but it's my main objective this time around of exchanges to master my full wolf form."

Shin: "That sounds amazing, Aqua! You really would be unstoppable if you can control that monster wolf form... Just, if you do then there's no way I can call myself Team Japan's ace Player, right?"

Aqua: "Ah, I guess so. Well, it brings back balance to the world at the very least."

Shin: "Balance?"

Aqua: "Yes. I wouldn't like it if I couldn't overpower you whenever I wanted... in various meanings."

Shin: "!"

Hearing this Shin heard something snap in his head. No one there except the person in question understood what Aqua meant by that statement. Both Shin and Aqua knew that the few times that they shared a bed (or beach) together, Aqua would always come out on top. There shouldn't be winning or losing when a man and woman are embracing each other in such an intimate way... but for Shin and Aqua there was.

Shin felt defeated every time they sleep together and Aqua knowing this proudly says that he will never win and should just be happy to be with her. Shin wanted to agree with Aqua as he loved her and enjoyed their time together, but as a man... his pride wouldn't allow him to accept that. It wouldn't be wrong to say that after becoming an Over Powered main character and surviving God's Dimension to return to the real world a new man, Shin's third most important goal in life was to win in the bedroom against Aqua. Shin didn't have a characteristic that enjoyed breaking down strong woman and make them less than they are, but he won't be satisfied until the day come he can dominant the woman that he loves to restore his long lost pride as a man and regain the soul he sold off for the touch of a woman.

Shin: "..."

Aqua: "..."

Hikari: "I honestly have no idea why you two are glaring each other down, but I'm positive it isn't worth it. Let's move on. Shuai, what are your plans?"

Shuai: "Me? I... have an idea about one thing, but I'm not 100% sure, so I won't mention it now. Besides from that I plan to increase my ability to control my Earth Elemental Gnome. Not by raising it to the next level, but by buy accessories to increase summoning power."

Shin: "Why accessories? Wouldn't increasing Shaman Power or the elemental itself suffice?"

Shuai: "Well, I've been giving it some thought and I realized that I can't bring out the full strength of Gnome as I am now. I've been practicing a lot with Gnome, yet I can't do that much. It is nowhere close with what the main character of "The Gamer" can do with his. I suspect that my low degree of power, speed, and control has to do with he fact that I've yet to unlock my Genetic Constraint."

Jin: "You could be right. You need the Second Stage to bring out the full potential of a C tier enhancement like Gnome. So that's why accessories?"

Shuai nodded in agreement. He felt he wasn't ready for a higher tier enhancement, so it was better to increase his strength in a different way. Accessories that were a exterior power couldn't compare with acquired abilities, but they were far from worthless. Accessories would definitely increase his ability and when it was finally time to exchange for a higher tier power they will still be usable. It wasn't a weakness or something to be ashamed of, but as of right now Shuai was the only member to have not unlocked his constraint. Accessories suited him more than a higher grade enhancement at this time.

Jin: "There's definitely no shame in relying on equipment. Along with increasing my magic power and getting a new skill, I plan to get magic equipment. As a magician it's the standard to have a robe for increased magic defense and staff to increase damage and precision with magic, so I'll get one or the other. How about you Connor?"

Connor: "A new Trigger and Demon Magic."

Shin: "Short and to the point as always, Connor. What about you Kisara? You've heard some details from us, but you don't know that much about Exchanges as you've never gone over them in depth, so it's just second hand information. Still, you must have some idea what you want to get."

More so then himself, Shin was especially curious about what the swordsman and now woman of his heart, Kisara was going to Exchange for. Kisara was the MVP of Team Japan as she had acquired 18,500 Points and 2 B, 1 C, and 1 D rank reward. It was a total greater than anyone else and she was a Newbie at that. Kisara's strength will now reach a new realm and I wanted to witness this as she was already a capable swordsman.

Kisara: "What I want...well, I'm a swordsmen, so I want a good sword. Regular swords can't cut someone with strong defenses like that hulk monster of Team Germany, so I want a sword that can cut into flesh of anyone I face. In addition, I acquired Nen thanks to you and Aqua, so I want to look into that."

Shin: "That doesn't sound bad. What do you think Jin? My Kisara is Team Japan's first real Sword/Warrior Class, so what's your opinion as a pro gaming champion?"

Hikari: "You're already calling her yours... you're hopeless."

Shin: "Have you ever not thought that (my cute hacker, glasses character, girlfriend and future wife). Anyways, back to Kisara, Jin, what are your thoughts?"

Jin: "I'm glad you're willing to consult me... even though I'm trash. I'm trash, but today I'll try my best to not disappoint."

Shin: "Impossible. Just get to it."

Jin: "Okay, okay... now, as for Kisara, I recommend that you choose dexterity related enhancements. In games there are two types of swordsman. Power types or skill types. Power types attack ruthlessly with overwhelming power, weight, speed, and special skills to damage the enemy. The standard warrior or berserker fit this image and Shin sorta fits this description, but he's not a true swordsman. Now, the skill type use technique, speed, and efficient movement more than special skills to fend off all attacks and slay their enemies without taking damage themselves. The samurai, assassin, and ninja classes would fit this with the exception of those games which make them out to be tanks."

Shin: "So it's basically this. Using Fate/Stay as an example... the power type is the knight Saber and the skill type is the fake Assassin who's a samurai. Easy to understand, right?"

Aqua: "Easy if only you know the series, Shin. Also, I feel embarrassed for knowing the garbage coming out from your mouth.. Ahh, this is because you once talked me into playing all three routes of the Visual Novel. Each route is as long as a full game! Garbage!"

Shin: "What garbage!? Fate/Stay is-"

Hikari: "Enough you two! Don't mind them Kisara. Jin, please continue where you left off."

Jin: "Okay. Kisara, you know Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu which requires a strong body, but it doesn't give off the image a strong warrior hacking and slashing their way towards victory. It requires speed, otherworldly skill, and above all perception that verges on being clairvoyant. I believe it would be best to choose genetic enhancement that increase Muscle Density with an emphasis on agility and speed, but above all the Reaction Speed stat. Next you have Nen, an energy, so a genetic mutation would be perfect to go along side it. Make it one that begins at D tier and ends with at least AA or S. Those have the most potential and you've unlocked your constraint to the First Stage and can bring out all the potential of D tier and most of the power of C tier enhancements with ease. Then aside from a sword that's at least C tier or higher with magic properties, I recommend skills. Not sword skills, but skills to improve moment speed even further."

Kisara listened to Jin's words seriously. She looked to be in agreement and so was I. Kisara was not the power type swordsman and used speed and skill as a master swordsman to fight. I had the confidence to defeat Kisara as she was now... but if she exchanged for a speed type enhancement, had a magic weapon, and a few skills on top of that... similarly to Aqua, I couldn't see myself defeating Kisara. Maybe if I had the intent to kill Kisara and didn't hold back it was possible, but I still wouldn't have a clear image of victory (though this isn't Card Fight Vanguard).

Hikari: "Then I guess that just leaves me. Like before I'm split between Support Magic and Psyche Force skills. I'll just get one or the other."

Jin: "Ah, about that I have some input if you don't mind. Hikari, you have been enhancing your Mental Capacity and Intelligence like myself as your spells and Persona depend on the stat, right? Can you use the magic buffs on me please? I want to confirm something."

Hikari didn't know what Jin was up to, but followed his instructions anyway cast the endurance spell on him. Jin was veiled in a glow of magic. It signified that the spell was active. Hikari's Mental Capacity was over 200 and so the spell would last for twenty minutes before disappearing. Jin looked at himself calmly and looked back towards Hikari.

Jin: "No difference in power from what I last remembered. Hikari, now apply it again. You can stop trying after the spell stop overlapping and then move on to your over magic buff spells. It'll be over when we get through all five of your spells.

Hikari then preceded to follow his instructions. First it was Wind Spirit, Water Spirit, Lightning Spirit, Fire Spirit, and Earth Spirit. Each magic buff had overlapped on top of each other and Jin was veiled in a powerful rainbow of lights fueled by fifteen spells active at once. Examining himself Jin smiled and began to laugh out loud madly.

Jin: "Hahahaha! Hikari, you truly are special! You were from the start as a hacker genius and you already had a Persona, but now after unlocking you constraint you've reached new heights. As expected of one of the women our leader has chosen for his harem."

Aqua: "Hey, you can be creepy and a kiss ass later when you are alone. Just explain yourself."

Jin: "Okay. During the last mission it should have become apparent that Hikari's ability as a support member had increased greatly after unlocking her Genetic Constraint. The first of which was the demonstration of her magic buffs just now. Before the last mission our Hikari could cast all five of her magic buffs on a person, but not stack the same spell twice or higher. Now, she can stack on three of the same magic buffs spells on an individual. That means at her current ability she can place fifteen magic buffs on each of us! Additional, using her Persona Adrasteia, Hikari can deploy her magic over long distances!"

Shuai: "So what does that mean?"

Jin: "It means a great deal. Now to tell the truth I was beginning to think that magic buffs weren't that great in real life. Before Hikari can only deploy one spell type at a time, had to be close by, the boost in attributes didn't increase by much, and they didn't last long enough to play an important role in a long battle. They are amazing when you cast so many different magic buffs on a person, but not individually. I didn't believe that they were worth the D or C rank rewards that they cost, but now I see differently. The Genetic Constraint is the key! After unlocking her potential she can stack three of the same buffs on a person and deploy them long distance with her Persona. That means speed, stamina, defense, and damage can be increased to 90%. The healing spell Water Spirit that increased recovery rate by 150% is now by a large 450%! And she can deploy them from a safe distance away from the main battles! As long as she can keep applying them that means Team Japan can enter into battle with over twice of average combat ability, Congratulation. You are the most special one here. In fact, you will become the nervous system of our team more so than ever before. If in the future you can exchange for more magic buffs, proper Psyche Force skills, and combine it with your Persona abilities you will become the core of Team Japan we can't do without!"

Jin explanation of Hikari's new potential got everyone excited. Hikari's flaws as a support enhancer were now fixed now that she can stack magic buffs and cast them over long distance. We all praised Hikari and she turned away in embarrassment. She tried to say that she passed out after applying so many magic buffs on everyone over great distances and had to be in Unlocked Mode as well, but we didn't care. We knew that she would grow stronger in time.

Hikari: "You all think too much of me. Also, to become as amazing as Jin described is impossible. These techniques are too expensive. I just connected to god to reconfirm that Supports Magic above D tier, Persona skills, and Psyche Force skills are all like that. Not to mention the lowest level ones I learned, but a simple Psyche Force Scan that can increase radius as your mental capacity increases costs 4000 points and a rank C reward. I can't afford these if they keep becoming more and more expensive."

Shin: "No problem. Save up your points and rewards. You have a good amount now so get a few skills now and save the rest for later. Haha. Why don't you increase your Mental Capacity as well? We will have a chance to exchange them... wait, we don't have to."

Hikari: "Why?"

Jin: "It's that. Remember what I discovered after Apocalypse Alice? We can exchange Genetic Mutations, Whole Enhancements, and Skills for each other. It is also in our team rules that as a Psyche Force enhancer you get priority rights. Shuai and I have plenty of points for ourselves, so we don't need others to make exchanges for us. Kisara with 18,500 Points and Shin with 15,000 points, along with high rank rewards, have the most points and rewards. For the sake of developing a powerful Psyche Force and support magic user we should arm her with the basic scanning ability and while we are at it a genetic mutation the increases her mental abilities. One that starts at tier D and ranks up to tier S would be the best. Hikari should then just use her own points and rewards to increase her Mental Capacity. I recall there are exchanges to just increase stats that needs points and rewards. Also, more magic buff spells will be nice."

With this method to increase Team Japan's power revealed everyone spirits had risen. With the death of so many of our comrades we were just before moving out of obligation, but not it was different. Now Team Japan had purpose. With that said our discussion was over. It was now time to power up to face future threats as a team.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

I'm adding to the potential of buffs because Lan in the original just stops using them for the most part and nor does she explore their potential. Also, after this arc I'll be streamlining the enhancement part of the team exchanges. It's hard to write interesting chapter for each character after enhancements and so I'll be shorting it like how it is in the original Terror Infinity.


	155. Chapter 155

Due to the amount of points and valuable ranked rewards we had earned this time around in Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island, everyone had the opportunity to exchange for great stat enhancements or a higher tier weapon, but it was not all good news for this still developing team of God's Dimension. It wouldn't be wrong to say that in this last mission Team Japan made their biggest score to date, yet as if in a sick equivalent exchange we lost two, three members if you count Renji during the last mission, so out team's position was in crisis. With the addition of Kisara we gained a close range fighter to replace Misaki's spot, but with the death of Kampa Team Japan had lost its only real gunner.

◆ ATTACKER/CLOSE RANGE FIGHTERS -

Shin: Team Leader, Ki Energy, One-eyed Ghoul genetic mutation, Na Ring×2, Gravity Blade, Lesser Fenrir Coat, Robo Cop's Auto 9 Infinite Ammo Model, and Holy Sword Switch Magic.

Aqua: Nen/Aura, Wolverine genetic mutation, Werewolf Bloodline, Thompson Contender Magic Code, Life Force Booster, and Red Ridding Hood's Cloak.

Kisara: None.

◆ GUNNER/MID RANGE FIGHTER -

Jin: Warlock/Beginner Rank Magic Power/Offensive magic user, Mastermind Strategist, Eva Progressive Knife.

◆ SNIPER/LONG RANGE FIGHTER -

Shuai: Intermediate level Shaman Power and Earth Elemental Gnome.

Connor: Sniper, C-Class Trigger, Demon Genetic Mutation.

◆ SUPPORT/OTHER -

Hikari: Support Type Persona and Magic Buff Spells.

After the last mission we gained one Newbie, but lost three good men, two of which who were a part of Team Japan's core fighting power. They were all indispensable as far as I'm concerned and they had saved the lives of their teammates on more than one occasion. It was amazing that Team Japan had the new addition Kisara and over 80,000 points and plenty of rank rewards to power up the team... yet-

Shin: "...It won't be the same. It's not possible to truly replace good friends and comrades, but it'll take a long time for Team Japan to recover from the damage of the last mission and team battle. That's why we have make the best of this time to fill in our gaps!"

And with that said it was time to begin. First stop...

Before we could begin to make our own exchanges Kisara and I first needed to visit Hikari. It was decided that the number 1 and 2 highest scoring members of Team Japan, Kisara and I would help pay for some of Hikari's exchanges. Hikari currently had two enhancement paths and was planning on adding a third into the mix. Hikari already had Persona and Magic Buffs, but now she will be adding Psyche Force.

Psyche Force was an essential power that any team of God's Dimension desperately needs. With the right skills it allows a team to scan a wide area and map it, keep in contact with each other over long distances without relying on electronics, and brainwash others to do your bidding, repel brainwashing, control objects with one's mind, launch mental attacks to cripple the enemy and much more. Psyche Force was very similar to Persona abilities, but for our Team we needed Psyche Force. From how I saw it, if one mastered a support Persona you could end up more powerful than your average Psyche Force user, yet it worked best in a team full of other Persona users.

Hikari desired Psyche Force Skills seeing how the Psyche Force user of Team Germany was so dangerous to us and while her Persona skill could over power normal Psyche Force users, it took too much of a burden on her and she couldn't move around when active. It is better to continue down the Persona route, but having a simple Psyche Force Scan that she can use at any time is for the best. Also, maybe using both at the same time may result in an enhanced scanning ability. There were similar and less expensive abilities in the Exchange System for Persona related skills when compared to Psyche Force, but most of the abilities required others to be Persona users. That's why it was more beneficial for Team Japan to have Hikari learn Psyche Force. It was an expensive exchange path, but that's where Kisara and I come in.

Shin: "So Hikari, what will you being using your Shin MasterCard on today? Don't worry about paying me back. I don't need points or rank rewards from you. Just your undying love, body, charming smile, body, and love is all I need in return."

Hikari: "Don't say body twice! I was hoping you were getting better, but you're still the gross, otaku, harem bastard that you've always been."

Kisara: "Don't be like that elder sister. Shin was just saying don't feel the need to hold back. Also, the same for me. I have a lot of points, so don't worry about cost. We're family after all."

Hikari: "...Kisara, your character sure has changed. Also, who's your older sister! Heck, you're older than me!"

Shin: "Okay you two. Enough playing around. It's time to get serious and start enhancing my cute Hikari into the strongest support Player of all time!"

Hikari: "Who's the one playing around here?"

I had 15,000 points and 2 B rank rewards.

Kisara had 18,500 points, 2B, 1C, and 1D rank reward.

And Hikari herself had 7,600 Points and two C rank rewards.

Neither Kisara or I intended to spend all of our points and rank rewards here for Hikari, but with even a quarter of our totals added to Hikari's will allow her to acquire a lot of amazing abilities that Team Japan and herself desperately needs.

Hikari: "Now if we're really being serious here... I've given it some thought and I've decided to go with the original plan. I'll use my own points for the magic spell buff enhancement path. As for what I want my otaku boyfriend... and new sister to get for me is the Psyche Force Scan, and a genetic mutation and whole enhancement to improve Psyche Force and magic. Also, if there are any points left use them to increase my Mental Capacity."

Shin: "Wow, you really don't hold back do you? Well, girls never look at price tags when they have a man paying for everything."

Hikari: "Is it too much?"

Shin: "...No, not at all. Hikari, let me and Kisara discuss what to get for you, unless you know exactly what you want of course."

Hikari: "Don't start now asking for my opinion about my own exchanges, Shin. Also, I don't have anything in mind for mutations or whole enhancements. I'll leave to Team Japan's otaku to decide for me."

With one last insult said Shin and Kisara discussed what to get for Hikari. Kisara like Hikari didn't know that much about special powers and the like for a Psyche Force user and magic support like Hikari, so she left the decision to Shin. Shin gave it some thought few minutes. There were some cool abilities from X Men, Stand abilities, and sci-fi novels with some interesting alien races... and in the end Shin choose the New-type Mutation and Mana Control Whole Enhancement for Hikari. Lastly, Upgrade Certificate to increase her abilities, exchange Psyche Force Scan, and increase Mental Capacity with one of the special stat increase packages.

Mana Control.

Rating 54.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Allows access and control of Mana that is in the air for Magic Spells, and can be used to increase stats temporarily. Requires a rank D reward, and 600 Points.

Intermediate Mana Control.

Rating 69.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Allows access and control of Mana that is in the air for Magic Spells, and can be used to increase stats temporarily. Requires a rank C reward, 1200 Points, and Mana Control.

Advance Mana Control.

Rating 82.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Allows access and control of Mana that is in the air for Magic Spells, and can be used to increase stats temporarily. Requires a rank B reward, 2000 Points, and Intermediate Mana Control.

Cyber New-Type Awakening -

Rating 73.

Applicable to missions that require above average intelligence, mental capacity and reaction speed. Increases sensitivity to the supernatural and strong emotions. Has access to Psychic Force and most esper abilities. When the mind is focused the Intelligence, Mental Capacity and Reaction Speed stats will substantially increase temporarily. Will not be affected with the mental degradation of a Cyber Newtype. Requires 1400 points and C rank reward.

Upgrade Certificate -

Rating 100.

A rare certificate given to players by God. Allows for the upgrade of a low or intermediate level non-genetic enhancement, ignoring points and reward requirements. Only C Tier or lower enhancements can be upgraded. Consumable: 2/3.

Psyche Force Scan -

Raring 70.

Order Psyche Force to scan the area around the user. Can increase radius as your Mental Capacity increases. Ever 100 points increases 10 kilometers radius and in a straight line 100 kilometers. Requires 4000 points and C rank reward.

Mental Capacity Package D -

Rating 65.

A 300 stat point increase in Mental Capacity. One Time purchase. Requires 1000 Points and D rank reward.

Shin: "So that's how it is Hikari. I'll have Kisara spend 1,800 points, 1 C and 1 D rank reward to exchange Cyber New-type Awakening and Mana Control. Kisara will also spend 3000 points to increase Mental Capacity by 300 as well. She wanted to spend more, but as a Newbie who needs every point I couldn't allow it. I'll spend 5,000 points, 1 C and 1 D rank reward to exchange for the Psyche Force Scan skill and Mental Capacity D Package for you. Lastly, I'll then use the two uses left of my Upgrade Certificate to upgrade Mana Control all the way up to B tier, Advance Mana Control."

Hikari: "Wait, isn't this too much? This is a major power up. Also, Shin, are you sure about using your last two Upgrade Certificates for my sake. I know that you've been saving them to one day exchange for something like Mana and quickly raise it up to B tier."

Shin: "It's fine, Hikari. Honestly, I sorta forgot about them after all of this time. Also... you Hikari and your well-being are far more important than my goal to become Overpowered. I want you to powerful so that you'll live longer along with me. It like that, so... its fine right?"

Hikari: "Shin..."

Taking Shin saying she herself was more important than his ultimate goal of becoming Over Powered completely won Hikari over and she ran up and kissed him. This lasted for a few moment and then slyly looking away Hikari went over to God. Shin and Kisara told God what they wanted to get for Hikari, and after getting the notification that they both couldn't exchange for another person Hikari was lifted in the air by a beam of light and particles for the longest time. It took twenty minutes for all of the exchanges to take effect and for Hikari to retuning back down to the earth. As she did Shin just marveled at the new Hikari. Not by very much, but overall her looks had increased by a tier and Shin could swear that she had an aura of beauty and cuteness to her that was borderline divine. So much so that Shin immediately hugged Hikari.

Shin: "I knew that helping you out was for the best! Not only are cuter than ever before, you're more powerful as well. Your strength will definitely help me live long enough to become OP."

Hikari: "Hey, let go. I still need to buy magic buffs and... wait, that's what you meant before!"

Kisara: "You two look so intimate. I'm a bit jealous, but I'm happy for you elder sister."

Hikari: "Like I said, who's your older sister?"

Shin: "Let's not mind such small things you two. It's now time for an examination. I need to see if there anything wrong with your body so lets go to me room and-"

Hikari: "Somethings wrong with your head!"

Kisara: "Umm, I'm inexperienced, but should I come along with-"

Shin: "Sure!"

Hikari: "No!"

Later on Hikari, having escaped Shin grasp and Kisara's hopeful eyes in shame, embarrassed, and just a little happy and make her way over to God and made her final round of exchanges. Hikari checked the Magic Buff category of the Exchange System and purchased three new spells. Hikari had some ideas for offensive or defensive spells, but remembering how Jin showed that she could stack magic buffs and deploy them over long distances with Psyche Force, she chose magic buffs in the end. Lastly, Hikari exchanged for the "Breath of an Archangel", one of the three prizes Team Japan received for completing the Greed Island game.

Brave Heart Buff -

Rating 53.

A magic spell that raises the selected target's willpower and resistance against Negative Aliments and mind control. Additionally stamina is temporarily increased by 75% of the individual's standard. Requires 2000 points and D rank reward.

Sword Dance of the Valkyrie Buff -

Rating 57.

A magic spell that temporarily raises the selected target's Muscle Density stat and damage inflicted to enemies by 50% of the individuals standard. Decrease damaged inflicted to the target by 10%. Requires 2500 points and two D rank rewards.

Blessings of the Saint Buff -

Rating 64.

A magic spell that raises the selected target's resistance against mental attacks, poisons, and a small heal is applied. An aura of Faith Energy is applied to protect the user from dark forces. Requires 3000 points and C rank reward.

Breath of the Archangel -

Rating 90.

Spell summons forth an angel whose breath can cure any injuries sustained. Severe damage or close to death, this angel will cure any injury and disease in one breath. One Player may learn this as a magic spell. Can only be used once per day.

Hikari: Team Japan.

Age: 16.

Mission's Survived: 4.

Exchange Points: 100.

Rank Rewards: S=0, A=0, B=0, C=0, and D=0.

STATS

Intelligence - 525

Mental Capacity - 1236

Cell Vitality - 162

Reaction Speed - 398

Muscle Density - 199

Immunization Strength - 175

EXCHANGE CATEGORIES

1\. Sci-fi Weapons -

● Close Range: None.

● Mid-Range: None.

● Long Range: None.

2\. Magical Items -

● Tools: SEES Evoker.

● Equipment: None.

● Consumable: None.

3\. Support items -

● Genetic Mutation Enhancement: Cyber New-type Awakening.

● Whole Body Enhancements: Advance Mana Control.

● Skill/Techniques: Enemy Radar, Game Mapping, Psyche Force Scan, Wind Spirit Buff, Earth Spirit Buff, Fire Spirit Buff, Water Spirit Buff, Lightning Spirit Buff, Brave Heart Buff, Sword Dance of the Valkyrie Buff, and Blessings of the Saint Buff, and Breath of the Archangel.

● General Goods: Communicator Phone, Body Armor, Military Binoculars, Medic Kit, Ration Kit and Next-GEN Military Laptop,

● Other: None.

4\. Entertainment - Shoujo Mana VOL 6.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

Kampa in the past mentioned the package exchange for stats. For more on Stat Packages check out the next Exchange List. Also, I think that I gave Jin Mana Control, but for reasons like I don't mention it, or it sounded like a skill rather than a Whole Enhancement, so I'm changing that up. I won't go back to edit, but I'll give Jin something else that just fades in the background.


	156. Chapter 156

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 45, HxH G.I Intermission

My next teammate to visit after Hikari to check in on Connor. I didn't feel the need to supervise his exchanges as Connor wasn't the type to choose something detrimental to himself or the team because it looked cool, but all the same I was interested seeing what our child soldier of the team had chosen. Connor's place within team Japan as an ace sniper and capable gunner made him a critical component within Team Battles, yet there was more to him than that.

According to what we had discovered after the Apocalypse Alice mission Connor was the descendant of a former Player of God's Dimension and this entitled him to certain benefits that normal Players like myself were not offered. Connor's ancestor had exchanged for powerful enhancements from the Demon Exchanges and Connor was born with a very high affinity for the same and so God offered Connor a discount of sorts. With the exception of weapons, God allows Connor to exchange for Genetic Mutations, Whole Enhancement, and skills without paying for their required points and just needed the rank rewards. He couldn't use this discount for exchanges over B tier and this didn't seem like that much at first, but in truth this gave Connor a huge advantage over others.

Shin: "I wonder what he'll get this time around. Connor also has a Trigger, he might go that way as well."

As I went over to check up on Connor it seemed that I was too late to advise him on his enhancement path even if I wanted to. Connor was already lifted into the air by God and a beam of light showing that he was in the middle of enhancing himself. Particles of light were entering his body which is normal, yet there was something different this time around. Hovering in the air alongside Connor was his C-Class Trigger. Like Connor particles of light were entering into the Sci-fi device, turning it from its original white metallic exterior to a blueish-green color. Five minutes later the exchange was complete and Connor was let down by God.

Shin: "So how did it go? What did you get?"

Connor: "...Fine. A few things."

Shin: "...Can't you give me more than that?"

Connor: "I had 9,020 points, 1B and 1D rank reward. I upgraded my C-Class Trigger to the B-Class Trigger for 2000 points and a C rank reward. The Trigger that I already possessed was upgraded instead of me acquiring a new Trigger and by Trion Energy increased in quantity by ten. Don't know why I wasn't given a new Trigger."

Shin: "That was probably to stop you from handing over your old Trigger to anyone else in the future. Hey, what happens if your Trigger is destroyed? Do you have to pay for another one?"

Connor: "Yes and No. When upgrading to a new Trigger you don't just gain a new device, but a higher level of Trion, so the device only makes up half the exchange. If the Trigger is broken I don't lose my Trion, right, so why would I have to pay for the full price? I have to pay the point requirements, but not the rank reward ones, and that's to my advantage. Points have less meaning to me at this stage, so I can always buy a new one."

Shin: "That's good to know. So did you get anything else?"

Connor: "After the Trigger I then used two C rank rewards to exchange for magic eyes and magic spell from the Demonic series.'Demon Eye: Encroachment' and 'Demonic Weapon Augmentation'. Demon Eye: Encroachment is a magic eye that increases my vision and give me the ability to afflict other with the Fear aliment when I look at them when active. Demonic Weapon Augmentation is a powerful magic spell to increase the strength of any weapon or tool in my hands at the cost of a small corrosive effect. This includes guns, so this is the perfect magic spell for me since there aren't that many, if at all Demon skills or magic that use guns. Trigger would make a good combination as they're weapons born from Trion rather than real weapons. Lastly, I exchanged for a small storage item for a D rank reward as I need something to carry my weapons and used all of my remaining points to increase my stats."

Connor than went into a deeper into the details of his exchanges and his reasons, and I found myself fully agreeing with him. With the change to the B-Class Trigger Connor's combat effectiveness with Trion was now at battle standards as he would run out after a few shots from his weapons before.

Demon Eye: Encroachment was an interesting magic eye as one didn't have to see a person in the eye for it too work and worked just as well through the scope of a rifle. According to Connor it wasn't a good ability when you wanted to snipe the enemy in secret, but was an excellent ability in direct battles to use against an opponent who knew that an attack was coming and the magic eye would slow down their moments.

Demonic Weapon Augmentation increases the potential of all the weapons in his possession by a large amount. There was a general D tier weapon enhancement skill in the Exchange System, but the C tier one's exclusive for one type of energy would show vastly better improvements than the general D tier one.

Connor: "I'm going to practice on my own. Don't bother me."

Shin: "..."

And like so Connor silently walking away left Shin behind. Shin wished the child soldier of Team Japan was more vocal, yet he didn't push the matter and let Connor walk away.

B-Class Trigger -

Rating 82.

Applicable to missions that require combat. Can store the user's real body within the trigger and replace it with a B-Class Trion Body. Can download and use up to eight different types of triggers (must be obtained separately). Triggers have the bailout function. The user is able to escape after the Trion Body is destroyed, the main body will be ejected and fly away anywhere within 1000 meters of where Bail Out occurred. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed or Bail Out, the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain access to Trion Energy. Requires 2000 points, C rank reward, and a C-Class Trigger.

Demon Eye: Encroachment -

Rating 51.

A type of magic eyes of the demon race. Those that are locked onto by these eyes will be inflicted with a Fear Aliment. Those simply gazed by these eyes will fall victim to a lesser effect. For those with a strong willpower they will only be a degraded effect or no effect whatsoever. Passively increase vision slightly. Requires 3,000 points, C rank reward, and any Demon race mutation.

Demonic Weapon Augmentation -

Rating 70.

Select any tool and vastly enhances it's performance with Demonic Power. Weapons and tools of a lower tier than C will experience degradation over time. Requires 4,000 Points, C rank reward, and Demon Count Genetic Mutation.

Subspace Ring -

Rating 45.

A ring created by Xiuzhen technology. It had a subspace of 1.5 cubic meters and can be activated with any energy. Requires 1500 Points and D rank reward.

Connor - Team Japan.

Age: 10.

Mission's Survived: 2.

Exchange Points: 0.

Rank Rewards: S=0, A=0, B=0, C=0 and D=0.

Stats:

Intelligence - 188.

Mental capacity - 214.

Cell Vitality - 443.

Reaction Speed - 487.

Muscle Density - 419

Immunization Strength - 412.

EXCHANGE CATEGORIES

1\. Sci-fi Weapons -

● Close Range: None.

● Mid-Range: BIM.

● Long Range: Eglet, Lightning, and Ibis. Also Anti-Material Rifle.

2\. Magical Items -

● Tools: Magic Storage Ring.

● Equipment: None.

● Consumable: Low level Magic Bullets and Varanium Black Bullets.

3\. Support items -

● Genetic Mutation Enhancement: Demon Count Genetic Mutation.

● Whole Body Enhancements: B-Class Trigger.

● Skill/Techniques: Demon Eye: Encroachment and Demonic Weapon Augmentation.

● General Goods: None.

● Other: None.

4\. Entertainment - World Trigger Season 2 Blu-ray plus Commentary.

The next stop as I checked up on my comrades was the lovely Aqua. Aqua was a close range fighter like myself, yet possessed a wider range of enhancement paths than myself with just Ki Energy and One-eye Ghoul Mutation. Werewolf Bloodline, Wolverine Mutation, and Nen were the paths Aqua had to enhance herself and this time around she possessed 8,530 Points, 1B, and 1C rank reward to do so. Aqua seemed to have already finished her exchanges, so instead of giving advice or my opinion of what to get I just got to hear what she exchanged for and why.

Aqua: "Shin, what do you think of me?"

Shin: "What do I think? Of course I love you my first wife to be. Did you need to confirm that before you finally allow yourself to fall to my protagonist charms and jump into my-"

Aqua: "Cut the crap! Sorry for the wording, but that's not at all what I was asking. I wanted to know what you thought of my fighting style."

Shin: "You really know how to make a man excited, but soon fall into despair Aqua... but that's just one of your charms I guess."

Aqua: "Shin."

Shin: "Fine... Okay, you're a pure close range fighter. While I have skills to fight from midrange with Ki emission attacks and my Kagune, you can only attack up close and personal, but that's not a bad thing. I'm more versatile, but you're by far stronger than me as I see it. You're highly specialized for close combat and that's where you shine the most."

Aqua: "I'm in agreement. All my mutations are for close range and I'm an Enhancer Nen User. All my enhancements are also all B tier and above, so they're incredibly powerful... but they limit what I can do. Putting aside Nen that can't learn skills, I don't have any magic spells at all. Equipment, but not spells. There are magic spells exclusive for the Werewolf Bloodline, so I just exchanged for one. Judgment of the Moon Goddess. A magic spell that'll allow me to attack from mid, possibly long range with the light of the moon. The longer the skill is charged for the more powerful the attack will become. It's a C tier magic spell, but has the high requirement of needing the A tier Elder Werewolf Bloodline. I'll show you what five seconds of charging this skill is like."

Aqua then decided to give a demonstration of her magic spell, Judgment of the Moon Goddess. Aqua extended and pointed her right hand towards the floor ten meters away. Then came a blinding light. From her fingertips to her elbow Aqua hand glowed with a white radiance. Then after five seconds passed a beam on intensified moon light shot out from her palm and impacted the floor. As if irradiated the section of the floor she pointed at was slowly dyed black. Once the white beam finished its job about a cubic meter of the floor was burned and gave off a horrible smell. From how the initial intensity wasn't strong as it need time to burn the floor black it wasn't the most powerful magic in Shin's opinion, but remembering that the skill could be charged and what he had just witnessed was its lowest output impressed him.

Shin: "I think that was a wise choice. You're unstoppable at close range after all, so this kind of magic spell that has high requirements that only you can use. Also, as I remember the Elder Werewolf Bloodline gave additional strength to magic exclusively for a Werewolf. This is skill that costed you just a C rank reward, right? What else did you get?"

Aqua: "I acquired a skill to improve – or rather that lets me reach my ultimate power. Do you recall my full wolf form and the problems that I'm having with it?"

Shin heard this question and couldn't grasp why he was being asked this. Aqua's full wolf form had left him scarred for life after all. For a Player like Aqua with the Werewolf Bloodline Aqua could transform into a half man half wolf typical Werewolf, or a complete wolf form, yet Aqua had special circumstances that separated her from others with the same bloodline.

Due to making misjudgments and unexpected highly compatible combinations of enhancements which should have resulted in her death or turned into a mindless monster, yet living with her human consciousness resulted in a mutation to occur. Werewolf Bloodline, Wolverine Mutation, and Nen which would automatically combine in a special way whenever Aqua would transform. Aqua for the most part lost her ability to turn into a werewolf and would normally turn into a full on wolf form... yet this wouldn't be a normal transformation.

Aqua's three enhancements came together to transform her into an incredibly powerful monster wolf. A giant monster wolf with bulging and thick muscles, Adamantium coated fur and fangs that reflected a silver light, and the Enhancer and Specialist elements of a Nen user. The monster wolf form of Aqua's was down right Over Powered the way her abilities came together, yet it came at a steep cost. Her mind. Whenever Aqua transformed she would lose all her reasoning and become a mad beast that only sought out blood and death. It was by far Aqua greatest ability, yet it wasn't something she could truly control.

Shin: "Yes I do. Out of all the things that I've seen in this terror filled dimension your silver monster wolf form about to eat my alive gives me the most nightmares. What does your new skill have to do with it?"

Aqua: "Well, I just exchanged for a interesting skill that might allow me to tame that form. The ability is called Focused State of Mind. An expensive B tier ability for the low cost of 2,500 Points. Highly focuses the state of the user's mind. Its duration is based on one's willpower. However, you will be able to face any situation calmly while it is active. This ability has no offensive power, but its description is very similar to the first stage of the Genetic Constraint, though not as strong. You gain great focus and can be rid of one's fears, but there's no additional combat instincts. I've reached the First Stage, so the appeal of this skill isn't there but somewhere else. What I want from Focused State of Mind is the ability to reform my mind and eventually take hold of my full of that monster wolf that's escaped my control so far. My mind just sort goes dark after losing myself when I transform. I expect in the short term I can transform into a werewolf like before my abilities mutated, but in the long term it's my hope to retain my consciousness in the wolf form."

Shin: "Sounds like an amazing skill, but why now? You've had the points and rewards to exchange for this skill before. Did you not know about it?"

Aqau: "...No. I knew about it, but I didn't feel an immediate need for it before. Now I do. I felt confident about fighting against most of the members of Team Germany, but those like Klaus who sought after an extreme power in an area I was uncertain. Maybe if I accepted a desperate battle to the death I could have won even on my own. Jin won easily only because Klaus saw him on his last leg and thought nothing of him, and so he was given a golden chance to strike. With my current abilities, even if I had this new magic spell it would take a lot of effort to defeat Klaus, but in my full wolf form, or just the werewolf form I could kill him off easily."

Shin hearing this looked forward and not forward at this new development. If Aqua could tame her monster wolf form Team Japan could gain a trump card greater than the destroyed Unicorn Beam Magnum the deceased Kampa once wielded. On the other hand...

Shin: (Won't she be able to kill me whenever she wants? If the day arrives when the fourth member of my harem joins and she finally get mad... won't I get closer to the BAD END of being devoured alive.)

Judgment of the Moon Goddess -

Rating 66.

Shine the intensified light of the mood at one's target. Once per day can summon a moon that shines down a light of destruction which will deliver Area-Of-Effect damage. Strength and range of the attack depends on the charge time of 5-180 Seconds. Requires 5,500 Points, C rank reward, and Elder Werewolf Bloodline.

Focused State of Mind -

Rating 79.

Suitable for users with strong power, but have weak willpower, and the majority of most missions. While the ability is active, the user will enter a highly focused state, greatly increases awareness, will remain calm and cautious, and will not be controlled by any Psyche Force ability. Passively reforms the mind. Every use of the ability changes the user's mentality bit by bit. Long term uses can permanently increase the user's concentration and calmness. Requires 2,500 points and B rank reward.

Aqua - Team Japan.

Age: 22.

Mission's Survived: 9.

Exchange Points: 530.

Rank Rewards: S=0, A=0, B=0, C=, D=0.

STATS

Intelligence - 594

Mental capacity - 728

Cell Vitality - 1022

Reaction Speed - 1169

Muscle Density - 1185

Immunization Strength - 907

EXCHANGE CATEGORIES

1\. Sci-fi Weapons -

● Close Range: None.

● Mid-Range: None.

● Long Range: None.

● Armor/Enhancement: None.

2\. Magical Items -

● Tools: RPG Bag, Red Riding Hood's Cloak, Life Force Booster.

● Equipment: Thompson Contender Mystic Code

● Consumable: Magic Bullets [ Low Level ], Talisman×7.

3\. Support items -

● Genetic Mutation Enhancement: Wolverine's Genetic Mutation and Elder Werewolf Genetic Mutation

● Whole Body Enhancements: Upper Class Hunter Nen.

● Skill/Techniques: Judgement of the Moon Goddess and Focused State of Mind.

● General Goods: Communicator Phone, Medical Kit and Ration Kit.

● Other: Life Force Booster.

4\. Entertainment - Human creation×1, Paradise Cigarettes×20 and Computer.


	157. Chapter 157

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 46, HxH G.I Intermission

I next checked in on Shuai. I wanted to see for myself what Team Japan's shaman and summoner exchanged for with his 8,000 points, 2C and 1D rank reward, but I was surprised to find that he had yet to exchange for anything. Shuai was just standing under the orb of light in the center of the Terminal Lobby with a frustrated expression on his face. It seemed that he was having a hard time choosing what to get this time around.

Shin: "Hey, Shuai."

Shuai: "Ah, Shin... were you checking up on me?"

Shin: "Yeah, but is that bad?"

Shuai: "No, but I thought that you only like to check up on the girls of the team. I'm just surprised is all."

Shin: "Just what do I look like to you?"

Shuai: "...A man with a growing harem."

Shin: "!"

Shin was left speechless for a moment at Shuai's harsh, yet accurate description of him. It wasn't wrong, but still Shin felt like slapping Shuai's head with his plus 600 stat points of Muscle Density... but for the moment he refrained from such action. Once calm down Shin began to ask why Shuai had yet to make any exchanges and he learned what was bothering Shuai. Shuai had already chosen what he wanted to get this time around, but had yet to make the exchange from God. Shuai had chosen two abilities to enhance his Shaman abilities and an accessory to increase his summoning ability.

Spirit Assimilation -

Rating 42.

The ability of a shaman to self-possess themselves with a spirit and allow themselves to temporarily gain skill and knowledge. Requires 2,000 points, D rank reward, Low Level Shaman Power, and Spirit to possess.

Over Soul -

Rating 60.

The metaphysical construct of an apparition using a shaman's Spirit Energy and a medium to gain corporeal properties. An Over Soul 'actualizes' the knowledge and memories of an apparition and allows their memories to manifest essentially as magical powers. While any spirit can be molded into an Over Soul, their attributes depend solely upon the spirit's ego, or identity. Depending on its ego, the ghost can be molded by the shaman into any shape or form the shaman desires, enabling the direct display of its abilities to protect the shaman. Requires 4000 Points, C rank rewards, and Intermediate Shaman Power.

Summoner's Ring of Earth -

Rating 59.

Increase the strength and bond with elementals, spirit, familiars, or puppets. Energy consumption of summoning decreased. Can transfer damage to the summoned being and can take one fatal attack for the summoner perday. A more powerful effect when using an elemental or other of the Earth affinity being. Requires 2000 Points and C rank rewards.

Shuai had it in his mind that, with the loss of so many comrades, he should increase his offensive abilities to make up for Team Japan's decreased fighting potential. Spirit Possession and Over Soul were skills from Shaman King that held a lot of fighting potential. The Summoner's Ring of Earth was an item to give himself more freedom when using Gnome as it was becoming his favorite ability. Shuai was set on what to get, but there was a reason for his hesitation.

When Shuai first contacted God about how many points and rewards he acquired from the last mission there was a notification from God he didn't tell the team about. The notification said that Shuai as a Shaman could exchange for a copy of a dead human spirit for free due to having a high affinity the original person. The copied spirit was Kampa. It wasn't a perfect copy as only the ability were copied over into this spirit, but the spirit held the memories of Kampa's fighting techniques.

Shuai found this offer surprising, tempting, and morally wrong all at the same time. Shuai was initially surprised that he was compatible with Kampa, but felt there may be some truth there. Shuai had worked with Kampa more than anyone else and he had felt good as Kampa acknowledged him after he began to show his worth in Team Japan.

Shuai felt it was a very good thing for the team if he gained a copy of Kampa's soul to use, which was what lead him to choosing to consider exchanging for Spirit Assimilation and Over Soul. The two skills would allow him to effectively fight with Kampa's abilities and take over his position as gunner. It was a great opportunity God was presenting Shuai... yet he also felt that it was wrong.

It was an artificial soul that was just a copy of Kampa and was empty except for the memories of battle techniques, yet the idea that he was playing around with his dead comrade's soul bothered him. Shuai of course knew better that it really wasn't Kampa, yet he couldn't get over it emotionally. Shin could now understand Shuai's hesitation and gave his opinion to ease his mind.

Shin: "I guess it would be one thing if it really was Kampa's soul... but even if it was so what? We both know what kind man Kampa was. He was a man who stood his ground and protected his team with his gun. Kampa sacrificed his life, even when he knew he was at death's door for the sake of Team Japan, no his important comrades. Kampa contributed greatly to our victory over Team Germany and died fighting for us. He was poisoned, yet not taking a nonexistent chance that he would be saved if he escaped with his comrades he fought one last battle. I think even in death he would want to fight with us again. In fact he would hit you for hesitating to not use his abilities to help his team."

Shuai: "Shin... yeah, you're-"

Then the fist came that knocked Shuai to the ground with a busted lip. Shuai looked up at Shin and despite saying that he had hit him as a representative of Kampa, Shuai knew it was really for the comment earlier. Still, the punch helped as any last doubts that he had were cleared.

Shuai: "Shin, thank you. Also I'm going to get back at you later."

Shun: "Hahaha, try it if you can."

Shuai -

Age: 23.

Mission's Survived: 3.

Exchange Points: 0.

Rank Rewards: S=0, A=0, B=0, C=0 and D=0.

Stats

Intelligence - 250

Mental capacity - 362

Cell Vitality - 143

Reaction Speed - 196

Muscle Density - 199

Immunization Strength - 164

Exchange Categories

1\. Sci-fi Weapons -

● Close Range: None.

● Mid-Range: None.

● Long Range: None.

2\. Magical Items -

● Tools: Shaman Tools×6

● Equipment: None.

● Consumable: None.

3\. Support items -

● Genetic Mutation Enhancement: None.

● Whole Body Enhancements: Medium Level Shaman Power.

● Skill/Techniques: Lowest Level Earth Elemental, and Kekkai Barrier.

● General Goods: None.

● Other: None.

4\. Entertainment - Shaman King Collectors Edition Manga and Anime.

My next stop was checking up on the annoying, funny, insane, don't know if he is conspiring something in the shadows, but somehow has avoided being lynched by his comrades, Jin. Jin was loitering around the orb of light which we called God and seemed to be looking over a few things as he had his eyes closed, a sign that he had connected to God and looking over the Exchange System. I couldn't tell any significant changes from Jin which said that he had finished his exchanges, but I did notice two things. Grasped in his right hand was a long stick with a blue crystal at the end and with a belt around his torso he was wearing a gun holster and in it revealing a hand gun that could be easily reached and used when ready.

Jin was still a relatively new member to Team Japan, yet he now looked like a proper Player with enhancements like myself. Like Connor, Jin was a recently new addition to Team Japan having only survived two mission to date, but by no means was he just another add on to the team. No one was when we just had seven living Players of our team and we each had an important role to play, but yet more so than others Jin's existence, while annoying at times, was vital to Team Japan's continual survival. On Team Japan Jin was both a magician and the mastermind strategist of the group. Jin fought alongside his comrades as a strong combatant and helped the team by coming up with vicious, yet overall effective plans for the team to follow.

Jin had taken this vacant position after it was left open by Saki who had died, yet their ways of thinking were different. Saki's plans were more militaristic and looked at the bigger picture, yet Jin's plans were more short term, yet with a better understanding of how people thought and would move that Saki just lacked. Of the two you couldn't say who was superior as they both had their strengths and weaknesses and situations that they excelled at, but the point was Jin was a capable strategist that Team Japan could trust... probably.

Jin: "Haha! Came to check up on me? You should have told me earlier as I've already finished up. If you had you could have watched my trash self level up a few tiers... ah, but I'm probably still trash. What do you think? Am I trash, or have I've evolved into a normal human being?"

Shin: "...I'm thinking about a lot of things here. Like I'm understanding how others feel when they see me and now I need to invest in a new... whatever. Yes, I came to see what you exchanged for, but I don't need to supervise you. You're not a Newbie after all (though I wish I had as I trust you as far as I can throw you. That actually may be quite far for me, but not enough where he's concerned.)."

Jin: "Haha! Glad to see that I've earned some trust. Anyways, I'll just give you a quick review of what I've exchanged for this time around. Nothing Over Powered like your Spirit Wave, but still a few good things."

Jin reconfirmed for me that he had acquired a large amount of points and rewards during the recent Hunter X Hunter mission on Greed Island. 11,000 points, 1B, 1C, and 1D rank reward to be exact. Jin in a desperate struggle that nearly costed him his life had defeated a powerful unlocked member of Team Germany, Klaus, gaining 7000 points and B rank reward, so his rewards were on the higher side than not. With these points Jin had a lot of room to grow as a Player and more so than others.

For one Jin's enhancement path was that of a magic user and an offensive magic user at that. Magic skills were by far one of the most expensive enhancement paths and was up there with Psyche Force, so he needed a lot points and rewards, or just rewards in his case. For so and so reasons like Connor, Jin just needed the rank rewards to exchange for magic type mutations, whole enhancements, and skills. Lastly, Jin had just recently unlocked his Genetic Constraint, so not just combat ability, but his ability to bring out the potential of enhancements has increased a tier.

Shin: (Those advantage make him a powerful comrade to have...but if it just wasn't for his personality.)

Ignoring what I thought were reasonable doubts to have I listened on as Jin explained his new abilities. He first started off with going into the physical enhancements to his body. Meaning Whole Enhancement, Mutations, and skills rather than the obvious equipment on his person.

Intermediate Rank Magic Power -

Rating 51.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. The standard of magic power in the Mushoku Tensei universe. Capable of advanced Mana manipulation. Requires 1500 Points, C rank reward, and Elementary Rank Magic Power.

Jin first upgraded his Elementary Rank Magic Power Whole Enhancement to Intermediate Rank Magic Power. Jin who had the magic power ability from Mushoku Tensei and planned on obtaining new spells and magic weapons believed it was in his best interest to gain more mana. He also had the option up upgrading his Warlock Mutation that was at D tier which would increase his Mana as a well, yet currently he didn't have much use for the mutation and he gained more mana from the Whole Enhancement that was more energy than the physical genetic changes that the Warlock mutation brings to the table as well.

Quagmire Spell -

Rating 54.

An Earth Magic spell to create a pool of Mud at the targeted location. Width, length, and depth depending on the output of magic. Requires 4,500 Points and C rank reward.

Mana Shield -

Rating 81.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Raises a defensive barrier formed by Mana. The durability of shield depends on Mana output. Requires 4300 points and C rank reward.

Next were magic spells. Jin had already exchanged for two spells, an offensive ice magic spell and a concealment type magic spell. They were both good spells and he had already dived into Skill Mastery for ice spells, but Jin wanted to round out a little more. Jin exchanged the crowd control spell used numerous times by the main character of Mushoku Tensei which gave him the embarrassing nick name he had to carry even after entering into the Seven World Powers, Quagmire, and the standard skill for any magician to have due to their low physical strength and defense, Mana Shield. The first will help him restrain individual or groups of enemies on the ground and the second would save his life in an emergency. Both skills would even give Jin the chance to counter attack or attempt bigger spells that take time. Jin unlocked a few Skill Masteries for ice magic, but not having the D rank rewards at this time he chose to focus on acquiring new and complete spells.

The Arrogant Water Dragon King, Aqua Heartia -

Rating 72.

A magic staff used in the early years of Seven in World Power, Seventh Power 'Quagmire'. Significantly increases mana control and affinity for the elements of Water, Earth, and Ice. Power of all spells increases. Consumption cost of all spells decreases. Requires 5,500 points and C rank reward.

Mana Gun, Colt Custom Gold -

Rating 40.

A customized and engraved Magic Colt M1911A1 handgun with a barrel that has a dark-colored finned add-on on the bottom of the barrel. By channeling magic into the gun can fire invisible Mana Bullets. It can store explosive, piercing, and anesthetic bullets as well. Its efficiency depends on the magical abilities of its user. Has a firing distance of 492 feet and because of its mana bullets, the weapon doesn't need to reload. Therefore, the user can fire as long he/she has sufficient mana. Requires 3,000 Points, D rank reward, and any C tier of above magic power.

Lastly Jin went over the two pieces of equipment that he had exchanged for from God. Once more from the world of Mushoku Tensei The Arrogant Water Dragon King, Aqua Heartia and the upgraded standard magic gun used by the main character of Witch Hunter the Mana Gun, Colt Custom Gold. Jin wanted a magic staff which was standard for all real magicians (both of us agreed that it has to be a staff or wand that a magician uses, not a gun or armor like Rudeus) and with an abundance of points exchange for one of the most expensive in the C tier range that best suited his skill set. The Mana Gun, Colt Custom Gold was to become his regular weapon to replace normal guns. The gun itself wouldn't drain too much mana and even with a small amount of mana it should be comparable to low level sci-fi hand guns like the Gauss Pistol according to Jin. Also, the bullets are not just fast, but invisible as Mana Bullets, so they are harder to avoid than bullets from the Gauss Pistol.

Jin: "That's about it. Ah, I did use 2000 points to increase the Muscle Density stat by 200. I'm no close range fighter, but it couldn't hurt to be more physical fit. Also, who wouldn't desire a bit of extra strength when you're nearly squeezed to death like a stress ball. Hahaha! He was the hulk, so that actually made sense. Funny, right? I wasn't even trying, yet-"

Shin: "Jin."

Jin: "Hm, yes?"

Shin: "Shut up. I'm glad that you didn't die, but shut up all the same."

Jin: "..."

Jin did not say any other word, yet all the same he still hated the bright and disgusting smile that Shin loathed and seeing it he started to walk away. As Shin did Jin stopped smiling and gazed at him with calm and judging eyes with no feelings... and then a hint of madness. A few moments passed like this and Jin began to laugh to himself.

Jin: "Haha! Really... there's no beating him. Yep, he's still the ideal leader for trash like me... glad that even after unlocking my constraint I can't see myself surpassing him just yet. He's sorta a friend with similar interests after all. Hahaha!"

Jin - Team Japan.

Age: 17.

Mission's Survived: 2.

Exchange Points: 500.

Rank Rewards: S=0, A=0, B=0, C=0 and D=0.

Stats:

Intelligence - 435.

Mental capacity - 477.

Cell Vitality - 139.

Reaction Speed - 180.

Muscle Density - 386

Immunization Strength - 121

EXCHANGE CATEGORIES

1\. Sci-fi Weapons -

● Close Range: Eva Progressive Knife.

● Mid-Range: None.

● Long Range: None.

2\. Magical Items -

● Tools: None.

● Equipment: The Arrogant Water Dragon King -Aqua Heartia and Mana Gun Colt Custom Gold.

● Consumable: None.

3\. Support items -

● Genetic Mutation Enhancement: Warlock Genetic Mutation ( D ).

● Whole Body Enhancements: Intermediate Rank Magic Power.

● Skill/Techniques: Illusion Shroud, Frostbolt Spell, Mana Affinity, Mana Regeneration, Quagmire, and Mana Shied.

● General Goods: None.

● Other: None.

4\. Entertainment - None.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

Shuai will really, really get back at Shin during the next mission. Just wait and see. Jin... well, not like you never thought he was since he's Jin after all.


	158. Chapter 158

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 47, HxH G.I Intermission

My journey around the Terminal Lobby as I checked in on my comrades was coming to an end. I myself had yet to make any exchanges, so after checking up on the Newbie and surprising new third wife to be, Kisara, it would be my turn, but first Kisara. She had acquired the most points and rewards, 18,500 Points and 2 B, 1 C, and 1D rank reward after the Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island mission, and even after helping out a comrade with exchanges she still had a lot of left over. Kisara after exchanging for a C tier Genetic Mutation, a D tier Whole Enhancement, and increased stats for Hikari, she had 13,700 Points and 2B rank rewards which was still a lot for a Newbie.

Shin: "So are you excited Kisara? Even after selflessly helping out Hikari without complaint you still have far more than I had when I first arrived here. You can definitely get something amazing."

Kisara: "Yes, I'm happy... but is this okay? I'm still new around here. It's because of you all that I'm still alive. I have so much, so I can still get a few more Exchanges for the-"

Shin: "Kisara please don't talk like that. You may be a Newbie, but that doesn't mean you owe us anything. In fact you've done more than enough to be considered a vital part of the team. You've even saved my life back there. Also, it's because you're a Newbie that this is an important time for you to become stronger. If you didn't acquire so much in the mission I wouldn't have allow you to use your points and rewards for others. Don't say something like you owe us again. The next mission assigned to us will possibly be even more dangerous for Team Japan, so if you don't want to die or be a burden to us to use what you have left to power up. Don't you also have a reason to become stronger to avenge your father?"

Kisara: "..."

Shin: "...You're also my important sword right? Then become strong and protect my life. I also don't want to... you know... see you die so become strong!"

Kisara: "...Yes! I'll do my best!"

Kisara's once gloomy atmosphere due to not feeling worthy for her large amount of points and rank rewards brightened for the better. Kisara had developed a nasty case of uncertainty of her own ability due to being unable to help out as much as she would have liked to during the last mission, but now such thoughts were pushed aside. Her eyes glimmered and burned with determination to become stronger... and I could no longer look her in the eye. The radiance of her beauty and my own shame of saying "Please protect me" to the girl before me was too much for me to handle.

Shin: (I love one woman who is so superior to me it makes me lose confidence as a man. I love another woman who looks up to me, but insults me time to time and makes me lose confidence as a man. Now, there's a third woman who is honorable and too good for me that she makes me lose confidence as a man... I wonder if there's something about them all that I'm attracted to?)

Moving on I finally found the courage to look back at Kisara in the face so we could discuss her enhancement path and what to get from God and the Exchange System. It was much of a discussion, but we decided that Kisara would become a close range fighter. Not just because it was what she was most skilled at, but because it would fill up a missing gap in Team Japan. Shuai was hoping to fill the void left by Kampa's death by becoming a midrange fighter and Kisara would now try to replace Misaki as Team Japan's third close range fighter. It felt insensitive to say such things out loud, but we couldn't stop moving forward for the dead. In fact we had to keep moving forward for our lost comrades.

Anyways, Kisara would become a close range fighter of Team Japan and it was what best suited her. She was an amazing swordsman similar to famous fictional characters like Erza Scarlet, Shigure Kosaka, Saeko Busujima, Akame, Shana, Asuna of Sword Art Online, and Fate Stay's Saber. Kisara was a master swordsman and successor of the famous Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. Swords, high speed attacks, and a dexterity rather than strength related enhancements suited her best. Lastly, she acquired Nen during the course of the mission, so she already that extra enhancement path that can be explored.

Shin: "I think that I have a good grasp on your abilities Kisara. You're a master swordsman, a preference of absolute speed over pure physical power... and I get the feeling you don't like fictional swords and sword techniques and by that I mean pure magic base that have nothing to do with sword skill, right?"

Kisara: "I wouldn't call myself a true master, but yes. I like speed and the ability to see through my opponent than brute strength attacks. That's western swordsmanship and that doesn't suit me. As for swords and their corresponding skills... I want them, but nothing ridiculous. Super human attacks and those with mild power in the mix are fine, but something absurd and has nothing to do with skill just turn me off."

Shin: "I get what you mean. Well, for now go to God and look through some of the sword skills you might be interested in getting. You already have Nen as your energy, so I'm going to look through the Exchanges for mutations that I'll think will suit you. You've unlocked your constraint, so it's fine to get something at least up to C tier without worry and... ah, sorry, but do you mind me choosing things for you?"

Kisara: "I don't mind. You're more knowledgeable about these kinds of things, but I'd like to choose my own sword and reserve one of my B rank rewards for exchanging it. With a good sword I could have done so much more during those battles."

Shin: "That sounds good. In video games players would naturally acquire better weapons and armor during the course of the story, but it isn't that easy here in God's Dimension. I acquired the C tier Gravity Blade because it fit my desire for a good weapon that didn't drain any energy, had magic properties, and had end game value, but that's the exception. With the exception of maybe a low tier Sci-fi gun I personally won't exchange for any weapons or armors that are not B tier or higher. From my experience if it isn't at least B tier you're going to grow out of it sooner or later and it'll become nothing more than a burden and waste of points and rewards that'll you'll regret spending."

Kisara: "Okay! Please chose something nice for me."

Shin: "Hmm, leave it to me. They don't call me the Ace of Exchanges for nothing!"

Kisara: "Great, but who calls you that?"

Shin: "...Sorry. Don't look at me with such innocent and honest eyes."

Shin apologized for trying to act cool in front of his new girlfriend and after an awkward moment they at last connected to God. While Shin search for a compatible mutation for Kisara with dexterity in mind, Kisara first searched through the Support Category of the Exchange System for sword skills. Kisara wasn't that interested in acquiring a skill at this time, so she was more window shopping and so she even looked at A tier sword skills and from the fictional Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.

Fire Blade -

Rating 55.

A Sword or other bladed weapon that is blessed by the Spirit of Fire. Requires 1200 Points, C rank reward and Mana or other type of energy.

Inferno Blade -

Rating 66.

A Sword or other bladed weapon that is blessed by the Spirit of Fire. High chance of causing BURN. Requires 1800 Points, C rank reward, and Intermediate level or higher Mana or other type of energy.

Ice Blade -

Rating 55.

A Sword or other bladed weapon that is blessed by the Spirit of Ice. Requires 1200 Points, C rank reward and Mana or other type of energy.

Frozen Blade -

Rating 66.

A Sword or other bladed weapon that is blessed by the Spirit of Ice. High chance of causing SLOW. Requires 1800 Points, C rank reward, and Intermediate level or higher Mana or other type of energy.

Wind Blade -

Rating 55.

A Sword or other bladed weapon that is blessed by the Spirit of Wind. Requires 1200 Points, C rank reward and Mana or other type of energy.

Tempest Blade -

Rating 66.

A Sword or other bladed weapon that is blessed by the Spirit of Wind. High chance of causing AMPUTATION. Requires 1800 Points, C rank reward, and Intermediate level or higher Mana or other type of energy.

Lightning Blade -

Rating 55.

A Sword or other bladed weapon that is blessed by the Spirit of Lightning. Requires 1200 Points, C rank reward and Mana or other type of energy.

Hurricane Blade -

Rating 66.

A Sword or other bladed weapon that is blessed by the Spirit of Lightning. High chance of causing STATIC. Requires 1800 Points, C rank reward, and Intermediate level or higher Mana or other type of energy.

Riposte -

Rating 53.

A skillful sword skill to repel enemy attacks, including projectiles. Requires 1700 points and D rank reward.

Energy Sword-

Rating 50.

A blade of energy launched from the sword. Requires 1800 Points, C rank reward, and any source of energy.

Sword of Light -

Rating 76.

The signature sword technique of the Sword God Style form Mushouku Tensei. An extended sword high slash that resembles a flash of light. Requires 3000 Points and C rank reward.

Hatred Slash -

Rating 57.

A sword slash empowered and feeds on the users negative emotions. Excessive use of the skill in short periods of time will result in mental damage to the user. Requires 1550 points and C rank reward.

Kuzuryusen (Nine-Headed Dragon Flash) -

Rating 85.

A dashing attack that uses Shinsoku (Godspeed) to simultaneously strike all nine vital spots on the foe's body from a normal kendō stance. It's said to be undodgeable and nearly unblockable. It's power is determined from the speed, force, and weight of the user. Requires 5000 points, B rank rewards, and Muscle Density stat over 1000.

Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (Flash of the Heavenly Soaring Dragon) -

Rating 98.

The secret ultimate technique of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. A powerful Battōjutsu technique that goes beyond Godspeed, whose secret lies in discovering both the significance and insignificance of one's life, the penultimate requirement needed to master the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. Insufficient Muscle Density stat of less than 2500 will lead to a major backlash after each use. Requires 10,000 points, 1 A rank reward, and Nine-Headed Dragon Flash.

Kisara viewed all of these techniques outside of Sword of Light and the techniques from Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, she wasn't all that interested in them. Still, as a swordsman she was somewhat attracted to each skill, but decided against exchanging for any of them as she was committed fully to her families sword style. The advanced fictional skills of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu were more up her alley, yet she was not at the level to use them yet, at least stat wise.

Kisara looked over towards Shin and saw him still connected to God, so she went ahead to look through the Exchange System's section of swords. She planned to only use a B rank reward, but her curiosity got the better of her and she looked through the selection once more up to A tier. There Kisara saw many fine weapons, both Sci-fi and magical, but she dislikes the idea of a magic sword as she likes straight up sword that cut and felt similar to sci-fi swords that relied on technology rather than skill. Still, just like with all the amazing sword skills, all the amazing weapons before her drew her eye.

Excalibur Series (Highschool DXD)

Rating (90)

The swords forged from the broken fragments of the True Excalibur. Each blade may be bought for 1000 points and a B rank reward. At the cost of a C rank reward 2 or more pieces of the Excalibur Series can be fused together by God in the Terminal Lobby. If an Excalibur is broken as long as the broken pieces are returned to God in the Terminal Lobby they can be repaired for a C rank reward and 500.

Sapphire Dite -

Rating 50.

A portable and retractable weapon fueled by Ki and increases the efficiency of Ki. Has a preset sword mode and Ki thread mode. Requires 2000 Points and D rank reward.

Adamant Dite -

Rating 74.

A portable and retractable weapon fueled by Ki and increases the efficiency of Ki. A weapon with a variety of forms including swords, lances, bows and guns. Requires 2500 Points and C rank reward.

Shin Adamant Dite -

Rating 61.

A portable and retractable weapon fueled by Ki and increases the efficiency of Ki. A dite in the shape of a Katana. Requires 1700 Points and C rank reward.

Sword of Kusanagi (Naruto) -

Rating 70.

The legendary sword of Kusanagi. Has a very sharp edge, the blade can extend and can be controlled with telekinesis. Requires 1700 Points and two D rank rewards.

Black Demon Series Weapon -

Rating 80.

The strongest cursed gear containing rank 1 demons sealed within. Highly lethal to vampires. Requires 2000 Points and two C rank rewards.

Key Blade -

Rating 75.

A mysterious weapon used to seal and unlock barriers. Especially effective against creatures born from the darkness of human hearts. Requires 1500 Points and C rank reward.

Broad Legged -

Rating 66.

A great sword once held by the Terror of Death. Requires 1100 Points and D rank reward.

Dark Repulser -

Rating 69.

A one-handed sword, created by Lisbeth for Kirito out of a Crystallite Ingot, which was obtained from a special quest and the second weapon for the hero of SAO. Requires 1600 Points and D rank reward.

Night Sky Sword -

Rating 77.

A Priority 46 Divine Instrument-class long sword of the hero of SAO and Personal one-handed sword in

Underworld. Requires 2100 Points and C rank reward.

Kanshou and Bakuya -

Rating 69.

A 'married' twin sword set representing yin and yang. Requires 1800 Points and two D rank reward.

Emperor Qin's Sword -

Rating 90.

In the ancient times there lived an emperor that was both kind and known to all under the heavens. His saber was named Long Quan but in the midst of a fierce battle, it snapped in half. The broken pieces were then buried into the ground, staying there for countless generations. At last the broken sword has been unearthed and still contains the vast powers of the emperor. This sword would be known to the future generations as the king of swords and after the previous owner of the sword as Emperor Qin's Sword. This sword can not be broken and is bound to its user. Special Skill, Kill For Blood: For ever life that this sword takes a random state of the holder will increase by 1%, Cap 50% for any one stat and resets every twenty-four hours. Sword can evolve to a higher rank by offering an A rank reward and 8000 Points. Requires 5000 Points and B rank reward

Dragon Reservoir Sword -

Raring 95.

In the pre-ancient times, there was a Dragon Reservoir in the South Sea. Legend has it that every hundred years, a godly dragon will appear and swim in this reservoir. The Dragon Reservoir's water is limbid and sweet, and once consumed, will strengthen the body. One godly craftsman, known as "Qin Fang" built a small grass hut next to Dragon Reservoir and used a meteor and a godly jade from Qin Yun Mountain as materials for his next creation. After seven whole years, he finally created a godly equipment, named Dragon Reservoir Sword. It has been said that using this Dragon Reservoir Sword will summon the dragon energy, causing the opponent to go crazy. Special Skill, Dragon's Assult: Has a 5% chance of using a dragon's power infused attack which deals 3 times more damage. Special Skill, Kill for Blood 2: For every life that this sword takes a random state of the holder will increase by 1%, Cap 100% for any one stat and resets every twenty-four hours. Sword can evolve to a higher rank by offering an AA rank reward and 10,000 Points. Can only be upgrade from Emperor Qin's Sword.

Shining Darkness -

Rating 90.

A two-handed sword used by a hero who fought under Hero Maban. Shining Darkness has special abilities that can be used when fighting the forces of darkness. Increases the holder's stats and damage dealt when dealing with enemies with the Demonic Attribute. Special Skill, Shining Darkness: A knockdown technique used against the demonic forces. In order to use this skill, the sword needs to be charged with the demonic energy, either from the user or stolen from enemies, and the subsequent explosion will overpower the darkness. The damage depends on the amount of demonic energy charged. Once used collected demonic energy is reset and one hour cool down time. Requires 7500 Points and B rank reward.

Kubikirbocho (Decapitating Carving Knife) -

Rating 60.

A giant sword with a butcher-knife-like appearance, the wielder can use the semi-circle on the blade to decapitate an opponent's head, hence the name. The sword has an ability to regenerate using the iron absorbed from the blood of those it cuts down. It is also called a "Seversword". Requires 3000 Points and C rank reward.

Samehada (Shark Skin) -

Rating 96.

The most terrifying of the seven blades, it has the appearance of a giant knife covered in shark scales. It is a sentient, living weapon and has the ability to eat chakra and other energies. It is also called a "Greatsword". Requires 6000 Points and BB rank rewards.

Nuibari (Sewing Needle) -

Rating 50.

A sword in the shape of a needle with a long thin wire that resembles thread attached to it, which can be used to pierce enemies and "sew" them together in human bundles. It is also called a "Longsword". Requires 4000 Points and DD rank rewards.

Kabutowari (Helmet Splitter) -

Rating 53.

A sword consisting of a single sided axe and a hammer joined by a length of chain. Said to be capable of crushing any and all defenses. It is also called a "Bluntsword". Requires 2000 Points and DD rank rewards.

Shibuki (Splash) -

Rating 63.

A sword that has a scroll full of explosive tags incorporated into it, lined up behind the blade, combining swordsmanship and explosions. It is also called a "Blastsword". Requires 2000 Points and C rank reward.

Kiba (Fangs) -

Rating 87.

Twin swords that are imbued with lightning which increases their cutting power. They are said to be the sharpest swords ever forged. They are also called "Thunderswords". Requires 4000 Points and B rank rewards.

Hiramekarei (Twinsword) -

Rating 88.

A bandaged double-handled sword that is capable of storing and emitting the user's energy which can then take on various forms. It is also called a "Twinsword". Requires 4000 Points and B rank reward.

The Excellion Blade -

Rating 75.

The Saiga of Beet the Vandal Buster and originally owned by Zenon. The Excellion Blade has the ability to control gravity which allows the user to move faster and jump higher. Requires 5000 Points and B rank reward.

One-Cut Killer: Murasame -

Rating 94.

A Teigu in the form of a long katana that is used by Night Raid member Akame. Murasame is a poisonous blade that can kill a organic life form with only one cut. Once the sword pierces skin, it injects a lethal poison into the victim, killing them within seconds. Can't kill those with Immunization Strength over 5,000 in one slash. Trump Card, Accept Sin: A trump card to increase speed and strength significantly; by cutting oneself with the sword and resisting the poison, therefore accepting responsibility for all the lives taken with the weapon. Requires 10,000 Points and AA rank rewards.

March of the Dead: Yatsufusa -

Rating 92.

A Teigu in the form of a long katana with the power to reanimate and control corpses. It is owned by Kurome of Jaggers. Yatsufusa is a blade-type Teigu that is able to control a maximum of eight corpses of those whom it has killed. The user can also manipulate the skills and abilities the reanimated corpses had in life. Puppets cannot be improved with Exchange System. For each puppet the user actively controls, they become weaker. If a puppet is destroyed, it causes the user to release control and the user regains some power. Requires 10,000 Points and AA rank rewards.

The Ten Commandments -

Rating 92.

The sword that draws the inherent powers of the Rave stone. It has ten forms corresponding to the nature of the stone's ability being summoned. Default form Eisenmetor. Only the Rave Master has the ability to wield the weapon, and only when the Rave stone is incorporated onto the sword will it work, but God has allowed an exception for its wielder. Releasing a new from cost 2000 points and C rank reward and can only be done in order. Requires 10,000 points and BB rank rewards.

Derflinger -

Rating 80.

The sword of the Familiar of Zero. Has the ability to absorb spells, but more powerful spells takes longer to absorb. He can also take control of his wielder and move them to safety if the wielder faints, but this uses up his own store of magic (Willpower). If physical form is destroyed he can move onto another blade in the vicinity to survive with all his abilities, though this takes a while, or be resurrected with D rank reward in God's Dimension. Requires 4,000 Points and CC rank reward.

High Frequency Blade -

Rating 60.

Raiden's primary weapon and consumes internal energy to use. Its metallic structure strengthened by an alternating current, this blade resonates such that it weakens the particle bonds of whatever it cuts. Absorb electrical energy from cuts. Special Skill, Blade Mode: Consume additional energy for high speed attacks. One upgrade can increased Cutting Power, increase Energy Absorption, and decrease Energy Consumption. D rank reward is needed upgrade (5 Max). Requires 2000 points and C rank reward.

Stun Blade -

Rating 60.

One of the weapon Raiden wields and consumes internal energy to use. Infused with a two-million-volt current, this unique sword is cable of temporarily shutting off electrical devices. Absorb electrical energy from cuts. Special Skill, Blade Mode: Consume additional energy for high speed attacks. One upgrade can increased Cutting Power, increase Energy Absorption, decrease Energy Consumption, and stun effect. D rank reward is needed upgrade (5 Max). Requires 2500 points and C rank reward.

Armor Breaker -

Rating 63.

One of the weapon Raiden wields and consumes internal energy to use. Modeled after the 'Kabutowari' swords of feudal Japan, this blade offers both lethal cutting power and the chance to destroy armor with every hit, making it a great choice against heavier targets, including large UGs. Absorb electrical energy from cuts. Special Skill, Blade Mode: Consume additional energy for high speed attacks. One upgrade can increased Cutting Power, increase Energy Absorption, decrease Energy Consumption, and Armor Piercing. D rank reward is needed upgrade (5 Max). Requires 2700 points and C rank reward.

High Frequency Long Sword -

Rating 61.

Raiden's primary weapon after HF Blade was destroyed and consumes internal energy to use. A high-frequency blade modeled after the "Nodachi", a style of long curved sword by the samurai warrior of feudal Japan. Absorb electrical energy from cuts. Special Skill, Blade Mode: Consume additional energy for high speed attacks. One upgrade can increased Cutting Power, increase Energy Absorption, and decrease Energy Consumption. D rank reward is needed upgrade (5 Max). Requires 2100 points and C rank reward.

High Frequency Murasama Blade -

Rating 77.

A notorious blade passed down through generations of the Rodigues family. Been modified into a high frequency blade, enhancing the already astonishing properties of the original metal and giving it an ominous crimson glow. An explosive charge housed in the scabbard enables a lightning fast quick draw. Absorb electrical energy from cuts. Special Skill, Blade Mode: Consume additional energy for high speed attacks. One upgrade can increased Cutting Power, increase Energy Absorption, and decrease Energy Consumption. D rank reward is needed upgrade (5 Max). Requires 4000 points and CC rank rewards.

Fox Blade -

Rating 86.

The high-frequency Blade used by ex-FOXHOUND field agent Frank Jaeger, a.k.a. Gray Fox, after he was outfitted in a cyborg ninja chassis by Dr. Clark. Gray Fox's soul still echoes though the blade, sometimes enabling it to cut clean through enemies, armour and all. Absorb electrical energy from cuts. Special Skill, Blade Mode: Consume additional energy for high speed attacks. Special Skill, Fox Blade Effect: A 1% chance that every sword slash can penetrate any armor, magic or otherwise. One upgrade can increased Cutting Power, increase Energy Absorption, and decrease Energy Consumption. D rank reward is needed upgrade (5 Max). Requires 5000 points and CC rank reward.

For Kisara gazing through the large section of swords it was too much. Whether or not they fit her personal taste they were all too amazing and had a desire to own them all. Kisara wanted to cry from the difficulty of selecting just one sword from those of amazing swords. Five minutes later Kisara finally decided on a sword after much anguish, yet before she could finalize her section Shin called out to her.

Shin: "Have you've decided on a weapon yet?"

Kisara: "Yes! It the best sword I could hope for from the B tier weapons."

Shin: "Great. Do you want to exchange for it first or hear out my recommendation?"

Kisara: "...I'll hear what you have to say. It might end up changing what weapon I have in mind."

Shin: "Then hear me out. Among the dexterity focused mutations there are quite a few good ones like Shining Genetics or Magic Knight, but I would suggest becoming a Pandora by acquiring a Stigmata Implant!"

Kisara: "Pandora?"

Shin: "Glad that you've asked!"

I used this chance to enlightenment Kisara on the wonders of becoming a Pandora. Pandora's originate from the Manga called Freezing. A manga dominated by female main characters with a male support staff with the exception of the male lead whose recently began to take the center stage of the series. Pandora's were a type of superhumans possessing inhuman strength and power weapons, but what most stood out were their techniques call High End Skills that allowed a Pandora to move faster than sound and create after images.

Shin: "So what do you think? Amazing right? There are also a lot of speed and movement related skills to go along with this mutation. Combine Pandora with Nen and you'll become an unstoppable superwoman at close range!"

Kisara: "Amazing. If you're so enthusiastic about Pandoras then I'm all for it (if Hikari said that sentence it would have sounded sarcastic, but why does it still feel bad?)."

Shin: "Alright then (hiding my embarrassment). Let exchange for it. A Pandora with Nen!"

Kisara: "Ah, about Nen I received a notification from God when I connected with it earlier. Sit said that I gained a discount."

Shin: "Really!? Like you don't have to pay the Point or Rank Reward requirements for Nen?"

Kisara: "Yes, but it isn't that amazing. I just don't have to pay for the points for the D tier Nen. That's all."

Shin: "Tch, what the hell is that? How is that a discount? D tier Nen is only 700 points and you always get 1000 points for completing a mission. It's hardly helpful. Well, better than nothing and if one day we can give Nen to Newbies it'll be great help when they first start out."

Then moving on Shin had Kisara open up the Support Category for the Nen Whole Enhancements and Pandora Genetic Mutations. Kisara already having high combat ability didn't require at this time high level enhancements so she stuck with D tier and that way she'll have the funds to later buy skills.

Lower Class Hunter Nen -

Rating 61.

Applicable to missions that require close combat. Potentially has very high growth, but because of the specialist nature of Nen is very limited ability wise. Requires D rank reward and 700 points. POINT REQUIREMENTS HAVE BEEN VOIDED DUE TO LEARNING NEN TO A SATISFACTORY LEVEL BEFOREHAND.

Middle Class Hunter Nen -

Rating 81.

Applicable to missions that require close combat. Potentially has very high growth, but because of the specialist nature of Nen is very limited ability wise. Requires C rank reward and 1600 points.

Upper Class Hunter Nen -

Rating 91.

Applicable to missions that require close combat. Potentially has very high growth, but because of the specialist nature of Nen is very limited ability wise. Requires B rank reward and 2700 points.

Stigmata Implant -

Rating 59.

Applicable to missions that require high combat power. Special tissues created by reverse-engineering Nova cell cultures, which gives superhuman abilities and prowess to Pandora and Limiters. Females will develop into Pandora who can use HIGH END SKILL and Males will develop into Limiters who can use FREEZING. Requires 800 Points and D rank reward.

Heroic Stigmata Implant -

Rating 69.

Applicable to missions that require high combat power. Special tissues created by reverse-engineering Nova cell cultures, which gives superhuman abilities and prowess to Pandora and Limiters. Females will develop into Pandora who can use HIGH END SKILL and Males will develop into Limiters who can use FREEZING. Requires 1600 Points, C rank reward and Stigmata Implant.

Plasma Stigmata Implant -

Rating 79.

Applicable to missions that require high combat power. Special tissues created by reverse-engineering Nova cell cultures, which gives superhuman abilities and prowess to Pandora and Limiters. Females will develop into Pandora who can use HIGH END SKILL and Males will develop into Limiters who can use FREEZING. Volt Texture has evolved to the higher grade Plasma Texture allowing for far greater output, but has a high maintenance cost that deteriorates the body with extended use. Requires B rank reward, 3400 Points and Heroic Stigmata Implant.

Legendary Stigmata Implant -

Rating 89.

Applicable to missions that require high combat power. Special tissues created by reverse-engineering Nova cell cultures, which gives superhuman abilities and prowess to Pandora and Limiters. Females will develop into Pandora who can use HIGH END SKILL and Males will develop into Limiters who can use FREEZING. Volt Texture has evolved to the higher grade Plasma Texture allowing for far greater output, but has a high maintenance cost that deteriorates the body with extended use. Legendary Pandora are equipped with holographic constructs bearing numbers that hover over their shoulders, known as Vital Frames. These constructs appear when the Legendary Pandora fight seriously, and their function is to store large amounts of soul energy for the Legendary Pandora to use in combat. Requires 5500 Points, A rank reward and Plasma Stigmata Implant.

Legendary Stigmata System -

Rating 89.

Applicable to missions that require high combat power. This system is a near perfect replica of Maria Lancelot's Stigmata, and is composed of at least 50% of the purity of one of her's, and is the purest Stigmata currently in existence. Females will develop into Pandora who can use HIGH END SKILL and Males will develop into Limiters who can use FREEZING. Powerful light weight armor that vastly increases strength, speed, regeneration and all previous Stigmata abilities. Requires 10,000 Points, AA rank reward and Legendary Stigmata Implant.

Kisara split a B rank reward into 3 C's, and going further 1 C into 3 D's. Kisara selected the Lower Class Nen and Stigmata Implant for a total of 800 Points and 2 D rank rewards. From there she spent the remaining C rank rewards and 4200 points for two skills. Accel Turn and Tempest Turn. Shin advised Kisara is she wasn't going to increase her enhancements pass D tier than using two C rank rewards for skills would be for the best to give her that extra boost she would need to overwhelm her enemies.

Accel Turn -

Rating 50.

Accel Turn, or Accelerating Turn, is a battle technique employed by Pandoras. It is a High End Skill created to gives a Pandora a temporary boost of speed that makes them hard to track by Nova, normal people, or Limiters. Accel Turn works by storing kinetic energy in one's body, reinforced by a Volt Texture, and then releasing that energy to achieve an explosive boost in speed. Requires 2000 points, C rank reward, and Stigmata Implant or higher.

Double Accel -

Rating 60.

Double Accel is a variant of the Accel Turn that allows a Pandora to go twice as fast than with a regular Accel. It is usually performed by doing one Accel followed by another. Requires 3000 points, C rank reward, Accel Turn, and Stigmata Implant or higher.

No-Interval Double Accel -

Rating 68.

The No-Interval Double Accel is a special variant of the Double Accel without the brief lag in between jumps for continuous motion. Requires 4000 points, CC rank reward, Double Accel Turn, and Stigmata Implant or higher.

Triple Accel -

Rating 76.

Triple Accel is a variant of the Accel Turn that is three times faster than a regular Accel. It is usually performed by doing one Accel followed by another, much like Double Accel. Requires 3000 points, B rank reward, Double Accel Turn, and Stigmata Implant or higher.

No-Interval Triple -

Rating 81.

No-Interval Triple Accel is a variant of the Accel Turn that is three times the speed of a normal Accel, without the lag in-between jumps. Requires 5000 points, B rank reward, Triple Accel Turn, and Stigmata Implant or higher.

Quadruple Accel -

Rating 88.

Quadruple Accel is a variant of the Accel Turn that is four times faster than a regular Accel. Requires 7000 points, BB rank reward, Triple Accel Turn, and Heroic Stigmata Implant or higher.

Quintuple Accel -

Quintuple Accel is a variant of Accel Turn that is five times faster than a regular Accel Requires 8000 points, BB rank rewards, Quadruple Accel Turn, and Heroic Stigmata Implant or higher.

Transcendent Accel Turn -

Rating 97.

This is is the fastest known Accel to date, being at least six times faster than a regular Accel. The body glows witht he light of transcendence and charges forward and immediately afterwards feels a strong recoil. Requires 9000 points, A rank reward, Quintuple Accel Turn, Heroic Stigmata Implant or higher, and Fourth Stage of the Genetic Constraint.

Tempest Turn -

Rating 54.

A battle technique used by Pandoras to fight Novas. It is a High End Skill that allow Pandoras to create multiple after-images of themselves, confusing the enemy and allowing them to deal striking blows from multiple directions. Tempest Turn works by storing kinetic energy in one's own body, reinforced by a Volt Texture, and then giving form to that energy using the texture and shooting it out of the user. Requires 2200 points, C rank reward, and Stigmata Implant or higher.

Accel-Tempest -

Rating 65.

A combination of Accel Turn and Tempest Turn, comprised into a single technique. The Accel-Tempest combination is shown to include any variant of Accel Turn that the user knows while using the Tempest Turn to make two after-images. Requires 4000 points, C rank reward, Accel Turn, Tempest Turn, and Stigmata Implant or higher.

Illusion Turn -

Rating 100.

Illusion Turn, also called "Omi-directional Existance", is a unique movement technique and the precursor to the modern day High End Skill. Illusion Turn is not a simple increase in speed, but in reality allows the user to hop across dimensions. This is achieved by a user sending their consciousness across a multi-direcional plane, enabling it to interact with the alternate versions of the user in other dimensions, then assuming that existence in the current dimension. In practical use, this allows a user to effectively teleport in battle, granting an incredible advantage over enemies using conventional movement methods. However, the true strength of the technique lies in its potential to attack. Being able to move across dimensions at will grants the user the ability to attack from any direction and at any time, leaving an opponent with no time to defend themselves. Requires 15,000 points, A rank reward, Quintuple Accel Turn, Legendary Stigmata Implant or higher, and Fifth Stage of the Genetic Constraint.

With her choices made God shot down a beam of light to lift Kisara into the air to begin the enhancements. The whole process for Kisara lasted for about fifteen to twenty minutes as particles of light continued seeping into her body. It was normally hard for those like Shin watching from the side all of this to see any great changes taking place, but he could notice by channeling Ki around the eyes to increase perception. The normally invisible Aura Nodes of a Nen User were visible and a increase in Aura could be notice before his eyes. Simultaneously a change occurred around Kisara's back side. In the center of her back a silver and bright star of energy was formed, but then began to crystalize and become a part of her flesh. This was the source of a Pandora's power, the Stigmata Implant.

Once all of these changes were complete the beam of light lifted Kisara back down to the floor of the Terminal Lobby. The series of events left Kisara speechless and she just kept opening and closing her hands. Shin understood from these actions that Kisara was gauging her new found strength. Physically she looked the same as there was no great in her appearance (Kisara already had peerless good looks, so there was no room for improvement... with the exception of her bust size increasing by one grade), but within many changes had occurred. Unlike Shin who couldn't even be called amateur fighter after he made his first round of exchanges and didn't comprehend his newfound strength, Kisara as a martial arts could tell what changes had occurred and what she could now do her new power.

Kisara: "This is... how could I have become so much more powerful? I'm still young, but I thought that I was reaching the ends of my physical growth. Also, I know how to use Accel Turn and Tempest Turn without anyone having ever explained it to me. It just appeared in my head all of a sudden."

Shin: "That's just how enhancements work, Kisara. It's closer to a modification of who you are rather than simple growth."

Kisara: "It's such a wonderful improvement. I feel strength throughout my being and my body is as light as a feather. Like this I'm certain I could have fought Team Germany's leader head on without even going into Unlocked Mode! Shin, with this power I can definitely protect you!"

Shin: "...Yeah... you know, hearing a girl say that she'll protect me when that's supposed to be the guy's line is just-"

Kisara: "Hm, what was that?"

Shin: "...Its nothing. Don't worry about it. Yeah, do your best"

Kisara: "Yes!"

Kisara too occupied in her newfound abilities didn't hear what I was going to say. I was about to say that it feels wrong to hear her say that she'll be the one to protect me... but I couldn't. Her eyes that radiated determine and other such warm feeling was too much for me to bear and couldn't say otherwise. I had committed many sins since arriving in God's Dimension, but ruining Kisara's smile was an unforgivable act.

Shin: "Now all that's left is for you to exchange for a sword. You've only spent 5700 Points of your original 13,700 and you still hav and 1 D rank reward left. You can definitely get something good. You said that you have a sword in mind?"

Kisara: "Yes. It's a B tier sword that cost 4000 points. I could have acquired something more expensive, but I wasn't interested in obtaining a magic or sci-fi weapon. The sword that I've chosen, Shusui, is a masterpiece among swords and increased its natural strength with energy, so it's my ideal sword for a pure swordsman like myself. Also, I'm curious as to why a slightly plain sword is among the amazing B tier magic and sci-fi weapons I've seen in the exchanges."

Then as Kisara began exchange for the sword I connected to God to check out the description of the sword myself. I was curious about this plain sword that required a B rank reward to exchange for. I also recognized the name of the sword. It was Japanese in appearance from the fictional world of One Piece and used by Pirate Hunter Zoro of the Straw Hat Pirates. It was one of the three current swords currently used by Zoro in his three swords style, acquired from a zombie samurai on Thriller Bark, and originally stolen from the grave of the hero of the Wano Country Ryuma. When I looked up the sword from the exchanges I discovered that the sword Shusui matched what I remembered from the Manga and Anime with all but the exception on one new characteristic never heard of before.

Shusui (One Piece) -

Rating 90.

One of the 21 O-Wazamono Grade Swords and was once wielded by the legendary samurai Ryuma and is considered the national treasure of the Wano Country. Shusui is designed to tremendously increase the damage potential and destructive power of the user with its greatest attribute is its durability, so great that even if a dinosaur were to step on it, the blade would not bend a millimeter. While capable of dealing heavy blows and is extremely hard, Shusui has a few major problems of its own due to its weight making it hard to wield. Channeling energy into Shuzui simply increases its natural properties and allows it to cut the intangible. Requires 4000 Points and B rank reward.

A beam of light shot down from God towards Kisara's hand and materializing into existence was a katana in a black sheath. Kisara drew the blade from the sheath and discovered the blade to be the most beautiful sword that she has ever seen in her lifetime. Shusui's blade was black with a distinct red hamon and its tsuba hand-guard has flower-like edges, hence it is a "Black Sword". Its red hamon (hardening line) is Kanemoto style, having the appearance of a saw or sharp teeth. It has no accessories on the hilt, being wrapped with black silk. Kashira, tsuba and kojiri end cap are golden, and the sheath is black, decorated with dark red circles split in even thirds. Kisara kept admiring the sword in her hands, yet I didn't know what to think of it.

Shin: "I can't tell if it's a good sword or now having spent a B tank reward and I've watch it in action in the Anime. So how is it Kisara? No regrets?"

Kisara: "...None. This sword strength, beauty, and true worth are beyond words. It's a sword any swordsman would spend their entire life time to own, no, to be worthy of wielding."

Shin: "You're exaggerating, right?"

Kisara: "No! If not for the pressing need for me to use this sword I would seal it away and train for the next ten years before holding it again."

Kisara said this, but she was also playing with Shusui and swinging it gently as if she's obtained a new toy. It was kind of cute watching her but then Kisara's expression changed. Now becoming serious Kisara reinserted the katana back into it sheath and executed a sword draw at top speed. The blade was swung so fast that even Shin could see the blade in motion, though he did see an abnormality. Once the sword draw was complete Kisara lost her balance and was pulled along by the sword for over three meters and showed difficulty stopping.

Kisara: "Hahaha! Amazing! I thought the blade was a bit heavy, but you don't feel it till the blade is seriously swung."

Shin: "Hey, are you going be okay with that?"

Kisara: "It's okay! This is simply a sword testing its new master to see if he or she is worthy. Hmm, I'll master this sword in the next nine days. Don't worry."

Shin: "If you say so, but to be on the safe side let's increase your stats with your leftover 4000 points and D rank reward. Increase the Muscle Density or Reaction Speed stats by 300 for 3000 points, and then spend 1000 points and a D rank reward to increase the other stat with a stat package. This should help you out."

Kisara: "I'll do just that. The Reaction Speed will especially be of great use since that's the stat Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu relies on the most, but I'll only increase one other stat by 200. We still need to return to the real world after all."

Shin: "Good idea. I've already unlocked the Real World, so I don't need a D rank reward like you do. I'll pay the reward for you and you cover the points."

Kisara: "Fine by me."

And like so the MVP of Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island, Kisara, finished her rounds of exchanges that increased her combat ability by leaps and bounds.

Lower Class Hunter Nen -

Rating 61.

Applicable to missions that require close combat. Potentially has very high growth, but because of the specialist nature of Nen is very limited ability wise. Requires D rank reward and 700 points. POINTS HAVE BEEN VOIDED DUE TO LEARNING NEN TO A SATISFACTORY LEVEL BEFOREHAND.

Stigmata Implant -

Rating 59.

Applicable to missions that require high combat power. Special tissues created by reverse-engineering Nova cell cultures, which gives superhuman abilities and prowess to Pandora and Limiters. Females will develop into Pandora who can use HIGH END SKILL and Males will develop into Limiters who can use FREEZING. Requires 800 Points and D rank reward.

Accel Turn -

Rating 50.

Accel Turn, or Accelerating Turn, is a battle technique employed by Pandoras. It is a High End Skill created to gives a Pandora a temporary boost of speed that makes them hard to track by Nova, normal people, or Limiters. Accel Turn works by storing kinetic energy in one's body, reinforced by a Volt Texture, and then releasing that energy to achieve an explosive boost in speed. Requires 2000 points, C rank reward, and Stigmata Implant or higher.

Tempest Turn -

Rating 54.

A battle technique used by Pandoras to fight Novas. It is a High End Skill that allow Pandoras to create multiple after-images of themselves, confusing the enemy and allowing them to deal striking blows from multiple directions. Tempest Turn works by storing kinetic energy in one's own body, reinforced by a Volt Texture, and then giving form to that energy using the texture and shooting it out of the user. Requires 2200 points, C rank reward, and Stigmata Implant or higher.

Shusui (One Piece) -

Rating 90.

One of the 21 O-Wazamono Grade Swords and was once wielded by the legendary samurai Ryuma and is considered the national treasure of the Wano Country. Shusui is designed to tremendously increase the damage potential and destructive power of the user with its greatest attribute is its durability, so great that even if a dinosaur were to step on it, the blade would not bend a millimeter. While capable of dealing heavy blows and is extremely hard, Shusui has a few major problems of its own due to its weight making it hard to wield. Channeling energy into Shuzui simply increases its natural properties and allows it to cut the intangible. Requires 4000 Points and B rank reward.

Reaction Speed Package D -

Rating 65.

A 300 stat point increase in Reaction Speed. One Time purchase. 1000 Points and D rank reward.

Kisara -

Age: 17.

Mission's Survived: 1.

Exchange Points: 1000.

Rank Rewards: S=0, A=0, B=0, C=0, and D=0.

Stats:

Intelligence - 152.

Mental capacity - 161.

Cell Vitality - 191.

Reaction Speed - 630.

Muscle Density - 438.

Immunization Strength - 163.

EXCHANGE CATEGORIES

1\. Sci-fi Weapons -

● Close Range: None.

● Mid-Range: None.

● Long Range: None.

2\. Magical Items -

● Tools: None.

● Equipment: Shusui (One Piece).

● Consumable: None.

3\. Support items -

● Genetic Mutation Enhancement: Stigmata Implant (Pandora).

● Whole Body Enhancements: Lower Class Hunter Nen.

● Skill/Techniques: Accel Turn and Tempest Turn.

● General Goods: None.

● Other: None.

4\. Entertainment - None

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger


	159. Chapter 159

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 48, HxH G.I Intermission

After watching over and helping Kisara make her exchanges it was finally time. I saw Kisara off as she left to go practice with her new abilities, skills, and sword in her room's basement and then I turned and walked back over to the glowing ball in the sky that we all called God. I connected to God with my mind and finally it was time to at last to begin my exchanges and power up.

Shin: "After helping Hikari acquire a few things I still have a good amount of points and rank rewards left over. 10,420 points, 1 B, 2 C, and 2 D rank rewards to be exact. Hahaha! This will be epic!"

Shin thought so, but there was no one around to agree, disagree, or tell him off for getting overly excited (Hikari or Aqua. Kisara would honestly be happy for me, but it still hurts for some reason) and he sighed. Shin looked left and right and didn't see anyone around. Everyone must have gone back into their rooms to either rest or train. It was only natural after all. Shin usually makes the most during the missions and exchanges for things first before anyone else, so it was natural that he was normally the center of attention. This time around Kisara surpassed him in the rewards and Shin had waited till everyone had finished their exchanges.

Shin: "And so they couldn't be bothered to wait around for me, their great leader, to make his exchanges. Really, these people are so... no, never mind. I'll make them all jealous with what I get this time around. Now first let's get this out of the way!"

I currently had three exchange paths. Ki Energy, One-eye Ghoul Mutation, and martial arts.

Ki Energy related to an increase of Ki, a change in Ki, or emission techniques at the moment. Later on this would include more magic abilities from Wuxia Novels, but for the moment it just included emission attacks to replicate gunfire.

One-eye Ghoul Mutation turned out to be a surprising mutation after my initial doubts, but after getting used to it and recently unlocking the Kakuja Kagune my abilities spiked... but it spiked in only one direction. The One-eyed Ghoul Mutation was a proper enhancement that began at D tier and ends at S tier and so there was much potential within this exchange path, yet there weren't any skill to go along with it, but instead came with the ready made and powerful yet difficult to master Kagune. I knew so from the start and as it turned out it was like Aqua's Nen in that respect, but it felt limiting and possibly a burden if not for the fact I already had the versatile Ki Whole Enhancements.

At this time my martial arts path related to only Ki related skills that combined my three primary physical means of fighting others: Fist, Sword, and Foot Techniques. Technically, I only possessed two such techniques at the moment. The Fist technique Soul Crushing Strike to attack internally and externally, and the Foot technique that allowed me to jump great distances in an instant was Instant Movement. Now, as for Sword techniques...

Shin: "To get it out of the way I'll make the exchange for "One Sword Style, 36 Pound Cannon"! I have plenty of rewards and I reached Skill Mastery for it after all. It'll be a shame to not get it."

One Sword Style, 36 Pound Cannon -

Rating 66.

Also known as "Phoenix of the 36 Earthy Desires", or "Thirty-six Caliber Phoenix". This attack uses the air itself to slash the target from a distance. To initiate it, the user first holds one of his swords horizontally above the shoulder of his sword arm, and then performs a circular swing that launches the air compressed projectile spiraling towards the target. Requires 3000 Points and C rank reward. SKILL MASTERY CONFIRMED! NEW COST 300 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

I confirmed this purchase and shot down by God in a beam of light was a new skill book with a deep green cover with the illustration depicting the shadow of a swordsman that looked like Zoro with just one sword in hand materialized into existence. I touched the book and it burst in a blaze of light that entered into my body and straight towards my mind. The gaps in my knowledge about this particular sword technique were filled and I now had the confidence to use "One Sword Style, 36 Pound Cannon" without going into the Second Stage or relying on Gravity Blade. Of course, if I did do those thing the skill itself would become stronger.

According to my new knowledge about skills after absorbing this skill book was that stats and basic abilities effected the power of skills. Instant Movement and Soul Crushing Strike were powerful, but simple to execute so I didn't know this all till now, even if it should have been obvious that there would be a great difference in power, speed, and technique in executing a skill like "One Sword Style, 36 Pound Cannon" between someone with 1000 stats in Muscle Density, 10,000 stats in Muscle Density, and 5000 stats in Muscle Density while also unlocking up to the Second or higher stage of the Genetic Constraint. Also, if I didn't meet the minimal requirement in Muscle Density of 300 I wouldn't be able to use/exchange for this particular sword skill. I then wondered why things like this and the requirements of Psyche Force weren't stated in the skill's description, but I didn't have the answers at this time. It could just be as simple as God didn't want us to see this world as a game where everything is decided by stats.

Shin: "This is good to know. Now for the next skill. Void Instant Movement!"

Void Instant Movement -

Rating 84.

A movement technique and the advanced form of Instant Movement. Instead of using a fixed surface, the practitioner simply uses 'air' (space) as a foothold. As this can be performed in mid-air, movement in any direction is possible by kicking empty air, eliminating the base weaknesses of Shundou (Instant Movement). Requires 2,500 Points, C rank reward, Advance Level Ki, and the Instant Movement technique.

A new, but light green book with a golden trim and letters appeared within my hands. It was a technique to use Instant Movement, but instead of using a surface like the floor or a wall, it was basically pseudo flying by using Ki to kick the air. My purpose for Void Instant Movement... was to rectify a regret that I had. If I could have jumped towards Misaki during the final battle I could have saved his life, but I was falling through the air at that time. If I could have used Instant Movement steps while in midair... I could have, I would have saved him from his fate to be swallowed up in an explosion and shredded by shrapnel. I was having such thoughts as the book begun to absorb itself into me when I had a thought.

Shin: (I can probably teach any skill that I know long as they meet the base requirements, but wonder if I can directly send over the knowledge like this skill book?)

Shin considered the possibility of relaying information like how skill books do. It isn't just knowledge in one's mind, but it gets imprinted into one's body and soul. He couldn't see how else he could suddenly use brand new techniques without feeling any awkwardness whatsoever. Like in video games learning new attack technique by just picking up a skill book (The Gamer) or paying money, it all bypasses talent in its entirety. If all it took was knowledge to learn any skills than anyone could learn a skill and both talent and hard work would have no meaning whatsoever in such a world.

Shin: "And now the absorption is complete. I now know to use Void Instant Movement just like that, but now I'm curious about teaching skills to others. Next time I'll go into Unlocked Mode to see if I can notice anything that might help. Now on to a new weapon. Specifically, a new Sci-fi gun!"

Shin wanted another sci-fi gun besides the Auto 9 Beretta from Robocop after remembering the dominating power of the air cannon used by Team Germany. The Auto 9 is a good weapon but in the end it's a somewhat modern weapon. Of course, he wasn't looking for an air cannon, but a gun that was D tier and had good power. Also, handheld since he had experience dual wielding weapons. Still, Shin didn't keep his expectations high. A D tier Sci-fi weapon won't be that powerful. There are powerful one like the EMP Rifle, but at D tier it can only continuously fire for just a few seconds and then needs to be reloaded.

Shin: "There are so many good hand guns that it's hard to choose. Ah, the infinite ammo Gauss Pistol looks good... but this looks better. Devil Sealed Gun. I was just looking for a sci-fi gun, but this is one with an interesting magic capabilities. Two in one and I'll take it!"

Devil Sealed Gun (UA) -

Rating 69.

A pistol with the traditional revolver form. However, stories go that this pistol isn't ordinary. The cylinder of the revolver is twice as large as a normal pistol and it has ancient characters inscribed on it. Allegedly, a devil is sealed in it with the ancient text. It is unknown if this legend is true but there is no denying the pistol has a special performance. Unlimited Ammo Model. Special Skill, Curse Bullet: All bullets have a 3% chance of activating a curse after hitting the enemy. The curse will cause a drastic decline in various resistances and defense. Requires 2,500 Points and D rank reward.

A beam shot down towards Shin for the third time and appearing and grasped in his right hand was a metallic object. A gun. Specifically, an especially large pistol with a sleek black design. It was just a rare gun in the sequel of Ark from the early stages, but he found it interesting as a sci-fi weapon with magic capabilities nonetheless. Shin looked over the gun in amazement, yet soon regret showed on his face. He was unsure if had had wisely spent his points and rewards on this gun. Shin bought it for the Curse Bullet skill, but it only activated 3% of the time and so if it's average power was too low it would fail as his planned powerful Sci-fi weapon. Despair was filling his heart at his choice and not consulting anyone about the gun, and on a whim he fired the gun at the floor.

\- *SOFT BANG*!

Shin heard a soft release as the gun fired and a small hole appeared on the floor of the Terminal Lobby. He didn't know what to think. The strength didn't look impressive at all, yet the speed of the bullet fired surpassed his expectations as he could not even see the bullet being fired. Shin then entered Unlocked Mode and test fired Devil Sealed Gun once more and fired three times. This time, but just barely he could see the bullets in motion. Shin exited Unlocked Mode and just stared out the black pistol in his hands with newfound excitement.

Shin: "Insane speed, magic properties, and looks to have decent power. Hahah! Looks like I don't have to be embarrassed when I show off this gun to the others."

Shin put away his new sci-fi gun into one of the two Na Rings and prepared to make his last exchange from God. After acquiring One Sword Style - 36 Pound Cannon, Void Instant Movement, and Devil Sealed Gun Shin had 5100 Points, 1 B, and 1 C rank reward left. Shin seeing what he had left over sighed in relief as it was just enough to get the B tier enhancement that he had in mind from the very beginning.

Shin: "Just 100 points over what it is needed for my new Ki cultivation manual. There are a few paths Ki can go down once you reach B tier Advance Ki, but most of them are Ki cultivation manuals starting at A tier. There are a few at B and BB tiers, but aren't too impressive as the A and AA tier ones ... except for one. A single B tier manual that has the interesting perquisites of unlocking the Genetic Constraint to the Second Stage! It's also from my favorite martial arts Manga and has the properties of burst of powers and recover, so it's perfect for me. It's also super OP! God please exchange for me The Black Heaven & Earth Technique!"

The Black Heaven & Earth Technique -

Rating 95.

The ultimate Ki power disruption technique in martial arts within Murim, belonging to the 'Black Heaven & Earth School'. Optimize Ki according to the energy flow of the Black Heaven & Earth Technique. The quality and quantity the users Ki increase by 3-5 once converted. If "Black Origin Threshold" is acquired later, then quantity and quality Ki conversion can be increased further by 5-10 once converted to the new flow. Allows control of any amount of Ki without rebound. Vastly increase regeneration of Ki, stamina, and the healing of wounds passively, especially when meditating by absorbing the forces among the air into the body. Unable to exchange for Master Level Ki or higher afterwards. Requires 5,000 Points, B rank reward, Advance Ki or higher, and unlocked the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint or higher.

The Black Heaven & Earth Technique.

It is the ultimate technique of the Black Heaven & Earth School, the school of martial arts used by the main characters of the Breaker Series Chun-Woo Han, better known as Nine Arts Dragon, and his disciple and main focus of the sequel New Waves Shi-Woon Yi. Not much has been explained about the technique itself, but it was this technique that allowed the once below average main character Shi-Woon Yi to survive consuming the One Moon Divine Medicine that explosively filled his body with so much Ki Energy that even master of martial arts could would have exploded from the inside out. Black Heaven & Earth Technique played a large part in his later metamorphosis to a monster level talented martial artist.

This cultivation manual and its BB counterpart were most fitting for me. The BB manual was out of reach and I first needed The Black Heaven & Earth Technique as a prerequisite. Though any tier B enhancement or skill like with the Spirit Wave was enough to make anyone excited. It also fit me to a T and my style of fighting as I've chosen recovery and stamina over absolute but short lived power. An extreme power type might help me defeat a few more foes easier, but a stamina and recovery type Cultivation Manual was a better combination for my One-eye Ghoul Mutation. I did question if this was the right cultivation manual to learn since it was still B tier and most were A tier, but after thinking about it for a moment it wasn't that big or an issue. For one I didn't have an A rank reward. Two, I wasn't so familiar with Wuxia Novels to know which manual was better than the other, so it was just better to exchange for one that I knew about from my favorite martial arts Manga. Lastly, Black Heaven & Earth Technique had a BB tier counterpart that could be learned alongside it, so it would end up as an A tier ability in the end in a way. Also, the two exchanges forming an A tier ability and its Genetic Constraint perquisites might make it a Cultivation Manual superior to the normal A tier Manuals, possibly even AA tier Manuals.

After selecting the enhancement, a beam of light enveloped me and lifted me into the air. The amount and time of particles that entered him surpassed any enhancements I've ever received from God. The beam lasted over thirty minutes and during this time I entered into a trance like state. As a transplant spirit like entity I was floating through the air of a bizarre world that I'd never seen before. A world with a black sky and earth, and a bright golden sun radiating power shining light down on this dark world. I could also see a copy of myself, Shin, down below standing on the black soil absorbing the rays of the golden sun. This Shin was naked and began performing combat techniques that I've never seen before. As my copy kept preforming these moves for what felt like hours, days, weeks a change occurred with my copy and myself as if we were resonating with one another. I could see lines forming around our bodies that traced the flow that Ki normally traveled. These lines passed through the hidden meridians of the body that then began to gather in our pool of energy, the navel.

\- The Black Heaven & Earth Technique. Absorbs forces among the air into the body. Completion of the Ki leads to the beginning of the path of Mu (Fighting Spirit).

God's voice echoed in my head as I at last came out of the trance, but it was in a different language. The ancient Korean speak gave me a weird feeling. I opened my eyes to find to my surprise everyone staring at me with worry. After all the time that had passed it looked like my comrades had become worried and came to check up on me... and were surprised by what they saw. They were all just staring at me without saying a word, and awkwardly scratching my head I laughed in an attempt to change the mood.

Shin: "Hey, you're all here. Good. I can't believe that you left before your leader made his grand enhancements at last. Shameful."

Aqua: "Stop messing around Shin and tell us what you exchanged for that had you up jn the air for so long... and that happening."

Shin: "That? Well, I exchanged for a few things, but when I exchanged for the B tier cultivation manual, The Black Heaven & Earth Technique, it resulted some awakening sequence like from an Anime where the main character, I, discover the true source of all power in the universe and become Over Powered... not really, but it's still amazing."

Jin: "So how is this Cultivation Manual? It should be different as it's a type of Ki with a name different than just Low, Intermediate, and Advance, right?"

Shin: "That's right. I feel a change within myself, but it's not such a great increase in power like when I first exchanged for Ki. I have to convert the normal Ki to the new Ki following the instructions of the Black Heaven & Earth Technique. It'll take a month to finish the conversation and the quantity and quality will only increase by five."

Shuai: "Doesn't sound like much of an increase. New levels of energy usually increase by 10-20, right?"

Jin: "That's how it was till now. If that's all there was too it I might agree with Shuai, but there is more, right? The Cultivation Manuals adds a change to the attributes and quality."

Shin: "That's right. This Ki is clear and without impurity, but for that reason it's too easy for it to be influence. This Ki feels both powerful and weird. Like at any moment I could be consumed by a great force. I don't really understand it all, but judging from the message God gave me, it seems like completing the training of this new Ki leads into the cultivation of Mu, or whatever that is. Haha. Isn't that mind-blowing?"

Hikari: "What is that? Sound like a chuuni description is I've ever heard one. We aren't in a web novel. And so, how long will it take to complete the training?"

Shin: "Ah, It'll take 200 or so years to reach completion. Anything before it is simply accumulation of Ki. Hahaha! It's just too amazing as it already is. Ki in a word is just an increase in power or stats when it circulates through the body. The Ki from Spirit Wave is pure and overwhelming to say the least, but burns too fast. Now, the Ki from The Black Heaven & Earth Technique has the properties of longevity and acceptance. The Ki is stronger than the normal Ki and although it's weaker than the energy from Spirit Wave, but it's far faster to recover. Even during the middle of a fight Ki will keep regenerating. I don't understand acceptance, but it's different from the Neutrality of Chaotic Unity Ki that I've seen in the exchanges."

As Shin continued to explain The Black Heaven & Earth Technique the others were happy for him. That thirty minutes of the enhancement process made them worried because Shin's face was changing from white, to black, to red to blue and wasn't looking to end soon. Now that nothing seemed wrong and he had gotten an incredible enhancement, the mood among them became more relaxed. They had all powered up and were ready to face whatever challenges are waiting for them in the future... yet what awaits them next was something no one could have expected.

Shin -

Age: 17.

Mission's Survived: 4.

Exchange Points: 100.

Rank Rewards: S=0, A=0, B=0, C=1, and D=0.

STATS

Intelligence - 257 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

Mental Capacity - 331 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

Cell Vitality - 699 [ +20%, +30% At Night ]

Reaction Speed - 691 [ +20%, +30% At Night ]

Muscle Density - 671 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

Immunization Strength - 788 [ +10%, +30% At Night ]

EXCHANGE CATEGORIES

1\. Sci-fi Weapons -

● Close Range: None.

● Mid-Range: Robo Cop's Auto 9 Beretta (UA) and Devil Sealed Gun (UA).

● Long Range - None.

● Armor/Enhancement - None.

2\. Magical Items -

● Tools: Na Ring×2, Holy Sword Switch.

● Equipment: Gravity Blade, Lesser Fenrir Coat.

● Consumable: None.

3\. Support Items -

● Genetic Mutation Enhancement: S Rating One-Eyed Ghoul Mutation.

● Whole Body Enhancements: Black Heaven & Earth Technique.

● Skill/Techniques: Soul Crushing Strike, Instant Movement, Void Instant Movment, Ki Blast, Ki Bullet, AP Bullet, Hollow Bullet, Far Bullet, One Sword Style - 36 Pound Cannon, Silver Dragon Scales, and Spirit Wave.

● General Goods: Binoculars×1, Medic Kit×2, Handgun×10, Communicator Phone and Ration Kit.

● Other: None.

4\. Entertainment - Computer.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

I added the possibility of an A tier Master Level Ki and AA tier Grandmaster Level Ki in this fan fiction not found in the original, but Shin won't and can't get those, but I won't say that it's a good or bad thing. If you were aiming for optimization then gaining Master Ki and Grandmaster Ki before a Cultivation Manual is for the best in the long run since you can end up with in my head like 250 times the Ki than Shin currently has if you get the cultivation Manual last, but in the short term acquiring a Cultivation Manual is for the best as kt includes special abilities.


	160. Chapter 160

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 49, HxH Greed Island NEXT

The third day of the Terminal Lobby had arrived. The previous day myself along with the rest of Team Japan had completed our exchanges from God and reached a whole new level in ability. The damage of the previous mission couldn't be completely healed with just new gear and abilities, yet it helped raise our spirits and endure the loss of three important comrades. We were by no means stronger than ever, but we were still strong.

ATTACKER/CLOSE RANGE FIGHTERS -

1\. Shin: Team Leader, Black Heaven & Earth Technique, One-eyed Ghoul genetic mutation, Na Ring×2, Gravity Blade, Lesser Fenrir Coat, Robo Cop's Auto 9 Infinite Ammo Model, Devil Sealed Gun, Holy Sword Switch Magic.

2\. Aqua: Nen, Wolverine genetic mutation, Werewolf Bloodline, Thompson Contender Magic Code, Life Force Booster, and Red Ridding Hood's Cloak.

3\. Kisara: Nen, Stigmata Implant, and Shusui (One Piece ).

GUNNER/MID RANGE FIGHTER -

Shuai: Intermediate level Shaman Power, Spirit Possession and Over Soul, Earth Elemental Gnome, M41A-M Pulse Rifle, and Summoner's Ring of Earth.

Jin: Warlock Mutation, Beginner Rank Magic Power, and Mastermind Strategist.

SNIPER/LONG RANGE FIGHTER -

Connor: Sniper, B-Class Trigger, Demon Genetic Mutation.

SUPPORT/OTHER -

Hikari: Support Type Persona, Psyche Force, Magic Buffs, and healing spell.

Shin going over Team Japan's improvements in his mind couldn't help, but be impressed. If you just skimmed through their profiles it might not look too impressive, but being there when each member of his team powered up with new skills, magic spells, weapons, and other abilities told him that his team was not weak. That's why even he had no hesitation in doing what has to come next.

Shin: "...There's nothing to pick at wrong here. Kisara, there's no need for any further enhancements. Let's go to the Real World."

Kisara: "Yes, but are you certain? I still have 1000 points, so-"

Shin: "A thousand points can't do too much Kisara. Sure you can use it to increase a stat by 100, but it makes a small difference in the long run once you reach a certain level of strength like Aqua and myself who use energy and the like to boost our abilities along with our physical stats and mutations. Instead we should just use them elsewhere."

Shin then lead a still conflicted Kisara to make their final exchange. Her doubts wasn't because of their plan to visit the real world was a mistake, but because she was a girl full of doubts over the smallest things that you wouldn't expect. Kisara is normal a brave war maiden when she fights on the front line with her katana in hand ready to slay her enemies, yet with things that involve herself like her points being used for herself and whether she was good enough to fight others she would lose confidence. It was a kind of problem that he never saw in Hikari or Aqua, but Shin didn't mind it at all. Shin found the contrast to show off Kisara's cute side and relived him in knowing that the peerless beauty before him was not perfect. Definitely too good for him, but was far from a perfect existence that he shouldn't approach.

Shin and Kisara arrived under the glowing orb of light called God and also waiting for them there were their other comrades. Aqua, Hikari, Shuai, Connor and Jin. Even though it was going to be a short trip and one that should literally pass by in the blink of the eye for those staying behind they still wanted to see the two off. They agreed not to travel with the two to the real world, but all the same they all still wanted to see them off. Maybe due to what happened to Shin and Saki in the real world this trip made them nervous, yet one of the people in question found their concerns just that. Concerns. As long as Kisara and himself stayed away from the Four Pillars, the real world was hardly a threat to such powerful individuals like them.

Jin: "Hey, how does this work? Moving into another dimension time wise. You can spend a month in the Real World, yet to us it's a few seconds. I also heard that time moved normally while you were in this dimension before arriving in the Real World. What about other teams and how it effects their time and space? What about the Mission Worlds? Maybe whenever a team leaves for the real world time stops, but us Players just never notice and-"

Shin: "Enough! I didn't go to college, so I don't want to hear about this time and space theory nonsense. Now, Kisara and I will be leaving for the real world for a few days, but we'll be back in an instant. If there are no questions then the two of us will be off."

Aqua: "I have one. Isn't there an option to not make your return instant?"

Hikari: "I want to know that too. I need a long absence from a certain otaku leader if you know how I mean. His flirting with his new woman is annoying."

Shin: "..."

Shin turned away in silence from the two woman he loved for some reason and one he couldn't remember at this time and closed his eyes. He connected to God and opened up the Voyage Section in the Entertainment Category to look up his options and had Kisara do the same.

Previous World Voyage - Able to visit and spend time anywhere in the previous Mission World. Requires 10 Points per day. A D rank reward is required to permanently unlock that world or any other Mission World.

World Voyage - Able to visit and spend time anywhere in any Mission World. Requires 50 Points per day and a D rank reward is required to permanently unlock that world or any other Mission World. Future visits will just require 50 Points per day.

Real World Voyage - Able to visit and spend time in the Real World. The Player will appear at the location where they were before being transported to this God's Dimension. The Player will have to return to this location once the duration of the trip is over. Requires 50 Points per day and D rank reward unlock the world. Future visits will only require 50 Points per day.

Real World Group Voyage - Able to visit and spend time in the Real World. The Player/Players will appear at the location where they were before being transported to this God's Dimension, or may choose to another Player's Entry/Return Point to use. The Player will have to return to this location once the duration of the trip is over. Can also use another Player's location to return to the real world and return back to God's Dimension. Requires 50 Points per day and C rank reward. Points and rewards can be pulled for this exchange for multiple Player voyages.

Special Voyage - Able to choose any spot in the real world as one's starting point. Like when mission are finished, Player/Players will automatically be recalled back once time runs out. A countdown will be visible on the player's watch. Requires 100 Points per day and B rank reward. Points and rewards can be pulled for this exchange for multiple Player voyages.

Shin: "Kisara, choose the normal real world option. The group option is too expensive. You can save points, but the C rank reward requirement is too much unless you're leaving in a group of three or more for the first time. With your 1000 points pay for ten days for the both of us and I'll unlock the world for you with a D rank reward. I've already confirmed it and it doesn't conflict with our restriction to not use points to enhance others just one time."

Kisara: "Okay."

Real World Voyage - Able to visit and spend time in the Real World. The Player will appear at the location where they were before being transported to this God's Dimension. The Player will have to return to this location once the duration of the trip is over. Requires 50 Points per day and D rank reward unlock the world. Future visits will only require 50 Points per day.

\- Enter the beams within thirty seconds. Target locked. Beginning teleportation to the Real World...

The two of us confirmed our purchase with God and everything was set to go as beams of light were shot down by God towards the floor. Ten days in the real world awaited us once we step into those beams and with no hesitation Kisara and I walked over to the beams and... and just blank.

Everything in front of my eyes flashed for a moment, then I naturally fell into the half-awake state. Time passed by, perhaps it was just a blink of an eye or perhaps it was took very long. When I woke up I was standing inside my old room at my uncle's house once more and the light from the sun coming from the window made feel that it was late morning or early afternoon. This was the place I once slept and called home since the accident that took away my family, so this was surely the real world and not the world of Manga and Anime that I've been experiencing so far.

This was the world I grew up in. A place without monsters, zombies, BIMs, Diseased Girls, Nen users and enemy teams. A place without the endless horrors I had come to both love and fear. The peaceful and dull world I hated, yet was somewhat glad to see again... but now I now knew better. Underneath the surface of this seemingly normal world was a not so normal one. A battle between literal superpowers and dark organizations that to simply put were secretly ruling and distorting the real world.

Shin: "I'm stronger than the last time I was here, but I'm still nothing compared to the monsters standing at the top of the Four Pillars. It's best to avoid them."

Cautioning himself of that Shin heard a familiar notification from God about the rules of returning to the real world.

\- RULES FOR RETURNING TO THE REAL WORLD FOR PLAYERS:

1\. WITHIN THE TEN DAYS IN THE REAL WORLD, A PLAYER CAN NOT MENTION ANYTHING PERTAINING TO GOD'S DIMENSION TO AN OUTSIDER FROM THAT REALM AND HAD NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF, OTHERWISE HE/SHE, AND EVERYTHING THAT BELONGED TO THEM WOULD BE ERASED.

2\. AT THE END OF TEN DAYS THE PLAYER/PLAYERS MUST COME BACK TO THIS ROOM, THE ENTRY/RETURN POINT, SO GOD CAN TRANSPORT THE PLAYER BACK. THERE WILL BE A NINETY MINUTE WINDOW STARTING FROM 10:30 AT NIGHT WHERE THE ENTRY/RETURN POINT WILL BE ACTIVE. AT THE SAME TIME SAID PLAYER MUST BE IN CONTACT WITH EVERYTHING THAT BELONGED TO THEM, OTHERWISE THOSE ITEMS WOULD BE LEFT IN THIS WORLD. IF THE ITEM COULD ONLY BE OBTAINED FROM GOD'S DIMENSION, THEN IT WOULD BE ERASED.

Shin: "It's all the same as before, but... this time I absolutely have to return here in ten days. I guess I can't use Kisara's return point as this is not a Group Voyage... wait!"

Shin in a flash of inspiration rushed over towards the computer in his room. It was the very same computer that delivered the message from God that began everything for him. A beginning that would show him hope and terrors the likes he could never have imagined. Shin thought about the possibility of just taking the computer with him and relocating his entry and return point and moved his hands over the computer to receive a new message from God.

\- ENTRY AND RETURN POINT. MUST RETURN TO THIS LOCATION IN TEN DAYS TIME. THE DESTRUCTION OF THIS COMPUTER WILL DESTROY THE ENTRY AND RETURN POINT AND A NEW ONE MUST BE SET WITHIN 24 HOURS, OR FACE BEING ERASED.

Shin: "How did I miss this before? Ah, I actually never used my computer the last time I was here as I spent all my time training or planning crimes... does this mean that I'm no longer an introverted otaku?"

Shin was amused at the thought and then moved on to destroying his once cherished computer. He had to beg his Uncle to get the computer and maintain it, but now it had no value to him as he can buy a better one from the Exchange System of God, had three girlfriends, and was in his own right an aspiring main stream, or dark Anime main character. The compute was destroyed in a way that wasn't obvious from the outside since Shin didn't want his family to know he was home and left from the window of his room. His next destination was the home of his third wife to be Kisara.

Real World - Day 9 of 10.

Shin was staring out into the distance with a solemn look across his face. A variety of feelings were swirling under the surface that was anything far from calm, yet his face wouldn't show it. A few things had happened since arriving to Kisara's home. Kisara lived in an amazing home/dojo that looked exactly like Ryozanpaku and it initially excited Shin to no end at first, yet as they days passed and he tried to do what he came to the real world for... to honor his comrades in some way... and failing to do so his spirits and motivation to do any were lost as each day passed.

After leaving his home in the real world Shin took a taxi ride all the way towards Kisara's home planning to stay there for the full ten days in the real world. The drive was very long as Kisara didn't live close to her and it would have been faster to move by train or bus, but wanting the privacy needed to keep his head down while in the real world he chose this method of transportation. It took a full day of driving and money a normal person unlike Shin would call expensive, yet being in no rush and having all the money in the world Shin was not concerned.

Shin arrived at Kisara's home almost in the middle of the night, yet there to greet him and wearing what she called her home attire, a beautiful kimono that brought out all sorts of feelings within a modern Japanese man like himself. Seeing the peerless beauty after a long drive and being greeted by such a kind and diligent woman made Shin almost lose control and embrace her then and there, but he refrained from doing so. Shin and Kisara had only kissed once, so he couldn't just go further than that if the mood isn't right... and this was not such a time.

Shin had come to the real world with a purpose in mind. To check in on the families of his comrades and resolve the conflicted feeling within his own heart. The former was obvious, yet the latter was not. As a leader Shin had to prepare for the loss of comrades on their journey in God's Dimension, has already experienced the loss of good comrades like Saki and Zero, yet the latest mission took too much from him and all at once. The deaths of Kampa, Misaki, and Renji weighed on Shin's mind greatly and so he thought that making sure the family of his loss comrades were fine above all else would allow him to feel better... and it did not and in fact only became worse.

Staring from the second day Shin went to work. Shin set the same computer Kisara used as her Entry and Return Point as his own as well and used it along with his vast currency from God to put his plan into action. Under a different name Shin set up a bank account (Jin somehow knew how to do this) and hired the best private investigator that money could buy to find out as much information about the families of his comrades as possible and with an emphasis on their financial situations.

At this time Shin was iffy about actually calling his those families just to say their loved ones were dead. Shin had been hoping recently that he would one day discover a method to bring back to life his fallen comrades. There was no such ability in the Exchange System aside from spells that could revive someone minutes after death, but there was no power to revive after so much time had passed, or at least he had never seen one in the vast sea of God's Exchanges, so it was possible that there was one. Still, if a family was in desperate need of support than he would tell the truth and try his hardest to make sure they were taken care of... but as it turned out he was unneeded.

◆ Shin's family: Were fine as well and living to the fullest.

◆ Hikari's family: Still in police custody and were well taken care of.

◆ Aqua's family: Dead.

◆ Misaki's family: Were human trash, but were very well off. Misaki's sister Ren was a concern, but Misaki said he had already made plans for her wellbeing despite having worthless parents.

◆ Saki's family: Dead.

◆ Shuai's family: His father was very strict and after saying that he had become a shaman Shuai was disowned for not following in his father's business path.

◆ Zero's family: Dead.

◆ Kampa's family: His wife was the only daughter of a billionaire, so both her and their son were more than taken care of.

◆ Renji's family: Renji's two parents were successful businesses men and woman. They were in shock over their son's disappearance but they didn't stop working and acted as if nothing was wrong. Shin didn't know how to feel about this, but there was no grave reason to contact them.

Five days after hiring the investigator results from his search came in and as it turned out there was no need for a hero to sweep in and save the day. Each family in one way or another were financially safe and in no need of assistance, or were just dead. There was really no need to try and contact them. Especially when Shin still had some hope for something like a Revival Quest Item, but on the eighth day, yesterday Shin resolved himself to contact one family.

The family of his best friend Misaki. His family were well off yet there was a serious neglect when their children were concerned. Misaki and Ren's father was enjoying his new life alone after divorcing his wife with a new lover and were expecting a child. Their mother was a workaholic who ignored her children despite having custody of them. Shin didn't have a good reason, but felt compelled to call this family. He didn't know what he was hoping for by bring such terrible new like the death of a son, but maybe they would cherish their daughter more in his absence.

Shin failed to keep his promise with Ren to keep Misaki alive, yet thought it was better for her to have caring parents despite whatever sadness the news brings... but Shin was shocked in a way that he could never had expected. Misaki's parents just didn't care. When Shin called Misaki's father he sounded a little drunk, but still of sound and disturbing mind to say that he didn't care if his only son had died. Shin called Misaki's mother after a few dozen unanswered attempts and was even more disgusted by what he heard from her mouth. The mother said it was expected of Misaki who had become a thug and took more after his father then her to die on the streets where she presumed that he died. Over that call Shin lost it after remembering all the times his friend had bravely risked his life for his teammates and cursed the mother out till she hung up on him.

And now the present.

Shin: "...Just what did I come here for?"

As far as Shin was concerned the trip to the real world was a waste. Shin still trained during there's nine days and successful converted one third of his Advance Ki with the new energy flow of Black Heaven & Earth Technique, by doing so obtained a greater source of power and deeper understanding of the purpose of the technique, yet everything that he had desired to do, accomplish was in vain. Putting aside personal feelings every family was managing just fine on their own. Hikari's family was also a concern as they were still police custody in witness protection, yet Shin did not have the power to help them.

Shin: "...This is fine in its own way. If no one needs saving or help then isn't that a great thing? Actually, hoping for the opposite and acting as hero just to feel better was wrong. It's just survivor's guilt. My own problems are my own and I just have to live with them from now on. Maybe... the feelings that death of a comrade brings aren't supposed to ever get better, but are just to be remembered. As long as you don't forget, but keep moving forward, you're honoring your comrades just by living one day to the next."

Shin, without meaning to said some profound words, yet he didn't know if he believed them. Even if they were right he still wanted to do more, but now realizing such thoughts were consuming his mind he put a stop to them. Going any further than he already has would be solely for himself and not his comrades and there would be no end to it. It was then as he felt that it was time to just go back where his living comrades are waiting for him that Kisara called for him.

Kisara: "Shin if you don't mind will you come with me?"

Shin: "Sure, but what is it?"

Kisara: "I... want to introduce you to my father."

Shin was confused at first, but then understand what she meant followed after her as she lead him she outside. Every day since they arrived in the real world in Kisara would go off alone to visit her family grave site not too far away from her home. Kisara had yet to invite Shin along, so this was the first time. Shin obediently followed Kisara outside her home having no reason to refuse or anything else to do.

Shin, after a ten minute walk, arrived to Kisara's family grave and arrived before a particular well-kept grave stone when compared to the others nearby. He had to wonder about a graveyard so close by and exclusively to her family according to Kisara, but it was probably just one of those tradition of her family. Shin didn't even know how to ask, but he could imagine that all the warriors of Kisara's family who practiced Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu were to be buried here at this site after death.

Kisara: "Were you surprised how close this grave was?"

Shin: "I guess. I didn't think that it was too far since you walked there every day, but you were gone for more than a few hours each time, so I was under the impression that it was further from your home."

Kisara: "I was just spending a lot of time here to make up for my previous absences. Shameful, right. I avoided coming to visit here despite how close it was. I even needed something like the terrors of God's Dimension to get me to come visit for the first time since the funeral."

Shin: "I wouldn't go that far, Kisara. After my own family died I didn't visit their grave more than a handful of times and the first time was over six months after the burial. Time isn't a solution to everything, but it helps in these kinds of situations in my opinion."

Kisara felt a little relieved to hear those words and began to seriously pray in silence before her father's grave and seeing this Shin followed her example. Shin had issues with god or one certain God for a few matters and he had never met Kisara's father before, so it was hard for him to show his respects. As he didn't know what kind of man Kisara's father was outside of what he told Shin gave some thoughts on what he should say, or should have if he had ever met the man and thought of two things. One was that he was thankful to him for bring up such an amazing swordsman and woman like Kisara and the other he hopes that he would have accepted his and Kisara's relationship. That he was somewhat worthy of her... and that he could let adding Kisara to his harem plan slide since he cared for her.

Shin and Kisara soon left the family grave site. Shin out of curiosity asked Kisara what she was saying to her father and was surprised by her answer. Kisara without falsehood was happily introducing Shin to her deceased father as her husband, new master of the household and that she would become a good wife and sword for him. She additionally said that he was a good man and already had a loving family with two other woman who she got along with. Shin hearing this had mixed feeling. Shin was happy Kisara felt that way about him but on the other hand...

Shin: (Am I going to be haunted by her father? His only daughter had join an otaku's harem in the makings… if it was me I'd escape heaven, become a sword wielding ghost, and show this no good man not to touch other people's daughter.)

Kisara: "Shin?"

Kisara noticed a conflicted expression on Shin's face and called out to him. Shin woke up from his delusions of fighting the ghost sword master and wishing he asked Shuai about shaman techniques hearing Kisara voice. Shin too embarrassed to tell what he was just thinking laughed it off as nothing, yet a worried expression crossed Kisara's face and she stopped walking. Shin took a few steps forward before he realized what had happened and looked back towards Kisara.

Shin: "Kisara?"

Kisara: "Shin... you don't regret anything do you?"

Shin: "What do you mean?"

Kisara: "...I'm aware that I was a bit forceful in approaching you. I also know that you didn't understand my intentions of becoming your sword, which equaled entering a relationship with you. Now it was only after I calmed down and thought about it did I realize what I had done."

Shin: "..."

Kisara: "I... liked you from the first day we met and from there with each passing day it snowballed till it had become love. The reasons were simple. You looked past my good looks that normally made others nervous and didn't reject my swordsmanship. You also said that you'll give me a place to improve my sword techniques and you did by allowing me into your group. I failed a lot, but you kept believing in me. To fall so in love so easily might make me seem like an easy woman, that I would have fallen for the first guy who honestly praised me, maybe I would have, but I can say for certain that because it's you that I want to become your sword... and hopefully more. That's why Shin I hope that if this arrangement isn't too your liking your free to end it, but at the very least-"

Her words were stopped right there as Shin rushed forward and kissed her. Kisara was surprised by this action and didn't know what to do. She had once kissed Shin in the heat of the moment, but she has no experience in being on the defending side in such an embrace. As a pure maiden deep at heart she really had no idea what to do, or say even as Shin stepped backed.

Shin: "Kisara... you really think too much of me. I fell for your looks the moment I saw you wake up on that first day. I fell for your sword only because it was the style of my favorite swordsman. I came to like you as we talked and fought together, and... I came to love you when all those feeling came together when you kissed me. I honestly can't help but think you took pity on me during my time of depression, you were just impressed with my inhuman powers that aren't even close to the strongest once you learn the truth of this world, or that you're so inexperienced with the opposite sex that you can't judge a good man who would care for you and a harem bastard like myself. Still, it's too late to try and back out Kisara. I'm quite the possessive man. Even if it was a halfhearted kiss from that moment you've become mine. I have no interest in just dating and moving on for you to one day be with another man. I won't even like it if I somehow died and years later you start dating another man. We didn't have a ceremony Kisara, but it really is death do us part, but without the parting. Even in death we'll be together... so don't worry about such small things. Your aggressiveness that time was no mistake and I love that side of you... so please follow me as my sword. Whether I reach almightiness, you in act your revenge successfully, or death within that dimension... we'll be together to the end."

Kisara began to tear up hearing Shin's heartfelt confession. There were so many things wrong with it, but his feelings came across just the same. Shin honestly loved Kisara once he finally admitted it. He probably the type who fall for girls to easily as long as something about them stands out like in the cases of Aqua and Hikaril, yet his feelings were not any less than if he sought after just one woman. Some women can't believe that a man can love more than one woman, but men are simple creatures who seek out woman.

As a wise man once said, while women can only give birth to one man's child at a time men can father more than one child with multiple woman at a time. Even if such a sentiment was harsh and sexist, but at the very least Shin thought he was more honest and real than most protagonist from Manga and Anime who obviously liked more than one woman, but after dating one pretends to only like the one woman. It was definitely better to be up front about such feeling than to get married to one amazing woman and later having an affair with another amazing woman.

Sex is a temptation that leads to the end of some relationships, yet not all relationships end because of sex or even falling out of love. Sometimes forcing a relationship to standard rules and not being honest could lead to a break up.. When there are amazing beauties all around a healthy young man who all have interesting personalities as well, and above all have fictional heroine like characteristics how can that youth say with a clear heart that he just wants one. It may be socially wrong in the modern age, but emotionally it wasn't wrong.

Shin: "Kisara, I want you as my sword, but I also want you as a woman even more. I also happen to like other woman, but if you'll have me-"

Kisara: "Yes! That was far from the proposal that I've always dreamt of as a little girl but it'll do."

Shin: "...That's good. So now what? It's official, so should we go back to your father's grave to tell him?"

Kisara: "No its fine. All you'll end up doing is making sure that when we finally pass on in life you'll get stabbed in the back by a katana."

Not expecting to hear his earlier worries from Kisara own mouth scared Shin about the hopefully far off future and he renewed his promise to learn shaman techniques from Shuai. Once that passed, an extremely fluffy and pink atmosphere surrounded the two. Shin and Kisara we having confessed their love to one another couldn't look each other in the eye like a shy newborn couple as they returned to Kisara's home. This feeling didn't disappear as night came and not remembering who made the first move the two slept together for the first time.

The tenth and final day in the real world passed by in a flash. Shin and Kisara simply enjoyed each other's company whether it was training or going on walks together. Shin was feeling rejuvenated from his earlier depression, yet it wasn't like those thoughts had disappeared. He knew that he didn't accomplish anything of worth by coming to the Real World expect for converting one third of his Ki with the new Ki Manual.

Shin didn't accomplish anything great like he was hoping for, but he had found additional motivation to keep moving forward in the face of his comrades' deaths in Kisara. Some part of him felt bad for moving on, but he wouldn't allow himself to forget the memories of his comrades and the pain of their deaths. They were all reminders of what he had to look forward to by living to the next day and what would happen if he wasn't resolved enough to acquire power.

Shin: (I desired to one day become an Over Powered main character, but someday isn't good enough. I have to become stronger than all my rivals within God's Dimension. The next time there's a team battle I won't be so passive. I learned from my mistakes. I won't discard the possibility of peace with other teams, but I won't expect it. I go in with the mindset to wipe the other team... and if it comes to it I'll commit evil for the sake of my comrades! Justice... exist unlike what God claims, but for all of us justice demands power to carry it and in the lack of that power...)

Shin's answer was not one set in stone. He was still naive. He was still weak in a world where other were constantly growing in strength just to survive. That's why all Shin knew as he stood next to Kisara before her computer as it was final time to return to their comrades was this.

Shin: (For those that get in my way... Team Japan's way... whether the false God or fellow teams... I'll destroy them all!)

And with that Shin and Kisara returned to God's Dimension to confront future battles.

After Shin and Kisara returned from the real world Team Japan resumed their preparations for the next mission. They had spent a full ten days in the real world, but for those who stayed behind only an instant had passed which meant that they still has seven days to prepare since it was still there third day of break and the final day the new mission from God will be assigned. Shin along with everyone else had already made their exchanges, so with the exception of preparing basic gear and supplies for any type of environment they may be thrown in there was only one thing left for Shin, Aqua, Hikari, Shuai, Connor, Jin, and Kisara to do... train.

They had all gained new abilities, so they needed to see how far they could master them before the next mission and this was especially true of Kisara and Shin. Kisara, despite having formal sword training from a young age, was still a Newbie with much to learn. As for Shin he had acquired a unique B tier enhancement from God that still needed just a long time to just adjust to before he could even begin to dive into the uncertainties of his new power. Similar to most A tier enhancements it was a power that required hard work and talent rather than the immediate boost of powers like previous enhancements had given him.

And like so those eight days passed and improvements were seen all around Team Japan.

◆ Hikari - Hikari had acquired the most new abilities during this round of enhancements. The ability to use Mana, the genetics of a Cyber Newtype, Psyche Force Scan, three new magic spell buffs, and the spell to heal all physical wounds Arcangel's Breath.

Psyche Force Scan had similar functions as her Persona to scan an area, but was more detailed, didn't exhaust her as much to keep it active, and could be used while moving to some degree. At first glance Psyche Force completely surpassed all the abilities of her Persona with the exception of the Game Map ability, yet Persona showed it's true worth in conjunction with Psyche Force Scan.

When used together their abilities merged and allowed for an even more amazing ability to be born within the Game Map and Enemy Detection. The Game Map like app that's uploaded into another's mind was for one more detailed due to the Psyche Force Scan and no longer needed to be constantly updated unless additional information was desired to be added to the maps rather than for any small changes. Enemy Detection was also upgraded to show greater depth of a person's alignment and hostility wouldn't be missed even if the person had no ill feelings towards Hikari or the team.

Mana allowed Hikari to empower her body similarly to Ki, but to a lesser extent than it due to Ki being close to a physical enhancement being pure life energy than the magic energy of Mana, but it had its benefits. Mana enhanced the effects of her magic spells to various degrees, so even without stacking three magic buffs as she has previously learned to do an individual can gain a boost. According to Hikari the basic effects of all her spells were multiple by five which was amazing, but she had to be in Uncooked Mode for it to work Hikari could still stack three spells together, so when even a normal person is blessed by the effects of all her magic buffs together they would reach a level of power comparable to a Player who has survived well over five missions, but just without any worthwhile enhancements.

As a Cyber Newtype Hikari gained a heightened mental awareness. It was below what a true Newtype could achieve, but it was not insignificant and had none of the well-known drawbacks of an artificial Newtype. Whether Psyche Force Scan or Persona, when she used any ability she became extremely sensitive to her surroundings and the range of her most detailed scans increased. Going further Hikari didn't even need to acquire a skill like Soul Link which links minds to notice the change of emotions for those around her, and long as she memorizes a person's mental wave she could sense if something was wrong with any comrade even if none her abilities were in an inactive state.

◆ Aqua - Aqua's enhancements; Werewolf Bloodline, Wolverine Mutation, and Nen were already in the B-A tier range and this time around to become more versatile and improve her weakness acquired a magic spell and a skill. The magic spell, Judgement of the Moon Goddess was an attack spell with an AOE option. The longer the spell was charged the more power the attack would become. The AOE option was tested within Aqua's basement training room and everyone watched with excitement... and fear the next second. The AOE option took the shape a white orb of light in the skies above as if taking the place of the full moon and shined down light that grew stronger by the second and when it had reached its peak... to simplify, Aqua had to redesign her large and open training room. Aqua had obtained another ability, the skill Focused State of Mind and it was a B tier skill, yet it didn't right away showcase its worth. By reforming her mind Aqua had, at the very least, succeed in temporarily transforming into her werewolf form, yet the monster wolf form still alluded her.

◆ Shuai - Shuai had gained an item to increase his ability to utilize his Earth Spirit Gnome, yet his recent efforts for improvement have been somewhere else having gained the Spirit Possession and Oversoul enhancements. Shuai had acquired an empty copy of Kampa's soul to use which is now referred to as the mercenary soul by everyone. It didn't have his memories, yet retained his mercenary skills gained in his life time to some extent which he had access to.

Spirt Possession allowed Shuai to fuse with the mercenary soul. Shuai couldn't become a replacement for Kampa, but in the fused state had gained the proficient skills of an experienced solider. With Oversoul Shuai fused the mercenary soul with his the M14A-M Pulse Rifle left behind by Kampa rather than himself. This technique consumes a lot of spiritual power in a short span of time so it wasn't a weapon that could be used regularly yet, but when it was time to use it, it had power comparable to a low level C tier weapon.

◆ Connor - Connor's improvements with the B-Class Trigger, Demon Eye of Encroachment, and Demonic Weapon Augmentation were simple and to the point. Demonic Weapon Augmentation Increased the power of all weapons it reinforced, but all weapons aside from triggers would lose their function after a few uses. The new trigger increased his amount of Trion by ten times and improved the capabilities of his Trion Body. In a test where Connor used his demon eye to stare his comrades down they were all frozen in place and this ability extended no matter how far he was looking from. It imprinted fear into those in his sights and slowed down moment. It was the perfect ability to use when a sniper loses the element of surprise according to Connor.

◆ Jin - Jin aimed for three things after raising his Whole Enhancement, Elementary Magic Power to Intermediate Magic Power. The first was increasing his standard fighting power with a magic gun and a magic staff that increased the strength of his spells. The other was crowd control, the ability to control or hinder enemy moments with the Quagmire magic spell. The last was to increase his survivability with the Mana Shield spell.

◆ Kisara - After acquiring the dexterity related mutation of a Pandora, the additional energy for Low Class Hunter Nen on top of the Aura she had already cultivated, and an amazing B tier sword in Shusui Kisara's close range combat prowess skyrocketed. Kisara, from the very beginning, was a powerful warrior having mastered Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, but with the enhancements of a mutation and energy, even low level D tier ones allowed her to fight side by side along anyone in Team Japan.

Shin had on one occasion fought Kisara and almost lost to his shock. Shin was a free style fighter without years of foundation in fighting like Kisara, so just showing the slightest opening would allow her to overwhelm him. It was only due to his variety of abilities that took her by surprise and her own inexperience in super human battles that allowed Shin to keep his pride as Team Japan's ace fighter, but he knew the day was coming that Kisara would claim the spot of Team Japan's strongest close range fighter.

Lastly, Shin and the others eventually understood the strength of Kisara's seemingly plain B tier sword Shusui. The katana lacked any real special abilities other than the ability to absorb energy to increase its natural abilities, yet they soon discovered why such a sword was a B tier weapon alongside Kampa's Unicorn Beam Magnum and Aqua's Thompson Contender Mystic Code. Shusui was simply strong. Even without additional reinforcement Shusui in practice match between Shin and Kisara nicked his Gravity Blade sword that had high durability as a magic weapon.

The katana defied all logic even in a world of sci-fi weapons and magic with its durability and sharpness without magic enhancements. Some say a weapon is a weapon, but Shuai was not just a weapon, it was a masterpiece from a fictional world where swords still have their place in a world where guns and even superpowers exist. Shusui was superior to a lot of weapons that relied of technology or magic power, but only in the hands of a master as it was still a plain sword without magic powers. It was up to its wielder to make sure that the plain and strong sword became a strong power and not a liability, and Kisara was up to such a task.

And lastly there was him. Team Japan's leader Shin.

◆ Shin - Shin had acquired four different things from God. First was a new sci-fi gun Devil Sealed Gun. It was a large pistol with firepower comparable to the Gauss Pistol and Jin's Mana Gun, yet had the additional property of a magic effect where 3% of all hits cause a Curse effect. Shin had yet to test this effect on a living target but when the effect surprising took effect when he was practicing and hit a metal plate the plate began to rust over quickly and a strange dark shadow could been seen around the plate. Seeing this he could only imagine what would happen on a living target.

Shin obtained two new skills and one of which a skill gained at a discount due to Skill Mastery, One Sword Style, 36 Pound Cannon, a sword technique to send a wind blade of compressed air. Shin could now use it outside Unlocked Mode and didn't use as much Ki, yet placed a burden on his body with each use. This showed Shin that without the necessary stats/physical abilities it may be impossible to use some skills, or they will have a weakened effect.

The second ability was one that Shin enjoyed using more than the previous amazing sword technique as of late, Void Instant Movement. It was a new foot technique that allowed Shin to execute Instant Movement, but instead of the ground he could kick off the very air itself and move over thirty meters in one jump, more than three times the standard distance of the original technique. Void Instant Movement was a great technique, yet consumed far more Ki than its predecessor and like with his sword technique placed a burden of his body which restricted him to ten uses in a short period of time and if pushed over twenty times in Unlocked Mode his legs would go numb or worse... yet Shin didn't mind his current limitations as he flew in the air. The feeling of flying through the air even if it wasn't real flight was one of his best experiences in life and he promised to one day reach the level where he can fly through the sky with Void Instant Movement without recoil or limit.

The last enhancement that Shin acquired was the Ki Cultivation Manual, Black Heaven & Earth Technique. At first Shin only knew that the new Ki of the Black Heaven & Earth Technique regenerated fast and was excellent at controlling Ki, yet after training the last twenty day in both the real world and Terminal Lobby and converting two-thirds of his total Ki gave him a deeper understanding his newfound power's true strength. As of recently, if Shin fully depleted his Ki till nothing is left it would take twelve hours to fully recover, but now even with the quantity and quality increase the Black Heaven & Earth Technique it takes no more than 3 to 4 hours to recover to full capacity, and it doesn't end there because when sitting down to meditate it only takes 2 to 3 hours to fully recharge. The Ki regeneration of Black Heaven & Earth Technique are even more amazing when there is still Ki remaining. Even if Shin has just 1% of his Ki left over from a tough battle he could fully recover in 2-3 hours and when meditating 1 to 2 hours. The Ki even regenerates in the middle of intense physical activity like fights.

Shin has come to the conclusion to call it the perfect Ki for long missions and continuous battles and only loses out to other types of Ki in short missions and battles where both parties are at 100% condition. Also, other conditions like Unlocking deeper into the genetic constraint and higher tiers of the One-eyed Ghoul Mutation might improve the already game breaking regeneration speed, and thinks that one day he might rival the main character of "The Gamer" in near infinite energy regeneration. If he can reach such a level then he might be able to stay at 100% condition after hours, days, or even weeks of continuous fighting. Even if Shin ends up fighting someone with ten times, hundred times his total energy he feels like he won't be overwhelmed and could outlast such a foe under the right conditions.

Shin, Hikari, Aqua, Shuai, Connor, Jin, and Kisara each reached a new tier of strength and brought their Team Japan even further. They didn't know where they stood within all the teams of God's Dimension, yet they all believed that they could overcome anything together... and the time to test that theory came. A battle where Hope, Despair, and the Future awaited. Soon the next mission will commence.

The final day had come and it was time to depart. All preparations were set, including weapons and supportive items such as bandages, hemostasis sprays, packaged food, and solidified water. Even gold, diamond, and platinum was readied as potential currency to be used in an emergency in the next world whatever it may be. Shin's gear; Gravity Blade, Lesser Fenrir Coat, Auto 9, Devil Sealed Gun, and all his other weapons stored in his two Na Rings were ready to go, and his other comrades were similarly packed and ready. Team Japan had met early before God would send them off, but just talked about pointless subjects to pass the time rather than what was waiting for them as they did all that was needed to be done.

As they chatted in the platform the twenty beams of light shot down from God to transport them to the next mission had finally came. Everyone was about to step inside, but to Shin's and everyone else was suddenly startled by an abnormality occurring before their eyes. The bright beam of light that everyone had gotten used to had slowly changed in color until it became sunset red color. It wasn't a deep shade, yet it instinctively reminded them all of blood. They then heard God's notification and thus Shin's fifth mission in God's Dimension had begun and had no choice of running away like before.

\- Enter the beam in thirty seconds. Target locked. Dangan Ronpa Another Episode - Ultra Despair Girls. Beginning transportation.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Hoebagger

Thank you all for reading the the fifth arc of "Terror Infinity - Side B", Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island. This is my first Fan Fiction, so I am glad that there were many people who enjoyed it. The next mission is a confirmed won't be an exciting Team Battle, but instead an exciting action pack adventure between Shin and the false God of Terror Infinity, so look forward to the action packed chapters to come which will star our first Video Game setting! Haha! Like I once said I'm getting to all the platforms I advertised and we're now just have Visual Novels left... but who knows when that will be. Seriously, I don't know.

The Dangan Ronpa video game series has recently in the years become one of my favorites. The story alone is compelling enough that it trumps most action adventure games, yet it is the interactive Class Trials that bring out the excitement of the game. Dangan Ronpa 1 had a compelling story and game play. Dangan Ronpa 2 even more so and the slightly shallow Murder Investigation, Class Trial, and culprit motives from the first were perfected in the sequel and lives up to the series name.

Another Episode - Ultra Despair Girls doesn't follow the norm of the series and originally pushed me away, but after I gave the game a chance I was blown away. Literally blown away. I was watching the game on YouTube for a straight ten plus hours and fell off my seat. Ultra Despair Girls is the only action genre game of the series as the rest are visual novel/detective games. There is a upcoming new Anime "Dangan Ronpa 3: End of Hope's Peak Academy" new and game installment "Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing" coming up, so you won't regret getting addicted now!

Warning! The next arc of will be heavily story based and will be packed with spoilers from the entire Dangan Ronpa universe, so please do play or watch a play through of Dangan Ronpa 1, Dangan Ronpa 2, and Dangan Ronpa Another Episode - Ultra Despair Girls... IN THAT EXACT ORDER if you don't want to be spoiled and to fully enjoy this series. Not so much for Dangan Ronpa 2, but not playing Dangan Ronpa 1 before Another Episode will leave you with most clues for some events.

I will take a unconfirmed amount of time to write the fifth mission. Also proofreading to make the fifth mission the best arc to date takes time as well. My best guess is late July or early August, but it might be longer. Honestly it's fine to forget about this FF for now. My work hours have gotten longer as well and so please wait patiently for me to return since it will be worth the wait (Hopefully).

Thank you, and look forward to future terrors that are to come in the upcoming Terror Infinity - Side B, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode - Ultra Despair Girls.


	161. Chapter 161

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 1, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Plot - "Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live... A real life?"

The world changes when you click YES.

In God's Dimension, you have to keep getting stronger, keep evolving to survive one horror movie after another. Do you kill everyone in your way to reach the end as a lone king? Or fight along with your comrades and survive through the support of friends? Everything was just for staying alive. Until you find the secret of God's dimension. Who is the real enemy?

Terror Infinity - Side B

In a new experiment to push mankind to evolve, God has decided to send people into the worlds of Manga, Anime, Light novels, Visual Novels and Video Games. Compared to horror movies, such worlds shouldn't be as terrifying and should be easily to return from, but... You would be very, very mistaken.

Welcome to Side B of God's World.

The Story so far -

Shin Kazama, an otaku disappointed in his life chose YES when God asked if he wanted to know the meaning of life and wanted to live a real life, and was transported to God's world of horrors and terror in his new experiment.

Team Japan had survived their fifth mission Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island, but the first Team Battle where they faced Team Germany, a team belonging to Mass Enlightenment, left them scarred and battered. Additionally, their teammates Renji, Kampa, and longtime comrade Misaki died in the mission. It was a hard fought battle where they lost more than they gained, yet with the new addition to the team with Kisara, a swordswoman of the ancient sword style of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Team Japan were Hopeful that they could keep fighting and become strong enough to handle any danger they come across.

After taking a short trip back to the real world, Shin and the rest of the team were ready to face the fifth mission. Shin, Hikari, Aqua, Shuai, Connor, Jin and Kisara stood in the Terminal Lobby awaiting their new mission, yet to their surprise a red beam of light was shot down from God and were transported to their fifth mission where a surprise was awaiting for them... the world of Dangan Ronpa where Hope and Despair were interlocked in a deadly battle for the lives and very souls of the human race.

\- A summary of Dangan Ronpa.

Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, takes place at an elite high school called Hope's Peak Academy, which accepts talented "Ultimate" students of the highest caliber in various fields each year. Makoto Naegi, a fairly optimistic but otherwise average student, is selected in a raffle and chosen to enroll into the academy as the "Ultimate Luck". However, when Makoto arrives inside the Academy, he loses consciousness and wakes up locked inside the school, where he meets fourteen other newly picked Ultimate students who are in the same situation as him.

It is there that a sadistic, remote-controlled bear named Monokuma appears before them, telling them they will be imprisoned in the academy for the rest of their lives, and that they will be put to death if they violate any of the schools rules. He offers only one way for students to "Graduate" from the academy: Murder another student and not be identified as the culprit.

When a murder occurs, a "class trial" is held, in which the remaining students must determine amongst themselves who the killer is. As the game progresses, several students are killed, and Makoto frequently takes the role of arbiter of the trial, and provides most of the logical insights. Makoto receives assistance from Kyoko Kirigiri, a mysterious girl with no recollection of her past, but possessing keen observational and deductive skills.

\- A summary of Dangan Ronpa 2.

Dangan Ronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Academy, following a similar premise to the previous game, Danganronpa 2 puts players in control of Hajime Hinata, an amnesiac boy who has just become one of Hope's Peak Academy's 'Ultimate' students, alongside fifteen other students. The students find themselves taken to a remote tropical island called Jabberwock by their alleged teacher, an anthropomorphic rabbit named Usami, who claims it to be a simple field trip. However, things turn out to be too good to be true as Hope's Peak Academy's notorious principal, Monokuma, announces they are stuck on the island for life unless they can murder another student and get away with it. If the students can determine a murderer in a Class Trial, that culprit is executed, but if they make the wrong assumption, then the killer walks home free whilst everyone else is sentenced to death.

A summary of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode - Ultimate Despair Girls

Komaru Naegi is a normal girl, the kind you can find anywhere. She was taken from her family and imprisoned in an apartment during The Tragedy. Even after a year and a half, she has not managed to escape. Komaru has almost completely abandoned Hope and has grown to accept her imprisoned life. But one morning, she was forced to learn an even deeper Despair when someone suddenly broke down her front door. But it wasn't a hero or a savior... it was a Monokuma. After escaping from the merciless Monokuma, Komaru is surprised to see the outside world, a world she hasn't seen in one and a half years. It has become a world of Despair, where children controlling Monokumas ruthlessly hunt down adults to death. Her only Hope of survival is the Megaphone Megaphone Hacking Gun, given to her by a mysterious stranger, and a girl by the name of Toko Fukawa.

Beyond Hope... lies absolute Despair.

Komaru Naegi and Toko Fukawa make for the the most unlikely heroes as they try to escape Towa City, a city caught up in a war between adults and children, where the adults are on the losing side. Destroy the murderous Monokuma, outsmart the Monokuma Kids lead by the Heroes of Hope who have begun a revolution against the adults, and discover the secrets of Towa City... Or will Despair consume you?

On a certain day for our ordinary heroine in her apartment. A new day was beginning as the sun rose to the sky beyond her bed room window began to shine throughout the room. Slowly, yet surely following the routine schedule she's set, or was forced upon her she woke up, stretched, and got out of bed with a yawn as she proceeded to change out of her pink pajamas. Exiting her room and dressed in a standard Japanese high school sailor uniform, Komaru Naegi walked over towards the living room veranda and gazed outside. The sun was bright and Komaru stood there taking in the rays to greet the day... along with once more confirming that they were still there. The steel bars confining her within the apartment.

Komaru: (According to what I've heard, the world is round... but is that really true? Earth might have the shape of rock candy, like that spiky lump of sugar your grandma would wrap in a tissue, but I don't really know for sure. It's not like I've actually seen the shape of the Earth. In the same way, I've never actually seen most things that are considered 'common knowledge.' Common knowledge and what we take for granted… We base our lives around such uncertain things. Well, not that it matters for me. I mean, my world isn't even big enough to worry about stuff like the shape of the Earth or common knowledge. In fact, it's pretty small – so small that it's actually a little funny. This is my world. This two-bedroom apartment that I live in is my world. My life doesn't extend beyond these walls. But it's not like I'm a shut-in or anything! I am actually… imprisoned inside this room. My name is Komaru Naegi, an exceedingly normal female high school student living an abnormal daily life.)

After gazing out the window for what she thought to be long enough Komaru turned away and looked behind. Past the living room and down a short hall way a door. The only door leading out of the apartment... yet it was locked. She's checked countless times, yet today like every other day began her usual routine.

Komaru: "Alright... let me out! Let me out of here! Hey!"

Komaru ran towards the door as fast as she could. She yelled, banged, kicked, and jingled the handle of the door over and over again, but it was no use. The door was still locked and no one responded to her cries for help... but that was okay. Not really, but she didn't have her Hopes up.

Not really.

Komaru: (Ever since I began this confined lifestyle, this pointless resistance has become my daily routine. I was only really shouting in the beginning, though. It's been a year and a half since I was imprisioned. A year and a half! Because of that, I've grown completely used to this abnormal lifestyle. Humans are terrifyingly adaptable creatures; I've learned that firsthand through this confinement. Of course, it's not like I've given up. If I did, then I wouldn't do things like stubbornly changing my uniform every morning. It's just that I'm not expecting a miracle. The terror of Despair that comes when you abandon Hope… I've been made to experience some horrible things in this confined lifestyle.)

\- *DING DONG*!

Komaru: "Ah, is it finally time for breakfast? I'm starving, you know!"

Komaru who a short while ago sat down after her exhausting morning routine heard the door bell and knew it was time for breakfast. She walked over back to the door of the apartment and coming through her the bottom slot where mail usually enters from was a tray and on this tray were the common types of food one eats in the morning. Eggs and bacon with a side of broccoli and tomatoes, toast, orange juice in a cup, and butter and jam packages placed on the side as condiments.

Komaru: (It's unfortunate, but even as a victim I don't know anything vital about this confined lifestyle. I was brought to this incomprehensible room by incomprehensible people. Receiving meals at morning and night is the only communication I have with the culprit. I haven't seen the culprit, let alone heard their voice. Thanks to that, I don't even know why I'm being confined. But there's no use in wondering what the strange, irrational circumstances are, because my daily life takes place in this world. So? It's over, right? Right, my story already ended before it began. I don't have any Hope that something dramatic will happen after all this time.)

\- *RATTLE*!

It was then that a sound could be heard from the door as Komaru was halfway through breakfast. It was the sound of the door handle on the other side being moved back and forth in attempts to open the door that was still locked. Komaru who had turned her head over and hearing this... zoned out. She was frozen in place due to this abnormality in her abnormal life style, yet it was a common thing. Someone trying to open a door was quite the normal thing and it was a sound that everyone's heard before, but for Komaru it had been imprisoned and alone for over a year such a sound entering her ears was the first time in a long while.

Komaru: "...Eh? What's happening? Could it be… someone came to save me!? Please save me! I was imprisoned here! Please, save me! I don't want to live like this! Open up!"

Komaru ran to the door and yelled towards whoever was on the other side. She yelled, banged her hands against the door, and even cried to gain this individuals attention, yet it was all real. Not a routine to pass the time. All of her feelings that have been bottled up so she could remain sane during her imprisonment were released. The truth was that she did not grow use to her life style at all. Komaru just wanted out and out now. That's why she yelled and cried as loudly as she could for Hope of rescue to escape her daily and Despairing lifestyle of imprisonment... yet all she found was further Despair.

Three metal blades or claws as they really were stabbed through the reinforced door that had kept Komaru trapped for so long just a few centimeters away from her face. The three blades then slashed down through the door and on the other side of this claw shaped opening a red gleaming eye full of malic and insanity could be seen by Komaru and in fear she fell backwards onto the floor. From there an unimaginable sight occurred. The metal claws gripped and bent the door from the center and it was torn off its hinges, throne away down the hall outside the apartment.

Then it appeared.

Standing between the archways of the apartment door was a bear. Not a real bear, but a robotic teddy bear shaped one with two different color schemes on the right and left side of the bear. The right side was pure white and had a cutesy face with a black bead for an eye. The left side of the bear was black, had half a smile running across its face and lastly the sake terrifying red eye she had just seen before. On half represented good and the other half evil, and when they came together... Komaru with tears down her face was gazing at the face of the world's most infamous mascot character who endorses violence and Despair, Monokuma.

?: "Hey... can you hear me…? Are you okay? It seems you really were knocked out."

As Komaru started to regain consciousness hearing a unfamiliar voice the events that transpired after finally escaping her imprisoned were recalled. Images and new information that she wanted to just forget kept flashing through her mind and made her remember events so terrible that she wished that her pervious imprisonment had continued.

The Monokuma robot broke into Komaru's room and attacked her. The Monokuma attempted to claw her to death with its claws and tear out her throat with its fangs, yet miraculously and with great desperation she escaped the apartment and intruder unharmed, but definitely not unscathed mentally. She was seriously attacked by a person, or thing that wanted to kill her. It was the first time in her life she faced true killing intent and she didn't fare against it well and panicking she ran out of her apartment and down the halls of the building. The Monokuma chased after her and even the building had also caught on fire somehow. Everything had caused her to panic and almost lose her mind... and thankfully she was saved.

With Monokuma still right behind her Komaru ran towards the elevator to escape, and it was there that she was saved. As Monokuma was about to jump on top of her and tear her apart, a man appearing from within the elevator, Byakuya Togami saved her with a strange microphone shaped gun. The gun released a bullet of electromagnetic waves for the purpose of hacking to destroy to the Monokuma robot. Komaru was saved, but all was not well immediately afterwards. Byakuya after an extremely brief meeting her ordered her to escape as dozens of Monokuma Robots arrived to attack them and Byakuya's subordinates who were holding the enemy off.

Before leaving, Byakuya handed Komaru her own Megaphone Megaphone Hacking Gun to her and told her to run to the restaurant across the street where a comrade is waiting. Komaru escaped to the streets below the building she was held in for the first time, but all was not peaceful. Like Byakuya had told her there were riots on the streets with Monokumas attacking people. Without discrimination or mercy they were tearing every single living thing that moved, and no matter how much the people resisted they were all too quickly cut down by the claws, fangs, and superior numbers of the Monokuma who were slowly flooding the streets in the pink blood of their victims.

In fear at the sight our heroine ran. Komaru ran to the restaurant, entered, and tried to warn the people inside who were oblivious to what was going on, yet she was treated as a suspicious and crazy girl. A minute later it was too late to save anyone as a dozen Monokumas broke into the restaurant and began to massacre everyone inside. Komaru hid under a table to avoid the initial carnage fearing for her life, yet knowing it was only a matter before she was discovered and killed, she fought back.

Using the Megaphone Megaphone Hacking Gun and its many features Komaru fought and easily destroyed all the Monokumas... yet she was not relived. For one she was scared and surrounded by corpses, and then came a news report from the TV in the restaurant. The main anchor was dead and slumped over his news desk, but he was not alone. Five kids claiming that they were the Warriors of Hope, had taken over the city. They played with the anchor man's corpse during this speech address.

Nagisa: "Hey you guys! Stop messing around and introduce yourselves! What was all that practice for if we don't do this right? Now, leader, show a good example and begin for us."

Masaru: "Okay, okay! Hello all! Masaru Daimon, the excellent leader uniting the Warriors of Hope enters with a zubababang! My best subject is PE, so I've been named "Li'l Ultimate P.E"! I'm the king of athletics that excels in any exercise! I could easily win a contest of running for 365 days for 24 hours! Oops, I forgot to mention... in the Warriors of Hope, I'm in charge of the "Heroes"! As a hero and a leader, I'm going to become this city's new ruler!"

Nagisa: "Ha... I guess it passes. My name is Nagisa Shingetsu. In the Warriors of Hope, I am both the vice-leader and in charge of the "Sages". When I was going to school, I was named "Li'l Ultimate Social Studies"... but that doesn't mean social studies is my only specialty. My specialty is everything except PE. What "Li'l Ultimate Social Studies" means is that in the future I am expected to become one of society's elite. Well, Monaca aside, you wouldn't be wrong in calling me the good luck charm of the Warriors of Hope. Jotaro, it's your turn."

Jataro: "Okay... Ah, bicycle gears, when I stare at them it makes me anxious, you know? If you stuck your hand in while it was moving, it would hurt. Just imagining it makes my skin crawl! Ah, I'm Jataro Kemuri. Bird skin tastes bad no matter how you eat it, huh? My specialty is art, so I was named "Li'l Ultimate Art". I'm capable of anything to do with art. Even my ability with nail pullers and lacquer is perfect. In the Warriors of Hope, I'm in charge of the "Priests". I wonder if bugs really came from space... Hey, do you guys know?"

Nagisa: "No. Your turn is over. Kotoko."

Kotoko: "Hmm, my turn at last! Ladies and gentleman! Welcome! I am Kotoko Utsugi, in charge of the "Warriors" in the Warriors of Hope. "Warrior", sounds manly and all, but my biology is completely female! I love adorbs things and pre-shelled chestnuts; a totally cliché girl! In school, everyone made a fuss about me being "Li'l Ultimate Drama", but whatever! I don't care about past stories! I look forward to making your acquaintance Demons!"

Monaca: "Amazing Kotoko. My turn then, Nagisa?"

Nagisa: "Yes. Whatever you do will be perfect, so just say what comes naturally."

Monaca: "Then I'll begin. Everyone, Monaca is called Monaca. Monaca is in charge of the "Mages" in the Warriors of Hope. In school, Monaca was named "Li'l Ultimate Homeroom". You'd think you can't be "super" or "normal" at homeroom, but being able to unite people is a great talent, but when Monaca feels it's more like saving people than uniting them. Mysteriously, only the most wonderful people are always gathered around Monaca. Monaca would be happy to see you be a wonderful person for her!"

The introduction seemed innocent enough, but the corpse that they were still playing around with destroyed any Hopes for anyone to see those five kids as anything other than insane. It was all too much for her and she just wanted someone to save and take her away from it all, but seeing no one was coming for her and rampaging Monokumas outside she had to accept that she had to act on her own, or at least find someone herself to rely on. Komaru recalled how Byakuya said that he had a comrade waiting in the restaurant and found this man. He was wearing the same bkack suit as Byakuya's subordinates and should have been her savior in this situation, but the man was badly injured from the previous Monokuma attack. Then more enemies broke into the restaurant and the man in the suit told Komaru to leave him behind and reach the park where more of his comrades are waiting. Komaru knew that the man was going to die if he stayed behind to hold off the enemy, but apologizing with complex emotions in her heart she escaped by herself by using to the back door.

As she left the restaurant behind and ran to the park she saw that massive damage with no signs of stopping, but actually escalating was being inflicted on the city and countless people were dying by the second. Komaru reached the park where more members of the Future Foundation were waiting by a helicopter and asked for help to escape and save the man from before. They listened to her and after sending an agent to back up the man left behind they told her that she was in a reputable city known to the world as Towe City for their efforts in confronting the catastrophic damage caused by "The Tragedy", also called the biggest, horrific and most tragic event in human history. An incident that has been described by various people as being an extraordinary form of social unrest, which quickly culminated into uncontrolled, meaningless unrestrained chaos. chaos, violence, and death that began at Hope Peak's Academy.

It was then as Komaru was digesting this new information from events going on during her imprisonment the next Despairing event took place. As she was talking to the agents of the Future Foundation the voice of children singing could be heard by all. She and the agents turned towards the source of the singing and found a lone kid, a girl sitting on top of playground equipment wearing a green dress and covering the entirely of her head was a Monokuma Helmet.

Komaru was simply confused by the child's appearance, but the agents of the Future Foundation had looks of fear across their faces and we're told by them to be careful and that she was dangerous... and all too soon this was proven true as countless Monokuma robots arrived to the scene and while ignoring the little girl they attacked the Komaru and the agents. They were all too quickly overwhelmed by the Monokuma. The agents pushed Komaru into the helicopter in Hopes that at least she alone can escape, but even this Hope was destroyed. In the pilot's seat was not another Future Foundation agent to take Komaru away to safety, but an enemy Monokuma robot dressed as a pilot.

/hCyV5dk0TqA

And that's what happened.

Komaru was whisked off in a runaway helicopter by a Monokuma, followed by a hard crash in the streets of Towe City, and barely surviving the crash yet getting by the resulting crash as she crawled away, and lastly the greatest shock of all. Komaru was surrounded by hundreds, no thousands of Monokuma and more were joining in, hundreds of Monokumas rained down from the sky above, filled up the streets and rooftops and inched closer and closer to Komaru... and she fainted as the accumulated stress from the recent events finally won.

Komaru: (Why... why did this all happen... or was it just that. About a year and a half before now… a "certain incident" happened that completely changed the world. It seems… the incident's origin was a student movement that happened at a certain school. But because the school it was staged at covered it up, it was too late by the time the public noticed. By which I mean, it enveloped every aspect of the school, grew in severity and turned into a massive incident. In the first place, it was never a simple student movement. It was obvious since it was started at "Hope's Peak Academy". Eventually, as the incident changed its form and scope, the world was thrown further and further into Despair. Theft, arson, assault, murder; all crime rates skyrocketed, causing more instances of revenge which further raised crime rates. Then, the situation surpassed that of an "incident", and a war for war's sake with no thought for religion, freedom, or politics broke out… the world was dyed in Despair... but despite it all, I still desperately kept faith in my world. Even while I felt myself falling, I kept believing "It's still okay. It's still okay". Immediately after, in an incident I didn't understand, seven of my classmates died. Even then, I kept telling myself "It's still okay. It's still okay". It wasn't until I hit the floor that I noticed it was too late. Some unknown men broke into our home and I was separated from my family. My world up to that point fell apart and completely turned on its head. And then, a year and a half passed in that abnormal, irrational confined lifestyle. I, a high school student, accepted that Despair and grew used to a confined life, but waiting at the end of that Despair was even worse Despair. I never had much Hope, but now I'm forced to realize that I should change that. It's better not to have any from the start.)

Komaru: "Why? Why did it turn out like this? If this is how it's going to be, I would have preferred being confined."

?: "Is that so? Well, that's depressing."

Komaru: "Huh?!"

Lying on a foreign bed she did not recognize Komaru shot up and looked towards the other person in the room. Till now she was still in a daze/depression, and so she failed to even bother to look towards the man who had woken her up. Before her in this cramp metallic room she awakened in was a youth around seventeen years or so in age and wearing a wrinkled blue jacket. He obviously didn't care for his sluppy appearance, yet it oddly suit him. There was a gun holster strapped to his side and tied around his back was a strange looking stick or staff. The young adult had a carefree smile on his face that was somewhat creepy, yet also unarming as he meant no harm... but also on his face was something that scared and reminded her of a recent trauma. Covering the left half of his face was a black bear mask with a gleaming red electronic eye resembling the face of one of the dreaded Monokuma.

Komaru: "Who... who are you!?"

Magician Monokuma: "Me? Oh, there's no need to remember me. I'm just a servant, after all. Maybe trash or apprentice magician of sorts... Ha, unexpectedly hard to answer! Anyways, I heard this city was safe and came seeking refuge with some friends, but we got caught in the riots... not only that, we were all caught by "them". How unlucky right, but after desperately begging for my life and those of my companions they said they'd spare me if we became their servant. Well, it's that kind of setting anyways."

Komaru: "U-Umm... uhh... Setting?"

Magician Monokuma: "Right, instead of me, how about we talk about you? You were truly out cold, you know. Were you in a trance to escape reality? You've been asleep for two days."

Komaru: "T-Two days?!"

Magician Monokuma: "Two full days... when the world has changed so completely, I guess you have all the time you need... anything in this world can fall apart in the blink of an eye. It's a transient watercolor painting, but you're more worried about your own problems than the world, right? It can't be helped. I guess you're wondering what'll happen now that you've been put into this prison-like place, right?"

Komaru: "W-What's going to happen…?"

Magician Monokuma: "...Haaah."

Komaru: "Eh?"

Magician Monokuma: "Ah, sorry, I was a little surprised at how ordinary your reaction was. Haha, your character really doesn't stand out. All my friends could be protagonist in their own Web Novels, so you really stand out... in an ordinary way."

Komaru: "U-Umm…?"

Magician Monokuma: "Well, there's no need to be upset. Over 90% of the world is composed of common, boring people like yourself. That's not all. Those common, boring, worthless people are capable of emotional migration... so they're not unlike your common, boring and worthless existence… which means you pass! Hahaha! Aren't you happy?"

Komaru: "W-What… are you talking about?"

Magician Monokuma: "Of course, this is all just my opinion and I'm trash, so they won't consider it their business. That's why I'll have to test you properly."

Komaru: "Test?"

Magician Monokuma: "But before that, I'll return this."

\- "BREAK" Bullet GET!

\- "MOVE" Bullet GET!

The youth in the wrinkled blue jacket handed Komaru back her one and only weapon. The Megaphone Megaphone Hacking Gun. The only effective means of confronting the Monokuma robots that she was aware of. Komaru had noticed that it was missing when she woke up, yet her sudden conversation with the strange youth distracted her from asking where it was.. Komaru didn't wish to fight the Monokuma, yet this gun handed to her by Togami was her best means of survival while she is still trapped in Towe City.

Komaru: "This gun is…!"

Magician Monokuma: "Sorry for borrowing it without permission. I had to personally analyze it no matter what. But really–! That really is a wonderful machine! For there to be a device that fires programs in electromagnetic waves and forcibly hacks things. I know of a certain teenage hacker girl who would love such a weapon... but back to matters at hand. I've found that for what is coming up it's just a little bit too powerful to start out with, so I put a restraint on it and a few other modifications. For game balancing purposes, you know?"

Komaru: "Game balance…?"

Magician Monokuma: "Yes. I know it's hard to accept in reality, but it's important for any game! Without game balancing you can't feel the joys, sorrows, and the excitement... and agony of slowly crawling your way to the top of the game of you were at max strength from the beginning. Ah, but if you're on new game plus then it's okay! The joy of experiencing a game with a maxed out character is amazing as well... Ah, where was I again? No matter. I've already set it so that the gun will upgrade when the kids bring them to you at certain checkpoints, so don't worry about having to search for treasure chest and such in this game."

Komaru: "...U-Um... I have no idea what you're talking about at all."

Magician Monokuma: "I know how you feel, but we have to begin the test soon. Now, you'll start from here, and if you can safely reach where "everyone" is waiting then you pass."

Komaru: "Everyone?"

Magician Monokuma: "...You'll understand when you get there. However, if you meet "everyone", please keep it a secret that I returned the gun to you. If you don't want to die, that is. I'll be in trouble as well. Alright, I'll be going ahead now."

Komaru: "What is this? What's going on now!?"

And like so and without another word the youth in the wrinkled blue jacket left the room. Komaru was left in a state where she had more questions than answers then when she started. Komaru just sat on the bed for a good few minutes before finally getting off. She hated the uncertainty of it all, but now that she had back the Megaphone Megaphone Hacking Gun she managed to gather a small amount of courage to ignore her fears and move forward... which just lead her towards a path of more Despair.

Komaru left the small room she had awoken up in and traveled down a hall way entirely made up of metal. There were gates set into place that forced her into a single path, but despite how suspicious it was she kept moving forward. Komaru ran into a few Monokumas on the way and used the Megaphone Megaphone Hacking Gun to easily destroy them. However, the weapon had been downgraded after the mysterious youth had handed it back to her, yet even with just Break Bullet and Move Bullet it was enough for her to get by with and reach the end of her journey up a flight of stairs. Komaru opened the only door after making it up and discovered a shocking sight that left her confused and scared.

Five kids.

Four standing up front and one in a wheelchair directly behind them. That alone wasn't anything odd, but what was strange was who they were.

Komaru: "You're... the kids that were talking on the TV!?"

It was just as Komaru said. The five children before her were the insane kids who had hijacked the news, played around with a dead body live on the air and claimed to be the new rulers of the city.

Masaru: Wow, looks like I'm famous now! I'll sign your back whenever you want."

Jataro: "I can only write a few words, but if that's okay then I'll sign your back…"

Kotoko: "We'll also accept presents. Sweet things are the best! But salty things are no good. They're low-quality products that don't deserve to put in one's mouth."

Jataro: "I'd like to try driving a train sometime. Also, if I can't then I'll try climbing into the chimney..."

Nagisa: "..."

Monaca: "Welcome, big sis! I'm glad you came!"

Komaru: "Ah, umm... what is..."

Monaca: "Ah, I see. Big sis doesn't know about us yet. In that case, we have to start with self-introductions!"

Masaru: "Alright, let's start with me, the leader!"

Saying so the most energetic of the five children began to introduce himself. A boy with tan skin and covered in small bruises and cuts. Spiky red hair, bushy eye brows of the same color, and blue eyes with a flame pattern iris. He wore a white tank top over a red and black striped shirt and on his head a white tank top. Komaru's first impression of the kid was that he was the energetic and outgoing types who are popular in school.

Masaru: "I'm the leaders of the Warriors of Hope, Hero Masaru Daimon! High spirits every day! 100% energy! The "Li'l Ultimate P.E." that specializes in athletics! Heh, a hero, leader and "Li'l Ultimate PE"? I get tingles just hearing myself say it."

Nagisa: "You're repeating "leader" too much. A real leader would be more composed."

Masaru: "I am a real leader! Everyone decided so!"

Kotoko: "You just won at rock-paper-scissors, though."

Masaru: "Even then, the leader is the leader! I'm the leader–!"

Nagisa: "Alright, alright. Now, next is my self-introduction."

Saying so was a blue haired kid with an air of intelligence and wisdom around him. He wore a light grey plaid jacket over a blue shirt and had shorts to match. Around his neck was a brown and orange scarf which hides a bow tie underneath. Komaru's first impression of the kid was that the boy may not be the popular type in when he's young as he's too mature for his age, but with his good looks, intelligence and cold aura that girls love, as he grows older he'll become one of the most sought after males even after graduating school.

Nagisa: "I am Sage Nagisa Shingetsu. During my time at Hope's Peak Academy's Attached Elementary School, I was called "Li'l Ultime Social Studies". Finished."

Komaru: "Eh? Hope's Peak Academy. You mean that Hope's Peak Academy?!"

Nagisa: "...What of it?"

Komaru: "Ah, I didn't know there was an attached elementary school is all."

Nagisa: "...Hmph, what an ignorant woman. So, who's next? Jataro?"

Jataro: "Ah, wait a minute… before that… can I practice my self-introduction?"

Next up was who could only be described as a strange kid. He wore a stitched together leather mask that may double as a gas mask, evidence being the breathing tube hanging below his chin. He has gray eyes, with a scalpel pattern as the iris. He wears a baggy brown dress shirt with a red tie, orange-brown shorts and a brown apron. Komaru's first impression of the kid was that... he was no good. A dirty and strange kid who had no chance in life without a few decades of therapy.

Jataro: "Umm… what should I talk about? My name is Priest Jataro Kemuri..."

Nagisa: "Your specialty is art and you're named "Li'l Ultimate Art", right? There, next."

Jataro: Ah, you said it! You said everything I was going to say before I could! Uuu… my chest is itchy and crawling for some reason. I want to scratch and tear at it..."

Kotoko: "Jataro-kun always takes too long when he talks. An elephant's nose is also too long, but if you say that then a giraffe's neck is too long, too. Moreover, the time you spend waiting for planes is too long, and Golden Week is also too long..."

Komaru: "U-Umm..."

Kotoko: "At any rate, you don't have to worry about Jataro-kun. He's a latchkey kid... in an emotional sense. Ah, but I don't dislike latchkey kids. Doesn't it seem like... they have some kind of hidden power? Doesn't it seem like they could be swept up in the story of a parallel universe? How exciting!"

Next up to introduce herself, but getting off topic was a pink haired girl. She has very long pink hair tied into pigtails and matching pink eyes with speech bubbles acting as the irises. She wore a pink hairband with horns, she wore a frilled white shirt with a matching black jacket and skirt which both have pink accents and was also in mismatched pink thigh-high socks, and boots. Komaru's first impression of the kid was that she would either grow up to be a popular and fashionable woman, or a high school bitch.

Kotoko: "Ah, sorry for the wait. I'm Kotoko Utsugi, in charge of the "Warriors". I've been named "Li'l Ultimate Drama", but I've discarded my past so I tend to leave it out. My favorite food is pre-shelled chestnuts. My least favorite food is unshelled chestnuts. Kyaaa! Were you surprised that they were both chestnuts?!"

Komaru: "U-Uhh..."

Kotoko: "Speaking of strange things, a kangaroo can't jump backwards! Not only that! Another strange thing is that snakes don't have ears and-"

Nagisa: "That's enough... then the last one is Monaca. Everyone don't you dare interrupt her! Go ahead Monaca."

Monaca: "Mmhm, I got it."

Last to introduce herself was the girl in the wheel chair. She had short green hair tied with a red ribbon and matching eyes with a distinct manji pattern as her iris. She wore a knee-length black dress with a decal of a pelvis and spine on its back as seen when she spins around in her chair. Komaru's first impression of the kid was that... she didn't have one. She seemed nice and although it wasn't that she didn't stand out from her group of friends, but... just something felt off is all she could say.

Monaca: "Monaca is a "Mage", you see. Not only that, Monaca was named "Li'l Ultime Homeroom" in grade school. To put it in a way big sis will understand… it's like a room in school that's your home? Monaca loves hearing everyone exchange opinions during homeroom! That's why Monaca isn't just a member of the Warriors of Hope, she's the mood maker too. Ah, big sis, do you know about the Warriors of Hope?"

Komaru: "N-No..."

Kotoko: "The Warriors of Hope saves the world from "Demons". How's that? Isn't it wonderful?"

Jataro: "We're a party striving to exterminate Demons together, but… everyone hates me, so I was left out for half of it."

Masaru: "And I'm their leader! That means I'm the #1 ruler of this city!"

Komaru: "Um… all this about Demons and rulers… you guys are messing around, right?"

Nagisa: "Messing around?"

Komaru: "I mean, you're all kids, right? For mere kids to be rulers is-"

Komaru stopped herself there as she felt a chill in the air. Each of the five kids who were just energetic as could be fell silent and looked as her with disgust; it wasn't a look of just hate, but like looking down at the floor and seeing a disgusting bug. It was a look so powerful that she had never seen on what should be a pure and innocent child's face.

Nagisa: "Mere kids?"

Komaru: "...Eh?"

Kotoko: "Good grief… this is something you can only say "good grief…" to. We thought she might have been "purified", but… it looks like she's a textbook Demon."

Nagisa: "Listen. Being an adult or child has nothing to do with anything. If you have power, you can overturn the natural order. If we use our Monokuma, people like you would be reduced to a pulp."

Jataro: "You know what he means by pulp, right? Your whole body will turn into little bits of meat. Your internal organs will fly out like minced meat..."

Kotoko: "Stop it, Jotaro-kun. I see that kind of cruel language as cheap."

Komaru: "Wait. Our Monokuma? Then the one controlling the Monokuma are-"

Masaru: "That's right! Isn't it awesome? The Monokuma does everything we say!"

Nagisa: "Thanks to Monaca-chan's magic."

Masaru: "As expected of my team's magician! She can use magic even without a magic square!"

Monaca: "Ehehe, thank you everyone."

Kotoko: "Kyaaa, Monaca's smile is so cute! Cute enough to eat with maple syrup!"

Komaru: "I-If that's true... then stop this now!"

Jataro: "Stop… what?"

Komaru: "Stop doing all of those cruel things!"

Nagisa: "There's no way we can stop. At least, not until our paradise is completed."

Komaru: "Paradise?"

Monaca: "Hm? Didn't you listen to the broadcast? A paradise of the children, by the children, for the children!"

Masaru: "We're going to kill all the adults in this city and make a peaceful paradise just for children! Doesn't that sound awesome?! Our paradise don't have any school or homework!"

Kotoko: "If there are only kids, there won't be any lolicons either. Though you could say that everyone would become a lolicon. Kya! Will everyone come after me then?"

Jataro: "But… should we leave the people in the ice cream stores? Ice cream can't sin."

Komaru: "W-What are you saying? I… don't understand anything you guys are saying!"

Monaca: "Nnnn… like– I– said–! Why– don't– you– get– it–! That's– how– it– is–! If Monaca– says so–! Then– it's– so–!"

The others saw Monaca cry and moved in closer to calm her down. They all had panicked faces as they tried to calm her down and promised all sorts of "fun" games. Komaru seeing this at least understood that this girl in the wheelchair with green hair, Monaca was the center of their world.

Masaru: "Hey you! How dare you make Monaca-chan mad! That's the last straw! I, the leader, am hunting you down right now!"

Komaru: "H-Hunt?"

Nagisa: "We're going to begin the game now. You're going to compete with us in that game."

Jotaro: "Ehehe, it's a great game. Calling it a Godly game wouldn't be wrong!"

Kotoko: "At any rate, it was Monaca-chan's idea."

Masaru: "Ahem, that game is called... Tadaaa! Demon's Hunting! When playing Demon's Hunting, we release a Demon into Towa City as a target. Then the Warriors of Hope compete to see who can hunt it down first. It's an intense game!"

Kotoko: "Waaa, this sounds so fun! As expected of Monaca-chan's wonderful ideas! Right? Aren't you looking forward to it, Monaca-chan? So you'll cheer up, right?"

Monaca: "Nnn.. yeah! How exciting! Let's do it, let's do it quickly!"

Komaru: "You don't mean... the target is..."

Nagisa: "Oi, hurry up and make preparations."

Komaru was confused for a moment, yet it was only for a moment as someone had stealthy walked up behind her and made his move. Before she even realized it the previous youth with a blue wrinkled jacket snuck up behind her and placed two items on her person. One a parachute strapped unto her back and the other was a black bracelet, yet instead of her wrist it was locked around her neck.

Komaru: "W-What is this…?!"

Magician Monokuma: "This bracelet is made specifically to be given to the game's target. It's made of a special material so it can't get destroyed. Ah, you probably shouldn't try to pointlessly remove it. If you tamper with it at all... it'll go boom. I can't stress that "boom" part enough, okay. Hahaha"

Komaru: "...Boom?!"

Jataro: "With this… the preparations are complete."

Masaru: "Alright! Let's get to hunting!"

Komaru: "W-Wait a minute! This is a joke, isn't it?"

Nagisa: "You've been brought this far; there's no way this could be a joke. As an adult, you should speak more intelligently."

Komaru: "Y-You really should stop... someone like me... someone like me you know wouldn't make for a very fun game! I mean… if you throw me out into the city… I'll surely die right away, won't I?"

Kotoko: "Oh, how modest… big sis won't die so easily. You passed that test earlier, didn't you?"

Komaru: "T-That's because I had this gun–"

Magician Monokuma: "Nevertheless, that test was excellent! You confronted the Monokuma and managed to get all the way here, how great. Could it be because of the advice I gave you earlier?"

Komaru: "Advice from earlier?"

Komaru recalled the youths previous words and stopped speaking. He made it clear that it was bad if the children here were to discover the Megaphone Megaphone Hacking Gun. Maybe having the gun at all was breaking their rules as it was such an effective weapon against the Monokuma. Komaru now Hoped that the youth was actually on her side, but she couldn't be certain. All she knew was that the youth mentioned death if the Megaphone Megaphone Hacking Gun was discovered and so she decided not to mention it.

Masaru: "Hey you! You're just a servant, so don't speak without permission from the leader! The next time you speak out of turn, I'll glue your lips together!"

Komaeda: "Ahaha, that sounds scary."

Masaru: "...Alright, let's begin Demon!"

Komaru: "...Why?"

Masaru: "Hmm?"

Komaru: "Why… are you doing these horrible things…? I haven't… done anything wrong..."

Kotoko: "Oh, big sis is too funny! I'm laughing so hard my cheeks hurt."

Masaru: "We decided to play the game because it's fun! Isn't that obvious?"

Komaru: "F-For a reason like that...?"

Monaca: "You know, even if you think about it based on your common sense, logic and experiences, there isn't any reason for it really. Monaca and us are like that so it can't be helped. We do it because it's fun. Have you've ever heard of a kid that has held themselves back from having fun with friends with sound logic or morality? No right? It's the same principle. That's really all there is to it!"

Nagisa: "Looking for a reason in everything is something adults do. As you get older you all foolishly look for answers that are not there. Whether it's to fill a void, or just because they are suspicious of even life itself. Even the actions and good will of others. We kids are much simpler than that. Nonetheless, if we're talking about real intentions, then I'm against this kind of play. We still have a mountain of things to do to establish our paradise."

Komaru: "Then... won't you stop?"

Nagisa: "That can't happen. This is a game that Monaca-chan proposed. Monaca-chan says she wants to play."

Jotaro: "Monaca-chan is this team's princess, you see. Everyone has to fulfill the wishes of the princess."

Kotoko: "Everything that Monaca-chan likes, I like as well!"

Nagisa: "...That's how it is."

Monaca: "Thank you, Nagisa. Even though you're against it, you prepared all sorts of things for Monaca-chan. Okay, Monaca will bake you some tasty cookies later as thanks!"

Nagisa: "...Y-Yeah. Thanks."

Kotoko: "Ahh, just Nagisa is unfair! I want to eat Monaca-chan's cookies too!"

Masaru: "Monaca-chan, what about me? But I'm the leader!"

Komaru looked back and forth between each kid and was frightened by what she saw. They weren't pretending to be carefree and enjoying themselves they really were. They are talking about killing people and at the same time about who gets to eat whose snacks. It was frightening.

Komaru: "W-Why... are you able to smile like that? It's completely strange... it's abnormal."

Monaca: "Hmm… from an adult's point of view that might be true, but… but, but–! But–! I don't care–! About the opinions of adults–! That aside… big sis Komaru Naegi. As for now, you can't make any choices. You aren't able to choose your own path. That's because… where you're at now isn't a path."

Komaru: "Eh?"

Monaca: "Haven't you realized it yet? You fell into hell a long time ago. An abyss where no light can ever reach you for all eternity. Didn't you notice the big, dark hole that opened up at your feet? All you can do now is fall. Fall... Fall... Fall... Hey, can't you already feel the gravity dragging you down?"

Komaru: "W-What do you mean…?"

Masaru: "She means this Demon!"

And then she was dropped down the hole... literally. The floor beneath her feet collapsed and she fell through as the children around her looked on in joy and superiority. Komaru within seconds as she fell reappeared outside and was no longer confined in what was a actually an enormous airship fly through the skies... yet that meant she was falling through the sky as a result. Komaru truly believed that she was going to die at that moment, that she was going to keep falling till she smashed into the earth far below head first, but then the parachute on her opened to reveal a canopy with a Monokuma design which drastically slowed down her fall.

Gliding through the skies above Towe City Komaru's journey finally came to an end. Having no control of where she was going she ended up landing on top of the roof of a random building with a fence surrounding all sides.

Komaru: "Ow ow ow ow! That was so scary!"

Komaru wasn't an expert at parachuting, so it wasn't a perfect landing, get all the same there were no major injuries to he found. Relief washed over her as she finally felt safe after her dramatic fall, but soon that shirt feeling came to the end with the sound of a *CLING*. Komaru with reluctance looked to see what that sound was and discovered the object of her fears, a Monokuma scaling the side of the building and climbing up the fence with its claws. Then if that wasn't bad enough two more Monokumas appeared as if from thin air and looked over towards her. Komaru fearing for her life and unable to summon up any courage hid under the canopy of her parachute like a child hiding under the covers of their bed for protection.

Komaru: "Please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me!"

Komaru unable to take action kept calling for help. She had indeed fought the Monokuma before, but she was just a regular girl and not a trained fighter who's always mentally prepared to fight and take action at a moment's notice. In other words a normal response. All the previous events leading up to now had also destroyed any self confidence that she had about fighting, and so she never even dared to reached for the Megaphone Megaphone Hacking Gun behind her back and tied to her skirt. Komaru just prayed. Prayed over and over that a savior, her savior would arrive and save her from all the Despair... and he had. She was a normal girl, but in spite of that she was the heroine of these events and so-

Shin: "Don't touch my heroine you bipolar bears!"

\- *CRASH*!

Komaru heard the voice of a man and the sound of crushed metal as she hid under her canopy. Curiosity at the moment won over her fears removed her covers and looked up. The first image that she he was a strange sight by any standards. A Monokuma and a youth with mixed black and white hair and wearing a dark coat were engaged in a fight of blades. Sparks ignited as the Monokuma's claws were repelled by the pitch black sword in the hands of the youth. Komaru looked around the roof top to find an explanation of how this sort of situation even started, but found only more confusion.

One of the three Monokunas had been destroyed, smashed into the ground with its face caved in as if it was hit by a large hammer. Next she noticed was that the other still active Monokuma that had a dent in its stomach tried to sneak up behind on the youth and claw at him, but before she could even warn it was too late, or rather unnecessary. While locking blades with one Monokuma with a single hand grasping his sword the youth used a now free hand reflecting a silver light to grab the other Monokuma's claw, smashing its hand with massive gripping power, and then pulled the enemy in closer. The youth side stepped and allowed the pulled in Monokuma to crash into the other enemy and they fell on top of one another. Then not letting this chance go the youth raised his pitch black sword overhead as if it was an axe and slashed down, stunningly cutting through both of the fallen Monokumas in one swing.

Shin: "...Easy, but might get tougher later on. Ah, Komaru Naegi. I'm glad that your safe. Your wellbeing is connected to my own after all."

Komaru: "...Huh?"

The youth looked towards Komaru and spoke. He displayed incredible power and knew her name, so she had a lot of questions to ask, but there was no time. It was then that more than a dozen Monokumas scaling the building and were about to reach the rooftop. The youth seeing this took out a gun that resembled a gun from a certain movie and fired without time to take proper aim. The bullets released somehow accurately struck two Monokumas about to hop onto the rooftop. The bullets bounced off, yet the ones that accurately hit the ominous left eye glowing red cut into the enemy and had their heads explode. It was a good thing, but seeing more taking their place upset the youth.

The youth that had saved her life, Shin, clicked his teeth and dragged Komaru by the hand leading her away. Komaru had no idea who the youth was, but seeing his power and take action to save her gained her full trust at this time. Shin lead Komaru to hide behind one of the large ventilation systems supplying air into the building below their feet as countless Monokuma ran around the rooftop looking for new prey. Komaru looked around for danger and found that Shin had brought her into a large group. Including Shin they were a group of fourteen all together. A few were like Shin and were constantly on guard for any potential dangers about to sneak up on them, but the majority of them were just like Komaru. Helpless, scared, and zero motivation to do anything else but to cry and stay hidden hoping everything words out.

Shin: "...Okay, I'm going back out. They'll eventually find us if we let them be so I'll make quick work of them. I understand a bit of their strengths, so I'm confident that I can win on my own. Sachi and Drake. Protect Komaru! Everyone else... if you have to cry keep the volume down if you don't want the enemy to locate you that much sooner."

Komaru: "W-wait! Who are you? A-are you here to rescue me?"

Komaru called out to her savior as he was about to charge back out to face the enemy Monokuma. Shin stopped to turn back and look at her. For an instant there were some mixed emotions that showed on his face, but it was gone the next. Now all there was on his face was a genuine smile as he looked directly into Komaru's eyes.

Shin: "...That's right. We're here to help you as it is our mission, but introductions can wait till I clear out the enemies. Then we can have a nice long talk, but I can tell you the short version of who I am. My name is Shin. A member of Future Foundation and Hope's Peak Academy "Ultimate Protagonist"! Komaru Naegi, let's go on an adventure and escape Towe City!"

Shin with that short introduction left Komaru and the others of his group behind. Komaru didn't understand half of what Shin had just said, but his strength and confidence won her over. For so long she's been praying for someone like him to appear and save her. Komaru didn't know who he really was and what he really wanted... but those things didn't matter now. Komaru, she had found her prince charming who would protect her from all the Despair of the world and allowed her to Hope once more... or that was what she at least wanted to believe as she was desperate for a savior.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza.

Thank those of you who were waiting and here it is... The first chapter of the long awaited Terror Infinity - Side B, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls! The length of the DRAE: UDG arc is extremely long like HxH arc (Less Chapters, but more content) and there's nonstop action. This will be a story plot, so not too many differences to the original game will be seen.

Thank you for reading and look forward to the next chapter. Also thanks to Azarza for proof-reading this chapter and also Deltoren for for picking up the latter half of the arc. Lastly, please rate this Fan Fiction and leave nice/constructive reviews. The better the two are, the more new fans will give 'Terror Infinity - Side B' a chance.


	162. Chapter 162

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 2, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Hours before Shin met up with the heroine of "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls", Komaru Naegi, Team Japan arrived in the Mission World. The seven of them; Shin, Hikari, Aqua, Shuai, Connor, Jin, and Kisara woke up on the fenced rooftop of a large building within a city with no people, or even the noise of people commonly found in a city. There was not a sound to be heard, similarly to a ghost town. With no people in the city, the place was silent as a grave. As they stood up and looked around they were unsettled by what they saw as they wished for normal scenery even if they had to struggle in this world to just keep their lives and the lives of their comrades.

They sky that should be blue, orange, or black depending on the time of day was dyed red the color of blood and shined down a darkness that made the city nothing less than ominous. They were transported to a modern city, yet this modern city had been half destroyed upon closer examination as they beyond the rooftop. Buildings had collapsed, some on fire, and if one looked down at the streets through the metal fence of the building they would find the reason for why the city was as quite as it was. There were countless corpses scattered throughout in bloody heaps. Putting all this together the city was in a state worse off than if it was caught up in a war zone in the real world.

Shin: "...Yep. Really lives up to the very image of Despair having woken up within the city. And then there's..."

Shin looked towards his feet now. It was the other something that caused his comrades and his own heart to sink once they understood what it meant. There were thirteen bodies on the floor. They were all still alive, but half of Shin wished that they weren't and were just a part of the setting as dead bodies, yet the reality was that they were there. These thirteen individual of the floor of the rooftop, unconscious, and had the same watches on their wrist like the others of Team Japan.

New Players, or nicknamed Newbies in God's Dimension's Team Japan. With each new mission New Players would arrive to replace those that died or just to fill up the team's maximum occupation of 20 Players. It was a good thing as Team Japan only had seven active members and could use new blood if within a new batch of Players there were those who could become a part of the team, yet it came at a steep price. On a mission assigned to a team by God the lowest number of Players possible for a team was seven and the highest was twenty, and this number directly correlates with the difficulty of any mission assigned to them by God.

Shin saw it like this:

◆ 7- 9 Man Mission - An easy mission that can be survived by just following the plot.

◆ 10-13 Man Mission - A difficult mission, but can be survived by understanding the plot and accepting a high level of danger.

◆ 14-17 Man Mission - A higher difficulty with a high likely hood of a change of plot such as the story, or the strength of enemies increased dramatically. Also, plot holes would have been completely fixed and still wishing to make use of them means accepting a very high level of danger.

◆ 18-20 Man Mission - The most extreme level of difficulty. It's a mission where God predicts that there's a very high chance of a team wiping out with their current abilities. Plot changes, increased dangers, extremely difficult adversaries, or extremely difficult objectives are but a few of the possible dangers one could face and-

Shin: "A Twenty Man Mission. The highest possible level of danger for the Main Mission."

I recalled my own past experiences with such difficulties. Apocalypse Alice was a twenty man mission like now. No one from the core team died, but it was a mission almost impossible to complete as we were randomly teleported within the Labyrinth and without the assistance of the main characters who were elite combat magicians, it would have been impossible to clear the Labyrinth and defeat the final boss. The previous Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island was an eighteen man mission that didn't appear to be that difficult at first, but that was only because of our passive methods in dealing with he Main Mission and having Team Germany being in the limelight, singled out by the residents of the island and accepting the difficulties in our stead, leaving Team Japan to complete the mission in the shadows of that island. Depending on the Main Mission and methods used by the team any mission can be complete and avoiding the main dangers, yet if one could not find such methods...

Hikari: "..."

Shin: "So how is it Hikari? What's the situation within the city?"

Shin looked over towards Hikari who already had out her Persona Adrasteia. He had Hikari summon her Persona to increase her Psyche Force abilities and scan the city. Recently Hikari had vastly strengthened her searching prowess by gaining the standard Psyche Force Scan which melded with her Persona abilities. That's why Shin expected quite a detailed description from Hikari... but instead she fell to the floor and threw up. The others were shocked by this and thought that something was wrong with her, but Shin only needed a moment to understand what was going on.

Shin understood what has happened in this city, Towa City in the world of Dangan Ronpa and couldn't blame her. Anyone who knew what was going down within the city, what was done to the adults and what the brainwashed children were doing to both the living and the dead was... it just wasn't something anyone could handle. Even war veterans who had survived the most tragic of wars and seen what kind of hell it brings... even they wouldn't be able to stomach what was done here. Only those with no respect for the living, or care for life and death would be able to look at all the Despairing tragedies within Towa City with a cold, unfeeling heart. Lacking a human heart would be another way of saying it. That's why Shin simply moved over to Hikari side and rubbed her back to make her feel better and apologized for not given her fair warning. Then feeling better Hikari gave a brief summary of the things that she had seen and the others no longer blamed Hikari and now looked sickly themselves. Not even Connor who had experienced the most horrors having grown up as a child solider could keep up his usual poker face.

Hikari: "Its, its... just as I've said. Anyways, I've scanned the city and created a map for you all that's highly detailed. As for the other thing that I... you just have to see for yourself to believe it."

Kisara: "...You must be exaggerating, right? Kids... little kids wouldn't do such things!"

Shuai: "I don't think it's a joke Kisara. As a shaman connect to the other world... I can literally hear it! The horror and regret filled screams of the dead adults unable to accept death. Not even in the distorted space of the Labyrinths of Apocalypse Alice or the mass casualties from the last mission ever made me feel so sick to my stomach. I just want to cry! I swear, if I was alone in the city I would lose my mind!"

Connor: "Just... just what is this world? Is this really the world of a video game and not a horror film? Who would play this sick game?"

Shin: "I'm guilty of playing this sick game you know. Sure, it's one of the most gruesome games that I've ever played, but from the outside it's extremely compelling to play. It just isn't fun to play from within at all."

Aqua: "If you say so Shin. Anyways explain this world to us. We need to know just what we are dealing with here in this fucked up city. Shit, I need a smoke. I've never hated my heightened senses as much as I do now. It's as if I'm swimming in a river of death just by standing in this city."

Shin: "I feel the same even if not to the same extent. Hey, what about you Jin? Have you played this game before?"

Jin: "Unfortunately no. I was playing a holiday event and later going on a number of raids in XXXXX when the game came out, so I forgot to buy it. I played the first two games, but not the one that diverged in game play from 1 and 2. I'll leave it to you Shin to explain things to us."

Shin: "Okay then. I'll start of by saying Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is the story that connects Dangsn Ronpa 1 to Dangan Ronpa 2. I'll give you summaries of their plots."

Hikari: "Shin... do we ABSOLUTELY need to know what happened in the other games to survive this game?"

Shin: "...Yes (Well, not really Dangan Ronpa 2, but you should still know... although I won't say that.)

Hikari: "...Continue."

Shin: "Okay, but beware. These are extreme spoilers. EXTREME SPOILERS EVERYONE!"

Aqua: "Just get on with it terminal otaku!"

I then began to explain the plots of Dangan Ronpa to date. The Dangan Ronpa 3 the Anime (Both Hope and Despair arcs) and the V3 the game have yet to come out, but it shouldn't be too important to our mission here in Another Episode.

◆ Dangan Ronpa, Trigger Happy Havoc : The story is shown from the perspective of the protagonist, Makoto Naegi, who starts a new year at the elite private Hope's Peak Academy, a government-funded school which is renowned for educating students that are top of their expertise, talent, or ability. These students are given the title of "Ultimate". However, every year the school hosts a raffle in which every average student nation-wide is enrolled in, and a random student is selected to enter the school as the "Ultimate Luck" - as is the case with Makoto Naegi, and is shown through the short story, "Makoto Naegi's Worst Day Ever".

The story revolves around fifteen students who are trapped in the school under the control of a sadistic monochrome bear named Monokuma. They are forced to live a communal lifestyle together under a set amount of rules (included in the e-Handbook) for the rest of their lives, although it is possible to "disrupt the peace" in order to escape. In order to do this, a student must "graduate" from the school by murdering a classmate. After a body has been discovered, the rest of the students must work together to discover the culprit, who is known as the "Blackened", while the innocents are on the side of the "Whitened," playing off of Monokuma's monochromatic color scheme. If the culprit can fool the rest of their classmates, then they alone can graduate the school while the rest of the students will be punished (executed). However, if the classmates uncover the true culprit, then the culprit alone will be punished with a gruesome execution while everyone else remains unharmed, but are forced to continue with their imprisoned lifestyles.

In each chapter, Monokuma releases motives to encourage students to commit a murder. During this time, the students attempt to uncover the secrets of the school, including why they were trapped there in the first place, as well as other ways to escape the school other than the graduation clause. At the end they confront the true mastermind actually hidden among them, or was thought to be Junko Enoshima, but even this was always part of her plan. Every event, even the ones that the main characters believed to have outsmarted the mastermind were all in her predictions for the most part.

As it turned out everything was pointless. Due to The Tragedy or also called The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history the world had basically come to an end. The school they were imprisoned in was actually a shelter to protect them from the mad rioters outside and polluted air making everyone sick. They had all agreed to possibly spend their entire lives within the school so they could survive... yet they just forgot all of this. Junko Enoshima had just stolen their memories of the past two years when all these events were going on for the sake of her final game of Despair. She had broadcasted the events that had happened in the school to show that Hope, the Ultimate talents of Hope's Peak Academy could fall into Despair and would chose if given the chance to spend the rest of their lives in the school they had all so desperately wanted to escape from. In the end Makoto Naegi and the others chose to leave the school anyways and accept the Despair ridden world believing in Hope over everything else. This act forced the Despair incarnate mastermind Junko Enoshima to commit suicide and the surviving main characters exited the school.

◆ Danganronpa 2, Goodbye Despair: Following a similar premise to the previous game, Danganronpa 2 puts players in control of Hajime Hinata, an amnesiac boy who has just become one of Hope's Peak Academy's 'Ultimate' students, alongside fifteen others. The students find themselves taken to a remote tropical island called Jabberwock by their alleged teacher, a small, rabbit-like mascot named Usami, who claims it to be a simple field trip. However, things turn out to be too good to be true as Hope's Peak Academy's notorious principal, Monokuma, announces they are stuck on the island for life unless they can murder another student and get away with it. If the students can determine a murderer in a Class Trial, that culprit is executed, but if they make the wrong assumption, then the killer walks home free whilst everyone else, the innocent are sentenced to death.

Over the course of the game, several students are murdered, and thanks to Hajime's investigative skills, their killers are found out and executed. However, Hajime begins to realize something isn't quite right with the world, and discovers a terrible truth. He and his fellow students are in fact the surviving members of Ultimate Despair, a group led by the first game's antagonist, Junko Enoshima, whose sole purpose was to spread Despair to the world. They managed to instigate a worldwide rebellion that caused society to collapse. However, one group, called the Future Foundation, has been attempting to undo the damage Ultimate Despair caused. They captured the surviving members, but instead of executing them, decided to try and rehabilitate them by erasing their memories and putting them in a virtual reality program.

Upon finding out that they are in a program and that all of the students are merely artificially constructed avatars, Hajime is then contacted by Makoto Naegi, the protagonist from the first game and now a member of the Future Foundation. He warns Hajime that an artificial intelligence copy of Junko Enoshima, based on the "Alter Ego" AI from Trigger Happy Havoc, has hijacked their program, and is trying to manipulate events so that once the surviving students "graduate", she can possess the bodies of the deceased students, which are still intact in the real world. Alter Ego Junko's ultimate plan is to download herself into every person on the planet. Makoto tells Hajime that if the class votes not to graduate, it will allow him to reset the system and purge Alter Ego Junko. However, that also means that the student avatars will be deleted, along with all of the memories they gained while in the simulation and will return to their former Ultimate Despair personas that had potentially ruined their bodies as well.

Junko attempts to convince Hajime by revealing that he was formerly the genius leader of Ultimate Despair, Izuru Kamakura. He and the other students hesitate, afraid of reverting to their original personalities. However, Hajime eventually finds the inner courage to thwart Alter Ego Junko's plan, and convinces the other students to refuse graduation, saying that they will create a future where they do not have to forget. Makoto then resets the system and deletes Alter Ego Junko. In the epilogue, Makoto, and fellow survivors and Future Foundation members Kyoko Kirigiri and Byakuya Togami look on as the students decide to return to the island. They muse that they are already vastly different from their original Ultimate Despair personalities, choosing to stay behind on the island to look after their comatose friends who were "killed" in the simulation. Even though the chance is extremely small, Makoto is confident that the students will find a way to revive their friends.

◆ Dangan Ronpa Another Episode, Ultra Despair Girls: The game takes place half a year after the events of the first game, prior to the events of the second game. Komaru Naegi, the younger sister of the first game's protagonist, Makoto Naegi, has spent the past year locked inside an apartment complex in Towa City, unaware of the events that have gone on in the outside world. She is suddenly forced to flee when was she attacked by deadly Monokuma robots and comes across Future Foundation member Byakuya Togami, who gives Komaru a special Hacking Gun that can fight against the robot and orders her to escape the city. However, Komaru's escape fails and she is captured by a group of elementary-school children known as the Warriors of Hope, who seek to create a utopia for children by murdering all the adults with their robots. They force Komaru to join their "Demon Hunting" game and drop her into the city, where she meets Toko Fukawa, a survivor of Hope's Peak Academy who now uses a stun-gun to control her murderous split personality, Genocide Jack. Learning that Byakuya may have been kidnapped by the Warriors of Hope, Toko agrees to team up with Komaru to find Byakuya and escape the city. Along the way they encounter a resistance group, run by Haiji Towa, and meet a white bear robot named Shirokuma.

As Komaru and Toko go on their journey, fighting against the Warriors of Hope and encountering much Despair along the way, they learn that the Warriors of Hope are in worship of Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Despair responsible for bringing about the end of the world, and seek to create a successor. Confronting the group's leader, Monaca Towa, and defeating their advisor Kurokuma, Komaru is given the choice of destroying the Monokuma Controller, which would stop all the robots but at the cost of sacrificing all the children wearing Monokuma Kid masks. Monaca then reveals that her goal is to turn Komaru into the next Junko Enoshima, trying to coerce her into destroying the controller by allegedly revealing her parents were killed. However, Toko, having learned a great deal from travelling with Komaru, slaps some sense into her and together they overcome Despair in order to defeat an out-of-control mech. As Monaca is inevitably rescued by Nagito Komaeda, who encourages her to become the next Junko herself, it is revealed that both Shirokuma and Kurokuma were controlled by the real Junko's AI, who has Izuru Kamukura carry out the next part of her plan. Meanwhile, after rescuing Byakuya, Komaru and Toko decide to stay behind in Towa City to help out those who need it

Shin: "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls... This should be our current mission. I also suspect that we are on the rooftop of the hospital building Komaru drops down to after being forced to parachute from the Warriors of Hope's air ship. If we just stay here we'll be able to join up with the main characters, but I wonder about that."

Shuai: "Why?"

Shin: "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls has another main character who joins Komaru on her adventure. The Ultimate Writing Prodigy Toko Fukawa, also known as Genocider Syo, the Ultimate Murderous Fiend, an individual with split personalities. One normal book worm girl who's a bit weird by even my standards, the other a homicidal maniac who loves to kill good looking and handsome men (I'm in danger). Both are in love with the rarely seen character in this game that was a main character from the first game, Byakuya Togami. She's a fighter with strength comparable to summon who has unlocked up to the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint, but just without any enhancements."

Hikari: "So... have we've taken her place is what you want to say? If our mission is to protect her then it makes since we took the spots of the characters who did the same thing."

Shin: "Who knows? I would say you are right... but we can't know for sure. We have nothing to go on yet."

It was as Shin said as he reconfirmed with his Players Watch. It was a watch given to all Players by God which gives details of the Main Mission, Side Quest, Penalties, and any additional information that a team needed to know. Shin sighed loudly as he looked at his watch for who knows how many times, yet it has not once changed. Shin's own watch and the watches of all the other members of Team Japan were blank. There was no information for them to go on. Not where to go, what to do, or anything else of importance. They were indeed within a mission assigned to them by God as they have already tired to leave and were stopped. There was a invisible barrier around the roof top. One could not leave through the rooftop door of the hospital building or scale down the building by jumping over the fence.

Kisara: "What is going on? Also, what was the red beam of light that we had to enter? Is that normal?"

Aqua: "Far from it. I've been here the longest and this is all a first for me. The beam is always the same color and has never been red before. Something must be going on and we need to-"

?: "There is no need for that... at least for six of you anyways. Not all of you will be participating in this mission after all."

Shin: "!"

Shin and the others heard a dark, unknown, yet powerful voice from the confirmed rooftop door that should have been impossible to open and saw an unknown individual joining them by opening that door. A lone man in a black suit, a black tie with a white shirt inside, and wearing black loafers stood by the door. The man had long flowing black hair and red eyes that cut through the darkness (Not unlike the Sharingan) with symbols resembling target radars running across his pupils. The man then looked over the members of Team Japan one by one and crooked his head to the side, not impressed yet not too disappointed.

?: "...I'll guess you guys will do. Well, it isn't my decision in the end to gamble on Team Japan of all teams, but... you all are the chosen ones after all."

Shin: "You, you are..."

Yes, Shin recognized the man in front of him. In a place where he shouldn't be and at the very beginning of the story instead of the ending where he only appeared. One of the most prominent characters of the Dangan Ronpa series and sort of the main character of Dangan Ronpa 2... Hajime Hinata. That is this characters real name, but the name of the the man in front of them right now is different. He is currently one of the only two Ultimate Hopes, one embodying figurative meaning, and he the other embodying the literal meaning as the result of the false dreams and Hopes of the teachers of Hope Peak Academy had in creating the ultimate talent. That's right. The name of this man is...

Shin: "...Izuru Kamukura!"

Izuru Kamukura: "Yes, you can call me that. I am both Izuru Kamukura and one of the Guides created by who you all call God in this dimension. Nice to meet you, members of Team Japan. Welcome to the first Guide's Test in a long time."

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza.

I actually hinted at this development back in the Real World arc with Shin and Sozin's training chapters.


	163. Chapter 163

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 3, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

WARNING! THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'M SAYING THIS, BUT THE NEXT PART IS AN EXTREME SPOILER FOR THE DANGAN RONPA SERIES. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED THE FIRST THREE GAMES.

Shin: "...Izuru Kamukura?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Yes, you can call me that. I am both Izuru Kamukura and one of the Guides created by the one you call God in this dimension. Nice to meet you, humans of Team Japan. Welcome to the first Guide's Test in a long time."

Shin: "Guide... that's..."

As I heard this introduction from the man who had suddenly appeared during this confusing time for Team Japan, my mind made a few connections. The mission had yet to begin so this man, Izuru Kamukura was not here as a NPC of the Mission World of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode, but here as an outsider like us Players of God's Dimension. He also mentioned a foreign word to this world or any of the Mission Worlds should know about. The Guide. Its a word the real Izuru Kamukura of Dangan Ronpa despite his vast intelligence and knowledge should not know of, and before he or anyone else could get out another word I went over my information about the man in front of me.

◆ Hajime - Hajime Hinata is the main protagonist of "Dangan Ronpa 2: Goodbye Despair". Hajime originally had no talent, entering Hope's Peak Academy as a reserve course student, but he eventually earned the title of Ultimate Hope after participating in Izuru Kamukura Project - a brain alteration/augmentation program named after the school's founder designed to "create a genius out of the ordinary" - in which his original memories were erased. During this time, he was known as Izuru Kamukura. After the death of Junko, Izuru agreed with the other Remnants of Despair to a plan to allow AI Junko to take over their bodies through the Neo World Program. The program's original purpose was to undo Junko's influence, but Izuru downloaded AI Junko in it. After Izuru entered the Neo World Program, the program dug up the memories of Hajime and rebuilt his old personality from data from the past and the majority of Dangan Ronpa 2 is played as him.

Hajime's personality is seemingly cynical due to how he behaves, but it would be better describe him as a realist. He is quite skeptical and tends to worry more than the other students, but his worries are often very justified and understandable. He is a logical and smart person and he is annoyed by the idea of not being able to understand someone or something at all. He tends to be quite serious, but he does joke around occasionally and often goes along with his classmates' eccentric hobbies. Hajime tends to snark at his classmates in his thoughts and he can be blunt at times, though he means well and he's more frank than sarcastic or mean-spirited. Though sometimes a bit submissive, he is not afraid to speak his mind. He is sometimes even a bit short-tempered and can snap at others, especially when he's tired or under pressure.

Though he tries to hide it, Hajime is very insecure about his lack of talent and it bothers him deeply. This caused him to admire Hope's Peak Academy more than anything, as he believed that attending the school would fix the problem. He wished to be part of something bigger than himself, to become more confident and someone he can be proud of. He felt bitter about being just a reserve course student which ultimately lead him to being used by Hope's Peak Academy and becoming Izuru. Chiaki Nanami, a classmate from Dangan Ronpa 2 on Jabberwok Island was the one who guided Hajime to see the reality that whether or not he had a talent was irrelevant. It was largely due to her support and encouragement that he was finally able to overcome Despair and gain true confidence.

After Hajime awakens from the Neo World Program, he preserves his memories as Hajime Hinata. However, because the shutdown sequence didn't overwrite his memories, he also maintains the memories of his life as Izuru Kamukura and Ultimate Despair. Still, he chooses to live as Hajime Hinata, and accepts that the future includes countless possibilities that can sometimes end in failure. At the end of the game, Hajime and the other survivors managed to escape to the real world, and remained stay on Jabberwock Island.

Izuru - Izuru Kamukura, also known as Izuru 1.0, is one of the two main antagonists of Dangan Ronpa 2: Goodbye Despair along with Junko Enoshima, and a central antagonist in the Dangan Ronpa series. He is an alternate identity of Hajime Hinata. Izuru was the end product of the Hope Cultivation Plan and as a "genius out of the ordinary", Hope's Peak Academy's ultimate goal, went by the title of Ultimate Hope. He is also named after Hope's Peak Academy's founder. Izuru eventually joined Ultimate Despair, after being influenced by Junko Enoshima.

Due to the drastic changes that the operations made to turn Hajime into Izuru, his original personality was suppressed so as to not interfere with his talent cultivation. Izuru appears as a cold and emotionless person who finds everything and everyone boring. He expresses disgust for talentless people that oppress those with talent instead of acknowledging their "true superiors". He believes that such people brought the world to a deadlock and created a world that has stopped evolving. He mentions that this way of thinking was taught to him by his "teachers".

Izuru appears to enjoy unpredictability, which can make him feel more emotional, but he quickly grows bored because his immense talent and intuition causes him to quickly predict things with surprising accuracy. This is seen in the chapter 0, as he is visibly excited by the rocking of the boat only to find it boring a few seconds later. He is also so focused on the rocking that he doesn't realize he's on a boat, at first. Izuru also has the ability to read people from the second he looks at them, as he can immediately figure out another's true character with relative ease.

In Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Izuru appears completely silent and seemingly unemotional. However, he rips the hard drives from Shirokuma and Kurokuma in a rather aggressive and seemingly annoyed manner, which is even commented on by the AI Junko. According to Junko, Izuru was the one who brought the AI Junko to the Neo World Program, which started the serial murders. Being the same person as him, Hajime is both the protagonist and antagonist.

◆ The Guide - Long ago God cared more about evolution than simply killing the Players off. Evolution is still the ultimate goal, but not as much as before now. God rarely gives a Team hard missions early on as the difficulty was set by the strength of the Players of the team, and mostly the strength of the strongest member was taken into consideration and second being the achievementa of the Team. God would even insert a fake Player into the team to help Players in the beginning and this individual is the person in question.

The Guide.

Originally, God wouldn't place Players who have just entered this dimension straight into danger all at once. God would normally take it in steps, so it created this role within a Team to give people a chance. The Guide is a simulated human created by God similar to a Human Creation or NPC. He will hide in a team like a normal person and play the role of a Player in the team. However, he won't actually die. If he died in a movie/mission, then there will be a Guide among one of the newbies in the next one. They are artificial personalities and never existed in the real world to start with like Aqua, Hikari, myself, and the others.

The Guide can't help the team through difficulties, especially as the main combatant. The Guide won't actually die until the first Player unlocks his or her Genetic Constraint. Usually this would be the First Stage. The Guide's function is to test if that Player who unlocked the constraint can become the true leader and not an elected or acknowledged leader like me.

The Guide also can't attack anyone other than the leader he designates during the test and if the designated leader passes the test, the Guide will give him the leader position which will increase his unlocked state by one level and the Guide will finally disappear. Also, the position of leader which offers more benefits to the person than what a normal Player has. The leader gains more information about the God's Dimension and also a better understanding of the exchanges, so whatever enhancement path a team member goes down the Leader will be able to find out the best exchanges for them without testing each out and wasting points.

This was the way it was in God's Dimension for a long time till a change occurred in God's Dimension a little over 50 years ago. It was around the time that three out of the four organizations which comprise the Four Pillars; Mass Enlightenment, Blood Crusade and Absolute Reckoning were making groundbreaking progress in their investigation into God's Dimension and the mortality rate of all the teams were at an all-time low thanks to the team's having the support of the Four Pillars. It was everyone's belief that God was upset over the Four Pillar's actions that started to interfere with God's Dimension's true purpose, evolution, and so the Guides and the support that they offered for all the teams were taken away to make the missions more difficult and increase the likelihood that those team would wipe out.

This was all explained to me by Sozin of Dove United when I trained under him for two weeks in the real world after the BTOOOM Mission. Sozin told me for the sake of my Team to seek out the Guide. He had have no concrete proof to say what he told me, but he believed that it was possible that while allowing the Four Pillars to do as they please, God and the systems left by the first generation to have unlock their constraints aren't too happy about the current situation. That is why there could be a small chance that it was us of Team Japan to meet the Guide.

Team Japan has no affiliation with Mass Enlightenment, Blood Crusade, Absolute Reckoning, or even the neutral Dove United. In fact at this current time we're mortal enemies due to having no affiliation with any of the Four Pillars, but that placed us in a unique position. As we are not connected to any of the Four Pillars it may be possible for Team Japan to side with God. That way maybe the Guide will reappear to us with the power that the Guide offers we would have an edge over the other teams of God's Dimension.

Sozin really thought it was even possible that the Guide may appear before us without us having to even look for him. It was just a matter of time according to him. God is waiting for Team Japan to show him everyone's strength first before making a move... and it was as he said. Immediately after Team Japan's first Team Battle where we faced off against Team Germany belonging to Mass Enlightenment the Guide appeared before us. We didn't know what this Guide wanted yet by appearing before us all at this time... but this really was a chance for us.

The power of a true Team Leader from what we knew, was invaluable to us as Team Japan doesn't have the same comprehensive understanding of the Exchange System as other Team connected to the Four Pillars do. There should be other privileges and Team Japan could use them all, though it would come at a cost. God sees us all as nothing more than lab rats in this experiment to evolve, so if we entered into an alliance with God we wouldn't be equals, or at the very least we couldn't reason with it. Sozin knew this, but still told us to do whatever it took to gain its support.

Aqua: "So you're the Guide, huh? The secret agent like artificial human who infiltrated Teams in the past... but why are you here? Supposedly you disappeared years ago to give the Four Pillars a hard time. What do you want with Team Japan? Also, what's going on with our mission?"

Izuru Kamukura: "..."

Hikari: "Hey, can't you be less aggressive Aqua? He could be dangerous and you're trying to anger him."

Aqua: "Huh? Anger him? If he came for a fight we would already be in a death match Hikari. You've unlocked your constraint as well, so don't pretend that you can't feel it as well... this guy is bad news."

Hikari: "..."

It was just as Aqua had said and why Hikari tried to get Aqua to be less aggressive. This Guide had taken on the role of Izuru Kamukura and as such... was a real monster. The man showed no signs of aggression on his part, yet there were no chinks in his armor to exploit. Not one opening to take advantage of if one of us wanted to attack him, but I don't believe any of us would. There was a powerful dark aura of inner strength coming from the Guide who has appeared to us as Izuru Kamukura that told us all that if he wanted to... he could kill us all with ease.

The Guide felt similar to Saki who rarely showed emotions, yet this man had a far greater level of perfection, both a physical and mental force about him that made him more dangerous than any of our past foes. The Zombies of H.O.T.D, Btooom Lord Ryuta of BTOOOM, Diseased Girl Kiri Kiriyuu of Apocalypse Alice, or even Razor or Team Germany from the previous world of Hunter X Hunter. The Guide didn't simply take the appearance of Izuru Kamukura, but was him. The artificial Ultimate Hope who possess the greatest talents in the world due the accumulation of experiments conducted by Hope's Peak Academy.

The Guide then looked at Hikari, Aqua, and the rest of us one by one. No one knew what he was thinking, but as his piercing red eyes gazed at us as if he could see our very souls... it was obvious he was looking down on us. Maybe it was due to the influence of Izuru Kamukura or just his original Guide Personality, but it was as if he was looking at insects or maybe something even lower like bacteria.

Izuru Kamukura: "...I'm here as a representative of who you call God. God originally took away the power of the Guide and Leader Position due to the Four Pillars interference like you have suggested. Too many teams were escaping God's Dimension due to their vast network of information from years of experience in the Mission Worlds. Also, the mass majority of those teams did not meet God's estimated level of power for a team that finally escapes due to knowing how to avoid most dangers while reaping the most rewards. God didn't like it, but they didn't break any rules, so it couldn't punish anyone directly, so all it could do in retaliation was to remove some... privileges. It effectively gave the Four Pillars a hard time for a while, but they recovered by creating a comprehensive list of the Exchange System. They also created a replica of a certain Quest Item, a drug that can potentially unlock an individual's Genetic Constraint although it isn't as good as the original. They weren't able to make too many of the original due to God removing the main ingredient, a extremely rare type of meteor fragment from the Exchange System. Humans can be like ants like that. You can drop a bomb on them, yet they somehow manage to survive and continue their foolish actions."

Shuai: "Hey hey hey! The is guy is taking down to us like a end boss! Are we going to be-"

Jin: "Calm down a bit, Shuai. Now Guide, I think I get it, but you didn't stop there, right? When the Four Pillars finally recovered from the first retaliation, God recently brought forth a even greater change to God's Dimension. God changed the original format of horror movies, thrillers, and other famous stories as the settings for the missions to Manga, Anime, Light Novels, Video Games and Visual Novels. Only those from Japan could really Hope to cope with this sudden change and only a small portion of the population at that, so I bet a lot of teams have been wiped out. Does God really hate the Four Pillars that much to warrant such action?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Hate isn't the word we would use... but yes. The founders of the Four Pillars failed to ascend to a higher plane or cause any great change to the real world. They were the strongest team no question, but they failed and are now trying to take advantage of God's Dimension for the sake of what could be called a Cold War or perhaps a game to pass the time as immortals. This is unacceptable... but recently they've gone too far and so we made the change in mission format in retaliation."

Kisara: "What did they do if you don't mind me asking?"

Izuru Kamukura: "...That is not important at this time. It is just what brings me here today before you, Team Japan."

Hikari: "Wait! It was to my understanding that God doesn't have a personality and is only a computer. A soulless program created, not born, to execute set actions. It is incapable of making judgment calls when its rules are broken, but not technically according to those rules. Like how if a veteran Player and New Player are chased by a horde of zombies and veteran kills the New Player by tripping him and he's devoured by the zombies. Under the laws of humans with common sense and judgment they would find the veteran guilty of murder, but God who can only follow the rules exactly as stated can only see the incident in question as the zombies killing the New Player. If indirect killing isn't stated in the rules then God can't make an accurate judgment call and will follow the letter of its own laws."

Izuru Kamukura: "This is true."

Hikari: "Then how can God take all these actions against the Four Pillars?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Simple. The ones who made everything; God, The Terminal Lobby, The Mission Worlds, your enhancements and ever thing else had installed a counter measure program in case something like the survivors of this dimension attempting to abuse the system in place. Of course the actions of the Four Pillars don't violate any rules, but it violates the spirit if I do say. God is not allowed to just erase the teams of the Four Pillars, but it can take certain actions against them like just mentioned. Still, as it seems the Four Pillars plan to continue their abuse of God's Dimension the counter program left behind by the creators has one last action that it can take to rectify the situation. God has been waiting to do something about the Four Pillars, but is bound to be unable to hurt or erase the Players that have not broken any rules as the Four Pillars haven't and can't touch the ones in the real world. That was why God was waiting for this chance."

Shin: "Chance?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Yes. Team Japan. A team like yours with no real connection to the Four Pillars and proven to have enough power to fight against them. You've already defeated one team of Mass Enlightenment. Team Germany, though they were one of the more weaker teams. Of all the Awakened teams they were barely Lower-high Class in strength, yet they were far more enhanced than Team Japan on average. You've proved your potential in almost a flawless victory while taking a passive stance in the mission. You've gained God's acknowledgement."

Kisara: "Um... what exactly does that mean for us?"

Izuru Kamukura: "It means this. In exchange for allying yourself with God you will receive God's support with the benefits that the other teams no longer have and much more. To say the least Team Japan's true leader will have an increase in their Genetic Constraint Stage by one. Also, God will filler out future newbies who are spies for the Four Pillars so what happened in your third mission in Apocalypse Alice won't be repeated."

Shin: "...Can you give us a moment?"

I haven't talked it over with my comrades yet, but it was a good deal for Team Japan to team up with God. I can only imagine that God will make Team Japan more incline to fight other teams and not reach peace, but that's okay. Team Japan and I are already marked by everyone as the number one team to wipe out in God's Dimension, so there's no harm in officially becoming their enemy. I was then about to talk it over with my comrades when someone spoke up to ask a question.

Jin: "I have a few questions. Why are you meeting us here in the Mission World instead of the Terminal Lobby? Why was there a need for you to take control of the body of Izuru Kamukura? Why not a random Human Creation, or is there a specific need for you to occupy that body?"

Izuru Kamukura: "...Good question human. Yes there is a need. Like I first said, when I arrived there was a test. One last test to see if Team Japan can become God's one and only team to face off against the Four Pillars and there teams. It's just a simple test... and one that is not optional."

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza.

Team Power Ranking. Different from individual or Team rating which is their rank in the eyes of God, this Team Power Ranking is based on actual strength while ignoring rating/achievements. Nine ranks in total. There are Players with high potential like Shin, Mad Sword Princess, and Reaper not in Upper Class, but that's due to their time in God's Dimension and will rise faster than other Teams.

Lower-low Class: Team Italy (Recently wiped and begun anew).

Lower-mid Class: Team Japan.

Lower-high Class: Former Team Germany.

Middle-low Class. Team Freedom and Team England (Mad Sword Princess and HERO)..

Middle-mid Class: Team South Korea.

Middle-high Class: Team Kenya (Reaper).

Upper-low Class: Team Devil (?).

Upper-mid Class. Team U.S.A (Abyss).

Upper-high Class. Team Celestial (Dreadnought, Genesis Knight, and Star Gazer).


	164. Chapter 164

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 4, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

The Guide's Test.

Izuru Kamukura had said as such when he first appeared before us and now he is reconfirming it. He and God were impressed by Team Japan's performance to date, especially the wipe out of Team Germany in the last mission, but this wasn't enough for God to officially offer us its support. By the sounds of it, it was like getting an interview due to your resume, but not getting the job on the spot even if you are the best choice for the position. God wanted to test us one last time before making this deal official. This might have to do with why we had yet to receive our mission and why the Guide appeared before us as Izuru Kamukura, a character from the world of Dangan Ronpa.

Shin: "A Test? And what does not optional mean exactly?"

Izuru Kamukura: "The definition should be obvious human. What a boring person and a waste of brain cells. Your Potential is decent enough, but... boring."

Shin: "What!"

Izuru Kamukura: "Don't mind. It is just that the brain of this individual is just like this is all. Even if I, the Guide, am in control, this is not my body, but that of Izuru Kamukura. His memories and way of thinking has greatly affects me whether I like it or not... but I don't hate it that much."

Kisara: "Then why are you using it?"

Izuru Kamukura: There are two reasons, but the first are the rules. No one; Player or God has the right to break the rules set by the creators of this dimension. Only Players, the characters and the story itself are allowed to affect one another, so to interact with you God had sent the Guide into your mission and had him fuse with this character, Izuru Kamukura."

Jin: "That is what I wanted to know about before. What is the need for the Guide to possess a character from the mission. If you just wanted to talk you wouldn't have gone that extra mile unless-"

Izuru Kamukura: "Unless the Guide planned to do harm to the Players... Is that what you were going to say?"

Shuai: "I don't get it."

Aqua: "I do. I heard about it from Sozin back in the real world, so I know what Jin is worried about. The Guide can't hurt Players, but the only exception is the Player taking the test to become the true team leader. For the Guide to take over a character, an existence that can interact and harm us means that he isn't just here to give us Team Japan the backing of God."

Izuru Kamukura: "Nicely deducted, but before we get into that... Player Hikari."

Hikari: "Ye-Yes!"

Hiakri looked like she was about to fall over having gained the attention of Izuru Kamukura, but none of us could blame her. Izuru Kamukura gaze that appeared as if he could see our inner thoughts, possibly our very souls was too powerful for even someone who had unlocked their Genetic Constraint to handle. Only Aqua and I held some small amount of composure when his eyes swept past us, but just barely. Izuru Kamukura... he was just that powerful and domineering of a existence.

Izuru Kamukura: "To answer your earlier concern, yes, God is indeed normally a simple and soulless program, but that is when its limiters are functioning. Now that the Four Pillars are messing with God's Dimension and the need to take action has come, the true form of God, the greatest masterpiece of the first to unlock their constraint devised before ascending is now able to use its higher functions.

Hikari: "True form?"

Izuru Kamukura: "God has three distinct personalities that are normally dormant. The one that governs the Exchange System, the one that governs the Mission Worlds and all the missions, and lastly the one that governs the rules (Is God true form the Magi from Eva?). Now awakened and seeing no other course of action they have collectively decided to support a Team to fix the issues caused by the Four Pillars, but... they are conflicted on some matters."

Aqua: "How so?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Its if you are the right team for God to support. There are very few teams not supported by the Four Pillars in God's Dimension and the only team that is Awakened is Team Japan. You have also shown a lot of potential and even have six members who have unlocked their constraints and even two of you at the Second Stage. You are an ideal team for God to support as you have high potential, but... unfortunately they can only back one team and one team only and that's it."

Shin: "I don't understand the problem then. If we are the ideal teams then why not support us? Why test us?"

Connor: "...In large scale battles, a decision about who to side with is vital. It could spell death if you chose incorrectly for both you and your comrades."

Jin: "I see. It's my guess that only one team can be support by God and it's for keeps. Just one shot. This guy or God is worried about if this seemingly ideal team is good enough to place their one and only chance at correcting God's Dimension on us, Team Japan. Whether to wait for another team or not is probably their main concern."

Shin: "...Is that the truth?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Basically that's it, but you are wrong about one thing Player Jin."

Jin: "What?"

Izuru Kamukura: "We don't have the luxury of time anymore. Somewhere in this dimension two teams are coming dangerously close to unlocking all of God's secrets and gain full control of the dimension as well. God cannot allow this to happen, but the actions of Players can't be hindered unless they break a rule which they haven't. Looking for the secrets of God's Dimension is within a Player's rights, but it has gone too far. God doesn't understand, but the creators don't want Players to go against their wishes, yet never intended to stop them from doing so. To put it simply rebelling against God isn't forbidden for Players."

Hikari: "But the emergency measure..."

Izuru Kamukura: "That was placed to keep the game fair. In the situation where Players attempt to mess with this dimension and gain access to God, it is allowed to suspend their additional support for those teams and back one team to counter attack the rebellious teams. The creators deemed that doing so would be valid since any teams that can mess with God's Dimension to this extent has an unfair advantage over other teams."

Shin hearing this was reminded that danger equals reward within God's Dimension. For example by overcoming a great danger that is B tier a Player can acquire a B rank reward and some points. In this instance The Four Pillars are attempting to take control of God's Dimension, which is the reward, and the corresponding danger to gain this reward is God taking certain counter measures to stop them. These counter measures were the removal of the Guide and Leader Position, the change in mission format within God's Dimension, and the final counter measure... was Team Japan. Shin felt strange that he was on the other side of the Danger equals reward equation and didn't know if that really was a good thing or not. Still, Shin and the others closely listened in as Izuru Kamukura continued to speak.

Izuru Kamukura: "Also, in fairness the creators made it clear to God that they have only one and only one chance to fight back against the rebel Players. If that team is ever wiped out then that is it. "

Aqua: "So this test which is normally meant to choose the new leader of a team is now also your way of choosing a team to back up?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Correct human, Even if God is running out of time they won't back up a weak team for just a last ditch effort that will end in failure. This test will determine if you, Team Japan has what it takes to fight the powerful teams of the Four Pillars."

Hikari: "And it is not optional, right?"

Izuru Kamukura: "...That is correct."

Shuai: "What the hell is this? So even if we don't want to fight the Four Pillars you will make us?"

Izuru Kamukura: "...What of it human? We are already aware that the Four Pillars are out for your team's blood. You will encounter those teams eventually due to the rules like in Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island. You can't avoid it, so why not ally yourself with God? Really, you have a brain despite its low performance, so why don't you use it. If you don't you're a waste of space."

Shuai: "You!"

Shuai who rarely gets mad was just about to jump at Izuru Kamukura as he continued to speak and look at us as if were we below him. In the end Aqua had to step in and pull Shuai back before he died against this Guide. Shuai tried to break free from her, but Aqua's grip on him was too strong.

Aqua: "Cool it Shuai. Also, Guide, if we don't have a choice then get on with it already. Tell us about the test. Do we also have to complete the mission as well, or can we ignore it? You brought us here to this Mission World, "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls" for a reason, so get to it."

Izuru Kamukura: "I'll explain the test in a moment, but... The answer to that last question... Does that even need to be asked?"

\- *EXPLOSION*!

It was at that time that a large explosion was heard. It wasn't so close by that it affected us, but we could all see the result. The top half of what looked like a hotel building was blown off and fell to the streets below to kill who knows how many adults still on the streets and what remained of the destroyed hotel had caught on fire and was now slowly, but surely burning to the ground. No fire trucks and police sirens could be heard coming to the rescue, so it was a disaster that was only going to get worse by the second.

Izuru Kamukura: "This is the Mission World. God's Dimension after all. The world where danger equals reward and reward equals danger. Of course you have to do both the test and survive Dangan Ronpa as well. God doesn't need weaklings as their arms and legs after all. Do your best to impress us. Your lives are on the line after all."

After saying as much Izuru Kamukura began to explain this test, the Guide's Test that we of Team Japan had no right to refuse or runaway from:

1\. First, the main objective of the Guide's Test is to defeat the Guide. This means that they must defeat the Guide who is occupying the body of the character of the artificial Ultimate Hope with the greatest talents and member of Ultimate Despair, Izuru Kamukura. It was impossible for Team Japan to return to the Terminal Lobby unless they defeat the Guide.

2\. Second, Team Japan must complete the mission alongside the Guide's Test. The Mission World of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode was not just a setting for their battle, but a part of their battle as well. If the main mission isn't completed as well then Team Japan can't return to the Terminal Lobby even if they defeat the Guide Izuru Kamukura.

3\. Third and most importantly, only one member of Team Japan may partake in the Guide Test and Mission as this is a battle to choose a singular leader who will lead the team supported by God. Once a Player has been chosen to become the potential leader all other Players will stay on the side lines and won't be allowed to interfere during the course of the mission and Guide Test. Lastly, if the potential leader dies, fails the main mission, or Guide's Test than everyone on Team Japan will be erased.

Hikari: "This... this is insane! Just one person and one person only will decide whether we live or die! How do you expect he or she alone to complete not just a twenty man mission, but your stupid test as well? It is still a twenty man mission, right?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Yes. Even if you are on the side lines it won't change the difficulty rating of this mission since it's automatically set once your team arrives and a random number of New Players are added to Team Japan. The New Players that I've kept asleep this whole time will be able to assist him though."

Shuai: "What kind of assistance can they offer!? They're just normal people."

Izuru Kamukura: "I should mention one thing. The Guide Test automatically increases the difficulty level of the mission, so to some extent the mission isn't a real twenty man mission. I'm forbidden to say more, but I can at least say this is just a story plot mission with just a few increased difficulties."

Jin: "So no plot changes... Okay, but even so I agree it's a little too harsh, but I doubt he's willing to change anything even if we argue, so let's get to the matter at hand since we have no choice in the matter. Who will we send to solo the mission and become the official Team Leader?"

This was the question of the hour, yet to my surprise it was not a difficult choice for my teammates. I immediately thought of Aqua as our representative in this test as she's the strongest member of the team. I thought of myself as the ace Player, but in a direct life and death clash I couldn't see myself defeating Aqua and so I thought it was obvious who we should choose. It was the obvious choice, but everyone else's answer to this was united, yet different to my own. They unanimously chose me.

Shin: "Me?

Aqua: "Yes you. Who else is there? We don't have another Hopeless leader and terminally ill otaku, do we?"

Shin: "Insults aside, I would think you were the best choice Aqua. You're stronger than me after all."

Aqua: "For now that's the case, but as I've said before your potential far surpasses my own. You're constantly improving, yet I've been stuck at the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint for a while now and I've yet to truly master my enhancements. I don't feel that your progress as a Player has slowed down in the least. No it has has only grown, so I think trusting in you with the Leader Position is the smartest choice."

Hikari: "I agree. I have no combat power, so it can't be me. Also ... I trust you the most within the team so I know you won't let me down... outside of our relationship of course."

Shin: "That last part was far from necessary."

Hikari: "You're also a worthless otaku, so your knowledge will come in handy."

Shin: "Not necessary!"

Shuai: "I can't think of anyone better than you leader as well. You're a leader I can follow the very end... but won't use as a role model for relationships."

Connor: "...You're stronger than me and are already the leader. You're good enough... sort of."

Jin: "You understand the plot better than anyone, so you'll know when to follow or to change the plot to your advantage and accept the risk. I'm trash, but even I can see that your the best choice."

Kisara: "...I wish I could come with you and fight alongside you, but as my master it's impossible for you to lose to some silly test. No one else here has the qualifications to lead us. No one else has the ability to not let us down. This should go without saying."

Everyone for their own reason saw me as the best choice for this mission and knowing that they couldn't come with me gave me some of their tools hoping that it will help. Aqua handed over her Life Force Booster that restores energy, Shuai his M41A-M Pulse Rifle, Connor his anti-material sniper rifle and spare bullets, and Jin his rarely used EVA Progressive Knife. Hikari unfortunately didn't have any equipment to lend to her disappointment and Kisara wanted to hand over her katana Shusui, yet not being an expert swordsman and already having a magic sword in Gravity Blade, so I declined to take her sword.

Izuru Kamukura: "Good. Looks like you've chosen your potential leader. Shin, I knew and Hoped that it would be you. If it's you and your amazing potential to evolve then Team Japan may have a chance. I'll be leaving first. The mission has yet to begin, so you have to stay here for a few hours till the start of the mission. In a minute you'll receive your long awaited mission as well, so... hurry up and find me once everything is over."

Izuru Kamukura turned around and leaving the same way he came he walked to the door leading down from the roof of the hospital building. To Shin's surprise, Hikari, Aqua, Shuai, Connor, Jin and Kisara followed after him without a word. Shin knew that the others may have to leave him behind as they were sidelined for this mission, he just expected them to disappear, be transported by God outisde the Mission World maybe, but... not this. A creepy feeling came over him as he watched his comrades leave with Izuru Kamukura. Shin called out to them to say goodbye, yet not one of them responded. They just walked through the door and down the steps as they entered the hospital building and the only one left standing ready to close the door to the roof was the Guide Izuru Kamukura. He took one last look at Shin and closed the door, yet he could still hear a voice despite being alone. It was the voice of the man who had just left.

Izuru Kamukura SL: (Don't worry about them. They have been controlled by me. I lied about one thing before. Your teammates won't be just on the sidelines. They won't be on your side... but mine. They've been hypnotized by me into killing machines who will get in your way of completing the Main Mission. Defeat them without harming, knock them out, kill them, or whatever. I don't care, but if you fail to defeat your six comrades by the end of this mission then they will be erased. No big deal.)

Shin: "You!"

Shin charged at the door the others left through and attacked it, yet it was as though he struck into cotton and the force couldn't go anywhere, which backfired and caused him to feel horrible. Fortunately, he didn't use his Ki in the attack; otherwise it wouldn't have ended so well. There seemed to be a protective field on the door. Shin touched it in disbelief and felt a soft field covering it. Then he quickly turned and tried to climb over the fence railing of the roof, yet the same fields were covering them. Like the Guide had said the mission hadn't begun yet. The field protected them from danger and also prevented them from entering the mission too early, and the Guide having the power to ignore this barrier as a representative of God used this to keep Shin from following him and his comrades. Shin couldn't either quickly defeat the Guide, nor could he save his comrades from the brain control. Shin could do nothing as he was left behind with the thirteen Newbies and as his six comrades who were being led away by a man who planned to use them as tools of death.

Izuru Kamukura SL: (Good luck Player Shin. Try to save your comrades while trying to stay alive yourself. If you can overcome this trial then you will gain all the support God has to offer and you will become the true leader of Team Japan. Come and try to kill me human if you can!)

And it was with those parting words Shin heard his Player Watch beep into life as the blank screen lite up. The details of the mission where finally displayed to him and once he read through it all... he was stunned silent. Shin was partly worried about his comrades, but the potential points and rewards of his fifth mission in the world of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode forced his brain to cease all thoughts and keep replying the new information in his mind over and over again.

GOD'S MISSION.

DANGAN RONPA ANOTHER EPISODE - ULTRA DESPAIR GIRLS, TWENTY MAN MISSION.

GUIDE'S TEST.

STORY PLOT.

MAIN QUEST: The Mission.

Objective 1. Escort Komaru Naegi. Help her escape Towa City safety, or chose to help her defeat the Warriors of Hope and save Towa City from their control.

Objective 2. Defeat the Guide, Izuru Kamukura and complete fusion.

Base Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

Combat Mission Reward: 2000 Points and C rank reward.

God's Test Mission Reward: The Leader Position will be unlocked, Team Member Recommendations will be unlocked, Free Distribution will be Unlocked, Mission Preview will be Unlocked, Enemy Team Elimination will be Unlocked, and level up in the Leader's Genetic Constraint stage by one.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points.

2\. Monokuma Robot KILL - Every 10 Monokuma defeated rewards 1 Point. Every 10 Bomber Monokuma defeated rewards 5 Points. Every 5 Siren Monokuma defeated rewards 1 Point. Every Junk Monokuma defeated rewards 5 Points. Every Guard Monokuma defeated rewards 1 Points. Every Beast Monokuma defeated rewards 10 Points. Every Ball Monkumas defeated rewards 10 Points. Every Destroy Monokuma defeated rewards 50 Points.

3\. Warriors of Hope Overthrown - Defeating four members of the Warriors of Hope awards every member 4000 points and C rank reward. Defeating Monaca Towa awards every member 4000 points and two C rank rewards. Defeating Monaca is not included in the first part of this Side Quest.

4\. Team Japan GENOCIDE - Defeating a member of Team Japan, both Players rewarded 2000 Points and C rank reward. Defeating an unlocked member of Team Japan, both Players rewarded 7000 Points and B rank reward.

5\. GOOD ENDING - Reach the Good Ending of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode - Ultra Despair Girls with Komaru Naegi by defeating Big Bang Monokuma after all members of the Warriors of Hope are defeated. Rewards every member 3000 Points and B rank reward. Defeating Big Bang Monokuma without the assistance of Komaru Naegi rewards 6000 Points and two B rank rewards.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 for a Player killing a Newbie Player. A New Player is a New Player till the start of their second mission.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. Falling Behind - Cannot be more than 5,000 meters away from Komaru Naegi. Will be TERMINATED if outside that range. If Komaru Naegi successfully escapes the city alive then the mission will continue and penalty will be voided.

4\. Towa City War Zone - May not leave Towa City under any circumstances. Leaving Towa City results in TERMINATION.

5\. The DEATH of a child results in DESPAIR - The injury or death of a Monokuma Kid caused by the Player deducts -10,000 Points. The injury or death of a member of the Warriors of Hope caused by any Player deducts -50,000 Points from every member.

6\. BAD END - Reaching the Bad Ending of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode - Ultra Despair Girls, or Komaru Naegi dies. All Players of Team Japan TERMINATED. If Komaru Naegi successfully escapes the city alive then the Bad End penalty will be voided no matter Komaru Naegi's after state condition.

7\. Guide Test Failure - If the potential team leader of Team Japan dies then all Players of will be TERMINATED. Failing the Guide Test results in the TERMINATION of all Players.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Mission Information.

1\. Brainwashed members of Team Japan may receive points and rank rewards from the mission, but only from the Basic Mission, Combat mission, and Team Japan Genocide. No other Side Quest rewards can be acquired.

2\. When a brainwashed member of Team Japan is defeated they will be removed from the Mission World and moved to a suspended state. Any and all injuries outside of Death will be repaired by the end of the mission. Failing to defeat a teammate before the mission is over will mean their death once the mission ends.

3\. With each defeat of a member of the "Warriors of Hope" the combat A.I of the Monokuma robots will be upgraded.

TOTAL SCORE: Pending.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favourite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza

For anyone who couldn't tell this fifth mission is broken as hell in how Shin will be rewarded at the end and it gets worse than you can just tell from above. I'm a believer of not breaking the setting of one's writing, and for Terror Infinity that's risk equals reward. Still, I'm going with a one time excuse that God is allowing Shin to acquire a lot of rewards to increase his and his team's power level if they will become his chosen team. Also, were getting close to the action.


	165. Chapter 165

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 5, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Three hours have passed since Shin was left behind. Shin accepting that he couldn't follow after either Izuru Kamukura or his brainwashed comrades... could only sit on the floor on the hospital rooftop in deep thought. Shin was a little out of his mind as he looked at the details of his mission and he would occasionally look out into the distance. This was the world of Dangan Ronpa. A world where Hope and Despair clashed against one another.

In Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls of the Dangan Ronpa series followed the younger sister of the hero of Dangan Ronpa 1, Komaru Naegi. She was held captive in the city of Towe City and was caught up in riots/revolution against the adults of the city caused by five traumatized and warped children, the Warriors of Hope, and their army of brainwashed children the Monokuma Kids and their weapons of mass slaughter the Monokuma Robots. The Warriors of Hope kill en masse, kill the adults of the city, and take it over as the new rulers and they have fun hunting down the surviving adults. A game they call Demon Hunting. Komaru attempts to first escape Towe City alongside Toko Fugikawa, and later towards the end finds the courage to face the Warriors of Hope. There's more to the plot like the ultimate goal of the Warriors of Hope, but that was the basic premise of Dangan Ronoa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls.

That was the world of Dangan Ronoa Another Episode and it was Shin's task to compete a mission from God in this world along with completing the Guide Test assigned to him. Shin must defeat the Guide Izuru Kamukura along with his six comrades. Aqua, Hikari, Shuai, Connor, Jin and Kisara needed to be defeated by his own hands. This was the second objective that was maybe even more important than the the main mission. Shin looked at his watch to reconfirm his objectives.

◆ Objective 1 - Escort Komaru Naegi. Help her escape Towe City safety, or chose to help her defeat the Warriors of Hope and save Towe City from their control.

◆ Objective 2 - Defeat the Guide, Izuru Kamukura and complete fusion.

Shin: "Sounds simple enough on paper, but this being a twenty man mission and losing all the veterans... all my comrades is just... *SIGH*, and having only Newbies to rely on make this mission worse. Possibly near impossible, but what really throws me off are the rewards. If one completes all Main Mission and all the Side Quest then not only myself, but everyone will receive a major power up including the weakest members."

◆ Base Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

◆ Combat Mission Reward: 2000 Points and C rank reward.

◆ God's Test Mission Reward: The Leader Position will be unlocked, Team Member Recommendations will be unlocked, Free Distribution will be Unlocked, Mission Preview will be Unlocked, Enemy Team Elimination Unlocked, and Level up in the Leader's Genetic Constraint Stage.

◆ Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home 100 Points.

◆ Monokuma Robot KILL - Every 10 Monokuma defeated rewards 1 Point. Every 10 Bomber Monokuma defeated rewards 5 Points. Every 5 Siren Monokuma defeated rewards 1 Points. Every Junk Monokuma defeated rewards 5 Points. Every Guard Monokuma defeated rewards 1 Points. Every Beast Monokuma defeated rewards 10 Points. Every Ball Monkumas defeated rewards 10 Points. Every Destroy Monokuma defeated rewards 50 Points.

◆ Warriors of Hope Overthrown - Defeating four members of the Warriors of Hope awards every member 2000 points and C rank reward. Defeating Monaca Towa awards every member 4000 points and C rank reward. Defeating Monaca is not included in the first part of this Side Quest.

◆ Team Japan GENOCIDE - Defeating a member of Team Japan, both Players rewarded 2000 Points and C rank reward. Defeating an unlocked member of Team Japan, both Players rewarded 7000 Points and B rank reward.

◆ GOOD ENDING - Reach the Good Ending of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode - Ultra Despair Girls, defeating Big Bang Monokuma. Rewards every member 3000 Points and B rank reward. Doing without Komaru doubles the rewards.

Shin's mind continued to boggle uncontrollably as he saw all the rewards. If he completed the Main Mission and all Side Quest (Excluding a solo take down of Big Bang Monokuma), he could acquire 49,000 Points, 2A, 1B and 1 C rank reward at minimum, and will also gain the benefits of the Leader position which includes an increase in the Genetic Constraint stage. Any Newbies who survived will gain 12,000 Points; 2B and 1C rank reward even if all they do is survive to the end. The veterans can't gain most of the rewards for the side quest, but with the exception of Shuai they will end up with 10,000 Points, 1B and 1C rank reward, with Shuai 5000 points and 2C rank rewards.

The mission despite the dangers was broken to the extreme to say the least. There were just too many rewards for just one mission. Shin once thought about just how much one Player or Team could be allowed to obtain in any one mission. God wants Players to evolve and the points needed to return to the real world were 50,000 points. Shin always assumed that while it was possible to slowly save up points and rewards like how the Four Pillars do for their teams to return to the real world, but God would never allow a mission where one Player could acquire 50,000 points all at once to return to the real world. Unless you had no attachment to the real world or were insane one would chose to return if given the chance. That's why God at random increase the difficulties of missions, so one absolutely has to enhance themselves and are not allowed to save up a large amounts of points at once. If they don't use those saved up points then they are likely to die.

That's why Shin found it odd. If he killed enough Monokumas to fill up the small remaining amount he could obtain the 50,000 points to return to the real world if he completed the mission to 100% of its potential. Shin found this way too out of place... unless this was God's aim. Not to get Shin to leave God's Dimension, but to vastly increase his fighting potential with close to 50,000 points and high tier rank rewards all so he could confront the other Teams of the Four Pillars. This conclusion made the most sense to Shin, yet... it also frightened him that the other teams were so much stronger than Team Japan that God had to force such a challenge on them to allow them to quickly catch up to them.

Shin: "Still, this is a chance. I can't imagine a perfect victory, but if it's possible Team Japan's power will rise by many tiers. Shit, my greed is blinding me to how difficult this mission really is. I have to escort and keep alive the main character while fending off the attacks from the Warriors of Hope and my own comrades. At the very least I can't imagine protecting the Newbies as well. Lucky this isn't a Team Battle, so I don't-"

Random Newbie: "What points? What horror movies, but now Manga and Anime? Shit, what is this place?"

It was then that the Newbies stirred into consciousness from their deep sleep. A lot of time had passed since they arrived in the Mission World, yet they were asleep for all the previous events when Team Japan met the Guide and that was hours ago. The Guide kept the Newbies asleep despite their lives being on the line as well, so Shin took that to mean that he didn't consider them important, or better yet had the ability to survive the mission.

This was more than fine with Shin.

Shin would very much like to see if any of the thirteen Newbies had potential to join his team, but at this moment they were not his concern. Completing the mission and rescuing his comrades was all that mattered to him at this time and so he didn't plan to take any action to protect the Newbies. Putting aside past bad experiences with Newbies Shin was only one man, one person and he already had to protect the main character Komaru, and thus had no room to become their savior even if he was willing to.

The Newbies were currently confused about what was going on and kept asking Shin questions, but he ignored them and looked at the Newbies quietly. Shin didn't have plans to be there protector, yet if there were any capable men and woman who could assist him during this time he would welcome them as trial members of Team Japan. There were nine men and four women this time. All the men were between ages twenty to thirty and were all somewhat fit. The women were between the ages twenty to forty with most looking weak and feeble. Among this group two stood out to Shin. A man in a tank top and silver cross necklace around his neck and a woman in a white nurse's uniform.

The man in the tank top and cross necklace was not Japanese, but European. He looked to be in his late 20's, yet his body was in such great shape with thick muscles and could easily be mistaken to by in his early 20's. Another indicator of his youth was that his short hair was dyed the color vermillion. It was an odd combination, yet it somehow suited the man. Shin had yet to speak to the man, but he felt that the man was the easy going type and this was further proven as how he was chatting up the few females of the group.

The next was the nurse. The nurse had black hair that came down to her neck and looked both Japanese with some Chinese traits mixed in. She looked no older than 25 and was incredibly beautiful, but different from Shin's harem. If Aqua is a young woman with a mature aura, Hikari a small and cute girl, and Kisara a stunning beauty... than this woman was a true honest to goodness ice queen. Not close to zero emotion like Saki, but a woman who gives off a cold aura that freezes the passionate hearts of men drawn in by her beauty. A few men had still tried to approach her as she was a sexy woman in a nurse uniform, but a few short words that Shin missed had all the men running away with the exception of tank top man.

Shin saw that everyone was awake now and ready to for an explanation. He then clapped his hands and addressed everyone.

Shin: "Okay. I'm going to explain the current situation. Everyone listen carefully. I am only going to say this once."

Shin wanted to hurry up the orientation as he expected Komaru to arrive any minute, yet the newbies weren't calming down to listen. One man was even saying that Shin was too rude to say he'll only explain once, but before he could finish the sentence, bang! A kick came and the man was knocked flying a good distance and crashed into the far off fence. The man was still alive, but he was very slow to get back up and was in intense pain. The tank top man and nurse's gaze towards Shin intensified seeing that display of power. Some of the other Newbies looked like they wanted to gang up on Shin to stop his violence, but the sudden appearance of the Auto 9 from the Na Ring shut them up quite easily. Shin then shot a single bullet into the air to gain everyone's full and undivided attention,

Shin: "I am not joking with you! I have my own team to worry about. I really don't have time to deal with you, yet here I am at least trying to tell you what is going on. Tell me, do you want to fucking die!?"

Shin pointed the Auto 9 at the thirteen Newbies and put up their hands to show that they meant no harm, yet the nurse and tank top man just stood still. Shin liked that the two didn't try anything or that they didn't lose themselves in the presence of a gun being pointed at them. Shin then sat down on the floor of the roof and looked all the Newbies in the eye.

Shin: "Listen to me carefully. This world is different from the one you know. This is a world with endless terrors born from Manga, Anime, Light Novels, Visual Novels and Video Games. You will live in this world and go through one mission after another until you die or collect enough points to go back to the real world."

They looked at Shin's gun with fear in their hearts and didn't object yet to the madness of what he was saying, and Shin ignored them and continued.

Shin: "Points mean every time you survive a mission, you will earn 1000 basic points. Some missions have Side Quest that you can complete for extra points and even the more valuable ranked rewards. You can find such things if you look on your Player Watch. We can go over this more in detail later. After you finish a mission, you will enter a place called God's dimension. There you can use your points to exchange many things including weapons and medications and even enhance your body to become a super human. Rank Rewards are used for the higher level exchanges. This is basically it. Also, you can go back to the real world once you save up 50,000 points. The missions we are in now is the third game of the Dangan Ronpa series, Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. I think people who have played the game it should be familiar with the plot... but seeing as you're all adults I won't expect you to know. If you haven't seen it, don't worry. You just need to follow the main character, Komaru Naegi up to a certain point and hide. I won't expect you to fight the Monokuma, so just don't get in Komaru's way. That's it take care of yourself as I don't have the means to protect you all. If we can go back to God's dimension alive, then we will have a drink to celebrate and can watch some Anime together."

As Shin talked, he noticed that high in the skies above an airship hidden behind a dark cloud had shown itself. It was the base of operations for the Warriors of Hope and soon Komaru Naegi will be parachuting down. It was highly likely that this was a sign that the mission had begun or was about to begin. At the same time, he received the 100 points notification from God. Hikari was usually the one to gain these points, but this time in her absence he was allowed for the first time to acquire them.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 1, ORIENTATION. 100 POINTS!

Shin: "Nice! Now, the thirteen of you, say your name, occupation, and what you're good at. I will give you thirty seconds each. The main character is due to appear any second, so I need to know this if you want to live."

After hearing what Shin had to say most of the newbies looked at him in shock! These people didn't believe his words, but that was reasonable. A psychologically normal person wouldn't believe these words so easily, except if the person was an idiot... but when the truth was in front of them they had no room to argue. One Newbie looked beyond the rooftop down on the streets and saw the carnage. Dead bodies, half destroyed buildings, and childish graffiti everywhere. Whether they liked it or not what Shin said seemed to be the truth. Shin was glad that with a setting like Dangan Ronpa he didn't need to try so hard to convince Newbies and almost wished that all new Player batches were so easily convinced... and it was then that the tank top man took this moment to approach Shin. Previously he seemed eager to get to know the females of the group, but now his eyes turned serious. Shin didn't know what he wanted, but he stood up anyway to see what he wanted.

Drake: "Yo! I have a few things to speak to you about... ah..."

Shin: "It's Shin. I'm the leader of Team Japan."

Drake: "Then Mr. Shin, can I ask about a few things? First, you said that there are other veterans aside from you and you formed a team. Are they also as strong as you? How can we join your team?"

Shin: "There are others and are as strong as me with their own sets of talents, but for some unexpected reasons they have left. I have to go find them as we escort the main character. You look like a decent guy and haven't been overwhelmed by the environment. Normally I would try to recruit guys like you into the team, but I don't have such a luxury. If you can stay alive till the end and not get in my way we can talk about official membership later."

Drake: "I see. I understand. You're in the middle of a Guide's Test after all. I really thought those had disappeared."

Shin: "I thought so as well, but here we are..."

Shin and the tank top man seemed to be engaged in a friendly enough conversation, but all of a sudden the chill of killing intent could be felt by all. Shin had noticed a few things by the way the man carried himself and now adding in that he knew about the Guide Test Shin was certain that the man knew had previous information about God's Dimension. Shin instantly raised the hand holding the Auto 9 at tank top man, but a swift kick knocked the gun out of his hands.

Drake: "Sorry! I have no ill will, but I need to know if I should follow you or not!"

Tank top man then tackled Shin with unexpected force that forced him back three steps. Shin was taken back as he was someone with inhuman strength from enhancements, yet he felt slight pain from the tackle. Shin looked back at tank top man who charged forward to attack again and noticed two things. One there was an aura of energy around the man's body different from Ki, but still somewhat familiar. The second... the man was in Unlocked Mode.

Tank top man in the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint lunged forward and grabbed Shin's right arm and used all his weight to dislocate that arm. The force was so great that it would have ripped off a normal man's arm, yet to the man's surprise he couldn't even budge that arm, much less dislocate or rip it off. Shin had entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode in that instant and coated his arm in Silver Dragon Scales. Tank top man was using the full weight of his body to dislocate Shin's arm, yet not even touching the ground anymore he was only hanging from the expanded arm with silver pigment skin.

Shin: "The First Stage, judo, and some kind of energy? No ill will you said, right? That's nice. I really do wish that you're a comrade and not an enemy tank top man!"

Shin with his free hand grabbed the neck of tank top man and ripped him away from his other arm. Tank top man tried to resist, but Shin's strength in the Second Stage was far greater than his own even in the First Stage and could only watch as his face was slammed into the rooftop floor and lose consciousness. Shin felt relieved that that the battle was over, yet the others were left speechless.

The sudden and swiftly match between the two had confused and freighted the Newbies. Their speed and power were well beyond what normal humans could achieve and they were in shock... all except one. A woman in the crowd of Newbies without any changes on her face drew a weapon from her pocket and without releasing any killing intent swiftly threw it at Shin! Still in Unlocked Mode Shin without knowing what was going and moving just to protect his life raised his free hand not pinning tank top man to the floor caught an object flying towards his neck.

The action was lighting fast and Shin had moved automatically without forethought. When he realized what was going on he had already caught an object, a long thin needle that was going to stab him through his neck. Seeing this Shin looked over towards the group of Newbies with bloodlust in his eyes. All the Newbies shrieked and took a step back to get away from the man, yet one woman, the woman in a nurse uniform stood her ground with her hands raised up as if surrendering. Shin just looked at the face of the cold woman who didn't look to be the least bit sorry for her attempted murder, but he did notice one thing. Her eyes as well we're out of focus which was an indicator of being in Unlocked Mode.

Sachi: "Impressive. Without warning or killing intent behind my attack you perfectly caught a needle thrown at 200 MPH. Also, you're not rolling around on the ground having *caught* the needle with your bare hands. I guess I can tag along with you for now."

Shin: "Ha?"

Shin didn't know what the nurse was talking about with that last part, but then understood as he was rolling the thin needle in his hand. As he examined his hand the skin around hs fingers grasping the needle had turned slightly gray.

Sachi: "I coated my needles with a powerful neurotoxin, yet your skin has only slightly discolored from contact. You must have a high Cell Vitality and Immunization Strength stats, or a high tier mutation. Really... what a letdown. A normal person just coming into contact with the poison coated onto the needle would cause even a strong willed soldier to cry out in pain. You could at least tear up a little for me Team Japan leader."

After saying this, the cold woman startled to giggle to herself in a creepy way. All the Newbies and even Shin himself were creeped out more than a little by the sight and a single word floated to the surface of their minds. Sadist. A sadist had appeared before them. Shin felt much more fear from the female nurse than he did tank top man and sighed at this situation.

Shin: "...Two attacks on my life and my mission hadn't even begun. I could do without this part of being a protagonist. You two, what the hell is going on?!"

Shin demanded an explanation as soon as tank top man woke up after having his face slammed into the floor by him. He had all the Newbies move behind one of the large air ventilation systems installed on top of the roof and spoke to both tank top man and the nurse out in the open. Shin glared at the two as he remained in Unlocked Mode in case they tried anything else. He honestly didn't feel any real hostility from tank top man who was setting back in place his broken nose and the nurse who still remained cold as ice at the very least stopped at one attempt on his life, but he wasn't going to be careless here. The two were Newbies, but newbies who had already unlocked their Genetic Constraint and had some combat ability. Shin Hoped that they were not enemies, but even if they weren't he didn't have time for this. The Warriors of Hope's airship could still be seen above their head. Komaru Naegi was due to make an appearance any time, so he wanted this over and done with.

Shin: "So who are you two? I don't have time for bullshit, so make it quick and to the point. I better be satisfied... and if I'm not I don't care about losing 2000 points for disposing of dangerous elements here and now to get rid of you two."

Drake: "Sorry, sorry. Earlier I just wanted to see how strong you were and if you were worth following. Like you already guessed I knew about God's Dimension beforehand. I ended up here after clicking YES to God's message, so I know what I was getting into, but I didn't want to fight with or under a weak leader and so I needed to see how strong you were. Really... sorry for before, but man your strong! Haha, I was worried about how strong my teammates were going to be, but you completely dominated me!"

Shin: "It hasn't been decided that you'll become my comrade yet.. Um..?"

Drake: "The name is Drake. Although I might not look like it I'm a priest, but maybe exorcist is the better word. As an orphan growing up in northern Europe I was born with a kind if Faith Energy and could use it to strengthen my body and heal minor wounds, and was picked up by a church order. Then I spent the majority of my life training both my powers and body for a chance to enter God's Dimension."

Shin: "Then why did you join Team Japan. Why not European teams like Team England or Team Romania?"

Drake: "I... had my reasons for coming to Japan. To say the least I was kicked out of my order due to women troubles. When you meet a beautiful woman after spending the majority of your life with smelly men and ugly old women... temptation can just..."

Shin: "...I see. What about you nurse?"

Sachi: "My name is Sachi. Half-Chinese and half-Japanese. I'm what you would call a failed assassin now working as a nurse."

Shin: "Failed? You're plenty dangerous. You're too cold for my liking, but you're the perfect example of the ideal beautiful woman who can get close to any man and kill them before anyone notices what happened."

Sachi: "I failed because of my... hobbies you could say. I come from the Chinese Assassins Clan. They have some connections to the Four Pillars, specifically Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade, but I was no one special. I had talent, but I don't hail from any special bloodline. Still, I was raised to become a skilled assassin... but I was exiled for my methods."

Shin: "Methods? Do assassins care for such things? Sorry, but my only experience with assassin is from that one game."

Sachi: "The Assassin Clan believes in one attack one kill. Even if in reality it isn't always possible that's their methodology. I at some point took an interest in needles and poison. Needles are okay, but poison is frowned upon since if it doesn't immediately kill ones target... haha, it prolongs suffering! Hmm, I didn't really care, but the clan did. I was exiled for my special interest. After I was kicked out I used my knowledge of the human body to become a nurse in a small doctors office. The man running the office was easily to control and I basically ran the place in secret. My specializes are eastern medicine and acupuncture. That's my background... and I have my own reasons for arriving in God's Dimension. I had no interest in you that warranted killing you, but like Drake I wanted to test you and you passed. Feel free to celebrate Team Japan leader."

Shin: "..."

Shin looked back and forth between Drake and Sachi with a more than slightly fed up look. To be honest if he was a smart leader he should have just killed them here and now so that he wouldn't have to deal with any potential backstabbing, yet unfortunately he was not. For some strange reason Shin believed the two, but even more so he wanted them as comrades. Shin's main reason we're that they were strong and first rate potential comrades like Connor when he first arrived in God's Dimension as he too had already unlocked his constraint. They are Newbies who should be protected and raised up as core members. Also, if he had competent comrades he could risk gaining the highest amount of rewards possible in this mission. Shin had to escort the main character through the dangerous Towa City and fend off attacks from his comrades. If Shin had good comrades to rely on to protect Komaru to the end of the mission then Team Japan could reach new heights... if they are telling the truth. In any case time will tell and he has no time to weed out potential threats.

Sachi: "...I think the mission is beginning. The person who we're waiting for is making her way down as we speak."

Shin: "!"

Shin looked up hearing this and Sachi was right. There was someone up above in the red skies and slowly descending down by parachute. For Shin and the others this person was too far away to accurately see who this person was parachuting down, but it was safe to assume that it was the main character and heroine of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Komaru Naegi. Shin believing as such had Sachi and Drake follow him back where the other Newbies were hiding.

There wasn't that much time before Komaru touches down on the roof and the first battle against the Monokuma would begin, but first there was something that he had to do. The Newbies waiting anxiously for the upcoming event in their first mission were surprised to see a silver magic aura surrounding Shin's body and then a large sword appearing in his hands. This sword soon mysteriously shrunk down to the size of a small dagger and Shin releasing killing intent pointed this dagger at everyone.

Shin: "There's one last thing before we begin the mission. This is a magic dagger that can't harm anyone, but dispels all forms of brainwashing. I don't have time to get into why, but for those of you interested in living I Hope you allow me to stab you all in the heart with this magic tool. You won't die, but anyone who refuses for any reason exits the mission now... and by that I mean dies right now! No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Don't test me! This mission is so rewarding that I don't even have to blink at a -13,000 point penalty. Now chose to get stabbed or die."

Using the magic tool Holy Sword Switch on the Newbies wouldn't allow Shin to know for certain that there were no spies of the Four Pillars among them, but at the very least those like Saki would have their brainwashing erased. All the Newbies were frightened at being stabbed by a dagger even if it didn't kill them like Shin said, but after Drake and Sachi volunteered and saw that they weren't hurt after being stabbed in the heart or that anything strange happened to them they all agreed to be stabbed by Holy Sword Switch. Each Newbie passed the test and Shin let out a small sigh of relief even if it didn't prove much. Shin also had no attention of arming anyone yet since it would actually be better if everyone except Drake and Sachi wipe out unable to defend themselves. If needed he plans hand some weapons and told to Drake and Sachi, but not until they prove themselves first.

Shin: "Alright. You all pass. Komaru will touch down any second so listen up. Sachi, Drake and I will present ourselves as members of the Future Foundation, a renowned organization that's known by everyone as trying to help the world. In addition we'll also say that I'm a former Hope's Peak Academy Hopes student. The three of us have special abilities and so we can pass as such. The remaining eleven of you will just be civilians we picked up since you've yet to be enhanced enough or possess the skills to pretend to be either a former Ultimate of Hope's Peak Academy or an agent of the Future Foundation. Don't mention anything about our mission or get in Komaru's way, or I'll break your legs so that you'll die once you're left behind!"

Bloodlust could be felt with those last words Shin said. The Newbies knew he wasn't kidding around and all made sure not to do anything to upset him. Drake and Sachi were unfazed by Shin's threat, but due to their backgrounds knew that Shin would kill them in spite of their talents if they got in his way, or did anything suspicious. They all just silently waited and hiding behind the ventilation systems waiting. Waiting for her to arrive and then at last... the heroine of this mission touched down on the roof top,

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza.

Just to say this now Sachi is not Shin's latest heroine. Also Drake is not the new tank top guy in Team China. I made him well before. Lastly, some concerns with the mission were answered in last chapter's comment section.


	166. Chapter 166

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 6, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Gliding through the skies above Towa City, Komaru's journey finally came to an end. Having no control of where she was going she ended up landing on top of the roof of a random building, the hospital building Team Japan were waiting by at. Shin hiding behind a corner of the large ventilation system watched as Komaru touched down to the roof all the while screaming. Komaru soon recovered from the fall, yet she was still panicking and on the verge of tears.

Komaru: "Ow ow ow ow! That was so scary!"

Shin: "So that's the real life Komaru Naegi... huh? People keep calling her a plain and normal girl, but isn't she pretty cute and have all the right proportions? I'll date her, but the fact she's a video game heroine might be affecting my good judgment."

Shin was saying all of this in a low voice so Komaru couldn't hear, but his Newbie comrades could. The majority of them didn't bother to care for Shin's words as they were fearing for their lives, but Drake and Sachi who were calm in this situation look on at their new leader in a strange light having no idea what he was on about. They didn't know, but like all new members of Team Japan they were beginning to learn just what kind of person their leader was, but Shin ignored the look of contempt from Sachi ans respect from Drake and continued to observe Komaru.

Komaru Naegi is protagonist of Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls and the younger sister of Makoto Naegi the main character of Dangan Ronpa 1. Komaru was a Captive for Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc's first motive and then a Target for the Warriors of Hope's Demon Hunting in Ultra Despair Girls.

Komaru is a teenage girl somewhere between the ages of 15-17. She has short, dark brown hair and desaturated green eyes. She also sports an ahoge, similar to that of her brother's, which developed as she grew. Overall, she is described as very plain-looking and "normal", which seems to be the same way people describe her brother. When she was in the motivational video with her parents in the first game and its corresponding anime adaption, her hair appeared neater in a classic bob cut, and she did not possess an ahoge. The uniform she wears in this video consists of a white button-up shirt, a brown blazer, a brown skirt, and a red ribbon. Currently, in Ultra Despair Girls, she is revealed to be wearing the St. Tomoe Girls' Academy uniform, which is a sailor fuku with a white blouse, a red necktie, and a turquoise collar, line trim, and skirt. There's a school crest on the bottom right of the back of the collar, necktie, shirt pocket and the outer sides of socks.

Prior to the Tragedy, Komaru had a cheerful and optimistic personality, somewhat similar to her brother. She loved Makoto, telling her brother to do his best while enrolled at Hope's Peak Academy. As of Ultra Despair Girls, Komaru began as somewhat hypersensitive and easily scared. She wavers between Hope and Despair as a result of her forced imprisonment. She doesn't want to have strong Hope, because she believes it will be lost eventually, leading to worse Despair. She has a low image of herself, considering herself boring, ordinary and weak. After being encouraged by () Fukawa, she gains a desire to at least try to escape again. While she finds escaping hard and fighting even harder, she is willing to fight off hordes of Monokuma robots as she tries to survive the world's current catastrophe and find her missing family.

Komaru shows some childish traits, such as being very naive, reliant, and easily excitable. She also has an 'unusual' kind of pride, as she gets really worked up from the puzzles of the Monokuma Kids, as if they're looking down on her. When she solves their puzzles, she brags towards them. Komaru despite sometimes giving up too easily, there are other times which Komaru shows how stubborn and determined she can be. However, she has a weakness in complicated subjects such as basic computer science, but she does have moments where she is intuitive.

Shin: (...Yep, she's my type if I even have one. Really, I'm definitely a terminally ill otaku like Aqua keeps saying I am. I mean at this time I-)

It was as Shin was familiarizing himself with the young woman that he must protect at all cost that two events occurred. The first was as Shin was peaking at Komaru noticed a faint golden glow from her and it didn't look like the person in question noticed this abnormality, but all too soon the glow slowly faded away. Shin recalled some information that he had learned from Aqua a while back. Aqua the veteran of Team Japan had told Shin that when the mission assigned to him forced Players to not just protect, but follow a character that this would happen. The glowing light from Komaru just now was just a reminder for all of Team Japan about who they had to follow around.

In H. and Apocalypse Alice Shin recalled that there were penalties for main characters dying, but at those times he wasn't absolutely forced to follow them around and could take independent action or explore the world if he wanted to... but not this time. Shin and the others were forced to follow and stay within a 5,000 meter radius of Komaru or risk being erased by God. This was a first for Shin, so he had to be careful, but was not all too worried.

Shin knowing the plot by heart knew if Team Japan were taking the role of Toko then the only time they would have to worry about getting separated from Komaru would be late chapter 3 of Another Episode where she's kidnapped by a member of the Warriors of Hope. Shin was not worried, but there were some complications due to this. If Shin followed the plot of Another Episode then it'll be hard for anything but to happen by following Komaru, but if he has to protect and follow her around then he'll be inconvenienced when he needs to search for his comrades and during the resulting fights if they resist. Of course there's the option of forcing or tricking Komaru to follow him whether he chooses to go in search of his comrades, but unfortunately that risks deviating from the plot.

As a Twenty Man Mission Shin didn't know just how much the plot had been changed, but if at the very least the main storyline is the same, highly likely since the Player Watch mentioned the Good Ending of Another Episode, then leaving the main story and making his own choices are demerits. If one did not have the power to take responsibility for the unpredictable and difficulty of changing the plot one should not alter the story. They should faithfully follow the main story line to the end. Not doing so may end up being rewarding, but a team could easily end up being wiped out.

Shin: (...I won't change the plot unless I absolutely have to. Just look there. Following the plot should be easier and its already like this!)

Shin then witnessed the second event.

As Komaru was just starting to calm down the three Monokuma robots scaled the building and reached the rooftop. Shin seeing the three enemies confirmed that they were the basic mass produced Monokuma units. The mass produced units had far lower specs than the original and short Monokuma from Dangan Ronpa 1 and 2 that was able to fight those the likes of Sakura Ogami, Akane Owari, and even Mukuro Ikusaba in the side story, yet they had the power and speed to overwhelm adults with their large and heavy bodies to crush, sharp claws to hack and slash, and fangs to gouge out their victims throats. Komaru finally noticing the three Monokumas and knowing their capacities better than even Shin as she saw them up close chose to hide under the canopy of her parachute as if it would actually protect her.

Komaru: "Please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me, please help me!"

Shin: "...I guess that's a normal response, but you have the Megaphone Hacking Gun! Whatever! Drake! Sachi! I'm heading over to save her, so just stay hidden. If you see any Monokuma remember that their weakness is their left red eye!"

Shin didn't wait any longer for a reply and changed out from behind the ventilation device. One of the Monokuma was right in front of the cowering Komaru hiding under the canopy and was about to attack. The whole plot of the story was for Komaru to reach the very end and defeat the Warriors of Hope, but it looked like they weren't holding any punches as the Monokuma raised its right claw to slash down. Shin seeing this jumped forward with Instant Movement. The distance between them was erased in an instant living up to the technique's name and before the Monokuma unit could even turn its head, Shin's right hand smashed into its face releasing Soul Crushing Strike.

Shin: "Don't touch my heroine you bipolar bears!"

\- *BOOM*!

\- *CRASH*!

Shin fist released a sonic boom on contact with the Monokuma and smashed in its head. The two other Monokuma finally saw Shin and seeing what he had done changed sights from Komaru to the new arrival. One Monokuma jumped towards Shin with speed 2-3 times greater than the average adult while the other closely followed behind. Shin calmly watched the first Monokuma approach and took a step back to avoid a head on collusion and then immediately stepped back forward and delivered a powerful kick blowing the Monokuma away. The kicked Monokuma was blown away and fell backwards, yet after a few seconds it stood back up with only a dent to show its injury. The second Monokuma arrived before Shin and swiped with it claw and to avoid he stepped to the side and from one of two Na Rings immediately retrieved the Gravity Blade and retaliated. Sword and claw met and sparks were created each time they clashed. Shin had yet to go all out as he was just testing out the specs of the Monokuma units, but he was still impressed.

Shin: (Strength, speed, weight, and reaction speed two to three times a normal person. Their bodies are hard and can take a hit, so the defense is above average and is their best feature, but if I went all out they could be destroyed with ease. Their threat level is minimal and no need to enter Unlocked Mode, but if they attack in great numbers, their combat AI improves, and along with the different types of Monokuma units... it's going to get worse towards the end!)

Shin finished studying the Monokumas chose to end the battle. The Monokuma that he had kicked away attempted to sneak around and attack Shin for behind, but he saw through this. Shin with his free hand reinforced with Silver Dragon Scales grabbed the Monokuma's approaching claw, crushed it, and threw the Monokuma into the one he was engaged in a sword fight with. The Monokumas crashed into each and laid on top of one another, and not letting a such a chance go Shin raised Gravity Blade overhead and as if it was an axe chopped down a the two Monokuma ending their reign of terror and Despair... but there was more to come.

Almost immediately afterwards after dispatching the three Monokuma units over two dozen more units scaling the hospital building arrived to join the battle. Shin not wanting to endanger Komaru dragged her away and back towards where the Newbies were lying wait. A few Monokumas got in his way, but using the Auto 9 he quickly dispatched them and even confirmed that the weakness of a Monokuma, their crazed and red left eye was till present. Shin and Komaru in hand in regrouped with the Newbies, but they were not safe. The Monokuma units were searching for and as this was not a game they weren't just going to search stupidly and will eventually locate them.

Shin: "...Okay, I'm going back out. They'll eventually find us if we let them be so I'll make quick work of them. I understand a bit of their strengths, so I'm confident that I can win on my own. Sachi and Drake. Protect Komaru! Everyone else... if you have to cry keep the volume down if you don't want the enemy to locate you that much sooner."

Komaru: "W-wait! Who are you? A-are you here to rescue me?"

Shin: "...That's right. We're here to help you as it is our mission, but introductions can wait till I clear out the enemies. Then we can have a nice long talk, but I can tell you the short version of who I am. My name is Shin. A member of Future Foundation and Hope's Peak Academy "Ultimate Protagonist"! Komaru Naegi, let's go on an adventure and escape Towa City!"

Shin gave Komaru his fake identity and charged right back out.

Shin was now surrounded. On all sides with nowhere to escape he was surrounded by over two dozen Monokumas the minute he walked out of hiding. Each Monokuma despite being lifeless glared at Shin with killing intent. Their red eye gleamed with mad joy at the prospect of killing another person and their raised sharp claws would be their tools to tear him apart alive. The air was hot, heavy and stale with the anticipation of the upcoming struggle to the death... but Shin was not nervous in the least. In fact he was excited.

Fighting a fictional enemy from his favorite works usually does this for Shin, but this time was different. The excitement of a real battle, the chances of experiencing death, the weight of his comrades lives on his back, and the uncertainty of completing the mission by himself all came together and pushed his senses to the limit. Shin had previously said he didn't need to, but at some point he unconsciously entered Unlocked Mode. Also, Shin wanted to desperately test out some of his new abilities acquired from the last round of exchanges. His new Ki began to run through his body and as if taking that as a challenge and not wanting to be left behind his black eye and red iris surfaced as the Rc Cells from his mutation flowed through his bloodstream to enhance his body even further.

Shin: "I won't even need a minute to deal with you all!"

As if possessed by his inner fighting spirit Shin rushed forward towards the Monokuma ready to pounce on him. No longer holding back Shin allowed the combat instincts of the First Stage take over. Three Monokuma rushed forward to shred him with their claws, yet in the span of a second three slashes let loose by Gravity Blade cut them down. Shin then not waiting for the enemy to make the next move charged forward through the crowd of Momokuma. With each new step taken one enemy after the other was cut down vertically, horizontally, both, or were just stabbed straight through their red right eyes as the night black sword never stood still. With the weight increased slashes the thick armor protecting the Momokumas from most damage so far in their rampage of death were effortlessly cut down.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, MOMOKUMA KILL. 10 MONOKUMA'S DEFEATED. 1 POINT!

Within a few seconds the Monokuma saw that they were helpless before their current opponent, yet they still all charged without hesitation. Because of their programming, even more than zombies they cared far less about their own lives and continued to attack as weapons of Despair and mayhem, and in this situation that was a scary power. The Monokuma immediately filled the space of their fallen comrades and attacked Shin. Being ganged up on like this was not good. Even for Shin he might take out more than half of the enemy ranks as they close in, but the few remaining will pounce on Shin and rip out his throat if he stood in wait... so he didn't. With the improved Instant Movement after exchanging for Void Instant Movement Shin flew across the floor of the rooftop like the wind leaving behind the enemy Monokuma confused.

Shin: (Really no need to go this far, but this isn't a bad feeling. This new Ki hasn't even been fully converted yet, but I feel like a completely new man.)

Shin rejoiced in the power of his new Ki as it ran throughout his body. Knowing he could go all out without consequence was an amazing feeling. His new Ki from Black Heaven & Earth Technique that's been almost fully converted has increased his former B tier Advance Ki 3-5 times and stronger made him stronger and lighter on his feet as he moved around and attacked. In addition, due to the nature of Black Heaven & Earth Technique with its high regeneration prowess Shin doesn't feel weaker, or for a better word exhausted as he fights at full strength as if he were facing a final boss without pacing himself.

Shin: "Haha! All my techniques have gone a tier as well!"

Shin jumped forward into the enemy ranks with Instant Movement and when he came to a stop five Monokuma had been cut in half. A Monokuma to Shin's right then jumped at him with its claws extended forwards, but hit with his free right hand executing Soul Crushing Strike had its body explode. A Monokuma from the left charged at Shin, but a spinning kick executed with the force of Instant Movement blew away the enemy over the fenced rooftop and fell to its death on the streets below. Shin couldn't help but show a joyful, yet scary smile as he massacred the enemy Monokuma feeling as he had entered into another dimension of power. He was honestly worried about a lot of things with his comrades being on of those things, but feeling confident seeing his out all strength so tyrannical gave him some hope. Even more so knowing he still had more cards with the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint and the power he displayed in his final battle with Abigail in reserve.

Shin: (If it's like this... even alone I can...)

Shin with a savage smile returned to Gravity Blade to Na Ring Subspace and took out his two Sci-fi guns and charged at the enemy. He had tested his close range combat ability, but for the sake of protecting Komaru Naegi attacking from a distance with gunfire was the better choice, so now it was time to test out his gunplay... and the results were...

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, MOMOKUMA KILL. 10 MONOKUMA'S DEFEATED. 1 POINT!

Less than two minutes later and having defeated a grand total of twenty-four Momokuam Shin returned back where the others were hiding and saying that it was now safe and could come out. Sachi, Drake, Komaru and the unimportant Newbies stepped out for behind the ventilation system... and were shocked by what they saw. The scraped remains of the robot Monokumas were scattered across the rooftop floor. Monokuma remains with smashed in heads, cut in half, stomped into the floor and bullet holes through their left eyes could be found everywhere. The Newbies were stunned at the sight, yet Drake and Sachi were even more surprised.

They too had unlocked their constraints and had their own special skill sets, yet they were still in the realms of human limits. To defeat over a dozen robots would take a lot of effort on their part, yet Shin did so with ease and returned unharmed. They had both seen survivors of God's Dimension and they possessed even greater power than Shin, but it was still a sight to the eyes. To see the potential powers of enhancements and God's Dimension first hand in someone still developing and knowing they could acquire such power was aspiring... yet there was someone amazed at Shin's display of power even more than Sachi and Drake.

Komaru: "Amazing! That was amazing! Hey, what was that just now?! You defeated so many Monokumas on your own just now... it was as if you're a super hero!"

Shin: "Me? Hahaha! Super hero... No, call me a protagonist. Hope's Peak Academy Ultimate Protagonist is my official title... or was once upon a time. Right now I'm a member of Future Foundation and I'm no longer in school. Anyways I'm here for you Komaru Naegi."

Komaru: "Really... You're really here to save... that's..."

Shin: "Yes. Future Foundation came to save you who was being held in this city, so they sent me along with Byakuya Togami. I also have to do something about these kids as they took some of my comrades hostage. Anyways, that's why I knew your name and general-"

Komaru: "Waaaa! Thank you!"

Shin who was attempting to begin the ground work of his identity and avoid possible spoilers for knowing who Komaru was taken by surprise. Interrupting Shin, Komaru ran forward and hugged Shin not minding the eyes of the Newbies and began to cry. Over the last few days, no for what has been going on for over a year and half Komaru had all Hope stolen from her. No one came to save her during her imprisonment and when she finally escaped she got caught up in the riots. The Monokuma attacks, the countless deaths that she's witnessed, the recent threats from the Warriors of Hope... had left her without Hope and frightened. That's why Komaru desperately clung onto the one man who was both strong and actually said no that he would protect her and not wanting to let go of this person she tightly hugged him.

Shin: (...What the hell kind of feeling is this? It's just the start of Chapter 1 of this game and there's already an emotional breakdown! Shit, this aura that she has that makes you want to protect her is at a far higher level than Hikari's. Not good! I already have three wives and I just added the third!)

Shin feeling that his thoughts towards Komaru were heading in a strange direction, separated himself from her and told her to calm down and that she didn't need to thank him. Drake, Sachi and the other Newbies looked at Shin in a strange light, yet he couldn't care for them at this time as his thoughts were on Komaru. She was dangerous. Komaru wasn't as cute as Hikari, a stunning mature beauty like Aqua, or a peerless supermodel level beauty like Kisara... yet all the same Komaru was dangerous. She was the type of girl you at least had a crush on at school because she was above average, yet seemed obtainable. Her reactions to everything normal and could be annoying to those who are used to death and danger, yet because of that she was the kind of girl you would want to date and marry if you lived a normal life and desired a normal girl.

Shin: "Ah... Komaru. We have a lot to talk about, but first introductions since we should be safe for the moment. You've heard from me, so let's begin with the others. Over to the side are my two colleges from Future Foundation, Drake and Sachi. Drake was a priest before The Tragedy, but he's incredibly fit, so you can definitely count on him."

Drake: "Nice to meet you Komaru. Don't worry about a thing. Cute High School Girls in sailor uniforms are some of my favorites and is up there with Catholic School girls and Goth lolitas. How can I let harm come to you as a man."

Komaru: "...Thank you... I think."

Shin: "I'm beginning to get while you're not just a former, but exiled priest Drake. Now, as for Sachi-"

Sachi: "Nurse... and Assassin."

Komaru: "...Former right?"

Sachi: "...Sure."

Komaru: "Why don't you sound sure!?"

Shin: "Ah, there's no need to be overly sacred of her. She won't use her poison needles to harm you... probably. Yeah, the chances are low, but yeah it won't happen."

Komaru: "Which is it!?"

Shin not having a good answer then proceeded to introduce the Newbies. Komaru at first wondered if they were members of Future Foundation as well, but Shin said otherwise. The Newbies with the exception of Drake and Sachi were regular civilians and couldn't Hope to pretend to be even low level agents of Future Foundation, so he didn't come up with a fake identity. Shin just said that they were regular civilians that he happened to come across. They were different from Komaru who Shin, Sachi, and Drake were assigned to protect, but feeling sorry for them they decided to make an effort to protect them. They all ended up moving together, but because Sachi, Drake and Shin stood out in our Future Foundation suits the three of them switched to civilian clothes from an abandoned shop... yet this didn't explain Sachi's dress wear as a nurse, but too afraid to ask she let it go.

Shin: "So that's how it is. Anyways, this isn't the time to relax too long and enjoy each other's company like this. More Monokuma could be on their way now if we just stay here."

Komaru: "Y-You're right. We've got to leave this building first before we can find a way out of this city."

Shin: "Good that you understand Komaru. After you."

Komaru: "Huh!? Why do I have to go first!? Aren't you here to protect me?"

Shin: "I am, but this city is too dangerous. I don't think that I'll die as the Ultimate Protagonist, but there are no guarantees in life. That's why we should all do our part to survive."

Komaru: "...That makes sense. I can't argue with that, but why should I lead? You're much stronger than me, Shin."

Sachi: "Don't you have the Megaphone Hacking Gun? The Megaphone Hacking Gun that Byakuya Togami gave you is most suitable for dealing with the Monokuma and that's why you should take the lead. Shin may be strong, but with that gun you can just aim and fire from a distance to defeat Monokuma as a normal individual."

Komaru: "...I see. Then why don't I hand this gun over to someone else. Wouldn't that be for the best? In the hands of someone more capable we can defeat far more Monokuma than I could."

Saying so, Komaru retrieved the Megaphone Hacking Gun behind her back and handed it off to Sachi. I couldn't help but see this as a cowardly and almost stupid decision to hand over her only means of fighting the enemy to another person, but you couldn't really blame her. Komaru Naegi is at her core a normal girl. What normal girl would be willing to fight mass murdering bipolar robot bears when she has people to protect her... aside from my harem that is? Even with the support of multiple characters, both friend and enemy alike, Komaru only activity develops into a real protagonist by chapter 4 of the Another Episode. Before then, only after seeing all the death, Despair, Hopelessness, and slowly gaining confidence through many battles will Komaru even make the choice to face her enemy head on.

Sachi: "...Shin, take a look at this."

Shin: "Huh?"

It was as I wa seeing some merit in Komaru handing over her gun that Sachi called out to me and extended the Megaphone Hacking Gun to me. She meant for me to take it and as I did I received a notification from God. It was the notification of obtaining a Quest Item.

\- OBTAINED QUEST ITEM MEGAPHONE HACKING GUN (UNLIMITED AMMO).

THE MEGAPHONE MEGAPHONE HACKING GUN SENDS OUT PROGRAMMING CODES IN AN ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE, ALLOWING IT TO HACK INTO THE TARGET'S MECHANISMS FROM A DISTANCE. THE MEGAPHONE MEGAPHONE HACKING GUN'S ABILITIES DEPEND ON WHERE AND FOR WHAT THE CONVERTING TACTICAL OPERATIONS THEY WERE CREATED FOR. AMMUNITION USED ARE KOTODAMA (WORD BULLETS):

SLOT 1: BREAK BULLET.

SLOT 2: MOVE BULLET.

SLOT 3: EMPTY.

SLOT 4: EMPTY.

SLOT 5: EMPTY.

SLOT 6: EMPTY.

SLOT 7: EMPTY.

SLOT 8: EMPTY.

THE QUEST ITEM MEGAPHONE HACKING GUN HAS BEEN SET WITH A BIOMETRIC LOCK AND CAN ONLY BE USED BY KOMARU NAEGI DURING THE COURSE OF THIS MISSION. A PLAYER MAY ONLY USE THIS ITEM AFTER ALL KOTODAMA SETTINGS HAVE BEEN REINSTALLED AND THE MAIN MISSION IS COMPLETED.

Shin: "...So that's how it is. Sorry Komaru, but no one here other than you can use the Megaphone Hacking Gun. I don't know when, but it has been set that way. You'll have to fight alongside us. When you're really in trouble, I'll save you as if my life depended on it (Which is does). I can't have you dying, so you have my word."

Komaru: "That's... fine. Just how did the gun... was it that guy in the blue jacket?"

Shin: "Blue Jacket?"

Shin handed back the Megaphone Hacking Gun and heard Komaru mention something interesting. Shin asked about this man in a blue jacket and heard from Komaru how this man was with her after she woke up today and he was the one who handed her back the Megaphone Hacking Gun after messing with the gun. A man in a blue jacket carrying a staff tied to his back. This man was also present when the Warriors of Hope dropped her down into Towa City. Shin hearing all of this didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He was about to do both. He could only think, "How expected of Jin to end up replacing Nagito Komaeda in the story." as both their characters were practically the same. Shin was impressed that Jin became a mastermind presence in the Warriors of Hope within the few hours since they parted ways even if he took the place of a main character from the plot... yet with Jin it was expected in some way.

Shin: (Jin must be having fun. He's playing a character so similar to himself that you have to wonder if one of them wasn't based on the other. Well, at least I have an idea on how my comrades plan on hunting me down.)

Shin sighed to himself thinking of a few possibilities and began to walk toward the roof top exit, and with some hesitation, yet with a desire to escape danger Komaru followed after him. Sachi and Drake walked to the sides of Komaru to protect her from any sudden dangers and the remaining nervous Newbies followed after them.

\- Note 1: Something terrible is happening...

It didn't take long for me to realize it. I understood when I saw my juniors dead with hulled out eyes. I understood when I saw my seniors dead with bloody vomit. I understood when I saw my classmates dead with their spilled guts lying on the floor. I realized that this is pure insanity, but even though I know this, I still can't convince myself that this is real. It's only been a day. There's no way the world could come to this in just 1 day. There's no way your friends, who were laughing with you just a while ago, could be dead just like that. What I thought I knew about the world, what I thought was just common knowledge, it's all insanity to me now. Children running around and killing adults. It can't be happening.

Komaru: "How cruel."

Sachi: "Is it really?"

Komaru: "How can you-"

Sachi: "In this world didn't the Tragedy just occur and the world is just recovering from the damage? I can only call the man a fool. This whole city in fact seeing how quickly it fell. That event wasn't even just in some far off country where you could pretend it didn't happen. The entire world was damaged and that includes Japan. The origin sight for it all. How can you even ignore that just because no harm came to your city till now?"

Komaru: "Still, children killing adults is..."

Sachi: "Huh? I'm an assassin. In the assassin's clan they ship off children to deserted islands and they like to fight against each other for resources including food and clean water. Afterwards, you're sent on missions to kill all kinds of people even if you're still a child. Sorry to tell you this, but children killing adults and even children killing fellow children... is nothing new to this world. Years ago I've even watched as my nine year old best friend was crushed under a large rock like it was right out of Lord of the Flies. Now, if you took out in my case, boys XXXXXXX some of the weaker girl and keeping them as plaything then it really was like that book. I made sure those energetic youths with so much vigor didn't leave that island alive and in the most painful of ways imaginable. Hahaha, this kind of killing is lukewarm if you ask me."

Komaru: "..."

Shin: "...Lets move on."

Shin had a lot of things on his mind hearing all of this but one word stood out amongst all others. Scary! Both Sachi's past and she herself are damn scary.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza.

About the Monokuma Robot KILL Side Quest. I might put it up some times, but I won't be counting each and every point Shin or the others make. Shin will kill hundreds, no thousands of Monokumas of all variety, so it'll be too confusing. I also tried to speed up Shin's fights on average with minimal explanation. A fan PM'ed me about his concerns and I agreed. That's why I'll try to keep out the ones that feel strange in the middle of a battle, or just keep them to a minimal. Also, the Megaphone Megaphone Hacking Gun is infinite ammo because dropped bullets in presents and in Monokuma robots doesn't feel real... although a Monokuma is thankfully not real. Also, sometimes there will be cut scenes like the above. How did you like it?


	167. Chapter 167

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 7, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

With very few hardships we all exited the hospital building and walked out onto the streets of Towa City. While inside the hospital building we ran into a few Monokuma, and a blood soaked Monokuma that jumped out of nowhere and almost killed a Newbie, but overall it was a good experience. Komaru using the Megaphone Hacking Gun dealt with most of the Monokuma to gain experience fighting while Drake, Sachi and I naturally created a defensive formation to protect Komaru. Drake stood to Komaru's left for defense, I stood to her right for defense and offense if needed, and Sachi using her expertise as an assassin to cover the rear as she was sensitive to enemies attempting to sneak attack our group. As for the rest of the Newbies... they just followed behind helplessly.

Shin: (Lucky no one died, but we're just starting the *game* even if it's a twenty man mission. Also, we didn't run into the Monokuma Kids or Arcade Room. The first was probably because Komaru didn't need bullets for her Megaphone Hacking Gun that had unlimited ammo and the second is because it would be too much of an advantage if we knew enemy positions as we move forward.)

Shin beginning to think that with Hikari the mission wouldn't be that difficult even with the twenty man difficulty. Also, with his original six comrades who were strong and capable they could perhaps take the risk of directly heading straight to the base of the Warriors of Hope, Towa Hills... but that was an impossible choice now. Hikari was only about to show us a map of Towa City before Izuru Kamukura interrupted them. Without knowing the way within this large city, only two, maybe three capable comrades and having to protect Komaru, Shin knew that he could only follow the plot to move to the key points of Towa City.

Also, without the combat support of his team he would eventually wear himself out before making it to the final boss even with the Ki of Black Heaven & Earth Technique. With strong comrades the risk was worth taking... but not with his current comrades. Even if Drake and Sachi were exceptional for Newbies. If not for all these thing could even just use Void Instant Movement to fly over all the traps and mazes throughout the city and face just the Warriors of Hope with his comrades. That's why Shin could only follow the plot.

Drake: "So where do we go from here Shin?"

Shin: "Ah... Then let's ask Komaru here. Komaru what do you plan to do now?"

Komaru: "Me? Well... I guess there's no choice but to escape. I'll... I'll be killed if I stay in this city, right?"

Shin: "..."

Komaru: "...Shin, everyone, I understand that you both want to save me and take back the city, but... I'm just so scared. I can't help it and I'm not doing this to gain sympathy... but I'm so scared that I can't help it. I feel trapped. No matter what I do, I'll end up getting killed. So... I know this is... an unfair request and I've no right to ask, but..."

Shin: "Fine."

Komaru: "Huh?"

Komaru was in tears as she tried to convey that she wanted everyone to prioritize her escape from Towa City even though it was a selfish request from her standpoint, yet Shin knowing what she wanted to ask quickly agreed to her shock. From Shin's standpoint as a Player it was best to follow the original plot and agree to escort her like Toko Fukawa did who also wanted to look for Byakuya Togami. It was in Shin and the Newbies of Team Japan's best interest to just follow the plot and agree, yet from how a scared girl like Komaru saw it they all looked selfless with this act even when we said that it was our duty as members of the Future Foundation.

Komaru: "Thank you Shin. Everyone. I'm thankful towards god that I met you all."

Komaru then ran up and hugged Shin with tears in her eyes. Shin didn't know what to do against this girl and called for help from the others.

Shin: "Guys... help (Damn! This girl looks plain, but has to the talent to win over men without trying. A temptress!)."

Sachi: "Hey, can you not make out in the middle of the street like that. A street filled with corpses and stained with blood."

Komaru: "Ah, sorry about that."

Drake: "Hey, why does she only jump into Shin's arms?"

Sachi: "He is the Ultimate Protagonist after all. Also, you showed your true colors earlier and drove her away."

Drake: "Don't want to hear that from you sadistic ice queen assassin!"

With the banter finished and a course of action set the fifteen including Komaru and myself set off. The groups current course of action was to discover a way out of Towa City for Komaru. For those who knew the plot of Chapter 1 of the game this meant traveling towards Towa City bridge which should lead off the island where the city is located and back to the mainland and afterwards the subway which should also lead back to the mainland. The Great Towa City Bridge and Subway seemed too obvious way out of the city and it was.

Along the way the main character meet a relative of one of the survivors of the death game from Dangon Ronpa 1 and discover that the bridge was a trap and was set to collapse with bombs hidden underneath the bridge. The next method to escape the city that they thought up was the subway. Taking the subway was also a trap leading to the first boss battle and later on another trap where like the bridge as the tunnel was set to collapse and cave in on the main characters, but that's in chapter 2 of the game and too far ahead to think about.

Shin: (Our first stop is the bridge although Komaru doesn't know that yet. For now we should just guard her as we move through the city till she realizes the designation herself.)

And so Shin allowed Komaru to lead the way as Sachi, Drake and himself stayed close to protect her and the other Newbies timidly followed behind. As we made our way through the city streets we discovered a sight that we wished we never saw. For one all the streets were destroyed as if bombs had went off, cars left abandoned which needed Komaru's Megaphone Hacking Gun to move with the MOVE BULLET, and lastly as a sign that the city no longer belonged to the adults the graffiti of childish scribbles by kids were drawn on all the store walls that we came across... but that was not the worst of it.

Countless upon countless bloodied corpses of adults were left on the streets, hung on display walls of buildings and kept up with large screws stabbing through their bodies, and Monokuma units with their twisted smiling expressions continued to *play* with the bodies. Komaru and all of us together without needing to say a word to each other felt compelled to take out all of those Monokumas... yet there was something even more disturbing within this chaos.

Joining the crazed Monokuma were the even more so crazed kids wearing Monokuma styled helmets who were partially responsible for all the damage caused by the riots, the Monokuma Kids. They were *playing* along with corpses of the adults along with Monokumas, yet unlike them there were laughing, singing, and dancing as they stomped on and did other unspeakable things to the corpses. When Komaru and the Newbies saw the Monokuma kids playing with the corpses all turned pale and looked like they wanted to throw up. Some did and I felt like joining them, yet Drake and Sachi fared much better. Especially Sachi who didn't bat an eye at the scene and glared at the Monokuma kids till they scattered as they always do when threatened.

Komaru: "These kids... They aren't normal. How can they all just..."

Shin: "Yeah, I agree."

I really did, but because I knew the truth of the matter I understood the logic beyond this abnormally senseless act where children, the Monokuma Kids where killing and playing with the bodies of adults.

About the Monokuma Kids.

The Monokuma Kids were a group of children wearing Monokuma helmets who work alongside the Monokuma robots for the Warriors of Hope, featured in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. The kids wear similar full head helmets that hid their original faces and green clothing that brought out thoughts such as the unity of a cult, and it seems impossible to tell them apart. They are mostly silent and speak very little, usually only to each other. They usually just sing and giggle, or cry if hurt and afraid. In general, they appear less dangerous (or at least, not as directly dangerous) as the Monokuma robots and they're easily frightened, but they do cause chaos and mischief in various ways and do horrible things like playing with the bodies of Adults. As they're not very physically strong nor durable, they usually attack adults with the help of Monokuma robots, other machines and explosives.

The Monokuma Kids along with the Warriors of Hope were the hated enemies of all the surviving adults of Towa City, yet there was a tragic truth behind their masks. The Monokuma Kids were originally ordinary children living in Towa City till the Warriors of Hope made their appearance. The Warriors of Hope killed their parents as they believed that the children needed to be freed from them, half-believing all children suffered the same way and the other half just wanting convenient tools/friends. They are then kidnapped by them and are later sent back to attack Towa City's adults by ordering the Monokuma robots as ground troops.

At first, their motives are a mystery, as they seem to hinder and assist the two protagonists Komaru Naegi and Toko Fukawa, as well as punish the Warriors of Hope if they fail. It's eventually revealed that they're mind-controlled through their masks by Monaca Towa the mastermind behind the events within the Warriors of Hope, though they do seem to retain some of their own emotions.

Though they take orders from the other members of the Warriors and their Servant, they're truly loyal to Monaca and only to Monaca and will turn against the other kids of the Warriors of Hope if Monaca does. It's also revealed that their masks contain explosives which are set to go off if the controller for the Monokuma robots is broken which was the point of all the events of Another Episode. The Warriors of Hope, more specifically Monaca Towa wanted Komaru to decide whether to break the Monokuma Controller or not after leading her through the city to gain the qualifications of a main character and representative of Hope for the surviving adults of Towa City, but more importantly confidence in herself.

If Komaru chooses to destroy the Monokuma Controller then the terrorized adults of the city can be saved from the threats of the Monokuma and Monokuam Kids, but the helmet that all the Monokuma Children are wearing will explode and the resulting tragedy will make all the adults look like they killed them in cold blood, proving they are all members of Despair and becoming the world's enemy, specifically Future Foundation. If Komaru chooses not to destroy the Monokuma Controller then the children can be spared, but the attacks on the adults by the Monokuma will continue and in the end... nothing would have been accomplished after all her struggles and the hardships endured by the adults.

This loss Despairing situation was the ultimate goal of Monaca Towa. One of her objections was to use Hope as a weapon of Despair and turn Komaru into the poster child of Despair to succeed the departed leader of Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima. Using Hope as a weapon of Despair means giving the adults who survival the initial riots a false Hope and drive them into a mad rage to kill everything in sight, both Monokuma and the brainwashed Monokuma Children alike, and by doing so become a city filled with child murders, in other words new members of Ultimate Despair, and become the new enemy of the world. If Komaru kills all the children to save the adults then she becomes the successor of Despair, ironically she would also be the sister of one of the two Ultimate Hopes, Makoto Naegi who was the one who ultimately defeated Junko Enoshima back at Hope's Peak Academy which made it even more heartbreaking. Also, if Komaru chose not to kill the children then she would become the enemy of adults and Monokuma alike and would prove that all her efforts, tears, and Hope to do something despite being a normal girl would all be for naught.

That was the reason behind the chaos that would turn the adults against the children and force Komaru into Despair where she has the choose between saving the adults, which was her motivation after awakening into a true heroine, or the kids who just as victims as the adults and maybe more so... and all of it would be broadcasted for the whole world to see.

Komaru: "Look! I see a bridge!"

As I was contemplating nature of the Monokuma kids and Komaru's fate if we were to stay true to the plot she spotted the bridge in the far distance. Shin and the others honestly didn't know where they were walking all this time yet following Komaru by letting her take the lead brought them here. With her Hopes of escape increased Komaru ran forward ahead of us and Drake not wanting to leave her alone went ahead with her. I sighed she this girl who mostly cried all of a sudden become upbeat and full of energy and was about to follow her when Sachi stopped me.

Sachi: "Hey, we don't have to follow the plot exactly, right? We already spotted the bridge, so why not skip, or break though all these road blocks. Long as we stay within the plot and don't skip any major events we wouldn't risk altering the story."

Shin: "...Yeah. That's not a bad idea. Let's do that."

Sachi: "Did you not think of it yourself, or was it that you didn't want to risk it with these comrades?"

Shin: "..."

Sachi: "It's fine. I don't need something like trust. You should at least know that we don't mean any harm since we've yet to harm Komaru. You even purposely left openings for us to attack you or her as we fought the Monokuma we came across. That at least proves that we aren't suicidal agents of the Four Pillars who only care about your death. We could, Drake and I might still be the enemy, but just value our lives."

Shin: "...And could just be laying low for a chance after the mission to wipe Team Japan."

Sachi: "But there's only a small chance of that. The Four Pillars want you and your team dead. They would send suicide bombers in a word to deal with you guys. I've heard that they even had a sleeper agent and then a spy into your team before. They wouldn't keep using the same tricks or less aggressive tactics now would they? They aren't like me. When the Four Pillars truly... truly wish someone dead they don't take their time with sleeper agents. NO, they just kill them. After two failed attempts, possibly three with the wipe of Team Germany you told us about on the way here, they'll kill you in a heart beat, Shin. They'll sacrifice a hundred for just your life."

Shin: "...Hearing you say that makes me feel relieved and even more suspicious. If you had perfectly hid your abilities you could have tried to assassinate me, but it isn't that simple. What a certain cool, but untimely failure of a main character once said about a certain Human God who talks about trust, you can't trust a person who talks about trust and lies. So I trust you... but I won't hold my breath or get upset if you decide to betray me later on."

Sachi: "Oh, I like that kind of trust. Like I know you'll leave me and Drake behind if Komaru is in danger for the sake of your own life and the lives of your real comrades."

Shin: "...Well, at best your trial members."

Sachi: "..."

Komaru: "Hey! What's taking you two so long! We need to pass through this hotel to get to the other side where the bridge is."

Komaru having interrupted the heavy heart to heart between Shin and and Sachi called them over. The road was blocked so the only way around to get closer to the bridge was to go inside a hotel building, but agreeing with the earlier suggestion of Sachi, Shin chose to go another route as he stood before a huge wall of conveniently placed cargo metal cargo containers. Komaru didn't understand what was going on at first, but then took a step back seeing a strange sight. Shin's left arm grew three times its size and reflected a silver light as the skin tone changed to match. He then took a step forwards and punched the metal wall of cargo containers. His fist met the metal containers head on and unlike how Komaru expected, his fist didn't break, but actually smashed through the metal and then-

\- *BOOM*!

With a sonic boom, the wall of metal cargo containers exploded and cleared the path ahead for them. Komaru, Drake, and even the ice queen Sachi looked on in amazement.. and then in fear as a new threat approached. Over a dozen Monokuma units rushed through this the new clearing in the road in and behind them were a new enemy. Three Monokumas wearing green bullet proof vest and helmet to match and behind their backs were silver containers filled with hand grenades.

Shin recognized them as one of the different models of Monokuma units, the Bomber Monokuma. The three Bomber Monokuma allowed their comrades to rush forward and laughed as they prepared bombs to throw at Shin and the others. In the game they weren't difficult e enemies to face and were even useful at time to blow away other enemies; but in real life, there being three of them and being added by a dozen normal Monokuma they were a real threat.

Shin: "Great! Komaru stand back and snipe the new Monokumas! I'll-"

Drake: "Wait leader! You stay back with the girl. Let us Newbies handle this!"

As Drake said this entered Unlocked Mode as he rushed forward alone and kicked the forward most Monokuma and sending it flying. Drake was not as enhanced as Shin, but possessing Faith Energy comparable to a C tier whole enhancement the Momokuma that was kicked didn't get back up and exploded. Drake like Sachi knew that Shin had yet to trust him and so he wanted to use any chance to improve his standing. If you are a Newbie not present during the team's conception than you might not be considered a part of the team and will be the first to be left behind. Drake didn't want this and so he went all out and was about to show of one of the two skill that's he's development on his own when-

Sachi: "Perverted priest! Pay attention to your surroundings!"

A grenade from the rear positioned Bomber Monokuma unit was thrown to blow ip Drake and three more grenades followed. Four bombs were about to land and blow Drake away when needles flew through the air, struck and detonated the grenades in mid-flight. Drake looked back and saw Sachi and in her hands were countless needles between her fingers. He didn't know where she kept all of those needles on her person and having enough reason not to ask the ice queen that he turned back to trusting his fellow Newbie. The remaining Monokuma units quickly surrounded Drake waiting for the next wave of bombing to begin and would attack if he moved to escape, yet he was unconcerned as he took the silver cross around his neck and squeezed it tightly in his hands.

Drake: "My god isn't the God of this dimension, but all the same you deserve some divine punishment! Weight of Sins!"

A white aura of Faith Energy was released from Drake's body and then quickly spread outwards as a light capturing the surrounding Monokuma units. It was a basic Faith Energy spell to restrict the moments of others and would gain a stronger effect if those captured by this light had committed great sins... and it had a great effect of the enemy. The Monokuma units that had taken part in the genocide of the adults of Towa City momentarily had their movement speed decreased down by 50%. Drake then charged the enemy and swiftly put an end to the enemy that had a hard time moving. Drake grabbed the head of one Monokuma and smashed it to the floor. A second Monokuma tried to slash him for behind, but a sweeping kick followed by a ruthless stomp to the face end its life. A third, fourth, fifth and the remaining Monokuma charged forward, yet their speed was so slow Drake couldn't help, but take advance of them with his prided judo.

Sachi: "Like I said pay attention to your surroundings you worthless priest!"

Sachi saying so entered Unlocked Mode for the briefest moment and as she released three long slim needles from her right hand. The Bomber Monokuma had retreated some distance and planned to throw more grenades and they were her target. Taking into account distance and air resistance the three needles cut through the space between them and stabbed into their three red eyes. The Bomber Monokuma had no time to react and exploded having their weakness targeted.

Shin and Komaru who didn't have a part to play in this battle watched this all unfold and were amazed. Komaru witnessing the strength of her Future Foundation comrades felt reassured that they could definitely help her escape the city. As for Shin he too was impressed, but had his concerns. Drake was confident, strong and possessed interesting abilities, but he either didn't have too much combat experience or just got too caught up in the moment to watch out for other dangers in a fight. As for Sachi he didn't have any real complaints as she backed Drake and defeated some of the enemy Monokuma on her own, but he couldn't help but feel that she fought in a defensive manner and didn't take any risk which at times could lead to a swifter end to a battle.

Komaru: "Amazing! You, Drake and Sachi are all amazing. We can definitely escape Towa City!"

Shin: "Yeah they are something. Amazing comrades I wouldn't want to be my enemy, so I Hope they keep this up. Anyways, now that the path is clear let's go. The bridge is just up ahead Komaru."

Komaru: "That's right. I can... I can finally escape!"

Shin: "..."

Shin knowing what lied up ahead remained silent and followed after Komaru as she sprinted forward now seeing the bridge just up ahead. Komaru believed, no could only believe that the path before her was one of Hope... but all that would await her was more Despair.

\- "The Bomb Inside Her 1".

I, Yumi Kayakuda (16), am a normal female high school student in every way. At least, I wish that were the case. I have a bomb in my womb that will explode when I fall in love. That's why ever since I was born, I have been pure and innocent, but then I encountered the boy I "like", Snota Honen who says he loves me. Not attached but not distant, less than lovers, more than friends; we are at our limit. "Sorry, but at this rate I'll end up liking you, so do something horrible to me!" Lighting a fire in your heart?! A risqué, thrilling love story!

Komaru: "This... This is it! The Bomb Inside Her! This manga... Oh, it's been ages since I read this! I love it!"

Sachi: "Hey, why are your eyes shinning like that? It's just a comic book."

Komaru: "Huh? Just a comic book? This is Manga!"

Shin: "Huh? Just a comic book? This is Manga!"

Sachi merely commented on Komaru's obsession with Manga, but with the topic of Manga in the air and it being assaulted drew Shin into the mix. Shin and Komaru then just glanced at each other for a second and coming to a deep understanding proceeded to tell Sachi the wonders of Manga together. Sachi being feed up with the both of them escaped and coming out victorious Shin and Komaru hi five each other in joy.

Komaru: "We did it! Still, I'm surprised that you love Manga as well. You yourself are a protagonist after all. Ah, by the way I've been wondering something! Just what are you superpowers supposed to be? You have just a wide variety of skills that I can't tell what your origin story could possibly be."

Shin: "Me? Along with welding a variety of sci-fi and magic tools... made by someone who can't be named I have two abilities. A kind of demonic mutation (Can't say ghoul even if half) and the energy that you've probably heard of before Ki, also called Qi or Prana depending on your source material."

Komaru: "Amazing! With such talents you're really the Ultimate Protagonist!"

Shin: "Hm, continue to praise me."

Drake: "Haha, you two seem very compatible. I'm jealous. Seriously, I want to flirt with a high school girl... preferably a middle school girl, but all the same I can't help but be jealous. Even that time I visited an all rich all-girls school for a service I didn't get anywhere."

Komaru: "..."

Shin: "Aim higher age wise first if you want a girl. Also, I don't feel that way or have time to flirt with another girl. I'm on a mission after all. Additionally, I don't need to flirt with any girls as I have a harem."

Komaru: "...Harem?"

Shin: "Yeah. I'm in a relationship with three amazing women at this time. A mature and badass red haired superwoman of my dreams with Adamantium Claws and a werewolf ability. A small, cute, and sometimes harsh internationally wanted hacker girl with magic and psychic powers. And just recently a peerless supermodel level beauty knowing ancient swordsmanship which was used for a famous manga has joined my growing family. I'm the Ultimate Protagonist after all, so this much is natural."

Drake: "You really are talking that title to heart, aren't you?"

Sachi: "A man with a harem in real life... How shameless. Maybe I should prepare a special poison to... ah; did I say that out loud?"

Shin: "You did, so please don't."

Komaru: "...A harem?"

Komaru's expression showed her inner Despair as she heard that her savior and prince on a white horse who saved her not only was in a relationship with another girl, but three at that who all sounded far better than her. It was shocking to say the least... but-

Komaru: "...A harem... I wonder if there's still Hope to-"

Shin: "Hm? What was that?"

Komaru: "Ahem, nothing! Nothing at all! Just talking to myself!"

Shin: "Oh. Okay then."

Sachi: "How shameless and dense of you."

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Azarza.


	168. Chapter 168

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 8, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Towa City's Great Bridge.

A large bridge which extended across the ocean to access other cities of the mainland of Japan. After Yuta Asahina came out of hiding in this area and joined the main characters in an attempt to escape Towa City, the bridge was completely destroyed, but even before them it collapsed a few miles out. It was obvious to anyone who gave it any though that the bridge would be destroyed or too well guarded to pass as the Warriors of Hope don't want anyone to escape or enter the city, but... for those like Komaru grasping for any Hope that they could such realistic and negative thoughts never crossed the right mind.

Komaru: "We're here! Now… we just have to cross this bridge and we can escape Towa City! We did it, Shin! Sachi! Drake! We're this close to being saved everyone!"

Komaru looked towards her companions, yet she saw that she was the only one excited by finally reaching Towa City's Great Bridge. She understood that Shin, Drake and Sachi weren't interested in escaping the city at this time, but couldn't understand why the others (The Newbies) weren't excited as well. Komaru had no clue that from what they learned from Shin was that it was impossible to escape Towa City, or at least this early in the plot. Shin didn't tell them all the details, but they could imagine that something would go wrong and stop Komaru from escaping Towa City.

Sachi: "I wonder if it's that simple to escape.

Komaru: "...Eh?"

Drake: "I'm in agreement. I'm getting a bad omen about this. This bridge has a faint scent of danger."

Shin: "Really you two. Can't you be more positive? What can possibly-?"

?: "Hey! You two–!"

It was at this time that Shin and the others were playing out a pre-established script when a voice in the distance cut them off. Shin, Komaru and the others turned back to see a teenage kid with brown skin and sporting a sports jacket running towards them. The teenager was all smiles seeing as there were no dangerous Monokuma Kids in the group and didn't hesitate to join up with them. Shin recognized this youth as a character from Another Episode who made a brief appearance in the game, but left a major impact.

Yuta Asahina.

Yuta Asahina is a character in Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls and is a Target for the Warriors of Hope's Demon Hunting like Komaru. Yuta is also the younger brother of Aoi Asahina from the first game and the closest person to her, which is why he became a Captive for Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc's first motive. Yuta In the end was executed in Chapter 1 after he tried to escape from Towa City by swimming out of the city. He broke the Demon Hunting's rules, which made his Monokuma Bracelet explode.

Yuta is a tan skinned boy who has short, brown hair and blue eyes. He is around the same age as Komaru Naegi, but slightly younger, most likely around the age of 14-15. He wears a white tank top under his teal-blue track jacket with a sign that reads "dog can go like 3 cups rice dog oh love since 1981." on it. It is unknown what the saying means. Yuta also wears beige shorts, red sneakers, and bright yellow socks. A black bracelet with a red stripe and a red Monokuma eye on it is present on his left wrist in the original game, but like Komaru it was now worn around his neck like a collar.

Yuta is energetic and cheerful, even in difficult situations. He appears very friendly. He is also very naive and rather oblivious to most things. He appears to like sports and used to be part of his school's track and field team. Yuta is shown to be extremely confident in his swimming skills, though he admits that his sister has always been better than him. Similar to his sister, Yuta isn't very smart and can be headstrong. As stated by Toko Fukawa, "like idiot sister, like idiot brother."

Yuta: "You guys... don't seem like you're allies with the kids wearing those strange helmets. That means you're my allies, right? Am I right?"

Komaru: "Eh? Y-yes."

Yuta: "Just like I thought! Alright, alright! Great, this is great! Ah, I haven't met a decent person in a long time! I'm so happy!"

Sachi: "Ah, what an annoying chipper kid. The type I can't get along with... unless I get to have my way with him in a dark room."

Drake: "...If I didn't know what that really meant with you, I or anyone else would jump at such a chance. You're too old for me, but I guess that I still would if you are willing to tone down the-"

Shin: "Shut up you two. Also,new guy, stop holding Komaru's hands!"

Shin seeing Yuta approach and take Komaru's hands into his own upset him for some reason and immediately got in between them. Shin knew that Yuta was just being overly friendly because like Komaru he had been imprisoned for a long time and was being terrorized by the Monokuma, but Shin immediately grew a dislike for the kid. Even more so now that he just realized that both he and Komaru had the same Monokuma Bracelet around their necks to show that they had some kind of affinity for each other having gone through similar troubles as she did.

Yuta then introduced himself at this time and so did the rest of us. In the original plot Toko made the connection hearing his last name Asahina that he was related to her fellow survivor of the Hope Peak Academy Death Game, but knowing the plot Shin, Sachi, and Drake didn't show any signs of knowing him. Then for the next minute they talked about pointless things and it was time to go. Yuta as well wanted to escape Towa City using the bridge as well, so he temporarily joined the team.

Yuta: "We can be happy after we leave this city. Alright, let's cross this bridge and bid farewell to this place once and for all! When we get out of the city, let's have a toast with sports drinks!"

Komaru: "Everyone, let's go too!"

And like so walking onto the bridge Yuta ran up ahead and Komaru with as much Hope of being rescued followed after him. Shin, Drake, Sachi and the Newbies followed after them. They all knew that taking the bridge was just a dead end, yet due to the restriction of having to follow Komaru or be erased by God they all made sure that they kept within a 5,000 meter distance of her. Like so over ten minutes passed as they ran and ran and ran down the bridge. Shin found it odd that despite running the whole time and at a good pace they had yet to reach the end of the bridge where it had collapsed, but he wasn't all too worried.

Unlike games distances were shortened for the sake of enjoyment, in real life you couldn't possibly walk or run for even five minutes in a straight line and reach the other side of a city after all. Shin with such thoughts looked up ahead where Komaru and Yuta were running. They had gone through so much and now had Hope of escaping as they kept running forward... and seeing this made Shin sigh. Shin then looked back to confirm that the Newbies were a distance away trying to catch up and that only Drake and Sachi were in earshot of him.

Shin: "This is actually one of my favorite games, but in reality it really is depressing to be in this story. It also makes me feel like an asshole for knowing all the terrors that are about to occur, but choosing to follow the plot and doing nothing is... Anyways, Drake, Sachi, get ready for the chaos that is about to start. This is a twenty man mission, but so far it looks like the plot wasn't messed with too much, or at least major events weren't. We can expect the bridge to collapse at any time."

Drake: "The new difficulty of the plot might just have to do with you having to subdue your comrades and defeat the Guide along with completing the mission. The dangers may increase, but too great a change of the plot will wipe Team Japan 100%. It's a safe bet to believe in the plot for the moment."

Shin: "Nice to see I'm not the only one to come to that conclusion. Now, let me just remind you two one last time. The priority is Komaru. Don't let her die no matter what! Also, ignore it if Yuta and the other Newbies fall into danger. They are not our concern."

Sachi: "So it's fine to abandon the trash?"

Shin: "I don't like your wording, but yeah. They can't keep up with us and I can't let them drag us down as the mission becomes more difficult with time. Komaru is a nice girl who wouldn't want us to abandon them, so this is a great chance to be rid of them. Like a great woman once told me it isn't abandonment if we were never comrades to begin with (Ah, how I miss Aqua. I kinda want to get told off as I make a pass at her right now... Does that make me an M?)."

Sachi: "How cold blooded. Hahaha, I like it!"

Drake: "I'm sure that you do, sadist."

Shin with no plans to change his plans felt some regret in his choice. Sure no one other than Drake and Sachi showed superior ability to fight along Shin, but they could have other talents necessary to a team. Like Saki once suggested those with the ability to craft items, but unable to fight should be protected and raised for the sake of the team. Shin had abandoned Newbies before, even ordered their deaths, but rarely out of malice. Just like now it was because he didn't have the ability or desire to protect the Newbies. His first priority was to complete the mission by escorting Komaru, subduing his comrades, and defeating the Guide Izuru Kamukura. Next was acquiring as many points as he could during this mission as he had learned what it meant to be too weak to protect everything in his last mission against Team Germany. Third was protecting his potential new comrades Drake and Sachi. As for the Newbies... they were never his concern.

Shin: "Maybe a useful guy was among them, but I don't have the resources to spare to protect them as well. This was a group of Newbies who have done nothing wrong to deserve being killed off... so I'll at least offer them an apology later."

Sachi: "They are still not a part of your team. The decision was for the team. Their fitness, speed, and reaction are all out of the limit for this mission and it's only going to get worse from here. From the moment they appeared in this world their deaths were sealed. It's foolish to doubt yourself."

Drake: "Then I am rather lucky to have the strength to be acknowledged as a team member! All that crap training drinking holy water every day, praying for hours with no end in sight, and military drills on top of it all wasn't for nothing."

Shin: "You haven't gotten my acknowledgement yet. You're still on trial and I need extra combat power to protect Komaru. I can trust you and Sachi only because of the rules of this mission prevent you from killing or going against me without signing your own deaths. You're both too suspicious, so I'll leave my final judgment till we get back to the Terminal Lobby."

Drake: "No problem. Trust has to be earned after all."

With their plans agreed on they kept running after Komaru and Yuta down the bridge, and another ten minutes later... they came to the end.

Team Japan, Komaru and Yuta at last reached the end of the bridge. Of course this didn't mean that they had reached the other side and made it out of Towa City... it was the opposite. Like in the original plot, but a lot further out the bridge had collapsed and were unable to continue.

Yuta: "No-no way. Why... what is this? The bridge had collapsed!"

Komaru: "Impossible! Isn't there another way...?

Yuta: "No, there isn't! There can't be, it's useless! We can't cross the bridge like this. We were so close and now this! What the hell is this?!"

Yuta who had been in a positive mood so far with Hopes of escaping all too quickly fell into Despair as soon as things went wrong. In fact he was just like Komaru. A kid that was recently imprisoned for over a year and since his escape had been terrorized by Monokuma and the Monokuma Kids. It was commendable that he was even able to stay positive till now, but it was also understandable for him to fall apart here. In the original plot Toko knowing that he was Aoi Asahina's brother and having similar personalities tried to raise his spirit indirectly by calling out his weaknesses, but no one was doing that for him now. Yuta was falling deeper and deeper into Despair... and that's when it happened.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Komaru: "Wh-What was that!?"

At that time we all heard the sound of an explosion and were now on high alert. The plot had begun. Bombs were set underneath the bridge they were on set off by a group of Monokuma Kids in the distance. One by one a series of explosions could be heard and not minding the confusion of some Shin grabbed Komaru's hand and sprinted forward. Komaru was taken by surprise by this action, but Shin didn't feel like explaining things, but above all he didn't think he had the time. It was only after the first bomb set off did he make a connection in his head that frightened him. Much more so than in the game they were all much farther out on the bridge, so would there be enough time to make it back?

Shin: (Damn bridge! Damn change of plot and the twenty man mission!)

The explosion and rocking of the bridge as it fell apart was getting worse by the second. Shin kept cursing in his mind as he then swept Komaru into his arms in a princess carry as he ran back towards Towa City. Komaru was startled by this embarrassing action, but soon snapped out of it feeling the need to escape like Shin. It was then that he heard footsteps behind him and three pairs at that. Sachi, Drake, and Yuta were a few seconds slower to react than Shin and couldn't to match his movement speed, but by pushing themselves they somewhat kept up with him. Shin was glad to see this as he had prioritized Komaru's safety above all else and escaped on his own, but there were not out of trouble just yet.

It was just the beginning. Who knows when large armored trailers were parked across the street and a barricades was set up. Then stationed behind as ranged and in front of the trailer as forward guards were the Momokuma. Standing on top of these trailers were countless Bomber Monokuma and to Shin's surprise the forward guards weren't regular Monokuma units, but a more frightening enemy.

They were Junk Monokuma.

These Monokuma units were a completely disfigured model and appeared little like its original counterpart. Junk Monokuma only have 3 limbs; two on its black side, and one on its white side. Junk Monokuma has to crawl around on its elongated limbs, which seem worn out. Monokuma's black part is more red than black, while the white part has several brown and blue markings over it. Monokuma's eye on the white side is completely bulging out and surrounded by red and cracks leading all the way up to its ears. Monokuma's typical sharp teeth are also absent, and its other teeth are worn down. Junk Monokuma's face seems to be stuck in a permanent, toothy smile

Shin cursed as he saw over a dozen of them waiting for his group to arrive he remembered them from the game. They weren't overly powerful, but they could take a lot of hits from the Megaphone Hacking Gun and even you git their red eye weakness they would get back up. Shin didn't know how that translated in reality and he cursed to himself having to figure this out now. Shin just considered jumping over this fearsome barricade with Void Instant Movement, but with speed and ability to react decreased with Komaru in his arms, so he-

Shin: "Drake! Catch!"

-Decided against that plan and chose to just blow them away. Shin without waiting for a confirmation threw Komaru in his arms over to Drake and retrieved from one of the two Na Rings his magic sword Gravity Blade. With his trusted night clad katana in hand Shin readied himself for an all-out attack jumped forward with Instant Movement and entered into Unlocked Mode to the First Stage. The Junk Monokuma saw that he was in range and lunged towards him, but it was too late. Shin's speed was so great that they could only barely react at the last second, but by then his attack had already begun. With two hands grasping Gravity Blade tightly and concentrating Ki towards its edge Shin swung his sword cutting the air and releasing the flying sword slash 36 Pound Cannon. The flying blade of air zoomed across the space of the bridge in a second, crossing fifty meters and covering the full length of the street and struck all the Junk Monokuma in one sweep.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, MONOKUMA KILL. SIX JUNK MONOKUMA DESTROYED. AWARDED 30 POINTS!

Shin: (Power, speed, and length of the flying slash went up after properly exchanging for it, but... it wasn't enough!)

The flying sword slash swept up all the Junk Monokuma in its path of destruction, yet half of the dozen original Junk Monokuma survived seriously injured, and immediately jumped back up at Shin. Shin regretted not attacking in the Second Stage and also just releasing one attack, but it was too late as they arrived before him with impressive speed. Shin still in Unlocked Mode saw a Junk Monokuma attempt to take a bite out of his shoulder and sent a forward punch to blow it back, yet he felt great resistance and some pain during the impact. More came and Shin stepped forward with Gravity Blade in hand to cut them down as they approached, yet he knew he was in trouble. The Bomber Monokuma not caring for their comrades threw a large volley of grenades at Shin and the Junk Monokuma without hesitation.

Sachi: "Stupid robots."

Shin about to take action to survive heard Sachi's voice and a series of needles flying through the air to intercept the grenades. The grenades detonated in midflight and Shin's ears rang from the explosion, but he powered through it as he swung his sword at the Junk Monokuma. Reinforced with Ki, Gravity Blade with increased weight slashes danced through the air as Shin swiftly attacked the Junk Monokumas and bisecting all those that came within his range.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, MONOKUMA KILL. SIX JUNK MONOKUMA DESTROYED. AWARDED 30 POINTS!

In the span of a few seconds the already damaged Junk Monokuma were hacked apart and destroyed. Shin then turned his sights towards the armored trailer protecting the Bomber Monokuma. Shin was about to act against them, but there was no need to. A blue light from the Megaphone Hacking Gun scope stopped before the red eye of a Bomber Monokuma. Komaru in Drake's arms was frightened, but wanting to live she took action as well and fired a shot from her gun. The blue bullet of the BREAK Bullet was released from the Megaphone Hacking Gun and with pinpoint aim struck the red eye of the enemy. The Bomber Monokuma fell backwards as it was defeated and in one grand explosion destroyed the armored trailer and its fellow Momokuma.

Shin: "Too fierce Komaru! You have the makings of a true heroine!"

Komaru: "Impossible! Let's just escape!"

Shin and the others then continued their journey to escape the collapsing bridge. More blockages were placed to hinder their return, but working Shin, Komaru, Sachi and Drake working together they cleared out the road before them without injury. Then at last the bridge fell apart. The tower supports, main cables, suspenders cables, cars and countless other obstructions flew through the air and almost crushed them to death... but they made it back to Towa City by the skin of their teeth and exhausted. They were almost caught up in the pandemonium just behind them, but Shin releasing his Kagune tentacles at the last moment carried the all of his comrades the remaining distance before them (Yuta freaked out, but no one cared about him at that time and were just thankful). The very ground beneath their feet broke apart towards the very end and Shin had to use Void Instant Movement to jump away and back towards the city. They all looked back at what became of the Great Towa City Bridge and saw that there was only ocean behind them and the once important bridge of Towa City was gone.

Komaru: "Ha... ha... I thought that I was going to die..."

Yuta: "We are safe now, but… crossing that bridge with it like this is completely impossible for us."

Komaru: "N-Now we have nowhere to run. Nowhere to escape to. Also, the others... they..."

Shin: "I'm in agreement, so... what should we do?"

Saying so Shin looked past Komaru who was on the verge of crying and had a look of Despair on her face as she had looked back to see the Newbies of Team Japan with the exception of Drake and Sachi fall to their deaths. Komaru was in Despair from both the failed escape attempt and the deaths of those who had traveled together with even if it wasn't for long... but Shin had something else on his mind as he looked towards Yuta. Shin didn't even mean for Yuta to survive the collapsing bridge, yet at the last moment he had grabbed onto Drake when when he used his Kagune to carry the others out of harm's way. Shin and the others, maybe it was just Shin wished Yuta had perished back there as he knew what fate awaited him... and it was a fate he planned not to avert.

Yuta: "...No, this isn't the end! I haven't given up yet!"

And then it played out just as it had in the original plot of Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode. Yuta Asahina gathered up all of his courage to face the wall of Despair before us, the ocean that blocks our way towards escaping Towa City and prepared to just swim across. It was a ridiculous, insane even to say the least for someone to swim across the ocean where the distance was unreasonable and undersea currents can drag you towards your deaths, but Yuta had faith he could make it across. It was Yuta's sister Aoi Asahina who was known as the Ultimate Swimmer, but only when you compared Yuta to her would you think he was a bad swimmer. Yuta's specialty was track and field and it was unknown if he had the talents to become a Ultimate Talent, but by no means was he unathletic as he dared to swim across to reach safety and call for help for everyone else. Yuta Asahina was truly a courageous and good guy... so that's why it was a shame.

/dUw5-cX-Sw

(Can be found at 2:10. Don't go past 2:50 without risk of being spoiled.).

And Yuta Asahina died like so.

I could have saved him and possibly gained a Hidden Side Quest with the risk of a change of plot, but that was just a risk that I wasn't willing to take. While I do harbor thoughts of gaining as many points and rewards as possible for the sake of strengthening Team Japan, yet I wasn't going to risk changing the plot even slightly. In this twenty man mission the only changes to the plot that I've seen are that the Monokuma were much stronger than in the game and even that difficulty will spike in time. This change alone placed all of us in a bad position, and so I wasn't going to risk changing the story by any large degree. The plot, knowing what will happen next is only means of defending ourselves. I also have to worry about finding and defeating my comrades, we, no I couldn't afford to worry about what would happen if I saved Yuta. Would the enemies become stronger? Will the story change by adding a new male main character? Such risk... I couldn't take.

Komaru: "...What? No this is impossible. Shin... Sachi... Drake... What do we do!? We have to hurry and save Yuta! Yuta is..."

Shin: "...Komaru. He's..."

Komaru was in shock and initially refused what she had seen... that Yuta died in a large explosion. She didn't know it at this time, but the black Monokuma Bracelet that was forced around their necks was a bomb set to go off under certain conditions. That condition being if they move a certain distance away from Towa City. We then had help Komaru accept Yuta's death, but it was no use. Her defining characteristic as a normal girl made her unable to stand back up and move on. In Manga and Anime most characters don't break down like this when they see someone they know die, but Komaru's reaction of losing all Hope and crying on the floor was the normal reaction.

Sachi: "Hey! It's time to go. It's dangerous here so get off your ass and-!"

Drkae: "Hey, that's no way to speak to a girl. As one you should know better."

Sachi: "Tch, then what am I supposed to do?"

Komaru: "It's pointless. Unlike you all I'm... just a normal, regular girl. I can't slash Monokuma with a sword, headlock Momokuma, or am I an assassin that can fight off Monokuma with just needles! I'm just-"

It was then that Komaru made a startling realization that I wished that she hadn't. Komaru had recalled how I used Void Instant Movement to escape the collapsing bridge and made an impossible request of me. She had asked me to carry and fly her out of Towa City. I was left speechless. I was prepared to give a rousing speech like Toko Fukawa did in the original plot to lift her spirits, but this all too realistic world meant that the people weren't stupid. Komaru had believed the lie about me belonging to Future Foundation and being a Ultimate Talent as it was the only way for her to explain my abilities, yet she also made the connection that I could fly. That I could fly her out of Towa City where she will be safe.

This kind of idea to come out of her head made me for the first time truly see the NPCs of the Mission Worlds as true humans with real thoughts and feelings. I didn't have a readymade excuse for her... and I couldn't just say no. I could say that I couldn't use Void Instant Movement to cross the sea and to safety, I actually probably couldn't do that with my current abilities, but would she understand that? Also, if I flat out refuse Komaru she may stop listening to me. I could just tie her up and drag her through Towa City as I complete the mission and find my comrades, but I would lose the powerful assistance of the Megaphone Hacking Gun that only she can use. The Megaphone Hacking Gun was the best weapon to use against the Monokuma. I could defeat them with brute force, but it wasn't as effective or efficient as the Megaphone Hacking Gun, and so I was just left with one choice.

Shin: "...Fine. I'll try, but don't expect a miracle. I don't know if I can or not, but be prepared to fall into the sea with me if can't make it over."

Komaru: "That's fine! If I'm with you I can even fall into hell!"

Shin: "...Thanks for the sentiment, but let's not."

Sachi and Drake gave me strange looks after I agreed to help Komaru escape Towa City using Void Instant Movement, yet I gave a silent look saying that I knew what I was doing. They were worried about being separated from Komaru by more than 5,000 meters and being erased by God, but that wouldn't be a problem. I fully attended to just fall into the sea before we made it that far out into the sea. I didn't even plan to cross the point where Komaru's Monokuma Bracelet would go off and explode like Yuta's did. The plan was to just fall into the sea and in a failed escape attempt. The water will even have a refreshing effect on Komaru from falling into the sea along with me. Like so Komaru will be more willing to try another way of escaping the city.

Shin: "Alright Komaru. Hang on tight!"

Komaru: "Will do."

I took Komaru into my arms once more in a princess carry style and like so we were off. I began to run forward towards the sea and when the land underneath or feet came to an end I jumped as high as possible. We had now left the safety of the ground and were over the water. Komaru let out a small shriek seeing this, but I paid her no mind as I kicked the air while releasing Ki. Using the surface of *Air* as a foothold rather than the earth I jumped forward with the basis of Instant Movement and performing my latest foot technique Void Instant Movement. I moved over 30 meters in one jump and continued to kick the air to jump higher and further away from Towa City. I made sure to be careful of the distance Komaru and I were away from the city and was about to enact my plan to fall into the sea when I caught something in the corner of my eye.

Shin: (What is-)

On top of the roof of one of the tallest buildings within Towa City Shin saw something flash. It was too far to perfectly make out, but that didn't matter. The flashing of light on top of the building grew brighter and brighter and as it did Shin's sense of danger kicked in to full gear. He didn't know what, but he was subconsciously forced into Unlocked Mode to deal with the threat, but it was useless. It happened instantly. From the top of the building where the light was flashing a beam of light shot out and penetrated through his left chest before he could react.

Luckily, the beam missed his heart as it cut through his body and narrowly missed Komaru leaning against the right side of his chest, yet in that moment she could see his still beating heart. The beam pierced a hole through his left lung though and the next moment he and Komaru began to fall towards the sea below them. Sachi and Drake looked on in shock as they were falling from a height that would kill or seriously injury those without taking any defensive measures as Shin planned to. Shin remained conscious through all of this and chose to shut off his sense of pain to concentrate.

Both he and Komaru would die if they hit the sea from the height of their fall, so he took action to save their lives. Shin forced a high speed regeneration of his body by consuming Ki and stamina and gritting through the immense pain so great that it couldn't be shut off. The hole in his chest had closed and damage to the lung fully repaired Shin reached for Komaru falling by his side and kicked the air with Void Instant. The foot technique launched them back towards land and but unable to come to a safe landing Shin protected Komaru as they crashed hard onto the cement ground of the city streets of Towa City.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Azarza.


	169. Chapter 169

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 9, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

\- "DETECT" Bullet GET!

\- "DANCE" Bullet GET!

One hour passed since the failed escape attempt from Towa City by Shin and his comrades. The nameless Newbies had fallen to their deaths as the Great Towa City Bridge collapsed, Yuta Asahina perished as he followed his fate to escape the city by swimming and his Monokuma Bracket around his neck detonating, and lastly the fake escape attempt of Shin and Komaru were shot down by a laser beam. Shin was nearly fatally injured and suffered a crash landing, but at the end of the day both he and Komaru lived to walk away.

Shin: (That laser beam back there didn't exist in the original plot of the game. Sure here in the game it can be explained away as a counter measure in place to attack any planes, helicopter, or other means of air transportation to target those entering or leaving Towa City... but this is definitely a countermeasure for me placed into the Mission World by God! I who can fly with Void Instant Movement have too great an advantage if I can escape most dangers that take place on the ground.)

It was as Shin said. After recovering from fall he tested the to see under what conditions he would be targeted by the laser beam and by risking his life a half a dozen times he came to a conclusion. If one stayed in the air above 150 meters for ten seconds, fly over the ocean at any height for ten seconds, or at any height kept using Void Instant Movement for thirty continuous seconds/thirty seconds within a one minute time frame, one would be shot down by the laser beam. Shin also learned that climbing high building, standing on the roof tops and jumping from building to building with Void Instant Movement doesn't get him targeted. Shin came to the conclusion that this was a hindrance, but not a major hindering long as he uses Void Instant Movement solely for fights or escaping short distances.

After testing out the enemy weapon's capabilities Shin, Komaru, Drake and Sachi regrouped after these events and proceeded through the city once more. With one escape path for Komaru ending in a dead end, Shin and the others proceeded with Komaru's next escape attempt according to the plot. Their goal was the underground subway. Running underneath Towa City were tunnels used by trains to both move through the city and even leave the city as well through the subway line. The trains were obviously out of order due to all the riots by the Warriors of Hope and killer Monokuma, yet it was still possible to walk out of the city along the tracks.

Shin: (We had to backtrack a little, but we're almost there. This really was one large detour to get to the next big event and we keep running into Momokuma, yet it wasn't pointless at all. Thanks to these battles and what happened on the bridge Komaru has-)

And then interrupting Shin's thoughts was an enemy ambush. Sachi should have been able to sense the ambush, but the robotic enemy was standing perfectly still and did not have a trace of blood on its armor. And so as they turned a corner having almost made it to the subway station they ran into the newest Monokuma.

Siren Monokuma.

Siren Monokuma generally resembles the original Monokuma, but it has several noticeable differences. Its left side has black and yellow stripes, its teeth are silver instead of white, and its belly button is a yellow triangle with a red exclamation mark in the middle. The Siren Monokuma also has a red siren on its head and a large metal backpack placed on its back.

The Siren Monokuma by itself was not a formidable enemy, but it possessed a nasty ability that could spell their doom. When this model of Monokuma spotted an enemy they would call for all nearby Monokuma to assist and killing them as it was doing now. Similar to the siren of a police patrol car the red siren on top of the Monokuma's head lit up along with a wailing sound that calls all nearby allies. Within a few seconds the Siren Monokuma had gather three dozen Monokuma who was about to order the attack, but just then.

Komaru: "No you don't!"

Komaru reacted before any of us and aiming at the Siren Monokuma raised the Megaphone Hacking Gun. A pink beam from the Megaphone Hacking Gun's laser sight targeted the Siren Monokuma and released its newest Truth Bullet, Dance Bullet. An electromagnetic wave in the shape of a pink bullet hit Siren Monokuma which forced it to start dancing. It was a silly and ridiculous sight at this time as they were all about to be mobbed, yet this dance forcefully drew the eyes of all near Monokuma and then charge towards Siren Monokuma. It was an unbelievable sight, yet that was the side effect of using Dance Bullet on a Siren Monokuma.

Shin: "Komaru! There are some cars nearby!"

Komaru: "On it! Go!"

Komaru once more raised the Megaphone Hacking Gun as he spotted three yellow gaudy looking, yet next generation automated cars that didn't need drivers. Now a green light from was released from the gun's laser sight and aiming at each car she pulled the trigger of the gun. Three green bullets, Move Bullet impacted each one of the gaudy cars and forceful started them up as they revved into life. The MOVE Bullet. The three cars drove forwards at full speed and as if attracted to the enemy rammed into the gathered Monokuma around Siren Monokuma still dancing. It was a common tactic to use in the game it worked just as well in real life as all the Monokuma were destroyed in the collision.

Komaru: "I did it!"

Drake: "Nice job girl. You have a talent for this."

Sachi: "Yeah. As if despite being plain your existence was bron to use that gun."

Komaru: "Haha... that doesn't make happy at all, but I'm glad that I can be of help. If I want to escape I have to use my own power as well... I won't be that selfish again."

Shin: "..."

Shin looked towards Komaru as he recalled what happened about an hour ago. After the fake attempt to allow Komaru to escape Towa City by carrying/flying her away with Void Instant Movement, and then being shot down by the laser beam there was a positive change in Komaru. They fell through the air and thanks to Shin they came to a hard, but safe landing, but Komaru was frightened. Not because she almost died, but because Shin almost had. She had even seen his beating heart before they fell through the skies. Her selfish by asking Shin to carry her outside Towa city had almost killed him.

That's why Komaru was glad that Shin had miraculously survived, and also why she made a promise to herself. To not simply rely on Shin and the others and not to cry in the face of Despair. Komaru had not yet developed a resolve to face the Warriors of Hope like she does in during chapter 4 of the game, but Shin saw a major improvement in her ability to face danger. She had become the first to face the Monokuma that they had run into and had not once let her guard down. Her ability to react and take action without fear was so amazing that if Shin didn't know better he would have thought she had unlocked her Genetic Constraint. She hadn't, but all the same she became more of a comrade to depend on rather than someone to just protect.

Shin: (I could be mistaken, but Komaru really might be the key to overcoming this mission. Komaru's proficiency with the Megaphone Hacking Gun keeps increasing that at this rate more so than Drake and Sachi, she'll become my greatest asset during this mission. If I had chosen to coddle her than I would have missed out on discovering how talented she is. Komaru's not the heroine of this game for nothing.)

In any case the immediate threat of the Monokuma had been dealt with and the group proceeded forward. Shin, Sachi, and Drake had no clue where they were going but Komaru using MOVE Bullet on the mini alien flying saucers (That's right) hovering above ever few blocks. If they were correct and guided us to our next destination and was not a trap then this further showed how important Komaru and the Megaphone Hacking Gun were to in completing the city. Without a detailed map or Psyche Force Scan it would be impossible to navigate Towa City, or at least at the pace to flow along with the plot of the game.

Komaru: "Hey Shin why do some of the Monokuma Kids attack us with Monokuma and some help us by bringing me new Kotodama? They just came up to me and handed over the DANCE and DETECT Bullets not too long ago back in that room. That guy I told you about in the blue coat said as much, but I just don't know what he is up to or even thinking."

Shin: "Well Komaru I'm sure that if this guy had friends... and that's a big if, I bet they would say, "Tell me about it". It's best not to think about it."

Komaru: "Guess you are right. I was just... Hey, look guys! It's the entrance to the subway!"

Komaru pointed towards a set of stairs leading on the side of the street leading down. As the group moved closer they saw that there was a shutter halfway set up to block entry and one of them, but even the quick to cry Komaru didn't get depressed. Shin possessed strength great enough to to just blow the shutter away and Komaru had even seen Sachi pick a few locks during their journey. They had reached their goal and not a dead end. Shin, Komaru, Sachi and Drake were about to walk on down when Komaru got sidetracked by a woman sitting by the entrance to the tracks. This woman was just holding her head with both hands and shacking all over as if she had seen a ghost, although that wasn't what she saw. Shin knew in fact that what scared this woman was from a completely different genre than ghost, but all the same she had almost lost her mind due to her fear.

Female Adult: "It's not possible... Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible... A kid actually using a monster like that... a monster like that shouldn't exist. A monster like that... it's impossible!"

Komaru: "Um?"

Female Adult: "Y-you four... You're not children, right?"

Sachi: "Do we look like children to you? It's obvious long as you're not blind that half of us are past 20."

Komaru: "That's right. We're also being chased by the children."

Female Adult: "I see. Even someone as young as you is a target. Looks like we're all out of luck."

Drake: "Ma'am, we didn't mean to eavesdrop, but what did you mean by monster? I'm an exorcist of sorts. If you tell me more... perhaps over drinks I can help you. Also, you're under twenty right? You look maybe nineteen, but you could just look mature for your age."

Sachi: "Pedo."

Shin: "Respect, but this is not the time to flirt with women, Drake."

Sachi: "..,Are you really one to-"

Female Adult: "No, it isn't that kind of monster. It's... I-I-I'm sorry, I... just... saying it out loud is... I can't! Aaahhhhhn!"

Komaru: "Ah, if you can't say it it's fine, really!"

Female Adult: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Komaru: "I said it's just fine!"

Female Adult: "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please, don't kill me, don't kill me!"

Komaru: "...She's..."

Sachi: "Hmhm, she's broken already. That expression... truly, it's a shame that this wasn't caused by drugs and XXX. Don't you all agree?"

Komaru: "..."

Shin: "...You're scarier than any Monokuma Kid."

Drake: "...If only she was younger. At her age I can't get excited, so it's just terrifying."

Komaru: "Um, I think you got that backwards."

Before they entered the subway station Komaru called out to Shin. She had heard that Shin's comrades were kidnapped by the Warriors of Hope and wanted to know more about them. It then hit Shin that he failed to tell even Drake and Sachi about the powers and skills of his comrades they would more than likely be up against. He did mention the enemies they'll face during boss battles, but not about his comrades. Shin didn't even want to risk either one of them killing or even seriously injuring his comrades, so he never bothered to share such important information. Shin still felt that way, but he now had more trust in Drake and Sachi, so along with Komaru he decided to share the abilities of his comrades and for Komaru's sake he had to start off with an important fact.

Komaru: "Eh, they can use magic!?"

Shin: "In a way yes. Like me they hold special abilities, but as I was at the top of this field I became the only Ultimate Protagonist. Still, they are quite powerful. There's a psychic with Mana who also holds magic spells to strengthen others. A werewolf woman with a metal endoskeleton and a inner energy of sorts. A shaman wielding a sci-fi rifle with a contract with an earth elemental. A child soldier who specializes in sniping and is related to a demon. A smart yet strange man with offensive magic spells. Then lastly there's a female super solider and master swordsman with peerless good looks. Along with Drake and Sachi who are new members they all make up my team. They were all captured during a surprise attack when we were sneaking into Towa City. Along with doing something to stop these kids it's my highest objective to rescue them as soon as possible."

Komaru: "Wow... Sounds so unbelievable, but it must be true if you're saying it."

Shin: "That's all it... Anyways, if we come across them I attend to save them, but be careful. I've heard rumors of experiments involving brainwashing being conducted in Towa City. I doubt it, but there's a small chance they could become our enemy and will have to be subdued."

Komaru: "Brainwashing... then perhaps the Monokuma Kids as well are-"

Sachi: "Hey, we should get going. We've wasted more than enough time here."

Shin: "Sachi's right. Let's get going Komaru. The path to escaping Towa City is right before us."

Komaru: "Ye-yes! That's right. I can finally escape!"

Then moving along we passed by the woman who had lost her mind and preceded down the flight of stairs leading to the subway. The shutter blocked their way and as Shin was about to kick it down Komaru began to freak out. If they would be safer on the other side made her nervous. If there were more dangers on the other side made her nervous. If staying above ground was the better choice made her nervous. If there was a better escape route they had overlooked made her nervous. Komaru's indecisiveness got on Shin and the others nerves, and Shin just kicked the shutter screen down. Komaru had been getting better, but knowing her they would be standing there all day of one of them didn't make the choice for her, so Shin did.

Shin: "Ah, stop being so damn indecisive Komaru! I'm the Ultimate Protagonist so I'm taking the lead. We're going down here and that's the end of it. If we're lucky we'll be saved and if not I'll handle whatever comes up, so just be a good heroine and do as I say! Happy? "

Komaru: "Yeah... Thank you."

Shin: "Huh, for what?"

Sachi: "Young love... how sickening. Reminds me how I never had a boyfriend."

Hearing this I desperately wanted to retort it's because of her special interest, but I didn't have the energy to spare as I readied myself for the next event. Knowing the plot I knew what awaited all of us down these flight of steps. It was not a way out of Towa City, but the first of five boss battles. Masaru Daimon was below to hunt, us "Demons" for their game played by the Warriors of Hope. Masaru should be waiting for all of us along with the "Monster" that crazed woman above ground had seen. I now had a choice to make. Actually fighting Masaru was a Side Quest and not the main mission long as I have Komaru escape Towa City, so I didn't have to fight him... but I needed to confirm something that was worth the risk. My brainwashed comrades had yet to make an appearance or launch a sneak attack on me as I had Hoped for. Defeating them was more important than anything else, so if I had to guess where they were it could only be...

Shin: "...Let's go."

And like so we descended down the steps towards the first boss battle.

Monokuma Kid CHALLENGE - The prize is inside the sturdy safe. It won't open if you force it, so don't bother trying. If you want to open the safe, you gotta solve my best riddle! "The reason you can't see the answer is because you aren't thinking like a detective!"

Signed: Kid K.

Monokuma Kid: "Tee hee!"

Komaru: "Huh! A child Challenging us to a battle wits... He really doesn't think that much of us does he? Shin, Drake, Sachi, we can't lose to him!

Shin: "...Just how did we end up here? I swear we didn't return to the hospital, so why did going through that one random store land us-"

Komaru: "Shin, focus!"

Shin: "...You figure it out yourself."

Previously, before Shin and the others reached the entrance to the subway they accidentally stumbled onto one of the many Monokuma Kid Challenges. The Monokuma Kid Challenges were puzzles set up within the game by the Monokuma Kids and there would be various prizes by competing one. Shin was losing his grip on reality as to why he stumbled upon the challenge from the hospital just by entering into a random building and was getting upset that just like in the game Komaru eyes showed a resolve to not lose against a kid as she attempted to solve the puzzle.

Shin didn't have it in him to watch or participate in this nonsense so he stayed to the side to think about the upcoming boss battle. Drake and Sachi didn't understand why Shin was so upset and they just helped out Komaru for the heck of it. Along the way Komaru acquired the DETECT Bullet, so that was good, yet having played the game himself he already knew the answer and it was simple at that long as you don't over think it too much.

Within the room there was a poster on the safe with four funny images (One eyebrow, afro, beard, and glasses) and four paintings of old men off to the side of a wall. You read the pictures off to the side from left to right as 1,2,3 and 4, and use DETECT to discover that the four paintings had the matching funny images drawn with invisible paint. Then you impute those numbers in a computer in a corner of the room following the order of the poster. One eyebrow (2), afro (4), beard (1), and glasses (3).

After five minutes Komaru and the others arrived at this conclusion and hiding how embarrassed they were to have taken so long they silently entered the correct code of 2413 and watched as the safe swung open revealing the DANCE Bullet. The Monokuma Kid appeared to be crying under his mask, yet Komaru was proudly gloating that she had beaten him.

Komaru: "Hey now how's that!? We won!"

Monokuma Kid: "*SOBBING*."

Shin: "Don't get excited over beating a little kid Komaru... although it's a little cute."

Sachi: "Hey, he's crying under that helmet, right? I kinda want to see."

Drake: "You're enjoying this for far worse reasons than Komaru!"

And that's the uneventful story of how Shin and his group acquired the DETECT and DANCE Bullets.

Megaphone Hacking Gun's status -

Slot 1: Break Bullet.

Slot 2: Move Bullet.

Slot 3: Detect Bullet.

Slot 4: Dance Bullet.

Slot 5: Empty.

Slot 6: Empty.

Slot 7: Empty.

Slot 8: Empty.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza.


	170. Chapter 170

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 10, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

FOR THE BOSS ROBOTS I'M GOING TO WRITE IT FROM THE ROBOT'S POINT OF VIEW INSTEAD OF THE CONTROLLER.

After descending the stairwell scribbled with childish graffiti leading underground to the train station they came to a large door. With no hesitation and ready for everything Shin pushed open and along with Komaru, Drake, and Sachi they walked into a large space without a spec of light to guide them. Along with this darkness was an even more overbearing silence that threatened to consume them if they were too weak of heart, yet despite this all four of them remained calm... for the most part.

Sachi: "Sure is dark. It's perfect for a sneak attack."

Komaru: "Ah, your joking right?"

Sachi: "That I at least know of 1,434 methods to kill each and everyone here in the darkness, and 196 of those methods involve the use of deadly poison that will leave you in agonizing pain... will you believe me if I said yes?"

Drake: "Fuck! Now I'm scared, but not of this darkness."

Komaru: "...I think I'm now afraid of the dark. What if there's someone like Sachi here?"

Shin: "Hey, it isn't so dark that I can't react to a sneak attack, but I do wish you stop talking about it. The more you do the more likely that you'll jinx yourself and something will actually-"

And then as if on cue, multiple high power stage lights waiting within the darkness all of a sudden lite up. They had all wished for some form of light, yet the light shined down on them was too strong and blinded those who had just started to adjust to the darkness. When their eyes recovered from the temporary blindness what we saw left Komaru shocked and Shin, Drake and Sachi fearful and on high alert. What they found was not a subway station like what they were promised, but an oddly located modern makeshift coliseum that would fit right in place in a circus event.

The audience seats were completely filled up as of a great show was about to start, yet what filled those weren't adults, teens, or the elderly, but just kids. Just Monokuma Kids boys and girls alike jumping up and down and yelling in excitement. The ground floor was covered in dirt and not the cement of the city and on all sides of were tall steel cage walls separating Shin's group from the audience seats, but what wasn't fenced up was a single podium. It was then the main actor, or one of five antagonist made his appearance. Somersaulting from behind the podium and landing up front and center for all see was a single child.

Komaru: "W-What is this?"

Masaru: "Yay! Yay! Hahaha! You fell for my trap! I just knew that you'll head for the subway! Too bad, though! I saw right through you! I'm the excellent leader of the Soldiers of Hope, "Li'l Ultimate P.E", the Hero Masaru Daimon! Of course you can't escape on my watch! I was even given a secret weapon by Monaca!"

Shin looked at the red haired kid who had made such a grand appearance and calmly recalled what he knew about him.

Masaru Daimon.

Masaru Daimon is a character featured in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls like Komaru Naegi, but is one of the antagonist. Masaru is the "fake" leader of the Warriors of Hope, in charge of the "Hero" Class. He has the title of Li'l Ultimate P.E from his time in the attached elementary school to Hope's Peak Academy.

Masaru is a cheerful, hot-headed showoff and seems to be the one who has a straight forward outlook on life. He is extremely energetic and constantly brags about his role as the Hero and leader of the Warriors of Hope, despite the circumstances of how he became "leader" (by winning in Rock, Paper, Scissors). He has been described as "bratty" and an "idiot". He loves praise and fame. He refers to himself using orecchi, a form of the Japanese pronoun ore, which can be rude depending on its context but is often used when a speaker wants to assert a feeling of superiority. However, he is always very considerate and respectful towards Monaca.

Although Masaru is childish and arrogant, and very focused on becoming the ruler of Towa City and children's paradise, he is shown to genuinely care about the people he leads. He wants to make sure that the kids won't need to feel afraid anymore and he forces himself to be brave for them. He takes his role as the "Hero" very seriously and works hard to live up to certain hero tropes, like being fearless and never losing. Though he usually appears very cheerful and brave, he can get very upset and break down crying if he is reminded of his abusive past.

Prior to the Tragedy Masaru was born and raised in Towa City. He was a child prodigy known as a sports legend, and his strong point was any physical activity. He could run a 365-day race in only 24 hours (as stated by himself). Masaru also lived with his alcoholic father, who was verbally and physically abusive towards him for the smallest of reasons (for example, if Masaru coughed while the father smoked) and constantly forced his son to help supply his drinking habit. Masaru, of course, couldn't buy anything due to his age and he would repeatedly have to steal in order to do this. This made his father even angrier because it humiliated him and made him look bad in the eyes of the police.

According to his father, the physical abuse was "teaching of manners". Every time he was physically abused, Masaru forced a smile so his father wouldn't hate him. However, the father hated the smiling and considered his son abnormal and defective for it. Due to his upbringing, Masaru believed that everything was his fault because he couldn't do things properly like his father wanted and he was sorry for making his father look like "the bad guy". He was really afraid that his father would abandon him and stop being his dad.

Masaru was also a part of Hope's Peak Elementary School. He was on the class of troublemakers along with Monaca Towa, Jataro Kemuri, Kotoko Utsugi and Nagisa Shingetsu. Although Masaru was on the verge of committing suicide along with the other four kids, Junko Enoshima appeared and convinced the children that the adults were wrong and that they should create a paradise for children. Masaru murdered his parents shortly after, and did not regret it.

After he lost his fight against Komaru Naegi and Toko Fukawa, Masaru was dragged to his execution by Monokuma Kids in chapter 1, but somehow survived and was seen with the other Warriors of Hope's members at the end of the game. Shin recalling everything he knew wasn't shocked at all by these turns of events, but what did was another person's presence. Walking up slowly from behind and now standing in wait behind Masaru was a short teenage girl of sixteen years of age. The left side of her face was covered by the black half of a Monokuma mask and the visible side of her face that Shin had always found youthful and cute was now expressionless. This young girl wearing the the Monokuma Mask was one the women Shin cared for and loved most in this world, Hikari.

Shin: "...Hikari?"

Masaru: "Hey, hey, hey! Don't use your demonic eyes to look at the present Monaca gave to me... but since you've already have let me introduce her to you. Hacker Monokuma! She was once a soon to be Demon like you, but now she's been purified and converted into a Monokuma with the power to scan areas and strengthen others with the power of hacking... is what Monaca told me."

Hacker Momokuma: "..."

Hikari, or by her new name Hacker Monokuma she just stood there silently as Massaru continued to praise her as if she was a new toy given to him by his boyhood crush. From how Shin saw it Hikari despite being a Psyche Force user herself was still under Izuru Kamakura's brainwashing and showed no emotion or signs of struggle as she saw Shin down below. She was basically a zombie from H.O.T.D at this point, but her new master didn't seem to care or notice the abnormality. Masaru continued to praise her, but in his eyes you could still see a glimmer of hatred and disgust buried underneath. He thought of Hacker Monokuma as a useful tool, but she was still a soon to be Demon in his eyes.

Masaru: "Anyways, you're not going anywhere, Demons! Prepare yourself!"

Sachi: "What a stupid looking brat."

Komaru: "Guys... H-He's one of the kids that put this bracelet around my neck."

Masaru: "Hey! Don't make me out to be a small fry by saying "one of them"! I'm the leader of the Warriors of Hope! Masaru Daimon! I'm not like those adult leaders that hide behind others like cowards. I'm a leader that stands on the front line, braver than anyone else, pulling along my allies and underlings… I'm the great Hero Masaru Daimon! Ehehehehe! That's right. I'm so reliable and cool I just can't stand it!"

Drake: "What a stupid kid. Reminds me of those privileged guys who thought they had it made just because they were connected to Absolute Reckoning."

Sachi: "He's still crazy though."

Shin: "Don't think about it too much. He has his reasons, but they're not important. Just know that he has a real hate for adults and soon to be adults."

Masaru: "Yeah, that's right. You adults are Demons. The enemy of us kids. That's why the Soldiers of Hope and I are going to hunt you evil Demons down until not even one is left and then turn this city into a peaceful paradise just for kids!"

In then the sound of applauds from the Monokuma Kids he showed us exactly how serious he was. Underneath the stage where he and Hikari were standing on top of a hidden storage room door opened and it's *connects* spilled out for all to see. Shin's group was left speechless. Even Shin who knew beforehand what Masaru had done to the previous contestants of his Demon Hunting Game he's hunted down... was left sick to his stomach at the reality before him.

Nothing in the real world or anything else in God's Dimension to date had prepared him for this... for that. A lump of flesh. Piled high on top of each other as they spilled out of their storage container were an untold number of bodies one would be too scared to dare count. Young adult, middle age and the elderly. It didn't matter. No one was spared from Masaru's wrath as he killed every adult he came across in his sick game and with no respect for them even in death he just packed them into under the stage of the coliseum to clean up the mess.

Komaru: "...Wh-What is that?"

Masaru: Oh, come on! Can't you tell by looking?! These are all the Demons I've hunted! Heheheh! How's that, isn't it awesome?! It's a hundred million billion perfect score!"

Komaru: "How... how cruel. How could you..."

Masaru: "...These guys... just because they gave birth to us and raised us a little, these Demons think they can control everyone in this audience. No more! I, the Hero, am going to hunt them all down and set everyone free!

Komaru: "...H-How are you able to do this? You all are going to become adults someday even then, you're doing this."

Masaru: "I'm not going to become a damn adult! I promised the Warriors of Hope. I promised Monaca that if I'm going to become a dirty, ugly, disgusting Demon, then I might as well kill myself and die as a kid! Everyone is grateful to me... I'm everyone's hero. If I hunt down every last Demon... everyone will be at ease... they won't have to live in fear of their senseless violence! *SOB*... I'm… not afraid… uuugh... I'm... not ... scared at all. There's no way I'm scared of pain, or the dark, of frightening things, of the smell of booze, of pain I'm… not scared of them anymore… no matter how many times you hit me... hit me... hit me, hit me, hit me, hit me, I'm not scared anymore… I'm not-"

/mYIywha0Ows

And then he snapped. Due to the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father his true nature had become a nervous and cowardly kid as he began to shake with fear having recalled his previous abuse. For Masaru, the so called leader of the Warriors of Hope such a display of weakness was unforgivable and he began to strike his left arm that refused to stop shocking. Komaru then pleaded for Masaru to stop hurting himself, but her voice could not Hope to reach him as he kept yelling at his arm to stop trembling as he continued to hit it. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again till his left arm had turned blue from the self-inflicted bruises.

And then in his mad fit of rage and fear he even dared to strike Hikari as well by kicking her till she fell down to the floor. Hikari had gone through enhancements, so she wasn't seriously hurt just from getting repeatedly kicked by a small child... yet all the same Shin was furious as he gritted his teeth till a streak of blood escaped his mouth. It was unforgivable for anyone, child or adult, traumatized or not, to dare lay a hand on Hikari like that and the only thing stopping Shin from running over to tear Masaru apart was the negative 50,000 Point penalty for doing so.

Masaru: "I-It finally... It finally listened to me. Ha... Hahaha... Hahahahahahaha!"

Masaru was able to regain his senses after his arm stopped shaking having been struck a countless number of times, but he was not calm or sane in the least. He didn't notice it, but now the rest of his body was shaking in fear. The fear of being hurt and hurting others that he desperately tried to keep buried underneath the surface had risen and taken control. All that stood before Shin and the others now... was a broken child.

Komaru: "Stop it already! Please, please stop... We're not Demons! We won't do anything to hurt you guys, so please!"

Shin: "...Komaru, save your breath. He and his friends are done for. These kids have completely lost it and are certifiably insane. Talking to him isn't going to accomplish a single thing. They've long since lost respect for both life and death, and combined with whatever they've been through... they've stopped being humans and have become the demons they feared to protect themselves from further harm."

Komaru: "..."

Masaru: "You guys, you... Half of you may still not be... true Demons yet... you're as good as Demons at this point. You're going to become Demons, I can tell... and that's why I have to defeat you now, before you turn into one!"

\- *SNAP*!

And like so the battle began. Masaru snapped his fingers and thrown from the crowd of Monokuma Kids in the audience seats towards him was a metal object. Shin seeing this halfheartedly took out his Auto 9 and unleashed a barrage of bullets to destroy it, but the bullets that he had even strengthened with Ki impacting the objects helplessly bounced off as a transparent barrier covered and protected the object from all harm. Masaru then caught this metal object, resembling a large robot controller device and the transparent barrier spread to cover his body and Hikari as well.

Shin: (So I can't stop this boss battle unless I kill the Warriors of Hope before the battle begins. This means even in the most dire of circumstances I'm not allowed to take them out by accepting the 50,000 Point Penalty. Damm, I should have at least taken out Hikari before it was too late.)

Shin coming to this conclusion could only watch as the boss battle of chapter one of the games began. Masaru pressed a red button on the robot controller and immediately following this action the entries floor shock as if an earthquake had hit. Seconds later coming from beneath the earth a metal object, a drill stabbed through to the surface and quickly emerging was a large humanoid robot. This robot was not of a Monokuma design, but one right out of a live action show. A white humanoid robot over 20 feet tall and ten feet wide, with a trident shaped headpiece, a large shield on its back, drill for hands, shield attached forearm, bright pink eyes filled with power, and a Monokuma chest piece stood before them.

Masaru: "Watch me, everyone! The leader of the Warriors of Hope! The Hero! Is going to defeat these wimpy Demons in no time at all!"

Masarru addressed the Monokuma Kids in the crowd and they went wild with excitement. All too soon an oppressive aura filled the space of the colosseum. Drake and Sachi fared well despite feeling that they would have to rely on Shin during this battle, but Komaru looked like she just wanted to run away in the face of the giant robot. Komaru truly didn't know what to do and had to be reminded by Shin that her Megaphone Hacking Gun should work on the machine before them. Komaru with somewhat renewed Hope drew the gun from behind her back and looked at it though doubtfully.

Komaru: "W-with this we have a chance?"

Shin: "We'll be fine... right?"

Komaru: "Why don't you sound sure!?"

Shin: "Well, I'll figure something out, so... run first!"

Masaru: "Gooooo! Hero Robot, Mark Guyver! Stomp all over those filthy Demons!"

Operated by Masaru Mark Guyver immediately charged forward not waiting a second longer. With its left arm shied it protected its weak point as it rushed forward. Komaru, Drake, and Sachi ran to evade the incoming threat, but Shin alone stood his ground. From the two Na Rings Shin retrieved two sci-fi weapons and opened fire. The continuously firing Auto 9 and the more powerful Devil Sealed Gun. Bullets from both handguns stuck Mark Guyver as it approached, but bounced off its armor leaving only small dents. Shin continued to test for various weakness of the hero robot, yet all his bullets were easily reflected away.

Masaru rejoiced how Shin's attack failed and ordered Mark Guyver to being the attack. Mark Guyver started up its right hand drill and revved into a spin. Faster and faster Mark Guyver became just a blur as it span so fast that it had become a small tornado approaching Shin. He felt himself being dragged forward by the tornado and jumped far back to the coliseum fence using Instant Movement narrowly avoiding the tornado. Mark Guyver didn't stop and gave pursuit, but came to a crash as Shin once more jumped and ran on top of the steel fence and missing it target crashed into the fence.

Mark Guyver took a step back and looked around for it target and spotted Shin to its left running on top of the fence not having once stopped firing and Komaru and the others to the right. It a split second for it to then come to the conclusion to first get rid of Komaru, Drake, and Sachi. Shin was the bigger threat, so needing it's full attention for him chose to quickly dispose of them. Mark Guyver jumped and landed directly before Komaru and co as it raised its left hand drill to stab down.

Masaru: "Take this! Super Piercing Drill Punch!"

\- *CONTINOUS FIRE*!

The left hand drill spun madly as it stabbed pierced into the earth, but it had missed its target. From the side a barrage of bullets from the M41A-M Pulse Rifle collided with Mark Guyver's left arm veering it off course by a few meters.

Shin: "Now Komaru! Fire!"

Komaru: "Ah, Ye-yes!"

Shin continued to fire at Mark Guyver with the Pulse Rifle as he shouted for Komaru to attack. Komaru standing directly under the hero robot raised the Megaphone Hacking Gun set for BREAK Bullets and fired. A blue bullet struck the exposed Monokuma chest piece and the impact forced it to take a large step back. Seeing this Komaru continued to fire BREAK Bullets at the exposed weak point and with each hit the hero robot stumbled backwards sparks of electricity began to escape. Both Komaru and Masaru himself were shocked that compared to Shin's powerful Sci-fi weapons that were being repelled the Megaphone Hacking Gun was causing massive damage to Mark Guyver.

Masaru: "Wh-What's with that gun? Where did you get that!? That's cheating! Mark Guyver!"

Not taking it well that Mark Guyver had just become a punching for Komaru and her Hacking Gun, Masaru gave a direct order for the hero robot to first kill her. Mark Guyver once more raised its shield to protect its chest piece and rushed forward towards Komaru, but Sachi wouldn't have that. She separated herself from the other and with inhuman speed reached the hero robot's side armed and ready with her specialty needles. Ten needles were held between the fingers of her hands were great tools for her to kill humans and living organisms, but for a robot able to deflect bullets from sci-fi weapons they wouldn't even leave a dent, but direct damage was not her aim. With a wave of Sachi's hands the ten needles flew through the air and with pinpoint accuracy stabbed into the joins of Mark Guyver left foot. The ten needles were thin, but strong enough to not immediately snapped or bend as the hero robot fell forward face first.

Sachi: "Haha, I wonder if robots can at least scream from embarrassment?"

Sachi laughed at the stupid robot before her lying on the floor and as if it was actually furious Mark Guyver glared at her as it tried to get back up... but even that was not allowed as a great impact struck its back and smashing it back down to the floor. Shin jumped from the fence of the coliseum and stomped hard on top of the hero robot. Then not letting this perfect chance go he pointed the pulse rifle at the back of Mark Guyver and fired at extreme close range. The pulse rifle with infinite ammo without once needing to reload smashed into the hero robot's back. From a distance all the bullets fired merely left dents, but at such a range small bullet holes were stabbing through its armor and wreaking havoc inside.

Masaku: "You... You Demons! Hacker Monokuma!"

Shin: "!"

Shin turned around hearing the enemy address Hikari and a wave of danger washing over him forced him into Unlocked Mode. The silent Hikari, or Hacker Monokuma finally given a command stepped forward and raised her right hand towards the struggling Mark Guyver Shin was standing atop of. The blue light of Mana surfaced empowering her entire being and soon that light gathered towards her fingertips as a blinding light of magic power... and then at last Hacker Monokuma Spoke.

Hacker Monokuma: "...Wind Spirit(×3)! Water Spirit(×3) ! Lightning Spirit(×3)! Fire Spirit(×3)! Earth Spirit(×3)! Brave Heart(×3)! Sword Dance of the Valkyrie(×3)! Blessings of the Saint(×3)!"

Hacker Monokuma entered Unlcoked Mode as she called out her eight spell names and a rainbow of light enveloped her right hand. The target of her spells was Mark Guyver and resonating with her the hero robot glowed with the same rainbow of colors as Hacker Monokuma as it was enhanced with eight power magic buff spells that she is renowned for. Those spells are the following:

◆ Wind Spirit Buff - A magic spell that raises the selected target's speed temporarily by a 30% of the individuals standard.

◆ Lighting Spirit Buff - A magic spell that raises the selected target's stamina temporarily by 30% of the individuals standard.

◆ Fire Spirit Buff - A magic spell that raises the selected target's damage temporarily by 30% of the individuals standard.

◆ Earth Spirit Buff - A magic spell that raises the selected target's defense temporarily by 30% of the individuals standard.

◆ Water Spirit Buff - A magic spell that raises the selected target's natural healing speed temporarily by 150% of the individuals standard.

◆ Brave Heart Buff - A magic spell that raises the selected target's willpower and resistance against Negative Aliments and mind control. Additionally stamina is temporarily increased by 75% of the individual's standard.

◆ Sword Dance of the Valkyrie Buff - A magic spell that temporarily raises the selected target's Muscle Density and damage inflicted to enemies by 50% of the individuals standard. Decrease damaged inflicted to the target by 10%.

◆ Blessings of the Saint Buff - A magic spell that raises the selected target's resistance against mental attacks, poisons, and a small heal is applied. An aura of Faith Energy is applied to protect the user from dark forces.

Each spell was cast and then casted an additional two times for three layers of magic buffs and in addition her B tier Advance Mana Control increased their amazing effects even more. With B tier Mana the effects of the buff are multiplied by five even before they are stacked.

Her four weakest spells that raised the selected target's offensive power, stamina, speed and defense by 30%, were 150% of the individuals standards, and stacked three times was now 450%. The 150% healing factor boost from Water Spirit Buff is now 750%, and stacked three times 2,250% of the individuals standard.

Brave Heart Buff that raises the selected target's stamina is by 75%, now 375%, is now 1,125% of the individual's standard when stacked three times. Sword Dance of the Valkyrie Buff that raises the selected target's Muscle Density and damage inflicted to enemies by 50%, now 750% of the individuals standard and damaged inflicted to the target is now decreased by30% (Decreased damage wouldn't go higher). Blessings of the Saint Buff that raises the selected target's resistance against mental attacks, poisons, and the effects of Small Heal are further increased as well.

Mark Guyver as if reborn with even greater power swiftly stood back up flinging Shin off its back. Shin landed safely in spite of the abrupt change in the enemy, but he was not relived in the slightest. For one the M41A-M Pulse Rifle fell out of his hands when he fell off and the second... still in Unlocked Mode, just looking at the enemy before him he could tell that this enemy was no longer the clumsy machine it had once been. The rainbow veil of magic power around Mark Guyver reinforcing the robot allowed it's power to reach new heights and the 2,250% healing factor increase was even slowly restoring the inanimate body to near perfect condition by the second.

Masaru: "Go Mark Guyver. Tear a new hole into those demons!"

Given the command, Mark Guyver with never before seen speed rushed across the coliseum floor towards Shin. In the blink of an eye the hero robot was right before Shin and already stabbing downward with a drill attack. Shin hastily drew Gravity from a Na Ring releasing a savage slash reinforced by Ki to meet the drill... yet he was completely overpowered and blown away. He avoided a direct hit, but the force blew him back and tumbling across the floor uncontrollably. Shin final came to a stop by stabbing Gravity Blaze into the earth, yet the enemy wasn't waiting for him to recover.

Masaru: "Take this! Continuous Hyper Piercing Drill Full Burst!"

Unbecoming of its large stature Mark Guyver swiftly moved and hovered over Shin and stabbed down with its left hand drill. Shin dived to the side with Instant Movement, but so did the hero robot follow after him to deliver a right hand drill punch. Shin jumped once more, but only just barely avoiding the drill that dug effortlessly into the ground like it was made from butter. This back and forth continued without end. With no time to use Instant Movement or Void Movement to escape drill punch after drill punch followed Shin as he kept diving away. Shin was in a frenzy just to escape death to survive to the next second that he didn't know what was going on. All he could see was the gold of the enemy drill and the dirt dug up with each attack... so he missed how he was saved by a comrade.

Feeling the need to step up at last and then leaving Komaru in the capable hands of Sachi, Drake ran forward and picked up a weapon that Shin had dropped. The M41A-M Pulse Rifle. Drake was not too experienced with weapons as he trained most of his life as a priest, but that didn't mean he didn't know how to use one... or that was all he could do. As Drake raised the muzzle of the pulse rifle at Mark Guyver, unaware of the looming threat as it was full occupied with the task of trying to kill Shin, Drake opened fire at the hero robot while simultaneously activating his spell.

Weight of Sins.

The light of Faith Energy swallowed up Mark Guyver and had its incredible newfound speed slowed down some. The hero robot had some protection against dark forces, but not against its opposite in something like Faith Energy. Then in addition a hailstorm of bullets from the M41A-M pierced into the back of the enemy and a small explosion erupted. Lying on the floor of the colosseum covered in dirt and exhausted was Shin. Just moments before he was dodging for his life and didn't know what was going on, but he sensed a opportunity now that Mark Guyver had paused in its attack.

Shin stood back up with renewed vigor and entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode. The muscles in his arms and legs expanded three times their normal bestowing him far greater power and speed than before as he gripped the katana in his hands tightly. His eyes veered towards the left arm of the enemy. With his aim set Shin jumped forward towards the enemy with Instant Movement and not a second later then jumped into the air with Void Movement for double acceleration... and all that Mark Guyver saw in that split second was a blur passing by as it's left drill arm was cleanly cut off.

Masaru: "Mark Guyver!"

Shin: "Hell yeah! Also, damn you Hikari! Why are you only now displaying such OP power in battle!? Help your future husband out!"

Hacker Monokuma: "..."

Shin was upset how Hikari eight magic buff spells had turned a relatively easy opponent once you got used to fighting it into a true killing machine, but not getting his hoped for insult like normal from her Shin returned to the battle at hand. Mark Guyver had suffered terrible damage, but the battle was not over, but it might as well been at this point from his prospective. From three sides attack after attack from Drake and the M41A-M, Komaru and the Hacking Gun, and Shin once more taking out the Auto 9 and Devil Sealed Gun hammered into the enemy robot, and it's situation then got worse.

Devil Sealed Gun: "Ohh! It hit! It hit! Hehehe, how is it? Spectacular?"

Shin: "Shut it! I would throw you away if only you weren't so useful."

Devil Sealed Gun.

The 3% chance of activating special effect of his newest Sci-fi weapon with an additional magic attribute took effect. A dark phantom like specter slowly appeared out of thin hair and giving a ghoulish laugh took ahold of Mark Guyver. The hero robot shuddered showing that the curse that surfaced this time was a moment speed debuff. This added on top of Drakes Weight of Sin spell greatly hindered the movements of the enemy. Komaru saw her chance and so while everyone kept firing at Mark Guyver with their respective weapons she aimed the laser of the Hacking Gun at the Monokuma chest piece of the robot and let lose a pink bullet.

The DANCE Bullet struck Mark Guyver, but didn't show the intended effect, yet not giving up she continued to fire DANCE Bullets and after the third one hit the chest piece DANCE took effect. Unlike the game it took more than one bullet to activate DANCE on an enemy boss. Three DANCE Bullets would have to be delivered all within three seconds, so normally it would be impossible to achieve, but right now it's movement speed had slowed down enough for it to work. Team Japan paused seeing the ridiculous sight of the formidable enemy robot breaking out into a dance, but then immediately continued firing until-

\- *BREAK*!

The Monokuma chest piece of Mark Guyver blew up and now revealed its blood red energy reactor. Now revealed once it's destroyed it would be the end for the hero robot, and so-

Masaru: "No! Mark Guyver! Suicide Mode!"

Shin: "!"

Shin felt fear having heard words not mentioned within the original game and moments later his worries were proven right. From the exposed reactor core of Mark Guyver a deep blood red energy shot out and enveloped the hero robot. Moments ago the enemy robot was on its last leg and was weakened from multiple movement debuffs and damage suffered, yet all that was gone. Mark Guyver stood tall full of life and stronger than ever and the spells weakening it were repelled. This scene was not present in the original, but Shin was even more surprised by the existence of the deep blood red colored aura around Mark Guyver.

Shin wasn't sure of its true nature other than its malicious properties that could felt on one's skin in its presence, but he could tell one thing. That aura was a type of magic power. Like his own Ki, Aqua's Nen, Jin and Hikari's Mana, and even more sinister than Connor's Demonic Power, the deep blood red aura strengthening Mark Guyver was a type of magic energy that doesn't exist in the real world and most sci-fi universes. This energy should not have been in a world like Dangan Ronpa with low level sci-fi elements and even milder supernatural elements, but the truth was in the writing before Shin and the others. The source of energy for the reactor core of the enemy robot was actually of magic origins and this power was now out of control.

Shin: (This is the last stand. This pressure... it's just like when I use Spirit Wave. Combined with the name suicide it's safe to bet this is a short lived power.)

Shin's conclusion was correct, but he also knew something else. Till the reactor core of the enemy runs dry the enemy will be unstoppable similarly how he is when he uses Spirit Wave. Mark Guyver had yet to make a move, but its imposing figure was overwhelming everyone within the coliseum. This included Shin, Drake and Sachi. As for Komaru with the weakest spirit among them she lost it as she raised the Hacking Gun at the enemy. One after the other BREAK Bullets struck the enemy hero robot with the target being the exposed reactor core, yet before even touching the surface Mark Guyvers armor the electromagnetic bullets of the Megaphone Hacking Gun were repelled by its deep blood red aura.

This was a plot change and defensive measure of the mission so that Shin and his comrades couldn't solely rely Komaru. For the reminder of the battle her attacks would be ineffective and was no longer a threat to the enemy, yet she still provoked retaliation from the enemy. Mark Guyver didn't have much time left and decided that it's last target would be the previous second biggest threat Komaru. Drake and Sachi sensed the enemy's intension and moved towards Komaru side to escape, but it was too late.

Masaru: "A hero... A hero never loses! Take this! Mega Drill Drive!"

Mark Guyver with its sights set on Komaru prepared it's final move. Mark Guyver's knees bent in preparation and as it kicked the ground to jump forward the earth beneath its feet exploded. The enemy charged at a speed Komaru, Drake, or Sachi couldn't hope to react to, but someone else did. Still in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode Shin jumped forward with Instant Movement and once more Void Movement at his fastest speed. He felt like the world around him was trying to suppress him as the air became a thick wall to slow him down, yet with most difficulty he attempted to break through that wall to reach the enemy. It was a speed faster than the enemy and threatened to break his own neck. A speed that he had no control of and could only move in a straight line to intercept Mark Guyver, yet even this was saw through by the hero robot in its Suicide Mode.

Mark Guyver turned its waist impossible for humans as it was about to stab Komaru with its remaining right hand drill and redirected it atrack towards the approaching enemy. They were in a world of their own where no one else could move or affect the outcome of this battle. Mark Guyver channeled the deep blood red aura around its body the right hand drill to stab Shin with its strongest attack, and seeing this Shin prepared to face the enemy's strongest attack with his strongest power with the preparations he made before he jumped. His ultimate technique that allowed to him match Razor for an instant and defeat Team Germany's leader Abigail in one on one combat.

From the core of his Ki, the navel, a light shined brightly and then all too quickly spreader throughout the body without exception, converting the normally green Ki into a stronger, higher tier of energy. A pale blue energy that was far stronger than the previous Ki. For a split second the powerful new Ki escaped as a storm of ruthless energy nearly uncontrollable now having new Ki from Black Heaven & Earth Technique, but as Shin approached Mark Guyver's Drill that storm of power retracted back into the body and was then channeled into the weapon in his hand, Gravity Blade. Now veiled in pale light blue energy Gravity Blade was swung with an increased weight slash to meet the enemy drill attack head on.

Shin: (Spirit Wave! Gravity Blade, Hundred Fold Slash!)

Shin's Gravity Blade reinforced by Spirit Wave with 1000 times its weight and Mark Guyver's drill strengthened by magic collided, and the result...

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza.

Well, I'm sure there was a smarter way for Shin to fight, but I was aiming for excitement rather than a easily win like always. This is still a 20 Man Mission and Shin needs death and struggle battles like this to evolve. He did come up with a double acceleration move using his two foot techniques and combined Spirit Wave with Gravity Blade, so it was worth it right? Dumb and reckless pays off! But seriously, I didn't mean to go all out for the first boss battle, so who knows if the next... FOUR or so will be able to live up to this one. Also, I've just been using increased weight slash recently as its simpler, but every 1 "Fold" is ten times the swords normal weight... I think, so let's go with that.


	171. Chapter 171

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 11, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Shin: "..."

Komaru: "Shin... Shin! Are you okay!?"

Shin: "...Komaru?"

Komaru: "Shin! I'm glad that you're alive! I... I was worried!"

Sachi: "Yeah, we were all were worried. Not me, but I would be inconvenienced if you died."

Shin: "Sachi... you didn't need to say anything."

Shin had temporarily lost consciousness after releasing his full power last desperate attack. To defeat Mark Guyver he had to throw everything that he had and then some to defeat the hero robot. In the end Shin was forced to charge forward at the enemy at an extreme speed that even his enhanced body couldn't handle and used his ultimate technique Spirit Wave in a unconventional way never before attempted by channeling that higher tier of energy into Gravity Blade to meet the magic reinforced drill attack of Mark Guyver head on. Shin's body was wreaked from moving at such an extreme speed and was spiritually drained from using the one hit technique that uses up all of one's Ki... but recalling how the battle ended and seeing as he was still alive than his efforts were worth it.

Shin had won and defeated the enemy Mark Guyver. His reckless bullet like speed as he charged forward and slashing the enemy with Gravity Blade reinforced by Spirit Wave met the magic reinforced drill of Mark Guyver... and that was it. Shin's tyrannical extreme sword slash sliced right through Mark Guyver's drill and proceeded to bisect the hero robot, slashing through the core reactor. The defeated hero robot fell to the floor and moments later exploded and the blast threatening to swallow up the entire coliseum. Shin had passed out due to exhausting himself and so missed the grand fireworks display, but he and his comrades had certainty defeated Masaru's Hero Robot Mark Guyver.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, WARRIORS OF HOPE OVERTHROWN. FIRST HALF 1/4 COMPLETE. SECOND HALF INCOMPLETE.

Shin finally accepting his victory felt both relived and worried. Defeating Mark Guyver was a well-deserved victory seeing as he had to go all out and then some to win... but it was a hollow victory. Luckily no one on his side had perished in the battle or was seriously injured, but the battle was too difficult for his liking. Defeating Masaru and his Mark Guyver was just the first out of many boss battles in Dangan Ronpa Another Episode, and in the game it was the easiest boss battle out of all. Even if he had the support of his original Team Japan along with Komaru and her Megaphone Hacking Gun, he couldn't imagine that the battle would be that much less difficult. Thinking of what awaited him in the future... it honestly frightened him. It was so Despairing it threatened to paralyze him... but for the time being he couldn't allow that.

Shin: "Komaru. Sachi. Where's Drake?"

Sachi: "The pervert priest? He ran off saying he had a little girl to catch. Really, if I didn't realize that he meant he was going to capture that girl in the Monokuma Mask who ran away after you defeated the robot... a few needles would have mysteriously been sticking out from his neck."

Komaru: "Scary! And that's not mysterious at all!"

Shin: "I see. Good. I was worried where she went off to, but I'm glad that it's taken care of. Now..."

Shin then looked towards the podium of the colosseum and Komaru and Sachi followed his gaze. They saw Masaru Daimon, alone and grasping his left arm he previously injured himself. He was both glaring at us with immense hatred and looking back towards the wreaked that was the former hero robot Mark Guyver. The hero robot could have been said to be a symbol of Masaru's confidence as the Hero of the Warriors of Hope. Masaru always tried to be the fearless leader for his friends and the Monokuma Kids who he had thought were relying on him. He was actually a coward, so everything was just for show and the pillar of his confidence as the Hero was Mark Guyver. Now that it was destroyed... even with his hated *Demons* standing before him still alive he didn't have the courage to fight them and just stood there not knowing what to do... till a choice was made for him.

\- /dUw5-cX-Sw

(3:00 to 4:10)

As Masaru was glaring at us all the Monokuma Kids moved together to sneak up on him from behind and grabbed him. Masaru yell at the Monokuma Kids he thought to be his subordinates as the leader of the Warriors of Hope to stop, yet they wouldn't listen. Masaru was not their *true leader* after all and were just following the command of that said true leader Monaca Towa... to punish the Warriors of Hope who lose to Komaru and her comrades. In the end Masaru with a fearful expression could only watch as he was dragged away to receive his punishment. Shin seeing all of this knew that in the original plot of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode no one was actually killed during the game's "Punishment Time", but that was the game. Maybe here their leader didn't care at all if they lived or died, so she killed them on a whim. Neither Shin, Komaru, nor Sachi knew the truth as not even a body part or trace of blood could be found as the Monokuma Kids scattered in all directions now that their show was over.

Shin: "..."

Komaru: "..."

Sachi: "...Would have been nice to see it."

Shin: "...We get how scary you are, so-"

Drake: "Boss! I'm back and I've got a gift for you. She's young and cute, so I'm sure that you'll like her boss!"

Sachi: "Why are you talking like the grunt of bandit king?"

It was as Sachi said.

With a wicked smile unbecoming of the situation Drake carried on his left shoulder a sixteen year old girl. She was tied up and not allowed to escape, so Drake looked like a kidnapper, or better yet an underlining presenting a *gift* to his boss to make a good impression. Shin looked at the girl and felt incredibly pleased as he too showed wicked smile as he eyed the girl Drake had offered to him and praised his achievement. Komaru off to the side and out of the loop had no idea what was going on, but couldn't help but consider that something illegal was taking place and raised the Hacking Gun to stop them. In the end this standoff born from a misunderstanding was resolved and Komaru now knew the truth. The tied up girl that Drake had brought over was in fact one of the comrades Shin had mentioned were kidnapped by the enemy. Komaru was confused as to why Shin's comrade was helping the enemy earlier, but she then recalled how Shin mentioned rumors of a brainwashing experiment to come to her own conclusions.

Komaru: "Hey, will she be okay?"

Shin: "Of course. Who do you take me for? I'm the Ultimate Protagonist! Something like brainwashing can't stop me from saving the day!"

Komaru hearing these confident words felt relieved that Shinn had some solution in mind, but couldn't possibility hope to know just how he would fo about it... til she was shown firsthand. Komaru, Drake, and Sachi then watch as Shin's body began to glow with a powerful silver magic aura. Shin raised his right hand and extended it forward as if he was grasping something as he heard music and a rhyme replaying over and over again playing in his mind. The song kept going on and on until Shin felt compelled to say it out loud.

Shin: "【 Deceiving the night Beguiling the world The darkness that saves the girl of the endless night 】Holy Sword Switch!"

The trigger that will activate the magic was pulled. Upon doing so a silver sword born of magic appeared grasped in Shin's hands. Shrouded by light was a shining silver sword of heroes. A sword of hypocrisy that resembled the sword a hero carries into battle. However, part of the blade is fake, or was before. The actual range is shorter than even a knife and the true form of the magic resides in that short portion, but that was before. Now the two-handed sword can display its powers as an actual sword as well while also having a small dagger form as backup.

Passively, Holy Sword Switch protected Shin from nearly all forms of brainwashing A tier in ability and below such as in the case where Eriwn of Team Germany attempted to take over his mind with Psyche Force. When activated and the sword is summoned, the actual two-handed sword, once the sword is stabbed deep into the heart of anyone effected by magic or psychic mind control, the sword silver will sever that alignment away. That was Shin's Hope as wanted to defeat Hikari without injuring her when she was only being brainwashed by the Guide, Izuru Kamukura. Additionally, Shin had another Hope in severing the brainwashing with Holy Sword Switch. Shin recalled on Greed Island how Erwin of Team Germany had his Psyche Force rebounded after Holy Sword severed the brainwashing of Renji during the second round of fighting within Masadora.

Hikari and his other five remaining comrades were all being controlled by Izuru Kamukura, so if he removes the brainwashing with Holy Sword Switch it was his hope to damage The Guide before their final battle. Shin wasn't confident in winning a straight up fight against The Guide inhabiting Izuru Kamukura body, so this was a method to gradually weakening him before their final confrontation. Mental damage was harder to heal than physical damage and it dragged on for a long time, so it would be a terrible blow ot the enemy. Shin truly didn't know and couldn't confirm if Izuru Kamukura's Psyche Force would rebound and damage his mind, yet this was the safest and most efficient method available to save his comrades with minimal risk and give him the highest chance of defeating The Guide.

Shin transformed the Holy Sword into its dagger form and ordered Drake and Sachi to hold Hikari down and understanding his intent proceeded to do so. Hikari had remained quiet all this time without a word, yet now she struggled to escape her captors. Hikari with B-tier Mana reinforcing her normal weak body almost allowed her to escape Drake and Sachi's hold, yet Shin didn't give her the time to do so as he stabbed Holy Sword Switch into her heart. From there a silver aura enveloped Hikari which freed him from the Psyche Force brainwashing of the Guide Izuru Kamukura. Shin couldn't tell of there was any rebound to the Guide, yet he could clearly see the light of conscious return to Hikari's eyes.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, TEAM JAPAN GENOCIDE. 7,000 POINTS AND B RANK AWARDED TO BOTH PLAYERS.

As both Shin and Hikari heard this message from God they knew that Holy Sword Switch had worked. Hikari was untied and she immediately removed the disgusting Half Monokuma Mask from her face. Hikari previously didn't have control over her actions, yet she recalled everything that happened since the time Izuru Kamukura brainwashed her along with the others, left Shin behind, meeting up with the mastermind of the Warriors of Hope, and being assigned to Masaru Daimon.

Hikari had a lot to say now that her consciousness returned, yet she had no time to say anything of importance as she was beginning to fade away. Shin rushed to her side, but when he tried to lay a hand on her his hand just went through her. This was proof that Hikari fulfilling her role in Shin's Guide Test and was being removed from the Mission Word to neither hinder nor support him. Hikari in those last moments as she was fading away recalled how interference by strengthening Mark Guyver had almost killed Shin. The thought of leaving like this was too Despairing for her, and so taking one last action to help Shin on his dangerous battle that awaited him used one last magic spell.

Hikari: "Sorry and I hope this helps. Good luck. Breath of the Archangel!"

As Hikari's figure disappeared a magic being took her place. A beautiful woman with pale skin and light blond hair manifested before Shin, Drake, Sachi, and Komaru. This was the Archangel summoned by the magic spell that was one of the three prizes from Greed Island, Breath of the Archangel. Shin had seen this spell of Hikari's as Team Japan tested it's abilities in the Terminal Lobby, but for the two Newbies and especially Komaru they were shocked and left speechless at this surreal sight.

This mythical beauty of a woman spoke with a gentle voice saying it would heal Shin. She would usually ask what they wanted, but Hikari already set Shin as the target of this healing spell. The archangel then took a deep breath and blew out a soft green wind that surrounded Shin and only Shin. Then slowly but surely, all his injuries and depleted stamina were recovered and he was returned to perfect condition and the archangel, saying farewell, left. Breath of the Archangel couldn't restore his lost energy like Ki, but with all his fatigue gone and the natural high regeneration of Black Heaven & Earth Technique he was confident he would be at full capacity within the next few hours.

Shin: (This is the best feeling! It's like I've gone to the spa. Of course I'm still out of Ki, but I have the Life Force Booster from Aqua if I need it.)

Shin had the Life Force booster left behind by Aqua. It would fully restore even his above B tier energy to full once per day. Shin's current Ki thanks to Black Heaven & Earth Technique was far greater than B tier Advance Ki, but all the same the Life Force Booster would fully restore any Ki to full once per day at the price of a backlash five minutes afterwards. Still, Shin didn't know what could happen during the rest of the mission, so if possible he would rather save its use for an emergency and let his Ki naturally regenerated with the help of the new Cultivation Manual.

Off to the side Komaru had seen everything. There were too many things to comment on like the brainwashed companion of Shin, the majestic silver sword appearing in Shin's hand, or how Hikari had vanished in thin air before her very eyes... but what occupied most of her thoughts was the way Shin looked at the girl called Hikari. Shin had run to her side and not knowing he had showed an expression of deep affection and worry for Hikari. The face Shin made for her... made her jealous for some reason. Komaru had heard Shin had a real life harem of girls, but the way he cared for Hikari showed that it was more than a relationship of flesh or halfhearted feelings... but real and true love.

Komaru: "..."

Shin: "I think we should go now. The battle is over, but who knows what those brats will do if we stay here to rest for too long. Let's not take any chances."

And like so the first boss battle of "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls" and Chapter 1 of the game came to a close. Now Shin, Komaru, Drake, and Sachi proceeded onward to the next stage of the game Chapter 2.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza.

Did not mean to post this at this time. It was a mistake when I was editing, but whatever. Next chapter will be back at the old schedule.

I honestly came up with the Psyche Force rebound as I was writing this and somehow it turned into a great idea! Amazing right? I actually didn't know how I would go about Shin fighting Izuru Kamukura and now I do. Also, a friendly reminder of the item Aqua lent Shin. I changed it up so it's different from its initial description.

Life Force Booster -

Rating 75.

A wristwatch that once per day can rejuvenate the wearer's life energy to full, but in exchange they will experience great pain beginning five minutes after it's used and lasting for thirty minutes. Requires 1200 Points and C rank reward.


	172. Chapter 172

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 12, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

After defeating Masaru Daimon and his Hero Robot Mark Guyver; Komaru, Drake, Sachi and I escaped the coliseum and returned back to the surface. After that last battle Komaru, Drake, Sachi and I were exhausted both physically and mentally to various degrees. Komaru, Drake, and Sachi were breathing in the fresh air, reeking with the stench of blood of the city, yet they were taking in deep breaths not caring about that. They had gone through a true life and death battle that was way beyond their ability to handle alone, so it was understandable. Thanks to Hikari's last magic spell I was at the very least physically in top condition, yet I was spiritually exhausted. Even so, I was in a far better mood than my comrades.

I cleared 1/4, or 1/5 of an important Side Quest and ended up meeting up with and rescuing one of my important comrades and girlfriend Hikari. Hikari was defeated and I removed the Guide's brainwashing which rewarded both of us a large sum of 7,000 points and B rank reward. I had some concerns with how difficult just this first of five boss battles was, but objectivity it was worth it. I even discovered a possible method to wear down my ultimate enemy within this mission, The Guide Izuru Kamukura.

Still, I needed to seriously plan out how to confront the remaining four Warriors of Hope and my remaining five comrades. If that last battle taught me anything then it was this. It was suicidal to face both the Warriors of Hope's combat robots and my own comrades at the same time. Hero Robot Mark Guyver showed monstrous strength at the end, yet it had only reached such a level because of Hikari's assistance as Hacker Monokuma with her various magic spell strengthening buffs. If not for that then I wouldn't have had to have gone so far just to take out the first boss of this game/mission.

Shin: (I don't know how I'll go about it, but I have to separate both threats. There also has to be easier ways to defeat the Warriors of Hope at the very least. If not I can't guarantee that I can protect Komaru's life.)

Shin looked to the side to check up on his comrades and saw they had all recovered for the most. Drake and Sachi had trained bodies, so they would be okay after a bit of rest. Komaru on the other hand was exhausted and her sailor uniform was soaked in sweat (Not the first thing that I noticed), but more importantly she was emotionally conflicted which left her in a state of unease. Her second attempt to escape Towa City ended in failure and everyone around her had almost died. She had been attempting to become more active and take charge, yet her original belief that she was destined to die here resurfaced... but in this game that's when a new Hope conveniently appears before her.

Komaru: "Huh? Over there! Isn't that another subway entrance? If I remember right, that place should have been buried in rubble, right?"

And there it was.

During the time we were fighting with Masaru the debris hiding another entrance to the subway was cleared. As if it was prearranged... and it was for all intents and purposes. This was all a part of the masterminds plan to lead Komaru down her intended path leading her into becoming the heroine she desires for her final act of Despair. First it was Masaru, and now this new path would lead us to Jataro, the freak of the Warriors of Hope. This action actually pissed me off enough to almost decide to not go down this set path and go somewhere else... but I didn't.

I went along with Komaru's newfound Hope that she could be saved if we went down this new path. For the heck of it I mentioned that this was all too convenient and this was more than likely a trap, but she deluded herself that the chances of two traps one after the other was impossible. And then of course she became depressed that we shouldn't go if I thought it was too dangerous, so she left the decision to me. I myself didn't have any other idea where we should go next, so following the plot we went down yet another set of stairs leading into the subway lines.

Komaru: "For some reason... a completely empty station likes this is worse than running into more Monokuma."

Saying so and worrying whether or not the subway would be her way out of the dangerous city, Komaru walked ahead of Shin, Sachi, and Drake. Using this moment where Komaru was distracted Sachi and Drake asked Shin about the current plot and what to expect.

Shin: "Well for starters something like the bridge collapsing will occur as we follow the train tracks outside Towa City. The ceiling will start to cave in and we'll need to make a run for it. We should follow the plot here, but we should beforehand determine the best route to escape the tunnel collapse. Additionally, Monokuma Kids will get in our way along with a new type of defensive Monokuma, but we can handle them. Afterwards we'll watch a creppy video staring the Warrior of Hope, Priest Jataro. Then we'll run into another Monokuma. This Monokuma is actually our enemy, but we'll be our allies till the end of Chapter 5 of the game/plot. This Monokuma will guide us through Towa City Sewers to a secret resistance base where the majority of the adult survivors are staying. From there we stay the night to rest and in the morning head out to Towa Tower to make a call to Future Foundation asking for help... but right before then there will be the second boss battle against Jataro. There are some small details that I left out, but they're not important. What is though is defeating any of my comrades we find supporting Jataro like in the case of Masaru and Hikari. If not we'll end up fighting an uphill battle like before. Just follow my lead and we'll be fine."

Drake: "Got it, leader!"

Komaru: "Hey! What's the hold up? We can finally escape, so let's just run from here... Oh, but actually... Maybe it would be better if we pretended like we were dead to avoid the Monokumas. Hey, Shin, Drake, Sachi, do any of you know how to do a good zombie impression?"

Shin: "...I'm better at bashing in their skulls with a bat (How nostalgic)."

Drake: "I'm an exorcist, so I'm the same. Ah, but I do know how to sneak into an all-girls school with a disguise as a traveling priest... does that count?"

Shin: "...No."

Komaru: "Sachi?"

Sachi: "...I'm not doing that."

Shin, Komaru, Drake, and Sachi continued exploring the subway and eventually reached the train platform. As they expected the trains were not operational and no one was around... if you don't count a few dozen dead bodies lying around. It was another Despairing sight to behold, yet Komaru desperately believing that escape was just around the corner powered through station floor stained with blood and countless decaying bodies lying about.

Komaru and the others jumped off the station platform and onto the train rails (Please do not attempt this at home) and began to walk down the train tracks through the tunnels leading outside Towa City. For the next ten minutes they walked down the tunnel mostly in silence. There were multiple abandoned trains filled with more corpses of adults left behind which they needed to navigate through, but overall nothing dangerous got in their way. There were a few Monokuma units walking around, but Shin swiftly dispatched them. Shin took the lead in taking the Monokuma out while leaving Komaru's wellbeing to Drake and Sachi.

During the boss battle against Masaru and Mark Guyver, the two of them had proven themselves and earned more room to act. Shin lent Shuai's magic upgraded Pulse Rifle to Drake as he seemed to be proficient enough in using it and it increases his combat ability. Drake liked CQC more, but he was not an expert like Kisara or enhanced enough to always come out unharmed, so using a weapon at midrange was more efficient and safer overall. As for Sachi, Shin handed over most of his medical tools and supplies to her. Sachi was an assassin, but she was a certified nurse with extensive knowledge on the human body, so it was fit for her to be in charge of healing. It wasn't as close to efficient as healing spells or healing potions, but it was better than nothing. He also lent Jin's EVA Progressive Knife to her. Sachi was an expert in needles rather than knifes, but as a former member of the Chinese Assassin Clan she was well versed enough in how to use one. Shin also lent Drake and Sachi the magic body armor vest just to be on the safe side. Of course Shin couldn't completely trust them, but long as their lives are ties together on this mission there was no reason to not trust them or at least use them to protect Komaru as he fought the enemy like now.

Shin: (So this is their increase A.I performance. Their evolution in another word.)

Shin armed with both the Auto 9 and Devil Sealed Gun engaged the few Monokuma that they came across and noticed a change in their performance. When Shin would raise one of his guns to the gleaming red left eye of the Monokuma to one shot kill them... they would react to this action. They would either swiftly raise their left hand to cover the red eye or side step as a bullet traveled towards them. They no longer just stupidity charged forward. They kind of did, but took better defensive actions as they moved forward. This increase in self-preservation was a sign that their combat AI had indeed improved. Just like how it was stated in the Player Watch the combat AI of the Monokuma would increase with each defeat of a member of the Warriors of Hope.

Shin: (Their ability after defeating Masaru... is almost negligible. Their intelligence improved slightly, but their physical specs are still the same. At best I just have to use up more bullets or not be so obvious when and where I'm about to fire. I never took aim when I fire, but to deal with them I have to release the bullet before the enemy sees the gun being raised... Huh? That kind of reminds me of how Saki fought me in that final battle. In Unlocked Mode, I attempted to deflect all her gun shots, yet some if not most of them got through my guard and it was only thanks to my magic coat and focusing defense around my vitals did I survive Saki's ruthless gunplay.)

Shin reminisced sadly at the memory of how he fought a comrade to the death, but he still tried to recall the way that Saki fought. It was then as Shin was spinning his two Sci-fi hand guns in his hands as if he was Ocelot from Metal Gear that they reached the end of their journey. Both the tunnel and tracks had come to an end as the tunnel had caved creating a dead end. There were so much debris obstructing the path before them that even if Shin and the others agreed to clear the path with their bare hands the job would take months and that was not even factoring in the high chance of causing another cave in and being buried alive.

Komaru: "Th-this is..."

Shin: "Sorry Komaru."

Sachi: "I'm sorry as well for you. Ahaha! You have to be born under a star of misfortune to have this kind of bad luck (Like the holder of Imagine Breaker). It's almost comical."

Komaru: "No it isn't! Not even one micron of funny Sachi!"

Drake: "She wasn't being serious... I hope not, so relax. Anyways, we should head back."

Komaru: "...You're right. We should- Ouch! What was that? I think something fell and hit my-"

Hearing this Shin, Sachi and Drake didn't waste any time and as they stopped, turned, and ran back the way they came. Komaru was confused, but this didn't last for long as she could feel the entire world around her shake. This was a familiar feeling. Komaru had felt this kind of shaking back on the bridge, so she swiftly reached the same conclusion as they others... that the subway tunnel was about to cave in.


	173. Chapter 173

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 13, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

The underground subway tunnel was due to collapse at any moment as another one of the trap of the Warriors of Hope. Shin and his comrades knowing the plot in advance didn't wait one second longer to begin their escape once the first signs of the tunnel collapse appeared. Shin picked up an initially confused Komaru and ran back the way they came to escape while Drake and Sachi were right behind him. The cement of the tunnel roof above was raining down nonstop and threatened to crush and bury them alive if they weren't paying attention, yet that was just a small danger at this time.

Komaru: "Shin! Monokuma up ahead and the tunnels about to collapse!"

Shin heard Komaru being carried in his arms stating the obvious and clicked his teeth. Just like in the game there were suicidal Monokuma uncaring for the approaching danger of the Tunnel collapse charging towards his group. Shin spotted over forty Monokuma units running with their claws ready to tear all of them apart the second they are in range.

Komaru: "Shin!"

Shin: "I know! Drake! Clear a path for us!"

Drake: "No problem boss!"

Drake given the okay from Shin, raised the M41A-M Pulse Rifle cradled in his arms in excitement as he entered Unlocked Mode. The Pulse Rifle was a modified low tier Sci-fi gun with magic properties, but possessing power a few levels higher than modern heavy weaponry it was a fine weapon to use to cut down the Monokuma before them. Drake squeezed the trigger of the Pulse Rifle, and with a low roar from the gun, the Monokumas were showered in a hail of bullets. The ten Monokuma leading the pack were instantly riddled with bullet holes and they exploded were they stood. The remaining enemies once moving in one groups spread out thanks to the new judgment of their combat A.I. Drake continued to spray the enemy with the pulse rifle, yet not having the skills of experienced soldier or mercenary he was only able to take out another ten or so before over twenty Monokuma entered attack range.

Shin: "Not at Kampa's level but good enough!"

Shin yelling this held Komaru tighter as he entered Unlocked Mode. The combat instincts of the First Stage surfaced to his mind on how to best deal with the enemy without allowing harm to come to Komaru or himself. A few ideas popped to the surface yet taking into account the short amount of time left till the tunnel collapses there was one option. Run without stopping and power through everything! Reaching that simple conclusion the Rc Cells of his mutation entered his bloodstream to strengthen his body and prepare to use the unique weapon of a Ghoul, the Kagune.

As the Monokuma right before Shin's eyes were inches away from slashing Komaru and himself numerous Kagune tentacles erupted from his back around his spine and stabbed into the gleaming red eye of the enemy Monokumas. For anyone who was watching they would only have seen multiple blurry red streaks stabbing onto the enemy. In an instant six Monokuma were taken out by six blood red Kagune tentacles and from there they crafted a path of destruction as they swiped at all nearby enemies that dared approach. It was a terrible and gruesome sight, seeing those six Kagune tentacles wiggle around Shin and Komaru, but there was no arguing their effectiveness.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, MOMOKUMA KILL. 20 MONOKUMA DEFEATED. 2 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin: (Too damming! Since the battle with Team Germany's leader the number of Kagune's I can summon at once increased by two from the original four for a grand total of six tentacles! With six extra limbs there are no gaps in my defenses and I feel like even my speed and precision with the Kagune has gone up. What will it be like when I've maxed out the One-eyed Ghoul Mutation?)

Shin had room for such thoughts as his six swift and power Kagune tentacles lashed at all the nearby Monokumas and tearing them a part in an instant. Still, the few surviving Monokuma units didn't give up as they didn't even know how. Some hid under abandoned trains and others large rocks in wait to sneak attack Shin and Komaru, yet they were outmatched in stealth combat by the former Assassin Clan member and now nurse with a cold and sadistic nature, Sachi!

Sachi seeing how Drake and Shin could handle the majority of the enemy entered Unlocked Mode while focusing on the hidden enemies waiting to take advantage of her straight forward thinking comrades and discovered two Monokuma hiding in wait. Sachi right out of a scene from Naruto threw one needle above the Monokuma hiding behind the rock and another slightly faster needle following after it. The second needle struck the first and reflected it downward and stabbed into the red left of the Monokuma.

Then the Monokuma hiding in wait below the train gave up hiding and jumped at Drake focused on clearing the remaining Monokuma with the Pulse Rifle. This Monokuma taking Drake by surprise had its left eye covered, so her needles wouldn't be able to kill it instantly before it reaches him. A look of hesitation and unease flashed through her usual cold face but only for a moment before she lunged for the enemy. In Sachi's hand was the gifted EVA Progressive Knife and in one motion that was unable to be followed by the eye the Monokuma was beheaded. Drake only saw the sneak attack at the last moment, but catching Sachi's skill with a knife surprised him and made him whistle in admiration.

Drake: "Hey hey hey! Just how are you a failure in one hit kill for assassins!? That was downright otherworldly skill just now even if that was a sci-fi knife."

Sachi: "That's none of your concern. Especially, when you're so late to react to sneak attacks!"

Shin: "Stop arguing you two! We're going over!"

Shin called an end to his comrade's discussion as he then ran forward at full speed. The entire battle took less than twenty seconds, yet that was too long for Shin. Just like in the original plot a few Monokuma Kids were blocking the path to enter through the trains, but he could only laugh as he and the others simple jumped over the trains to reach the area on the other side. Shin thought he heard some weak sobbing from behind, but they were no longer his concern. Who were his concern were enemies before him now.

As Shin and the others jumped over train after train while avoiding the falling cement debris from above they spotted the second wave of Monokuma. Before them now were eight units of a new type of Monokuma standing together on top of a train. They were above the trains and Monokuma Kids were on the ground floor blocking the other routes, so they weren't an optional opponent they could just pass by. They wore dark police riot gear and in their hands were large riot shields. They were Guard Monokuma. In the original plot of the game they were troublesome enemies to deal with. A Guard Momokuma's riot shield was strong enough to deflect away most of the bullets of Megaphone Hacking Gun with the exception of BLOW Back which is their weakness. Unfortunately, A Monokuma Kid had yet to appear before then to hand over that (Word Bullet), so Shin could only rely on his own strength and the strength of his comrades.

Drake was the first to move as he raised the modified Pulse Rifle and spayed the enemy with bullets. This rifle held more power than modern heavy weaponry, yet to everyone's surprise the Guard Monokuma withstood the storm of bullets by just raising riot shields. Sachi off to the side saw this and knew that she wouldn't be much help against such heavy armored foes, but she looked towards their strongest member Shin who had the power to break through the enemy.

Shin looked at the eight Guard Monokuma and considering his options and while still holding onto Komaru with one arm he retrieved Gravity Blade from one of two Na Ring. Shin channeled some of the Ki he had recovered since the fight with Mark Guyver into his sword and with a wave of his hand the sword colored in darkness released "One Sword Style, 36 Pound Cannon". The flying sword slash flew across the subway tunnel and striking all eight Guard Monokumas. The Guard Monokumas came together and created a wide wall with their shields now connected. They were pushed back, yet they held their ground as they resisted the flying sword slash.

Shin saw that 36 Pound Cannon was losing strength against the wall of riot shields, so before the attack faded he entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode. The muscles of his free hand bulged until they were five times their normal thickness and once more Gravity Blade was swung... but not just once. Using his remaining Ki, wave after wave after wave of stronger 36 Pound Cannons flew through the tunnel and crashed into the wall of eight Guard Monokuma and their riot shields... and they were blow away, torn to pieces, and tumbling through air until they fell to the floor and exploded.

Drake: "Unreal! I've heard the rumors, but are you really just a Player of only five-"

Komaru: "Huh?"

Sachi: "If you don't want to be penalized stop talking idiot!"

But it was already too late as Drake was penalized 10 points for mentioning information about God's Dimension Komaru had no knowledge of. Just 10 points, and ten points in this particular mission was just like taking a small cup of water out of the ocean of their final rewards, but Drake wanted to cry at his Newbie level mistake. Everyone ignored Drake from then on. They were almost at the end of the tunnel having passed by the Guard Monokuma... but there lied the last challenge before them.

A third and final wave of Monokuma. In a wide and open space fenced off by abandoned trains and large pieces of cement that fell from the ceiling were an army of Monokuma. There were 25 Guard Monokuma, 35 Bomber Monokuma and 40 Junk Monokuma standing in their way. A hundred enemies! The quantity and quality of the enemy of this wave was too high. Of course they weren't impossible enemy to break through, yet Shin still in Unlocked Mode felt it was almost impossible task to defeat all of them before the tunnel collapses. Shin didn't feel his chances would increase even if he restored his Ki with Life Force Booster around his wrist. Especially while having to protect Komaru... unless he risked it all.

Shin: "Everyone! Stay close to me as possible!"

Sachi: "What are you-"

Yet Sachi had no time to question this decision as Shin ran straight into the enemy Monokuma army without hesitation. Drake and Sachi were left out of the loop, but sensing how serious Shin was they charged forward along with him even knowing the danger of doing so. Unlike Shin they were still in the realm of mortals, so taking on a hundred strong robotic army was nothing short of suicide... yet all of a sudden feeling that a greater power was their leader they choose to stick with him to the end.

Shin watched as the Bomber Monokuma readied their grenades, Guard Monokuma their riot shields, and the Junk Monokuma madly craw forward to tear his team apart... but he knew that soon they would be gone. Shin still in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode focused all of his concentration within himself towards the Kagune organ. The liquid muscle within, or Rc Cells condensed and into a heavily concentrated substance and was then released throughout the blood stream. A far greater physical enhancement than normal from the Rc Cells increased his power, speed and regeneration by 3-5, yet it did not end there. From the spine around his backside a new Kagune erupted to the surface. This Kagune was not the red tentacle that the others were used to, but a black armored Kagune.

The Kakuja Kagune.

A Kakuja (Red One) was the weapon of a Ghoul with a transformed Kagune and Shin's incomplete took the shape of a long black armored tail with glowing red flesh within and sharp talons along one side of the tail. A Kakuja mask would normally go along with this form, yet feeling his mind going off to a strange place when it surfaced he opted not to use it. Shin first awakened to this power towards the end of his fight with Team Germany's leader. It was the ultimate weapon of a Ghoul who has partaken in cannibalism of its own kind or other special existence that bestowed far greater power to Shin then his mutation normally did. Shin was without Ki at this time so he couldn't use any more techniques, yet his strength surpassed what both his Black Heaven & Earth Ki and normal Kagune bestowed him and he didn't hesitate to display that tyrannical power here and now.

Shin: "...Move!"

A single armored Kagune tail far thicker and stronger than the normal tentacle following behind Shin's back was finally given a command and it twitched. The armored tail with irregular movement came alive and lashed at the numerous Junk Monokuma charging at Shin... and it was the end. The armored tail crashed into the enemy and the side talons tore them apart. The encounter lasted but two seconds and dozens Junk Monokuma fell through the sky as scrapped metal, and this was only the beginning. With blurry and crazed moment paths the armored tail lashed out all the remaining Monokuma. The Bomber Monokuma didn't have a chance to throws their grenade before they had their heads ripped off by the armored tail and the Guard Monokuma were bisected at the waist shield and all by the attached talons.

Sachi: "..."

Drake: "My lord..."

Komaru: "Too much! What kind of back story do you have to have to get power like this!?"

Shin's comrades were either left speechless, amazed, or doubtful and blown away at his tyrannical power that only needed less than ten seconds to sweep away an army of hundred Monokuma. Shin then went on to punch away any and all trains that stood in their way of escaping as the others followed after him in disbelief. They never expected for their leader to have this kind of power and were further confused as to why he hadn't displayed this power before, or at least during the previous boss battle. Komaru, Sachi, and Drake asked this very question to Shin... and he only had this to say.

Shin: "This Kakuja Kagune eats away at the body, literally so to speak, and wears me down. My stamina is almost but all consumed, so I didn't want to use it if I didn't need to. Also..."

Komaru: "Also?"

Shin: "...I kind of forgot about it before."

Hearing this Komaru, Sachi, and Drake were left speechless and didn't know whether they wanted to laugh or cry, but they definitely wanted to cry. The boss battle with Mark Guyver was too fierce to have held anything back, but Shin did have his reasons. Shin was so versatile a fighter he had more than one ultimate technique with both Spirit Wave and the Kakuja Kagune, with the one shot Spirit Wave being the stronger. Also, while Shin can recover Ki very quickly and has the Life Force Booster to resort energy and so the use of Spirit Wave which expends all of his Ki isn't as critical as it used to be, Shin didn't have a technique or item that restores stamina or his physical body that's consumed by the Kakuja Kagune after it is summoned. Shin said he forgot, but at this current time he had a preference for Ki techniques and so given the choice he unconsciously uses them in a pinch rather his One-eyed Ghoul Mutation.

Shin: "Anyways, don't look at me like that! I'm your leader and protagonist for what's its worth! We're almost out of danger, so let's-"

It was then that Shin noticed the unexpected final threat outside the original plot. Shin had destroyed all the enemy Momokuma and had cleared a path for his comrades to safety. The train platform which was safe from the collapsing tunnel in the original plot was right before their eyes, but someone or something was already standing there looking at them. A little girl with brown hair wearing a one piece yellow dress and in her hand was a lance molded by earth fragments. This little girl was not a member of the Warriors of Hope or a Momokuma Kid... as Shin recognized her as the non-human Lowest Level Earth Elemental of his comrade that had joined Team Japan in his second mission of God's Dimension, BTOOOM.

Shin: "Gnome!? Then Shuai is-"

Gnome interrupted Shin from saying anymore. The small girl gripped and raised the earth lance larger than her body over her shoulder and with inhuman strength along with geokinetic power threw the earth lance at him with all her might. The earth lance sped off with the speed of a bullet to run him through. There was little time to react, but still in the Second Stage and Kakuja form gave Shin the ability defend. The black armored Kagune tail moved with lighting speed lashed out, striking the tip of the earth spear and deflecting it away. Shin wanted to complain at that time why Shuai couldn't normally fight with such intensity, but he didn't have time to vocalize his inner thoughts as the next attack came.

From underneath everyone's feet a unnatural shaking, different from the collapsing tunnel could be felt and for three in Unlocked Mode it didn't go unnoticed. Both Shin and Sachi side stepped in time to the side to avoid an earth spike erupting from the tunnel floor, yet Drake a moment too late in moving away was hit. The earth spike missed impaling Drake through the stomach, yet it still tore off his left arm that was coincidentally holding the Pulse Rifle and this did not go unnoticed. Gnome fused with the floor of the platform and re-materialized from the earth spike that tore off Drakes arm. Gnome then caught the Pulse Rifle and escaped down the tunnel everyone just escaped from.

Drake: "Gyhaaaa!"

Komaru: "Dr-Drake! Shin, he-"

Shin: "...I know!"

Shin for a moment felt compelled to chase after Gnome, yet choose against that action as he wasn't certain that Shuai could be nearby as Gnome could take some level of independent action long as her master supplied her with energy. That's why Shin prioritized protecting Komaru still in his arms and his comrades, one who was critical injured. He swept them with his Kagune and ran towards the train platform as fast as he could and up the stairs they once came down from. Then thirty second later the tunnel along with the platform were destroyed as the ceiling completely caved in.

Megaphone Hacking Gun's status -

Slot 1: Break Bullet.

Slot 2: Move Bullet.

Slot 3: Detect Bullet.

Slot 4: Dance Bullet.

Slot 5: Empty.

Slot 6: Empty.

Slot 7: Empty.

Slot 8: Empty.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza.

For the Monokuma Kids left behind in the tunnel... not my fault. Blame the series.


	174. Chapter 174

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 14, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

After narrowly escaping being crushed to death by the collapsing subway tunnel, the killer Monokuma robots, and the surprise attack from Shin's brainwashed comrade Shuai's Earth Elemental Gnome, Team Japan and Komaru were resting on a higher ticket booth floor of the Subway Station. Komaru and Sachi were unarmed from the ordeal, but Shin and Drake were not. Shin had once again used up all of his Ki and additionally used his Kakuja Kagune that wore down his body. At this time he was just sitting down and leaning against a wall taking in deep breaths utterly exhausted. Shin still had the option of relying on the Life Force Booster, yet he was unwilling to use it unless it's an emergency, so in the end he chose to recover naturally and now began to meditate. As he did so he was thinking back on his encounter with Shuai's Earth Elemental and couldn't help but think that something was off.

Shin: (Why did Shuai choose to attack me back there? Sure it was a good chance to kill me, but he too easily retreated and had Gnome pick up the Pulse Rifle which was originally his. It was as if defeating me was a secondary goal. Could it be he was influenced by Izuru Kamukura? Did my Holy Sword Switch actually rebound Hikari's Psych Force brainwashing and damaged the Guide and this was a retaliation move. To place me in danger, injure or kill my comrades, and take back Shuai's Sci-fi gun to make him stronger when we finally face off? Fuck, don't make things harder than it already is at this Despair Mode play through just because I one-up you!)

Shin was slightly upset, but he soon got over it. He lost a powerful weapon and a comrade was injured, yet looking to the side he once more confirmed that no one had died. Drake was being treated by Sachi while enduring the pain of losing his left arm. Shuai's Earth Elemental Gnome tore off his left arm with a earth spike and suffered critical damage and loss of blood, yet he was recovering thanks to Sachi. Sachi using acupuncture with well-placed needles in Drake's left shoulder completely stopped his bleeding and lessened his pain. From there she used medical supplies gifted to her by Shin to close the wound and bandage him up. Shin was impressed at her professional level skill in modern medicine which seemed to rival veteran EMT doctors. Sachi then giving Drake a last once over slightly smiled to herself as she slapped his shoulder.

Drake: "Ghaaaaa! Fuck woman, you trying to kill me!"

Sachi: "Hm. You're welcome. You looked so relived after I treated you it pissed me off, so I needed to feel better. Haha, your face as pain consumes your entire being is pretty nice... too bad you're a perverted exiled priest, or you would have been my type."

Drake: "...Thanks for the kind words. I actually feel much better."

Komaru: "Sachi you shouldn't be so rough! A nurse should be nicer and... well, less like you."

Shin: "Haha! Let it go Komaru. Also, don't worry about Drake. I know a guy I can call on 893 who can patch him back up later. Anyways we're going to rest for a while to recover our stamina. That last event, ah I mean failed escape attempt took too much out of us. Just take it easy."

Komaru: "...That's right. We failed again. Hey, can we really make it out of this city alive?"

Shin: "...Who knows? I'll be honest with you. I think those kids thought of everything and that there are no ways out of the city. I bet if we keep doing things like this we'll run into more danger. They even have a laser beam that shoots down anything that dares to fly over the city. Sorry Komaru, but we should give up escaping Towa City for now."

Komaru: "That's... then we can only wait to die?"

Shin: "That's not what I'm saying. We just have to change our objective is all. If we can't escape Towa City because of the kids than we can only can only defeat them if we want to live and escape this city. We have no other choice."

Komaru: "That's-"

Shin: "Impossible, right? Ha, who are you talking to Komaru. You have the Ultimate Protagonist and two members of Future Foundation on your side. You even have the Megaphone Hacking Gun. We are certainly struggling just to stay alive, but can you really say that we can't defeat these Warriors of Hope?"

Komaru: "..."

Komaru looked conflicted hearing these words from Shin. At this point in the original plot it was impossible for Komaru to think she could truly stand up to the Warriors of Hope, but Shin and the others together were far more reassuring than her original partner Toko Fukawa, so she could at least consider the possibly. It was then at this time the plot moved forward.

Appearing from the shadows of the Subway station was a boy and girl pair of Monokuma Kids. The two were walking over towards Shin and the others and carried over their shoulders was a high depth flat screen TV. Once the Monokuma Kids were close enough the little girl Monokuma Kid pressed the on button for the TV in a few seconds later a clear picture came into life. On a live video feed someone was directly starring at us. He was silent at first, but that was only because he didn't know that it was on and once he did he began to freak out and complain about originally wanting someone to introduce him.

Jataro Kemuri

Jataro is a character featured in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls and is one of the five members of the Warriors of Hope, in charge of the "Priest" class. He has the title of "Li'l Ultimate Art" from his time in the attached middle of Hope's Peak Academy.

Jataro has an incredible talent for anything seen as creative, such as drawing, painting and sculpting. He is also shown to be quiet, shy and scatter-brained. The official art book describes him as "curious, crafty, and fascinated by dark and disturbing things". Jataro is acknowledged by both himself and those around him for being hated, and he seems content with that fact. He has a tendency to blame himself for things that have nothing to do with him, as well as repeatedly apologizing and putting himself down. He believes that his face is horribly ugly and he panics if anyone wants to see it, claiming that seeing his face would make people's eyeballs explode.

Jataro's thoughts are disorganized and off-topic, some being innocent and some not, and he often has difficulties following conversations. He is shown to have some sort of mental or emotional instability, which becomes evident when he lapses into his episodes of rambling. He describes these ramblings as "yawns", things that come out of his mouth involuntarily and nobody can understand them, not even him. He simply calls them "killing time" and "distractions from the horrors around you".

Jataro's presence is often largely ignored, though he states later to Komaru and Toko that being ignored is something that he doesn't like. After Nagisa Shingetsu becomes impatient during his introduction and interrupts him, Jataro becomes visibly distraught and mumbles how his skin was 'beginning to crawl and itch' and how he wished to 'tear it all off.' Despite the constant self-deprecation, Jataro is self-described as being a cheerful kid (though he admits that he may not understand what "cheerful" means), helpful to his friends and willing to comply with whatever they ask of him while remaining relatively upbeat. It's later revealed that Jataro's acceptance of hate is a coping mechanism he developed against the constant abuse in his home life. He also believes that it's easier to be hated, because it leaves him free to do what he wants without worrying about pleasing people.

Shin knew that like the others members of the Warriors of Hope Jataro was an abused kid... yet he couldn't help but see him as anything but a gross kid too stupid to actually realize that he had incredible good looks that puts must pretty boys to shame. It couldn't be helped that he never knew this as his mom made him wear that disgusting mask on his face and told him lies his entire life, but he was the one kid from the Warriors of Hope he honestly didn't feel sorry for or care about. The was just how he felt and even Komaru basically said good riddance when she and Toko defeated Jataro in the original plot and he was executed by the Monokuma Kids.

Now back to why Jataro was speaking to Shin, Komaru, Drake, and Sachi... he came to both provoke and warn them. Jataro felt most comfortable when others hated him so he said disgusting and pointless things to get on their nerves. Then came the warning. Jataro finally told Komaru that it was impossible to escape Towa City because of the black Monokuma Bracelet around her neck. He reveals that it's actually a bomb that will go off if she leaves Towa City without the Warriors of Hope's permission which explained how Yuta Ashahina died when he swam away from Towa City.

Komaru: "...No, no way..."

This truth shocked Komaru as she had her Hopes of escaping Towa City officially destroyed and began to Despair, and one could see the hate in her eyes. Seeing this Jataro became more excited and especially when Sachi added on her own hate for him.

Sachi: "What a disgusting brat. Too bad you're not here or I'll would want to test out some *special* needles on you."

Jataro: "Huh, what you just said... doesn't it kinda sound like "Love" if you flip it around. I was worried, so I had to make double sure. That's why I called you guys.

Komaru: "...Double sure?"

Jataro: "If you guys see this, you're gonna hate me even... wait, what are you-"

Shin: "I don't want to see. Go to hell."

\- *BANG*!

Shin knowing the plot knew Jataro wanted to show them all a disturbing video. A video showcasing his art talents as he performed a show using puppets dancing about lively and having a good time... which were actually human corpses kept into place with large metal screws and held up with strings just like in a puppet show. Shin not wanting to see this video tool out his Auto 9 and opened fire at the TV screen till it stopped broadcasting. The Monokuma Kids holding up the TV then feeling Shin's killing intent dropped the TV and ran way scared without once looking back.

Komaru: "Was that okay, Shin? You may have provoked him."

Shin: "It should be fine. That kid looks like he likes to be hated, so I bet he's overjoyed to have gotten such a reaction out of us without showing what he wanted to. Anyways, forget about the disgusting brat for now. Don't worry about what he said. We had already guessed that it was impossible to escape, so thanks to him we don't have to keep wondering. We'll rest up for a bit and then we'll move on."

Komaru: "Where will we go?"

Shin: "Who knows, but it's better to keep moving."

Komaru still looked to be worried about her chances of living, but believing in Shin she chose to do as he said. An hour later after resting as best they could and Shin recovering most of his Ki set out once more.

Shin, Komaru, Drake and Sachi set off after resting for one hour after the tunnel collapse. They first tried return to the surface the same way they came from, but that was impossible. Like in the original plot of Another Episode a dance party was going on at this time. Hundreds of Monokuma Kids and thousands upon thousands of bloodthirsty Monokuma robots were dancing to the BGM "Re_Mr. Monokuma's Tutoring" that was playing from somewhere. It was insane, but the point was that it was impossible to return the way they came, so Shin and the others returned back underground.

Returning back down to the subway they began to look for another way out and eventually ended up entering a underground shopping center. The shopping center was dark and abandoned of all life giving it a creepy feeling for Komaru and the others, yet for Shin who was once randomly transported inside a labyrinth in the world of Apocalypse Alice, a dimensional space that just reeked with resentment and darkness it didn't even phase him and as he lead his group forward.

Along the way they ran into a Monokuma Kid who approached them Shin's group with a present for Komaru. The Word Bullet, Knockback. It was the essential KNOCKBACK Bullet needed for Komaru to fight against the defense oriented Guard Monokuma with their riot shields. After handing over the Kotodama the Monokuma Kid ran off. Komaru was once more confused as to why some of the Monokuma Kids were her enemies and others were on her side, but Shin knew that this was all a part of the game for the mastermind of the Warriors of Hope and possibly Jin who's taken over the role of The Servant from the original plot.

Komaru: "Hmm, it's still so suspicious... Hey, can you guys hear that?"

Komaru was the first notice that something and they others perked their ears to listen. From the sounds of it a fight was going on somewhere and worried Komaru and then the others chased after this sound. Shin and hearing it from him Drake and Sachi knew what was up ahead and weren't worried or surprised as they turned the corner and saw who was fighting... but more accurately who was getting banged up on by a group of Monokuma while hiding under a sheet while a group of Monokuma Kids cheering on in excitement.

Shirokuma: "Please stop! Violence is a big no-no! Bullying... is so uncool! Shouldn't you all be using your fist to protect... instead of hurting people!?

Drake: "...That's..."

Komaru: "Oh no! Someone's getting ambushed! We gotta go save him!"

Shin: "...Lead the way."

Komaru with unexpected courage took the lead in charging towards the Monokumas ganging up on the *innocent* victim on while Shin and the others unenthusiastically followed after her. The Shin especially didn't want to deal with this *innocent* person, no thing as it was one half of the mastermind behind the mastermind who was the true enemy of the Dangan Ronpa series. The seemingly kind, peaceful, Monokuma who help/guides Komaru into becoming the active heroine of Another Episode, Shirokuma.

Megaphone Hacking Gun's status -

Slot 1: Break Bullet.

Slot 2: Move Bullet.

Slot 3: Detect Bullet.

Slot 4: Dance Bullet.

Slot 5: Knockback Bullet.

Slot 6: Empty.

Slot 7: Empty.

Slot 8: Empty.


	175. Chapter 175

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 15, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Shirokuma is a character featured in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. Shirokuma is a pure white version of Monokuma. He is an idol-like presence stationed at the Resistance's secret base. Shirokuma originally resembled the regular Monokuma Units, but he has heavily modified himself to appear less threatening. He painted the left side of his body white and wrapped bandages around his left leg, left forearm, and the left side of his head - the latter serves to mostly conceal the jagged red left eye common to all Monokuma Units. His body is somewhat worn and covered in scratches, due to his work with the Adult Resistance.

Shirokuma has two small eyelashes on his right eye and a noticeable blush (covered by two small bandages) on his right cheek. Coupled with his very feminine vocal timbre, he's sometimes mistaken for a female. He often carries a pink flower. If forced into combat, Shirokuma removes the bandages on his head to expose his left eye. He also displays the ability to extend claws from his hands, similar to the standard Monokuma Unit.

Shirokuma is a pacifist and he thinks that adults and kids should live together in harmony. He is very considerate and has a friendly aura surrounding him. He wants to have power to protect others, but he feels he isn't strong enough. He is a bit shy and all kind of fighting and mean words make him distressed. However, he can be surprisingly forceful at times. He claims to have a good eye for judging character, as well as the ability to tell the date and time of someone's first kiss just by looking at them, among other things. He also considers the abilities and limitations of his allies, taking breaks despite technically not needing to (being a machine) in order to give Komaru time to rest and regain herself.

Though he appears very pure, Shirokuma really likes pretty girls and he is implied to be a bit perverted, just like the other Monokumas. He is also revealed to be a coward at times, as he really doesn't like fighting and finds the other Monokumas very scary, but he can be very brave for the sake of others.

In the original plot Shirokuma allied himself with Komaru Naegi, Toko Fukawa, the leader of the resistance, and the surviving adults of Towa City. He lead Komaru and Toko to the hidden resistance base, gave Komaru the idea to contact Future Foundation, and partly inspired Komaru and the surviving adults to fight back and make one last stand against the Warriors of Hope, Momokuma Kids and the army of Monokuma... but he had his reasons for doing all these seemingly nice things. The truth was Shirokuma along with another Monokuma with a A.I, Kurokuma, were actually attempting to cause conflict and not save the adults.

Just like Toko Fukawa of the original plot always suspected there was more to Shirokuma than met the eye and in the end, her suspicions are proven when Shirokuma is revealed to be a sinister AI plotting to spread despair. His friendly personality was just a ruse to rile the adults into battle - ultimately, he was working with Kurokuma to try and drag Towa City into an endless spiral of war and revenge.

In the 5th chapter of Another Episode, it is hinted that Shirokuma was collaborating with Kurokuma in order to force the adults into battle. He later took control of the Big Bang Monokuma to cause further havoc, attacking Komaru, Toko, Monaca, and the resistance leader in Towa Tower in an attempt to decapitate the leadership of both sides at once. However, Komaru and Toko manage to destroy Big Bang Monokuma, ejecting Shirokuma's head from the mecha in the resulting explosion. It is revealed at the very end of the game, that Shirokuma as well as Kurokuma are actually AI Junko Enoshima. As part of the AI, he seems to represent her cutesy and friendly personalities, as well as her manipulative side.

Shin: "And now we're following this guy... Fuck. I'll rather just smash his-"

Shirokuma: "Shin is there something the matter?"

Shin: "Ah, nothing! Nothing wrong, so just continue to lead the way."

Yes, we were all currently being lead around by Shirokuma through Towa City Sewers. About an hour ago Komaru, Sachi, Drake snd I walking through Towa Underground looking for a way back to the surface discovered Shirokuma who being ganged up on by a group of Monokuma. This was a scene in the original plot of Another Episode, so without hesitation we all rushed forward to save him. After we saved Shirokuma he thanked us and getting over our shock of him being a Monokuma told us about his back story.

Komaru believed Shiro 100%, but even without my knowledge of the plot of the game I still would have found him suspicious... though I chose not to question him more than necessary. Shirokuma was one half of AI Junko who's another mastermind of these events and half the reason the Despair of Dangan Ronpa 2 occurs, but he was important for us at the moment, so I resisted my urge to cut him in half with Gravity Blade and stomp on the remains.

Shirokuma was necessary for us to reach our next destination and he was currently fulfilling that role. After we saved him he warned us that moving back to the surface was too dangerous and said he could lead us somewhere to a safe place. A secret base hidden underground, within the sewers of Towa City where the adults are hiding out. To advance the plot and also make sure there's no major plot changes by destroying Shirokuma we had no choice but to follow Shirokuma... but feeling some unease I took precautions.

For one along with myself I told Drake and Sachi to hold back with their fighting power and allow Komaru to take the lead. Shirokuma was one half of Junko Enoshima who's brilliantly smart as she is evil which is unmatched, so I didn't want it/her to take any action against us who may hold enough power to stop any of her plans she has set. The worst mistake to make when in the presence the True Ultimate Despair, was underestimate her after all. Komaru didn't understand why Drake, Sachi and I were holding back our abilities, but telling her that we simply didn't fully trust Shirokuma was enough to convince her. While Komaru did fully trust Shirokuma, she acknowledged our suspicions.

With that set, Shirokuma lead us from Towa City Underground to Towa City Sewers. The dark and smelly sewers were far from comfortable but like how Shirokuma had promised it was far less dangerous than the surface. There were still Monokuma around (Wearing Hard hats), but far less than the army of Monokuma we saw earlier up above surface. Komaru still had a hard time handling the enemies that we encountered with only minimal support from the rest of us, yet using KNOCKBACK Bullet to blow most of the Monokuma we came across into rivers of filth she managed somehow. An hour or so like this following after Shirokuma we reached our destination.

Shirokuma: "And here we are."

Komaru: "Here, but I don't-"

Shirokuma: "Don't worry; the secret base is up here when you climb this ladder right here. C'mon, follow me."

Shirokuma lead the way by climbing up the ladder and the rest of while the rest of us one by one followed after him up the ladder. Doing so we reached the hidden base of the resistance down a short passage way. According to Shirokuma the bass was an old warehouse hidden within the sewers where Towa City used to store water tanks and it was unlikely that the kids knew about such a place. The front door looked thick and heavy enough to repel most attacks... but the fact Shirokuma only needed to press down a lever and that there were no guards in sight made every one of us besides Komaru wonder what the hell were these people doing to keep safe. I myself didn't have any military background to speak of, but even I would have thought to place some guards outside the door and sentries to scout for enemies. It was for these large gaps in security that this so called secret base of the resistance was raided over and over again without fair warning.

Shirokuma lead them inside where they got to see firsthand how the adults who survived the riots were fairing. The inside of the secret base was vast and allowed all the adults a place to stay and Shirokuma even brought down metal containers where they could live with some privacy. As for the people inside as you would expect there were only adults that numbered into the thousands. Half looked to be seriously injured and the other half were uninjured, yet looked lifeless. Toko in the original plot noticed early on how despite being a resistance they were mostly scared adults who couldn't come up with any way to fight back against the Warriors of Hope and their Monokuma army.

Shirokuma wanting us to look around first went ahead and told us to go ahead and explore the place. Komaru, Drake, Sachi and I did just that, but we discovered nothing of importance. I particularly wasn't interested in talking to the adults and they felt the same about our group of outsiders half composed by youth who were not yet adults. In general the adults here didn't leave us with a very good impression, but we did run into Hiroko Hagakure, the mother of one of the surviving Ultimate Hopes from Dangan Ronpa 1. We learned from Hiroko that she was leading a small group of able men to look for supplies and survivors, but more importantly a certain group of survivors. Her group had discovered wanted posters for certain individuals being posted by the kids and wanted to save them and were making efforts. She didn't know it, but all these individuals were in fact like Komaru who were playing the Demon Hunters Game and were connected to the Class 79's students of Hopes Peak Academy. I considered the possibility of locating these individuals this being a Hidden Side Quest to help in locating them, but without the effort to spare and also letting Yuto Ashahina die it might not be a Hidden Side Quest we could complete.

Komaru: "This place is..."

Shin: "I feel the same. Anyways, we're done looking around, so let's go see Shirokuma already."

Shin, Komaru and the others then located Shirokuma standing in front of a large building waiting for us. Ready to talk about more serious things he led us inside the conference room of the residence. No one was inside like Shirokuma was expecting, some had us wait a few minutes. Five minutes passed like so and coming through the front doors was the leader of the Resistance and man of the hour.

Haiji: "Yo, Shirokuma! I heard that you were looking for me?"

Shirokuma: "Ah! Haiji!"

Haiji Towa

Haiji Towa is a character featured in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. Haiji is the leader of the Resistance, the adults' secret base, formed to against the Warriors of Hope and Monokuma Kid and somewhat supported Komaru and Toko towards the end of the game.

Haiji has long, disheveled black hair and lavender eyes. He wears a buttoned-up shirt adorned with a detailed red rose pattern, a heavy black and red hooded jacket with beige fur trimming, and ripped black jeans. Haiji's right forearm and palm are completely covered with an orthopedic cast, presumably from injuries suffered during the battle against the Monokuma army.

Haiji is deliberate and calculating, although others might call him cowardly. He is rather serious, but sometimes loses his temper and can even turn violent. He is a self-proclaimed lolicon who prefers young, quiet girls to loud, older girls. He mentions that he prefers girls to be as young as possible and in the art book it's implied that he would find Kotoko Utsugi sexually attractive if her personality was better. He has a strong grudge against the Warriors of Hope, particularly their leader, Monaca Towa, for causing the chaos in the city. He appears to be somewhat regretful of the Towa Group's unethical actions in the wake of the Tragedy, but mostly because of the problems they caused to himself and his father.

As the story progresses, Haiji becomes increasingly fanatical and obsessed with defeating the Warriors of Hope, no matter the cost. He puts all of his faith in the Big Bang Monokuma, hoping that he can turn the tide of the war in his favor. In the end, he seems to break mentally and turns apathetic

Shin: (Haiji Towa... I actually never found him to be that bad a guy really. Sure along with his father he treated his half-sister like crap which lead to all of this in a way, but besides from that he's a standup guy who has his moments. He took charge of the resistance to help the adults of Towa City and generally cared for his comrades who were all hurt by his family. As for why he couldn't care for his sister is unknown, but he isn't a bad guy to at least everyone besides her. Even his own family's involvement in the Tragedy and the Towa City Riots had little to do with him.)

After Shirokuma introduced Haiji to Shin and the others they got into talking about the situation about Towa City's current state, but nothing we already didn't know or had guessed came up. All the city exits were blocked and the resistance didn't have the ability to remove the bracelet around Komaru's neck so she could even try to escape. Haiji also didn't have plan of action to face the Monokuma and the Warriors og Hope, so he straight up suggested that we all hold jp together with him and the adults till a *chance* appears.

Shin: (What chance? Toko was too blunt and critical in the original plot, but she was right about them being cowards who were only a Resistance in name. From here they got into an argument and when Future Foundation was mentioned Haiji freaked out and told the main characters to fuck off and leave, so let's go with that.)

As the conversation was reaching its end Shin spoke up about the possibility of Future Foundation helping them out and possibly having a way to remove the bomb around Komaru's neck, and like in the game Haiji freaked out and stormed off saying we couldn't work together and to get out. Komaru was confused, yet with Haiji being the leader we couldn't stay within the base. Shirikuma apologized for Haiji's behavior and told us all to at least stay the night before leaving as it was already nighttime outside.

Shirokuma showed them to a private room used for the sick and injured where we wouldn't be bothered by others. The rook looked like a jail cell for prisoners of war, but it was the only option if they wanted privacy which they needed to discuss future plans. Then as Shirokuma was about to leave he turned back to ask Shin and the others if they were really apart of Future Foundation and confirming this he handed them a laptop looking device. Wanting to get help from Future Foundation Shirokuma wanted their group to use the newest wireless device of the Togami Group that can send video and audio to contact them.

Komaru: "So if we use this we can contact Future Foundation?"

Shirokuma: "No, it's not that easy because of the jamming..."

Shirokuma further explained the reason why it was hard to use and why he hadn't asked the adults for help. Thanks to a jamming signal being broadcasted from a place called Towa Hills most devices couldn't be made used of. The only feasible way to use the wireless device to contact Future Foundation was to send a signal from a higher place than Towa Hills, the highest building in the city, the skyscraper Towa Tower. Drake asked why hadn't he told this to the adults of the Resistance and Shirokuma said that it was impossible for the adults as Momokuma were patrolling outside on the surface, but having seen the strength of Shin's group he believed that they could best back the Monokuma and reach Towa Tower safely.

Upon hearing this new plan to survive within Towa City Komaru readily stood forward to say that she would go even if it was dangerous. This was partially due to Shirokuma manipulating Komaru with his words like "Power to protect everybody", but more so than that she wanted to keep trying without giving up long as there was something that she could do. Shin and others didn't see any reason not to help out as well and agreed with the plan to contact Future Foundation.

Shin: (It really is nice to see Komaru so active and not hiding behind others... but for her to be obviously manipulated like this is...)

Shirokuma happy to see everyone on board with the plan then left wishing them a goodnight. Shin wanted to tell off Shirokuma knowing his true goal in sending Komaru off, but holding back his feelings he just left it at good night as well. Komaru and Team Japan's next destination was set and so they went to sleep to prepare for the future challenges that awaited them.


	176. Chapter 176

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 16, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Shirokuma: "...It's morning."

Komaru: "Yeah, it's morning."

Sachi: "Of course, there's no real way to tell if it's morning or night underground."

Komaru: "But still, I feel refreshed. I was able to a really good night's sleep after all."

Shin: "..."

Drake: "..."

Shirokuma: "Hey, why do you two look both refreshed, yet depressed at the same time?"

Shin: "...Ask Sachi."

Drake: "No, please... just don't bring it up!"

It was the early morning of Team Japan's second day within the world of Dangan Ronpa. Having had a *good* night's rest within the underground Resistance base of the surviving adults of Towa City Shin, Komaru, Drake and Sachi were ready to face their next big challenge to reach the top of Towa Tower where the jamming device from Towa Hills prevented message transmissions to Future Foundation outside the city. They had woken up early and the morning and were just waiting for Shirokuma to give their group directions, yet he was confused by the odd state of Shin and Drake.

Shin and Drake weren't exhausted as they appeared and were in fact in perfect condition with the exception of Drake's mission left arm, yet both their eyes looked void of life and this was all thanks to Sachi. Last night Sachi recommend an acupuncture technique that she knew of that would relive fatigue and speed up the healing process. She went on to explain that when human recover from injures and the like they never completely heal right away and even if they do there always a underline fatigue that slowly builds up and it's what causes professional athletes who were performing at 100% before major injuries to collapse and then need long durations of time to heal.

Sachi highly recommended this technique also because if she possessed a special energy like Ki to combine it with she said that it would be second only to the Full Body Repair from God in theory only losing out to it in speed. Hearing this Shin and Drake readily agreed hearing the amazing benefits of this technique, yet this made the two forget who they were asking help from. The technique was everything Sachi promised as Shin felt that he had undergone the repairs from God afterwards and Drake couldn't feel any discomfort from his recently ripped off arm... yet this came at a terrible price and one that Sachi for one just enjoyed.

The needles that were stuck into certain points in the body for the acupuncture technique both rejuvenated the bodies, but more so caused unimaginable pain to course through their bodies. It was only a pain signal from the nerves so they weren't truly hurt, yet the mental fatigue on their minds was no laughing matter as they hardly had a moment of peace as the process lasted seven hours and couldn't be stopped mid-way without major negative consequences.

Sachi: "Huh, you babies. I just gave you a few pricks of my needles for the upcoming big day and your acting like this. Are you sure you're really men?"

Drake: "This has nothing to do with gender woman! Even a seasoned marine would be balling his eyes out, you sadist!"

Shin: "...Let's just go. Shirokuma, tell us where we need to go already."

Sachi was showing a rare and beautiful smile as she was enjoying Shin and Drake's suffering. Shin seeing this couldn't help but be reminded that Sachi was a beauty that wouldn't lose to Kisara... yet knowing what was underneath that appearance just turned him off completely and made him realize two things.

Shin: (I rather be insulted and looked down on by my women than maimed and toyed with, so I should control my emotional and physical desires for the right girls before it's too late. Also, Sachi beats her in appearance, but I prefer a Komaru over a Sachi. What a good girl. She even looked after me... after she alone enjoyed a peaceful night's of rest. No, this isn't the time for this!)

Shin then shook his head to cast aside all of his unnecessary thoughts and got to the matter at hand. Shirokuma finally began to tell us the way to reach Towa Tower. Go down the ladder they came to reach the Resistance Base and go the opposite way we came from Towa Underground Subway to reach above ground. Then a little bit pass a cemetery where they surface above ground there will be a river. Follow the river that passes by a shipping district they will be able to reach Towa Tower. They were the same half-ass instructions from the game, so Shin asked for more detail as well as entering into Unlocked Mode. He didn't need to fight, but in Unlocked Mode he would never forget anything that he's seen or heard of before. This was all necessary because even when Shin and the others asked around no one had a physical map to share with them. According to most of the adults Towa City was so advance there were very few actual paper mediums outside of literary books like Manga and Novels as everyone used tablets and computes for school and work, but were unable to be used under the jamming effects from Towa Hills.

Shin: (One of the biggest weaknesses of the modern age and targeted by terrorist and other criminals in the modern world. Places like America and Japan would come to a grinding halt if they lost the ability to access the Internet,nor the use of other electronics. Most school children nowadays can't do math without a calculator. Heck, they actually made it mandatory for me after the middle school for me to bring one! If the Four Pillars ever feel like causing an apocalypse, then mankind is done for... Ah, I got distracted again.)

Shin once more cleared his mind as he and the others set off from the Secret Base and made their way towards the far off and above ground Towa Tower.

Komaru and Team Japan followed the directions Shiro gave them as they made their way towards Towa City. Through the sewers the opposite way they originally came from for about thirty minutes they located a ladder leading upward towards the surface and climbing up they returned to the surface through a manhole cover. The manhole cover had them resurface right in the center of a graveyard. Komaru freaked out and talked about her experiences with the occult on and on till Sachi literally slapped some sense into her so they could move on. From there, exiting the graveyard while repelling a few Guard Monokuma and Junk Monokuma, they entered Towa Riverside, a commercial shopping district along the river leading towards Towa Tower.

Everyone couldn't help but complain how gaudy and bright everything looked in the commercial district, but almost thankfully the roaming Monokuma distracted them from the taking in the sites. Shin, Komaru, Drake and Sachi working together were able to break through, yet like Shirokuma promised there were numerous enemy Momokuma about ready to hunt down anyone they just so much as caught a glimpse of that the adults of the Resistance wouldn't stand a chance of making it to Towa Tower.

Komaru: "Everyone! Look! The tower is just up ahead. Let's go!"

Shin: "...Wait."

Komaru: "Huh?"

Komaru who was leading their group looked back confused at Shin for telling them to stop when their goal was right up ahead, yet seeing the serious in his eyes she didn't argue over the matter and waited with Drake and Sachi. Shin just stood there in the middle of the street in silence, yet he wasn't being idle. He had his head down so the others couldn't tell, but he was in Unlocked Mode. Shin was reviewing what he knew about the game, specifically Chapter 2, and along with his current situation. He originally wanted to just follow the plot exactly to the letter, but at this time he wasn't sure if that was the right move, so he wanted to stop and think a few matters over with the increased thinking speed Unlocked Mode grants.

Shin: (Up ahead is Towa Tower. If we ascend the tower to relay a transmission to Future Foundation we will enter into the second boss battle against Jataro and his fighter robot 100%. We've ran into Shuai earlier in Towa Underground Subway, yet we've yet to encounter him or any of one of my comrades. Chances of facing both a comrade and Jataro during the boss battle... are well over 90% likely. As we've yet to run into him or anyone else, it's likely that if not prompted by Izuru Kamukura. I'll only run into them during the boss battles. In video games, bosses become stronger and more difficult to face as you progress with the story and this is still a Twenty Man Mission from God. Chances of defeating both a stronger boss robot and one of my comrades... Is less than 50% if I follow the plot. Less if I have to protect Komaru and worry about my comrades. Avoiding the boss battle isn't a recommend option. My final conclusion is that... it's retarded to follow the plot, or at least for the boss battles.)

Shin sighing as he reviewed the difficulties that he had to face soon looked up at the dreaded Towa Tower where the second boss battle will take place. No matter how he thought about it was not a good idea to enter Towa Tower as is. Facing the Jataro's super robot boss wasn't the problem. It was facing the boss alongside one of his original comrades. Even if that comrade happens to be Shuai the only non-unlocked member of Team Japan Shuai had his own strengths which could spell the end for his group. His ability to control the earth with Gnome, create collapsing pocket dimensions, and retaking his Sci-fi weapon which could be combined with his shaman abilities weren't to be looked down on. Shin didn't want to face Shuai or any of his comrades alongside the boss. If he had the choice he would just rather face one at a time, or one after the other...

Shin: "...Wait. That's it. I just have to force such a situation!"

Komaru: "Shin?"

Komaru along with the others were startled by Shin's shutting, yet he didn't explain himself yet. As he gazed upon Towa Tower along with the rest of his surrounding as he turned the ideas for his plan came all together. Where the battle will take place, the personality of his next enemy and the element of surprise. He didn't know if his plan would work and couldn't be done by himself, yet if his plan worked he could swiftly take care of one of his enemies and then move on to the other.

Shin: "Drake! Sachi! Komaru! I have an idea to flush out some enemies, but first need to ask you all something important."

Komaru: "What is it?"

Shin: "Do any of you know how to start a controlled fire and disable a sprinkler system?"

Komaru: "...Sorry. I never even got the chance to go to high school, so I-"

Shin: "It's fine. I never finished high school either, so we're two of a kind. What about everyone else?"

Sachi: "I know how to disarm security systems from my assassination training to sneak into buildings with high tech security systems. I can probably figure something out even without going inside."

Shin: : "That's great."

Drake: "Hmm, I can start a controlled fire so it doesn't go out of control. Oh, there was this time where-"

Sachi: "Drake, help me god of assassins, shut up now if this is another story of you, as a priest, breaking into somewhere to meet a young girl."

Drake: "Tch, what do you take me for woman? I'm not some-"

Sachi: "Also if it's about you breaking a young girl out of somewhere to meet you."

Drake: "...Never mind. Anyways Shin why did you need ask these things?"

Shin: "I have a plan. It's simple and there are some risks involved, but if all goes well we can safely climb Towa Tower in peace. Now listen up"

With everyone waiting Shin began to explain his grandmaster plan to them. They were shocked at first, but understood his reasoning and felt that it was worth giving a try. Towa Tower was right down the street from where they currently were, yet they took a half hour to make preparation before they once more made their way to Towa Tower.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Azarza.


	177. Chapter 177

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 17, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Towa Tower.

Towa City's highest building and popular tourist destination. It was this building that Shin and his group had to climb to transmit the transmission signal to contact Future Foundation. In the original plot Komaru and Toko with the same objective climbed Towa Tower while facing many challenges. The elevator was nonfunctional at first and the electricity would go out later, so they had climb up and down the tower on foot for the most part and the floors of the building were patrolled by hundreds of Monokuma. Even when the elevator was functioning it would stop the protagonist on a middle floor of the tower for a boss fight against Jataro and his super robot. Komaru and Toko overcame all these hardships together and managed to reach the top of Towa Tower and contacted Future Foundation, het they were cut off halfway through the conversation and attacked in the dark when the electricity went out.

Shin: (And in the end they had to climb down the tower on foot and wasted the day away. Yep... not doing that! I'm just going to flush them out with some good old homemade smoke!)

Shin, currently inside the lobby of Towa Tower resolving himself to just do that ignite a piece of cloth stuffed inside petrol and then threw it into the distance. The bottle was soaring towards the other side of the room, yet not sticking around to see it touch down turned around and ran with Instant Movement. By the time the flaming bottle hit the floor and broke into thousands of pieces, spreading the flames in every direction and igniting a pile of flammable material mixed in with some chemicals, Shin had already exited the tower and was back outside where his comrades were waiting for him and together they retreated a distance away.

Shin breathing in the fresh air to collect himself and then along with his comrades looked back at Towa Tower with eyes showing expectation... but nothing happened. They all looked disappointed, yet they knew from the start that they weren't trying to start that kind of uncontrollable fire that would swallow up the whole tower. It took over ten minutes for the first signs of a fire to appear as smoke began to escape from a few broken windows from the lower floors of the tower. From there gradually pitch black smoke began to fill the entire tower and all too soon the sounds of doors being busted open could be heard. Like Shin and the others had hoped for all the Monokuma Kids were rushing out from Towa Tower in a panic.

Shin: "...Looks like everything is going according to plan."

Komaru: "Amazing Shin! Like you guess there were enemies hiding within Tower Tower and you forced them to evacuate with fire. You didn't even harm any of the Monokuma Kids to do so!"

Shin: "It's thanks to Drake and Sachi, Komaru. It was just an idea in my head, yet it was Drake who knew how to set up a fire that wouldn't swallow up Towa Tower and was more for show than actual damage, and it was Sachi who disabled the fire sprinklers. I just guess that there were Monokuma inside. That's all."

Komaru: "Still, it was an amazing plan. Now we can climb the tower without being ambushed on the way up!"

It was as Komaru said.

It was Shin's last minute plan before reaching Towa Tower that lead to this situation. Shin didn't want to deal with all the troubles of climbing Towa Tower that the main characters had in the game and didn't have to thanks to his own mission. Shin's plan was to evacuate/force all enemies within the tower outside and in the open. Shin hoped to rid himself of all the enemies inside, yet his main goal was Jataro of the Warriors of Hope and his comrade Shuai, who was most likely with him. He wasn't optimistic about his chances of defeating both of them at once during the boss battle learning from his experience with Hikari/Hacker Monokuma, so he made a move to force them out of the tower where he knew they were waiting for his group. This was the plan to make the enemy reveal an opening to take them out in one surprise attack. Shin had Drake start a fire to smoke out all of those within Towa Tower and Sachi disable the sprinklers so the fire wouldn't be put out. Shin, Komaru, Sachi, and Drake looked on at this scene from a distance satisfied at the results, but Sachi was now gazing out with a complicated expression on her face.

Sachi: "Are you sure this will work? I'm glad no one died with this fire that is more for show than deadly, but I don't see anyone evacuating the tower with the Monokuma Kids who are matching the descriptions you gave us."

Shin: "Just give it a minute. They have to be inside, yet just haven't come out yet. Probably being stubborn, Anyways, I've waited long enough. I'm going back out in get ready for the ambush. The rest of you stay back and hidden here. The Monokuma inside Towa Tower have yet come out as well, so prepare for a flood of them to pass by. In case they come your way, retreat while staying within 4,000 meters of the tower. Understood?"

Komaru: "Okay."

Drake: "Leave it to me. Even with one good arm I can protect Komaru."

Shin: "...Sachi?"

Sachi: "I'll look after both of them."

Drake: "Fuck! Why did you have to ruin my moment?!"

The others laughed at Drake and then they set off. Komaru, Drake, and Sachi moved back into the commercial shopping district just outside Towa Tower while Shin rushed towards the tower to set up the ambush. Shin reached the tower and then began to run up the side of the building with Instant Movement. It wasn't the same as walking on walls as he couldn't slow down, yet it allowed him climb more than halfway up the tower swiftly and without activating the rules regarding flight. Having reached a satisfactory height to set up the ambush Shin stopped running. The laws of gravity tried to pull back down to the earth, but he summoned the six tentacles of his Kagune and stabbed them into the Towa Tower to keep himself from falling.

Shin: "Now... will come out or not? If you do it's my win and if not I've messed with the plot and disadvantaged myself. Your move Priest Jataro Kemuro of the Warriors of Hope!"

Five minutes later.

The front streets outside Towa Tower were deathly silent after the Monokuma Kids evacuated the tower and ran away. It was at this time that at last more movement could be heard from within the tower that should have been filled with smoke. The earth began to shake as heavy footsteps from countless enemy robots began to stampede out from the tower. It was the Monokuma. Monokuma, Bomber Monokuma, Siren Monokuma, Guard Monokuma, and even two new types, Ball Monokuma and Beast Monokuma came flooding out from within Towa Tower and unto the streets. They all looked left and right looking for prey to pounce on, but unable to find a target for their malice they simply ran around Towa Tower in frenzy. Then...

\- *CRASH*!

From halfway up Towa Tower a large object broke through a window and jumped out. This object, a blue and large humanoid robot began to fall towards the earth, yet as they began to fall a flame ignited on its back. This flame spewed out from a jet pack stopped the robot's descent and steadily lifted it higher and higher into the air. This humanoid robot was Priest Robot Doctor von Gerolt.

Compared to Mark Guyver that was white and yellow this robot was all blue/dark blue and it's reactor was hidden within its head rather than the chest. Doctor von Gerolt was a robot that had the appearance of a monk or priest and had calm glowing yellow eyes that had a silent power ready to come forth. There were three individuals currently standing on the shoulders of Doctor von Gerolt as it was hovering above the ground. Standing on its right shoulder was its operator Jataro of the Warriors of Hope and the other and standing together on its left shoulder were two who Shin would recognize as his comrade and that comrades Earth Elemental.

Jataro: "Those, those Demons! Even if it's me... after preparing my own coliseum, they dare set fire to the tower and ruined my show! Damn, the audience ran away as well! You didn't even allow me to show you my earlier puppet show! I won't forgive you! Shaman Momokuma! Do you see any of them below?"

Shaman Momokuma: "..."

As Jataro was gazing down at the ground to locate Komaru and her group he called out to his servant girted to him by Monaca, Shuai, renamed Shaman Momokuma, was already looking at the enemy. Silently staying by his side was Gnome. She looked offended by the way Jataro called out to her master, yet without an order from her master she didn't take any action and simply stood by Shaman Momokuma's side. Along with Jataro and Shaman Monokuma, she was looking at the ground below and was about to scan the area with the earth element to locate them... but sensing danger from above she tugged the pants legs of her master. Shaman Monokuma felt the tug and noticing Gnome looking up looked up as well... And in that split second choose to jump off Doctor von Gerolt's shoulder alongside Gnome without a word to Jataro.

Jataro: "Huh? Where are you-"

It was too late even if he noticed the threat from above now. Up above both Jataro and his priest robot's heads, falling from a higher place of Towa Tower was Shin armed with the black magic sword and katana Gravity Blade. When Shin saw Doctor von Gerolt fly out from the tower to escape the smoke and stay in one place as Jataro, Shaman Monokuma, and Gnome looked for enemies below he jumped down from the tower towards them. Shaman Monokuma and Gnome noticed Shin at the very last second approaching them, but choosing to abandon Jataro they escaped alone. Shin saw this but did not pursue them as his main concern was to take out the enemy robot. Still falling and reaching the perfect range to attack Shin kicked the air with Void Movement with all his might. The kick took him right above Doctor von Gerolt's head where its reactor was hidden and Jataro had yet to realize he had closed in.

Shin: (Die!)

Above Doctor von Gerolt's head a pale blue violent storm of energy came alive, and Shin was at its center. The ultimate technique that allowed to him match Razor for an instant, defeat Team Germany's leader Abigail in a final showdown, and strike down its brethren Hero Robot Mark Guy was unleashed. Spirit Wave converted the green Ki into a pale blue higher tier of energy, turning the individual into a catalyst of power and destruction. From there Shin entered the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint and channeled all his new found power into the weapon in his hand. Gravity Blade reinforced with Spirit Wave shined with a blue light and was swung down on top of Doctor von Gerolt's head with an increased weight slash.

Shin: (Spirit Wave, Three Hundred Fold Gravity Slash!)

Shin's Gravity Blade reinforced by Spirit Wave with 3000 times its weight was swung down at the enemy's head with all his strength in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode. Mark Guyver even in Suicide Mode couldn't help but be cut down by this new technique, so Doctor von Gerolt outside Suicide Mode and its operator Jataro unaware of the impending attack were helplessly cut down putting up no resistance. The shinning blue Gravity Blade grasped in Shin's two hands bisected Doctor von Gerolt in two from the top down as the blade effortlessly slashed through its armor. Jataro only realized something had happened only after Shin passed by falling towards the ground and turning his head to see Doctor von Gerolt slashed in two and falling apart.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, WARRIORS OF HOPE OVERTHROWN. FIRST HALF 2/4 COMPLETE. SECOND HALF INCOMPLETE.

Jataro: "Waaaaaaa!"

Jataro fell through the skies screaming for his life as he fell to the streets outside Towa Tower. At the last second he jumped off the shoulder of the cut in two Doctor von Gerolt before it exploded having its reactor core destroyed. Jataro was only moments away from making impact with the ground and becoming red jelly when at the last second he saw the solid streets he was about to smash into turn brown and murky. With a splat Jataro dived headfirst into a pool of mud that had once been solid cement. Jataro struggled to swim up to the surface and towards the edge of the pool and looking around in a panic he discovered something... that he no longer mattered as another battle was about to begin.

Jataro turned his head left to see Shaman Monokuma and his earth elemental Gnome who were staring at their opponent. He then turned his head right to find one of the companions of the target of the Demon Hunting Game, Shin staring back at Shaman Momokuma and his elemental while also staying aware of his surroundings. Surrounding both parties were all the various Monokuma robots that escaped Towa Tower and were ready to pounce on the first one who moved not caring that Shaman Monokuma was on the side of the kids. The initial plan was for Komaru to ascend Towa Tower and confront Jataro, but with that plan ruined they were following their backup orders.

Kill everything in sight!

Jataro: "W-what is going-"

Monokuma Kid: "Tee hee!"

Jataro: "!"

\- /dUw5-cX-Sw

(5:20 to 6:20)

Jataro having lost Priest Robot Doctor von Gerolt still lost to the *Demons* and so had to go through Punishment Time like Masaru Daimon. He was dragged away by the Monokuma Kids who had returned and during the struggle his pretty nosy face hidden my his dirty mask was revealed for all to gaze upon... yet neither Shin, Shaman Monokuma, or anyone else present as much as glanced his way before he disappeared being dragged away by the Monokuma Kids.

Shin: "...Shuai."

Shin not even sparing Jataro a thought was fully focused on the opponent before him and along with the surrounding Monokuma army. Beast Monokuma to be exact. A version of Monokuma that crawls on all fours and is noticeable by its grunts, erratic right eye, and red aura of fury enveloping them which had faint traces of magic power. From an outsiders point of view Shin looked like he had hit a dead end. Shin was surrounded by Monokuma, his former comrade stood before him to fight to the death, and his previous use of Spirit Wave had exhausted his strength... but that wasn't how he saw it.

Sure, he was surrounded by Monokuma, but as long as he used Instant Movement and Void Movement it wouldn't be too hard to escape since he had his target of protection Komaru along with his comrades Drake and Sachi hiding nearby. Shin did use all of his Ki by using Spirit Wave, but he had already activated the Life Force Booster around his wrist to restore his energy to full. Life energy through the bracelet was fully restoring his Ki to full at this very moment. There will be a rebound of pain later on, but he had no plans of letting that happen in the company of the enemy.

Shin: (I'll be long gone and back with the others by then. Now, as for Shuai as my sole opponent... we can just call this checkmate here and now.)

That's how Shin saw it from where he stood. It was true that they were both Players of Team Japan but they were far from equals. Shin had been a Player of Team Japan longer than Shaman Monokuma. The points and rank rewards acquired high level for enhancements from God, depth of their Genetic Constraint, and combat experience where all things Shaman Monokuma knew he could never hope to match. Even brainwashed by Izuru Kamukura he knew this.

Shaman Monokuma was standing his ground alongside Gnome, yet clearly he wasn't confident about his chances of victory. From his head sweat constantly streamed down his face and his constantly was shaking in fear. He obviously wasn't confident that he could face Shin alone, much less defeat him. Shaman Monokuma then took a step back in fear. Even under brainwashing to defeat Shin he didn't want to die or get hurt as he could tell Shin wasn't going to hold back. Shin took a step forward in contrast to Shaman Monokuma and his eyes wandered towards Gnome.

Shaman Monokuma saw this and felt his heart clench realizing that Shin was about to swiftly take out Gnome before moving on Shaman Monokuma himself. Gnome felt Shin's killing intent, yet mistaken its target for her master Shuai she stood directly between the two to stop Shin. Seeing Gnome stepping forward to protect him Shaman Monokuma felt ashamed like he has never felt before. His Earth Elemental that took on the appearance of a little girl that he treasured as both his best partner and as a younger sister/daughter of sorts in his heart was ready to take his place and face Shin. This... was all too unacceptable for him!

At that moment Shin felt a change within Shaman Monokuma. His body had calmed down, yet had not let his guard down. His body stopped trembling, the sweating had stopped, and most noticeable for Shin to see the one eye not covered by the half Monokuma mask covering his face went out of focus and the light gone. Shin recognized these as all signs of unlocking the Genetic Constraint and he was immediately assaulted by a kind of pressure from Shuai that he had never thought he would have felt from Shaman Monokuma who had always been like air among the amazing Players of Team Japan.

Shin: "...Sheesh, like I told Hikari don't start displaying such power as soon as you become my enemy!"

Shaman Monokuma: "!"

Shin lunged forward with Instant Movement. The surrounding Monokuma robots took that as a sign to begin their hunt, but they were unable to match his speed... yet Shaman Monokuma could. He lost sight of Shin for an instant, yet in the First Stage of Unlocked Mode he saw the initial signs of jumping forward with Instant Movement and where Shin would most likely reappear. Shin reappeared to the left side of Shuai with a left punch already thrown aiming at his face. When Shaman Monokuma unlocked his constraint Shin prioritized him over Gnome, yet his opponent saw through that as a wall of earth shot up from the ground to block the fist. After unlocking the Genetic Constraint his connection to Gnome reached a new level allowing him to both move more earth and move earth faster. The wall of earth almost instant broke apart under Shin's strength, yet it gave time for the duo to retreat momentarily and start the next attack.

Shaman Monokuma: "HOI, JOSO, KETSU!"

After Shaman Monokuma's incantation a series of purple cubes appeared out of thin air. Most were used to form a staircase of footholds allowing him and Gnome to escape while just three were used to capture Shin. A kekkai barrier manifested to trap Shin's still extended left elbow and his knees to hinder his escape, but they were not set to go off to Shin's surprise. Shaman Monokuma didn't believe such small kekkai cubes could harm Shin with multiple means of defense at his disposal, so he choose to trap him and let the army of Beast Monokuma tear him apart. This plan worked as the horde of Beast Monokuma pounced on Shin as he had his joins locked in place and they piled on top of him, yet-

Shin: "Don't look down on me! Crimson Moon Formation!"

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Loudly yelling out a strange name Shin channeled Ki equal to a full Advance Level Ki into his magic armor, the Lesser Fenrir Coat. The coat changed from a dark grey, to a shade of red, and further into a deep and dark crimson that reminds one of blood. The moon symbol on the back of the coat glowed white and at the same time an energy field wrapped around Shin's body. This was all proof of the ultimate power of the Lesser Fenrir Coat was active. The Monokuma piled high on top of him who were about to tear him apart were blown away in an instant as a mysterious force hit them, and Shin stood there unharmed.

Lesser Fenrir Coat special technique which Shin called Crimson Moon Formation: By channeling one-third of Advance Level Ki into the Lesser Fenrir Coat the durability of the magic that would glow a crimson light could tank or reflect bullets from an anti-material sniper rifle and low level Sci-fi weapons, and also increased the wear's stats by 50% and in a dark area all stats would increase to 75%, allowing him to rival Aqua's stats for thirty seconds. Two-thirds and the ability could last for a full minute. Lastly, poring all of one's Advance Level Ki even showed a more spectacular performance.

When one pours energy into the coat equal to a B tier a change would occur and not just visually. There were three powerful effects that will appear. For one minute all of the wearer's stats would increase by 300%, and 500% under darkness conditions. All C tier and below skills could be used endlessly without the slightest Ki consumption. Lastly, but possibly the greatest ability was a defensive field that wrapped around the wearer and protect them from harm. It reflects most modern and sci-fi weapons, and weakens attacks from magic, spirits, and pure physical strength to a great degree.

Shin: (One minute. One minute I have to end this fight. My Ki is about four times greater than Advance Level Ki now so I can extend its use, but the Ki used for Red Moon Formation is sealed for twenty-four hours. There are more battles today after we make it back to the Resistance Secret Base, so I can't sacrifice more than this!)

Shin turned towards Shaman Monokuma resolved to finish their battle in the next fifty-two seconds. Shaman Monokuma along with Gnome had descended back to the streets of Towa City and separating the two side was a small sea of Beast Monokuma. They were ready to tear Shin limb from limb if he dared approached, yet he gave them no mind as he charged towards the army of Momokuma with Instant Movement. In an instant he appeared before them and the next instant they were turned into scrap metal. Shin didn't have to hold back his use of low level techniques in the slightest in Crimson Moon Formation, so he didn't relent in his massacre of the Monokuma. Using Instant Movement nonstop in his enhanced state he slammed his fist into the metallic bodies of the enemy executing Ki techniques. Soul Crushing Strikes continued to explode one after the other into the Monokuma, Sixty Pound Cannon sword slashes tore the enemy robots in half, and a few were kicked into the air and showed in a hailstorm of Ki emission attacks.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, MONOKUMA KILL. Sixty-five Beast MONOKUMA DESTROYED. AWARDED 650 POINTS!

In less than twenty seconds, the small army of Beast Monokuma were left destroyed as a pile of scrap metal out on the streets outside Towa Tower and Shin's eyes locked onto his sole remaining opponent. Shaman Momokuma was startled by Shin's display of power, yet he didn't cower and ordered Gnome to summon up smokescreen of dirt and sand to obstruct vision. A head on fight was disadvantageous to Shaman Monokuma and only advantageous to Shin, so he chose to hide within the cloud of dirt and wait for a chance to assassinate Shin once his Crimson Moon Formation came to an end.

Shin: (Tch, Shuai certainly knows the strength and weakness of my techniques well enough as a comrade... but he's forgotten how versatile I am!)

Shin believed that he might lose to those like Aqua or Kisara in a straight forward fight, but also knew his greatest strengths laid in the unpredictability of his various means of combat. KI whole body enhancement, One-eye Ghoul mutation, Fist techniques, sword techniques, foot techniques, Ki emission techniques, magic sword, magic armor, Red Moon Formation, Kagune, Kakuja Kagune, Sci-fi weapons, and unlocked up to the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint. Shin was the most versatile warrior of Team Japan and had a depth of combat experience and judgment to survive and overcome any situation. Shin demonstrated this as he dealt with Hacker Monokuma's smokescreen.

Shin raised Gravity Blade over his shoulders as he entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode. His arms expanded three times their size as his hands firmly held the handle of his sword. Then in one swift motion he swung his sword and compressed air blade fly outwardly. The flying sword slash of "One Sword Style, Sixty Pound Cannon" flew straight through the smokescreen of dirt and rocks although it didn't cut anything the slash blew away the thick smokescreen.

Shin: "..."

Shin looked left, right and even above his head, yet he couldn't find Shaman Monokuma after dispersing the smokescreen he created. Shin then natural assumed that along with Gnome Shaman Monokuma hid underground at the last second to avoid his flying sword slash. This counter measure was within Shin's expectations and had Hoped Shuai didn't plan to take his sword technique head on and die.

Shin: "..."

Shin silently waited for Shuai and Gnome to come out and there were now less than twenty seconds left on his Crimson Moon Formation. Like Shin assumed the enemy planned to wait out his technique, yet were still close enough that Shin could feel their presence. He focused his mind to locate the enemy and discovered two presences nearby and took action. Shin returned Gravity to one of the Na Ring and raised both hands aimed towards two different directions. The green energy of Ki formed around the palms of his hands and begun to craft two weightless Ki bullets and they were launched. Two Far Bullets existing outside the physical realm were released and slipped into the earth without resistance and only came to a stop after impacting two being possessing magic energies within their beings.

Shin was certain that he had accurately hit both Shaman Monokuma and Gnome, and he didn't need wait any longer for a confrontation. Knowing they couldn't hide from Shin even underground the enemy went on the offensive. Shin took back a step as an earth spear erupted from the ground where he once stood. His danger perception in Unlocked Mode borderlined on the paranormal and following his instincts he zigzagged on top of the streets of Towa City as if he was dancing to a song. The scene looked ridiculous for those that saw him but soon more earth spears shot up to the surface and followed after him. His bizarre footsteps were for the sake of avoiding the earth spears that constantly erupted to the surface to skewer him alive and although he wouldn't be harmed in Red Moon Formation he didn't take any chances.

Shin: (An enemy that can control the earth... the very surface that we all stand on is a frightening ability to say the least and Shuai has just unlock his Genetic Constraint. I'm safe from small attacks like these, but if they slow me down and give Shuai and Gnome the time to use a big technique like a bottomless cavern or a throw a mountain sized rock at me it would be all too easy for him to break the threshold of my defensive armor.)

Shin thought so as he danced around the earth spears continuously trying to impale him and that when he saw something shine in the corner of his eye. Shin turned his head to the right and saw that Shaman Monokuma had resurfaced and pointing the muzzle of the M41A-M Pulse Rifle at him, but there was more. The pulse rifle was being cradled in his right arm and held in the hand of his left hand was a whitish/blue orb that Shin recognized as the Mercenary Soul he received from God.

Shaman Monokuma: "Mercenary Soul into the pulse rifle!"

Shuai pushed the Mercenary Soul into the M41A-M Pulse Rifle which now began glow with the light of Spiritual Power, or Furyoku from its original world of Shaman King. A transparent whitish/blue flame of Spiritual Power enveloped the pulse rifle and strange runes were painted onto the surface. This was Shaman Monokuma's most powerful weapon the M41A-M Pulse Rifle OS (Over Soul).

\- *BANG*!

Three shots that Shin couldn't dodge in time impacted his body and blew him back over twenty meters. Shin was unharmed by the sudden gun shots, yet the barrier from Red Moon Formation protecting him visibly shook under the impact as if it was about to shatter. The M41A-M Pulse Rifle OS in Shaman Monokuma's hands held just that much power and was comparable to a rapid fire C tier Sci-fi gun according to Team Japan's test within the Terminal Lobby, yet it also had strong magic attributes unlike a Sci-fi weapon.

Shin knew even in Red Moon Formation he couldn't allow himself to become Shaman Monokuma's punching bag. The next volley of shots from the M41A-M Pulse Rifle OS arrived, yet Shin in time managed to sidestep with Instant Movement. Shaman Monokuma continuously fired shots with the OS and Shin was forced to avoid however he could with Instant Movement and Void Movement. Shin wanted to approach, yet one stray bullet while moving at high speed would knock him to the ground and turn him into an easy target for the enemy.

Shin: (This is hardm That gun is no joke and I can't take a very serious offensive as I don't want to kill him. What can I do before... wait! Why is he attacking me now before Red Moon Formation ends? There's still ten seconds left till I'm exposed and vulnerable which would have been the best time for him to-)

Shin's thinking speed in Unlocked Mode was extremely fast and in less than a second the answer came to him. Shin simply asked himself why would Shaman Momokuma would take the risk... what was so important to him that he had to appear before him and fight it out before Crimson Moon Formation came to a end. Once Shin did that the answer magically popped into his head and he acted on this possibility. Shin focused some of his Ki into his eyes and scanned the area... and found it near the entrance of Towa Tower. Shin then sprinted off with Instant Movement away from Shaman Momokuma and towards an empty space and he took notice of that and panicked. Shaman Monokuma knew he couldn't catch up to Shin in time, so he steadied his OS and readied for his ultimate attack.

The previous pulse rifle had an attached grenade launcher and after becoming an OS this weapon evolved. Shaman Momokuma never told Shin or his other comrades about this weapon due to it draining most of his Spiritual Power after just one use, yet for him, now was not the time to hesitate. Shaman Momokuma flipped a switched of the OS gun and the muzzle of the gun morphed in shape and began to expand. From inside the muzzle electricity began to spark and a second later there was a bright flash and bang that disoriented Shaman Momokuma, yet within Unlocked Mode and resolved to stop Shin he didn't dare miss his aim.

\- *BOOM*!

The M41A-M Pulse Rifle OS's ultimate attack, Sonic Burst, was unleashed. The sheer force of the recoil blew Shaman Momokuma off his feet and crashed into the ground behind him breaking an arm, yet he succeeded. As Shin neared his target a while light came crashing into him and blew him away into the air and smashing through one of the walls of the upper floors of Towa Tower. Shaman Momokuma didn't bother to check if Shin had died as he swiftly moved towards the entrance of the tower.

Once there he saw his important partner Gnome lying on the floor near unconscious clutching her stomach while rooted to the floor. Gnome was seriously injured after being hit by Shin's Far Bullet. She had immediately attacked Shin in retaliation with earth spears till her master took over, but that was just a ploy to use the last of the Earth Elementals strength to trick Shin into believing she was just fine. From there Gnome hid herself in an intangible state by the front entrance of Towa Tower to while rooted to the floor to recover, yet Shin discovered her with eyes heavily reinforced with Ki.

Shaman: "..."

Shin: "I'm not one to say this, but you shouldn't turn your back away during a fight!"

\- *BANG*!

Shin with his dark Grey magic armor coat in tatters looked down at his comrade looking after Gnome and then without emitting killing intent aimed his Sci-fi handgun Devil Sealed Gun at the head of the distracted Shaman Monokuma and opened fire. Devil sealed power was comparable to the Gauss Pistol and had the power to completely blow off enemy's head from his shoulders, yet that is not what happened as he expected. The Summoner's Ring of Earth around the right index finger of Shaman Monokuma activated.

The magic ring normally raised his ability to utilize Gnome, yet Shin knew that it had a secondary function to protect the holder's life. It allowed for the contracted familiar, pet, or elemental of the holder take one fatal attack for them and that's what happened now. The powerful bullet of Devil that should have blown off Shaman Monokuma's head was blocked by a light yellow barrier around his body and simultaneously Gnome's body blew apart as she was recalled back into her world. Shaman Monokuma was momentarily confused/in shock, yet the next second he grew furious as he turned around to face his Shin staring down from the third floor of Towa Tower.

Shaman Monokuma raised his pulse rifle at Shin with one good arm with much difficulty, but he knew that it wouldn't help much. The M41A-M Pulse Rifle OS had reverted to its normal form having run out of Spiritual Power used up in his final attack. Shaman Momokuma no longer had its trump card, Earth Elemental, or energy to strengthen his body. Still, he wouldn't forgive Shin for defeating his partner Gnome and was prepared to fight to the bitter end, yet that ending came too soon.

Shaman Monokuma opened fire with the pulse rifle as soon as Shin's body began to glow with a silver light, but the bullet flew past where he stood as he disappeared with Instant Movement and the next moment Shaman Monokuma's M41A-M Pulse Rifle was knocked out of his hands and then felt something impact his chest. A silver knife had been stabbed into his heart, yet surprisingly there was no pain. In fact Shaman Monokuma, no Shuai for the first time for a long time could his thoughts becoming less dark and his original personality returning to the surface as a silver light enveloped his own body freeing him from Izuru Kamukura Psyche Force brainwashing.

Shin: "...I'm glad and all that you became so powerful, but why the hell only now did you do so? That last attack actually broke through Red Moon Formation you know. If I hadn't used Silver Dragon Scales to protect my body I would had died."

Shuai: "...I'll forgive for Gnome under the circumstances, but it serves you right. I haven't forgotten about that punch from before."

Shin: "Fuck! You actually remembered that-"

But before Shin could get another word in, Shuai had vanished into thin air. Similar to Hikari when she was defeated, Shuai was removed from the Mission World by God per the rules. Shin was still ticked off at Shuai for giving him such a hard time, yet was more so satisfied having saved one more of his important comrades while also defeating his second member of the Warrior of Hope, Jataro Kemuri with little difficulty. Shin finally let out a breath of relief having won against all odds and without anyone dying, picked up the fallen M41A-M Pulse Rifle, and began to walk back where Komaru, Drake, and Sachi were waiting to finally begin their journey to climb Towa Tower.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, TEAM JAPAN GENOCIDE. 7,000 POINTS AND B RANK AWARDED TO BOTH PLAYERS.


	178. Chapter 178

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 18, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

After defeating Jataro of the Warriors of Hope and the brainwashed Shuai, Shin left to regroup with his comrades. Komaru, Drake, and Sachi did not have to wait too long for him to return as the battle only lasted for a few minutes, yet when they saw Shin return they were shocked by his appearance. It looked as if he had just returned from war zone and had been battered by a storm. His clothes were tattered and he was wounded all over. Even his magic armor Lesser Fenrir Coat was barely hanging onto him torn apart (It has self repair, so it will be back to normal soon), yet he didn't make a big deal out of it and urged the group to quickly climb Towa Tower before any more trouble came their way.

So Shin, Komaru, Drake, and Sachi started to make their way towards Towa Tower and passing the mayhem that resulted from Shin's battle with the Warriors of Hope and his brainwashed comrade. The remains for the robot Monokuma and the Priest Robot of Jataro were scattered all across the streets in front of the tower. There were also large craters and earth spikes all over the place. Shin's comrades all looked at him who came out with so few injuries like he had and thought him a monster, but Shin pretended not to notice and looked the other way.

The group carefully walked through the scrapyard of defeated robots and entered Towa Tower. The inside of the tower was still filled with smoke and fire, but Sachi swiftly turned the sprinkler system back on to extinguish the flames and electronically opened up all the windows to the tower to clear out the smoke. Ten minutes later there was still a burning smell within the tower, but now it was safe to travel through. Next Sachi went to work on starting up the elevator so they could ascend the tower, but Shin found that idea to slow so he decided to go another route. Shin summoned his Kagune and wrapped the blood red tentacles around his comrades and then jumped up the tower with Void Movement.

Along the way as Shin climbed the tower holding on to everyone with his Kagune he saw something that he wished that he hadn't. It was one among many corpses lying about within Towa Tower, yet he recognized the corpse of this adult male. It was the mangled body of Taichi Fujisaki is a character featured in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. He is a Target for the Warriors of Hope's Demon Hunting.

Taichi is the father of Chihiro Fujisaki and the closest person to him, which is why he became a Captive for Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc's first motive. Taichi raised Chihiro to be a great computer expert like himself, and after Chihiro was sent off to Hope's Peak Academy, Taichi continued his normal life. Taichi was captured by the Ultimate Despair and became a Captive for Monokuma's first motive in the Mutual Killing incident of Class 78. He was apparently enclosed in an apartment just like the other Captives. He was later freed, only to become one of the people targeted by the Warriors of Hope. After becoming a Target, he went into hiding as the Monokuma Kids and Monokumas were after him.

Taichi is found by Komaru and Toko in the fourth floor of Towa Tower while he was busy with his laptop (which he picked up at the city's electronics store), in an attempt to find a way to remove his wristband. He accidentally surprised Toko, making her fall from the stairs. When the situation calmed down, Taichi confessed that he was hiding from the kids. After finding out that Komaru is a Target as well, he felt sorry and apologized to her because he couldn't program something to remove the wristband sooner and they can't be saved as long as they had their wristbands. Komaru denied his apology because they would contact the Future Foundation for help. Komaru explained her goal to Taichi, and he understood and knew that the elevator wouldn't move. When Komaru said it needed a specific card, he couldn't really talk freely about it. He wanted to offer his help to move the elevator since he was an architect of security system programs in the place, but he was reluctant because there's no way Komaru and Toko would want help from a stranger. After Komaru insisted and continued to ask for his help him, he finally agreed to help them.

After reaching the elevator, Taichi found out that the elevator had the newest security system. When he just barely started to hack the system, Junk Monokumas appeared, forcing Komaru and Toko to cover the man until he finished his task. After the Monokumas were defeated, Taichi successfully activated the elevator. He was really thankful to Komaru and Toko because he finally started to see a ray of hope - if the connection ended up being good, the Future Foundation would come to aid them for sure. Unfortunately, when the elevator finally opened, a Beast Monokuma emerged, attacking the girls and fatally injuring Taichi's chest. After the defeat of the Monokumas, a dying Taichi apologized to Komaru and Toko for not being able to accompany them until they reach the top, but he was sure that the girls would be fine. He proceeded to tell them that he has a child around their age, but they got separated from the time being and his last regret is that he couldn't see his child nor do anything for his sake. Taichi died shortly after saying these words and Komaru and Toko were left speechless.

Komaru then found a handbook near Taichi's body. Inside the handbook, Komaru saw a photo of him and his child. Toko then realized that Taichi was the father of Chihiro Fujisaki, a classmate and one of the participants of the Killing Game of 78th Class that didn't survive the game. Komaru mourned the man who sacrificed himself for them, but quickly decided to keep moving forward, and Toko agreed.

Shin knew that Taichi would be in hiding within Towa Tower as he had the same idea to call for help and prove that he could be useful, but he died uneventfully. Shin could imagine that during the chaos caused by his group setting the inside of the tower on fire and filling it with on smoke He was crushed to death by Monokuma robots as they stampeded outside. Shin didn't feel too bad that he caused Taichi's death due to his actions as he was originally destined to die, yet he didn't dare mention this fact to Komaru. Komaru helped with the preparations to start the fire, so she was responsible for his death just as much as Drake, Sachi and himself. She couldn't knowingly sacrificing another person for her own survival, and so-

Shin: (...Some things are better left unsaid. This isn't even her sin to carry after all.)

Using the combination of Void Movement and Kagune, Shin carried Komaru, Drake, and Sachi all the way to the top floor of Towa Tower. The top floor of the tower was the observation deck which should be high enough to be outside the range of Towa Hill's jamming signal. They could now finally use the wireless device acquired from Shirokuma to call Future Foundation. Komaru was the most enthusiastic about contacting Future Foundation for help and hurried the others along to make the call... but of course she herself didn't know how to make the call and so she turned back to the others.

Shin took out the transmission device that was being kept safe within one of the two Na Rings and laid it out on a open desk within the observation deck. Between the three false members of Future Foundation Drake (A exiled priest who spent most of his life in intense training to develop his abilities) and Sachi (Had no interest in helping), so Shin was selected to set up the device. Shin was no expert with computers and especially high tech communication tools like the one in front of him, yet using a few things he picked up from his internationally wanted hacker girlfriend he eventually found his way around with some mild difficulty after a few minutes.

Komaru: "Shin how's it going? Do you need help?"

Shin: "Ah... I'm fine. As a member of Future Foundation I can obviously get this thing set up to make the call. Besides that, Komaru do you remember what I told you?"

Komaru: "Yes. Your mission to infiltrate Towa City to investigate was originally a secret, so I'm not to mention Drake, Sachi, or you by name or address you while I make the call. If anyone asked who is helping you just say it's one of the agents who came along with Byakuya Togami, is that right?"

Shin: "Yes. Most members of Future Foundation knew that something was going on in Towa City, but not exactly what. It's best not to complicate things when your asking for help. Is that understood?"

Komaru: "Yes."

Shin was happy Komaru bought his lie and although he felt a little bad about it, it was necessary. Sometimes during missions assigned to teams by God they would have assigned identities to fit within the plot. For Shin such a instance only occurred during his last mission within Hunter X Hunter when he was made a special player of Greed Island, and within the current mission of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode there was no such identity to fall back on.

Shin, Drake, and Sachi introduced themselves as members of Future Foundation similarly to Toko Fukawa (Only a intern) from the original plot, but unlike her it was a complete lie, yet a lie that couldn't be disproven by anyone within Towa City with the exception of the captured Byakuya Togami. He was not here, so the only other way for Shin and the others to be exposed would be during the call to Future Foundation at this time, and so they told Komaru a excuse as to why their names and faces wouldn't come up.

Shin finally finished setting up the transmission device and along with Sachi and Drake stepped to the side so when the video transmission goes through the person to the other end won't see them.

Shin: "...Alright, here you go. It's all set up, so we can only now wait for someone to pick up the transmission. For now just keep calling out for help."

Komaru: "Okay. Hello! Can you here me? Someone, please respond! Can you here me. Hey, answer! Can anyone hear me!? I beg you... Please, answer me!"

Shin: "Komaru, don't worry. Let's give it another few minutes before we start to-"

?: "He...lllo... Hello... This is... Foundation... This is Future Foundation..."

Komaru: "Hello! Can you hear me!?

?: "We can hear... you... Loud... and clear... This is Future Foundation... Branch... Number... Branch Number 14... Makoto... Naegi..."

Komaru: "Makoto!"

Makoto: "..Huh? K-Komaru!?"

From there it was a moving scene between a younger sister and her older brother. Once Komaru confirmed that the person on the other end was truly her brother Makoto Naegi who she was separated from she shed tears of joy. Komaru deep down had believed that Makoto had died and was happy to see him. Komaru then asked about their parents, but neither of them knew where they currently were. Komaru hearing Makoto's reply fell into depression and began to assume they were dead, but the optimistic Ultimate Hope Makoto Naegi reassured her that it was too soon to give up Hope which lifted her spirits.

Shin: (So this the Ultimate Lucky Student/Hope Makoto Naegi. He doesn't sound like the confident type and is just as sad as Komaru, yet I can feel it. He's a man who won't fall into despair no matter what due to the Hope within him that allowed him to overcome True Ultimate Despair Junko Enoshima.)

Standing behind the transmission device along with Drake and Sachi I recalled what I knew about Makoto Naegi. Makoto Naegi is the main protagonist and sole playable character of Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. Makoto has the title of Ultimate Lucky Student, though he appears to have both bad and good luck. Later, his title became Ultimate Hope, due to his unusual optimism and ability to spread hope.

Makoto has a rather short and thin build. He has spiky, desaturated brown hair with a prominent ahoge, and washed-out hazel eyes. He wears a zipped-up dull green hoodie with a red stripe along the zipper, an open black jacket with gold buttons over the hoodie, black jeans, and red sneakers with white toes. Makoto's hoodie has a logo of a red gas mask in a circle printed on the back of the hood, and the zipper goes all the way up to the top of the hood. He wears a pin shaped like a four-pointed star overlaid on a crescent moon; this is pinned to the lapel of his jacket. After joining the Future Foundation, Makoto is seen wearing a black suit.

According to himself, Makoto is a very ordinary person, to the point that he feels a bit insecure about it. His most distinguishing feature is his unusual optimism. Makoto is very supportive and forgiving, though sometimes slightly naive. He is friendly, polite and a lot more down-to-earth than the other students. This is possibly the reason why he is capable of approaching and befriending them in Free Time sequences, even the most antisocial such as Byakuya Togami and Toko Fukawa.

Junko Enoshima refers to Makoto as a "herbivore man", which means that he is likely to be the passive one in a relationship; this is reinforced in his conversation with others. However, despite the fact that he is sometimes a bit of a pushover, he is also capable of being a very determined and charismatic speaker.

Makoto is a firm believer in Hope, having a positive attitude about the future, no matter the bad situation in the present, which has helped him and his friends survive the School Life of Mutual Killing. Similarly he dislikes Despair, believing it to be a corrupting and negative emotion which cannot benefit the world. However, as shown in Danganronpa 2, he is forgiving towards those who fell into despair, such as the Remnants of Despair, believing them to be victims of Junko Enoshima. However, he dislikes Junko Enoshima, believing her to be the True Ultimate Despair.

During the events of Dangan Ronpa 1, Makoto Naegi was a part of the 78th Class of Hope's Peak Academy and was a part of Junko's Mutual Killing School Game. With each death of a classmate their was a class trial that decided everyone's fate and he aa the main character solved the mysteries of each trial (First three didn't actually need him though). After five class trials had passed and reached the final sixth chapter of the game Makoto along with his remaining classmates confronted the mastermind of the School of Mutual Killing Junko Enoshima and ultimately defeated her and escapes Hope's Peak Academy with the other survivors.

Shin: (As for Another Episode Makoto wasn't all that important, yet AI Junko's purpose for these events might have just been a reminder for Makoto not to remain a bystander. Ultimately, Makoto never came to Komaru's rescue in Towa City as he was worried about the captured Byakuya, and in the end this came at a steep cost. Komaru came incredibly close to dying countless times and falling into Despair from Monaca Towa's plot. Also, there was a very high chance that his parents were alive till just recently, but were then executed by Monaca. Makoto came too close to losing everything, so he promised himself to never stand back again just because of danger... yet this ultimately lead to AI Junko and the original Izuru Kamukura being able to trap and force him to join the School Trip of Mutual Killing at the end of Dangan Ronpa 2.)

Shin finished recalling what he knew about Komaru's older brother Makoto Naegi and returned his attention towards the call to Future Foundation. Komaru and Makoto talked about a few things like The Tragedy, his time during the School of Mutual Killing, defeating the mastermind Junk and then escaping Hope's Peak Academy alongside his friends, and from there how the outside world is and eventually join Future Foundation and are fighting against the Remnants of Despair who are still trying to spread Despair across the world. How the they are trying to recover from the damages caused by Junko. Komaru hearing all of this was moved by the stories Makoto told and thought he was amazing since he confronted the object of his Despair while she originally gave up and would have even stopped trying to escape without Shin, Sachi, and Drake protecting her by her side.

From there Komaru informed Makoto of the massacre game, Demons Hunting, played by the Warriors of Hope. She told him how she was being chased by some weird kids and had the Monokuma Bracelet that was a bomb placed around her neck. Makoto was startled hearing that Komaru was taking part in a death game like he had once been a part of and asked for more details and form bits and pieces of information he figured out that along with Komaru the main targets of the Demon Hunting game were the first "Motives" from the events of Dangan Ronpa 1.

Komaru: "Things are just so... messed up here. Makoto! Please hurry up and get over here! Because of this wristband, I can't get out of Towa City. If I even somehow manage to escape without permission, it'll blow up! Future Foundation can remove it, can't they? So please, come and save me!" the

Makoto: "Komaru... Sorry I can't. "

Komaru: "...Huh?"

From there Makoto told Komaru the reason why he and even Future Foundation couldn't come to her rescue. The Warriors of Hope had taken members of Future Foundation as hostages, so Future Foundation couldn't come to her aid without risking their lives. Shin noticed that in the original plot it was Toko who explained this to Komaru and so Makoto had to do so, yet he heard a interesting fact that was not within the original game. The Warriors of Hope had sent a list of hostages from Future Foundation and listed were the names Byakuya Togami and Toko Fukawa. Shin hearing this realized this was the change in plot that Team Japan to take the supporting role of helping Komaru Naegi through Towa City that was originally Toko's job.

Komaru: "Makoto, please! Can't you-"

Makoto: "Sorry Komaru, but I can't. As long as Byakuya and Toko are...*SIZZLE*!"

Komaru: "M-Makoto!"

Makoto: "Ko.. maru..."

And like that the video transmission came to a end. Komaru in a panic kept calling out to her brother Makoto, yet no matter how much she yelled her voice couldn't reach him. Like in the original plot Sage Nagisa Shingetsu of the Warriors of Hope must have noticed that someone was making a call to contact for help outside the City, and so he put a stop to it by scrambling the signal. Then it happened. As Komaru was beginning to Despair over the disconnected transmission a change occurred within the observational floor of Towa Tower. Steel shutters came down to block the windows and the room immediately went dark as the lights were shut off.

Shin: "Tch, what a cheap trick! Like shutting off the lights would hinder me."

Sachi: "I agree. For an assassin, it's a natural thing to be able to move about within the darkness."

Drake: "Well sorry for being normal, but I can't deal as well with the dark like you two."

Komaru: "Shin! Everyone! What about my call with Makoto?"

Shin: "Sorry Komaru, but we won't be able to contact them again. We were found out contacting the outside, so they made a move to stop us and are now trapping us within this darkness."

Drake: "What should we do leader? Travel back down Towa Tower like this?"

Shin: "Huh? What nonsense are you talking about? Moving around in this darkness and going back down the tower is too dangerous. I'll rather just run down the outside of the tower while carrying all of you."

As Shin said this he channeled Ki towards the pupils of his eyes which enabled him to see somewhat through the darkness of the observational floor of the tower. Shin could see a few Monokuma and Monokuma Kids around getting ready to set the maze for Komaru to follow like in the game, yet he gave them no mind as he set his eyes on the far wall. Knowing that there were no major event to occur within Towa Tower after making the call to Makoto Naegi, Shin didn't feel that there was any reason to follow the plot and make their way down the tower the way the Monokuma Kids intended.

Shin walked towards one of the wall of the observational floor and hearing his footsteps moving away Komaru, Drake, and Sachi followed closely behind him. Once they reached the wall Shin placed his hand bare against it. The wall was made of reinforced steel and the surrounding windows were covered by steal shutters, but Shin could only laugh at such a obstacle that obstructed his path. Shin raised his left hand and tightening it into a fist and activating Silver Dragon Scales, he threw out a punch towards the wall with another Ki technique. Soul Crushing Strike detonated on contact with the wall with a sonic boom and blowing a large hole through the wall which let in fresh air and the light of the sun from outside the sealed Towa Tower. Walking through the hole Shin created, his group discovered that there was a walkway outside leading to a emergency staircase leading down Towa Tower. From there they safely traveled down as far as they could, and then relying on Shin to carry them down back to the ground below.


	179. Chapter 179

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 19, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Within the headquarters of the Warriors of Hope, Towa Hills, the wailing of a girl sobbing uncontrollably could be heard throughout the building. Within a certain room of Towa Hills a pink haired girl, Kotoko Utsugi was crying uncontrollable at the knees of a girl with green haired in a wheelchair. This girl, Monaca Towa, a few seconds ago looked innocent as she purposefully provoked Kotoko with a certain word that causes her to go into a emotional fit, but now her eyes had turned cold and void of all emotion as she reached out to her "friend" Kotoko and began to repeatedly punch her across the face while speaking with a gentle voice that hid a deep madness.

Monaca: "Ah, oh no! "Gentle", is a trigger word for you Kotoko, wasn't it? Oh dear, those Demons are the worst, doing this to poor Kotoko... Honestly why... why are they so unaware of so many things? Unaware of their own foolishness! Ugliness! Harmfulness! Stench! Worthlessness... really, even when their lives end, only hell is waiting for them. Ah, it's because they're so... unaware that they've defaced Kotoko like this. When they once took turns to... Beep and... beep.. and... But it's okay now... Monaca here won't be kind to you."

Monaca said all these kind, yet disturbing words to Kotoko as she repeatedly kept punching her till her hands were stained in her blood. She then finally stopped while gazing at her stained hands. There was no joy at the sight of blood for her, yet she intently watched it drip off her finger tips for some time until Kotoko had recovered enough to speak.

Kotoko: "Demons are... demons are nothing but dirty, smelly, ugly lumps of rotten flesh! Garbage that doesn't have the right to exist. Demons as filthy looking as them should all die equally filthy deaths! Demons... Demons should have their throats packed with their own shit and choke on it! They should endure, endure, endure, endure, endure, and just endure until their intestines explode and die!"

The one among the Warriors of Hope with the greatest hatred and reason for hating "Demon", was the pink haired girl screaming her lungs out in front of Monaca, who was looking down at her with twisted joy. Kotoko Utsugi. Kotoko Utsugi is a character featured in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. Kotoko is one of the five members of the Warriors of Hope, in charge of the "Fighter" class. She has the title of Li'l Ultimate Drama from her time within the affiliated elementary school of Hope's Peak Academy.

Kotoko is a hot-headed girl who loves "adorbs" things. She collects them and seems even slightly obsessed with the concept. Kotoko also has an odd speech pattern as she often starts to list off-topic facts she finds interesting in the middle of conversation. Sometimes they're vaguely related to the topic (for example, if the topic is too long speeches, she starts to talk about how things like elephant's nose and giraffe necks are also too long(LOL the dirty joke)). Even still, her speech is clear and focused, unlike in the case of Jataro Kemuri who consistently talked nonsense. Kotoko acts cheerful, polite and happy, however, she is mentioned to have a bullying nature and she can be very mean and cruel. She is very mean to Jataro, even more than the others are, and she likes to tease Nagisa Shingetsu. However, she constantly tries to stay on Monaca Towa's good side and praises her a lot.

Kotoko seemingly loved her stage life, but she doesn't like to talk about it and considers it a thing far in the past. She was pampered a lot and now has quite strict, demanding personality. She also has a habit of curtsying and being rather dramatic, which also hints at her past as an actress. It's actually heavily implied that a lot of Kotoko's behavior is just an act and, being the former Li'l Ultimate Drama, she is very skilled at acting. The official art-book implies that her "cutesy" personality might be a front created as a coping mechanism and she herself mentions that she has to keep acting or else she becomes miserable.

Kotoko was born and raised in Towa City. She was a child prodigy and a famous child actor whose father was a dentist. When she was about 10 years old, her parents prostituted her off to producers where she was repeatedly xxxxxx by them. Her mother did it out of a twisted form of parental love and prostituted herself alongside Kotoko as a "mother and daughter set", believing that this was in her daughter's best interests and that it would help further Kotoko's career, making her "sparkle forever" and have the spotlight. Kotoko's mother saw youth as a great, horrifying power, and one that should be used to your advantage when you still could. She didn't care if Kotoko and the society would hate her, as she believed that her actions were completely right. As a result of the trauma, Kotoko ended up developing a breakdown trigger to the word "gentle", a euphemism the producers had used to describe their xxxx.

Kotoko wanted to be a normal child. She didn't want to "sparkle", but she endured it all and didn't complain for the sake of her mother, because making her mother cry would've hurt Kotoko the most. Kotoko's father, on the other hand, used the money they gained for his own benefit, was cheating on his wife with his dental hygienist and overall didn't seem to care about his family at all. Kotoko was also part of Hope's Peak Elementary School and she was put on the class of troublemakers along with Monaca Towa, Nagisa Shingetsu, Jataro Kemuri and Masaru Daimon.

Due to her trauma caused by sexual abuse, Kotoko triggers to the word "gentle", as the men who abused her had said they would be "gentle". When she hears this word, she becomes neurotic, and begins crying and screaming in fear, unable to calm herself down except when somebody tells her that they will not be gentle with her.

Although Kotoko was on the verge of committing suicide along with the others, Junko Enoshima appeared and convinced the children that the adults were wrong and that they should create a paradise for children. Shortly afterward, she murdered her parents. She tells Komaru that she does not regret it, and that they should have died many more times for what they did to her or allowed to happen to her. Kotoko was nearly executed by Monokuma Kids in chapter 3, after she lost her fight against Komaru Naegi and Toko Fukawa, but she was rescued by Genocide Jack. She survived the riots with the other Warriors of Hope's members at the end of the game.

Monaca: "Oh, come on! Kotoko! That's dirty!"

Nagisa: "You two what are you doing?!"

Monaca: "Ah, it's Shingetsu!"

Barging into to the room now was the blue haired and well dressed member and sole remaining male of the Warriors of Hope, Nagisa Shingetsu. He was busy with the Warriors of Hope's preparations for turning Towa City into their paradise for kids, yet seeing his comrades not working he came rushing in upset.

Nagisa: "This isn't the time to be playing around! I told you we have a lot of work to do here!"

Kotoko: "Oh my, could it be that Nagisa is jealous of us?"

Nagisa: "W-What are you saying? Why must I be jealous of..."

Kotoko: "It's not like I'm jealous of "you". Is that how you want to explain yourself?"

Nagisa: "Like I said that's not it at all!"

Monaca: "Hey, hey. What do you mean by, "jealous"?"

Kotoko: "Kyaa, you're so innocent and cute, Monaca-chan. I want to just put sweet whipped cream on you and eat you up."

Monaca: "Ahaha, I don't get it! Hey, more importantly, what's happened to make you busy?"

Nagisa: "Ah, yes, I received a message from the Monokuma Kids I sent on reconnaissance just now that small group Demons were transmitting from Towa Tower after they defeated Jataro."

Kotoko: Could it be they're contacting the Demon's secret base, Future Foundation? If so, this is serious. What if they've finally decided to move in on the city?"

Nagisa: "No, it's not an issue. I immediately strengthened the jamming waves and scrambled their transmission. Anyways, we have a hostage, so Future Foundation won't make a move. In fact I thought of a good plan. A plan to use those Demons running around to wipe out the other free-roaming Demons in hiding."

Kotoko: "You mean the Resistance?"

Nagisa: "Yes. As long as they're around, we can't complete our paradise. This is our golden chance to purify the city in one move."

Monaca: "Amazing, amazing! I don't really get it, but amazing! Nagisa! That's quite an achievement!"

There Monaca rolled over her wheelchair and hugged Nagisa. Nagisa had a crush on her, so he turned bright red with embarrassment and didn't no what to do being so young.

Nagisa: "Monaca... hey!"

Monaca: "Hm? What's wrong?"

Nagisa: "N-Nothing, but y-you're... a bit too close."

Monaca: "Ahaha, you get embarrassed easily Nagisa, but if that plan of yours succeeds we'll really be able to finally complete our paradise. When we do, the "Warriors of Hope" will level up to Saviors of Hope! Hm, as expected of our new leader. I'll be counting on you and continue to have "high expectations" of you."

Monaca praised Nagisa while also using his key word, "High Expectations". It was the opposite of Kotoko's "Gentle" which inspired fear within her and relapsed back to her trauma, but all the same it was a word closely related to his own trauma. His parents the source of his Despair continued to say they had "High Expectations" of Nagisa and now feared that those around him would no longer expect things from him, so for Monaca to say she had expectations for him, Nagisa grew excited and resolved himself to not let Monaca, the girl that he also had a crush on down.

Nagisa: "Y-Yeah, you're right... Please have high expectations for me! I won't let you down."

Monaca: "Hm, good! Hey, did you hear that? We'll be able to complete our peaceful paradise where children can smile forever soon. Hey, you heard, right? Kurokuma? Oh, right... you can talk now."

As Monaca called out to this individual all three members of the Warriors of Hope turned their heads towards a far wall of the room. On that side of the wall was a grand chair that wouldn't be found odd to find in a throne room of a castle and sitting on this chair was a Monokuma Robot. Not the regular white one side and black the other side, but black on one side and dark grey on the other instead of white, and also has a red slash for a left eye, and an evil, stretched grin. On this Monokuma's head was a dark grey fedora hat with a white feather sticking out of it. In addition it had a eyepatch, tie, gold teeth, a cigar and other accessories that stood out. This strange Monokuma had stayed silent and motionless for a long time as dust had covered the surface of its body, yet not given the okay to speak up it began to stir into life with moment and spoke up.

Kurokuma: "...Whew, I can finally talk! Finally! WRYYYYY–! This is the greatest high–"

A few hours later.

Kurokuma: "So... Jimi Hendrix came to my live show! Three times, even! Well, that was in my dreams, though! Say, did you think I was still talking? That's right, you bet I'm still talking! By the way, when is that meat banquet in the hellish pond of blood starting? It's going to be the event of the century! I'm going even if you pawn my wife! Yahoo–! Hooray for massacre! Ma-ssa-cre! 3-7-5-6-4! Hoo! What a wonderful phrase! It's a magic phrase blessed by the gods! It sounds as great as Nakatomi no Kamatari; I can't stop this swelling in my chest! Gyaaahahahaha–! So, about Jimi Hendrix-"

The surrounding Warriors of Hope had fed up looks on their face as they listened to this annoying Monokuma ramble on and on about pointless things for hours on end. This Monokuma that they had kept silent for good reason was named Kurokuma. Kurokuma is a character featured in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. Kurokuma is an all black version of Monokuma. He is the advisor of the Warriors of Hope. He specializes in Machine Gun Talk. Kurokuma has a gangster-like, obscene personality. He swears often and has impatient, immature nature. He is very immoral and has a rather dark, vulgar sense of humor. Some of his jokes are references and more clever, while others are simply immature or just bizarre.

He is incredibly noisy and he loves to talk, to the point that all the other characters find him very annoying. He can speak extremely fast and sometimes it's even impossible to understand him. He claims that talking is his whole purpose in life and he would die if he stayed silent for too long. He is very arrogant and self-centered, and is the only one who finds himself even remotely funny. He believes he's a very talented rapper and entertainer, which is obviously not the case. His thought process often leads to tangents about his "dream life", such as having legions of fans and being so famous that Jimi Hendrix attends his concerts.

He is also very brash and disrespectful, even towards people he just met. He isn't above cheap insults or provoking. He appears to enjoy annoying Nagisa Shingetsu the most, most likely because of the boy's strict personality. He makes fun of the Servant by implying that he's homosexual in a mocking fashion and he calls Toko Fukawa "emo-chick" and insults her simply for having glasses. He is also quite perverted and disrespectful towards pretty girls. He doesn't seem to have any respect for anyone, with Monaca Towa possibly being the only exception, as he seems to feel some admiration and pride for her evil nature. Kurokuma can be put in the "silent mode" by order, and the Warriors of Hope prefer him to stay that way. Only Monaca seems to have the power to do this.

It is revealed at the very end of the game, that Kurokuma as well as Shirokuma are actually the AI of Junko Enoshima. As part of the AI, he seems to represents the haughty and aggressive personalities. In the epilogue, it is revealed that both Kurokuma and Shirokuma are part of the AI Junko putting adults and children against each other in their agenda to spread despair. Both robots are then destroyed by Izuru to salvage their hard-drives for their AI for the sake of the future School Trip of Mutual Killing.

Nagisa: "Hey, how long are you going to keep talking?"

Kurokuma: "Don't stop me! I'll kill you! My fans will kill you dead! Or should I make you love me?! You won't see me helping an old lady stuck at a pedestrian crossing! Goddamn, this bastard must be an OB to get in the way of my witty talk! An otherworldly (O) buffoon (B), that is! Gyaaahahaha!"

Monaca: "...Never mind. You should be quiet after all."

Kurokuma: "..."

Monaca: "Hmm, I thought we should consult him once in a while, but that was a mistake."

Nagisa: "Yeah. Even if he's a our Advisor, spreading this level of noise every single time is... unbearable to say the least."

Kotoko: "We already have tons of great ideas on how to hurt adults, so maybe it's about time we... dispose of him."

Monaca: But he's still an ally of ours and we've lost so many of our friends already, and... he's kinda okay as long as he's in Silent Mode like this, you know?"

Kurokuma: "..."

Kotoko: "Ufufu, Monaca is so kind. If that's the case, I have no objections!"

Nagisa: "If Monaca is okay... then I'm okay with it."

Monaca: "More importantly tell us your plan Nagisa. How are you going to annihilate the Resistance?"

Nagisa: "It's a simple matter really. We'll strike their secret base.

Kotoko: "Eh? You know where their secret base is?"

Nagisa: "Yes, and if we attack their secret base, which they think is safe, they'll panic and come to the surface. Like Ants that have lost their nest, they have no choice but to wander above ground until the next one is built that's our chance to crush every last one of the Demons. If we do that, the resistance will be no more!"

Kotoko: "Kyaaa! Nagisa is so vicious! I'd be peeing myself if we weren't allies!"

Nagisa: "Naturally. We have the right to kill Demons. They did this to us."

Monaca: "Mmhm, it's a right. As expected of the new leader; you said something good... But, instead of right to kill them... isn't it more like it's our duty to do so? We Warrior of Hope made a promise to big sis Junko that we would annihilate all the Demons, didn't we?"

Kotoko: "Whew whew! Nagisa and Monaca are both so vicious and cool! I can't lose, though! I'll have to do my best to hunt, hunt and hunt Demons as well!"

Nagisa: "Yes, but we must be careful. That one Demon's allies are far more powerful than we expected. The Intel from *that man in black* wasn't as off as we originally thought when he told us to use our full forces to deal with them. Tch, I can't see him as a normal Demon, but he should have been more... Anyways, we can't underestimate the Demons who defeated both Masaru and Jataro. Along with the Monokuma I'll send out Sniper Monokuma. If it him... we don't have to worry about any adults escaping alive!"

Kotoko: "Wait! I see what your doing. You want to go all out to impress Monaca, don't you? Ufufu, I see right through you and I won't let you have all the glory. I'll send the beautiful and firecracker warrior of the katana, Samurai Monokuma as well! She'll definitely kill more Demons than your Sniper Monokuma!"

Nagisa: "This isn't the time to be playing around!"

Monaca: "Ufufu, we have less allies now, but we're still fired up, right? Doesn't everyone think so?"

Kurokuma: "Aah, goddamn! I agree so much that I could just head-bang! Man, you guys have grown, to be able to think up this nice plan without me as your "counselor"... hold up! You won't be happy if I say you've "grown", seeing as you guys don't want to become adults! It's like praising a ninja by saying "you sure stand out"! Hoo–! Dangerous, dangerous!"

Having accidentally allowed Kurokuma to speak by Monaca saying "Everyone", he continued his meaningless rampage of words. Seeing this... Monaca, Kotoko, and Nagisa could only sigh.

"Revised Edition - 15 Way to Assure That Your Harem of Beauty Heroines Remains Harmonious and Filled With Love! And so you live through the attempt."

\- There are myriads of men who dream of marrying multiple women and enjoying a harem, but there are also men who fail to manage their harem and reach a BAD END. So then what's the difference between the men who successfully live their dream of being loved by many women and the men who who wake up screaming having found a knife in their chest? Simple! Whether or not they read this book!

"Even if I don't know these things, I'm sure it will be fine. I'm a man who can embrace and love all women within my reach!"

\- Are you saying this to yourself right now? Don't regret it! Don't be fooled by times of peace as there will always be a looming threat over the horizon with matters of love with more than one woman! That knife will always be there long as you choose to be selfish and make your heroines share one man. That's why to avoid this BAD END and reach that harmonious HAREM END of your dreams, learn the '15 Ways" with this book so that you too can enjoy the dream of all men since antiquity!

Shin: "..."

Komaru: "..."

Drake: "..."

Sachi: "...Wow. Can this even be called a coincidence, our harem king leader."

Shin: "..."

During Team Japan's return trip back to the Secret Resistance Base hidden within Towa Sewers the group stumbled upon a book lying near the cemetery entrance to the sewers. Normally they would have passed it without a second thought, but it's eye catching title that was in large font drew their eyes. It was a book that didn't exist in the original game amount the many documents found within the game, yet it was from the same series as the original, "15 Ways to Make That Rich Son of a Noble Family Fall in Love with You!" that Toko Fukawa secret wanted to read.

Shin: "..."

Komaru: "...Shin, do you need this?"

Shin: "Huh? O-Of course not! What a... stupid book and who needs it. Everything will turn out fine for my harem of heroines! There not over jealous girls and they all get along just fine... even if their are times I feel a lack of respect, but no matter! My love will definitely reach them all!"

Komaru: "Really? Shin I definitely believe this is a important chapter. Chapter 1, How many women should you invite into your growing family without losing the respect of loved ones? When does desire turn into mindless greed and lust?"

Shin: "Ugh!"

Drake: "Shin, I admire you and all, but... Chapter 3, How to handle the minefield of jealous and spot the green eyed monster before it stab you in the back like that one Anime girl who's name is synonymous with "The world". And then cut off your head and carry it around in a gym bag"

Shin: "Ughhh!"

Sachi: "This is kind of fun. Who knew mere words from a book could induce such pain. Let me try. Chapter 11, When all goes well at first and it's time to expand your family with children how do avoid bloody fights of succession rights? The first male? A smart and competent girl? The child of your youngest heroine? The child of your secret favorite heroine? Be careful! Even if you've gotten this far that knife is still pointed st your back!"

Shin: "..."

Komaru: "...So are you sure you don't want, no need this book?"

Shin: "I-I said I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I won't fall so low that I need to read garbage like that."

Komaru: "Okay, if you say so..."

Shin: "...So who's the publisher by the way?"

Komaru: "..."

Shin: "Ah, don't get me wrong! It's not like I plan to look through the Entertainment Category of the Exchange System later. Not at all!"

Komaru "Hm? Exchange System? What's that?"

Shin: "...Ah!"

\- PENALTY 2, SPOILER PER SENTENCE - DEDUCTED 10 POINTS!

Drake: "So he was that worried that he slipped up. Well, he's not going to care about such a small penalty. Still, great men really have great troubles, yet they never show it on the surface. He's younger than me, but I have much to learn from this man among man!"

Sachi: "That's your take on this? I just see a hopeless lost otaku harem bastard way over his head. Well, it's fun to watch all the same."

And like so after Shin got Komaru over the subject of the exchange system their group moved on and just before they entered the sewers a Monokuma Kid appeared and handed over to Komaru a new Kotodama (Word Bullets), the Paralyze Bullet.

Megaphone Hacking Gun's status -

Slot 1: Break Bullet.

Slot 2: Move Bullet.

Slot 3: Detect Bullet.

Slot 4: Dance Bullet.

Slot 5: Knock-back Bullet.

Slot 6: Paralyze Bullet.

Slot 7: Empty.

Slot 8: Empty.


	180. Chapter 180

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 20, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Shin, Komaru, Drake, and Sachi once more traversed Towa Sewers. They had little difficulty against the Monokuma roaming the sewers and had returned to the secret Resistance Base of the surviving adults of Towa City. Once there Komaru took the lead to ask where Shirokuma was, yet all the nearby adults simply looked at her and the others with a passive expression before silently walking away. The adults of the Resistance were never too warm and welcoming towards their group, but Drake and Sachi found the behavior of the adults rude, yet Shin knowing the reason behind their didn't say anything. As they would learn later the adults didn't like the fact that they were coming and going from the secret base and believed that they were risking the Monokuma and Monokuma Kids following them back to the base.

Shin: (Well, it actually is true that they get attacked because they followed Komaru and Toko back to this base in the game... and the plot will repeat itself again. Sachi had already told me in secret that we were being followed by Monokuma Kids on the way back through the sewers, yet I told her to ignore the threat. I don't want to deviate from the plot anymore if I can help it, so I chose to allow the raid of the Resistance to go unhindered. It's best to prepare for the attack after speaking with Shirokuma.)

Shirokuma: "Heeey! You four! Yay! Yaay! You made it back safe! I'm glad! Now, I want to hear the whole story, but first... Welcome back! Come, leap in into my chest and strong arms Komaru!"

Shin: "Hey, she won't be jumping into your arms! If your so addicted to hugs than go embrace Sachi."

Sachi: "Why are you bringing me into-"

Shiro: "Sachi huh... No, I'm good. Sachi's not my type. The blood in my veins wouldn't heat up with excited, but instead freeze over."

Sachi: "...Fucking bear!"

With the short banter out of the way a depressed Komaru along with Team Japan began to explain to Shirokuma about what happened once they reached the top of Towa Tower. They explained that Future Foundation who they hoped to rescue them by contacting them wouldn't come into Towa City due to the Warriors of Hope holding hostages.

Komaru: "Hey, Shirokuma... What should we do now? I don't know what to do anymore. Even Makoto want come to my aid."

Shirokuma: "To tell the truth, Haiji and the other adults are in a conference discussion exactly that. Why don't you go ahead and join them?"

Hearing this Komaru was hesitant because of the last time she talked with Haiji who said to get lost as he didn't want anything to do with her group who's connected to Future Foundation, but Shirokuma encouraged her to try to speak to him again. Both sides had the same goal to stop the out of control kids and free the adults of Towa City, so he believed they could definitely come to a understanding. Shirokuma then on to say that it had to be Komaru who had to save Towa City from the Despair plaguing it to her shock. Shin saw through Shirokuma, AI Junko's plan to get Komaru to take a leader position among the adults for her future plans, but he didn't interrupt their conversation. Doing so would go against the plot, so he allowed Shirokuma to manipulate Komaru with words... even if he felt like trash for doing so.

Shin: "Ahhh! What a pointless meeting!"

Shirokuma: "Don't say that. Haiji has his own circumstances."

Sachi: "You mean to do nothing?"

Komaru: "..."

What had gotten Shin's group so anger and depressed was the so called meeting between Haiji and the adults of the Resistance had just had. Like in the original plot they didn't have any bright ideas of his to face the power Warriors of Hope who were armed with the army of Monokuma. They also couldn't imagine a way to peaceful talk to them as they had a deep seated hatred of all adults and even killed their families off beforehand, so there was no good or bad emotional bond to use in the negotiations, in the end Haiji and the rest of the adults could only agree to wait for a while for a good opportunity to make use of... while knowing deep down that such a miracle wouldn't occur and so they could only hide underground. The meeting went on like this, so Shin had his group leave early.

Shin: (In the original plot Komaru and Toko stayed for the full meeting til an adult barged in coming to warn them of a Monokuma attack, but I won't do that. I might need the full assistance of the adults on my side, so I should try to keep alive as many as I could instead of letting them first fight it out with the Monokuma and being massacred.)

Thinking so Shin had the others separate from Shirokuma who went back to the meeting room to talk to Haiji and Komaru went with him Hoping that there would be some development. Once alone Shin told Drake and Sachi about the next part of the plot which consisted of a raid of the Resistance Base, but the two were not shocked. They both knew they were being followed earlier, so it didn't come to them as a surprise.

Shin: "The attack by the Monokuma will begin soon, so listen up. They will enter through the front entrance, so that's where we take them by surprise. I have both smoke grenades and chaff grenades in my Na Rings that I exchanged for at some point. I'll throw both towards the entrance to hinder the the Monokuma robots who will be taken by surprise and that's when we'll attack. Drake, fire at will with the Pulse Rifle we got back from Shuai. Sachi, once she comes out of the meeting with Shirokuma protect Komaru and support her as she deals with any Monokuma that enter the base."

Drake: "Leave it to me! Even with one good arm I can fire a rifle just fine... Though I wish you would call this Drebin guy so I can regrow my missing arm."

Shin: "Sorry, but now is not the time. I can only call him once per mission, so I want to wait for the day of the final battle if possible."

Sachi: "What will you be doing Shin?"

Shin: "My abilities are too eye catching if I were to go all out in public. My abilities would freak out the adults ans possibly raise suspicion from Shirokuma. I'll charge through the entrance where the enemy is flooding in from and fight them within the sewers outside the base where no one can watch. The battle should be pretty simple, but if a unexpected change in plot occurs... prioritize Komaru and escape. If the front entrance is no good then destroy a wall with the attached grenade launcher of the Pulse Rifle and escape. In such A event contact me with these and I'll return immediately."

Once Shin handed both Drake and Sachi a Commutator Phone the plot finally began. From the front entrance of the Resistance Base a male adult came running madly with a panicked look on his face as if he had just seen death. The man was screaming at the top of his lungs as he made his way to the conference building of the Resistance to warn the leaders, yet Shin already knew what this was about. The man had been on guard and saw the first signs of an approaching army of Monokuma.

Shin: "This is it! Wait to throw the grenades until the gate is breeched!"

Shin, Drake, and Sachi ready the smoke and chaff grenades in their hands and were ready to throw at a moments notice. Then a few seconds later it happened. The sounds of something banging against the sealed front gate of the Resistance Base could be heard by all. The banging grew louder by the second and metal claws cut through the metal gate tearing it apart. From there Team Japan and all the adults within the base could see a army of crazed Monokuma on the other side ready to flood inside.

Shin: "Now!"

On Shin command all three of them threw over towards the destroyed front gate multiple metallic canisters. They fell and rolled across the floor right as the Monokuma were streaming into the base and detonated. From the smoke grenades a thick white fog was let out that swallowed up the Monokuma and from the chaff grenades small aluminum stripes were dispersed. The smoke grenade hindered regular vision and the chaff grenade especially disrupted their ability to see due to the Monokuma being robots. These to tools came together and left the invading Monokuma temporarily paralyzed not knowing what to do next and this confusion was taken advantage by Team Japan.

As all the nearby adults near the front gate were running away from the invading Monokuma and the mystery white smoke that appeared out of nowhere; Shin alone rushed forward and dived into the smoke. For those few who had seen Shin rush into the smoke where the Monokuma were hiding that had though that he had gone mad and was seeking death, yet moments later they didn't hear the sounds of flesh being torn apart, but metal being slashed, stomped, on and bent. Then came the sounds of more than a few explosion... and nothing. The adults had expected an army of Monokuma to flood in and massacre them, but seeing not one Monokuma make it through the white smoke most of the adults let out a sigh of relief, but it was short lived.

Random Adult: "It's the Monokuma!"

It was indeed the Monokuma as the adult had screamed out at the top of u is lungs. From the white smoke that had filled up half the Resistance Base over a dozen Monokuma emerged through and charged towards the adults. Drake and Sachi along with Komaru and Shirokuma saw them rush in as well, yet the three who had faced countless Monokuma on the surface of Towa City didn't view them as that much of a threat. Even the scaredy cat Komaru who was nervous didn't flee at the sight of just twelve Monokuma. The twelve Monokuma robots were even the most basic kind who can only attack from up close and weren't to strong even then. For normal adults they were incarnations of death, yet for Komaru and Team Japan...

Komaru: "Where's Shin!"

Sachi: "He ran towards where the enemy is coming in from to stop the Monokuma before they enter the base. It's our job to take down the few who slip by."

Shirokuma: "Please save everyone!"

Drake: "We would have done so even if you hadn't said so!"

Drake then roared as he entered Unlocked Mode. He lifted the M41A-M Pulse Rifle with his sole right arm and opened fire on the incoming Monokuma. Drake had only one arm to support the rifle in his hands, yet relying on the added precision gained by the First Stage he accurately sprayed the approaching Monokuma in a endless hail of bullets. The first wave of Monokuma were swiftly cut down, but all too soon a second wave of Monokuma took there place and charged forward.

Drake once more sprayed the enemy with the Pulse Rifle, but Komaru seeing a few slip by and about to attack a group of adults she stepped forward with the Megaphone Hacking Gun first. The Monokuma sensed someone approach and turned their heads to see, yet all most instant blue flashes flew by and struck their red left eye and they ceased function and exploded.

Sachi stood by Komaru's side and was impressed. She felt that she would be fine if she just stood by Drake and opened fire at the enemy, yet not one to solely rely of others as a assassin she sprinted forward into the cloud of white smoke. The smoke and chaff floating in the air left the Monokuma sightless as they passed through, yet as a assassin she was unfazed by something of this level. This smoke screen where the enemy couldn't see was the perfect playing field to show off her talents. At times during this mission she felt she wasn't as helpful as the super powered Shin, or Komaru and Drake who had sci-fi weapons to tackle the enemy robots called Monokuma, but now...

Sachi: "...I can't lament how much it's a shame poison can't effect robots, but... We can still have some fun, can't we, my dear Monokumas!"

From that point on Sachi's ceased speaking and allowed her existence to fade into the background as entered Unlocked Mode. In her right hand was the EVA Progressive Knife and in between the finger of her left hand were long thin needles. Armed and silent, she ran through the white smog towards one enemy to the next silently ended the lives of her enemies. The few Monokuma passing through the smoke unable to see weren't aware of a phantom like figure silently ending their lives by either a knife slitting there throat or a well placed needle in their left eyes.

Haiji: "Just what is..."

From afar hiding with the adults was the leader of the Resistance Haiji. He looked on at the battle taking place within his secret base and was shock.

Haiji: "What the hell is this. A school girl in a sailor uniform, a tank top man with one arm, and a cold looking nurse doing god knows what... are fighting the Monokuma... and winning?"

Haiji had much to say, but too scared to walk up and join the brave heroes he stood silently by the side of the cowering adults.

Shin: "Huff... Huff... Good. With this most of the invading enemy have been taken care of."

Shin said so while looking at the scene around him. Having left the Resistance Base Shin fought the bulk of the invading Monokuma army within the sewers and just now he had reached a turning point in the battle. Shin currently standing guard by the stairs leading up to the Resistance Base and all around were him laying on the walkways and even floating on top of the river of sewage flowing through the tunnels were the scraped remains of the various Monokuma he had fought against. To defend the base where the enemy Monokuma were attempting to reach the base and numbered in the hundreds Shin had to go all out and wore himself down, and although he couldn't guarantee that any had entered the base he was sure that none of the stronger models of Monokuma were allowed to pass.

Shin: "There should only be a few more Monokuma hiding out and waiting for me to let my guard down so they can get into the Resistance Base... but I shouldn't underestimate them. With Jataro of the Warriors of Hope's defeat, once more their combat AI's have been upgraded. They are now capable of taking tactical combat actions to some extent. You won't feel it that much in a group of same model Monokuma, but when there's a variety of them working together to make the best of their strengths... even I almost died a few times."

Adult: "Hey! Your not a kid right?"

Shin turned towards the direction the voice was coming from and found a group of adults traveling through the sewer tunnels. Shin didn't want to deal with these background characters, yet curiosity getting the better of him he ran towards the group down the tunnel. He was worried a group of Monokuma would take chance to enter the base, but he could always return swiftly with Instant Movement, so he was not too worried.

Shin: "Who are you people?"

Adult: "You're not a kid, right?"

Shin: "Do I look like a kid to you? I'm clearly in my late teens. This place is dangerous, so if you don't want me to leave you here get to talking!"

Adult: "Ye-yes! We're a small group of adults who heard rumors of the Resistance Base somewhere within the sewers of Towa City. We've been searching for days in these smelly sewers lost, but we heard something going on in this general direction and that's our story. Um, the base, is it-"

Shin: "Yes it's nearby and yes it is still safe for the moment. We're being attacked by the Monokuma who've just discovered us, but we've manged to repel them for the most part. I'm staying out here to make sure no more breach the base, but feel free to go in if you still feel that it's safe. I won't force you."

Adult: "...No we'll go. We ran out of supplies over a day ago, so we'll die if we don't find shelter and food soon. It sounds like the Resistance held out against the Monokuma, so joining up with you sounds promising. Could you escort us if it's not too much trouble?"

Shin: "I'm not really apart of the Resistance, but sure. There should still be a few enemy Monokuma around though, so stay-"

At that moment as Shin was talking to the adults his blood ran cold with fear and his heart clenched. Without thinking why he immediately crouched down and was forced to enterer Unlocked Mode before he realized what was happening. Shin didn't know what caused this reaction other than something had locked on to him, yet he was familiar with this sensation was. It was a premonition of danger and death. The adults who Shin were just speaking with in that split second didn't understand why Shin had ducked down, yet it was too late by then. From the far opposite tunnel and cutting through the space right above Shin's head a yellow energy bullet flew by. The Trion Bullet passed through the space where Shin's head just was, but the bullet continued on to cut straight through the chest of the adult he was just speaking to and two more people standing directly behind him.

Shin: (A Trion Bullet? Connor!)

Shin within the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint reached that conclusion and panicked as he fled. Shin kicked off the sewer floor with Instant Movement to jump over the panicking group of adults and down the tunnel away from Connor and turned a corner. The remaining group of adults had no idea what was going on our how they were attacked, but seeing Shin flee they followed his example and fled in different directions... but there was no escape. While Shin escaped with speed far surpassing normal men even without movement techniques, the others were normal adults who were weakened from constant walking and lack of nourishment. Without cover they had no hope of escaping the attack range of a skilled sniper.

On the other end of the tunnel was a Middle Eastern child with dirty blonde hair laying on the ground with a classic looking rifle in his hands and covering half his of this child's face was a black Monokuma mask. This boy's name is Connor, but currently he was going by the alias Sniper Monokuma. No disappointment showed on his face that was visible as he missed his primary target Shin and he immediately switched over to a new weapon. The Eaglet Trigger he had previously used to snipe that specialized in range and accuracy faded away in a yellow flash of light and was then replaced by with the the futuristic Lightning Trigger that emphasized speed and rapid fire.

Sniper Monokuma's eyes locked onto all the scattering adults shined with a mysterious red glow as he activated the eye enhancing technique, "Demon Eye: Encroachment". Along with an increase in perception, all those that were gazed upon by his eyes, in this case the panicking adults, were frozen in place due fear. They were fearing for their there lives just moments ago, but this fear took away there ability to even resist and were unable to move. They were too easy prey for Sniper Monokuma as his Lightning Trigger began firing Trion Bullets picking them off in quick succession. In less then three seconds everyone aside from Shin were cut down and had fallen to the floor with a gapping hole where there hearts should be. Shin far down the tunnel and turning his head around the corner saw the massacre take place, yet felt relived.

Shin: (...I was lucky. Connor still isn't used to his powers yet. If he had used those eyes immediately after losing the element of surprise I might not have escaped in time, or at least without taking damage. He could have also used Demonic Weapon Argumentation. It would have been harder to defend against, but I probably would have noticed in Unlocked Mode early on if he used Demonic Power as it's linked to strong negative emotions. Now the question is... how do I deal with-)

And once more the feeling of danger assaulted the core of Shin's being. Something was approaching him and fast from behind him! Shin didn't know what yet, but this time he was in Unlocked Mode, so the response was much sharper as he swung around swinging Gravity Blade. The magic blade was swung around with the force of a increased weight slash, yet to Shin's shock he was the one pushed back. As he was blown away off his feet from the corner Shin saw the image of his newest comrade Kisara, now Samurai Monokuma with her night black katana Shusui swung down.

Shin: (Shit Connor is still-)

\- *BANG*!

Sniper Monokuma not one to miss Shin revealing himself aimed the muzzle of the Lightning Trigger at him and entered the First Stage of Unlocked Mode for increased focus. A demonic aura now enveloped his sci-fi rifle and dyed it a crimson glow as he activated a magic skill. Lightning being enhanced by Demonic Weapon Argumentation then fired, letting loose five powerful shots, with the already lightning fast Trion Bullets all amplified to an even faster speed flying towards Shin. The five Trion Bullets were due to reach Shin in less than a second, and the impending danger forced Shin deeper into Unlocked Mode. In the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint Shin's power, speed, and reaction speed grew by leaps and bounds. Instinctively he knew it was impossible to avoid the high speeding Trion Bullets from Sniper Monokuma when he was off balanced, and so chose to minimize the damage.

Shin: "Void!"

Shin stomped on top of air with all his might and rotated his body like a spinning top. Of the five Trion Bullets, three missed their mark while one hit his back and the other his shoulder. The Lightning Trigger lacked firepower, yet could still cut down a man with ease, but thankfully for him he was wearing the Lesser Fenrir Coat which reduced the damage to only a few bruises. The force of the impact threw him up to the roof of the sewer tunnel and Shin jumped down with Instant Movement towards Samurai Monokuma around the corner just as another barrage of Trion Bullets bombarded the ceiling.

Shin: (Close! And now-!)

Samurai Monokuma entering Unlocked Mode as well took two strategic steps back and waited for Shin to arrive and ready to cut him down with Shusui, yet it didn't turn out as she expected. Just before her sword reached Shin he jumped back to the side with Void Instant Movement and he then launched an attack with his Kagune. Six Kagune tentacles assaulted Samurai Monokuma and in response she brandished her katana. One after the other beautiful sword slashes were let loose that shaved down the approaching tentacles. Finished, her sword now moved on a path to decapitate Shin with a swift slash to he neck, yet one sole remaining tentacle caught her left ankle and flung her into the air before she knew what happened.

Shin: (Chance!)

Having the air superiority over Samurai Monokuma by possessing Void Instant Movement Shin was confident in his ability to defeat her with a 3 dimensional attack from all sides, yet his hopes were then shattered by a loud blast. Not wanting to let Shin continue to hide behind a corner of the tunnel Sniper Monokuma switched out Lightning for the large and heavy hitting Ibis Trigger. The Ibis, a weapon far taller than the boy sniper, yet was handed with the hands of a experienced soldier. The cannon was then enhanced with Demonic Weapon Argumentation and aimed at the far off corner of the tunnel. Sniper Monokuma pressed down the trigger of the large caliber rifle, and a heavy Trion Cannon Ball was shot out and smashed through the tunnel wall. The cannon ball shot through the wall ofnthe sewers and hit the next wall causing a large explosion separating Shin and Samurai Monokuma.

The tunnel shook uncontrollable and Shin worried that the sewer tunnel was about to cave, yet with a few moments it came to a end and he returned his attention back to the battle at hand. Shin looked around through the cloud of debris from the cannon fire to spot Samurai Monokuma, but by then it was too late. Samurai Monokuma was running towards Sniper Monokuma on the opposite side of the tunnel. Shin wanted to give chase, yet seeing her body surrounded by a myriad of blinding lights, her breakneck speed, and after images trailing behind her he knew he wouldn't reach her in time. Kisara, or Samurai Monokuma's Accel Turn skill was slightly slower than Instant Movement in short distances, but over medium and long distance lost out to its continuous speed, so Shin could only watch as she regrouped with Sniper Monokuma.

Shin: "...Fuck! Now what?"

After Samurai Monokuma joined up with Sniper Monokuma Shin could only wait in hiding. If he miraculously pushed through Sniper Monokuma's ranged attacks which he wasn't confident he could even doing in Red Moon Formation Kisara or Kakuja Form, Samurai Monokuma and her peerless swordsmanship of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu would be waiting for him. Her B tier sword Shusui and speed related Pandora techniques would be more than enough to push him back and Sniper Monokuma was by no means weak in CQC either. Still, Shin was worried that the two would try to force him out by infiltrating the Resistance Base to force to act, yet for whatever reason they choose to remain in their spot on the other side of the tunnel. Like this one hour passed by before a end came to the battle. Neither side made a move met Monokuma who had survived Shin's initial attack came rushing into the Resistance Base, but hearing no word from his comrades he could only assume that Komaru, Drake, and Sachi were holding out fine. After a hour passed like his brainwashed comrades chose to retreat. Shin waited another ten minutes in case this move was a trap, but even after he came out and looked around the sewers he couldn't find any more trace of the enemy and at last he chose to return to the Resistance Base to check in on his comrades.


	181. Chapter 181

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 21, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Shin after the battle within Towa Sewers where he faced off against his brainwashed former comrades, Connor and Kisara now Sniper Monokuma and Samurai Monokuma, he returned to the Resistance Base and discovered two things. The first were the number of casualties and injured adults lying on the floor of the base. Due to Shin's absence that last hour of battle multiple Monokuma flooded into the base and wreaked havoc on the populace, yet from what he could tell it wasn't that bad. Compared to the sea of blood and corpses from scenes of the original game after the enemy raid there were far less casualties due to the interference of Shin, Komaru, Drake, and Sachi.

Shin: (As for the other thing... Well, it's best to play along.)

Thinking so Shin raised his two arms in a gesture of surrender as countless adults armed with makeshift weapons who surrounded both him and his comrades not too far away. Komaru looked scared, but more so confused by the action of the adults, but knowing the plot like he did Shin was not disturbed and didn't bother to listen as the Resistance Leader Haiji began to explain his reasoning for his actions. Haiji blamed Komaru and her group for the death of the adults. Haiji said that their group who kept coming and going out as they pleased were to blame for bringing attention to themselves and leading the Monokuma to their once secret base within Towa Sewers. His reasoning was that he took strict measures to make sure that no the kids and Monokuma never discovered them and told everyone not to go out for whatever reason. Haiji then even went as far as to say that Shin and the others were actually allies of the kids and were just playing both sides for the most gain.

This was actually partially true as Nagisa Shingetsu, the Sage of the Warriors of Hope had followed Komaru and her group to the secret base even within the original plot, but Shin couldn't help but laugh at Haiji and the pitiful adults of the Resistance. Monaca Towa from the beginning probably knew where the adults were hiding, yet let them live till now so they would become Komaru's allies later on. They were all tools to be used and discarded, yet not knowing all of this the adults continued to blame Shin, Komaru, and the others who had saved them. They themselves didn't have the power or conviction to stand up for themselves, yet they mustered their anger for the sake punishing their saviors.

Shin: "Haha! How hilarious... but it really isn't funny in a way. Just pathetic."

Haiji: "What was that!? Anyways we can't trust you people. We won't kill you, but we'll keep you all locked up for now. Hey, lock them up!"

Komaru: "Hey, wait!"

Haiji then called over for a group of adults to restrain and take Shin and Komaru's group. They closed in and were about to take their group's weapons like in the original plot, yet they hesitated. Shin, Drake, and Sachi released a murderous killing intent as the adults approached. For those who dared to take a step forward a wave of killing intent greater than anything they've experienced to date washed over them. The adults feared that they were about to be killed, yet to their surprise they all peaceful followed them to their cells. The adults didn't know why they didn't resist, yet it left mixed feelings seeing as Shin's group was just playing along with them. They were happy that they obeyed, but realizing that they could escape and leave whenever they chose fit to... made them feel as helpless as they felt when facing the Warriors of Hope and the Monokuma. Maybe even worse.

Komaru: "...*SOBBING*... *SOBBING*... SOBBING*..."

Komaru locked within her cell couldn't help but cry at the situation she found herself in. She recalled the events earlier of that day and found logic within Haiji's accusations. Although she alone didn't make the decision to return to the Resistance Base, but she felt the strongest about it after her failed attempt to call for help from Future Foundation. She had only wanted to rely on the people there, yet she ended up bringing trouble to the adults as well as her friends Shin, Drake, and Sachi. She has been putting more effort to try take action, yet she never once thought about saving others or having the power to save others. Komaru couldn't help but regret that if she had things may have turned out different.

Komaru: "*SOBBING*... *SOBBING*... Maybe I should talk things out with the others. Luckily before we were separated Shin handed one of those phones to me. I wonder if the others are asleep? Should wait for morning to call-"

Kotoko: " Sneak sneak Sneakity Sneak !"

Komaru: "Huh!?"

Just then Komaru heard the cheerful voice of a young girl outside her cell doors. She looked over and discovered a pink haired girl with ponytails looking at her through a small bar window of the door.

Kotoko: "Tra lala! Why, hello there! I am Kotoko Utsugi, in charge of the "Warriors" of the Warriors of Hope. I was once called Li'l Ultimate Drama as well, but I don't really care about that. Now... OPEN SESAME!"

\- *BANG*!

On the other side of the door something heavy and swift slammed into the door til it broke down and allowed the pink haired girl, Kotoko caring a strange weapon in her hands to walk in.

Kotoko: "Hello! May I stink up the place?! Aah, phew! Ufufu, I keep repeating these antique jokes. I've gone up against the baby boomers all the time, so my gags have gotten so old. Speaking of old... kyaaa! I'm not getting any ideas! It's because I got nervous! Haa, the thumping in my chest is like how exhausted and how pale Master Takahashi was when he did his 16-shot rapid-fire. Master Takahashi would be super proud!"

Komaru: "U-um...?"

Kotoko: "Yes, I know what you want to say. You want to say that "Warrior" sounds boyish, right? Speaking of boyish, there are people that proudly talk about how slugs have no gender, but the truth is that slugs are both male and female. Kotoko will punish anyone who goes around circulating misinformation like that without even knowing that much! Warrior Kick! Warrior Punch! Yah, yah, yah! Hiyaaah!"

Kotoko started up a sequence of martial arts punches and kicks to show off her power as the "Warrior" of the Warriors of Hope, yet due to her weak physical stats and coordination she ended up falling over on her back revealing her childish panties.

Kotoko: "..."

Komaru: "..."

Kotoko: "This is why I said I didn't want to be the "Warrior" because I'm bad at physical education. Well PE may be PE, but I'm proud of my physical education though... how about you? Are you good at physical education?"

Komaru: "Ah... It's not a subject to be good or bad at, right?"

Kotoko: "No! There are no girl that dislikes physical education! That's my pet theory anyways... Stare... Stare..."

Komaru: "What?"

Kotoko: "I actually came to hunt you, big sis, but I've changed my mind, so I'll let you go free."

Komaru: "Eh?"

Kotoko: "Just so you know I haven't changed my feelings towards Demons. I hate Demons as much as ever. I want to kill every last one of them as painfully and gruesomely as possible. For example... Like drowning them in a cesspool, or squeaking a musical saw into the space between their fingers and nails! I hate them with the absolute maximum of my heart that even doing that wouldn't be enough. Now, if you ask why I would want to let big sis escape despite that… it's because big sis is super adorable!"

Kotoko: "Huh?"

Kotoko: "I love cute things so much, that I collect everything that I think is cute, even faucets and toilet seats. That's why I'm letting you escape!"

Komaru: "R-Really? Though I think I'm more average than adorable or-"

Kotoko: "However there's a catch! Only you get to escape, big sis. The ikemen with messed up hair and the aura of a protagonist, and the one arm tank top man are out! No boys allowed on this escape train! Also, the cold and scary nurse is too much for me... Not that I envious of her looks since I'm will soon to be a 10 out of 10 if I were unfortunate enough to grow up into a filthy adult!... Ah, where was I? Anyways, the point is that I don't want those three."

Komaru: "Eh? That's..."

Kotoko: "Also, keep this a secret from everyone else. That "Sage" Nagisa Shingetsu is especially strict about rules. That Nagisa said we can't have juice with our meals, you know? It can't be helped when we eat rice, but shouldn't it be okay when we're having bread? It's like drinking milk with milk pancakes, or drinking curry soup with curry."

Komaru: "Umm?"

Kotoko: "Well then, let's go go go! Please leave before the small fry find out!"

Komaru: "...But abandoning everyone here and leaving by myself is impossible."

Kotoko: "Oh? Whatever is the matter? Could it be its Girls' Day? Or do you like closed rooms? Leave that to the mystery maniacs."

Komaru: "Besides, leaving Shin and the others is really is... No I can't do that. Shin's my savior and Drake and Sachi helped me more times than I can count. It's impossible for me to abandon them and leave on my own."

Kotoko: "...I see, Well, I understand your hesitation, but could you leave this prison for the time being? Come on, get a move on and get out. Girls are a bit cuter when they're selfish, you know?"

Komaru: "I guess. Ah, I can go look for the other and free them now that I've es-"

As Komaru was about to say escape she felt something impact, no bite into her neck and saw a pair of dentures biting into her skin. Komaru made the mistake of turning her back to Kotoko who took that opening to raise the strange gun she was carrying that shots out dentures.

Komaru: "Ugh?!"

Kotoko: "This is a "Denture Launcher"! How is it? It's a perfect, high-spec machine, isn't it? This towering form, this fresh, salmon color! This odious, lovable gloss! Kyaha, it's unbelievably adorable! Ah, by the way I'm from a family of dentists. By the way again my papa kept having affairs with the dental assistants. He had a complex about being a surgeon even though he was a dentist; apparently he was into surgeon play. Yes, he was a wonderful papa. He ignored his business and made me earn all the income, so... no matter how many times I kill him, it wouldn't be enough, that wonderful papa of mine."

Komaru: "W-What... is this...? I can't... move..."

Kotoko: "Oh nooo! Big sis' sleepy face is super cute too! If it's big sis, I'm sure the face you make when you're out of breath from crawling is cute too. Ah, but being adorable and cute is a sin, you know. Cute things will suffer. If you're cute, big sis, then you have to protect your own body. If you can't do that, then whatever happens to you can't be helped, you know? It's a shitty rule... but the adults were the ones who made it... so please prepare yourself. Hey, my peerless and cute Samurai Monokuma hiding outside the door could you please carry our new toy away?"

Samurai Monokuma: "..."

Komaru: "...Shin... Everyone..."

And like so Komaru was captured. Samurai Monokuma came inside the room and picked up the paralyzed Komaru into her arms. Komaru's limp body should have been too heavy for a normal girl like the seventeen year old Samurai Monokuma appeared to be, yet she effortlessly carried Komaru over her shoulders as if she didn't weigh anything, and along with her master Kotoko they left the Resistance Base.

Shin: "...Yeah, it's like the plot is progressing just fine. Everything is going according to plan."

Shin smiling to himself within his jail cell was gazing down at the device within his hands. What he was looking at was the Communicator Phone. It was a communications tool used by Team Japan to talk with one another over long distance, yet it had another interesting function. Not only could they be used to communicate with one another even without (satellite) coverage, they could also be used to locate previously connected to Communicator Phones of comrades. Shin kept his team's Communicator Phones within his subspace Na Rings and had made sure to give Komaru, Sachi, and Drake their own device incase of a emergency.

Shin current plan was to follow Komaru after she was kidnapped by Kotoko of the Warriors of Hope just like it had happened in the plot of the game. In the game after Toko Fukawa escaped her confinement the Servant (name) had secretly sent Monokuma Kids to deliver a tablet device that was tracking Komaru's location. There was a good chance that the same thing would happen even if the Servant had been replaced by Jin/Magician Monokuma, yet not taking any chances Shin made sure Komaru kept on her person a Communicator Phone.

Shin: "I'm glad that the jamming signal from Towa Hills isn't effecting the Communicator Phones. Now... it's time to escape! Sachi! Drake! It's time to go!"

Shin turned on the Communicator Phone and called his comrades informing them it was time to escape. Shin hadn't called Komaru incase she was being watched by Kotoko, instead had called Drake and Sachi to tell them about his plan. Once the two had his say so they were more than happy to leave their dusty jail cells and breathing in some fresh air (They were still underground, so it wasn't really fresh). Then moments later within the Resistance Base two doors were broken down by force and one door picked letting out their occupants. Shin, Drake, and Sachi regrouped after leaving their confinement. Shin was glad the others were okay, yet was surprised when he couldn't find any traces of the Monokuma Kids who were supposed to be assisting them to track down Komaru. He had considered the possibility of their absence, yet he never actually thought that they wouldn't appear.

Shin: "Fuck! What are you doing Jin! If I hadn't given Komaru a Communicator Phone we would all be in deep shit right now just trying to catch up to her! I'm definitely going to give this guy a good beating before I send use Holy Sword Switch!"

Drake: "Hey, are you sure that this isn't a trap? It was far too easy to escape and we even made a lot of noise, but no one is coming after us."

Sachi: "You worry too much. The adults of that so called Resistance are a joke. You saw how they handled the Monokuma raid and the aftermath by attempting to capture us their savors. I would actually be surprised if these good for nothing adults had their act so together that they could respond properly to a jail break."

Shin: "That's enough talk guys. According to the device Komaru is already more than 3,000 meters away. If it's us we can easy catch up, but if they board that train than before we reach the surface we risk wiping out once she's 5,000 meters from us."

Sachi: "Train? Is that the next part of the plot? You really need to tell us what's come next in the plot before hand rather than waiting until the last second just to show off your otaku knowledge. Like why was Komaru even kidnapped and not killed in the Warriors of Hope's Demon Hunting Game?"

Shin: "Ah, my bad. I keep forgetting to explain things to you guys. As for why Kotoko kidnapped Komaru it's too..."

Drake: "...Shin?"

Shin: "...Like hell I'll allow that!"

Shin with panicked look on his face yelled loudly before sprinting off into a run and just as Drake and Sachi were about to be left behind two Kagune tentacles shot out of his back, coiled around their waist, and carried them along behind him. Then without bothering to hearing a word of complaint from his comrades Shin began dashing forward nonstop with Instant Movement in his pursuit of Komaru and Kotoko.


	182. Chapter 182

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 22, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

The plot of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode, specifically the towards the end of Chapter 3 of the game. While held in a prison cell, Komaru cried tears of regret for causing the deaths of so many adults. Then without warning, the 'Fighter' Kotoko Utsugi broke into her prison cell, telling Komaru that she originally wanted to hunt her but changed her mind and would let her go because Komaru was "adorbs." This was a trick, however, as when Komaru turned her back Kotoko shot her with her Denture Launcher, leaving her temporarily paralyzed an unable to escape from being captured by her. Komaru then woke up to find herself fastened to a 'torture' device; Kotoko attempted to use the device's many tentacle hands to grope Komaru and steal her 'virginity' so she could endure the consequences of being a "cute girl." This plan was cut short, however, when Genocider Sho appeared and defeated Kotoko, and Komaru was rescued. The train then crashed into Kotoko's dungeon. While speaking to Kotoko, Toko used the Fighter's trigger word "gentle," causing her to lose her composure and call on her robot to fight the two girls. Upon the robot's defeat, the Monokuma Kids attempted to 'punish' Kotoko for losing, but Genocider Sho was instead able to save her for interrogation purposes. Suddenly Nagisa appeared and requested that Komaru and Toko leave the city. Already prepared to persuade Monaca, Nagisa insisted upon letting them escape in order for the Warriors of Hope's Demon Hunting game to progress smoothly without further interruptions.

The surface streets of Towa City.

There were no people around and everything was quite. The streets were still littered with corpses of adults and turned over cars and other junk yet it could be said that everything was currently peaceful at this time... until a loud banging could coming from underground. The sound grew louder by the second and then a manhole connecting to Towa Sewers was blown open and a shadowy figure jumped out from within. This shadowy figure held a scary expression was in fact Shin and trialing behind him being carried by his Kagune were Drake and Sachi.

Shin: "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! How could I be so careless!?"

Drake: "Fuck leader! You told us the plot on the way so I get why you upset, but calm down. We've almost caught up to them so relax."

Sachi: "Hey you punk team leader! Just because your heroine is about to be XXXXXX doesn't mean that you can splash me in sewage water you asshole! I'll kill you!"

Drake: "Scary! Shit, look what you did leader! Sachi's lost it."

Shin: "Shut! And Sachi, if you don't want to get left behind don't threaten me sadist bitch! Shit, let me check the Communicator Phone for Komaru's position again."

As Shin began to check the device to locate Komaru he couldn't help but once more inwardly scold himself for his stupidity. It wasn't that Shin forgot about plot of the game and the almost *R18* event that was right out of a cheap online sex game, but the reality of it right before his eyes and his own complex feelings about Komaru, an actual video game heroine had caused him to panic. Shin originally always intended allow Komaru to be kidnapped by Kotoko to allow the plot of the game to flow as it should. He didn't know that Kotoko had brought along Kisara/Samurai Monokuma, but he had considered defeating defeating Kotoko so he wouldn't have to confront her along with one of his comrades, yet in the end chose to not change the plot.

Defeating Kotoko at her coliseum would lead to the Sage of the Warriors of Hope Nagisa Shingetsu to appear and offer his assistance to allow Komaru to escape Towa City which leads to the start of the fourth chapter of the game. Shin couldn't guarantee that Nagisa would appear if he defeated Kotoko within the Resistance Base, so only for her was he willing to take the risk of fighting both her and one of his comrades at the same time. Of course, if he runs into one of his comrades protecting Kotoko on the train he'll defeat them their before the battle at the coliseum, but for the sake of following the plot he had let things progress as they should have... still-

Shin: (I won't say something like I love Komaru as I barely know her, but she's a video game heroine, and more importantly she's my heroine! Like hell allow some little girl to take her.. Yes! I've found them!)

One last time confirming the direction of Komaru through the Communicator Phone Shin looked looked 45 degrees to his left and then up. There he discovered a set of train tracks built above the buildings of Towa City. Towa City had both an underground an subway and a above ground elevated railway and within the game Kotoko hijacked the elevated railway to ride a train through the city. Kotoko was using the hijacked train as a temporary base to *torment* Komaru and at this time it was coming into view over the horizon.

Shin: "Guys the train is here! Let's... Shit! The train is going way too fast! In the game it was only going 35 MPH. Drake! Sachi! Hang on!"

Shin called forth his Kagune and after coiling the tentacles around Drake and Sachi he ran forward with Instant Movement to catch the train. Drake and Sachi yelled complaints as Shin'a abrupt charge, yet he didn't respond as he then jumped into the air with Void Instant Movement. The train above their heads was moving over 100 MPH which was different from the original game. If they end up missing the train not even Shin with Void Instant Movement would be able to catch up to the speeding train. In the game Toko Fukawa/Genocider Sho jumped and crashed through the window, yet Shin carrying his comrades with his Kagune chose to jump on top of the train cars, and with a hard crash and almost following off Shin and the other manged not to get swept off the speeding train.

Once they recovered from the landing and now alert they stood up withstanding the air force of the moving train and looked and took in their surroundings, and there Shin was the first to spot a threat to their lives. They couldn't spot any Monokuma killer robots nearby, yet their standing on top of the train as well was a lone enemy far more dangerous any Monokuma they had come across to date. Standing guard on top of one of the rear train cars completely unfazed by the G force of the speeding train and alone was Samurai Monokuma.

Shin: "...Drake. Sachi. Go on without me. One of the Warriors of Hope, Kotoko and our Komaru should be within a special train car towards the front. I'll handle my brainwashed comrade, so take care of Komaru. There should be a few Monokuma within the train to stop you along with Kotoko, but the danger should be minimal. Just watch out for Kotoko's strange gun which can paralyze you."

Sachi: "Ok. Leave the disobedient child to us. Go have fun playing swords over there with your woman."

Drake: "Will you be fine on your own, Shin? That girl seems pretty strong."

Shin: "She should be. Kisara over there is my Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu sword wielding heroine after all. She has low level enhancements aside from her sword, but she'll cut you down in a heart beat if you let your guard down. Only if it's me, her man can take her down... probably. Anyways, just leave it to me and go save Komaru!"

Though strange as it was Drake and Sachi hearing the confidence in Shin's voice didn't bother to ask him again if he'll be fine and began to make their way towards the front train car. Kisara, currently Samurai Monokuma saw the two heading towards her master Kotoko and sprinted forward to stop them. Shin saw Samurai Monokuma's intent and ran forward to intercept her while drawing Gravity Blade from the Na Ring. Samurai Monokuma's eyes glimmered with a deadly light as she activated a skill to side step him. Activating the High End skill of a Pandora, Accel Turn, one moment her entire body shined with a myriad of lights and the next she accelerated with a burst of extreme speed.

This speed was hard to match even for Shin and seeing Samurai Monokuma about to pass by he entered into Unlocked Mode. The Second Stage afforded him the power and speed to react and counter-attack Samurai Monokuma with his sword with the aim to cut off her one of her leg. Their was a pang of reluctance to harm Kisara and he almost hesitated, yet at this time it was a needless concern. As Samurai Monokuma sprinting with Accel Turn was about to be cut down by Shin's sword her figure flash and in the blink of a eye she vanished and reappeared behind Shin. Shin had seen this skill before in the Terminal Lobby and so without hesitation swung his sword to slash Samurai Monokuma, yet once again disappeared and reappeared, but only this time with four after images of herself surrounding him on all sides.

Shin: (Tempest Turn is so hard to deal with and isn't restricted in numbers of phantoms!)

Seeing Samurai Monokuma's serious Tempest Turn caused Shin's heart to skip a few beats. Unlike Accel Turn which improved with the rank of the skill enhancements, Tempest Turn was a standalone skill that wouldn't improve with a high level of enhancement, but depended on the skill of the user. It could create as few as two phantoms or as many as a thousand, so it's potential was very high for a C tier skill. In the wrong hands of a unskilled user Tempest Turn couldn't create more than two phantoms, yet in the hands of a skilled user like Kisara they could create countless high speed phantoms like now!

The four phantoms swung their swords down at lightning speed and countering this Shin summoned his Kagune. There was no time to figure out which was the real one, so he attacked them all with six Kagune tentacles. Each phantom was blown away and Samurai Monokuma reappeared one train car away from Shin and dripping off her sword Shusui was blood. Shin immediately retaliated with his Kagune, yet she had the time to slash him once across his right arm and retreat to safety without a scratch. Luckily the Lesser Fenrir Coat dampened the sword's power so it was only a flesh wound, yet if not for the defensive armor and Samurai Monokuma not stepping in deep enough with her B tier katana his entire arm would have been lobbed off.

Shin: (Tch! This is why I don't like fighting Kisara at close range. Fighting 3-dimensionally with Void Instant Movement isn't possible on this speeding train either. I also don't want to resort to overpowering her with Red Moon Formation or the Kakuja Kagune when I have more battles to deal with. I will if push comes to shovel but until then-)

Shin looked over his right shoulder wound caused by Samurai Monokuma and seeing it aa a minor wound, yet one that would hinder him he healed with Ki and the Rc Cells of his ghoul mutation. In a flash the wound closed as of nothing had happened. At full strength once more Shin glared at Samurai Monokuma with the unfocused eye of Unlocked Mode and shot forward with Instant Movement while also employing Silver Dragon Scales for added defense. Samurai Monokuma as well leaped forward with Accel Turn and as the two met in the middle in a instant a blinding flash of sword exchanges begun.

Shin with the power, speed, and reaction speed of the Second Stage stepped forward with Gravity Blade and fought with increased weight slashes, yet Kisara in the First Stage with the mastery of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu and the higher quality Shusui reinforced with Nen fiercely fought back. Shin moved far faster than Samurai Monokuma and struck hard taking advantage of all gaps in her defenses he saw, yet time and time again she redirected his blows and attacked back swiftly and when she went on the offensive blood was always drawn. Shin avoided fatal injures by relying on his instincts and the defensive skill Silver Dragon Scales, yet in less than twenty seconds his body was riddled with cuts and bleeding heavily. Every time her katana Shusui charged with Nen waved before Shin'e eyes indescribable fear would surface along with his own blood cut out off of his body.

Shin: (If swords don't work then!)

Shin resolving himself for what was to come with all his strength slashed horizontally with Gravity Blade and Samurai Monokuma seeing through parried the attack and retaliated with Shusui flashing with the aura of Nen, but this was within his expectations. Her sword slashed into his chest covered in Silver Dragon Scales with ease and it was about to dig in deeper he took a step forward. The course of the sword was altered from a diagonal slash to a thrust that pierced Shin's left Shines lung. Blood splashed everywhere and horrifying pain coursed the through Shin's body and was near impossible for him to breath with a collapsed lung, but he endured the pain all the while smiling and throwing a punch towards his enemy. Her katana Shusui was captured by his torso muscles that began to contract and was held in place with the support of Silver Dragon Scales.

Shin: (Soul Crushing Strike!)

Samurai Monokuma couldn't dodge unless she let go of her sword, but she would be left defenseless. With reluctance Shin's right fist crashed into Samurai Monokuma's right shoulder and exploded with Soul Crushing Strike. A sonic boom of Ki exploded at point blank range blowing her away and shattering her shoulder, yet not before she kicked Shin in the stomach and using the force of his attack and the kick to dislodge Shusui from his body. Samurai Monokuma flew through the air with a limp left arm all the way towards the very back train car about to fall off the speeding train, yet stabbing her black katana into the train at the last minute saved her from falling off as she hung on to her Katana for dear life. She tried to pull herself up immediately to not show weakness, but she coughed up a mouthful of blood as she did. Shij's Soul Crushing Strike didn't land anywhere critical, yet it was still a Ki attack that did both external and internal damage, so along a shattered shoulder Ki damaged her insides as well.

Shin wouldn't let this chance go and jumped towards her with Instant Movement and while simultaneously released a barrage of Ki Bullets. Samurai Monokuma with great willpower pulled herself back on the train and after pulling her sword out of the train car immediately ran forward while sidestepping through the the barrage of Ki Bullets. With inhuman agility and foresight bordering clairvoyance she ran through the rain of Ki emission attack and met Shin in battle once more. Both sides swung their swords, Shin in a two handed downward hacking slash and Samurai Monokuma relying on just her right arm attacked with a upward thrust intending to met her opponents sword and parry it to the side and than strike at his neck, but just before Shin the two swords Shin took a gamble to avoid just another standard sword fight.

Shin: (Void!)

Shin kicked forward slightly with Void Instant Movement and let gravity take over as he began to fall forward off the train and ramming into Samurai Monokuma. She panicked ans could only raise her to block without any fancy moments which resulted in a head on clash that was too her disadvantage and when Shin increased the weight of Gravity Blade the force almost broke her back. Desperate Samurai Monokuma used Accel Turn to push forward and then back, but it was just for a instant. For a brief moment she had gained some distance between Shin and used that time to go around him with the phantom clones of Tempest Turn. Shin retaliated with the power, speed, and reaction time of the Second Stage to cut the clones as soon soon as they appeared. It wqs a frightening reaction time as he cut them all down instantly, yet she still managed to slip by him and place distance between them. It wasn't what Shin wanted and he had just noticed clear chips on his magic sword after clashing with Samurai Monokuma's B tier katana Shusui and there was a risk of his sword breaking, but it wasn't yet a hopeless situation.

Shin: (I struck her shoulder with shoulder with Soul Crushing Strike instead of her chest. She didn't die, but her left arm is done for. Kisara can only wield her katana withe her right hand and additionally this short yet intense battle has finally taken its toll on her. Kisara has increased her Muscle Density with the Stat Package and other stats through enhancements, but they are all low level D tier enhancements that can't keep up with her skill and this level of battle. It's not a issue when there a team to support her, but choosing a B tier sword magic weapon instead of improving her specs becomes fatal here and now with the addition of her injury. As for me I've already closed my wounds and my Ki and stamina passively restores itself due to the Black Heaven & Earth Technique. In a endurance battle I'll win 10 out of 10 times and only in very short battles would I lose to Kisara... yet she won't let it end here. The girl who claims to be my sword isn't so meek to roll over and let her man win.)

It was as Shin believed. Kisara, Samurai Monokuma at her core was a selfish and prideful swordsman who desired victory to prove herself. If she weren't brainwashed she wouldn't dare point her sword at the man who she swore to protect and who she loved, but under the brainwashing of Izuru Kamukura all she could see before her eyes was a strong opponent. Her greatest advisory to date who despite not having the skill or training has pushed her back with natural instinct, experience, cunning, and above all else resolve. That's why to defeat the man before her eyes with what little strength she had left she gathered all her power for one last attack Samurai Monokuma reinserted Shusui into her scabbard and kept her only usable hand on the handle of katana and a explosion of light of Accel Turn from her body. Then the little Nen she was using to reinforcing her body was gathered inside the scabbard. Shin didn't know what she was planning, but yet the feeling of danger that was already has skyrocketed.

Shin: (Fuck, I'm getting chills just looking at her. I have no confidence to win here, and I've said this before, but I'll say it as many time till they understand. My comrades need to just stop aspiring towards being overpowered only when I'm their opponent!)

Shin didn't know what to expect, yet he could feel Samurai Monokuma's eyes trailing him, but he knew one thing. He knew that her clairvoyant ability due to her Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu training wasn't yet perfect, but he couldn't help but feel that as she was ready to draw her sword and cut him in two. Samurai Monokuma would attack with the fastest speed and would not make a mistake or let any opening go. All of Shin thoughts, plans, and even unconscious actions would be seen through and countered as well. Every cell within his body was now screaming at him to avoid confronting the swordsman before him and runaway. To runaway and wait for his foe to wear herself out. Shin felt he should listen to his instincts and let his opponents last stand burn out before it had begun, yet so something in the far distance persuades him not to and didn't have time for another plan of attack. The train that was carrying them around the city was about to come to a set of train tracks that had collapsed. It wasn't shown in the game, but this was certainly the point in the game where the train runs off the tracks and crashes into Kotoko's arena.

Shin: (There's no room for waiting this out. I should just power through whatever Kisara has plan with Red Moon Formation, or...)

An idea popped into Shin's mind and immediately he jumped forward with Instant Movement. Kisara prepared to counter attack, yet she could no longer see through his inner thoughts for some mysterious reason. It was as if his thought patterns had changed and into one that hard to read. Still, she couldn't allow him to reach her and not attack, so she stepped forward with a burst of speed of Accel Turn far greater than before and readied to draw her katana for battojutsu. Samurai Monokuma had not come up with a new technique, yet her sword drawing speed was all the same frightening and sent a chill down his spine. Her battojutsu were released at lightning speed and always with timing when her opponent couldn't react. During their previous spars Shin had never challenge her sword draws as he had to way to defend himself and always ran away, but now he couldn't.

Shin: (If it's the drawing speed I can barely mange in the Second Stage, the timing is the key. I'm can't allow Kisara to read my thoughts and strike when I'm most vulnerable, but what if I read her thoughts as well?)

Shin put himself in Samurai Monokuma's shoes. The feeling of knowing everything his opponent was thinking appeared. Her habits, techniques, and possibilities of what she was currently thinking about flashed through his mind. Just as she was about to draw her sword, beyond all her expectations Shin shot forward with his foot pushed in the handle of Shusui into its sheath. Samurai Monokuma lost her balance then and there and now Shin's body glowed with a silver light. A silver dagger appeared within his free hand and stabbed towards Samurai Monokuma's, no Kisara's heart.

\- *BOOM*!

It was immediately after that the train crossed over the missing train tracks and jumped the rails and flew towards a close by building. Both Shin and a now freed Kisara fell off the train and were falling towards the streets below. Shin saw that as Kisara awoke from her mind control a look of regret and shame could be seen on her face for pointing her blade at him. Seeing that as his first reaction after bring freed from her brainwashing had Shin feel complex emotions and he immediately hugged Kisara as they fell to the earth to protect her. Kisara was now disappearing from the world, so it was a pointless action, yet Shin felt he would forever regret it if he left things as they were.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, TEAM JAPAN GENOCIDE. 7,000 POINTS AND B RANK AWARDED TO BOTH PLAYERS.

Shin: "...Just what is this supposed to be."

After the intense battle with Kisara and falling off the runaway train Shin swiftly recovered with very few injuries and chased after his comrades who had went ahead to save Komaru. Shin first searched through the inside of the train that crashed through a large building/Kotoko's area, but did not find anyone. Only destroyed Monokuma robots. He was thankful that he didn't discover any bodies, yet was still worried. Shin then left the train and ran deeper into the building to reach the inner arena where the battle against Kotoko and her "Fighter Robot Highlander the Great" was to take place. Shin mentally prepared himself for another tough battle and considered numerous ways to defeat Kotoko and her robot, yet once he reached the arena entering from that the audience stands filled with Monokuma Kids... he was shocked by what he saw. There was not a great battle taking place. His comrades weren't fighting for their lives waiting for him to arrive and save the day like a hero. What he saw was...

Kotoko: "Hey, hey, big sis Sachi! Teach me something else!"

Sachi: "Fine. How about the recipe for type of poison that causes men's xxxxx to turn purple and fall off within a very few very agonizing hours? All you need is the the gallbladder of a common field snake and some commonly found household items."

Kotoko: "Yay! Let's do that! This sis is the best. The prettiest, most mature ice queen ever! So is this poison hard to make. Ah, we should keep our voices down so kids don't try this at home!"

Komaru: "...But you are a kid."

Drake: "Hey, can't we talk about something else!"

Shin: "..."

Shin had no idea what was going one or why everyone peacefully(?) getting along. Shin walked down to the arena floor and towards Drake and Komaru. Komaru who was kidnapped although a little flushed looked okay probably still *Pure*, yet she seemed as confused as himself, so he spoke to Drake in private as Sachi was busy playing with their supposed enemy Kotoko. Drake then explained what happened. He and Sachi infiltrated the train after leaving Shin to confront Kisara/Samurai Monokuma and they fought through a small army of Monokuma robots. After breaking through the enemy ranks they reached the front train car and stumbled upon... the event before it was too late for Komaru. They then fought Kotoko armed with her strange gun, yet she was easily defeated by the combined efforts of Drake and Sachi without harming her to avoid the 50,000 point penalty for doing so. They freed Komaru and then confronted Kotoko who was upset that Komaru was *saved* yet no one was there to *save* her in her time of need.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, WARRIORS OF HOPE OVERTHROWN. FIRST HALF 3/4 COMPLETE. SECOND HALF INCOMPLETE.

\- HIDDEN SIDE QUEST COMPLETE!

SUCCESSFULLY HELPED TO PACIFY THE HATRED OF ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE WARRIORS OF HOPE THROUGH WORDS RATHER THAN THROUGH FORCE. PARTIALLY PACIFIED THE HATRED AND TRAUMA OF KOTOKO UTSUGI. REWARDED 5,000 POINTS AND B RANK REWARD.

Drake: "And that's what happened. Sachi said a few... words to the young pink haired girl and she gave up without a fight. You were probably too busy fighting the samurai girl to hear the notification, but only Sachi received the Hidden Side Quest Reward. Now they are like best friends who just love to talk about using poison to hurt men."

Shin: "I see. I never considered using reasoning to deal with these insane children, but just what did Sachi say to Kotoko?"

Drake: "...Shin, there are some things better left unsaid. A woman's past is a woman's past. It's not my place to share. If you want to know ask Sachi, but I'll warn you. Don't ask if its merely out of curiosity."

Shin: "..."

Shin didn't know what to say to that, so he said silent as he watched Sachi and Kotoko. From their conversion it sounded like Kotoko still hated adults to the core, yet she found some peace connecting with Sachi. Shin couldn't imagine what they had talked about on the train, yet it couldn't have been something light to develop such a strong bond.

Shin: "It's fine I guess. All well that ends-"

Nagisa: "I wouldn't expect this from those that aren't Demons. No, I should say that this is Demon like. Ganging up on children and abusing them is the signature move of Demons, after all."

Kotoko: "Nagisa!"

Stepping into the arena with the air of a young protagonist about him was Nagisa Shingetsu of the Warriors of Hope. He didn't understand what was going on and assumed that we were bullying Kotoko. Some of us who didn't know what was coming up assumed that he came to fight, but that wasn't the case. He still hated Demons all the same while saying he and everyone else had their reasons.

Nagisa: "To be honest we can't help being scared of adults. From just hearing the footsteps of adults, just feeling the presence of adults... We, we get so, so, so scared we can't help it. As long as there are adults it's impossible for us to live in peace. We've already crossed that line."

Komaru: "Somehow, I got that feeling from you. I feel sorry for all of you, but no matter how horrible you were treated, it's just not okay to hurt others like this! Doing to others what was done to you that's just spreading misfortune and Despair to everyone else!"

Nagisa: "Then are you saying we should endure it? Are you saying we can't have Hope?"

Komaru: "Hope?"

Nagisa: "No, I've had enough, so let's put an end to this game. Leave this city."

Nagisa to prove that he was serious. That he only cared about creating a paradise for kids he removed Komaru's bracelet/bomb round around her neck stopping her from leaving the city.

Nagisa: "You want to escape us, right? Don't you want to escape this city? If so, then I'll let you escape is that enough for you?"

Kotoko: "Nagisa, are you sure?c

Nagisa: "...Yes. This is my decision as leader."

Kotoko: "But... But what about Monaca?"

Nagisa: "I... I'll persuade her later."

And like so Nagisa promised to get Komaru outside Towa City once and for all so she can be safe. We all watched this and chapter 3 of Another Episode came to a close. Next, the curtains chapter 4 were raised and along with it new dangers.


	183. Chapter 183

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 23, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Nagisa: "This way! Hurry!"

Currently Team Japan were following after Nagisa Shingetsu of the Warriors of Hope as he raced through the streets of Towa City. Earlier Nagisa appeared before them and offered to strike a deal. He would let Komaru and everyone else leave Towa City which was previously a impossible task, and in exchange they would leave the Warriors of Hope alone to proceed with their plans to turn the city into a paradise for children. To prove his honestly Nagisa removed the black Monokuma bracket around her neck that was a bomb set to go off if she leaves Towa City. For Komaru this was enough to let her believe in the blue haired body and Shin, Drake and Sachi going along with the plot didn't say a word of protest.

Then together they left the arena behind along with Kotoko. Kotoko who had grown attached to Sachi wanted to come along, yet when Nagisa mentioned the possibility of making Monaca Towa mad she silently watched them leave. For Kotoko, Monaca was the largest existence within her life, so she didn't want to disappoint her at all cost. Then as they ran after Nagisa Sachi and Drake approached Shin and spoke in a low voice so that neither Nagisa or Komaru could overhear.

Shin: "Was that okay, Sachi! You and Kotoko looked quite close despite the little time that you had together."

Sachi: "...She's a strong girl, so she'll be fine. More importantly what will you do now?"

Shin: "What do you mean. If it's about the plot things will get chaotic from here as the Monokuma will launch a surprise attack on Nagisa and Komaru to prevent the escape plank but we should be able to break through with our power. Of course the combat ability of the Monokuma should have reached a new level with Kotoko's defeat. Additionally there's very high chance of running into another one of my comrades soon, but-"

Sachi: "Not that. I meant is what are you going to do about Komaru? Will you have her escape Towa City or not? You've never told us what you planned to do with her."

Drake: "That's right. Personally I think it's better to let her escape Towa City. We will no longer have to concern ourselves with protecting Komaru with our lives and we'll gain the freedom to do as we please."

Shin: "...I'm honestly conflicted by that. The freedom to move as we like as nice, but we lack the power to protect that freedom. Moving away from the plot will place us in the unknown in and with the plan to turn Komaru into the new symbol of Despair ruined Monaca Towa, the real leader of the Warriors of Hope won't let us live peaceful. Monaca should have an army of Monokuma in reserve for the final battle in chapter 5 to stall the *Hope* of the Resistance. She can all to easily use all her power to crush us within this city she has absolute control of. We can prioritize finding The Guide to end the mission, but not only are there still three of my original comrades still out there, Monaca will get in our way. If we had the strength of my original team I would consider this option, but I can't see a future for us if we let Komaru leave."

Drake: "So we'll keep her with us then to keep the benefits of knowing the original plot. How?"

Shin: "...I don't know. Maybe force? In the original plot Nagito Komaeda revealed Toko Fukawa's plight and Komaru chose to help her save Byakuya and the people of Towa City. Unfortunately we don't have such a option, so we can only try to convince her somehow that we need her help... but I'm really not sure how to go about it."

Sachi: "I see. We still have time to consider this later, so for now focus! I can feel dozens of eyes trailing us from the shadows. We're already surrounded!"

Sachi with her experience as a assassins was the first to spot multiple enemies laying in wait before anyone else noticed. Shin, Drake, and Sachi armed themselves and then waited for the attack to start. Nagisa taking the lead reached a intersection and suddenly came to a stop in a panic. Over a dozen Monokuma rushed out of the shadows of the city and charged towards him. Nagisa panicked not knowing what to do or what was going on, yet before the enemy reached him the sounds of multiple gunshots rang. The Monokuma were sweets away by the combined gun fire of Shin with the Auto 9 and Devil Sealed Gun, and Drake holding onto the Pulse Rifle with his only arm with some difficulty. Two more Monokuma appeared and charged towards their group, yet Komaru shot one down with the Hacking Gun and the other had its head separated from the rest of its body by Sachi who rushed forward with the EVA Progressive Knife.

Komaru: "I thought you said the Monokumas wouldn't attack us if you were here?"

Nagisa: "This is... strange... What in the world is this?"

Komaru: "Hey, you weren't lying when you said you wouldn't trick us, right?"

Nagisa: "Of course! If I wanted to deceive you, I wouldn't have unlocked your bracket."

Sachi: "Then they realized that you betrayed them. Your so called comrades."

Nagisa: "B-Betrayed! Me!? That's-"

Shin: "No matter. Anyways just lead the way. The for of us will protect you as you guide us. We should expect to be attacked again, so let's keep our guards up. Also, Sachi, we won't have time for close range combat of were rushing to escape against dozens, possibly hundreds of Monokuma who may even attack us from a distance, so stick to your flying needles for now."

Sachi: "I would like to, but I only have so many on person. This nurse outfit isn't a magic dress with a subspace to another dimension after all."

Shin: "...It's not?"

Sachi: "...Why do your eyes look like you've been betrayed by something dear to your heart? It's nice, but this isn't the time for it."

Shin: "Fine then. Sachi conserve your needles as best you can while Komaru, Drake and I attack all Monokuma we come across from a distance. Don't stop for anything understand? If hundreds of Monokuma surround us it'll be hard to escape without casualties! Kid, lead the way."

Nagisa: "..."

Nagisa remind silent and thought over the possibility of why he was betraying the Warriors of Hope, or rather Monaca, yet began to run forward a few moments later. He was still confused, but believing he was doing the right thing continued to lead Shin, Komaru and their group. It wasn't long before another wave of Monokumas arrived, but much larger than the last. A group of 100 Monokumas came charging through the streets towards them and taking the lead were Guard Monokuma and a new type of Monokuma. A ten foot tall and wide ball shaped Monokuma walking on two small legs. They were Ball Monokuma. They would throw garage and bombs at their enemy, yet their greatest weapon was their spherical bodies and weight as they could roll forward to run over anything in their path.

Shin recognized the new Monokuma's threat and raised his two guns to snip their left red eye weak point, yet by then it was too late as over ten Ball Monokuma rolled forward. Their weight was immense as they caused cracks underneath where they passed and and were moving at 100 MPH. Shin considered flying over them while carrying everyone with his Kagune, but he spotted countless Bomber Monokuma waiting to throw grenades towards them.

If nothing was done everyone would be either be crushed to death or blown up, so Shin stepped forward just as they were about to be run over. He holstered his guns and retrieved Gravity Blade from a ring while entering the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode and channeling Ki into the magic sword. His two arms kept expanding till they three times their normal size and he grasped his sword tightly swung with all his might releasing 36 Pound Cannon. The flying sword slash with the power of the Second Stage couldn't destroy the Ball Monokumas, yet their charge was stopped and they all fell on their back.

Shin: "Komaru!"

Komaru: "Yes!"

With just this yell Komaru understood Shin's intent and she raised her Megaphone Hacking Gun towards the ten Ball Monokuma. Loading the KNOCKBACK Bullet a gust of electric magnetic waves were released and hit the enemy and they rolled back the way they came and crashed into the approaching army of Monokumas. The forefront Guard Monokuma raised their riot shields in defense, but they were all to easily run over and over 70 Monokuma behind them were caught in the Ball Monokuma's path of destruction.

Komaru: "We did it!"

Shin: "Don't stop and keep moving!"

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The Bomber Monokuma perched on the nearby rooftops began to rain down an endless supply of grenades over Team Japan's heads. Shin still in Unlocked Mode placed his magic sword aside and retrieved his two guns and opened fire into the air to intercept the falling grenades. Grenade after grenade detonated in mid air and burning hit winds swept passed those on the streets of Towa City, yet they had to keep moving forward. Monokuma still littered the streets to stop them, but a barrage from Drake's pulse rifle swiftly ended the lives.

Their group continued to run through the rain of explosions and ever approaching and never ending herds to Monokuma, and Shin had enough. He was willing to follow Nagisa to the escape route, but not under threat of endless grenades and Monokuma armies, so when he spotted a armored truck parked nearby commonly used Bomber Monokuma he made his decision. Shin released his Kagune and grabbing Komaru, Drake, Sachi, and Nagisa he ran towards the truck with Instant Movement. He then threw everyone in the back of the armored truck and Sachi in the front driver's seat.

Luckily Sachi knew how to drive and the keys were left in the ignition and they speed down the streets of Towa City. A few Monokuma latched onto the truck yet swift gunfire from Shin ended their lives. The Auto 9 blew out their red left eyes and the Devil Sealed Gun blew off a large part of their face each time they were head shot. In a matter of seconds all of the Monokuma latching onto the truck were gone and Shin breathed in a sigh of relief and then proceeded to give instructions.

Shin: "Sachi drive at full speed! We don't have to bother with the rules of the road in this dead city! Nagisa, give Sachi directions. Drake and Komaru, shoot all Monokuma that dare come close to the armored truck. This truck is sturdy, but we'll wipe out if a enemy attack flips us over!"

As Shin was saying this he flipped out of the inside of the car and onto the hood of the truck while holding onto the Auto 9 and Devil Sealed Gun. They began to follow Nagisa's instructions and according to him they would soon reach a shrine were the emergency escape route is hidden in less than five minutes at the pace they were driving. Just then another enemy attack came from the front. Up ahead stomping on top of the streets were fifty Beast Monokuma and riding on their backs were Bomber Monokuma all too ready to throw more grenades at Team Japan.

Sachi: "Should I take a detour?"

Drake: "No, continue full speed ahead! I'll handle the Beast Monokuma. I have a technique that'll render them weak for a few moments!c

Nagisa: "Wait! You can't be serious!"

Komaru: "I agree... but you're going to do it anyway, right (She said depressed and teary-eyed)?"

Shin: "...Hahaha! Yeah, but don't revert back to a scaredy cat Komaru. Sometimes a protagonist has to be bold at times! Sachi full speed ahead! Run them over! I'll handle any grenades!"

The armored truck truck speed full speed towards Bomber Monokumas riding Beast Monokumas. The Bomber Monokuma smiled with madness and threw their grenades at the armored truck. Both their throwing power and accuracy were far superior to their lousy throwing when they first appeared before three members of the Warriors of Hope were defeated. Dozens of grenades flew through the air towards the truck, but *BANG*, each grenade was knocked down by gunfire from Shin. The Bomber Monokuma looked unconcerned for the failed first attack and began a second, yet they were already in range of Drake's second skill. The only other skill aside form Weight of Sins that he learned during his time training as a combat priest, or rather (exorcist).

Drake: "...Pacify the Spirit!"

Drake's body glowed with the white light of Faith Energy and a wave of energy spread out in all directions passing through enemy and foe alike. Shin and the others didn't feel anything, yet their was a reaction the enemy side. The red malicious magic aura of the Beast Monokuma was slowly extinguished and decreased their vigor and fall over along with their riders the Bomber Monokuma who then preceded to blow up. The majority of the enemy Monokuma were destroyed in the large scale blast and the rest were run over by the armored truck passing through.

Komaru: "Amazing! They were all destroyed!"

Nagisa: "...Seriously who are you people?"

Shin: "Just your average wandering heroes and their protagonist."

Shin was surprised and excited by the previous skill of his newest comrade Drake and proceeded to ask him why hadn't he used it before... but unfortunately he couldn't. Drake had exhausted himself with that last skill and passed out from fatigue. Drake had be put on a brave from so far, but he was still a normal human being who was missing a arm that had been torn not long ago and has since been fighting one battle after the other. Sachi had used skillful acupuncture to relive his fatigue, yet just now he had reached his limit.

Shin: "Well, it'd fine to let him sleep for a bit. We're also there and-"

Komaru: "Hey, do any of you hear that?"

Shin: "!"

After hearing Komaru's words a feeling of danger clenched Shin's heart. Shin looked around for whatever it could be, yet he couldn't spot any enemies... til he looked up. Flying high in the sky above Towa City and descending towards the armored truck in a uniform formation were fifteen flying Monokumas. Along with a metal helmet resembling a pilot's mask these Monokuma had a gasoline tank and jet pack propelling them and keeping them afloat. In their hands were sci-fi looking riffles aimed st the speeding armored truck and they would soon catch up.

Shin: "Fuck! Destroy Monokumas! We haven't even gotten the Burn Kotodama (Word Bullets) yet assholes!"

Shin began to shot wildly at the fifteen man flying until of Destroy Monokumas. See the nullets coming they instantly split up just before the bullets reached them and swiftly regrouped to renew the chase. The Destroy Monokuma closed in and opened fire on the armored truck with energy weapons. They weren't too fast or accurate as threat of the energy blast missed, yet the two hitting the back of the truck melted through the armor and caused two small explosions. The truck quickly stabilized itself, yet the speed had decreased by 15%. Shin was left speechless seeing all of this. The Monokuma speed and reaction were very high and they could not only fly but attack from a distance with energy weapons.

Shin: (They'll destroy the truck before I can get rid of them. I can't aim and shoot from a distance when their reaction speed is so high. I have to predict where they'll fly next to shoot them down!)

Shin coming to a decision told the others to keep driving and then he jumped off the moving vehicle. He then kicked the air and flew towards the enemy with Void Instant Movement. The fifteen Destroy Monokumas saw Shin approaching quickly and opened fire at him. Shin took out Gravity Blade from one of the rings and with an increased weight slashed down the energy projectiles of the enemy. He avoided direct contact with the energy attacks, yet the extreme heat as he slashed through them brushed pass him and slightly burned his skin. Shin recalled he had done something similar once when he was less skilled with the sword, but even now the burning pain still caused him to curse.

Shin: (Fuck! It's not as bad as the time I did this when I fought Saki, but it still hurts!)

Then as Shin thought about that battle against a comrade long ago an idea formed within his mind and once more he kicked the air propelling himself forward. Shin with the velocity of a cannon ball came soaring towards the fifteen Destroy Monokuma and in a evasive maneuver they scattered in all directions, but not all could escape. In a flurry of flash like cuts from Gravity Blade five Destroy Monokumas had their heads decapitated as he flew pass.

Shin: (Predict the enemy flight path. When they accelerate in one direction they can't right away accelerate in another direction too quickly without risk of overloading their jetpacks and crashing. Dangan Ronpa is a low level sci-fi world, so this is the limit. Three to four seconds to accelerate a second time is their limit. That opening... is plenty!)

\- *BANG*!

As the five headless destroyed Destroy Monokuma fell to the streets below Shin swiftly took out his two sci-fi handguns and he opened fire at the still flying ten enemies. The Destroy Monokuma then swiftly evade these bullets with sudden acceleration, yet this was all within his expectations. Within Unlocked Mode combat instincts appeared one after the other and the Second Stage allowed Shin to compress time slightly through control of the nervous system. Everything came to a standstill through Shin's eyes and the only ones capable of moving at this moment at normal speed where himself and the enemy Destroy Monokuma, yet they couldn't keep up with his thinking speed. Information of enemy flight paths could be visually be seen through Shin's eyes rather than as a math calculations and trusting his instincts he opened fire as he allowed time his time to resume to normal.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, Monokuma KILL. 15 DESTROY MONOKUMA DEFEATED. 750 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin: "Shit!"

A look of Despair appeared on his face in spite of his success. The remaining Destroy Monokuma were shot down as a bullet cut through their red left eye. Shin predicted where they would fly to next and took advantage of limitations of their jet packs ability for sudden acceleration. Shin successfully dispatched the pursuing Destroy Monokuma attack unit, yet he had a reason to curse. Before one of the Monokuma blew up it fired one last time at the armored truck in the distance and hit it's mark. A rear tire of the armored truck was hit and caused the armored truck to lose control and crush into a line of abandoned cars. Shin in a panic kicked the air repeatedly with Void Instant Movement to return to the truck. He hadn't been erased, so Komaru must still be alive, yet he was worried about the others. Drake and Sachi had both become reliable comrades who he didn't want to see die and as for Nagisa of the Warriors of Hope he was an important NPC even if he was a enemy and wouldn't want to see what would happen to the plot if he died.


	184. Chapter 184

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 24, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Shin: "Well, we'll be going ahead. Stay here you two and rest up. I'll be back in a bit."

After Shin regrouped with hie his comrades who crashed the armored truck due to the attack of the Monokuma he decided to split up and head towards the secret way out of Towa City with Komaru and Nagisa. No one had died in the crash, yet Drake and Sachi were in condition to be moved. Drake had exhausted his Faith Energy and his fatigue for the loss of his arm was catching up to him. As for Sachi she hit her head on the windshield of the truck during the car crash hard. She was still live thanks to her fit body as a trained assassin and immediate emergency care on herself, yet it was clear to all that she needed some time to rest. And so Shin and Komaru had Nagisa continue their journey alone after leaving Drake and Sachi in a abandoned building. Even if there were to be more attacks from the Monokuma, Shin expected that they would prioritize the participant of the Demon Hunting Game Komaru and the traitor of the Warriors of Hope Nagisa as targets, and leave hos two injured comrades alone.

From the crashed and no longer operable armored truck Nagisa said that the way out of the city wasn't too far away from where they were and was well within running distance. Ten minutes later and without a single Monokuma or Monokuma Kid in sight to hinder them they arrived. A Japanese temple with a long staircase leading into the main temple up a hill. Shin seeing the temple up close Shin had mixed feelings. First was because the last time he had visited a *temple*, was back in the world of Apocalypse Alice where he had to fight the difficult Diseased Girl with the looming threat of thousands of magic monsters flooding in all to wipe out his team. The second and most pressing reason Shin felt anxious was because of Komaru. He had yet to think of a way to keep her with his team so they could continue to follow the plot.

Nagisa: "...We're here. It's at this temple."

Nagisa then went ahead up towards the main temple.

Komaru: "We should get going as well..."

Shin: "..."

Komaru: "...Shin?"

Shin: "Hey, is this really okay?"

Shin truly didn't know what to say and he couldn't force Komaru to stay he thought of her as a comrade after fighting together through many battles. In the back of his mind he always thought he could tie her up if he had to and carry her with him.. but he couldn't. It wasn't something like he fell for Komaru. Shin liked Komaru more than just like as she was a good looking Video Game heroine, yet it was far from love. Still he couldn't force Komaru to stay with physical force. Shin was prepared to do many many things to keep himself and his comrades alive, but he couldn't harm someone who had fought closely alongside of and talked with on many occasions even if Komaru was ultimately a NPC. There was the time where he fought Saki to the death in the real world, but at that time she threatened to do everything within her power to kill him and their Team Japan comrades. That's why Shin could only fall back on the lines used by Toko Fukawa to try to convince her.

Komaru: "What are going to do, Shin. Are you really going to stay in the city?"

Shin: "Yeah. I have to save my comrades who have been capture and brainwashed... and that probably means defeating the Warriors of Hope and Monokuma to do so. To sum things up I have to save Towa City to save what's important to me."

Komaru: "...Right. Hey... What do you think, honestly! Is it better for me to remain in Towa City. You won't be alone even if I leave... but do you need my help after all. Shin... do you want me to stay?"

Shin: "...I'll be honest. You're presence would help me a lot. Your Megaphone Hacking Gun is a powerful tool against the Monokumas. Your power can absolutely help me and without you Drake, Sachi, and myself could die with only our power. Our power is great, but we're up against a army of Monokumas lead by someone who has been basically toying with us all long. You've felt it as well, right? Whenever something good happens or we come close to accomplishing something we end up failing. That's why against such a adversary I need all the power that I can gather. That's the truth Komaru."

Komaru: "...I see. I've been trying my best to escape all this time so I can meet my parents and big brother, but now that the time has come I don't feel good leaving things like this. Abandoning you, Drake, Sachi, and all of the adults of Towa City. I think that I would regret it later. If you need me to stay, no I want to say if I'm needed... but first up you have to do something for me."

Shin: "Sure. Anything that you want. The Ultimate Protagonist can do anything for-"

Komaru: "Can you tell me the truth about yourself and all the strange things that have been going on around you? You're comrades disappear out of thin air. You don't seemed scared, or rather surprise by all the events going on. Also, along with Sachi and Drake your all so secretive. If I'm to join you till the end of this battle to save Towa City... I need you to tell me the truth."

Shin: "...Komaru, that's-"

\- *EXPLOSION*!

As Shin tried to gather the words to respond to Komaru's sudden and surprising request the sounds of a explosion could be heard. It came from the top of the staircase where the main temple sits and where Nagisa went ahead to wait for them. Shin and Komaru didn't understand what was going on, yet they began to run towards the main temple to find out.

Komaru: "Wait, that man is..."

Magician Monokuma: "Yo, Shin. Took you long enough."

Shin: "...Jin"

Shin and Komaru raced to the top of the temple grounds where Nagisa should be waiting for them, yet once they arrived they were greeted by a strange sight. Standing over the unconscious body of Nagisa was a male youth about seventeen or eighteen who was familiar to both Komaru and Shin. For Komaru the youth wearing a half Monokuma mask and wearing a wrinkled blue jacket was the man who returned her Megaphone Hacking Gun and also placed the Monokuma Bracelet/bomb around her neck. As for Shin of course he knew who the man in the mask was. Like with Hikari, Shuai, and Kisara the man in front of them was one of his comrades brainwashed by the Guide Izuru Kamukura, Team Japan's mastermind strategist and magic enhancer Jin

Shin: (That's Jin alright, but what's going on? How is he speaking to me normally? What is he doing here and what did he do to the temple?)

Shin had a lot of questions being face to face with Jin, or Magician Monokuma once more, but the question that stood out the most was what did he do to the temple. Shin gazed around the temple ground and found a knocked over Hokora and a large section of the ground wet and turned to mud. Their hasn't been any rain recently and there was only a pool of mud by the Quagmire magic spell.

Jin: "Ah, are you wondering what am I doing here, or what have I been doing, Shin? No need to choose since I'll start from the beginning. Haha! I'm kinda like a explanation character right now. Anyways, after the Guide brainwashed us all and we left you behind on the roof of the hospital building he made contact with Monaca Towa of the Warriors of Hope and they came to a understanding. Monaca wouldn't bother him or try to use more force than necessary to get rid of us outsiders and in exchange he lent us to the Warriors of Hope as combatants. I took over the role of Nagito Komaeda who directed the Monokuma Kids help Komaru and to do my job he allowed me more freedom than the others, yet I'm still under his control. Really, I haven't been messing around just to screw with you! I promise! I'm just that kind of worthless existence that I just had no choice but to do my job... even if it meant helping the enemy. Ah, I should just say this now, but good job! I've watched you from hidden surveillance feeds throughout Towa City and I have to say I'm impressed. You've overcome truly difficult challenges, found the time to recruit first rate Newbies who had unlocked the Genetic Constraint, and you even improved your abilities alone the way! That double acceleration technique and the Spirit Wave+Gravity Blade combination that took down two of those super fighter robots effortlessly was insane! The later of which should at least be a BB tier offensive attack! Long as you have that I don't believe any of the robots of the Warriors of Hope will stand a-"

Shin: "Jin!"

Shin shouted at Magician Monokuma who had begun to go on a rant with a faint look of madness in his eyes. Jin had honestly enjoyed watching Shin and his teams struggle for their lives in superpower robot battles against the Monokuma and Warriors of Hope. There was a genuine look of fanaticism on his face and Shin instinctively felt like punching him and stabbing Holy Sword Switch into his heart to shit him up, yet he refrained from doing so. Magician Monokuma was a *ally* who had been brainwashed by the Guide, yet had retained his personality and allowed some freedom of action. This was a chance to gain important information, so he didn't want the chance to slip by.

Magician Monokuma: "Fine fine. I'll tell you what you want to no. First, our remaining comrades Aqua and Connor are just fine. Aqua should be personally guarding Monaca Towa at the headquarters of the Warriors of Hope, Towa Hills. As for Connor he should be under the command of this guy here though he probably won't show up till you guys break into-"

Komaru: "Hey. Nagisa... Is he-"

Magician Monokuma: "Dead? No, just unconscious as I put him to sleep after telling him about what Monaca truly wanted out of Towa City. He snapped, but I put him to sleep so I can concentrate on my task."

Shin: "Task?"

Magician Monokuma: "Yes. I came here to make sure Komaru here couldn't escape Towa City and get in Team Japan's way."

Komaru: "Huh?"

Komaru had a confused look about her, but Magician Monokuma seemingly not caring continued to talk about why he was here. Taking the role of Nagito, Magician Monokuma arrived to this temple where the emergency escape route of the Warriors of Hope was hidden. In the original plot Nagito used words to manipulate Komaru and Toko Fukawa to have them work together to save the city and to not leave, yet Magician Monokuma used a more forceful method. He knocked out Nagisa and used his magic spell Quagmire to collapse and flood the hidden escape route underneath the temple Hokora with mud making it unaccessible.

Komaru: "Why... Why would you-"

Magician Monokuma: "Hahaha! Because your a tool for Shin and my team's success, dear Komaru. It would be inconvenient for us if you left Towa City. Without the rest of Team Japan to support his actions he doesn't have the ability to handle these insane kids if they went all out, so for his, my own, and the sake of the team we need you to play your role... Ah, more than one role of you know the plot."

Shin: "Jin!"

Komaru: "..."

Magician Monokuma: "Ah... Did I go too far? Haha! My bad. Sorry, but I think I'm enjoying this villain role more than I should. I wonder why? Anyways, you can convince Komaru if you try Shin... your a protagonist aren't you and a man that I respect after all. Now then..."

Magician Monokuma eyes defocused as he circulated his Intermediate Rank Magic Power throughout his body jumped back ten meters. Once he landed he swung the magic staff "The Arrogant Water Dragon King - Aqua Heart" from his back and pointed it forward while activating a spell. Casting Mana Shield around himself a transparent blue orb materialized around him.

Shin: "What are you-"

Magician Monokuma: "Obviously I'm getting ready for battle. I was given a lot of freedom by the Guide, Shin, but I've still been programed to attack you on sight and I just can't hold myself back anymore. My role as Nagito has also come to a end. I've already made preparation for everything that's to come. Honestly... I would very much like to watch you overcome the Despair of this city as you bravely fight your way to save Towa City and undo the brainwashing on your comrades...! But you know, fighting you to the death to see if you worthy of being Team Japan's leader sounds just as fun as well! I of course don't want to die or fail here, but if you're only so powerful that you fall here... it's just a matter of choosing to die now than later when you meet up with the Guide! Hahah! Get ready!"

Magician Monokuma directed it's magic power through his arm holding onto The Arrogant Water Dragon King and a distortion began. The blue crystal at the end of the magic staff which was bright blue dyed to a midnight blue and red orb of power materialized at its center. Everyone present felt immense danger coming from the magic staff now gathering a cool frost mist around the crystal. At that point Shin saw madness take over Magician Monokuma's mind, body and soul. Even without brainwashing Shin couldn't help but feel that Jin, Magician Monokuma was perfectly okay with having a serious death match.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Shin: "Fuck you Jin! Fucking hiding all these abilities! This isn't going to end nice for you!"

Ten seconds have passed since there battle began and Shin was on the defensive running for his life from a barrage of magic attacks from Magician Monokuma. Magician Monokuma began their battle by showing off spells he had never seen before, yet that want the reason Shin was on the run. Carried in his arms was a confused and terrified Komaru and the unconscious Nagisa wrapped up in his Kagune. From the very beginning Magician Monokuma aimed a Frostbolt spell at Komaru and Shin had to rescue her and since then then Magician Monokuma had prioritized attacking her over Shin. Shin picked her up and sped off, but not before getting Nagisa who was important to the plot of chapter 4.

Jin: "You know, I wasn't really hiding anything. I wanted to show off during the next mission to show my worth to the team to fix my low standing. I thought waiting till later to showcase my power would leave the biggest impact, uou know, but well what can you do. Frostbolt!"

Jin raised The Arrogant Water Dragon King that now flashed a strange pale blue light as he called out the spell's name. A layer of frost from the staff added onto the spell and was released large energy ray. Shin holding onto Komaru and Nagisa ran towards the staircase leading down the temple at full speed when he saw the laser beam and jumped down while activating Instant Movement. They fell through the air and touched down at the bottom of the temple. Shin was relived that he avoided the spell but when he looked back he was startled. A 10x10 meter tower of ice stood tall where Magician Monokuma Frostbolt landed and if he and Komaru where directly hit by the ice spell they would frozen solid within the giant ice cub.

Shin: "This guy... Komaru, please wait here till I deal with my asshole of a bad friend up there. I'll also leave Nagisa here with you."

Komaru: "Okay... but... About what he said earlier..."

Shin: "...I promise to tell you everything once I'm done with Jin. No more lies and I'll face you honestly. So please..."

Komaru: "...Fine, but don't die okay. That friend of your is just as insane as those kids if you ask me."

Shin: "...Haha! I completely agree, but he has his moments. That's why I have to beat him down to show him who's the true protagonist is! I'll be back!"

Shin gave one final look at Komaru and then proceeded to return to the battle with Magician Monokuma. He entered the First Stage of Unlocked Mode and jumped into the air and flew up with Void Instant Movement gainning a birds eye view of the temple, but was immediately targeted. A large block of ice the size of a full grown man came flying towards him with the speed of a bullet. Shin saw the attack coming in Unlocked Mode and swiftly stepped away with Void Instant Movement and then looked down at the man who who didn't hesitate to send over his technique acquired from Skill Mastery. Shin remaining in the air with his advance foot technique looked incredibly furious at Magician Monokuma who looked honestly disappointed having missed killing Shin.

Magician Monokuma: "Shame. Ice Shell missed."

Shin: "Well, well. Haven't just all of your techniques just upgraded themselves since the last time I saw them. The last time I saw that spell you still haven't exchanged for it from God and it was only the size of a bowling ball. Were you hiding that as well?"

Magician Monokuma: "Well, you can't blame this on me Shin. I hid some new techniques, but my recent growth of the scale of ice I can create is thanks to some advice from The Guide and this here."

Magician Monokuma saying so tapping his magic staff, The Arrogant Water Dragon King a few time and fragments of frost scattered in the wind. At the same time the midnight blue crystal at the top of the magic tool glowed brightly.

Magician Monokuma: "It's all because of the influence The Guide. For the sake of challenging you he gave me a few tips on how to improve my magic. He said I had a high affinity with magic, so I would grasp his advice very easily. I think he did similar things to the others under his control, but for me he showed my how to turn my magic staff, The Arrogant Water Dragon King, into a Supporter with my Warlock Mutation from Witch Hunter (Manuwa). After becoming a Supporter, all my magic spells have less than 1/10 their original cost and the power of ice, water, and earth spells increased by a few levels. Isn't this amazing Shin! Also, there are no down sides to this ability other than maintaining the connection with new Supporter with magic power, but even that doesn't have a high consumption cost! As you would say I've become OP. See, not my fault right!?"

Shin: "...That so. Well, I still won't feel satisfied to I 99/100th kill you, Jin!"

In a rage Shin took out Gravity Blade and shot through the air with Void Movement towards Magician Monokuma. His speed was faster than a bullet and Magician Monokuma with only 3-4 times the Muscle Density of a moral human and a low Reaction Speed stat he couldn't hope to escape Shin. Shin saw that a Mana Shield was still protecting Magician Monokuma, yet unconcerned he slashed down at him with a increased weight slash from Gravity Blade. He recalled the enemy's magic shield was only so strong to block a few hits from a machine gun in training or one strong attack, and so he was certain his attack break through his defense.

Shin: (Even if it's improved somewhat it won't be able to... huh?)

As Shin's sword made contact with Magician Monokuma' Mana Shield it easily slipped through and slashed him as if he was cutting through mist... yet that was exactly what it was. Shin felt no physical resistance as his sword slashed Magician Monokuma and immediately afterwards Magician Monokuma evaporated into blue smoke. Shin was confused, but had no time to consider things as a beam of ice from the side captured him, freezing him in a solid block of ice. The temple ground were silent afterwards and appearing out of thin air using the Illusion Shroud spell was Magician Monokuma who was smiling with his lips, yet his eyes only showed disappointment.

Magician Monokuma: "I won't fault you for not knowing that I improved all my spells including Illusion Shroud, but Shin... this is still the real world in way. No one talks during a battle for no reason. I was obviously preparing for a magic to create a illusionary clone of myself while hiding my real body. Ahhh... How disappointing that this is all that you are-"

-*CRACK*!

\- *SHATTERING*!

As Magician Monokuma was speaking cracks surfaced on the cube of ice and a second later the cube burst opened and a shadowy figure moving at extreme speed flew through the air towards him. Magician Monokuma reentered Unlocked Mode of the First Stage without hesitation and casted a unique Mana Shield. This Mana Shield had five overlapping layers to it for added defense, but all the same as a sonic boom rang out and Magician Monokuma was blown away crashing into a far off wall with three layers of shields smashed open. Half in a daze he looked over towards the figure and saw Shin standing where he just was with his left hand extended releasing an aura of Ki.

Shin: "...I used Soul Crushing Strike to bypass your shield, but I didn't expect a multi-layered shield, but that doesn't matter. Jin, stop trash talking and fight if you came here to fight!"

Shin without waiting for a reply jumped at Magician Monokuma while summoning his Kagune. Six blood red tentacles swirled through the air and given the order to attack they darted towards the prey in front of them. Shin was confident that even if Magician Monokuma used Mana Shield to defend he would still win. The Kagune tentacles would wrap around the orb shaped shield capturing Magician Monokuma. Shin would be free to beat on him till the defensive spell brakes. That was the plan, but-

\- *BANG*!

-yet it wasn't easily to realize. Magician Monokuma in the First Stage swiftly drew his Mana Gun Colt Custom Gold and opened fire releasing invisible Mana Bullets. The six Kagune tentacles were riddled with bullets from the Mana Gun and Shin was next. Shin sensing the danger at the latest second entered the Second Stage and jumped away with Void Movement and coating his body Silver Dragon Scales. Magician Monokuma continued to open fire at him, yet half the bullets missed while the other only pierced one inch deep into his right forearm and the left side of his torso.

Shin fell to the floor to recover and felt but thankful and frightened at the power of Magician Monokuma's Mana Gun. The Mana Gun couldn't break his defense, yet it came extremely close. Shin's body had been enhanced over and over again and had the benefits a defensive Ki skill and the strength of Second Stage, yet the D tier magic gun almost shredded him full of hole and a chill went down his spine and his eyes went cold seeing how close to death he had come. If he hadn't prioritized protecting his head and heart...

Shin: "Jin!"

And in a rage Shin charged once more at Magician Monokuma with a burst of speed and with each step he took the ground mini explosions detonated. Magician Monokuma aimed the Mana Gun at him, yet his eyes couldn't follow him as he became a blur. Shin wasn't confident in dodging the Mana Gun's invisible bullets moving through the air with Void Movement and so fell back on the more comfortable and more used to Instant Movement and it worked. Magician Monokuma was unable to follow Shin's ghostly speed and was knocked around again and again by his relentless attacks. He defended with multi-layered Mana Shield, but each of Shin's attacks had crushing force and slowly the shield was pried open by increased weight magic slashes and Soul Crushing Strike. Then as Magician Monokuma Mana Shield was broken-

Jin: "Hahaha! Real magic battles are tough, yet fun. Ice Missile!"

Shin's last attacked blew Magician Monokuma off his feet flying towards the temple building and as he was about to slam into a supporting beam he raised his magic staff and casted a spell. Three stars of light in the shape of arrows appeared floating in the air releasing a cold frost and shot forward towards Shin as Magician Monokuma smashed into the supporting beam. Seeing the incoming attack Shin jumped to the side yet to his shock the three stars turned to follow him and even accelerated further like seeker missiles. He jumped further back with Instant Movement and seeing the Ice Arrows continuing their pursuit Shin raised his right hand and opened fire with three Far Bullets. The transparent and slow Ki bullet were lined up to meet the Ice Arrows and on contact both attacks detonated. Far Bullet was Shin's least damaging Ki attack, yet was designed to strike magic and spiritual entities rather than damage flesh and blood beings.

Magician Monokuma attack failed, yet it gave him the time to recover from his earlier collision as he began to sprint away from Shin. Magician Monokuma's right arm was broken in half and was causing him enough pain to pass out, yet he remained as calm as possible with mentality acquired by Unlocked Mode and began to cast his next spell. Seeing this Shin didn't know what to say about Magician Monokuma determination which was both aspiring and unneeded here, yet he made up his mind. Shin wanted to defeat his comrade without wasting too much Ki or stamina, yet Magician Monokuma's potential for magic far surpassed what he thought he was capable of.

Shin: (Is this what one calls the a natural born genius, or is this the result of his mysterious bloodline? In any case it's time to go all out!)

Shin resolving himself Shin spent over a quarter of his totally Ki to activate the Red Moon Formation of the Lesser Fenrir Coat. A blood red aura enveloped his body and the symbol of the full moon appeared on the back of his magic coat. Shin's overall stats skyrocketed for the next sixty seconds and not wasting any time he kicked both the land and air for double acceleration to reach Magician Monokuma in the shortest time possible. Previously he was also worried about a counter attack while he was flying through the air from Magician Monokuma, yet that was now mo longer a concern.

Shin's speed far surpassed what Magician Monokuma was capable of following even in Unlocked Mode and currently the red aura around Shin acted as a barrier and protected him from all forms of attacks and only a attack of a very high scale could hope to break through his defense, yet even now his opponent didn't give up. The incoming danger approaching spurred ability to act and reaching a deeper level of Unlocked Mode. Magician Monokuma had almost reached the borderline to enter the Second Stage. Has still a few steps away from doing so, but at the very least his magic casting speed became lighting fast and was able to unleash a new spell just before Shin reached him.

Ice Wall.

A tall and thick wall of ice materialized out of thin air before Magician Monokuma and Shin slammed fist first into the wall with Soul Crushing Strike. On impact an explosion of Ki detonated and the wall of ice nearly shattered, Shin's left hand broke through the wall and was a inch away from reaching Magician Monokuma's eyes staring in disbelief. Shin not disturbed by the appearance of another new spell was about to smash through the wall of ice on its last leg, but realized that at some point his body was unable to move.

Magician Monokuma: "Sorry Shin. The selling point of ice magic isn't destructive power, but capturing the enemy by lowering body temperature or encasing them in ice. Ice Wall has that effect. Not only is Ice Wall my strongest two-dimensional defensive technique, anything that touches it will be frozen solid from the outside in. You double acceleration technique is amazing, but it became your undoing since Ice Wall is just a one sided wall unlike the full body covering Mana Shield which is ideal for defending against three-dimensional attacks. If you had the ability to just run or fly around Ice Wall then you would not have lost."

Shin: "!"

Shin wanted to say something to the arrogant Magician Monokuma, yet by this point in time his body was completely in cased in ice and for whatever reason Red Moon Formation's barrier wasn't protecting him. Shin also tried to break out with brute force, yet Magician Monokuma hand placed his hand on Ice Wall and was continuing to pour Mana into it to increase the speed of capture and reinforce the ice from breaking. By this point Magician Monokuma was running out of Mana, so it was up in the air whether he could continue to keep Shin detained long enough to suffocate him within the ice, or he would run out of energy and lose, yet running out of options and willing to wait to suffocate to death encased in ice Shin used one his ultimate techniques, Spirit Wave.

Shin: (I real didn't want to use Spirit Wave, but fortunately the only major battle left today is the battle at the Monokuma Factory. Spirit Wave... The way I normally use it is enough to break out of this with ease... but let's give him a scare!)

Just as Magician Monokuma confirmed that Shin had become a living ice sculpture a pale blue light illuminating from Shin's entire body blinded him. Shin activated his ultimate Ki technique Spirit Wave. From the core of his Ki, the navel, a light shined brightly and then all too quickly spreader throughout the body without exception, converting the normally green Ki into a stronger, higher tier of energy. Shin normally used this energy for a focused punch, kick, or sword slash that would be certain to defeat his enemy, but this time he did not do that. As the pure energy within himself was ready to violently explode have not been given instructions... Shin did nothing to stop it.

The ice encasing Shin blew apart and a colossal wave of energy spread outward in all directions in a AOE blast sweeping up Magician Monokuma at ground zero. It was a powerful wide area attack that even tore down the nearby temple, but Shin knew that the large blast was just for show and was not as devastating as it appeared. It could kill a man of above average strength, but for those with powerful enhancements would just be blown away by the wave of unfocused energy. Still, Magician Monokuma was blown over 300 meters falling down the hill behind the temple and only came to a stop after after hit a tree with his back.

When Shin ran to follow after him he saw Magician Monokuma with almost every bone in his body broken, his spine snapped and barley hanging on for dear life spitting blood. Seeing this he felt a pang of regret. Shin knew if he or someone like Aqua was caught up in a similar blast he wouldn't have been as damaged as Magician Monokuma, maybe break a arm or leg at most and some bruises, yet in his earlier anger he forgot that Magician Monokuma enhancements leaned more on magic and the mind rather than physical strength. Magician Monokuma indeed had Mana for a whole body enhancement and mutation to support him, yet the fall down the hill and crashed hard into a tree and snapping his back didn't help. Shin then in a panic leaped towards Magician Monokuma and stabbed his heart with Holy Switch to avoid him dying in the mission world and just before he was rejected out of the Mission World by God, Magician Monokuma, Jin said his last words before leaving.

Jin: "Haha! *cough*! It's a shame that I lost, but it was fun. We have to do this again some-, *COUGH*!"

Shin: "Shut up you crazy bastard and sorry excuse for a comrade! I got carried away as well, but I won't have your death on my conscious!"

Jin: "Haha-, *COUGH*! Fine then... Shin, there should be a big pile of corpses down by the entrance to the temple. Check under the body of the man with a shirt stained in blood with the number 7. I left something good. See ya."

And like so, with a smile on his face that didn't suit his character Jin left the world of Dangan Ronpa leaving Shin behind. Shin only felt like saying good riddance to see him off and left to check on Komaru and the unconscious Nagisa.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, TEAM JAPAN GENOCIDE. 7,000 POINTS AND B RANK REWARD AWARDED TO BOTH PLAYERS.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.

I don't think Magic Power from Mushoku Tensei alone could increase physical strength, but I remembered that Laplace couldn't use Fighting Spirit, but used magic power to instead directly strength his inner body. Its a dangerous method for a normal human so Rudeus never tried it I think, but Jin who has a magic type mutation can handle magic power.


	185. Chapter 185

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 25, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

At this time a group was climbing down railroad tracks as a makeshift ladder down a dark hole leading into the sewers. This group; Shin, Komaru, Sachi and Drake (Some difficulty with just one arm and all) were slowly climbing down and once they reached the bottom they let out a sigh of relief. After the battle with Jin/Magician Monokuma their teams current goal was to follow the plot and rejoin with the Resistance in Hopes of coming together to confront the out of control children. They took a different route to return to the sewers and ended up facing a few difficulties, yet by working together they overcame them. Especially Komaru who has become especially motivated. After acquiring the last two Kotodama (Word Bullets)s, BURN and LINK, her fighting potential with the Megaphone Hacking Gun reached its peak and even alone most threats from the Monokuma became negligible.

Sachi: "I can't believe we have to go back and work together with those incompetent adults. Also, I can't believe we let that blue haired kid go."

Drake: "It couldn't be helped, or what? Did you want Komaru by herself to stop those Monokuma Kids from retrieving him? We should just be happy nothing happened to her when our leader was dealing with his friend and the two of us who were incapacitated don't have a right to complain."

Komaru: "...Hey, guys..."

Sachi: "What is it?"

Komaru: "Well, we've been walking around these sewers so long... Do you think it'll be okay?"

Drake: "What do you mean?"

Komaru: "Like, is this smell gonna stick to me forever? I'm starting to worry I'll never get it off... Ah, sorry Sachi! I guess you don't want to hear this when earlier you slipped and fell into the river of sewage fighting that Beast Monokuma! Sorry!"

Sachi: "...I told you never to talk about that. Do you want to become my practice partner for my latest *healing* acupuncture technique? You'll feel so good that you'll be leaving your body behind as your soul-."

Komaru: "Sorry, sorry! Please forget what I said about your smell!"

Sachi: "!"

Drake: "Hey, hey hey! Calm down Sachi before you kill us all. Also, Komaru, I'm surprised."

Komaru: "Huh?"

Drake: "I mean... even after Shin ended up confessing everything to you. About us, this world, and everything else you wanted to know... I'm surprised that you are... well, okay with staying with us. You've also resolved yourself to fighting the Warriors of Hope and Monokuma Kids to the bitter end."

Komaru: "..."

It was as Drake said.

After Shin returned from his battle with Jin and regrouped with Komaru he kept his promise to her and revealed everything. Who he was, who Drake and Sachi were, what they were doing here, how his defeated comrades kept disappointing out of thin air, the word of Dangan Ronpa itself, and her own role within Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. Shin told Komaru everything without holding back and not caring for the thousands of points deducted from the Spoiler Penalty. At first Komaru couldn't believe a word that Shin said, yet seeing how serious he was and after thinking about everything that happened and how unreal everything going on was... she couldn't deny the possibility of his words being true.

Komaru: "...Well, I don't have a choice. I hate that you all lied to me, but you had your reasons. I understand that you did what you had to do and I know that I have to help you for my own future as well. That's why I can forgive you all and don't see any reason to start a conflict with you."

Drake: "I see. Then... why are the two distinctive slap mark on out leaders face, young lady? With his Muscle Density just how many times do you slap him around to leave such long lasting marks?"

Komaru: "Ah, come on. It really wasn't that bad and I apologized to Shin already. I may have went too far, but if I didn't at least do that there was no way I could continue to be with him. It was to clear the slate for our future together as well. Isn't that right Shin?"

Shin: "...Yeah. I'm really happy that you've fallen for me Komaru. Really... happy."

Shin had a blank expression on his face as he spoke to the others and rubbed his checks where Komaru slapped him repeatedly. Shin recalled just how did he end up with Komaru join in his harem. After telling Komaru everything he was slapped repeatedly for his lies, but once she had finished she had calm down and reached a conclusion. Know knowing Despair was waiting for her if she stayed in Towa City and what happens to her afterwards she had two options.

The first was leave Towa City.

Komaru was told that in the original plot she had a comrade in Toko Fukawa and they stayed in Towa City to help with the aftermath of the final battle against Monaca Towa the leader of the Warriors of Hope, but thanks to the involvement of Team Japan Toko and Komaru had not bonded, so once everything is over she will be alone. Komaru didn't like the idea of staying in Towa City alone without anyone's support, so she would leave Towa City and join her brother Makoto, but this had its downsides as well. She learned that Makoto would be involved in more incidents. Also, the world itself is designed to keep falling into Despair and Hope must fight against it. Lastly, Komaru herself despite unable to believe it was the heroine of a game in the Dangan Ronpa series in spite of being average, so she could end up being dragged in more events in the future.

Komaru's second option was one she came to after hearing about God's Dimension and was the one that she favored most. Komaru asked Shin to take her away from the world of Dangan Ronpa and allow her to follow him to the Terminal Lobby. This was a extreme choice from Shin's point of view, yet for Komaru there were three key reasons why this was a good idea.

One, the world of Dangan Ronpa is a mess. Even after the events of "The Tragedy", also called the biggest, horrific and most tragic event in human history, were mostly over with the death of Junko Enoshima, yet the world was not safe. Komaru had learned from Shin that the Dangan Ronpa series is still producing Video Games and Anime. There was no certainty that because of her connection to Makoto Naegi or her own heroine status that she wouldn't be dragged into more Despairing events, so she thought it was better to just leave the world behind.

Two, Komaru still wanted to see her brother and parents, but that had become a reason for her to want to leave the Mission World behind. Her only brother Makoto chose Future Foundation and people she had never seen over her, so their relationship is strained at the moment. As for her parents... not even Shin knew if they were dead or alive, so she had no clue where to begin to look for them.

Third and lastly...

Shin: (Komaru said that despite my lies she loved me. It had mainly to do with me saving her over and over again and supporting her through all of this, but she couldn't deny her feelings even knowing that I was protecting her because of the mission from God. In her words, my appearance before her as her savior burned my image into her heart in her time of Despair. It was basically the suspension bridge effect multiplied by 100, but she didn't seem to mind that. "Take responsibility", she said. Well, I don't hate Komaru. I may actually like her a lot... but is it love?)

Shin wondered about that as he agreed to bring Komaru back with him once the mission was finished. Like how he himself fell for girls very easily, Komaru may be the same. Shin believed that because of her two years of confinement in that apartment without human contact and then being terrorized by the Warriors of Hope and the Monokuma he would have attached herself to the first person that saved her and said something nice. In fact, her relationship with Toko Fukawa was just that, but absent an attraction of the opposite sex.

Shin: (Like a newborn bird that imprints one the first thing it sees. I took Toko's place, I acted confident, and I'm a man. That's all it took to win her over. Well, I have no room judge others for how they fall in love with others... and I also have no reason to refuse her advances.)

That was Shin's decision as he accepted Komaru confession before meeting up with Drake and Sachi. Shin did indeed hold some feeling for Komaru and he wanted to do anything to help her as they had become comrades over the course of the mission, but there was a deeper reason for accepting her. To get her to go along with his group and finish the mission. Shin still needed Komaru to play her role as the heroine of Another Episode so he could use his knowledge of the plot to predict future dangers and ultimately complete the mission and save his comrades brainwashed by the Guide.

Shin: (I feel bad that this the main reason, but I don't regret it nor am I lying to Komaru. If she wants to leave the world of Dangan Ronpa I will help her. I believe there is such a item which can do just that and I have a idea to go about without having to return to the Terminal Lobby and come back here.)

Shin still had is worries, but he put them on them in the back of his mind as he had no time to spare to ponder any further. The plot continued to move forward. Shin, Drake, Sachi, and even Komaru heard the sounds of yelling and explosions in the distance. We all realized that there was another raid by the Monokuma being carried out on the Resistance Base and they all ran through the sewer tunnels to help the adults.

Afterwards and then some.

After Komaru and Team Japan returned to the Resistance Base and saw the Monokuma was more plaguing the adults within the base they moved to repel them. Shin still didn't want to reveal to much to Shirokuma/AI Junko who was helping them defeat Monokuma, yet even without revealing everything he could do Team Japan and especially Komaru easily took out the invaders.

Drake wielding the Pulse Rifle with one arm continued to shower the Monokuma with bullets as they charged towards him and the surviving adults. Sachi hid within the dark and whenever she appeared one of the stronger models of Monokuma would be found dead before any comrades noticed what had happened. And Shin with just Gravity and his high stats hacked and slashed with increased weight slashed of the magic sword. As for Komaru she used the full potential of the Megaphone Hacking Gun to end the lives of all Monokuma within her sight. Those that approached her were in their gleaming red eye by the BREAK Bullet. The Guard Monokuma were blow back KNOCKBACK Bullet. For the Monokuma who stepped in puddles of water splashed on the floor during the chaos were electrocuted in mass. Monokuma aiming for the lives of the cowering adults were swiftly destroyed by the rapid fire of BURN Bullet to incinerate their OS. And once things were dying down Komaru took control of a few Beast Monokuma with LINK to dispatch the remaining enemies.

Once the immediate threat was over Shirokuma came to Komaru for a request just like in the original plot. The Monokuma came through a large hole in the back of the Resistance Base blown open by the enemy and Shirokuma wanted Komaru to help seal it by having her defeat him and to activate its self-destruct sequence. Shin forgot to to Komaru Shirokuma's role in everything, so when they fought Komaru was hesitant and honestly cried as Shirokuma blew up to seal the hole in the wall... without knowing that he was further manipulating her feelings and actually wouldn't die. Shin felt like telling Komaru all of this when a adult came by to show that Shirokuma's head was intact along with its operating AI, but chose not to.

Shin was worried whether or not Komaru could lie with a straight face if he told her the truth since they still had to interact with Shirokuma. Komaru knew now about what kind of ending awaited Towa City, yet she still honestly wished to help them through this incident before leaving Dangan Ronpa behind, so she wouldn't be lying to anyone when she tries to recruit the adults of the Resistance to her cause... but the more Shin thought about it the more he believed that Komaru wouldn't be able to face the sinister Shirokuma if she knew the truth about him.

Later, Shin and the others spoke to Haiji after things had calmed down. He didn't seem to care anymore about the events of the previous day or that they escaped as he had his hands full with the recent attacks. Haiji told them that even by sealing the hole in the back of the Resistance Base the Monokuma can just continue charge from the front entrance, so they were far from safe, but just delaying the (enviable). Following the plot Shin and the others asked what they were supposed to do, yet he looked as confused as the rest of the adults and he was paralyzed by fear to even mention what he believed to their only hope because of the danger involved in trying to reach it.

Haiji: "I know I know! We... Have to do something, but..."

Komaru: "...Haiji. No matter how scared you are, there are times when you have to fight."

Haiji: "Hm?"

Komaru: "There are times when you need to stand up... and not be afraid pain or even death. Even if moving forward we encounter more Despair we won't be able to reclaim Hope if we stop here. We have to do something before we lose everything that's important! Shin, everyone, lend me a hand!"

Komaru then left the shocked Haiji. She found a large truck to stand on top of and began to deliver her grand speech just like in the original plot, but she was currently following Shin's instructions. Still, Shin didn't tell Komaru what to say word since he didn't want to incur any more penalties for spoilers, so he let a nervous Komaru address everyone. Maybe even more so than in the original plot she was more nervous and confused about what to say, but to help her along Shin, Drake, and Sachi yelled words of encouragement which allowed her to deliver her speech. Shin was then surprised that Komaru's speech was almost exactly word for word like that f8rm the game. Despite the fact that this speech was a way to win over the adults of the Resistance, but as she continued to talk her her passion rose to the surface and gave a brilliant and moving speech.

Komaru: "I, along with Shin, Drake, Sachi and everyone here, want a happy ending! A proper happy ending that's super cliché and predictable, and where everyone's smiling! I want to one day see my big brother. I want to see my parents. I also want a ending where I can go on a proper first date with my boyfriend! That kind of plain ending is what I want! What we all want, so please... Please, let's make that kind of ending a reality for all of us! Let's stand up against this Despair together!... Th-That's it... That's all I have to say. Sorry for being so loud..."

Haiji: "..."

Among all the adults aspired by Komaru's words Haiji was the most effected. Hope and courage rose within his heart and spurred him into action and told Shin and the others to wait as he makes preparations for his trump card. Right afterwards Komaru embarrassed about her speech in front of everyone.

Komaru: "...Shin... Everyone... I feel like one of those lame kids who try to motivate his classmates only to fail completely..."

Shin: "It wasn't that bad... Well, you always have a place in my harem if the whole motivational speaking thing doesn't mean work out."

Komaru: "So it was that bad!"

Drake: "No I thought that it was great... but I took some pills earlier to deal with the pain of my missing arm, so..."

Sachi: "Isn't that great, Komaru. You seek to have good appeal with drug addicts at least."

Komaru: "That doesn't make me happy at all!"

Haiji: "Hey, sorry for the wait. The preparations are done, we gotta hurry and get out of here."

Komaru: "Get out of here? Are we leaving?"

Haiji returned to say he was ready to go get his trump card to help then defeat the Warriors of Hope. Komaru and the others weren't yet told the specifics of what he meant, but Shin knowing the plot by heart knew what was waiting for them. The final part of Chapter 4 of Another Episode where Haiji had Komaru and Toko Fukawa act as his guards to escort him to pick of the ultimate weapon of the Towa Group's hidden within a secret factor. The ultimate weapon and the hope of the adults of the Resistance, Big Bang Monokuma.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.

If you ask me if Shin loves Komaru at this time the answer would be no, but their love will be one that is born in time and she will become a powerful pillar of support for our MC later on.


	186. Chapter 186

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 26, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Once Haiji Towa was ready to leave he guided to the surface to a nearby parking garage to pick up some vehicles. According to Haiji of we didn't have a means of transportation it would take us all day to just walk to the other side of Towa City where we needed to go. The parking garage was one owned by Haiji and reflected his interest as there were only motorcycles inside. There were five us us so he suggested we take two or three bikes and in the end we took two. Sachi unexpectedly had a fear of driving and both Drake and Haiji were disabled, so it was done to Komaru and I to drive the motorcycles. Neither of us had driving licenses of any kind to speak of, but that didn't seem to matter as we both rocked out of the parking garage. I had a high Reaction Speed stat and good coordination from my previous experience driving bikes in the real world, so I was fine, but to my surprise Komaru had even better control of her motorcycle mo matter how fast she drove through Towa City.

Haiji: "Alright, we're here."

Shin: "...Just how did you beat me here Komaru? I even had Haiji sitting behind me. Are you sure that your not the Ultimate Biker?"

Komaru: "Hehe. Sorry. Driving was much more fun than I expected, so I went all out. Anyways, where are we?"

Sachi: "I hope you didn't bring us out here to do this and that to us girls here. Sorry, but if you want to do that then settle for Komaru here. She's not the type to resist and our leader haa yet to touch her, so she should still be a-"

Komaru: "Stop it!"

Shin: "That's right! No matter how it came about Komaru is my woman! No one's allowed to touch her except me or the woman of my harem!"

Komaru: "What kind of harem did I join?!"

Drake: "You're only how asking that?"

Haiji: "Can we get serious here people. Also, I like them as young as possible. I'm a lolicon after all."

Drake: "...I get that, but middle school girl are better then elementary school girls by far. It's also a crime, so Middle School girls are ideal!"

Haiji: "What do you you know! Lolis forever!"

Drake: "You're just a criminal! Aim low, but don't go over that line! Have some common sense man!"

Sachi: "..."

Shin: "..."

Komaru: "...Can I leave now?"

Shin: "Can I come too?"

Haiji: "*Cough*! Anyways, it's time. Careful of where you stand, and if you talk you might bite your tongue."

We left the bikes behind after driving across the city and Haiji walked in front of us and guided us to a patch of grass in an alley hidden by large buildings. Once we stepped on top of the patch of grass Haiji stomped repeatedly on the center of the patch of grass and the seconds later the ground began to shake. Like within the original game the patch of grass turned out to be the floor the of a secret elevator and we began to descend down unknown depths... but not really.

Shin took the time to explain to his group that this elevator lead to the Towa Group's secret factory and what awaited for them (I tried to limit what I told Komaru since it would be hard for her to lie or act surprised in front of Haiji... but I still cried inside as I lost points from the Spoiler Penalty). Once the elevator came to a stop Komaru, Sachi, Drake, Haiji and I arrived to a large factor hidden underground. The purpose of this factor was to make Monokuma robots and in the original plot of the game Haiji didn't speak much about this fact till the end since it would make him look suspicious, but there really was no hiding what the Towa Group was doing here, but we still played along.

Shin: "Isn't it about time you told us what's hidden here?"

Haiji: "I've told you all already. It's our last Hope. And it's deep inside this factory. However, we do have a bit of a problem and it's the reason I was hesitant to come here in the first place."

Drake: "What is it? We're not a group that gets scared easily. We're not a group that fought our way through thousands of Monokumas the last few days for nothing. We don't fear a bit of danger."

Haiji: "...Fine. In order to delay intruders and thieves, my family, Towa of the Towa Group, use Monokumas to guard the area."

Komaru: "Monokuma!"

Haiji: "Yes, but ever since the riots, we haven't been able to contact the officer that controls them. To what I can guess, the Monokumas here had their control function broken. I bet they would even attack *me*, like I was any other adult... Hey aren't you all to relaxed? Except the high school girl you are all taking the news of Towa Group using Monokuma very well."

Shin: "Were not the sort to over react. We also had our own suspicions about where the Monokuma came from and why you were hesitant to let in Future Foundation come and save you and the rest of the adults. Still, we weren't certain of anything till now."

Haiji: "I see. Well, you'll know the answer to all your questions once we're through here. We're, no you all are the only ones who can make it through here alive, so I'm counting on you. You have to help. There's no way I can do it alone, but I'm not just going to abandon the Hope that's in here. Komaru, I took your words to heart... ThatI need to fight back, no giving up."

Komaru: "Haiji..."

And like so we began our exploration of the factor trusting Haiji's words. As we set out I gave Sachi a signal when Haiji wasn't looking and she set off. Sachi looked like she was simply taking a few steps away, but the next moment she was gone. I had to praise such ability to vanish in plain sight, but according to what she once told me any skilled assassin can do this. Hypnotizing oneself and thinking oneself as a part of the darkness by discarding all emotions. A technique to counter even those with a strong sixth sense. A assassin who can't disappear into the shadows and hide by erasing their existence is a failure to the profession, and her failures as a assassin had nothing to do with her lack of skill, but her personality.

Anyways, getting back to the main point the reason I had Sachi go off alone was for the sake of Making things easier for us. Previously, at the end of my fight with Jin he said that he left something under the corpse of a body near the temple entrance and when I went to check I discovered a letter and a USP Drive. The letter contained information about the strength of the Warriors of Hope's Monokuma army and other important details that he thought might help me (I kinda felt bad now for breaking every bone in his body), but the most critical information pertained to this hidden factory.

I don't know how, but Jin discovered secret information about the factory and a solution to the Monokuma patrolling the site with the USB Drive. Hy installing it to a certain computer on the current floor we were we could turn off all the he security and simply walk to the lowest floor of the factory without engaging in any fights. Two minutes later it went exactly as planned and all the security and roaming Monokuma ceased all activity. Haiji was surprised by all of this, but he didn't question it or even notice when Sachi first left and then returned to the group as he lead us towards the lowest floor of the Monokuma Factory.

Shin: (I sent Sachi who could both sneak off and has knowledge as security systems just in case something unexpected happened, but I was worried for nothing. It's amazing that you can also overcome danger by using one's wisdom. For things like this those like Jin and Saki are irreplaceable for a team, but there is a down side to this method.)

Shin thought so as he walked passed the remains of a few stationary Monokuma he had cut apart with Gravity Blade. Shin had cut down over ten Monokuma, yet he had not heard any notification from God about acquiring points. He had to believe because he took away their ability to fight back. or taking away their ability to fight back without overcoming any dangers God didn't allow him to farm points. It was a shame since Shin and the others could potentially gain hundreds of thousands points from the Monokuma if they shut down the Monokuma and took control of their production, but just proceeding without any danger as they used the elevator to descended down the factor to their ultimate destination. Having reached the bottom most floor of the Monokuma Factory Haiji lead the group before a electronic steel door. Haiji as if only a spell was engrossed by what laid wait on the other side of the door that he failed to hear Shin speak to Komaru one final time before entering.

Haiji: "Here we are... Our trump card, or Hope is just behind this door. Yes, this... is out last Hope..."

Shin: "Komaru, be careful. I already told you what to expect, but stay alert. If you really want to save the adults of Towa City and overcome the Despair of this world you can't allow yourself to die here. If worse comes to worse... runaway by yourself."

Komaru: "Shin... You to know that's impossible for us. Also, if I was that type of girl to leave behind her boyfriend and comrades, I would have begged you to find away to allow me to leave Towa City. Whether we live to reach Hope or die falling to Despair... I'll choose the option whether I'm with you. And to me you're the ultimate Protagonist as well, so I believe in you to the very end."

Shin: "..."

Shin looked away from Komaru's resolved face embarrassed. Her feeling strong feelings really reach him and despite having a harem he was far form being unfazed by the charms of a woman, especially a Video Game heroine come to life like Komaru. Shin also felt ashamed that Komaru's feeling for him surpassed his own feelings for her, and so he resolved himself to protect Komaru aside from the fact that that if she died he and all his comrades will be erased.

Sachi: "Can the new couple flirt later? We have things to do."

Shin: "Sachi's right. Let go Komaru. After you."

Komaru: "So I'm the one opening the door, huh?"

After opening the door Komaru and everyone entered the most deepest part of the Monokuma Factory and saw something... out of this world. Even for Shin who played the game and knew what was on the other side of the door couldn't help but feel a chill travel down his spine the majesty of it all. Before them stood, no sitting on the metal floor of the factory was a large robot. More than any of the super robots of the Warriors of hope, and one of a Monokuma design, Big Bang Monokuma.

The Big Bang Monokuma's base design is identical to that of the standard Monokuma unit. However, it is much bigger than its peers, utterly dwarfing most of the buildings in Towa City. Like the standard Monokumas, the toothy left side of its mouth can morph between straight teeth and pointed fangs at will. To further distinguish itself from other Monokuma units, the Big Bang Monokuma wears a red and gold crown with small red and blue jewels. Its upper body is covered with a red cloak with gold trimmings and a ruffled white collar. It also carries a large red scepter with a silver head, gold and blue accents, and several red and blue gems (most notably a large blue gem inside a "cage" of silver panels and a blue diamond atop the head with a small red gem embedded in its center).

The Big Bang Monokuma is piloted from a control room in its head. The room features several monitors and desks around its sides, as well as a design resembling Monokuma's face on the floor. Despite the room being large enough to accommodate several people, the Big Bang Monokuma appears to be quite easy to pilot, since Haiji Towa was able to do so despite having a broken arm. It can also be piloted by an AI, as Shirokuma did for the final battle. To prevent misuse, the Big Bang Monokuma was programmed to only respond to a member of the Towa family, such as Haiji or Tokuichi Towa (The father). However, Shirokuma circumvented this restriction due to being an AI who could directly interface with the robot's systems and piloted for the final boss battle.

Komaru: "This... This is a Monokuma, right?"

Haiji: "Yes... Our trump card, the last Hope for us adults..."

Komaru: "This giant sized Monokuma is the last Hope...?"

Haiji" "Haha! This isn't just an oversized Monokuma, now. It's a secret weapon that was built by the Towa Group in case we ever needed to defend the city. If we use this Monokuma... This Big Bang Monokuma now... We can fight back against those kids and take back the city!"

Haiji then went on to explain the origins of the Monokuma of Towa City. The Monokuma were meant to be robot maids and tools to assist in dangerous labor jobs. One would have to question why they were *Monokuma* is design and their connection to The Tragedy, but when Komaru bothered to ask Haiji blew her off saying that he didn't know anything and that the developer choose the design of the robots. What he failed to mention was that it was Towa Group who originally developed the Monokuma and other weapons for Ultimate Despair to destroy the world, or that this was all done by Monaca Towa the mastermind behind the Warriors of Hope who then blackmailed Towa Group to keep assisting Ultimate Despair and Enoshima Junko while reaping profits from building tools to combat Ultimate Despair.

\- *RUMBLE*!

Shin: "Everyone stay alert! Something's coming!"

Shin warned everyone as the room began to shake violently as something was smashing it's way down from above. Shin entered Unlocked Mode and with his heightened senses, even without knowing the plot he knew that something increasingly dangerous was approaching. Moments later a large hole was blown open from the ceiling above their heads and falling through the hole and hovering around the room till it touched down on the floor was a large humanoid object. A robot. A large tan colored humanoid robot with a glowing orange right eye and a Monokuma theme eyepatch covering it's left eye, had a brown clock around its neck like something out of a western, and carrying on its right shoulder a large advance sci-fi sniper rifle glowing orange.

Next to the large robot were two young youths who had jumped down from the robots back. Standing to the left of the robot was a blue haired kid standing near emotionless with a large controller device for the combat robot Hannibal X, Nagisa Shingetsu. Standing to the right of the robot was a boy of middle eastern descent with dirty blonde hair wearing a Monokuma mask on half it's face and cradling a sci-fi weapon of his own, the Lightning Trigger, was Team Japan's sniper now brainwashed, Connor, current name Sniper Monokuma.

Komaru: "That kid... He's the one who wanted to let us go, right? I don't know who that other kids is... Shin, is he..."

Sniper Monokuma: "..."

Shin: "...Everyone, get ready to run. These guys are out for blood and won't be easily to take out!"

Shin examined the situation and came to that conclusion. Shin wasn't willing to wait for Nagisa to go crazy and start crying for the battle began. As soon as Nagisa and Sniper Monokuma appeared Shin was ready to immediately take out one of them in a similar fashion like in his battle against Jataro and Shaman Monokuma, yet Shin couldn't see that happen. Despite remaining silent so far both his enemies were on high alert and were ready to react to any. If Shin target Sniper Monokuma first Hannibal X would lock on him with his large scifi rifle and open fire. If Shin targets Hannibal X instead Sniper Monokuma who was already in Unlocked Mode would open fire on his comrades with the Lightning Trigger. The two enemies before him were snipers, long distance fighters, yet both of them held high reaction speeds to counter anything Shin throws their way, and so Shin silently waited for his chance while standing in front of Komaru.

Nagisa: "...Found you... Demons... I can't believe it... Hiding something like this..."

Haiji: "Let me guess, did she tell you about this? If she can't control it, she wants you to destroy it? Well I won't let it happen! This is the Hope we've finally got for ourselves!"

Drake: "Hey, can you not provoke the clearly disturbed kid controlling the robot with the large sci-fi looking rifle? Fuck, you're going to get us killed."

Nagisa: "You want to crush our paradise... with something like this,,, I won't let you... Everyone expects so much of the Warriors of Hope... And of me... To meet these expectations, I have to build Paradise all by myself! So expect more from me! I'll work hard! I'll do it, anything, so just please don't abandon me! Father! Mother! Big sis Junko! Monaca! More, more, more! Expect more from me!"

Nagisa Shingetsu lost it completely. When he arrived hid eyes were as dead as a fish out of water and was speaking calmly, or disinterested for a better word, but now he lost it as he began to cry asking for everyone to expect more of him. Nagisa's greatest fear wasn't that of adults, but of jot being needed anymore, and this was taken advantage of by Monaca Towa not long ago. She should have just revealed to Nagisa that she cared little for the paradise the Warriors of Hope originally claimed to have wanted to build. If that wasn't a big enough shock Monaca used his tender feeling of young and the confused love that he had for her and kissed/molested him and then in the same way that a young boy gets emotionally confused when a adult woman makes a sexual advance of them, an advance they weren't nearly ready to handle emotionally Nagisa mind broke down. From there Monaca kept saying lies like she expected a lot out of him and hoped he would meet those expectations... even though she never had any expectations for him from the beginning as he was only a tool and a temporary tool at that like everyone else of the Warriors of Hope.

Nagisa didn't know of this, so in his confused state he made the best judgment call he could in Hopes of meeting Monaca's expectations... to kill Komaru Naegi her companions, and their Hope to overcome the Warriors of Hope, Big Bang Monokuma. Then at that moment Hannibal X began to open fire of the group. From the sci-fi rifle a yellow light would discharge as bullets were fired from the gun at high velocity. Shin and the others immediately began to run for cover, but the power of the robots rifle got in their way. Not only was its speed only at the level of rapid fire, each shot of the sci-fi rifle blew three meter wide and deep holes into the floor of the factor. The rapid fire sniper rifle with the force of a high powered cannon left them in a state of confusion and Despair as everyone scrambled for cover. At some point Haiji managed to escape alone, so all who were left in danger were Shin, Komaru, Drake, and Sachi.

Shin: "Hold on!"

Shin extended his Kagune tentacles towards his comrades and jumped away with Void Instant Movement. Hannibal X aimed it's rifle to continue to barrage them with bullets, but each time it locked on to Shin he would side step slightly with the airborne foot technique to evade fire. Shin's heart seeing the bullets for Hannibal X's rifle pass by felt darkened. The power of the gun was like a rail gun and he instinctively felt that even using Red Moon Formation, in Kakuja Form, activated Silver Dragon Scales all over his body, and was in the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode... he couldn't afford to take one shot from the enemy's gun, or risk being blown up into a meaty red paste.

Shin: (I can't tank or deflect such a attack in my best condition. I can only get the others to safety and find a way to close back in on Hannibal X and-"

\- *BANG*!

Shin in his time of panic he momentary forgot that their was another enemy and a hole opened up just above his heart. Sniper Monokuma had slipped into the darkness of the factory and shot at Shin with the Eaglet Rifle enhanced with Demonic Argumentation. The original yellow Trion Bullet dyed with a red aura cut through the air and pierced through its target and Shin's entire left arm was blown off with just the power of the Eaglet Rifle. Sniper Monokuma had aimed for Shin's heart, but at the last second he had leaned backwards as he flew through the air and instead of a fatal shot to the heart only a arm was blown off.

Sniper Monokuma misjudged Shin's ability to react even when caught off guard and adapted. For more now only he would only use the rapid fire and fast Lightning Trigger which Shin would not be able to react to and the high power Ibis which holds enough force to blow off half a man's body with only a graze. Combined with Demonic Argumentation and Sniper Monokuma believed Shin was certainly just waiting for death. The boy sniper then watched as Shin kicked the air with Void Instant Movement to avoid a follow ip attack from Hannibal X and fell to the back of the factor along with his comrades. He considered attacking again, but seeing that seeing that there were many large computers hindering sight and offering his targets cover he held off on that decision and relocated himself to find his next sniper's nest.

Shin and the others hid behind a large computer drive offering them cover. Komaru and the others were worried about the injuries sustained by Shin, yet they felt better seeing him regenerate his arm in full all the way up to the shoulder. Shin regenerated his arm my draining his Ki and stamina. He flexed his new arm and finding nothing wrong and that it wouldn't get in the way of fighting he stood up. Shin was still in Unlocked Mode and after coming up with a plan ordered his comrades. He warned everyone that Hannibal X would jump around the room and try to snipe them, so he wanted Drake to protect Komaru as they move from place to place. As for Sachi, Shin wanted her to stay hidden while trying to locate Sniper Monokuma whom he considered the bigger threat. As for their fearless leader, he...

Shin: "There are no more major battles today and I can't afford to hold, so I'll use my full power to take out Hannibal X first. This super robot is a sniper, so if get close it'll be my victory. Let's not make this a long battle. We have to think about the final battle tomorrow as well. Drake and Komaru, only engage in combat with Hannibal X when you are confident you won't get counter attacked. Also, beware of grenades that he will throw out at times. Sachi, I need you to find Connor for me. He's the most troublesome one to deal with. His Side Effect is a bit complicated, but it allows him find anyone before his field of vision. This is the most dangerous task, but it's necessary. Connor will hide himself like assassin and only strike when he's certain he can make the kill and even if I spot him during the counter attack he has a demon eye magic that will hinder my moments. I'll give you a grenade, so just throw it in his general direction and I'll handle the rest. That's it. I'll gain their attention, so use this chance to move out. Let's go!"

Yelling so Shin sprinted out of cover with Instant Movement. Just as he did a shot fired from Hannibal X aimed and released. In between the time bullet took to arrive Shin entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode. His power and speed jump spiked a few tiers and above all his reaction speed increased by focusing his mind. Shin saw the bullet coming and that it would arrive in less than a second and he dived forward to narrow miss the bullet.

\- *BANG*!

A three high speed Trion Bullet giving off a giant red glow were released from Shin's blind spot as he dived forward. The three bullet's velocity was too fast. Even in the Second Stage Shin would have needed to at least be facing where they were fired from to dodge them, but this was unnecessary. At the time the Trion Bullets reached Shin a red translucent barrier surface and blocked the bullets. Shin had entered Red Moon Formation and with it his power and speed skyrocketed further. Hannibal X continued to open fire on him, yet it was always a step too late as Shin would move from one place to the next. Sniper Monokuma didn't try to snipe Shin for a second time immediately knowing that he would pounce on him, and so he relocated.

Shin: (Connor isn't revealing himself. That's fine. The others have already made their move.)

It was as Shin said. Komaru and Drake had ran to a new hiding spot and were ready to attack with the Megaphone Hacking Gun and M41A-M Pulse Rifle if a enemy revealed themselves before them. As for Sachi she had disappeared and begun to track Sniper Monokuma for Shin. Shin was glad to see that everything was going to plan, but his plan couldn't be called a plan. Facing both the enemy robot and one of his comrades was something he wanted to avoid, but he couldn't figure out how a way to do so. That's why shin could only rely on one thing and one thing only if he couldn't rely on his wits.

Shin: (Screw it all and just go all out and force the win!)

Shin was already using Red Moon Formation, but that wasn't enough. Shin tapped in deeper into his his genetic mutation and called forth his Kakuja Kagune for increased power and speed. A black armored Kagune tail was summoned from behind his back around the waist trailed behind him as his speed shot up to a extreme level. Using Instant Movement Shin continuously jumped from place to place around the factor ad a blur that no one within the room could hope to follow. Hannibal X tired to shoot down Shin, but all of its shot missed by a large margin as he was unable to keep up with Shin's speed. It was right them a barge of gunfire struck Hannibal X from Komaru and Drake and brought the super robot to its knees just as Shin reached it.

Shin: (Continuous Soul Crushing Strikes!)

Shin used a double accelerated jump and slammed into the body of Hannibal X with great force and from there relentlessly unleashed a endless barrage of Soul Crushing Strike. In Red Moon Formation Shin could unleash a endless number of C tier and below Ki skills without cost long as it was active and he made great use of this advantage to dole out continuous Ki attacks. In a span of a few seconds Shin hit the body of Hannibal X hundreds of times with Soul Crushing Strike and with the added power and speed of the Second Stage and being in Kakuja Kagune form with one last blow Hannibal X was blown away into the air helpless. Nagisa to the side panicked seeing his super robot effortlessly beaten down and it's torso heavily damaged and activated it's Suicide Mode to retaliate, but it was all within Shin's expectations.

Shin: (If I don't have to hold back because of continuous battles then do you really think you can take me down! Spirit Wave!)

From Hannibal X's left eye hiding it's core reactor a deep blood red energy was released and enveloped the super robot and rejuvenated the him as it entered Suicide Mode, and at the same time Shin himself was enveloped in a pale blue light of Spirit Wave. The pure energy of Spirit Wave converted all of Shin'd Ki into a higher tier of energy and he then redirected this power towards his armored Kakuja Kagune tail. Shin then spun his body into a spin and extended the armored tail enveloped in light towards the super robot. The razor sharp talon edges of the armored Kagune slashed deep into the left side of Hannibal X's head and with very little resistance slashed right through and destroying it's core reactor.

SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, WARRIORS OF HOPE OVERTHROWN. FIRST HALF 4/4 COMPLETE. AWARDS ALL ALL MEMBERS 4,000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD. SECOND HALF INCOMPLETE.

\- *BANG*!

At the exact moment Nagisa's Hannibal X was confirmed defeated, a shot from a yellow Trion Cannon ball with a faint red glow fired from the Ibis Trigger smashed into Shin's backside just as Red Moon Formation and the energy of Spirit Wave came to a end. Thankfully, Shin's armored Kakuja Kagune shifted to protect him by blocking the cannon ball, yet the force blew him i to a steel wall. Shin was in a weakened state after using Spirit Wave and the shot from the Ibis, yet he stood back up and activated the Life Force Booster to refill his Ki. Soon a excruciating pain would assault Shin, yet such worried were far from his mind.

Next a barrage of of Trion Bullets from the Lightning Trigger flew towards Shin. Shin rushed towards where he though Sniper Monokuma's general location was, yet the continuous rain of bullet from the Lightning Trigger held him in check. Shin's speed was inhuman in his Kakuja Form with the addition of speed techniques and he could cross the space of the factory for in seconds, but his opponent was a exceptional sniper. With the eye enhancement skill, Demon Eye: Encroachment, that increased vision and partially paralyzed those he saw, along with the focus of the First Stage of Unlocked Mode Sniper Monokuma saw through Shin's inhuman moments through the scope of his rifle. Shin feeling the pressure of this dead locked reinforced his came up with two plans. Reinforcing his armored Kagune with Silver Dragon Scales and rushing out tanking Sniper Monokuma's shots, or find a way to attack from a distance, and just as how to do the latter popped into his head-

\- *EXPLOSION*!

\- *BANG*!

The sound of a explosion and gunshot rang throughout the factor. Sachi snuck up on Sniper Monokuma from behind an threw a grenade at Sniper Monokuma. Sniper Monokuma was blown off his feet and into the air, yet while in kid air he drew his Eaglet Trigger and opened fire on Sachi. Sachi escaped into the shadows of the factor and hid herself at the last second, yet left on the floor where she just stood was a bloody leg shot off gy the sci-fi rifle. Sniper Monokuma with his exceptional eye sight and experience successful tracked Sachi down desperately hopping away and he raised his rifle to finish her off, but just then a small projectile reinforced with Ki pierced into his neck and along with it a familiar sound ring in his ears.

It was the sound he would of course recognize as the sound of his own anti-material sniper rifle being fired. Trion Energy leaked out of Sniper Monokuma's neck as he looked towards the comrade he had handed off his normal rifle to before the mission began. Shin, with a incredible calm expression, had taken out the the rifle from his Na Ring was aiming it at Sniper Monokuma and once more opened fired. This time Sniper Monokuma want caught off guard and he rolled forward, but unfortunately a immediate third shot predicting such a action shot his ankle tearing off his right leg.

Sniper Monokuma couldn't believe normal gun could cause such damage to his Trion Body, yet the anti-material rifle was reinforced with Shin's Ki to increase its power and speed. Sniper Monokuma tripped up having a leg shot off and rolled across the floor and Shin didn't let that chance go. He placed the rifle back into his ring and rushed forward wheel enveloped in a silver magic aura. He then jumped high and kicked the air with Void Instant Movement and shot towards his brainwashed comrade like an arrow and in his right hand was Holy Sword Switch.

Sniper Monokuma in one last struggle took out the Lightning Trigger and opened fire and Shin flying towards him, but it was to no avail. Shin was still in the Second Stage and in Kakuja Form, and seeing this action in advance he changed direction in midair with a kick to avoid the barrage of Trion Bullets. Sniper Monokuma still following Shin with his eyes raised his gun to fire again, but by that point he had already closed in and stabbed the Holy Sword into his heart. Thus, the boss battle of chapter four of Dangan Ronpa came to a end and Sniper Monokuma, Connor was freed from his brainwashing.

Connor left the word without attempting to say anything, yet Shin could tell that no words needed to be said between them. Connor's eyes clearly showed that he expected Shin who he had acknowledged to quickly end the mission and defeat the Guide and Shin had every intension of living up to those expectations as he turned around to observe at his comrades coming out of hiding and moving towards Big Bang Monokuma which was key to open up the path to Towa Hills where the final battle was to take place.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, TEAM JAPAN GENOCIDE. 7,000 POINTS AND B RANK REWARD AWARDED TO BOTH PLAYERS.

Shin: "Everyone, I'm almost done! I'll save our last comrade Aqua, defeat the Warriors of Hope, and finally confront that asshole of a Guide, Izuru Kamukura once and for all!"


	187. Chapter 187

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 27, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

After defeating defeating Nagisa of the Warriors of and the brainwashed Connor; Shin, Komaru, Sachi, and Drake entered Big Bang Monokuma lead by a extremely excited Haiji Towa. At first they had tired to look for the distraught Nagisa, but they couldn't find traces of him anywhere, and Haiji pressured everyone to give up for search as they had more importamt matters to attend to. Haiji was just all too pleased to have finally acquired the Hope that he was looking for and started up Big Bang Monokuma. As he did Shin and the other Players received a shocking Notification from God. Komaru had the NPC status, so she couldn't hear the notification, but unlike Haiji who was in grossed in going over the controls of Big Bang Monokuma, she clearly saw shock on her comrades faces.

\- HAVE ENTERED AND STARTED UP BIG BANG MONOKUMA. FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, TILL THE FINAL BOSS BATTLE PLAYERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DIRECTLY DESTROY OR SABOTAGE BIG BANG MONOKUMA. THIS RESTRICTION WILL LAST TILL THE START OF THE FINAL BOSS BATTLE OF "DANGAN RONPA ANOTHER EPISODE: ULTRA DESPAIR GIRLS". ADDITIONALLY, IF THE DESTRUCTION OF BIG BANG MONOKUMA BEFORE THE FINAL BOSS BATTLE OCCURS, DEDUCT 50,000 POINTS FROM ALL MEMBERS.

This notification was a big surprise to the Players, but once they calmed down they realized that it wasn't that bad and completely understandable. If say they used Big Bang Monokuma to reach Towa Hills and then destroy it to avoid the final boss battle, wouldn't the the mission come to a boring conclusion? One without danger or risks of any kind? A team would only need to defeat Monaca Towa and the mission would all but complete. This restriction only took away this easy short cut. On the other hand if a had chose to destroy Big Bang Monokuma before entering the robot, putting aside if they would still get the rewards, God would have probably allowed it. The team could avoid the final boss battle, but they wouldn't have the support of the giant sized robot to clear a way towards Towa Hills like in the original plot.

Shin: (So we can't just use and discard it later, huh? Maybe something would have changed if Hikari was here. It's easily to forget, but she's a internationally wanted Hacker who only almost got caught because of her inexperience for a sixteen year old girl. If Hikari was here maybe we could have hacked Big Bang Monokuma security and took control of the giant killing machine? We don't have a means of taking this giant robot with us to the Terminal Lobby without at least a BB tier dimensional storage item, but we could use it to wipe all the Monokuma in Towa City for the Points. We could obtain tens of thousands of more points! Damn! This isn't the first time I thought so, but a lot of things would have been easier if I had my original comrades to fight alongside me.)

Like a lot of Shin's comrades, he was a pure fighter. It was his job to defeat those who would endanger the team, but there's more than one way to overcome a problem. Both in real life and the Missions. Shin could perhaps defeat any boss monster, but with more options than brute strength a lot of problems could be solved without much risk. He couldn't think up plans like Jin or Saki, can't hack computers like Hikari, the experience or a military officer or mercenary like Aqua, Kampa or Connor. There are more talents in Team Japan that could have saved him a lot of trouble and time, but at this time he couldn't make use of them. Thankfully, Shin had the strength of an assassin with the skills to hide and infiltrate security systems, a exorcist with unique abilities, and a main character and heroine with a weapon to overpower the Monokuma... but when Shin thought about what would have been if he didn't have these talents by his side... he could only envision a bleak and Despairing future.

According to the plot of the game, Haiji would have suggested to immediately set off to Towa Hills for the final battle, yet Shin suggested that they hold off on attacking the kid's headquarters. His reasoning was that it wasn't to good to get too heated up after having acquired a new power and that they should come up with a proper plan of action on how to make use of Big Bang Monokuma and the adults of The Resistance. Haiji was clearly upset hearing this, but he was rational enough to agree to this after hearing the merits of doing so. In the original plot of the game Haiji and the adults just went straight for Towa Hills without a care in the heat of the moments. In the game Haiji misread the strength of the Monokuma's numbers and not even with Big Bang Monokuma could they hope to overcome them, so halfway through his mindless rampage he gave up his reckless actions, opting to get the Monokuma Controller from Monaca at Towa Hills.

Haiji agreed to wait to think up a plan, but he was adamant about not waiting too long. This was fine for Shin as he said they could begin the attack around noon of the next day. It was already night time currently, so they could think up a good plan and while having the time to rest up for the final battle. With this agreed on they left the secret Towa Group factor riding Big Bang Monokuma and returned to the rest of The Resistance wheel destroying all Monokuma in their way. With each step it took dozens of Monokuma were crushed to death and those that attempted to scale it were swatted down like flies by its staff. Shin and the other players were jealous of Haiji since if they were the ones operating the giant robot they would have acquired thousands of points from just this short stroll.

After returning Haiji temporary returned to the sewers to fetch all the adults seeing no reason to hide within the dark and damp sewers any longer, and once they saw Big Bang and hearing that this weapon was theirs they were overjoyed. They shouted with long lost vigor and some even cried tears of joy. The reason was that they finally began to see Hope in their uncertain futures and now couldn't hold themselves back. Each adult that could still move picked up any makeshift weapon they could find and quickly arranged themselves into teams to hunt down the Monokuma once it was time to set off. They no longer feared the Monokuma or death. They even went as far as to set up their new command center above grounds without care of the Monokuma or Monokuma Kids hiding around them in the shadows of the city.

Shin and the others were looking over the actions of the adults with amazement, but more so fear. It was a complete transformation that scared each one of them. Shin stopped watching the adults and set up camp for the night by taking out a large military grade survival tent from one of the Na Rings. Once it was set up everyone gathered inside. The adults saw them enter the tent and couldn't help getting heated up. The sole male adult of their group had lost an arm in battle and the woman in the nurse outfit lost a leg and had to be helped carried into the tent. The two youths had helped her, yet they too looked exhausted. The adults witness to their heroes who brought them Hope and seeing their condition felt ashamed of their past actions and aspired to live up to their example while fighting the kids. They never realized it, but their group had become another symbol of Hope.

Inside the tent.

Shin: "Fuck! I can finally see how out of control these guys can get once they reclaim their Hope just like Monaca Towa knew they would. When you offer Hope to the utterly oppressed like this they go insane, yet they are still so focused so they won't lose that Hope it's frightening. If we were dealing with some evil army I wouldn't have a problem with this, but they no longer care that they are about to go off and kill children."

Komaru: "Yeah. Hey, is this really a good idea?"

Drake: "While I do have issues with adults Killing children, but there's no helping it when their hated foes are all children."

Sachi: "Huh, you guys are too naive. True, adults killing children in madness is Despairing, but what war isn't? In war there's no good or evil just like within God's Dimension. Good and evil don't exist after all."

Shin: "Sachi, those are the words of a villain you know. Only villains or heroes who have given up on helping others use nice logic sounding words to excuse their actions or look down on those who believe in good and evil. Good and evil don't exist? Justice is power and its determined by the winner? Don't fuck with me. Such words are made up by those that no longer care about the world around them and look down on straight forward hero types with contempt till the moment that hero proves them wrong. Really, it annoys me no end that in recent years authors no longer have straight forward villains. Complex reasons behind their actions are fine. Desired even, but there should be a limit. They always have to have a bad back story and they always have to have a moment where they do good in the end, which somehow erases their past sins. Naruto is the best example. They always have to show that most villains had there reasons for their actions and will get to be a *good guy* at he end. The worst was fake Madara. He was god damn villain who killed tens of thousands people with his actions and was the cause of a lot of the hatred in the Ninja world beforehand the Fourth Great War, but everyone just had to try to save him and give him more one chance to redeem himself and die a hero. Fuck that! The man almost succeed in the genocide of the all Ninja and was responsible for killing 50,000 men and women in less than forty-eight hours! A villain should be a villain to the end, or else they shouldn't have become one with so little resolve. Do they think a good action in the end, or changing their lives around will make up for what they did? That it has any meaning? It even lead to the bulls shit Kakashi power up-"

Komaru: "Shin! Calm down!"

Shin: "Ah, sorry Komaru. Everyone. This is a particular sore spot for me."

Sachi: "For that to be a sore spot for you... What a nice life you have lead. Anyways leader what should we do now?"

Shin: "Our first priority is to come up with a battle plan for tomorrow. This part will be easy as I have a trump card that allow us to complete the reminder of the mission with ease. Next we just need to rest up for the final battle and be at optimal condition. In a while I'll summon Drebin893 and exchange for medical tools to restore Drakes arm and Sachi's leg. I can't let you two keep fighting as cripples after all. There's nothing else besides this, so for now rest up. I'll call you when it's time to call Drebin893"

Komaru: "Um... What exactly is this trump card of yours?"

Shin: "It's this."

Shin with a confident look on his face reached into one of his two Na Ring's subspaces and took out a single object. Komaru, Drake, and Sachi looked confused at this action which he called their trump card. What he pulled out of the ring was an actual card. No one understood what the purpose of the card was and looked at Shin in doubt, yet he wasn't bothered by this and shouted out a command word, GAIN, as he threw the card towards a open corner of the tent. The card landed on the floor and them exploded in a poof of pink smoke. Once all the smoke cleared out of the tent everyone besides Shin was shocked by what they saw. Out of thin air after the smoke dispersed was a T.V set and on top of it a remote control.

Komaru: "Shin... What kind of magic is this!?"

Shin: "It's not magic per se, but Nen. My last mission was within the world of Hunter X Hunter and on the famous Greed Island. My team along with myself completed the Greed Island game and our prize for doing so was the right to take three of the one hundred Designated Pocket Cards out of the island with us as Quest Items. We chose the three Designated Pocket Cards, and this is one of them. This card was our greatest prize we obtained on that island, Hypothetical TV! We can pose a question to to it and it will show us a thirty hours documentary of the various possibilities to answer the said question. In other words, its information about the future! This is the ultimate tool to complete any mission safely and efficiently! Long as there isn't 0% chance of success any problem challenge can be overcome and we also get to see what action lead to a Bad End and why. I won't have time to watch it all normally, so I'll fast forward most of it and watch it in Unlocked Mode to remember everything that I see and just pause at the important parts."

Drake: "Hey hey hey! Why haven't you used such a convenient tool earlier leader? With this maybe I wouldn't have lost an arm!"

Shin: "...There are various reasons why I waited till now to use it. The first was actually using it for this mission. As I just said nearly any challenge can be overcome by Hypothetical TV, but it's a one time deal. Meaning I can only use this power once. I would have preferred to use Hypothetical TV only when I'm highly certain that my team was going to wipe out to a overly dangerous mission or Team Battle, but thanks to the Guides Test the stakes are too high for me to hold back such a convenient trump card. For as to why I'm waiting till now to use it... I wanted accurate information about my immediate challenges. Defeating Monaca Towa, saving my important comrade Aqua, and ultimately defeat The Guide. Remember that I only get 30 hours of footage. Three days have already gone by and most likely the mission will take two more days to complete. Tomorrow we finish our business with the Warriors of Hope and the day after that I plan to face the Guide. That's 48 hours . If I asked how to complete the mission from the very start, just how much of it would be covered in the 30 hour video? Hypothetical TV won't give out the most accurate answer to my questions, but only 30 hours worth of possible scenarios. The less broad the question and the smaller the time frame will give me the best answers to my imposed question will be."

Hearing this everyone agreed with my reasoning for holding back such a power tool. They even understood why I wanted to hold back on calling Drebin893 since I can only call him once per mission and for a limited time. If I could gather information about the future than waiting to make the final preparation was logical since I can know what we would be encountering. They then asked me what question and I told them and Hypothetical TV at the same time.

Shin: "Hypothetical TV. Under the conditions that I will complete the mission within the next 48 hours, tell me the most efficient methods available to fight the army Monokuma, defeat Monaca Towa, defeat Big Bang Monokuma, save my fellow Player Aqua, and ultimately defeat the Guide, Izuru Kamukura!"

My question was heard by the Hypothetical TV and the tv screen turned on to life. The screen was covered with static at first, but within a few seconds high depth images superior to modern entertainment systems began to play. Now, the next ten hours watching the video of all the possible scenarios, fast forwarding with with a few exceptions, night slowly faded to the early morning and I had all my answers.

Shin: (...Now I should almost know everything that's about to happen in the next forty-eight hours and then some. Each question wasn't exactly short and concise, but each part was connected to the other, so it wasn't all over the place... although some were way out there. Like charging towards Towa Hills on foot before Big Bang Monokuma moves out. Fuck, does this T.V really think I'm so stupid that we'll charge towards the enemy base alone? We got killed by over a 5,000 Beast Monokuma and Destroy Monokuma! Drake and Sachi got mauled to death and Komaru and I got blasted by lasers! There are absolutely dumb deaths like scaling the Towa Hills and falling to the earth head first! You have fucking Void Movement for a reason, me!)

Shin was dissatisfied by most of the all to graphic failures of his group displayed in the 30 hour long documentary, but in the end he learned a lot by watching the video.

◆ Monokuma Army - By asking about how to overcome the army of Monokumas resulted in a unexpected discovery. He just meant it as to how to avoid them, but ended up discovery what could only be called a Hidden Side Quest. An extra mission within the plot. This mission was very dangerous, but to avoid a even worse fate later on it had to be complete.

◆ Monaca Towa - Defeating Monaca Towa was surprisingly simple, but unless the Hidden Side Quest was complete it would turn dangerous for the team.

◆ Big Bang Monokuma - The video revealed that during the final battle the giant robot Big Bang Monokuma would enter Suicide Mode early on and almost all attacks are ineffective, but long as they relied on Komaru and the Hacking Gun with a unique method it was simple to destroy the giant robot. The only danger here was Komaru not being able to fight or Big Bang Monokuma destroy Towa Hills with everyone inside or aboard the ship onto of the building.

◆ Aqua - Defeating Aqua was the most difficult part of today's battle. Needles to say she was extremely powerful and 9 times out of 10 she would separate Shin from everyone and they would die long as the Hidden Side Quest is left in complete.

Shin: (As for The Guide Izuru Kamukura... for whatever reason it won't show me the fight. Just a single image of him grabbing me by the neck and lifting me into the air. That's it. Nothing I can do about why Hypothetical TV won't work on the Guide, so let's focus on today's battles first. Know that I know about everything that's about to happen I'll call for Drebin893for supplies and then rest up till we begin the attack at noon.)

Shin looked around the tent and found his comrades resting. They tired to stay up alongside him, but each one of them crashed and fell asleep within a few hours. Shin wanted to rest himself, but there were only 5-6 hours before The Resistance begins the attack and he still had things to so. Shin calmed down to rid his mind of all unnecessary thoughts. Within his mind he found something close to a switch and flipped it and upon doing so a signal was sent out. Moments later a location five miles away from The Resistance camp popped up in his mind and he now knew where to get his supplies. This was the method Drebin893 set up within the minds of Team Japan when they wanted to call him. Only Sachi and Drake didn't have this mental switch installed as they have yet to meet him (Kisara met Drebin893during the call in HxH).

Shin: "Alright! Drake, Sachi, Komaru! It's time to get up! We have to go meet up with our merchant of death to pick up the goods. Only a few hours are left before the start of the final battle!"


	188. Chapter 188

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 28, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Four hours before the start of the final battle.

On the roof top of an abandoned hotel building five miles out from the above ground Resistance Base a small gathering was taking place. On one side were the group of four; Team Japan's leader Shin, heroine of "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode" Komaru, and newbies Drake the Priest/Exorcist and Sachi the nurse and former assassin clan member. On the other side and standing behind a back table with only a black box placed on top of it were three individual. One was the man Shin recognized as a character of "Metal Gear Solid 4" and member of Team Freedom, the merchant of death who Team Japan had made a contract with to sell goods for Points and just Points, Drebin893.

Shin was expecting Drebin from the beginning, but he looked looked upset to see two more people with him. This had never happened before and he could not discern their identifies due to them wearing heavy cloaks. All he or the other could make out were that one of the cloaked individuals was very wide and tallL over fifteen feet tall to be exact with the width of three men. The other person was the size of a normal adult make, yet was staying perfectly still like a statue. Shin had no idea of knowing who these two were, yet his instincts told him that the two men were dangerous and should be avoided at all cost.

Shin: "So, who are your friends Drebin. You've never brought with you anyone along last time."

Drebin893: "Haha, sorry, but it couldn't be helped. This mission that your undergoing... is interesting to say the least with the appearance of The Guide and all, so a few of my comrades wanted to see the action up close."

Shin: "By comrades, do you mean they belong to Team Freedom? So like you they are freed NPC's?"

Team Freedom.

Shin didn't know everything about them, but he knew somethings from Drebin893. They were a new special team of God's Dimension composed of NPC that gained freedom during the shift of mission format. They sell goods to over teams for points. That's all Shin really knows about them, and it was doubtful any team new their true purpose.

Drebin893: "Yes. They belong to Team Freedom, but don't worry. We don't have the authority to move around and mess with your mission or harm you, so relax. No harm will come to such a loyal customer like you, so just ignore them as they won't be speaking. Just observing. You've also brought along a girl that shouldn't be here, so we should forget about the extras. Now... let talk businesses shall we."

Komaru: "...Ah, Shin..."

Shin: "...Okay. This is a big order, so I hope that you don't have to run back for anything. They don't cost rank rewards, but they are expensive and we'll be buying at least nine of them, along with some healing support items for my newest comrades. Here, I've already written down a list of all the items I need."

Shin handed over a list of items which his team needed for the upcoming battle to Dreben while still remaining wary of the two cloaked individual by his side. Drebin took the list pretending not to notice Shin's concerns and examined it. As he did he couldn't help but laugh out loud. It wasn't the biggest order he has ever been given, but it was for a new team like Team Japan (The one that revolves around Shin) and he could tell that Shin meant business. On Drebin893's side he didn't know everything about Team Japan's Guide Test, yet looking over the list he could tell that Shin and his comrades were preparing to fight a small war.

Drebin893: "No problem. We can get you everything that you need now. Still, I hope that you thought over your order wisely. They are effective weapons for a low level Sci-fi world like this, but you might not make back what your investing in this mission."

Shin: "Let me worry about that. To tell you the truth this mission is pretty broken. I'll definitely make back what I'm spending here with more than enough interest. Hey, we can split the cost between us right?"

Drebin893: "That's right. We don't have God's restriction for such things after all."

Shin: "Good. Then let's make the exchange."

Shin saying so confirmed his purchases, and along with Sachi and Drake split the cost. Team Japan acquired nine Mini Portable Surface to Surface Missiles for 18,000 Points, two Limb Regeneration Injections for 2,000 Points, and three Three Medium Grade Healing Potions for 3,000 Points. Shin offered 15,000 Points on his end and Drake and Sachi each offered 4,000 Points. Shin placed everything in his two Na Rings that was now almost full to capacity while handing over the Limb Regeneration Injections to Sachi and Drake for immediate use. Shin then made one last small purchase for 100 Points and began to leave saying farewell to Drebin893 Drebin looked satisfied with the deal just made, yet curiosity getting the better of him he called out to him.

Drebin893: "If you don't mind me asking... what do you need all those high powered grenades for? Those missiles that you've brought can easily clear out a few city block of all life already."

Shin: "Those are for... Well, let's just call it a Hail-Mary move when things turn to shit like they alway do for me. Anyways, nice doing business with you Drebin and I hope I can put on a good show for you and Team Freedom. Until next time."

Shin was still a little suspicious of Drebin and Team Freedom's actions, but having more pressing matter to intend to he left with his team simply thankful that he could make exchanges even while in the middle of a mission. Drebin watched as Shin's group left the rooftop of the hotel building with a charming and cool business smile of a merchant, yet as soon as they were out of sight he stopped smiling and looked back and forth towards his two cloaked colleagues.

Drebin893: "...So what do you think about him. I honestly thought he was a kid with just a bit of potential, but I never expected for him to be chosen by God as their representative, or at least so soon."

Hearing Drebin893's words the larger man in the cloak spoke up at last.

Team Freedom Member 1: "He's not bad for a *human*, but he's just that. A human. He and the other teams can't hope to match our team who come straight out of the world of fiction. He's a foolish child at that. God or no God, even with its support he wouldn't last a minute against myself or our weakest members."

Drebin893: "Well, maybe you could take him out now, but I don't know about later. Those illogical and foolish types in my experience are more scary than the logical and smart folks. You can't predict their growth unlike the latter and when they stumble and pick themselves up... they reach new heights the rest of us can't match. Well, that's just me. What do you think vice leader?"

Drebin turned away from the large cloaked figure to the average sized cloaked figure. At a glance he looked far less opposing than the others even wearing a cloak, but both Drebin893and the large man held their breath in wait not wanting to upset the one they called their second in command.

Team Freedom 2: "...Doesn't matter. If he lives and grows stronger it is no concern to me... He's not my fated enemy. No *human* is. All that is there's left for me and us... is to complete the Plan and teach the humans... The weight of our existence. Nothing else matters."

Hearing those last few words of their second in command both Drebin and the larger cloaked figure felt a chill down their spine, but also a wave of surging wave of confidence. Currently, there were a lot of forces at work within God's Dimension and their Team Freedom was still stuck in the lower middle ranks of all teams... but with this man and along with their absolute leader waiting for their groups return... They knew that one day and one day soon the top team of God's Dimension won't be Team Devil, Team Celestial, or as unlikely that as it is even Team Japan. It will be Team Freedom and once that day comes... just like what was just said, everyone will feel the weight of their existence... in their last moments before the end.

Having left Drebin and Team Freedom behind Shin, Komaru, Drake, and Sachi walked in silence as they made their way back to The Resistance camp. Drake and Sachi had already inject their Limb Regrowth Injections and we're feeling their skim and muscles itch as their lost limbs were slowly regrowing. Then to speed the healing process up they each drank a Medium Grade Healing potion. According to the time with Aqua, Shin told them that the process will be complete within a few hours and that all they will feel from their new body parts would be slight discomfort for a few days, but it wouldn't hinder their combat ability. Shin had personally take a low grade Healing Potion and could vouch for their effectiveness. Potions in general didn't heal wound immediately, but circulated within the consumers body, significantly speeding up the healing process and this effect would last til the potion loses its effect after being absorbed completely like any other food or drink. Komaru was relived to hear this, yet he was frowning as they walked back to the camp.

Shin: "Komaru what's wrong?"

Komaru: "...Its nothing... but those weapons that you bought. It just reminded me that we are going to war is all. I knew this from the beginning, but it's a bit too much."

Shin: "I get that. I may enjoy battles and fictional words more than most, but I would be out of my mind with worry if this was my first mission. I was a regular otaku before all of this after all. Drake and Sachi had special training all their lives and so they areadaptingwelle, but for you to be okay with just a few mental breakdowns now and again and crying every other day is commendable."

Komaru: "I wasn't that bad! Okay, maybe I was... but there's something else that I'm worried about Shin."

Shin: "What?"

Komaru: "It's the Monokuma Kids."

The fate of the Monokuma Kids. In the original plot there was no means of safely saving them from the brainwashing. Their helmets which were responsible for the brain control were set to go off after all and to stop the Monokuma with the Monokuma Controller trips the explosives in their helmets.

Komaru: "I just wish there was something that I could do for them is all. I may be leaving everything behind once the battle is over... but till then I want to do everything in my power to help. I don't want any regrets."

Shin: "Komaru... I've already told you right? This city is done for. Even if we could get the adults to not attack the Monokuma Kids who are just victims, they and the Monokuma will continue to slaughter the adults. Destroying the Monokuma Controller is the only way to stop the Monokuma, but that means killing the children. A way to stop both sides was never showed in the game."

Komaru: "I know that, but isn't there some way to undo the Monokuma Kid's brainwash-"

Komaru stopped in her tracks and fell behind her group. Everyone looked back at her confused and say a look of utter surprise on her face. Shin was the first to ask what was wrong and after he, Drake, and Sachi heard her answer... they had the same expression on his face, but Shin's was even worse. He cursed himself for being so retarded (Don't like this word) for not seeing such a obvious possibility and now immediately wanted to test it out. Their group then turned around from where the Resistance camp was and began to search the area for the target of Komaru's hypothesis. Ten minutes of looking around the area they found it, or rather him. Shin, Komaru, Drake, and Sachi stood around a line male Monokuma Kid and once they confirmed that he was alone they dragged him off into a small corner store of Towa City. Then after searching the building for hidden cameras that could possibly be used by Monaca Towa or others to spy on them, and not finding any, they sat the Monokuma Kid on a chair and restraining him with rope.

Drake: "I'm glad that none of the Monokuma came after us when we kidnapped this boy. Would have been a pain to deal with. No we can do as we please with the boy."

Sachi: "Drake, now those are the lines of a scumbag villain. Do you need a *correction* in behavior?"

Drake: "That's not what I meant at all! And what the hell is a *correction*, woman!"

Shin: "Can you two stop fooling around. Komaru's idea needs to be tested. I feel stupid for not realizing it sooner, but if it works... The entire plot of Another Episode will forever be changed!"

Komaru: "Shin, I know that it was my idea, but are you sure this is okay? This won't hurt him, right?"

Shin: "Of course! This won't kill him and at best I'm risking a penalty of 10,000 Points. It's a big hit, but I have the points to cover it. Now-"

Shin stepped in front of the struggling Monokuma Kid tied down to the chair. He stretched out his right arm and as if grasping something he activated the magic he acquired from the world of Apocalypse Alice. A rhythm began to play within his mind and his entire body shined with a brilliant silver aura of magic power. Moments later a large silver great sword of heroes materialized and grasped in his right hand, and from there the great sword shrunk down to the size of a small dagger. The Monokuma Kid seeing all of this had no idea of magic or what the sword could do, but for some primal urge, call it a survival instinct to remain himself, he began struggling harder to break free of his restraints. So much so that he was hurt his body try to break free and had to be held down by the others. Shin watching the extreme reaction of the Monokuma Kid after seeing Holy Sword Switch felt that they were on the right track and stepped forward and stabbed the magic tool into the heart of the Monokuma Kid.

Shin: (How can I be so stupid as to not realize this possibility? Holy Sword Switch can erase all forms of brainwashing, but I've always used it to counter magic type brainwashing like with Psyche Force and the like. Didn't I have hopes that if I had this power during my battle with Saki I could have saved her? I did even though her brainwashing was physiology and mind control through suggestion, and not magic based. If Holy Sword can truly remove all forms of brainwashing and safely at that, then why not mechanical brainwashing?)

Komaru's idea to free the Monokuma Kids having recalling Shin's power, and Shin's own thoughts on the matter were proven correct. As a silver magic aura enveloped the struggling Monokuma Kid from the heart and soon he calmed down. Once fully enveloped by the silver magic aura cracks began to spread throughout the Monokuma Helmet that all Monokuma Kids wore and within second the entire the helmet shattered into thousands of unrecoverable pieces to reveal the true face of the enemy of the adults. A young boy maybe not even seven years old. He was unconscious and unresponsive, but as he was still breathing it meant that he was alive and well.

Komaru: "...Thank goodness! Thank god he's okay! Shin! We can save the Towa City now! The happy and cliche ending that didn't exist before is no longer impossible! The battle between the kids and adults can be prevented! Isn't this great?!"

It was then at that moment that a notification rang within Shin's mind and his alone. It was a notification by God, but one that surprised him. It was not a notification of points or even a Hidden Side Quest. It was the notification of the start of a Bonus Mission.

\- BONUS MISSION HAS BEEN ACTIVATED!

MISSION OBJECTIVE: AS A PLAYER YOU ALONE HOLD THE POWER TO FREE THE CHILDREN OF TOWA CITY FROM THE WARRIORS OF HOPE'S BRAINWASHING. KOMARU NAEGI HAS SEEN YOU WIELD THIS POWER AND NOW WISHES FOR YOU TO SAVE ALL THE CHILDREN IN THE CITY THAT YOU COME ACROSS TO END THE CONFLICT BETWEEN CHILDREN AND ADULTS. YOU WILL RECEIVE AN UNKNOWN REWARD AT THE END OF THE MISSION THAT WILL BE CALCULATED BY HOW MANY CHILDREN YOU HAVE SAVED, AND AS YOU ACTIVED THIS BONUS MISSION DURING THE MISSION YOU WILL RECEIVE ADDITIONAL REWARDS. WARNING: REFUSING TO COMPLETE THE MISSION WILL RESULT IN A NEGATIVE IMPRESSION OF YOU IN KOMARU NAEGI'S EYES, AND WILL NO LONGER FEEL THAT SHE CAN TRUST YOU.

Shin: "Bonus Mission? Not Hidden Side Quest? Is this the thing that Jin once-"

Komaru: "Shin! Let's go save Towa City!"

Shin: "Ye-yeah. Let's give it our all"

Shin was taken back by Komaru's enthusiasm and couldn't say no to her even if he wanted to as he could see that saying no here would mean the end for their relationship. As both comrades and as man and woman. This was just one more burden for Shin to bear during these desperate times, yet he had no desire to runaway for this challenge. It was a unknown reward from God, but he couldn't help but be tempted up complete it. Additionally, the battle with Team Germany in the last mission taught him to be more greedy with taking risk to gain as much power as possible. If God was giving him a chance to acquire more points and he felt that it was possible, he had no reason to turn his back at a chance.

Shin: (Why should I runaway? This actually isn't a difficult mission for me with Holy Sword, an A tier magic tool to remove brainwashing, but what if it was someone else? Anyone who thought about it after they return to the Terminal could prepare a method to free the Monokuma Kids. Hikari once even told me about a pre-made hacking tools within the exchange system which could take control of even a world power's nuclear program, but since I'm not coming back later to complete it God is rewarding me far greater than someone who returns to this Mission World. I'm fortunate enough to have the right power for the job, so why pass up the chance that others miss?)

Shin also realized that he wasn't under a time constraint either. He could deal with Monaca Towa and Aqua today, and then tomorrow free all the children and finally face the Guide Izuru Kamukura to settle everything and return home.

Sachi: "So what will we do with this kid? He's both in danger from the adults and his former comrades as well."

Komaru: "Hmm... How about leaving him with an adult we can trust? I've talked to a okay adult in Resistance who his against their violent actions and doesn't want to see adults and kids killing each other. Her name is Hiroko Hagakure."

Shin: "Hiroko? Ah, if it's her we can trust her. Still, we should be careful and hide him along the way so no one notices him. Komaru, lets just deal with Monaca Towa and my last comrade today and then tomorrow I'll go out and save the children. If we wait till tomorrow we may be able to convince the adults to help us once they know that they won against the kids and that they won't be a threat to them anymore. What do you say?"

Komaru: "That's fine. I'm not so selfish that I'll ask you to take on more burdens today when you, all of us have so much on stake already."

Shin was happy to see Komaru was being reasonable. Their group then hid the former Monokuma Kid within a duffle bag they found within the corner store and left making their way towards The Resistance camp.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.

This is one of the main reason I had Shin acquire Holy Sword Switch back in Apocalypse Alice. Along with the moment with Rinji, it was always my plan to free the Monokuma Kids and Shin receiving this Bonus Mission. Also, as a reminder the difference between a Hidden Side Quest and Bonus Mission. A Hidden Side Quest is a mission that's hidden within the plot and only needs to be discovered and can be solved with an available method. A Bonus Mission is a mission outside the plot/Main Mission for extra points. It was impossible to remove the brainwashing in the game. It's a bit confusing, but let's leave it at if you didn't bring into the Mission world a method to remove brainwashing like Holy Sword Switch, or a Sci-fi computer and skilled hacker to hack the programing as it was too complex, it would be impossible to remove the brainwashing. Not even getting Monaca Towa to undo it would work, so only the actions of a power outside the world would have saved the Monokuma Kids. Also, as this is a very hard to discover and complete Bonus Mission unless you had the right powers, this mission is very, very rewarding as you will all find out. Like I said, this is a very broken mission.


	189. Chapter 189

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 29, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

It was finally noon and the start of The Resistance's counter attack. All the adults gathered by to a nearby stage to hear their leader Haiji Towa give a speech to lift up their spirits and motivate his comrades to fight. Shin, Komaru, Drake, and Sachi were in standing behind the crowd of adults listening to Haiji's speech. After dropping off the former Monokuma Kid with Hiroko Hagakure, Shin had everyone follow him to listen to the speech. Shin had no interest in the content and was just waiting for it to be over so he could speak to Haiji about an important matter.

Haiji: "Everyone, here me out. First of all... I gotta apologize to you guys. The reason I was always down in that base wasn't because I was waiting for an opportunity... That was just an excuse. Really, I was just scared shitless by those kids and Monokuma. Heh... Makes me a pretty bad leader, right, but then someone snapped me out of it. That one group of heroes over there in the back. Thanks to them, I've finally woken up. No matter how scared you are, if you want a hopeful future, sometimes you gotta fight for one... So never again! Never are we to hide, cower and lose what's important to us! Now is the time for all of us to stand up and fight! With our hands, we're gonna take back this city! We have the power now! With Big Bang Monokuma, we can do this, so listen up! Teach those deranged kids who are the true ruler of this town! This Towa City! Our home! Our town! We're taking it all back"

Once the speech was finished the adults felt more confident than ever as they will filled with Hope that they could win thanks to Komaru's previous speech the previous day about not giving up and the appearance of a powerful weapon like Big Bang Monokuma. Komaru herself was beginning to feel that her speech yesterday was a mistake seeing they took the Hope she gave them to mean fighting to the death rather than just not giving up. She realized how naive it was to give the oppressed Hope without understanding the possible consequences. If she didn't know that their group had the means of safely saving the kids for certain she would imagine that she would be utterly lose about what to do... and this confusion just like in the original plot was taken advantage of by a certain evil AI robot.

Not by Hiroko Hagakure like in the game, but a random adult, the still functional head of Shirokuma was brought over. Shirokuma went on about never expecting Haiji and the other adults to go so far and only wanted them to have the courage to save Towa City with a peaceful solution, yet hearing all this made Shin sick and he seriously considered crushing Shirokuma's head once and for all, but refrained from doing so afraid of a plot change, yet promised himself that if he saw him or his partner Kurokuma later, he would 100% turn those pair of evil robots into scrap parts.

Never imagining that Shin knew everything and was planning out its death, Shirokuma continued to go on and finally got to mentioning the Monokuma Controller and that destroying it would shut down the Monokuma once and for all and give the adults enough peace of mind to spare the Monokuma Kids, yet the reaction of Shin's group was differ from what he imagined. They agreed to get the controller, but they said that they first needed to speak to Haiji about dealing with the Monokuma threat as much possible before they raid the enemy headquarters.

This confused Shirokuma who once more said just destroying the Monokuma Controller would settle the problem with the killer Monokuma robots, yet Shin and they others ignored him and left. Komaru still unaware of Shirokuma's true purpose offer a apology for her groups rude actions and followed after them. Shirokuma watched them leave silently and had the adult holding it's head carry it off somewhere else, but the adult holding Shirokuma for a mysterious reason felt a cold chill down his pine like no other. He was one of the many adults who had to watch their families be killed before their very eyes... yet the moment of dread he felt from Shirokuma that felt like an illusion made him think of a endless pit of Despair.

Haiji: "Huh? You want to destroy all the Monokuma Factories?"

Shin: "That's right and for that we need you, Hajij Towa. You and Big Bang Monokuma's help."

Shin along with his group met with Haiji as he was on his way to the cockpit of Big Bang Monokuma. He was confused and in a rush to to return to the giant robot so he could resume destroying the army of Monokuma surrounding camp, so he wasn't in a mood for idle chatter, but they assured him it was important. Shin without going into details about how he knew this, wanted to talk to Haiji about destroying the Monokuma bases. Initially, Haiji was confused confused, but listening to him he soon came to understand the threat that was in their way.

The original Monokuma Factory was a secret base that Monaca Towa had no access to after the chaos of Towa City began as the Monokuma inside attacked anyone or thing that moved, and they had saw that all the Monokuma still being automatically produced were just piling up within the factory when they went to retrieve Big Bang Monokuma, so how was she maintaining her army of Monokuma? Haiji originally just assumed that Monaca had mass produced all of her Monokuma beforehand, but once he thought about it it didn't make sense. The army of Monokuma terrorizing Towa City seemed never ending. They also been in a lot of fight, so how were they being repaired? Once Haiji began think along these lines he realized the answer and he grew furious. Monaca converted all the public Towa Group factories into Monokuma Factories.

This was information that Shin gained by using Hypothetical TV. It showed Shin a scenario where he joined Haiji in attacking the Monokuma instead of immediately heading to Towa Hills. He saw close to fifty of such scenarios and they all ended up with his team ending in a wipe, yet it revealed the existence of over a dozen Monokuma Factories across Towa City. It also revealed something of great interest to his team. A Hidden Side Quest!

A Hidden Side Quest to destroy as many Monokuma Factories within three hours of destroying the first one. After three hours Monaca calls it her loss, deploys all the operational Monokuma within all factories and have the factories self-destruct. It was hard to imagine why she would destroy her Monokuma factories herself, but Shin recalled her objective to get the importance character to Towa Hills, so it could be her not everyone to waste time fighting the Monokuma anymore and just get everyone over to her side.

There was another reason why Shin wanted to destroy the Monokuma Factories besides the chance to obtain points. It was revealed later in the plot by Hypothetical TV that Monaca Towa will make one final move at the end that didn't exist in the original game. When Komaru or Team Japan obtains the Monokuma Controller from Monaca after defeating her in a boss battle, she'll try to manipulate them to destroy it. Then this and that happens, and when Monaca sees that Komaru, knowing the plot of Another Episode, had no intention of break the controller and is sure of this, she'll call for all the Monokuma in Towa City to converge on Towa Hills. The Monokuma will then climb up the building with the intent to kill and Monaca joyfully says that is she doesn't destroy the Monokuma Controller which will kill all the Monokuma Children by blowing up their helmets, the Monokuma will kill them all.

Shin: (Psychotic bitch! Unless we destroy as many factories as possible Towa Hills will be flooded with thousands upon thousands of Monokuma! There will still be about a few hundred or so Monokuma invading in the end even if we reach our target goal, but that's something that we can easily handle. Whatever the case it's a chance to gain some points. There are no rank rewards unless you can destroy all the factories within three hours, but the destruction of each factory rewards 5,000 Points to the destroyer. By not splitting up and using Big Bang Monokuma as a *Tank*, its only possible to destroy between 8-10 factories as a single group. It's only possible to complete the Hidden Mission in full and in time by splitting up, but that's not an option for my current team, but the points alone are worth a lot. Even our investment of nine 2,000 point Mini Portable Surface to Surface Missiles are worth it, but it's impossible to destroy more than three without Haiji's assistance.)

That's why Shin and his comrades asked for the assistance of Haiji and Big Bang Monokuma. With there currently power it was only possible to destroy around 8-10 Monokuma Factories, yet the needed the power of Big Bang Monokuma to ward off the majority of enemy Monokuma. Each factory is defended by thousands Monokuma, and with at least hundred of the annoying and flight capable Destroy Monokuma around as well. Destroy Monokuma are fast, possess a high reaction speed, and used laser weapons that only needed one shot to kill a human, even a enhanced on like Shin. Shin wanted to use Big Bang Monokuma as a *tank* role from video games. The role where the *tank* taunts the enemy with its presence and revives most of the damage to protect their allies.

Haiji didn't like the idea of Big Bang Monokuma becoming a punching bag, but he agreed that this was important mission to reduce the enemy's fighting force. Also, Haiji looked furious when he heard that Monaca Towa, his little sister of another mother (He hadn't revealed this yet to us), was using the resources of the Towa Group as she liked to manufacture killer robots. Haiji wanted nothing more than to show Monaca up by using his new found power. He even began to laugh madly as he left to prepare for this battle.

Drake: "Hey hey, is this guy going to be okay? He looked pretty... what's a good word for it?"

Sachi: "A mad man overflowing with anger and Despair? An incompetent loser who can't control his little sister? A man who can only get it up for little-"

Drake: "I said nice, but yeah. What's his deal? And is he going to be okay piloting the giant robot for us?"

Shin: "Who knows, but it should all work out in the end. Also, for why he hates his sister so much I never understood it. If you don't include the recent events Monaca never did anything to him. It's all on Haiji. He's a nice enough guy, but he treated Monaca like garbage, or just upright ignored her existence along with their father. Monaca did show talent for their Towa Group's work, one above his own, so that's one reason he dislikes her, but it's not the main cause. Really, it's pretty shameful. If he treated his little sister like a human being from the beginning, even if not as a sister, Towa City would not be in this state."

Komaru: "So it's not because of what's she's done in Towa City that Haiji hates her? Why is that? He honestly cares for the city and his own Towa group so much, so why did he not show his sister any affection? Was everything a lie?"

Sachi: "No. Komaru, people can have more than one face. A respectable politician who stands up for his citizens out of a sense of duty and honor may not be a good man to his family when he comes home. A man kind to his family and only shows them a loving smile may be a unforgiving demon at work who does everything to get ahead no matter how deplorable that may be. The thing we call human, can't be kind to all people and may not show any kindness to a child for the reason, "Just because". I suspect that Haiji is such a person even if he can be a leader to the people of Towa City."

Komaru: "..."

Komaru looked like she couldn't accept such a answer and I felt the same way. Haiji's behavior never made sense to me, but maybe trying to find logic in this is what's fundamentally flawed here. Anyways, we didn't have anymore time to entertain a discussion about the relationship of people. Big Bang Monokuma that was on stand by was started up and began walking towards us. The giant robot extended a hand down to the ground for us to step on and then brought us up to its neck where the hatch leading to the cockpit within its head was. We all entered Big Bang Monokuma and once the hatch door was closed the giant robot set off deeper into Towa City and the adults of The Resistance seeing us off all shouted with joy seeing their Hope finally deployed to destroy the killer Monokuma robots.

\- HIDDEN SIDE QUEST ACTIVATED!

MONACA TOWA HAS CONTROL OF TWELVE OPERATIONAL FACTORIES PRODUCING MONOKUMA ROBOTS. WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FIRST MONOKUMA FACTORY ALL REMAINING FACTORIES ARE NOW AT FULL PRODUCTION SPEED. TIME LIMIT THREE HOURS AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FIRST FACTORY. EACH FACTORY DESTROYED REWARDS THE DESTROYER 5,000 POINTS. MEMBERS DESTROYING ALL TWELVE MONOKUMA FACTORIES REWARDS ALL MEMBERS TWO D RANK REWARDS. FAILURE TO DESTROY A MINIMAL OF FIVE ADDITIONAL FACTORIES DEDUCTS 25,000 POINTS AND TWO D RANK REWARDS FROM ALL MEMBERS.

This was the notification that Shin, Drake, and Sachi received almost three hours ago. After they along with Komaru and the pilot of Big Bang Monokuma Haiji destroyed the first Monokuma Factory they heard the notification from God. They reached the first factor by riding Big Bang Monokuma through a army of Monokuma and as planned it served as a distraction for Team Japan to destroy the factory. To test the waters of the Hidden Side Quest Shin alone disembarked Big Bang Monokuma and stealthy made his way to the factory while the vast majority the Monokuma attacked the giant robot. Of course, there were still hundreds of Monokuma patrolling the factor and ignoring the presence of Big Bang Monokuma, yet Shin still managed to break through the security perimeter.

This wasn't easy without alarming the Monokuma ready to jump anything living that dared to move, but Shin recalled how Sachi moved and evaded the eyes of others and it seemed to magically work for him. He tried the assassination teachings of hypnotizing oneself and imagining become one with the darkness, and it worked for some time,but it was not yet perfect. As he he entering the factory he made a small noise. It was a noise unnoticeable by the average human ear, yet the Monokuma that were now at their highest performance with the defeat of four members of the Warrior of Hope not only heard, but swarmed Shin within seconds. In a panic Shin retreated with Void Instant Movement, but not before using the recently purchased Mini Portable Surface to Air Missile Launcher and firing a missile within the factory. Shin nearly cursed seeing as he didn't even aim at anything important within the factory with the 2,000 Point missile, yet fortunately the blast was powerful enough to reach and damage something important. After a initial blast that blew out all the windows within the factory came a secondary blast that collapsed the entire building to the ground.

\- ONE OF TWELVE MONOKUMA FACTORIES DESTROYED. REWARDED 5000 POINTS!

Shin received his points and heard the Hidden Side Quest Notification as he kicked the air and flew back to the others. He successfully confirmed what he saw in the footage from Hypothetical TV was real. He didn't use a missile at in the footage as it was a tool to help him out, but the notification was the same. Shin then returned to Big Bang Monokuma under heavy fore by dozens of Destroy Monokuma and left for the next factory.

Shin: (This Hidden Side Quest was easier than I thought it would be, but it makes sense. For one this is only a DD tier challenge by God as completing the entire mission to completion only rewards two D rank reward. It also pays out a lot of points, but the rank rewards are small. Most likely making use of Big Bang Monokuma was within the scope of the side quest as well, or else destroying twelve well guarded factories across Towa City in just three hours would be worth C rank rewards.)

Shin thought so as he rode Big Bang Monokuma to the next Monokuma Factory. Once more Shin proceeded to the factory alone as Big Bang Monokuma distracted the enemy Monokuma, but this time Shin was more careful. It took almost twice as long to break into the factory, yet unlike before he didn't alert the Monokuma patrolling the area till it was too late. Aiming for a a very high tech looking computer that seemed to be overseeing the manufacturing of the killer Monokuma robots he fired a second MPSTSM and without waiting to see the result retreated with Instant Movement. By the time the Monokuma discovered what had been done the computer had been thoroughly blown apart by the missile and Shin received the notification from God telling that he earned another 5000 Points.

Shin once more returned to Big Bang Monokuma while escaping from pursuing Monokuma and left for the next factory. Shin repeated this routine two more time within the next hour. The others looked at Shin worried that he was overworking himself by going in alone, yet the man in question was all smiles. Shin felt exhausted and drenched in cold sweat each time he sneaked into a Monokuma Factory afraid of alerting the enemy, especially from the return trip back to Big Bang Monokuma where all the Monokuma would target the one responsible for destroying the factory, yet deep down he was excited. With each run he was acquiring a large sum of points? It was disappointing that there were no rank rewards, but even without any Shin felt like continuing such a easy quest all day if possible. There was still danger, but long as he used the right methods like he has been doing it was a simple task to destroy the factories.

For the remaining time left of the Hidden Side Quest Shin helped Drake and Sachi earn points as well. They each exchanged for two MPSTSMs and along with the experience gained from Shin's first four victories they had an easy time destroying two factories each and were done at a faster pace. Shin accompanied Drake who was not as skilled at hiding and moving quietly as himself although he was no expert as he was just doing a poor job mimicking Sachi. Their trips to and back from the Monokuma Factories always involved a clash between the Monokuma. They were able to mange to get to the factories unnoticed, but the two of them together weren't fast enough to escape unharmed, so Shin would jump out to distract the Monokuma to allow the time for Drake to escape first. Holding back a small army of Monokuma of all varieties was tough for Shin even of his goal wasn't to wipe them out, but to just bide for time, yet he didn't complain.

Although they weren't even 5000 Points all together Shin welcomed the chance to gain extra points for destroying them and prioritized destroying the more threatening, yet rewarding in points Monokuma like Beast Monokuma, Ball Monokuma, and Destroy Monokuma to make a few hundred points with each battle. Shin had long ago stopped counting how many points he made from the Monokuma Kill Side Quest, yet it was getting closer and closer to 10,000 Points by this point. Still the enemy forces were too numerous and forced his retreat in the end, yet long as he used Void Instant Movement it was very simple to escape.

At full speed when he isn't trying to just fly over obstacles Void Instant Movement was fast and it allowed him to move through the air. Only the Destroy Monokuma could hope to follow him, yet it never took that much effort to shake them off. As for his trips with Sachi there was nothing much to talk about. Sachi was a expert in stealth operations as a assassin and so she was the one leading Shin her unneeded bodyguard around. She even went to go as far as to give him tips on what to do and not do when one wanted to attack, sneak by, or escape an enemy unnoticed. These attacks on the Monokuma Factories were the least exciting and the only thing unexpected was that Sachi had a lot of difficulty with her MPSTAM and needed Shin's assistance to fire.

Like so two hours and forty-five minutes have passed since the destruction of the first Monokuma Factory. A grand total of eight factories had been wiped off the map and they were approaching one final factory when-

Haiji: "...Sorry, but this is it for me and Big Bang Monokuma."

Komaru: "Huh?"

Komaru sitting next to a exhausted Shin and the others couldn't help but let out a sound of confusion, yet Shin knew that this was coming. He knew from Hypothetical TV that it was always a possibility that Haiji would cease to assist their efforts to destroy the Monokuma Factories under a certain condition. When Big Bang Monokuma sustains a certain amount of damage. Big Bang Monokuma was still more than functional at this time, but all the attacks from the thousands of Monokuma they had come across in the last three hours wore down its body/armor. If one took a picture of Big Bang Monokuma right now it would look like the giant robot had just been in a street brawl. Haiji didn't want anymore damage to Big Bang Monokuma, so he said that he will be retreating here, but Shin was fine with this. In fact, wearing down Big Bang Monokuma had always been one of his goals so for when the final boss battle takes place he would have a easier time defeating the soon to be high jacked giant robot.

Haiji: "I won't go any further with Big Bang Monokuma and have it take the blunt of the Monokuma's attacks anymore, but if you still want to head out... I'll offer to use it to help you retreat, but that's it. We've already destroy close to 3/4 of the Monokuma Factories, so this is a job well done, so it's fine to stop here."

Shin: "I agree with you on that, but I'll be going out one last time since the next factory isn't far away from where we are. We also have one more missile left. I'll go alone."

Komaru: "But Shin, without this robot to distract-"

Shin: "It'll be fine Komaru, so don't worry so much. I'm the Ultimate Protagonist after all."

Komaru: "You're still going with that... Okay. Long as you come back safe I won't stop you."

Shin: "Of course I will. How can I go off and die after finally acquiring a (Video Game) heroine?"

Haiji: "Hey, I don't mind if you two flirt and all, but this is a serious matter. I'm not willing to risk damaging Big Bang Monokuma, but if we can destroy one more factory than its all the better. The one closest to us is also the biggest public factor of the Towa Group, so it'll really hammer in a blow in those insane kids plans."

Shin: "...Wait. Did you say biggest factory? "

Shin asked for confirmation from Haiji, the heir of the Towa Towa Group, and he confirmed it. Hearing this Shin's face began to lose color. With his newfound knowledge he knew the details of the Monokuma Factories, and recalled a certain factory. Among all the Monokuma Factories this one was the largest and most well defended. Additionally, on the roof of the building was a laser weapon similar to the one on top of Towa Hills that once shot Shin and Komaru down when he was flying over the ocean with Void Instant Movement. The beam was power, fast, and deadly accurate as it alway aimed for the left torso area, the heart.

Shin: (What's going on. In all the scenarios I've watched I either encountered this factory in the beginning and get killed off, or not at all since I was never able to make a round trip to destroy all the factories. It's true I never gave Haiji warning and allowed him to drive to all the factories with Big Bang Monokuma as he knew their locations, but... what a mistake on my part. This could also be a result of my actions of blowing up the factories with missiles that I did not possess originally.)

Shin didn't know what lead to this conclusion, yet he didn't have time to over think it. He could either retreat from this final Monokuma Factory having already obtained 20,000 Points and Drake and Sachi 10,000 Points, or he could take a risk to acquire 5,000 more Points. Shin thought about the pro and cons for about thirty seconds and stood up from the floor of the cockpit and moved to the hatch of Big Bang Monokuma. Shin chose in the end to take the risk to acquire the points. He made the decision to look for additional dangers and rewards despite having one last comrades, also his important person, waiting for him at Towa Hills to come here. True, one of the reasons he was here was to reduce the number of Monokuma in the city when Monaca makes her call for help, but I came here for the points! To become as strong as possible! Even of it was dangerous it was a small danger far as Shin was concerned as it wasn't enough to deter him now.

Shin was buy no means certain if he would make it, but he had to try. Although there was more to the level danger of this Hidden Side Quest than its difficulty tier, he still felt that he and Team Japan wouldn't have much of a future if they ran away from a D tier difficulty. The others, although the didn't understand the dangerous of this final factory they weren't all for taking the necessary risk, but he reassured them that he would be okay and set off alone. Both Drake and Sachi volunteered to come along for additional support, yet Shin knowing that he didn't have the means to protect them set off alone. Although he was somewhat confident that he could reach the final Monokuma Factory with alerting the enemy if he set off with Sachi, but he didn't have the confidence to protect her from the army of Monokuma and the laser beam if it was still operational after the destruction of the factory.

Shin: "Komaru, Drake, Sachi. I'll call you guys when it's time to escape. I'll probably be bringing along a army of Monokuma in my escape, but Big Bang Monokuma should be able to able to handle it and Haiji won't mind it long as he isn't using it punching bag for the Monokuma. Well, I'm off!"

Shin exited the cockpit of Big Bang Monokuma and ran down the giant robot with Instant Movement to safely reach the streets of the Towa City. Shin took one last look at the Big Bang Monokuma his comrades were riding off and set off alone towards their final Monokuma Factory.

On the streets of Towa City Shin quietly stood behind a turned over bus unmoving. The Monokuma Factory was 1000 meters away and well guarded by countless Monokuma. About five minutes remained till the Hidden Side Quest would come to a end, yet Shin didn't appear as if he was about to charge out to destroy the factory. That was Shin's goal for coming here, yet his body was telling him to stay put. The reason for this reluctance to move closer was the laser weapon. On top of the factor was a rifle sized laser. Its range was far inferior to the one installed on top of Towa Hills which could target anything flying over Towa City with ease, yet it could still cut down anything within 1000 meters of the Monokuma Factory.

This was why Shin was unable to move forward. He instinctively felt that if he stepped out from behind the bus just outside the lasers range and move closer he would be cut down. Whether by foot with Instant Movement or by air with Void Instant Movement, he felt no matter what he did or how he approached the problem he would be killed once he stepped out into the open. The MPSTAM was powerful, but it's only short coming was that it had a vert short firing range, so he was not close enough to fire the missile from where he was and even without such a limitation he couldn't help but think that the laser weapon would shot down the missile in midair. Still, Shin had yet to give up despite having no way of getting closer to the factory.

Shin: (There has to be a way. If this was truly impossible, the rank rewards for this Hidden Side Quest would be higher. Of course the large amount of points for this quest are very high, but still God decided that this was about the lowest difficulty. Even if it's difficult there should be a method to go about this like using Big Bang Monokuma. There should always be more than one answer to a solution in this world, so what is-)

It was then as Shin was pondering this a at last there were less than five minutes left on the Hidden Side Quest that a idea popped into his head, or better yet walked right in front of him. Shin was focusing so hard to come up with a solution that he let his guard down and missed the signs of a enemy approaching from the direction of the Monokuma Factory. Walking slowly pass the turned over bus he was hiding behind was a lone Ball Monokuma out on patrol.

Both it and Shin noticed each other at the same time as it passed the bus. Time seemed to freeze and one second felt like an eternity, but the first to break out of this trance and react to their foe was Shin. As Shin saw the Ball Monokuma a idea formed instantly and he jumped forward while retrieving Gravity Blade from the Na Ring. He then entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode at this time as well and swung the black magic sword four times and before Ball Monokuma could turn it's head or let out a cry it's four short an stubby limbs were cut off. Ball Monokuma now a perfect ball shape without it limbs fell to the ground and was about to roll away, but Shin caught it and lifted it overhead satisfied at his work.

The Ball Monokuma weighted as much as a wrecking ball as far as Shin was concerned, yet with the power of the Second Stage which enlarged/strengthened his limbs he was able to not just handle Ball Monokuma's weight, but move around as well. Once he then felt confident that he could even run while carrying Ball Monokuma he charged out from behind the bus and out into the open. Then like he feared the laser set up on top on top of the Monokuma Factory immediately adjusted it's aim and opened fire with a white flash. A laser beam with the width of a coin, but the penetrating power to cut through buildings traveled straight towards Shin, but it would not reach.

The large Ball Monokuma he was holding eclipsed Shin's entire body protected and protected him. The beam continued to burn into Ball Monokuma and not three second later it cut straight through the killer robot and destroying it, yet Shin was nowhere to be found. As soon as Ball Monokuma took the laser for him and escaped to the side with Instant Movement and then next he charged forward. Shin then prepared for the worse now that he was without protection, yet his feats were never realized. After the Ball Monokuma was destroyed by the laser it didn't follow up with another attack immediately.

Feeling the threat of danger and death receding Shin realized that the laser wasn't capable of rapid fire, and then without a moments hesitation he shot forward with his fastest speed towards the Monokuma Factory. Each step with Instant Movement brought him closer and closer to his target and two hundred meters were crossed in less than ten seconds. A laser attack had yet to reach him still and he was overjoyed, but there was another threat before him. Hundreds and hundreds of Monokuma. They noticed Shin's attention drawing actions which took nothing to hide his presence and charged towards him.

The Beast Monokuma took the lead and Shin without hesitation drew Gravity Blade. Executing a small Void Instant Movement he jumped over three Beast Monokuma and kicked the air a second time to propel himself forward before they could turn around. Shin was still in the Second Stage as ten more Beast Monokuma lunged towards him and he clashed with them without stopping once. With a increased weight slash Gravity Blade hacked into the face of the closest Beast Monokuma and sliced off it off. Shin then kicked it's body away into the group of Beast Monokuma in front of him while striking the face of another that charged at him for the side with Soul Crushing Strike deforming it's body.

From there he continued forward without pause jumping from one killer robot to the next Shin used the sea of Monokuma as footholds as he closed in on the factory. Countless Monokuma continued to charge at him and to avoid being ganged up on and buried under them he continued to swing Gravity Blade nonstop. The claws of the Monokuma tore into his flesh which wasn't protection by Lesser Fenrir Coat, yet not once did he stop to check his wounds and continued his path of destruction. Just as he reached the three hundred meter mark to the factory and still fighting off hundreds of Monokuma a familiar sense of danger enveloped him.

It was the fear he felt from the laser weapon and it grew stronger by the second. The beam attack was coming and without he lashed out and kicked a Beast Monokuma twenty feet into the air towards the factory. Targeting Shin once more a second laser beam was fired. It cut across the three hundred meter distance in a flash, yet ended up shooting through the airborne Beast Monokuma. The Beast Monokuma didn't have the thickness of a Ball Monokuma and effortlessly the laser beam cut through the robot towards it's path to Shin, but the beam deviated slightly and went pass his left arm by two inches.

Seeing this Shin's body went cold as he almost lost his arm, but he had no time to waste. The army of Monokuma surrounding him and unconcerned with his brief brush with death closed. There was no escape and so he jumped into the air with Void Instant. He didn't have the confidence to avoid the beam in midair, but without a choice in the matter he continued to kicked the air repeatedly and flew towards the factory. A group of hundred Destroy Monokuma flew towards him with their jet packs and raised their rifles and opened fire. A wave of over a hundred heat blast flew towards Shin's position, but he continued forward. He adjust his flight path with mid air with another kick to jump through the gaps of the wave of attacks and was now right in front of the enemy.

Destroy Monokuma attempted fly around him, yet predicting their flight paths Shin didn't allow them. Shin returned Gravity Blade to his Na Ring and exchanged it for his two sci-fi guns. With the Auto 9 in his right hand and the Devil Sealed Gun in his left he opened fire. All one hundred Destroy Monokumas flew away to escape, yet not all were successful. With the sounds of continuous gunfire the Monokuma either had their left eye shot threw and blew up or their jet packs were pierced by by a bullet and crashed into the streets of Towa City below.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, Monokuma KILL. 35 Destroy MONOKUMA'S DEFEATED. 1750 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Over thirty Destroy Monokuma were shot down and before they could regroup Shin kicked the air with Void Movement and accelerated even further towards his goal. He was not less than two hundred meters away from the Monokuma Factory. Up close like this Shin saw that it was truly much larger than the others and must have been responsible format least producing half the Monokuma within Towa City. If Monaca Towa actually cared about the paradise that the other Warrior of Hope wished for and she used the Monokuma as soldiers, destroying this factory alonenwould have been a crippling blow to their plans. Such thoughts were running through Shin's mind as he was just about to break into the factory... when for a third time he felt that chilling sensation of something having locked onto him. The laser weapon stationed on the far back of the factory was beginning to overheat adjust it's aim for a third and final shot. Shin had nothing to block the incoming laser beam, yet he didn't panic in the least. He was now close enough to see the laser weapon's muzzel with great clarity with his enhanced eye sight with reinforcement by Ki. If it was here and now, he could intercept the beam attack!

Shin: (Can't block and it's outside my firing, but I can at least predict when it'll fire and the beams trajectory!)

Shin switch back to his trusty Gravity Blade and actually jumped towards the laser weapon. Shin's concentration reached his peak as he observed the laser weapon just as it was about to fire. The muzzle, angel of the rifle, the energy running through it, and the visible friction of the air as the beam was unleashed. Nothing escaped his sight as Ki flowed through his eyes and the increased reaction speed through taking command overnthe nervous system. Shin absorbed all this information in a instant in Unlocked Mode and swung Gravity Blade with a increased weight slash with all his might on the path he determined the beam would cross. On autopilot the laser beam was fired without care of Shin's actions and reached him just as he reached the full potential of his attack and clashed with his magic sword head on.

It was but a momentary exchange yet, the laser beam nearly forced Gravity Blade out of Shin's hands, but his enlarged arms in the Second Stage held on tightly and forced the magic sword forward and the beam was cut in two. Shin's arms felt numb after the exchange, but he powered through it as he kicked the air racing towards the factory. With a sound of glass shattering Shin jumped through a window and into the Monokuma Factory. Inside were hundreds, no thousands of Monokuma being produced by my unmanned machines. In addition there were hundreds of Monokuma on patrol who immediately spotted Shin making his grand entrance, yet he didn't bother to give them a second look. The MPSTSM was already in his numb and shaky hands and aiming a important looking computer he opened fired and immediately escaped with Void Movement back out the window he came from.

\- ONE OF TWELVE MONOKUMA FACTORIES DESTROYED. REWARDED 5,000 POINTS.

Shin was worried about his aim, but thankful the missile struck true and blew up the computer and countless other machines nearby along with a fare amount of Monokuma. Soon the entire factor ceased all function and caught on fire. Shin was happy he did what he came for, but had no time to rejoice for long as escaped the area with Void Instant Movement being chased by the Destroy Monokuma he left behind just earlier. He ran back towards his comrades at full speed feeling extremely exhausted mentally and was glad to see Big Bang Monokuma. He flew past Big Bang Monokuma and hid behind its back just as Big Bang Monokuma took a step forward and used it's royal staff to swat down the pursuing Destroy Monokuma. Shin was finally able to catch his breath and he climbed Big Bang Monokuma's back and entered it's cockpit where his comrades were waiting and seeing as everyone was okay he collapsed right there.

A few minutes later the Hidden Side Quest came to a end and Monaca Towa at Towa Hills blew up the remaining Monokuma Factories with a self-destruct function. Kurokuma by her side asked why she did that and she smiled back at him and said she didn't want the main character of her plan to waste time elsewhere.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.

All dangers of Terror Infinity have solution and sometimes more than one. For this Hidden Side Quest Shin could have done the following.

◆ Used three Ball Monokuma's as cover to block the beams.

◆ Taunted the laser weapon to fire three times, giving him a five minute period till the it cools down.

◆ Once the laser fires at an ally, snipe it from a distance with a rifle during the interval of its next attack.

◆ Have a skilled sniper snipe the laser outside it's 1000 meter firing range.

◆ Use Big Bang Monokuma as cover.

◆ Lastly, exceed limits and evolve.

As Shin originally believed the Hidden Side Quest wasn't difficult, but you just needed to find the right solution whether that's intelligence, skill set, or resources available. Also, Shin tired himself out, but in a hour or so he'll be back at full strength thanks to the physical and spiritual regeneration of Black Heaven & Earth Technique.


	190. Chapter 190

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 30, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

After returning from the Hidden Side Quest and the Monokuma Factories were either destroyed or self destructed, Shin along with Komaru, Drake and Sachi separated from Big Bang Monokuma and Haiji Towa. Haiji operating Big Bang Monokuma went back to fighting the Monokuma around the city along with the adults of The Resistance and dropped Shin's group back at camp. After separating wnet to Shin rest inside their tent while the others waited for him to recover from the recent battles, but they did not have to wait long. Thanks to the Ki Black Heaven & Earth Technique and meditating for two hours, he was fully rejuvenated and ready for action. Ki was at 100% and all wounds had healed and not a trace of fatigue could be found.

Sachi: "It's amazing how quickly you recover from such a trials. Hm, I'm disappointed that I didn't get the chance to try any of my techniques on you."

Shin: "Keep your scary jokes for later and if you need a partner for your needles you van try them out on the Monokuma. I'm good to go, so let's head over to Towa Hills. It's time to bring this mission to a close!"

Shin lead his team out of the camp and ran towards Towa Hills just like Komaru and Toko Fukawa did in the original plot. Towa Hills was the Headquarters of the Warriors of Hope and was supposed to be patrolled by armies of Monokuma, yet Big Bang Monokuma's path of destruction throughout Towa City thinned out their numbers and preoccupied them, allowing them to run over the building unhindered. Additionally, their actions of destroying the Monokuma Factories lessened their numbers even further. Shin despite his knowledge gained from Hypothetical TV was surprised about the few Monokuma they had run into to. They crushed the few Monokuma that they ran into as soon as they crossed paths and not one hours later they arrived at their destination.

Towa Hills.

The stage for the final battles of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode was right in front of them. The building was used as the Warriors of Hope's main headquarters and standing by on top of the roof of Towa Hills was the Large airship, Excalibur. The very same airship which dropped Komaru while in midair and lead her to ultimately landing of top of the hospital building where she first Shin, Drake and Sachi. Although there was still the matter of the Guide Izuru Kamukura, not one of then could deny the feeling that something was coming to a close, yet not just yet. Komaru, Sachi, and Drake then began to walk towards the front door of Towa Hills to begin their journey, but putting a stop to their eagerness to enter was Shin.

Shin called out to them and lead them towards the back. They were all confused, but they believed that Shin who used Hypothetical TV knew better. As they ran to the back of Towa Hills and picked the lock of a emergency exit to enter the building Shin began to explain himself. On the first two floor of Towa Hills were four giant sized robots. The very same super robots used by the Warriors of Hope. In the game they only surveyed to temporarily block the doors leading to the next floors, but God and the mission didn't allow such a simple development.

The four robots would attack anyone who entered their line of sights and wouldn't stop till they killed their targets or were destroyed themselves. Of course they weren't as strong as the originals who were operated by the Warriors of Hope, not just a simple combat A.I, and lacking a Suicide Mode as well, all of which Shin learned from Hypothetical TV, but he still saw it as a huge pain to deal with. That's why he chose to do the smart thing as a intruder and sneak in the back and climb the emergency staircase. The staircase would bring them up to the third floor above the four super robots without alerting them, avoiding both a time and energy consuming battle that they didn't need.

Shin: (It would be nice to just climb or fly to the top of the building, but there ate still laser weapons installed on the roof of the building preventing such options.)

They ran up the emergency staircase and arrived to the third floor. The stairs wouldn't go any further than the third floor, so for here they needed to board the elevator to the top floors and walk up the rest of the way to reach the roof, but first they needed a *key* to enter said elevator. Shin knew that Komaru retrieved this *key* in the original plot, but as her new boyfriend he could let his heroine do such a thing. Shin left Komaru in the care of Drake and Sachi temporarily by the elevators and left down a hall saying he was going to get the *key* to the elevator. They didn't know what Shin was planning, but they waited trusting him.

Three minutes later he returned and oddly enough with nothing in his hands, yet those hands were covered in a black substance. Dried blood from the looks of it. Shin wasn't hurt and Komaru asked how did his hands get like that, but he dodged the question and walked up to the elevator. Shin then tool a small ball shaped item from one of the two Na Rings. Komaru couldn't tell what it was from a distance and before she could ask what it was the doors of the elevator opened as he held the small ball shaped item in front of a scanner. A retinal scanner to be exact... yet Shin not feeling a need and was not in a mood himself to explain this just silent slipped the *key* back into his Na Ring till the chance to throw it away later comes up.

Then as they were about to all enter the elevator Komaru stopped in place with a vacant look on her face and began speaking in a man's voice. Shin honestly forgot this scene where Komaru was temporary possessed by the spirit of Monaca and Haiji's father, Tokuichi Towa, yet he wasn't too terribly interested in this supernatural event. Shin channeled Ki into the Na Ring on his left hand activating its energy field, and then stepping forward he gave Komaru a light slap. A specter like creature flew out of Komaru having been repelled by the Na Ring and even more surprising he heard a notification from God about receiving 100 Points. Shin didn't know whether to laugh or cry either by the pitiful reward or by how out of place the notification was. Once Komaru recovered from being possessed and even more surprised that she has a talent to connect to the spirits of the dead depart her character setting being firmly established as normal, she along with the others climbed into the elevator and rose to the top floors of Towa Hill.

Shin: (Ah, we didn't run into Haiji. I wonder where he is? In the game he was supposed to appear to tell us where to find his father's body. Really, if I didn't know the plot so well we would have all been lost about what to do, so where... There's no he entered through the front door guarded by super robots, right?... Let's not think about it.)

Shin chose to keep his worries to himself for the time being and rose up Towa Hills in the elevator along his team.

After ascending to the upper floors of Towa Hills they could no longer use the elevator and had to move on foot to make their way to the roof. Existing the elevator Shin and the others found themselves in the middle of a bloodstained hall way and on the floor were destroyed Monokuma parts. Besides these robot parts were extremely out of place dentures. Shin explained what this meant as they traveled the halls and dealt with any enemy Monokumas they came across.

While dismantling a Junk Monokuma that tired to pounce and crush Komaru to death with his Kagune, Shin told them that Kotoko of the Warriors of Hope who they fought before was on this floor. She had come to get the Monokuma Controller from her former Monaca after learning that she didn't care for their paradise or her comrades. Hearing this Sachi to everyone surprise said they should go meet her. Shin pointed out that meeting Kotoko had no value to their team, yet he and the others unanimously agreed to go meet up with her after Sachi with a smile silently brought up her hands armed with needles dripping with a foreign purple liquid. Under threat of the scary assassin in a nurse uniform they search the entire floor and discovered Kotoko within a room that at one point served as a normal office before the riots began.

Just like in the game she was cornered by a pack of Beast Monokuma and a group of Monokuma Kids singing a song and jumping for joy. Kotoko was forced to climb up and hang onto a ceiling lamp and was holding on for dear life, but slowly she was losing her grip. Shin, Komaru, Drake, and Sachi arrived just as Kotoko was about to fall. The first to react was Sachi. She snuck up behind one of the Beast Monokuma and climbed into it back. The Beast Monokuma was then too late to save itself by throwing her off as her Eva Progressive Knife stabbed into its left eye and then fell to the floor no longer functional. The other Beast Monokuma saw this and moved to tear her apart, but a wave of Faith Energy by Drake vanquished their energy and bloodlust.

Drake's Pacify Spell left the Beast Monokuma weakened and unmotivated. Easy prey for Shin and Komaru. With Instant Movement Shin jumped forward and reappeared with lightning speed in the middle of the pack with and launched an attack with his Kagune. Six blood red tentacles were released and shot forward towards the enemy, stabbing straight through their left eyes all the way into their skulls. Komaru followed up by using BREAK Bullets skillfully to dispose of the remaining Monokuma. With it now safe Kotoko jumped down from the ceiling lamp and onto the floor. She saw Shin and his comrades had successful defeated the Monokuma in less then ten seconds, and immediately ran towards Sachi for a big hug,

Kotoko: "Wow! Thanks for saving me! Bis sis Sachi. Defiled Komaru. And their side kicks!"

Komaru: "Who's defiled! I'm still pure!"

Shin: "Brat, who's a side kick?! I'm the protagonist, you hear! The protagonist!"

Sachi: "Your letting yourself get riled up by a kid... You two are a match made in heaven, baka couple."

Sachi said all this while patting Kotoko's head with affection. Shin saw Kotoko was fine with this and continued to chat with Sachi. It was all too much. For someone who knew the original plot in and out like he did it was unthinkable for Kotoko to warm up with an adult like Sachi and act like sisters. When ever Drake would try to get close to her she would back away and hide behind Sachi as well (Well, he's a pervert, but that has nothing to do with it). Kotoko's fear and hatred of adults was still there, but she was more than fine with Sachi. He grew even more curious than ever before about just what did Sachi say to Kotoko to win her over, but remembering Drake's warning to not get too involved, he didn't vocalize his thoughts.

Then the conversation continued on same as the plot. Kotoko wanted the Monokuma Controller for herself so she'll have the Monokuma Kids to play with at the very least. Her Warriors of Hope friends are presumed dead and Monaca turned out to be lying to her. It was just like the conversation in the game as she then tired to have Shin's group give her the controller once they defeat Monaca, yet changing the plot was Sachi. Sachi revealed that her friends were most likely alive somewhere Towa City. Whether Monaca actually cared for her comrades deep down or a outside force intervened, when her comrades were defeated and dragged away by the Monokuma they weren't killed off, was her belief. Kotoko was overjoyed with this new information that costed Sachi a 300 Point penalty from all the spoilers. Kotoko then ran off alone to go look for them.

Drake: "What unexpected kindness from you, ice queen assassin. You must have been taken a real shine to her."

Sachi: "...Girls should help one another out. That's what a friend of mine used to say at least. I just try where I can and it only costed me 300 Points. You can't even get my dream Adamantium Needle Set from the exchanges with just 300 Points."

Komaru: "Still, it's great that you helped her out. I was worried about what would happen to her as well... but Sachi, why are you mean to me sometimes when you believe in girl power?"

Sachi: "Ah, be because you already have a man to look out for you... How nice for you to have been saved, but me... I still can't find a boyfriend yet at my age you harem bitch."

Komaru: "Harem bitch!"

Sachi looked at Komaru with a hint of scorn due to the fact that Komaru had found a boyfriend in me while she's still single. Hearing this I felt pity for a woman who had stunning good looks rivaling Kisara, yet I had no attention of making a move on her and adding her to my harem. Sachi frightened me too much with her use of poison and her personality is just the worst. It was far, far worse than Hikari's badmouthing which I can just barely tolerate. It makes sense that she's still single, but it's still pitiful and laughable all the same...and now she's glaring at me. Fuck, did she read my thoughts!

Shin: "A-Anyways, let's go! We've almost reached the roof!"

Sachi: "..."

Shin ignored the not so subtle killing intent behind him as he took the lead on their way to the roof of Towa Hills. They soon passed the area used as the Warriors of Hope's war room. From there they discovered a secret room or two which weren't important and moved along. They then passed by the area where Byakuya Togami was held prisoner in the game that was caged off. As they did they heard the sounds of just not a man, but a woman from within. The two were arguing. The man was using abusive language to yell at the woman for sneaking on board the helicopter and then getting caught after she followed him into the hotel building, yet she seemed to enjoy it and ask for more.

This back and forth mild S&M play freaked everyone out. Drake asked who these perverts were, but Shin just said a strange couple and moved on. Shin knew they were obviously Byakuya Togami and the second main character of the game and who Team Japan took their role within the story, Toko Fukawa. Shin considered setting them free, but in the end chose not to and ran towards the roof top. There was the possibility of a Hidden Side Quest involving them, but such information wasn't covered in his question to Hypothetical TV, so he wasn't going it risk it on a uncertainty this close to the final battle.

They finally reached the roof top of Towa Hills at last after passing through the jailed off area and climbing a spiraling staircase. They were prepared for anything, yet what they saw took them back. The airship Excalibur was far larger than any ship within the real world and appeared far more cutting edge. If it wasn't for the dangers throughout the city and within the airship Shin or anyone else for that matter would love to take a ride on Excalibur through the skies. Shin especially, even as a man, liked the idea of bringing his harem on such a airship for a romantic getaway, but now was not the time for such romantic ideas. Especially when Monokuma began to flood the rooftop of Towa Hills from god,knows where.

The four of them put there backs together to and attacked the incoming Monokuma with their ranged weapons. Shin with his two guns and Sachi with her thin metal needles shot out the left eyes of the incoming Monokuma and to for those who would slip by they would have their heads hacked off by his Gravity Blade and her Eva Progressive Knife. Drake sprayed the enemies surrounding them with the M41A Pulse Rifle+M and tore the killer robots apart. And lastly, Komaru with the highest kill count wielding the fully realized Megaphone Hacking Gun demolished the Monokuma with various attacks.

Within three minutes all enemies were taken out and they proceeded to board Excalibur, but not without first doing one thing. They went around the rooftop of Towa Hills and dismantled all the laser weapons. These tools of death which nearly stole Shin's life in the beginning of the mission only shot outwardly and posed no threat to them when they board the airship, yet Shin and Komaru with their previous bad experience with them wanted to get rid of them.

Shin: "I don't know of such a situation will come up, but now I can use Void Movement without reserve. Anyways, let's go!"

With nothing left needing their attention they all ran to board Excalibur. A ramp was already set up leading to its door and they walked on top of it. As they did Komaru felt compelled to speak up as they were hearing the end of one battle. She wondered what everyone planned to do once everything was over, but that was a complicated question for them. As a team of God's Dimension they would just move on to their next challenge after ten days and a time of peace wouldn't be in their immediate future. Komaru forgot this and apologized and was in turn asked by Shin what she wanted to do. Komaru agreed to return with them to God's Dimension and join his harem, but beyond that she never said what she wanted for the future. As they walked into the airship she pondered this question and gave her answer.

Komaru: "Please don't laugh... but I think I want to become a Manga Artist. It's one of my only real interest, so if possible I want to give it a shot. Do you think I'm weird?"

Drake: "You're asking a man with a harem and delusions of being a protagonist, a sadistic nurse and assassin, and me, a priest kicked out of his order for... things that are still legal, certainly legal... kinda, but frowned upon. Are you're weird? We may not be the best people to ask."

Shin: "I think it's fine, Komaru. Do as you like. I don't know if there's a drawing skill in the exchange, but you can practice all you want once we get to the Terminal Lobby where you can exchange for art supplies that would make the author of Naruto (Amazing, but second Anime was a disgrace and the Manag towards the end had too many pointless flash backs) and Bleach (...No comment) drool in envy. I have no idea if stats effect artistic talent, but I can increase some if it'll help you out."

Sachi: "Buying your new woman's favor by promising to support their dreams... how cunning of you, harem king."

Shin: "It's not like that!"

Komaru: "Ah, Shin, I like Shoujo Manga the best, but maybe I'll give action and adventure a try. Maybe I can use you as the model of my protagonist. Terror Infinity... that sounds like a good tittle! And with that said, I'll like to ask you an important question regarding your character."

Shin and the others were just right outside the door of where Monaca Towa should be within the airship when Komaru asked this of Shin. He couldn't help but think this was a bad time for this kind of talk, but it didn't really matter. They weren't on a schedule and he was vigilant of his surroundings just in case.

Komaru: "Shin... Why did you build a harem? I'm thankful for you doing so since I got the chance to be with you, but in the modern era it's looked down on to say the least. Ah, this is just for research purposes of course! Not just out of curiosity!"

Sachi: "Of course. Not because you want to know why your man sleeps with other woman and claims to have real feelings for them all. So, what's your answer leader."

Shin: "It's not any of your business Sachi, but Komaru, I built up my harem honestly because it seemed to make sense."

Komaru: "Makes sense?"

Shin: "Yes. You know normally it's impossible to meet multiple interesting and beautiful women with Anime characteristics. A super power woman of the JSDF, a cute hacker girl with magic and psychic powers, and a samurai girl who's inherited a famous sword style used as the basis of a famous Manga! Who would let the chance slip away? Who!? I don't believe that a sane man would pick just one girl in such a situation. If you don't pick a girl in say volume 1 of a book and you meet tons of first rate beauties, it's impossible to chose just one woman after getting involved with them. To get involved with so many girls emotionally, but not go any further seems like a shallow relationship to me. Heck, Kirito of SAO only chose Asuna because he was depressed and she was right in font of him in addition to the fact that they just went through a life and death ordeal. It's hard to call that true love, and if any girl had taken the chance to confess beforehand he would have accepted 100%. Like that blacksmith girl. Also, if you don't chose all of girls who are interested in you then a distance will appear between you and them unless they force themselves. Unlike the real world we can't pack up and take some space from one another. There's no concept of break ups, moving on, separation, or divorce in God's Dimension. Taking in all the woman you have a interest in you who are not completely repulsed by the harem is the sanest decision if you ask me."

Sachi: "Wow. You might need some professional help there leader. So in the end you just wants all the pretty girls to yourself?"

Drake: "No Sachi. This is a man's romance! Men who aren't honest with themselves are the ones who cheat and let marriages fall apart. Leader is the type of man who can accept more than one love, so a standard relationship would only lead to a Bad Ending. Leader! You are younger than me, but I have much to learn. I, Drake, have nothing for respect for you! I, your follower, will follow you to the ends of the the earth and even hell and back, boss!"

Komaru: "So dramatic, but I think I get it. It must be because like myself, Shin is someone who wants a happy ending for all. Although it's unrealistic in real life, a harem is the only ending where everyone is happy, or at least can guarantee their happiness."

Sachi looked around at her comrades and discovered a shocking truth. She was the most normal one among them and this was a first for her. Sachi saw that she wasn't going to get anywhere with them and and told Shin they should just start the fight already. Shin agreed and turned towards the door in front of them. On the other side was a grand hall where Monaca and the other half of A.I Junko, Kurokuma, would be. He took one last look at his comrades by his side and then stepped forward and opened the door.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltore.

When you read a Manga, do you honestly believe the afterwards ending where all the girls are doing great or married good men? Now that's not realistic. Out of five girls who failed to get the man in a six way harem Manga, 1 is happy, 2 are okay and still looking for love, 1 is in a abusive relationship with a kid and bills piling up, and 1 who has either given up on love or becomes a call girl to try to forget anout the man who she last loved. Okay, the last one was a bit much, but the others are could happen.


	191. Chapter 191

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 31, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Monaca: "...Huh? Monaca lost"

The battle between Team Japan and Monaca Towa was an anticlimactic one. Within one minute of the battle starting a conclusion had been reached, and it was all thanks the Hypothetical TV Quest Item. As Shin and his team entered the grand hall where the battle between Monaca and the heroes was supposed to take place within the airship Excalibur, they first spotted Kurokuma, the sibling of Shirokuma and second half of Alter Ego Junko. Kurokuma seeing them enter was prepared to go into a endless loop of pointless talking as per usual, yet they didn't allow this. Crossing the distance between them in a flash, Shin with Instant Movement drew out Gravity Blade feom the Na Ring and beheaded the robot. Kurokuma was in shock as its head separated from the rest of its body and not given any room to react he received a swift kick curtsy of Shin. Kurokuma's head was blown away and smashed through a window, falling off the airship and over the railing of Towa Hills. Shin's actions were were sudden and unprovoked, yet there was a point to it all.

Hypothetical TV revealed to Shin that stopping Kurokuma from combining with Monaca's super robot, Mage Robot Black Suspirian, decreased it's fighting potential by 70%. It was a simple conclusion to reach, but because almost all boss battles so far couldn't be done this way, attacking a member of the Warriors of Hope directly results in a 50,000 Point deduction, it became a habit to wait for the boss battle to begin before making one's move. Once a person realized how simple it was to just remove Kurokuma who had no fighting ability to speak of it was all too simple a matter to remove him from the battle field, but that was just on the surface. Shin kicked Kurokuma out of the airship and didn't directly destroy him for an important reason.

Hypothetical TV showed that killing Kurokuma rewarded 3000 Points and two D rank reward, but this came at a steep price not worth the rewards. A change in plot! Shirokuma would immediately take control of Big Bang Monokuma and attack Towa Hills and Excalibur. This attack was fierce and unrestrained and couldn't be called a battle. Big Bang Monokuma would focus on destroying the building with everyone inside rather than partake in a boss battle like in the game. Shin also wanted to deal with Aqua before confront Big Bang Monokuma, so he refrained from attacking Big Bang Monokuma and simply removed the pest from his sight and away from Monaca.

From here the boss battle was simple. Monaca made a grand appearance like in the game to show that she wasn't handicapped and immediately summoned Mage Robot Black Suspirian even though she didn't have Kurokuma, the core component of her robot. Mage Robot Black Suspirian's combat ability was originally very high, much higher than any of the other super robots if the Warriors of Hope and in a scenario shown by Hypothetical TV it could even withstand Shin's Spirit Wave/Gravity Blade attack, but without Kurokuma the super robot had a small lag time when Monaca inputted commands and it's most powerful weapons were left unusable. It was a one sided massacre where Team Japan attacked with everything they had, and without even needing Shin to use Spirit Wave, Monaca was defeated and her Mage Robot Black Suspirian destroyed, and along with its destruction came a notification from God that both the Side Quest and the completion of one half of the Main Mission.

SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, WARRIORS OF HOPE OVERTHROWN. FIRST HALF 4/4 COMPLETE. AWARDS ALL ALL MEMBERS 4,000 POINTS AND C RANK REWARD. SECOND HALF COMPLETE. AWARDS ALL MEMBERS 4,000 POINTS AND TWO C RANK REWARDS. TOTAL = 8,000 POINTS AND B RANK REWARD!

MAIN QUEST: The Mission.

Objective 1. Completed.

Objective 2. Defeat the Guide, Izuru Kamukura and complete fusion.

Shin: (Well, that was almost too easy... not that Monaca actually cared if she won or not... No, she would be troubled if we, Komaru died.)

Shin watched on with the others at Monaca crying over her loss. He knew better that those weren't real tears and she begged to not be killed and so was unmoved, yet not everyone around him could say the same. With the exception of Sachi who remained her cold indifference, despite being told the truth of Another Episode Komaru looked quite bothered by Monaca crying that she didn't want to be killed and so reassured her that they wouldn't hurt her. Drake as well couldn't stay unmoved by her crying and declared that he wouldn't allow anyone to harm her. Shin seeing this found this to be quite scary. Monaca was messed up in the head as a diehard fan of Junko Enoshima, but was very talented at moving others as she pleased. Shin couldn't help but applaud the Li'l Ultimate Homeroom, who had almost won over two of his comrades.

Shin: "Can you two stop fooling around. Also, Monaca, what you've done doesn't matter to me, so we won't kill you or bother you once we all get the Monokuma Controller, but there's something else that I need. Where is my comrade Aqua? She was supposed to be guarding you."

This was something Shin was most concerned about. From what he learned from Hypothetical TV, Aqua was supposed to be guarding Monaca. This was something that Jin confirmed as well before he left the Mission World. In the videos shown in that documentary, Aqua was supposed to be in the grand hall along with Monaca. She would silently wait in a corner of the room unless provoked. Aqua would only begin to move when Monaca sees that Komaru won't press the switch of the Monokuma Controller and calls on a army of Monokuma to force her hand. She would then send Aqua towards Shin, the strongest fighting potential within the team, so that wouldn't be able interfere.

That was what was supposed to happen and there were no scenario shown that said otherwise, so Shin was confused. He was now even considering the possibility of this scenario/present was missed to by Hypothetical TV. His question to it covered too much of today and tomorrow's events, so somethings were missed. It was then as Shin considered such a possibility that Monaca stopped crying and revealed a large smile that would win over any loli-con. Monaca stood up and gave the Monokuma Controller to Komaru just like in the original plot, yet instead of immediately trying to manipulate her into pushing it she turned towards Shin.

Monaca: "You said that you're looking for a "Aqua"? Do you mean say that you want a bottle of water by that brand? Ah, Monaca doesn't have any water on her for big brother here. Sorry, you seem much nicer than my real brother who got torn apart by the super robots on the first floor, but Monaca can't help you. Uuuu!"

Komaru: "Wait, what!"

Komaru was shocked about the news of Haiji's death, yet Monaca began to cry with fake tears as she ramble on about nonsense despite knowing exactly what Shin meant, which pissed him off. It wasn't that he didn't care about Haiji dying, but he had more pressing concerns at this time.

Shin: "Cut the crap! Where is Aqua! The red haired woman who you took control of along with the others!"

Monaca: "Sorry, but Monaca really doesn't know! She doesn't know any water brand name women! Monaca really doesn't... Ahl wait, could you mean Silver Monokuma? Her hair is red, but don't you think that's misleading character trait? Shouldn't her name be ruby or scarlet? Ah, the name silver originates from her super cool and fantasy like transform! It was so cool and so I named her Silver Monokuma! So fierce and dominating! That big sis is the best... but she's still second to big sister Junko."

Shin "Where is-"

Where is she... That was what Shin was about to ask for the third time now, but he was stopped mid sentence. The room grew colder and a feeling of dread swelled up inside him, yet this wasn't a perception of danger. This was a physical response from standing within her presence of Despair as Monaca's true face was revealed. Monaca's bright eye grew dark and her cheerful face grew rigid. Then there was a her smile. Monaca's smile turned crooked as she stared at Shin.

Monaca: "...Hm... So like the black suit man said she along with your other comrades are your weakness. I'm glad that I listened to him."

Shin: "What are you-"

Monaca: "Hey, big brother protagonist. I don't know where you all came from, but you're ruining everything that I've built up for the sake of the successor of Junko Enoshima. Don't you think you should but out of my affairs? Well, telling you this now is pointless, so let's make this clear. Go save your comrade, or allow her to die!"

Shin: "!"

Monaca's cold words gained everyone's full attention and she proudly announced her plan. She learned from *The man in a black suit* that Shin cared deeply for Silver Monokuma and would go to any links to save her, and so he sent her away to Towa Stadium, a sports venue ten miles away from Towa Hills. She also had the Monokuma Kids set a large amount of explosives underneath Towa Stadium's sewer tunnels. Once the explosives go off the entire area will sink and the venue will collapse in on its self.

Monaca: "So there you have it big brother protagonist! If you don't want your woman to be buried alive under a sports stadium, gasping for every last breath if she doesn't die instantly, cursing you as shes dies for abandoning her... you should get going and leave big sis Komaru to Monaca here! Ah, you also only have T minus... Fifteen minutes and forty-five seconds to save her!"

Shin's soul left his body once Monaca was done proudly telling him from the shock of it all. It was all so outside his predictions for today's events. Monaca's sudden plan couldn't have come about from any change of plot caused by Team Japan's actions.

Shin: (...Izuru Kamukura... The man in the back suit could only be you! Spying on me with Psyche Force... Was he watching me use the advantages of Hypothetical TV and think I was having too easily a time? Was it not enough that you've made me fight my comrades and my own women, but now you interfered again with the plot and at the same time threatened Aqua... If for no other reason than this I won't let you leave this world alive!)

Shin made that promise to himself and turned to the others. Komaru, Drake and Sachi looked on at Shin with worry as he showed a face consumed with rage in one moment and then a scary calmness the next.

Shin: "...Monaca Towa. You can show me where to go, right?"

Monaca: "Yes! Right here Monaca had placed a GPS tracker on Silver Monokuma and I can give you the phone that's tracking her position. Hurry up. You only have less than thirteen minutes left!"

Shin: "...Drake and Sachi. Take care of Komaru. I'll be back. And Komaru... I have to save some one important to me, but you're important to me as well even if we've just gotten together. I won't let anything happen to you, so can you trust me?"

Komaru: "Of course. Even if it was a lie you're still my Ultimate Protagonist. Don't worry and go already. I'm sorta a heroine as well, so I'll be okay."

Shin: "...Thank you. I'll be back!"

Shin felt relived to hear these words. He then turned towards Monaca with a smile she handed him an active phone pinpointing a location ten miles away. Shin took the phone wishing he could punch in her face that little girls face that was mocking him and started to run. He ran towards a windows of the grand hall and crashed through it and jumping out of Excalibur. He landed on the roof of Towa Hills and sprinted into the edge of the building and jumped through the air. Shin began to fall to the earth below and to stop his descent kicked the air and flew through the air with Void Movement following the phone Monaca handed him. Shin took one last look back at Towa Hills and the airship Excalibur, but resolved to save Aqua he shot through the air as fast as possible.

With each step of Void Movement Shin kicked the air and traveled tens of meters with each jump passing over dozens of building. Now that the lasers installed on Towa Hill's rooftop were disabled he was able to make great use of his ability to fly over the obstacles of the city which hindered him all this time. Shin had also entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode to endure the stress to the body that came with Void Movement and moved over greater distances at the same time. Shin followed the GPS Tracker and as Monaca said Towa Stadium was indeed ten miles away from Towa Hills, yet his moment speed and ability to fly over buildings and roads enabled him to reach the sports venue in less than than give minutes. Shin landed on top of the Towa Stadium, a indoors sports venue, and rolled around the floor in pain. The stress from the Second Stage and continuous Void Instant Movements wreaked havoc on his legs and we're red and swollen. Shin's mutation couldn't heal this type of injury and so he channeled Ki and circulated the energy throughout his legs to relive the pain as best he could. The pain was far from gone, yet as he endured it as he rushed forward into Towa Stadium from the rooftop exit.

As Shin ran through stair well and halls of Towa Hills he spotted countless time bombs set placed throughout the building. It was just like Monaca said, no it was worse than she let on. Shin could disable one hundred time bombs and still miss the majority of them. Some of them might have even been decoys to trip him up. Then there were the explosive within the sewers underneath Towa Stadium, and together it was too much for ten or even a hundred explosive experts to handle in the next ten or so minutes, much less the lone amateur at bomb dismantling. He could only swiftly defeat Aqua and escape, but he didn't have such a optimistic prediction of their battle. Aqua was powerful and the most experienced member of Team Japan. Shin may be the leader, yet he had never once believed that he was stronger than her. Within Team Japan he was under the belief that he was the closest to her in ability, yet even he wasn't sure just exactly how much stronger she was than him.

Shin: (Aqua and I have both have high level of enhancements and weapons. We've also both reached the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint. On paper we sound like equals, but the truth is far from that optimistic view. I'm a versatile fighter better suited for extended battles while she is pure close range for the most part and her stats are higher. Her enhancements are also more power based. A tier Elder Werewolf Bloodline, B tier Wolverine Mutation, and B tier Upper Class Nen Whole Body Enhancement. In a direct clash I'll lose in a punching in match. Worst of all, Aqua didn't think that there will be any magic type enemies, so she didn't hand over her magic gun. That gun is frightening dangerous for those with special energies like my Ki. Lastly, she has her transformations... Fuck!)

Shin didn't have a good outlook on the battle. Hypothetical TV did indeed show him fighting Aqua, but the few times he had won were due to him barley holding his ground and getting lucky and stabbing her in the heart with Holy Sword Switch. It was a surefire method to win over Aqua, yet Shin couldn't picture the image of him overcoming her in battle. Aqua was his idol and more than that the woman he loved, his first love, so he didn't wish to hurt her despite knowing it was to save her. It pained him earlier to hurt Kisara in there battle on top of the speeding train and he didn't want to go through that again.

Shin: "...But this fucking Guide isn't going to allow me this, right!? Fuck!)

Shin couldn't help but curse as he ran through the halls at top speed looking for Aqua throughout Towa Stadium and finally out into the main stadium. He looked around and found that he exited the halls and was now in the stadium stands of what appeared to be a soccer field. He didn't notice it at first as he was not in a mood to care, but Towa City had quite the state of the art facility. The stadium seats were on the higher end of comfort with cushioned seats, various snack stands lined up the walls near the seats for the convince of fans watching games, and the field itself was in pristine condition. If not for recent events and they decided to hold the world cup for soccer here at Towa Stadium no one would dare say that they weren't well equipped enough.

Shin took in his surroundings nervous of the time remaining till the explosives go off and then then found her. Standing in the middle of the well kept green grass of the soccer field was a woman with red hair. Her body showed her off as a youthful and feminine woman in her early twenties with all the right proportions, but underneath that was a strong and tempered body surpassing top athletes and mortal men. Covering the left side of her of face and running her good looks with its ugly appearance was a the black half of a Monokuma mask. Once Shin confirmed it was Aqua, Silver Monokuma, he immediately jumped down to the grass field to reach her. Silver Monokuma turned her head and saw him approach and raised a large handgun, aimed, and opened fire.

\- *BANG*!

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.

Shin Vs Aqua! It's the destined confrontation. Were taking bets to see he who will win in the end. Also, I've gotten rid of the area of effect mode of her magic spell. I still like it, but I never had a chance to use it, so I'm getting rid of that option and keeping it just as a charged moon beam.


	192. Chapter 192

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 32, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

\- *BANG*!

From the muzzle of Silver Monokuma's Thomson Contender Mystic Code a single Origin Bullet was fired and flew through the air on a path towards the approaching Shin. Shin saw the bullet head straight for him and entered Unlocked Mode. With his enhanced vision he saw on the tip of the speeding bullet crafted from white bone. This caused Shin to give up all thoughts of blocking the seemingly normal bullet and side stepped to the side. The bullet brushed passed where he once was and shot a hole through the backrest of a stadium seat where it landed and left a small hole in the floor of the stadium. He knew the danger of Silver Monokuma's Mystic Code wasn't as simple as this. Coming in contact of the bullet forged from the ribcage of the famous Magus Killer would cause one's energy to go haywire and cause irreversible damage that only God could hope to repair.

The Thomson Contender was a death sentence for Shin and he swore to pay extra attention to it, but unfortunately his thoughts were seen through by his opponent. As he closely watched Silver Monokuma's right hand grasping the Mystic Code, she raised her free left hand now pointed towards him. Shin finally notice this hand was glowing with white light too late over concerned with the Mystic Code. Silver Monokuma's left hand glowed brighter and brighter till reaching full strength and released a intensified white beam launched straight towards him. Swiftly Shin entered the Second Stage and with enlarged legs he jumped as far as possible with Instant Movement. From where he once stood, one eighth of the stadium stands were swallowed up by a white hot light. Shin coming to a crash landing just outside the attack range saw that everything within the laser beam was burned to the ground and the floor underneath even began to melt, leaving behind a wide smoldering hole a meter deep.

Shin: (She lead me to be overly causes with about the Mystic Code to hide Judgement of the Moon Goddess. The spell must have been fully charged by the time I arrived, but I failed to notice that the signs. Fuck my suddenly overpowered comrades! Is she really brainwashed!?)

Shin cursed in his mind as he picked himself up from the ground and then once more ran towards Silver Monokuma. Silver Monokuma ran backwards while reloading the Thomson Contender, putting some distance between them while never letting her sights off him. Their speed was beyond mortals and both were in Unlocked Mode at this time. Just after seconds of their chase began they cross over half the soccer field. Shin still in the Second Stage due to the stress and returned to the First Stage, and then calculated the distance their speed and distance. He was faster as he was running straight with Instant Movement compared to Silver Monokuma running backwards, but he wasn't that much slower. Before he could reach her she would be able to fire the Thomson Contender a second time. He could enter the Second Stage for more speed and power, but she could just do the same.

Shin: (This is like the fight with Abigail. Those of the same stage of the Genetic Constraint can rarely over power each other without a drastic difference in stats and enhancements. Aqua is the only member of the team I can't just overpower... No, in power alone she's superior to me! If I can't over power her than I can only take a risk!)

Resolved for what comes next Shin ran forward towards Silver Monokuma as she raised the Mystic Code in one hand and prepared Judgement of the Moon God in the other. She needed a lot of charge time to turn the werewolf bloodline spell into something lethal, so the real threat now was the Thomson Contender Mystic Code. As the distance between them was finally less than two meters she opened fire. Silver Monokuma in the First Stage and at this range would not miss no matter what Shin tried, yet she saw something unexpected. He did not try to avoid the bullet, but merely raised his right hand. The Origin Bullet was released, shoot through the air, and pierced into his flesh, but that was it. The Origin Bullet cut through Shin's flesh, and taking a page from Kotomine Kirie, he redirect the bullet out of his arm while screaming at the top of his lungs and spat out a mouthful of blood, but then the wounds were immediately regenerated with Rc Cells. Their was no energy reaction to tear his body apart from the inside out and Silver Monokuma couldn't understand why.

Shin: (I suppressed all the energy within my body as best I could, but I still took a little bit of damage. I can't heal this, but it won't hinder future battles.)

Silver Monokuma not knowing Shin suppressed his Ki to diminish the crippling damage of Origin Bullets was left speechless and revealed a opening that Shin didn't hesitate to take advantage of it. Shin retrieving Gravity Blade from the Na Ring entered the Second Stage and with enlarged legs he sprung forward with Instant Movement instantly reached her side. Silver Monokuma recovered just as he swung down the black magic sword about to cut off her right arm, and with a clinking sound of metal clashing she twisted her wrist slightly and the sword was blocked. Three metal claws made of Adamantium clashed with Gravity Blade stopping Shin's attack. She then kicked him away and jumped back a meter, put away her Mystic Code, and used this space to enter the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode.

Although not drastically, her well toned body enlarged slightly causing rippling and powerful muscles appeared on her body granting her a physique beyond any man, and now ready to fight three metal claws erupted from both hands and she sprung towards her opponent like a wild beast. This pressure forced Shin to enter into the Second Stage. Arms, legs, torso; his entire body grew a size larger with enlarged muscles and he directly clashed with Silver Monokuma.

\- *BOOM*!

With enough force to cause shock wave the two sides met head on clashing their respective weapon, yet the one who lost out was Shin. He had thought Gravity Blade with increased weight to his limit to hold would over power her, but her claws locked his magic sword in place and repelled him back. Silver Monokuma renewed her attack with a lunge aiming to slit his neck with her claws. Shin swung Gravity Blade and deflected the claws away, but the ones in her other hand clawed at his chest before retreating. A deep red and bloody claw wound was left across his chest as if he was attacked by a wild beast. Only by the saving grace of his magic armor did her claws only stop at a mere flesh wound, but not having the time to care he immediately retaliated in a renewed rush.

With the power and speed of the Second Stage, Gravity Blade now additionally reinforced by Ki was swung at Silver Monokuma dozens of times in the span of a few seconds with enough force to slice through reinforced steel with accumulated weight increasing the destructive power of the slashes manyfold, yet those attacks never reached her, and in the end he was the one injured instead. Silver Monokuma's hands moved together at lightning speed without irregularities to both attack and defend or to defend and counter attack. It sounded simple enough, but to take two complicated actions at the same time and under harsh conditions like battles to the death was almost impossible, and even trained warriors prioritized one action over the other, but not Silver Monokuma.

Shin was suppressed by her ability to take two actions at the same time and at such speed. Without the advantages of being physically superior the difference in their skill levels became clear like now. Shin's Gravity Blade was be parried to the side by one pair of Silver Monokuma's Adamantium Claws and before he could recover the second pair of claws reinforced by Nen punched into Shin's stomach. Three blades with ruthless force stabbed through the Lesser Fenrir Coat and into his innards. Shin coughed up a mouthfuls of blood, and as the claws in her right hand were about to slice of his head from the neck he kicked her away and jumped far back with Void Instant Movement. Silver Monokuma saw her victory close at hand and sprinted towards Shin as to not allow him to recover.

Shin: (Potential my ass! Aren't you just far stronger than me, Aqua? Our enhancements aren't so far apart the that it shouldn't be this one sided. I forget at times, but not only is she more experienced as a Player of God's Dimension, she has the training of a solider of the JSDF and before that was a olympic prospect in swimming. Experience wise she's far different from me who wasted his life before arriving here. Our Genetic Constraint stages are equal, but that's about it. I can't... afford to not give it my all!)

Shin looked at Silver Monokuma with the defocused eyes of Unlocked Mode as her claws were about to reach his throat. He was still recovering from the last attack and couldn't move yet... yet their was no need to. Just as Silver Monokuma was about to reach him, six blood red tentacles erupted from his back waist side and shoot out towards her. Silver Monokuma noticed the danger with her sharp senses and jumped back into a spin avoiding the tentacle about to impale her, yet the escape was not perfect shown by the cut on her left thigh. Shin at last recovered from the previous attack with the high speed regeneration of a ghoul. He looked at Silver Monokuma and crouched down in order to be ready to move at the slightest provocation. He looked at the wound on her thigh and cursed out loud. That last attack would have at best dismembered and would not have ended her life, but it was a level of attack that was completely unacceptable to use on the woman he loved. He wanted nothing more now than to bow down and apologize to her, yet he knew that this was only the beginning and just to stay alive he would need to take rougher action.

Silver Monokuma wounds light wounds healed within just a few seconds and then she charged at Shin again. Although not the same as his enhancements, she too had strong healing factors in the Werewolf Bloodline and Wolverine Mutation, which allowed her to keep fighting for a long time at a high level. Seeing this Shin once more cursed that he couldn't hold back against her and showed his true might. By the time Silver Monokuma reached his side and clawed at him a red energy enveloped him. Shin swung Gravity Blade in Red Moon Formation and when it met her Adamantium Claws she was pushed back for the first time. Red Moon Formation vastly increased his stats, yet he knew that this wasn't enough. Shin recalled his Kagune and entered into his Kakuja Form which further increase his basic power and speed by 3-5 times. From his back six red tentacles surfaced and then a black metallic armor enfolded two of the tentacles, strengthened them, and then merged into one.

Silver Monokuma watched Shin armed with Gravity Blade enter Red Moon Formation and Kakuja Form and felt a fear that grew by the second and she jumped into the air with a cut appearing on her left waist. Silver Monokuma barely reacted as Shin moved at a speed that allowed him to vanish and reappear where she once stood having just finished swing his sword, yet it wasn't over yet. Trailing behind his back was the armored Kakuja Kagune tail that reached out and captured Silver Monokuma in mid air. She reacting at the last moment stabbed into the armored Kagune. The Adamantium Claws were harder and sharper than Shin's Kakuja Kagune and cut into its inner flesh, and she attempted to free herself and almost succeeded, but before ehe could she was thrown away and sent flying through the air and at a speed of 500 MPH and crashing into the stadium seating area causing large cloud of debris to explode out. There was no immediate moment for within the cloud of debris, yet Shin didn't let his guard down. Shin himself wasn't certain he could walk away from such a collision himself, but he was certain Silver Monokuma wasn't defeated... and he was right.

A few second later Silver Monokuma walked out of the cloud of debris. She did so without signs of a single injury, yet that was not the most surprising part. Silver Monokuma's eyes had turned sharp as a wild animal and glowed gold and her body was shrouded by a similar golden color Nen aura. He hair was also now dyed silver and grew more muscular and taller by a foot. It was the same werewolf form of Silver Monokuma that Shin saw back during the final battle of Apocalypse Alice. It was unique variation of the werewolf form that those with the Werewolf Bloodline had access to, but was much more powerful and rivaled Shin's Kakuja Form transformation. Shin gazing upon her form recalled that it was only for a moment, but it allowed her to overwhelm the Diseased Girl of that Labyrinth, and now thanks her newest skill Focused State of Mind she could transform as she pleased.

From this point forward a true battle of super humans began. Now as a werewolf, Silver Monokuma overflowing with killing intent and beastly instincts took three steps forward slowly and then kicked the floor. As if she copied the principles of Instant Movement, but without the Ki, she closed the distance between them in a instant and her Adamantine Claws were now only inches away from his eyes. With no time to time think Shin raised Gravity Blade to block the attack. On contact with her Adamantium Claws enveloped in Nen ignited into a small blast. The blast force Shin to take a step back, yet as if unaffected Silver Monokuma with claws burning with a red Golden Nen Flame stepped forward without hesitation.

Shin coated Gravity Blade with as much Ki as possible and retaliated with increased weight sword slashes. Every time their weapons classed and explosion shaking the very air and earth struck Shin, yet he fought back with everything he had and held on. Still, he was being overwhelmed. Silver Monokuma's power and speed had increased close to ten folds while she was a werewolf, equaling the boost from Shin's Red Moon Formation and Kakuja Form together, but their original difference in power kept her ahead. It was impossible to both escape or clash head on, and realizing that Shin used a wide variety of powers to counter attack.

Silver Monokuma engaged Shin at close range was then swiped at by the armored tail and sent flying. Her arm hit by the armored tail bled heavily, but thanks to her Adamantium endoskeleton her bones did not break or flinch from the collision. She recover just as another tail tired to swipe at her and she jumped the air, but was intercepted mid air by Shin as he the kicked forward with Void Movement and hit her at point blank range with Soul Crushing Strike, and along with the ringing sound of a mini sonic boom on impact she was blown away once more. Shin kicked the air again and pursued her and holding Gravity tightly, he took aim and let loose a Thirty-six Pound Cannon slash. The vacuum blade was on a course to sever Silver Monokuma's legs just as she hit the ground.

Tumbling through the air she felt this danger immediately and raised her right hand towards the floor and released a weak beam with Judgement of the Moon Goddess. The push altered her landing slightly away from where Thirty-six Pound Cannon fell and carved a deep scar into the earth, yet unfortunately her right arm was grazed and almost cut off by the flying sword slash. Silver Monokuma leaped away over twenty meters to put some space between them and was about to retrieve the Thomson Contender, yet she felt a vibration below her feet along with a chill running down her spine and jumped once more, but it was too late. A armored Kagune tail tunneled underground and emerged under her feet and it stabbed into her stomach through and through. Shin intended to do this, but feeling the sensation of her bloody flesh through the Kagune made him sick.

Shin: (I.. I had to do it, but it still feels so wrong. I couldn't hold back back. Well, at least with this critical blow Aqua should-)

But things turned out differently than what he had hoped for. Silver Monokuma did not lose strength after receiving the stab wound through her stomach, but in fact became even more desperate to survive and win. She channeled a quarter of her Nen into her Adamantium Claws now enveloped in a flame like aura and hacked off the armored tail stabbing into her, and once free she escaped into the stadium stands of Towa Stadium and into a dark hallway. For Shin by the time ever thing happened it was to late to stop her as she already escaped, but he immediately gave chase? He remembered that Towa Stadium was still set to blow up and he had to defeat Silver Monokuma before then, but he failed to realize one thing. Silver Monokuma wasn't running away because she was afraid of him. She ran away to gain the time and space she needed to use her full strength.

\- *HOWL*!

As Shin jumped into the stadium stands in his pursuit and then immediately stopped in a cold sweat hearing the loud howling of a beast. At the same time an unparalleled killing intent swept over him. It was a familiar pressure that he had once felt long ago in H.O.T.D and BTOOOM, yet this feeling that he was about to be swallowed up by a mad beast was far stronger than ever before. He couldn't tell if this was caused by Silver Monokuma's increased enhancements from back them or that he was the target of this killing intent, but he did no one thing. All thoughts of chasing after her were erased and that he had to escape. This was not an act of cowardice, but of continual survival. The moment Silver Monokuma reemerges will be the moment of his death. It was then as Shin took into the air with Void Instant Movement the entrance of the hallway Silver Monokuma escaped into moments ago exploded and the roar of a powerful beast echoed across Towa Stadium. Then slowly a large silver monster wolf walked through the blasted entrance of the tunnel. The beast was five meters long with the width of three grown adults. The monsters muscles reinforced by Nen were all too noticeable through its thick silver coat of fur and its eyes radiated with savage might. It's silver Adamantium fur reflected the light shinning down from the sun and it's golden eyes were void of all emotions and were just a vacant, yet filled with madness.

Shin: (...Is that really Aqua? This... She... That thing can't be called human!)

Silver Monokuma's mere presence now pressured Shin like nothing he's ever experienced before. Even with Kakuja Kagune and Red Moon Formation he couldn't picture any way to best her in her. Power, speed, endurance, and reaction speed. Even without testing Silver Monokuma his instincts told him that he was outmatched in every category. Silver Monokuma then glared at Shin as he tried to escape through the air to out distance between them. He was over 1000 meters away and up high in the air, yet unconcerned by this distance she leaped toward distance between them that Shin desperately created was erased with just that one action. The large monster wolf in one leap and at a speed he was barely able to follow was now above him and her large frame casted a shadow over him.

It was as if death loomed above him and in desperation he swiped at Silver Monokuma with the armored Kagune tail. Silver Monokuma paid this small resistance little mind and with one swipe of her paws the Kagune was deflected away with claw marks cutting deep into its armor. Shin had no words to describe how one of his strongest weapons was just now flung away like a toy and he could now only watch what was to come. At a speed faster than the eye can follow Silver Monokuma's front paw claws coated in Adamantine slapped down on Shin from above and into the stadium grounds below crashing into the earth in a deep crater. Thankfully, the energy field of Red Moon Formation absorbed most of the damage, but his head still spun from the impact and the fear that he felt towards Silver Monokuma nearly paralyzed him. Shin knew that without Red Moon Formation he would have died instantly, crushed by the swipe of her claws before even touching the ground below.

Shin: (No wonder I never saw footage ever showing me defeat Aqua once she fully transformed. If escape is impossible and fighting is impossible... just what can I do?)

Shin climbed out of the crater with no clue about what to do next, yet seeing that Red Moon Formation was about to end, without hesitation he expended the Ki to continue it for another full minute. He had no clue on how to go about defeating Silver Monokuma, but did know that he could take a singe one of her attacks without it. Just as he was finishing channeling Ki into the Lesser Fenrir Coat he noticed Silver Monokuma standing about 100 meters away.

Shin was surprised to see the monster wolf not following up on its attack. If she had he would not have had any means of fighting back and once Red Moon Formation's barrier was broken through he would be at her mercy. Shin didn't know why Silver Monokuma wasn't following through and he didn't believe that she was the type to play around with her opponents, or prey for a better word even in her monster wolf form. As he observed her wondering what was wrong he noticed a pained expression of her face. It was hard to notice as she was transformed, but she was growling endlessly at a low volume and grinding its teeth coated in Adamantine creating a sharp sound of pieces of metal grinding against each other.

Curiosity got the better of Shin and he took a few steps forward wanting to get a closer look, but finally remembering his existence Silver Monokuma glared at him. He stopped moving to forward and tool a step back, but it was too late. Shin had already gotten her attention. Silver Monokuma took a deep breath and its body grew all over by one size and began to glow with a golden light. This light soon grew brighter and brighter, and then ignited it's surroundings with flames. Shin recognized this action from the final battle of Apocalypse Alice where Silver Monokuma in one move too fast for him to follow blew away the almighty Diseased Girl and nearly critically wounded her. Eclipse Rush! It was both incredibly fast and power, but at that time Aqua was only in her Werewolf Form. If she uses that technique in her monster wolf form...

Shin: "I'm-"

And just like that he only saw a the monster wolf take a step forward and a light pass by him, and his world turned to darkness.

Shin: "Ahh... Ahh..."

Shin slowly opened his eyes and confirmed that he was still alive, but he wished that was not the case. Regaining unconscious made him aware of how much damage he had taken. He hadn't lost any parts of his body, yet his entire being screamed with pain as if he had been run over by a train and lived. Last Shin recalled he had taken the full force of Silver Monokuma's Eclipse Rush. He was still in Red Moon Formation and Kakuja Form, and at the last second before impact he coating his body with Silver Dragon Scales. Despite the overlapping powers he had taken so much damage, yet the truth was that only because of those multiple powers reinforcing and protecting his body he had the chance to open his eyes again.

His body was banged up, his conscious was going in and out, and the Lesser Fenrir Coat was in tatters and barley hanging on having its defensive barrier broken through and would need to be repaid by God to regain it's full functions, yet despite all of that he was still alive. Shin now had to question how he was still alive for another reason. Eclipse Rush broke through the defensive barrier of Red Moon Formation and knocked him clear out. He had also exited his Kakuja Form while unconscious with a great lost of stamina, and even had less than half his Ki after everything was said and done, so just how he was alive was the big question. Also-

Shin: "Just where aim I is the big question. Where's Aqua and why hasn't she-"

Shin only now took in his surroundings and was shocked. He was fighting just outside Towa Stadium, but now as he looked out of a large hole in a wall where he expects he crashed through, he saw that he was on the fifth floor of an abandoned office building. He then looked out into the distance and spotted Towa Stadium about 2-3 kilometers away and he was left speechless. Silver Monokuma's ultimate attack had blasted him through the roof of Towa Stadium, over such a great distance, and finally crashing into the fifth floor of a random office building. It was all too much. Shin imagined that he could do the first part with a Spirit Wave punch to a opponent, but not the rest even on his best day.

Shin: "...Haha! So I'm only alive because my girlfriend sent me flying into the distance like I'm Team Rocket. That's... not funny when you're on the other side and I'm starting to fell bad for those guys I should file a complaint to the writers later. As for right now... just what should I-"

\- *EXPLOSION*!

A large explosion was heard by everyone in Towa City. Shin with a idea what it was once more looked out into the distance and saw Towa Stadium up in flames and collapsing on top of itself. He had the silly notion to worry for Silver Monokuma's safety, yet soon put away such thoughts. Even if she was in the center of the blast she would be find long as she had not exited out of her wolf form and that was doubtful.

Shin: (Aqua's power and speed are above 100 fold of her standard, with a emphasis on power and defense. Her Adamantium coated fur and strong muscles should allow her to even tank a nuclear blast, but it's far from the perfect ability. I don't know if there's a time limit to it, but the first time I saw her exit that form after H.O.T.D she was so exhausted that she needed her Human Creation butler to carry her into her room.)

Shin began to serious think about how he would deal with Silver Monokuma's Monster Wolf Form. He had to also return to Towa Hills as soon as possible to support Komaru and his team, so he needed a plan. He began by calculating his chances in a direct fight against Silver Monokuma and arrived at a conclusion. Zero percent chance or victory or survival. That was the answer that he arrived at from his experience fighting her so far. Next he considered a battle of endurance against it and found his chances much more optimistic. Shin's enhancements were best suited for healing and endurance. He never heard of her time limit in that form, but there must be one. Still, he didn't know if he had to fight Silver Monokuma for one minute, five minutes, or a hour, but he had to return to his team as soon as possible.

Shin: (When I think about it, this doesn't seem right. Aqua lacked the leadership skills and motivation to be the leader of Team Japan, yet she was by far she is the most powerful when she taps into her hidden power from the high compatibility of her enhancements. Werewolf Bloodline, Wolverine Mutation, and Nen are not a joke when you mix them together. Not even all of Team Japan together could hope to bring her down unless we exchange for nukes. My best attack is Spirit Wave, and even if I used it in Red Moon Formation and Kakuja Form, and got a solid hit in I doubt I could do more than damage her to some degree that wasn't small, but wasn't big either. Soul Crushing Strike that attacks internally as well as externally would probably do more damage, but not much more. Unless God wanted me to ignore her and let her be erased it was near impossible to subdue her during this mission. This is still a mission, so he won't set by odds of victory to 0%. Whether the method could be found within the plot or somewhere else, there should be a method to win against her. There must be... Wait!)

\- *HOWL*!

Just as Shin recalled something odd during the battle and thought about why hadn't Silver Monokuma chased after him, and came up with a crazy idea to turn things around, he heard the howling of the monster which he feared most. That howl resonated throughout the city and brought up a fear within Shin that threatened to swallow him whole, he forced out a smile to motivate himself and jumped through the hole in the wall. He fell from the firth floor and just before he touched the ground he kicked the air with Void Movement to soften his landing. Then once standing on the streets of Towa City Shin began to run towards the origin of the howling at full speed, and as he turned a corner-

Shin: "【Deceiving the night Beguiling the world The darkness that saves the girl of the endless night 】Holy Sword Switch!"

Shin was cloaked in a silver aura of magic and then appearing in his left hand was the silver sword of heroes in its dagger form, Holy Sword Switch. Shin had come up with a plan. A reckless plan with no way out once it begins and will only end with victory or his death. Still, it was the best and fastest plan he could think up to save Silver Monokuma and rejoin with his team at Towa Hills. From one street to the next Shin ran through through the area at full speed with Instant Movement. Nearby Monokuma aiming for his life would lie in wait in dark alleyways to ambush him as he searching for Silver Monokuma, yet they were quickly taken down. Even the stronger Junk Monokuma, Beast Monokuma, Ball Monokuma and Destroy Monokuma were demolished almost as soon as they appeared. Shin was in a weakened state after the initial class with Silver Monokuma, but everything had pushed his senses to new heights. In addition his Ki and body were recovering slowly, but at a noticeable speed thanks to Black Heaven and Earth Technique. The Monokuma surrounded and attack Shin who appeared to be on his last leg, but every time they came close they were killed, cut in half by Gravity Blade in his right hand.

Shin: (Compared to Aqua and my comrades you all are too fragile to be my opponents. Compared to just Aqua, you're all just moving in slow motion and your weapons are far too dull. You all seem to have upgraded your combat instincts further with Monaca's defeat, but we've fought to many times for that to make any difference!)

Shin left a trail of destroyed robot parts in his wake. The combat AI of the Monokuma pushed their fighting potential to new heights and came at him with such numbers and variety, Shin would have no chance Monokuma of holding his own if this was the beginning of the mission, but not at the present. No matter how they outnumbered him or what weapons they used he avoided taking any damage. Shin's stamina and energy strengthening his body were being drained and fast, yet in exchange the killer Monokuma robots had no hope of matching him and were all destroyed.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, Monokuma KILL. Various MONOKUMA'S DEFEATED. 1030 POINTS ACQUIRED!

Shin: "That's... the latest of them!"

Shin had just stabbed Gravity Blade deep into the eye of a Junk Monokuma trying to tear at his neck and pulled it out when he finally realized that he was all alone. All the Monokuma in the area were killed him within those few minutes of combat. Shin heard his rewards from God, but was not happy in the slightest. He had avoided any damage to himself, but his energy and stamina were drained once more. Against a small army of Monokuma that he hadn't bothered to count just how many there were, he had to go all out to come out alive.

Shin: "Well, not that what I have in mind for Aqua requires a-"

Then at that moment a pair of golden eyes locked onto Shin and a pressure all to familiar weighted down on his body. The glair from what he was certain was from his transformed comrade was originating from behind him. Shin wanted nothing more than to obey to his instincts and run, or at least turn around and take a defensive stance, yet he did neither of those things. Shin simply took a deep breath of air and let it out to calm his nerves in Unlocked Mode, but he was not preparing for battle. Instead he recalled the personalities of those he most needed now and tired to copy them.

From behind his back where Shin didn't know what was going heard the sounds of large foot steps approaching and they were slowly, but surely making their way towards him. The monster wolf simply observed Shin as it moved closer and closer with each step. Like all ways the great beast released a maddening killing intent that would drive any sane man crazy, yet at this moment the monster wolf didn't attack Shin and for whatever reason it was just observing him. When it was about one meter away from him where he could feel and smell it's not breath that burned his skin and wreaked of metal from the nearby Monokuma she found annoying, it stopped in its tracks. It groaned lowly and shock it's head as if it was experiencing a headache, but both it and Shin knew better what the truth was.

Shin: (She stopped?! Then like I thought Izuru Kamukura was the cause for everything! Earlier the transformed Aqua stopped attacking me when I first realized I had no hopes of fighting or escaping her. She at most respond to killing intent from others... no, to put it simply any emotions directed her way, but something out there, Izuru Kamukura, didn't like that. He wanted Aqua to keep attacking me, that bastard, but she refused, but how is that possible? She's brainwashed and she attacked me without mercy in the beginning of our fight, so this leads me to a single truth. The Guide Izuru Kamukura doesn't have a perfect hold over Aqua!)

That was the conclusion Shin reached. Her transform state was something hard for Silver Monokuma herself to control and even needed a B tier support skill to have hopes of one day taming it. Izuru Kamukura is a Psyche Force user and a powerful one at that able to take control of the majority of Team Japan, but still, reining in Silver Monokuma's transformed state should still be hard. Additionally, the previous stated support skill was Focused State of Mind. It allowed Silver Monokuma to reform her mind and increase willpower, but also had the description of being impossible to be brain controlled by Psyche Force. Despite that Izuru Kamukura did in fact brainwash her, but it couldn't have been easy.

Shin: (Combine her berserker wolf form and Focused State of Mind, I'm betting that you get something incredibly hard, if not near impossible to control with Psyche Force. There is also the mental damage I may have inflicted on him as well, but I can't confirm that. The point is that there's over a 50% probability that the Guide Izuru Kamukura doesn't have a perfect hold on her. Those headaches Aqua experiences time to time are either her breaking free of the original brainwashing or she is resisting further commands. Either way this leaves her open to attack and is one of the methods available within the mission to defeat her. She also won't attack me long as don't direct my emotions towards her. Anger, fear, love, compassion... I must seal everything and become nothing.)

Silver Monokuma continued to glair at Shin with a look of madness and now irritation from real time commands from The Guide, yet Shin remained still as a statue without any mind towards her. Saki who can't feel too strongly about things, Connor who hides his feelings deep down, and the teaching of assassination from Sachi. Shin made use of all these things and tired to emulate them now. Death, madness, danger, a desire to eat him alive were being released by the monster wolf as a pressure crashing down on him from behind, yet it didn't reach him. Shin's eyes were vacant with no expression to be seen on his face and the beast made no effort to acknowledge his existence and it held back on devouring him or stomping on his remains.

Shin: (This reminds me of the Twenty-Fifth Baam's first battle in the Tower, but I shouldn't get distracted here. Just a bit more... Come a bit closer... Come a bit closer and I can stab Holy Sword into her heart before she can react and kill me.)

Shin saw this as his only chance, but the one behind Silver Monokuma knew this as well and took action. Using the full force of Psyche Force he compelled the mad beast to kill Shin here and now. The monster wolf howled loudly at the attack on its mind. It was so loud that Shin's inner right ear ruptured from the sound and blood leaked out and dripped to the ground. Shin remained perfectly still yet, inwardly he was panicking. The monster wolf was only a meter away, but even in its raged induced state he didn't believe he could reach it just heart before being killed, but he may have have to risk it now or else Izuru Kamukura would force Silver Monokuma to attack him regardless. Just as he was about to turn around and make his move-

Kotoko: "Out of the way stupid mutt! That's my bis sis's follower! Mega Warrior Axe Throw Splash!"

Out of nowhere Kotoko Utsugi appeared from the skies standing on the shoulders of her super robot, Fighter Robot Highlander the Great. Shin didn't recall her robot having the ability to fly, but that wasn't important. What was important was that Kotoko had Highlander the Great gather all its power and threw it's signature axe with both hands on a direct course for the monster wolf. The axe spun in the air like a helicopter blade and accumulated enough force that it would at least blow away the monster wolf if she tired to tank it. The monster wolf sensed the danger of the incoming attack and gathered Nen towards one of its paws and clawed at the incoming axe. On contact their was the detonation of golden flames, and the thrown ace was blown away with half its blade half shattered. Kotoko was wide eyed at this scene where her most powerful attack was blocked just like that and was now worried for her life, yet she had nothing to worry about.

Shin: (Chance!)

Shin took the instance where the monster wolf directed it's attention to block the incoming attack, turned around, and ran under the beast chest in a flash with the fastest Instant Movement. The monster wolf's reaction speed was by no means slow and sent a claw swipe towards him, but it stopped just inches before reaching him. The sudden force brought up a powerful gust of air blowing Shin off his feet and five meters away, yet he was all smiles as he picked himself up and looked on at the monster wolf. Holy Sword had been accurately stabbed into its chest and pierced it's heart. The monster wolf gave off one last frightening howl that reached all corners of Towa City before beginning to shrink and returning it's human form.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, TEAM JAPAN GENOCIDE. 7,000 POINTS AND B RANK REWARD AWARDED TO BOTH PLAYERS!

Silver Monokuma, no Aqua kneeled on the ground incredibly exhausted and surrounded by the silver magic aura of the Holy Sword Switch. She supported weakened her body with both her arms, yet it was clear that this was the best she could do now. Her transformed state was incredibly powerful and had a decent activation period, but came at a incredible after effect. Her stamina and energy would be drained to such a extent she wouldn't be able to move on her own for days without the repairs from God. Only if she was bathed in in the light of a stamina recovery spell nonstop for a full day would she be back on her feet. Aqua with much effort turned her head to face Shin worried for what she had done to him, but frowned. She saw him smiling happy like a fool and with fondness for her in his eyes. It wasn't exactly a bad feeling seeing him like that... but it was uncomfortable for her as she didn't want to attach herself to a man while in God's Dimension. Aqua then turned away afraid of what would happen if she continued to gaze upon the fool who once said to live on for his sake but don't mind it if he died along the way. Still, she felt guilty for hurting him so badly and turned her head back around.

Aqua: "...Sorry for roughing you up there. To make up for it... you can come to my room later... just the once.."

Shin: "...Huh? You know, this isn't the... Wait! Why is it only the once!? Doesn't this kind of effort in a battle I had close to no chance of succeeding worth more of a reward! Give me your body, no I mean your heart you shy and indecisive woman!"

Aqua: "..Your true thoughts and desires came out in the end there, and I don't want to be called indecisive by you harem king!"

And as soon as she said that she was removed from the mission world. Shin had a lot more to say to her, but he settled for just knowing that he saved her and stood back up. He then called over Kotoko in a state of shock over the events she saw. He asked if she could give him a lift to Towa Hills. Kotoko didn't want to be alone with a man due to her trauma, but reluctantly let him onto Highlander the Great for the sake of reinforcing Sachi. As they flew towards Towa Hills and Shin asked why she came to save him and what was going on at Towa Hills with the others, a voice only he could hear distracted him. It was the Guide Izuru Kamukura using Soul Link.

Izuru Kamukura SL: (...Decent job human. I'm disappointed that you bothered to accompany the heroine of this mission to the end, but no matter. You defeated all your comrades. Come find me. I'll be waiting within Towa National Park for our final battle.)

Shin SL: (Fuck off Guide! I'm mad at you and want to do nothing more than kick your ass, but I have things to do today. I have to save my new comrades. Also, I have a heroine waiting for my return, so go read a book or something and wait for me!)

Shin ignored the Guide for now and continued to fly off alongside Kotoko atop of ().

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.

I never wrote it before, but I'll make a description for Eclipse Rush and the monster form that I'll call Silver Fang from now on. Also, if there are three new advance reviews I'll release the next chapter featuring the battle between Shin and Big Bnag Monokuma in the next 8 to 10 hours. If there are six or more by this time tomorrow I'll do another double release in one day to cover the Guide Vs Shin battle.

Eclipse Rush -

Rating xxx.

In werewolf or full wolf form, ignite the Nen within ones body and rush forward at blinding speeds leaving behind a path of destruction. Requires Werewolf Bloodline, Wolverine Mutation, and Nen.

Silver Fang -

Rating xxx.

Allow the three following enhancements; Werewolf Bloodline, Wolverine Mutation, and Nen of a natural Enhancer type Nen User to stimulate one another and go out of control, transforming the user into a monster wolf. Bones, fur, fangs and claws are coated in adamantium, and all parts of the body are empowered by Nen. Obtain one hundred times the power and speed, and vastly increased defense.


	193. Chapter 193

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 33, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Kotoko: "And that's what going on, bis sis's follower. I was hiding in the shadows waiting for a chance to steal the Monokuma Controller when I saw you leave. After you left that traitor to the Warriors of Hope, Monaca, she kept trying to convince big sis Komaru to destroy the controller! The bitch, she was wasn't even trying to hide the fact anymore that she wanted her to do just that, but Komaru refused of course. Even when Monaca showed her a video of her parents being hanged... she only cried a little and said she had already prepared herself for such a conclusion and declared that she wouldn't lose to Despair, all heroine like. Ah, her tears sparked as she said this and she radiated a light of Hope that wouldn't lose to her shitty brother who killed big sis Junko!... Anyways, Monaca got fed up that even this didn't work and she resorted to a hidden mini controller to call on all the Monokuma in Towa City Towards Towa Hills and breech the airship Excalibur to force her hand. Monaca said that if Komaru doesn't destroy the Monokuma Controller everyone on board the airship, including tank top man, big sis Sachi, and the two of them will be killed. Hm, you would have loved what happened next Sachi's follower. Tank top man and big sis Komaru held off the initial wave of Monokuma while big sis Sachi was all warrior heroine like as she forced her way through the halls of the airship and took over the cockpit of Excalibur! She then smashed a few things, took out a bunch of wires, and hit wired the whole thing and flew off just as Monokuma filled up Towa Hills and were about to board Excalibur! Ah! My big sis Sachi is so cool and cold I would have fallen for her if I was a boy... not that I would want to be such a disgusting creature that only think with their lower half even for little kids!... Ah, anyways, things looked good from there. Only the Destroy Monokuma could follow Excalibur in the air and tank top man and big sis Komaru shot them down as they approached. Hahaha! Even that traitor Monaca had to admit her defeat there not expecting for you guys to go so off script as to steal the Excalibur like you did."

Shin listened to Kotoko Utsugi's tale as they flew through the city on top of the shoulders of her hero robot, Fighter Robot Highlander the Great. He had a lot to ask about how his team was faring in his absence, and was left speechless at their actions. He wondered what led up to the idea of stealing Excalibur, but was more concerned with how Komaru was doing. Kotoko made her sound like a heroine overcoming Despair, but Shin knew better. Despite her status as a heroine of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode, she herself was a regular girl. Seeing her parents die like that, even when she heard as much from Shin, couldn't have been a nice thing to see.

Shin: "...That was epic to say the least (I wish Sachi would have told me that she she can just fucking steal the airship!) and that's why we changed direction and not going back to Towa Hills. Can't get mad at them when I had to leave them on their own. Hey, can we speed up? I want to see how Komaru and the others are faring. Also, Kotoko, I'm not Sachi's follower! I'm the Ultimate Protagonist!"

Kotoko: "Yes yes. Whatever you say. Ah, we probably should be returning as fast as possible like you suggested. They are in danger of crashing after all."

Shin: "...What?"

Kotoko: What? Did I forget to tell you? Well, after finishing off the Destroy Monokuma and things began to look up a laser beam hit the side of Excalibur! The airship was lucky sturdy enough to survive the hit, but that was the least of our worries. As it turned out... The Resistance's Big Bang Monokuma began to give chase to the Excalibur and attacked us from below on the surface. Big sis Sachi and the others didn't believe that they could hold on for long and are just circling Towa City in the airship trying to lose Big Bang Monokuma, but like a BOSS, it just destroys everything in it'd path as it chase the airship! Sachi then called out to me knowing I was there all along to come get you betting that I still had my super robot. I did in fact bring it along in case I needed to make a escape after getting the Monokuma Controller, but for bug sis Sachi I was okay with using it to pick up her follower in-"

Shin: "Hey! Enough recap and speed this thing up! We have to save the others!"

Kotoko: "Okay okay. I was going to do that anyways. Let's go, Highlander!"

Kotoko issued her robot a new command to her robot to speed up and it flew through the skies of Towa City at incredible speeds surpassing helicopters and the like. Two minutes later Shin's superior vision spotted their target in the distance. Leaving a black trail of smoke as it flew over Towa City was the Excalibur carrying his comrades, and giving chase to it on land was the giant killer robot, Big Bang Monokuma! With Haiji's death, the only person, the only things capable of controlling it was Shirokuma and Kurokuma, together making the deadly computer A.I, Alter Ego Junko Enoshima, was attempting to try and kill Shin's group for the sake of further Despair. In the original plot she took over Big Bang Monokuma to cause further confusion to Towa City by trying to kill the leaders of both sides, but now Shin could only imagine that she wanted to just kill them for the hell of it.

Shin: (A woman who doesn't need a reason to cause Despair, because that's who she is. Someone who only exist to fill others with Despair. Someone who would give traumatized little kids the idea to kill their parents ans all the adults in the city they were born in which also ignored their pleas for help, with a smile on her face. Someone who gets turned on as she remembers the mass suicide of thousands of humans that she caused. She doesn't yearn for any kind of future. She just fills every person she runs into with Despair. For her, Despair is not a goal, a set of principles, a lifestyle, or even a instinct. It's just what defines her as herself. Her characterization in a word and it is what allows her to pursue Despair with purity of heart because it's meaningless and has nothing to do with herself other than the fact it brings her joy. That's True Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima. Really, what a nasty thing that I'm up against.)

Shin thought this as they finally caught up their goals. Less than 1000 meters away and chasing after the airship was Big Bang Monokuma, and about 2-3000 meters in the air and losing altitude by the second and heavily damaged was the Excalibur. Shin momentarily despaired at the thought of the airship crashing to the streets of Towa City, but then this gave him a idea to turn the situation around.

Shin: "Kotoko! Drop me near Big Bang Monokuma and go ahead to the Excalibur. I'll distract Big Bang Monokuma, so tell Sachi to turn the airship around and crash it into Big Bang Monokuma! Make sure everyone escapes, and then come back to me with Komaru. I need her to finish off Big Bang Monokuma."

Kotoko: "Okay!"

Kotoko did as Shin asked and had Highlander the Great fly closer to Big Bang Monokuma. Shin saw his chance and jumped off and landed on top of a building right as Big Bang Monokuma passed by. Big Bang Monokuma saw both Shin and Kotoko out the corner of its eye, and seeing Kotoko immediately fly off on her robot she set her sights on Shin and without warning attacked. Big Bang Monokuma raised its long staff and smashed it down on the building he was standing on top of. Shin jumped to the side with Instant Movement, but the force of the staff coming down completely blew him off the roof. He was now falling towards the streets below, yet he kicked air with Void Movement to soften his landing and towards a dark alley where he began to run through at full speed.

Shin: (Fuck, what power! Even if its attacks don't directly land the passing wind can carry me off my feet and into the sky! This is a whole other kind of overwhelming power than Aqua's!)

Till Komaru arrives Shin had no plans to directly clash with the giant ronot and at most planned to attack from a distance to keep its attention on himself. If Big Bang Monokuma would lose interest in him as he ran away he would show himself and attack, yet he didn't have to worry about that. Big Bang Monokuma's observation senses included X ray vision and thermal detection, and so never lost sight of him and gave chase. Shin ran through the streets and back alleys of Towa City, but the giant robot not bothering with finding a wide open street simply ran through and toppled everything in its path and soon caught up to him. Shin legs moved faster and was making more of a effort, but Big Bang Monokuma's giant size took it hundreds of meters with each new step it took and its power allowed it to bulldoze building as it moved.

Soon enough Shin was directly in front of Big Bang Monokuma and to avoid being stepped on shot forward with continuous Instant Movements. Not wanting to let him get away Big Bang Monokuma raised its staff and from the jewel tip glowing brightly, out of thin air over a hundred floating Monokuma Bombs appeared. Shin hadn't seen this attack before, but it was a move from the Jataro robot who he had instantly killed days ago. The floating Monokuma Balls floated towards Shin. At first it was slow, but gradually hidden rockets pushed them forward and faster and in second caught up to him running with Instant Movement. As he was surrounded by the Monokuma Ball they began to turn red and he took this as a sign that they were about to go off and jumped as far as possible away with Void Movement. Shin couldn't fully escape the blast so just before he was swallowed up in the explosion he protected himself with a full body Silver Dragon Scales.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The blast of over a hundred bombs detonating at once took out a whole city block and ignited the surrounding area in a blaze of fire. Shin avoided the worst of the explosion and survived thanks to jumping away and his defensive Ki skill, but all the same crashed through the wall of a local book store and was buried in a mountain of books. For a few seconds he had blacked out, but his instincts shock him away and told him to run. There was a approaching and he didn't wait to see what it was. Shin kicked down the door of the back of the bookstore and ran. Moments later the bookstore and several other buildings close by were swallowed up in a yellow light and went up in flames. Shin look back and saw in the distance Big Bang Monokuma with its left eye ormally red was now yellow with sparks of electricity running around the eye. The yellow eye turned its sights away from the recent destruction and towards it's prey running away. The yellow left eye started to charge up energy and glowed brighter by the second. Shin's instincts screamed at him to avoid what ever was coming, and he entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode.

Shin's legs enlarged by over four times their original size and he used this increase leg strength to sprint away with Instant Movement from Big Bang Monokuma and just as the feeling of danger reached its peak he changed direction into a back alley. Seconds later a yellow beam was shot out of Big Bang Monokuma's left eye at lightning speed. The beam shot down the street he was previously running on and continued on for miles scorching the earth. Shin looked back just once and saw the streets of Towa City had been turned into a river of molten earth and he knew he would have shared the same fate if he hadn't moved away at the last second. He knww no defensive skill in the world would save him if he took a direct hit. Maybe not even Aqua's Monster Wolf Form to risk a direct hit from such an attack.

Shin: "What an outrageous Side Quest! I can win with Komaru, but if I had let her leave Towa City what did God expect for me to do against that?! Even the most diabolic Visual Novels wouldn't allow you to go on a Bad End and for several events just to tell you you made the wrong decision three chapters back! Well... at least I held on, so go get wrong over you giant bipolar bear!"

Shin smiled as he directed his insults to Big Bang Monokuma. Big Bang Monokuma couldn't hear him, but would soon soon understand why he was smiling. Flying above Towa City and descending fast on a direct course for Big Bang Monokuma was the airship Excalibur. No one alive was left inside Excalibur. Once the course was set the pilot Sachi and the others escaped on Kotoko's Highlander the Great and flew away. Along with Shin who had stopped running they watched the impending crash with smiles on their faces. Only when it was too late did Big Bang Monokuma notice an abnormality and turned around to see the airship flying straight towards it. Big Bang Monokuma had no time to dodge and could only raise it's arms as Excalibur crashed into it. The impact and the airship exploding blew Big Bang Monokuma into a large skyscraper that then collapsed on top of it.

\- *CRASH*!

Shin: "What a wonderful sight to behold. It would have been better if the damn robot just blew up there... but I guess in the end... Komaru and I have to be the ones to deliver it's last rites."

Shin from the streets below jumped into the air and used Void Movement to move to the tallest building still standing in the area that survived Big Bang Monokuma's rampage, and then he called his comrades with the Communicator Phone to come over to his location. As he hung up Shin had a certain realization. Why didn't he just directly call his comrades earlier? If he had just directly called Sachi pilot Excalibur instead of relaying a message though the untrustworthy and former enemy Kotoko, he could have ended things sooner. Shin stood there for a few seconds before deciding to throw away such embarrassing thoughts that nearly cost him his life. He also made a promise to never bring this up ever again as long as he lived. Shin didn't even have to wait two minutes before his comrades arrived.

Komaru, Drake, Sachi, along side Kotoko were standing on the shoulders of Highlander the Great as it flew towards the rooftop of where he was waiting and then landed safely. Shin's team disembarked the robkt and ran over towards him with worry. Shin was bruised all over and his clothes were a mess and covered with his blood. They couldn't imagine what kind of life and death battles he had gone through since they separated, but Shin himself didn't care about his own condition and was glad to see that not only was everyone alive they appeared to be uninjured as well. The battle was not over just yet, but they briefly talked about what had happened since they parted, and that's when he finally noticed.

Tied up with rope and carried in under Drake's right arm was one of the masterminds behind the recent tragedies of Towa City, Monaca Towa. Drake saw Shin's eyes on the green haired girl and explained why they brought her along. As they were escaping Excalibur that was set on a course to run into Big Bang Monokuma they were worried about the possibility of a penalty if Monaca died and that they allowed it, so they tired her up and took her along with them as they escape. Kotoko almost refused to bring her along due to their falling out, but Sachi was able to convince her in the end. Shin hearing this couldn't help but think that they were overreacting and God wouldn't punish them for just abandoning Monaca, but he also understood that there was no reason to play around with a dangerous bomb like her. Especially when they were the ones responsible for crashing the airship. Monaca was connected to a 50,000 Point penalty that would wipe anyone other than himself, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

Shin then noticed that despite being the topic of conversation Monaca hadn't reacted at all. On closer look she looked completely defeated and just didn't care anymore about what was going on. Shin couldn't help but feel that this was a good thing after thinking it over a bit and that this was a better conclusion than the game had for her. In the original plot the fate of Towa City didn't end with either Hope or Despair winning out in the end. Nothing was solved and there was no concrete way found to save the adults filled with nothing but rage in their hearts or the pitiful Monokuma Kids brainwashed to commit heinous crimes against the adults against their will for all eternity. Monaca didn't get the war of Despair she was hoping for or a ending like Junko Enoshima who brilliantly lost to Hope for all the world to see her carefully laid out plans for years crumble.

Shin: (I doubt she is someone who deserves to be saved or given another chance, but this was a clear cut defeat for her. Nothing changed for Monaca in the game, so she tired to start over by copying her idol Junko Enoshima. Now... just maybe with a proper defeat she can move on from Despair. Well, that kind of happy ending in the world of Dangan Ronpa is impossible, but who knows. Now...)

Shin turned his thoughts away from Monaca Towa and towards the immediate issue. To bring a end to this battle.

Shin: "Komaru. You and I will deliver the final blow to Big Bang Monokuma. Your Megaphone Hacking Gun is the key to bringing down that monster once and for all. Will you come with me?"

Komaru: "...Yes. Let's just... just bring a end to this war once and for all."

Shin could hear some sadness in Komaru's voice, bit he didn't have the time to spare to address them in peace. In the distance he could see signs of Big Bang Monokuma under the rubble of the collapsed skyscraper starting to dig its way out. He had no time to lose. Shin brought Komaru into his embrace and before Komaru could get a word in he ran off the edge of the building with her and as they fell kicked the floor with Void Movement and they were off. With each kick the two soared threw the air and soon arrived before the fallen Big Bang Monokuma half way free from the rubble. It's crazed red eye glared at the two of them with something incredibly dark in its soul and nearly petrified the two, and if Shin was not in Unlocked Mode and concerned with Komaru who was in his arms safety, he would have dropped to the streets below.

Shin: "So this is Ultimate Despair... Something like this should disappear from this world. Komaru are you ready?"

Komaru: "...Okay."

Shin: "...Komaru. I heard about your parents. We can talk about everything after this, so let's give it our all. Just know that I'll make you happy in the end. I'll die trying to make that come true if nothing else. Now, let's kill this thing and call it a day!"

Komaru: "Shin... Yes! Let's aim for the best Happy End I couldn't reach in this terrible game!"

Shin felt Komaru's resolve as she raised the Megaphone Hacking Gun towards the head of Big Bang Monokuma. This action alone wouldn't put down the giant killer robot, but using knowledge gained from Hypothetical TV Shin placed his hands on top of Komaru holding onto the Hacking Gun. Hypothetical TV revealed like how Toko Fukawa did in the last battle in the game, Shin too could charge the Megaphone Hacking Gun, but instead of the electricity of a stun gun, he used his own energy and not holding back he gave everything to Komaru. Shin at this time used the Life Force Booster to fully recharge his Ki, yet then he used it all up in the next second flr his ultimate technique. All of his Ki was covered into a higher tier energy and instead of using this power for himself to enhance his physical body for one action like a punch or kick, he directly channeled all of it into the Megaphone Hacking Gun. Big Bang Monokuma watched on as Komaru's gun designed to destroy the Monokuma charged up power enough to kill it in one blow and tried to resist. It's left eye began to glow with a yellow light of destruction and death, but before it could be released the first.

Shin and Komaru: "HOPE Bullet!,"

The Megaphone Hacking Gun radiated a light far surpassing Big Bang Monokuma's and released the charged attack HOPE Bullet. The HOPE Bullet as powerful as it was like most of the Hack Bullets couldn't injury normal humans, but for robots like Big Bang Monokuma taking the bullet was a death sentence and it could only receive it. The HOPE Bullet struck Big Bang Monokuma's head and it was blown off it's neck and into the far distance.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 5, GOOD ENDING. WITH KOMARU NAEGI'S ASSISTANCE. 3,000 POINTS AND B RANK REWARD AWARDED TO ALL MEMBERS.


	194. Chapter 194

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 34, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

With the defeat the of Big Bang Monokuma the tragedy of Towa City finally came to a swift close. The Warriors of Hope were defeated. The Monokuma Controller was secured and after investigation was capable of ceasing the actions of the Monokuma without shutting them down (Which should have been obvious by the name Monokuma Controller). They weren't shutdown and still paroled the city, but they didn't attack the adults anymore. With Haiji Towa's death confirmed finding his body in Towa Hills first floor, The Resistance was found without a leader and still craved for revenge against the Monokuma Kids despite knowledge of their brainwashing released, their new leader Hiroko Hagakure and the few adults sharing her beliefs for the time being convinced the adults to not take anymore action against the kids, and were then asked to use this time to mourn for those who did not make it. Hearing these words the adults were moved and allowed themselves to grieve in peace now that the battle was over and that they had won back their city.

Late in the evening Shin and the others had Monaca Towa teach them how to gather all the Monokuma Kids throughout Towa City to Towa Hills. Monaca was quiet the whole time, yet she had a somewhat peaceful expression on her face with her utter defeat and didn't try to make anymore trouble. With her plan destroyed she had to accept that her plans for the second Junko Enoshima were forever out of her grasp and the era of Despair of the original Junko was coming to a end. After Monaca gathered all the Monokuma Kids in one place, Shin with Holy Sword Switch in his hands stepped in front of them one by one and stabbed them in the heart. He was drained both physically and mentally in ways that couldn't be healed right away with even Black Heaven & Earth Technique, but Despite protest from Komaru worried for him seeing his weakened form, he preceded to free the Monokuma Kids form their brainwashing and compete the Bonus Mission. Shin stabbed each and every last Monokuma Kid in the heart with Holy Sword Switch, and when the silver light undoing the brainwashing of the last Monokuma disappeared and his Monokuma Helmet shattered and fell to the floor he heard and he alone heard the notification from God telling him that he had completed the Bonus Mission.

\- BONUS MISSION COMPLETE!

SAVE THE MONOKUMA KIDS FROM THE BRAINWASHING OF THE WARRIORS OF HOPE. THE REWARD WILL BE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN THAT YOU'VE LIBERATED BY THE END OF THE MISSION. RATE OF COMPLETION... 100%! SAVED ALL THE CHILDREN OF TOWA CITY BEFORE THE END OF THE MISSION. ADDITIONAL REWARDS FOR COMPETING THE UNIQUE BONUS MISSION DURING THE MAIN MISSION. REWARDED 5000 POINTS, B RANK REWARD, AND HIDDEN CLASS CHANGE CERTIFICATE!

\- HIDDEN CLASS CHANGE CERTIFICATE.

ENABLES THE PURCHASE OF AN ENTRY LEVEL HIDDEN CLASS (WHOLE BODY ENHANCEMENT) WITH ALL ITS AVAILABLE SKILLS FREE OF COST. WILL GUARANTEE THAT A DEVIATION OF ENERGY WILL NOT OCCUR IF ONE POSSESS OTHER ENHANCEMENTS. UNABLE TO BE USED ON ANOTHER MEMBER. UNABLE TO USE THIS CERTIFICATE FOR THE EXCHANGING AA AND S TIER HIDDEN CLASSES.

Shin: "...What the hell. Hidden Class Change Certificate? When did God's dimension become so RPG... That was a stupid question to even ask."

Shin was surprised at his high reward for such a simple task. For anyone else it would have been near impossible as not even Monaca Towa could free the Monokuma Kids according to the person in question. Still, even knowing that and also the fact that he completed this unique Bonus Mission during the mission, he felt that it was too much... but he wouldn't be complaining that God was too generous and will take his rewards with a smile. He was especially curious about the mentioning of Hidden Classes, more so than the 5000 Points and B rank reward, but til he returns to God's Dimension he would put his curiosities aside.

Now with the Monokuma Kids free and placed in the custody of Hiroko Hagakure. Monaca Towa, Kotoko, and found later and still alive, the other members of the Warriors of Hope were all given into her custody. Hiroko Hagakure hearing about their home lives and the things that they did decided to educate the Warriors of Hope herself. They needed a warm, yet strict environment which she could provide... long as it isn't her own spoiled and no good son. Her plans for them were to use their talents for good and when they grow up and become adults themselves, they will decide if they deserve additional punishment for their actions. Even she herself didn't know what their answers will be because as a mother herself she couldn't hate or blame them because she couldn't forgive their parents as a mother herself.

Everything was taken care of now, so Shin's group had no hesitation about what to do next. Komaru was given the honors of taking the Monokuma Controller. She looked at the tool of massacre with a brief light of hate and sadness reflected off her eyes and raised it up high before using all her strength to smash it down to the floor. As she did so all the Monokuma shut down once and for all. The people of Towa City rejoiced and and cried out that truly, they had won back their city and that the tragedy was over.

The next day.

Everyone in Towa City slept in late into the afternoon. The past few days were too stressful for everyone and the terror of the Warriors of Hope and Monokuma kept them up at night. As for Team Japan they went for one battle to the next and although they found time to rest the stress still followed them. Sachi recommended using her acupuncture techniques to relive the stress of their bodies, but Shin, Komaru, and Drake flatly refused and choose to rest naturally.

Around noon Team Japan left the hotel they were lodging at and were greeted by a bright blue sky. For whatever reason the ominous red sky seen from the past few was gone and without a trace. They then looked around the city as they took a stroll through the streets and were surprised. They found the adults were already begin to clean up all the debris and dead bodies from the streets. Shin and the others felt it was all too soon for this, yet Komaru imagined that they all needed something to occupy their minds from the many losses and horrors that they endured.

Sachi: "That's nice. Good for them, but what about us? We still have things to do."

Drake: "Yeah. Shin, what's the plan? The Guide told you where to meet him and you've rested up. Are we going to confront him now, or later? Also, I haven't heard about you plan to beat him."

Shin: "...We, no I'll make my way to Towa National Park now, but I'll be going alone."

Komaru: "Alone!? Why? Isn't this guy dangerous? Why not ask for help from The Resistance? I'm sure that they will-"

Shin: "That's doubtful. Also, this is my fight. I don't really have a plan to defeat him either, so I can't bring you along and I doubt any of you could provide any assistance. Izuru Kamukura, he is definitely the strongest person that I've met in this dimension. I don't have the confidence to defeat him in a fight, so I can't have you all tag along just to die."

Sachi: "You've done just that so far plenty of times... but if you assist we will comply, but you must have a plan right? I won't stay on the sidelines even if I know that I will die fighting the Guide if you don't have a plan or think that you can win."

Shin: "...Its not that I don't have a plan. I used Hypothetical TV after all (Even if it only showed me a single image). If ever thing works out as I plan I will certainly win, but at the same time I know that I can't beat him."

Drake: "What's that supposed to mean? Some kind of riddle? How can you win if you know that you'll lose?"

Shin: "That's really not important. What is important is that you can't follow me. This is more than you can die, but you will absolutely die."

Shin looked at the faces of his comrades now and saw that they wouldn't be stopping him and not wanting to wait any longer he began to leave, but not before receiving a few parting gifts to help him in the coming battle. Drake returned the M41A Pulse Rifle+M and Sachi some of her needles for whatever they were worth. Komaru stepped up to Shin and having anything to give him as the Hacking Gun doesn't have much effects on humans, she decided to kiss Shin on the lips for good luck. It was her first kiss and with a flushed face she stepped back embarrassed and wished him good. Shin was moved by the thoughts of his comrades who wanted him to return alive not just for their own sakes, and with a smile he set off alone towards Towa National Park.

Towa National Park.

Although called that the park itself wasn't too large. It had a open picnic area, large lake, and a small artificial forest surrounding the lake set up by the Towa Group to instill a feeling of natural in Towa City which was on the high tech end of the latest technologies, countless stores, and sky high skyscrapers. Towa City was created on top of a artificial island, but due to a lack of space the island didn't have a beach like most islands, so at the very least they wanted a small park to remind them of nature's beauty. Still, despite not matching up to most national parks the citizens of Towa City would often visit to escape the suffocating busy life of the city. Surprisingly, during the course of the riots started up by the Warriors of Hope, Towa National Park received very little to no damage. None of the adults thought to escape into the open forest of the park believing that they couldn't escape the Monokuma by running here. Additionally, Monaca Towa didn't won't harm to come to the park due it it being her one and only happy place within Towa City where she would come years ago to escape the cold eyes of her family who judge her for just being alive.

Shin stopped just a few feet away from entering the area of Towa National Park. This was where the Guide told him to come find him, so he was on alert. Shin didn't exactly feel like that the Guide was the type to challenge him to a face to face confrontation, but the type to attack him as soon as he steps into the park. He couldn't help but feel that once he steps inside his battle with the Guide Izuru Kamukura will begin. The man given the title of Ultimate Hope in the literal sense of the world, rather than the emotional sense like Makoto Naegi. Hope's Peak Academy created a being who can acquire all talents and use them just as well as any other Ultimate Level talent, maybe even better. And all senses, emotions, hobbies, thoughts, and even memories that could interfere with acquiring talent and new knowledge were excised from him. Hope's Peak Academy created Izuru Kamukura whose talent is talent itself, and-

Shin: "And the one in possession of his body is the Guide. Ultimate Hope, Izuru Kamukura... It's time for the real final showdown!"

As Shin took a step forward and his feet touched the grass of Towa National Park, he felt a pair of eyes trialing him and then received a mental communication from the Guide Izuru Kamukura.

Izuru Kamukura SL: (Took you long enough, human. I should congratulate you for making it this far after completing the mission and subduing your comrades, but I won't. Just before we begin say what you want to say? I can see you from here and this body can read your thoughts to some extent. You're resolved for a fight to the death, but you want to ask me something which is important to. This body enjoys absorbing new knowledge and seeing unpredictable things, so speak up human.)

Shin SL: (What an overpowered ability to know just what I'm thinking with just a glance, but... why are directly looking at me? You're using Psyche Force to speak to me, but can't you use Psyche Force Scan to locate me without using you're eyes? When someone is using their own eyes to look at you it feels different from being tracked with Psyche Force. It's like god, or a detached third person is watching every move you make... Could it be that you-)

Izuru Kamukura SL: (I won't ask again, human. If you have something to say, then say it.)

Shin SL: (...Fine. I have a request. It's a personal one and it should be easy for you to make happen.)

Izuru Kamukura SL: (Why should I do anything for you? You are not yet God's chosen team.)

Shin SL: (Because you owe me, that's why. Don't think that I didn't notice your intervening during my mission. You would sometimes have my comrades move on your orders and you advised Monaca Towa to take measures to counter the predictions of the Quest Item that I obtained from HxH, the Hypothetical TV. It never showed Aqua used as a hostage and me having to fight her at Towa Stadium, but of course it wouldn't. Hypothetical TV wouldn't account for the future actions of its viewer who was watching the footage like you and me, unless I added such a possibility in my question. I took action to follow certain scenarios, so the predictions weren't off by much, but you took actions to counter them and threw them off completely. You made moves to hinder me. Although you probably weren't allowed to take any action that would lead to my certain death because of the nature of this world, but I won't believe that you as the Guide were supposed to get in the way of my Main Mission as much as you did. I don't care to know why after the fact, but if what I said is true than you owe me big time, so agree to my simple request.)

Izuru Kamukura SL: (...Speak. What is it?)

Shin smiled knowing that he had just won one small battle just now and preceded to tell the Guide his request. The Guide hearing Shin's desire was silent for a few moments before uncharacteristically laughing out loud. Shin could even hear his laughter from the edge of the national park, and a feeling of dread began to rise within in. This laughter was not out of joy, but one of mocking. Mocking a small bug like creature who successfully disappointed him, but amused him all the same.

Izuru Kamukura SL: (...What a foolish human you turned out to be... Sure, your request can be granted. Long as you defeat me, God can let such a small rule violation pass for you. Now, if you want to know everything than reach me first. That way you can die a somewhat better death after discovering how much of a bug you are, human.."

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.

The final battle at last! Who will win... I know, but you'll be surprised by the outcome. The final battle will be about half as long as the Apocalypse Alice final battle and will be posted in twelve hours.


	195. Chapter 195

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 35, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

With Gravity Blade in his left hand and the M41A Pulse Rifle+M cradled in his right arm, Shin began to sprint through Towa National. He was running through the park area and towards the forest area 4,000 meters ahead while staying vigilant of his surroundings. Shin had already entered Unlocked Mode and his unfocused eyes scanned everything before him and his senses were on high alert. He couldn't imagine all the countless methods for someone as talent as Izuru Kamukura to attack him, but at the very least the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint will guarantee him that he wouldn't be caught completely off guard.

Shin: (Now, just how will you come at me?)

The answer to that question was immediately answered. Shin's ears picked up a whistling sound coming from deep within the forest 3800 meters in front of him and along with it a premonition of danger. Before he knew what it was Shin jumped to the side just as a something, a small projectile passed by where he just was in a flash. The projectile cut through the air at 1000 MPH before crashing into the ground creating a small crater in the earth, and Shin final saw just what it was.

Shin: (A iron ball the size of a baseball? Is he copying Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star?)

With this Shin had a strong idea of the abilities of the body the Guide had come to possess, but he didn't have time to ponder for long.

\- *BANG*!

Instead of another thrown iron ball, a much faster attack, a bullet from a sniper rifle was aimed and shot towards Shin. Shin felt the threat before hand and dodged to the side, yet the bullet still grazed passed just under his right armpit and tearing out a small bit of flesh. It was an attack that normally would not have damaged him, but the Lesser Fenrir Coat was badly damaged and all that remained of it was tied around his waist for whatever it was worth. Another shot came from the dark forest aimed at his heart, but he was prepared. A Kagune tentacle reinforced with Silver Dragon Scales was released, swiping at and blocking the shot from the sniper rifle.

Shin then summoned his maximum number of six Kagune tentacles, reinforced them with the defensive Ki skill, and wrapped them around his body to protect his weak points, and he ran towards the forest with Instant Movement. More shot were released from the enemy, but they were either avoided by the speed of his movement technique, cut down with a swing of Gravity Blade in his left hand, or blocked by the Kagune reflecting a silver light. It then took Shin just a few seconds using Instant Movement to cross the distance of the national park and enter the forest area. With his speed and the trees acting as cover it was impossible to capture him with just a sniper rifle.

Shin: (Even if the Guide can follow my moments, he's limited by his choice of weapons. The trees will stop or alter the course of his shots, so guns become less effective. CQC or setting traps are the better combat options. The world of Dangan Ronpa is low Sci-fi at best and he wouldn't be able to own say the Gauss Sniper Rifle or the EMP variant that Connor once told me about that existed in the exchanges. They could just blow through buildings and trees with ease.)

Shin was correct.

On top of a large rock within the forest providing an excellent vantage point while not allowing ones target to directly see them, the enemy looking through the scope of his rifle judged that sniping was impossible. He then put down the gun on the ground, no he smashed it into the ground without hesitation knowing that it wouldn't serve him any longer, and he cursed briefly in his head before calming down and returning to his state of disinterest. There was no helping it. He knew of Gauss and EMP technology which could have allowed him to fight more effectively, but God didn't allow him to hold the knowledge of how to make them since his body wouldn't have known of the technology. The world of Dangan Ronpa was more advanced than the real world, but it had not begun to research Gauss or EMP tech. There was no helping it, and he had achieved his primary goal.

Izuru Kamukura: "...Initial data collection was a success. Reaction speed, ability to adapt, and use enhancements in combination has increased. Initial speculation that the human would need to resort to Red Moon Formation or Kakuja Kagune under long range sniping have been disproven... Battle Tactics from Ultimate Mercenary suggest retreating to the lakeside. The enemy is too versatile to fight in a chaotic environment like a forest, so a flat and wide area free of obstructions are preferred with this body. With the enemies speed he'll catch up to me beforehand, but the traps forged and set in the forest by the combination of Ultimate Blacksmith and Ultimate Mercenary will hinder, or kill him."

As the enemy began to retreat, Shin felt the threat from before pulling back and gave chase. He was at his strongest at close range combat and couldn't afford to let the enemy put more distance between them. Shin's mind raced with battle tactics for pursuit. He judge the enemies current position by the previous sniping attack (Speed and angle of the bullet, the power of the rifle judged by the sound when a bullet was fired, and wind speeds in the area) and his own instincts in Unlocked Mode screaming at him where the greatest threat to his life was, and gave chase. He also consider whether using Void Movement would be better, but discarded such thoughts immediately and continued to use the land based Instant Movement. He could move faster and fly over the obstructions of the forest with the airborne movement technique, but he would be too open to sniping.

Shin: (I hate to admit it, but I didn't train hard enough to master Void Movement. I just had fun with it as a way to fly, but there was more that to this technique. It can allow the user to master 3-Dimensional combat. You can attack at angels that your opponents hate and stay out of their attack range as well. I'm still not too good at that, and worse, I'm not confident at avoiding sniper rounds like I am on land. If three decent snipers were to target me midair I would certainly be shot down. I need to practice a lot more when this is all-)

Just as Shin passed the halfway point of the forest towards the lake then enemy was retreating towards he felt something under his feet. The left foot he pushed down on felt something soft, and then hard as the ground caved in slightly. Then came the sound of metallic springs were heard. Less than a second passed as Shin received this information, but Unlocked Mode gave him the thinking speed and combat instincts to come to a decision. He jumped and rolled forward with everything that he had. Then less than a second later a large metal snapping noise range throughout the forest and when he looked back he was shocked. Like right out of a old time American cartoon there stood a bear trap the size of... an actual bear. The bear trap had been masterfully hidden and he didn't notice it till it was too late. It's two metal jaws had snapped together sending a chill down his spine. He barely escaped just thanks to his inhuman ability to react from Unlocked Mode and knew if he was a split second late he would have been torn into by the metal jaws.

Shin: "Void!"

Shin got back up and as he returned to pursuing the enemy he placed even more effort into staying vigilant. He used Void Instant Movement to just hover just above the earth and his eyes darted around suspicious of everything. He wouldn't allow himself to fall into another trap, but that didn't matter. As he passed 3/4 through the forest without setting off a trap he set one off he had no hope of noticing. Shin noticed something only when it was too late. As he passed by a tree covered in foliage he saw something metal buried in its trunk. A small device streaming an almost invisible light. It was a modern infrared laser sensor. Shin recalled he had even bought a cheap one as a kid for the fun of it, but this one was not a cheap toy.

\- *BEEP*!

\- *EXPLOSION*!

With that soft beep as a signal all the traps within the forest were set off one after the other. Shin wanted to complain to the enemy who was using both modern and simple traps, but for the moment he had to worry about his own life. Shin quickly entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode and rushed through the remaining forest as fast as he could without bothering to care about setting off more traps. The flames from explosion after explosion of hidden bombs trailed after him as he ran. Shin felt that he set off a few traps not set off as he stepped on the ground with his feet as well, but the power and speed of his enlarged muscles in the Second Stage gave him the ability cross the forest like the wind without minding the traps set off which couldn't catch him.

The forest was dark as he ran through it, but suddenly Shin saw a light. It was the light of the sun reflected off the large lake at the center of Towa National Park. He had almost escaped the forest at last, and that when the final trap was set off. Not by Shin, but by the enemy in a black suit and tie who could now hear his approach. He took out a cell phone and pressed a series of numbers, and hit talk. Immediately afterwards and without any warning the trap was set off. All around the inner perimeter of the forest just before the lake area, from the trees countless small knives, kunai, scattered in all directions at blinding speed just like out of a scene from Naruto. Shin was completely caught off guard at the sudden and unusual attack, but still in Unlocked Mode his ability to react was exceptional as he instantly prepared himself for the worst of it to escape with his life.

Shin: (Silver Dragon Sclaes!)

Shin's skin reflected a silver light his strongest Silver Dragon Scales and covered his body with his Kagune just as the kunai reached him. Hundreds, no thousands of sharp kunai flew at him as he ran towards the lake outside the forest. Shin endured countless blades trying to skewer him alive. His Kagune was all too soon torn apart by the thousands upon thousands of unnaturally sharp blades stabbing and slicing off the tentacles protecting Shin's vitals, and when it finally reached the point Shin was protecting himself with his own body he jumped forward with all his power and kicked the air with the force carrying him the remaining way out of the forest. Void Movement successfully took out of harms way from within the forest and he tumbled across the ground till he reached the shore of the lake.

Shin was covered in dirt and his own blood as he finally came to a stop and stood up, and he found standing not too far away from him his enemy. Without hesitation Shin immediately opened fire with the M41A Pulse Rifle+M to spray him full of holes, yet his opponent simply jumped back and out of his attack range. Shin then just observed his enemy who hadn't made a move to counter attack. A man with long black hair, pale skin, red target pattern eyes, and wearing a black suit and tie exuding a dark aura inner strength and wisdom beyond his age. The Guide possessing the body of Hope's Peak Academy's artificial Ultimate Hope who's talent was talent itself, Izuru Kamukura. Different from when Shin first met him he appeared to be armed with a variety of weapons. A submachine gun, grenades, and a large hunting knife hanging on the belt on his waist. In his left hand was a desert eagle and in his right hand a out of place metal bat.

Izuru Kamukura: "You know, you could have just safely flown over the forest... but I won't fault you on that human. It was a wise tactical decision to avoid my snipes by entering the forest even at the risk of me setting up traps. I unexpectedly got bored... maybe fed up with sniping with a modern rifle and threw it away. More often than Junko Enoshima, this body gets tired of things very fast."

Said by Izuru Kamukura, but Shin wasn't in the mood to care. Staying vigilant he was observing the Guide intently without exiting Unlocked Mode. He was looking closely at the enemy taking note of all his weapons and looking for any gaps in his defense to take advantage of, and if he failed that and the enemy were attack he would be able to respond immediately and counter attack. As Shin observed the Guide he noticed to two things. The first that he looked as strong as he did when he first met him on the roof of the hospital. No, he appeared stronger now that he was full armed and was ready for a fight. Just like Shin, Izuru Kamukura wasn't being careless and was taking notice of Shin in case he launched an attack. This could be seen how by despite looking relaxed and composed the enemy had positioned their legs and the rest of their body in a way where it would be easy to step forward, back off, or dodge to the side. He also see that Izuru Kamukura was in Unlocked Mode as well from his defocused eyes. The second thing Shin noticed was-

Shin: (It's his eyes. They look damn scary! His pupils are still the same red target shape as before, but his eyes are bloodshot. They are completely red and scary... but this is a good thing. This means that my efforts till now were worth it and my guess was spot on! The Guide is weakened!)

Shin's judgment was spot on.

The Guide was trying to hide by remaining composed and talking down at him, but he was actually in terrible shape. If he were to exit Unlocked Mode the enemy would collapse to the floor with severe mental pain. Only by reinforcing his spirit and mind was he able to hang on as long he did, but even then his condition was a mess and he knew that he wouldn't be able to preform at 100%. The reason for his condition was because of what Shin did, or has been doing that last few days.

The Guide Izuru Kamukura had been using the powers of Psyche Force abilities granted by him God to take control of the members of Team Japan aside from Shin and used them as he pleased. Using the skill Suggestive Eyes, a Psyche Force ability to force suggestions at the risk of backfiring at the Psyche Force User. It wasn't a complete mind control as he just installed the ideas to follow his instructions, don't speak unnecessarily, listen to the orders of the Warriors of Hope and kill Shin if spotted, but because of how powerful his Psyche Force was as the Guide it was no different from brainwashing, and Shin took advantage of that.

One of goals of the mission was to defeat and save his brainwashed comrades. The Guide knew Shin wouldn't abandon his team, save them, and come immediately face him despite all risk, but what was outside his expectations was for Shin to do so by using the magic of Holy Sword Switch to free them from his control. It was an excellent method to defeat his comrades without killing them, yet most importantly had a major effect on the Guide. Every time Shin used Holy Sword Switch to defeat a comrade, the Guide had to endure a powerful backlash. An especially powerful one due to Holy Sword Switch magic being a A tier anti brainwashing tool along witht ne backfire of Suggestive Eyes, and he had to endure this six times.

Possessing both the Psyche Force powers of the Guide and the body of Izuru Kamukura, he had came into this world with abilities beyond normal men. To an extent if Shin fought the enemy before he would have suffered a defeat with no chance of winning, but now he could not display that ability. The six mental backfires had all but reduced his mental strength to that of an average Psyche Force user and only had the confidence to use Psyche Force Scan that can now only just cover the space that of Towa National Park without passing out and some other techniques once or twice. The condition of his physical body was worse off.

Shin has already had his suspicion, but not only did Izuru Kamukura have strong body and mind that was excellent at acquiring all talents, the Guide was in possession of a unique body that had unlocked the Genetic Constraint to the Third Stage. The Third Stage allowed the one to stimulate the abilities of all the people that they have come into contact with at some point and spent time with. Additionally, due to the modification on both mind and body by Hope's Peak Academy and Izuru Kamukura's own studies on the subject of talent, he was able use the Third Stage to its full potential without any downsides and never even needed to meet the other students of Hope's Peak Academy to acquire their talents, but this was before the repeated mental backfires. Now, he could only stimulate the abilities of others for very short durations and each use cuts down even more of his mental strength.

Shin: (He's definitely damaged. I can't tell how badly, but it certainly isn't small. Maybe I don't need THAT plan after all. If he's this weak maybe I-)

Izuru Kamukura: "I can win with my own strength, is it? Don't get full of yourself human. I admit that my abilities current power is deplorable to say the least. My Psyche Force abilities and the duration that this body can stay in the Third Stage have been reduced by your mental attacks with the powerful Holy Sword Switch... but what of it? I may not be able to read you well enough to figure out what your plan is to defeat me, but whatever you have plan is useless."

Shin: "...Oh, so you're admitting that Izuru Kamukura has awakened to the Third Stage? Putting aside how unfair that is for me do you think that was a good idea to tell me? We are in the middle of a fight."

Izuru Kamukura: "Doesn't matter. The Third Stage and what the game describes Izuru Kamukura aren't too alien from one another to matter. The point is that this is still a high spec body with 1000 stat points in ever category with the exception of Intelligence and Mental Capacity at 3000. Also the various talents learned by him are only one step inferior of the Third Stage. You have no chance at winning. Now, let's get on with it. I have one last thing to do before I kill you."

Shin: "Oh, what's that? Not that I care all that much for all this talking during a fight."

Izuru Kamukura: "We can agree on that, but its an order. God had instructed me to tell you the truth of this Guide Test if I have the chance."

Shin: "The truth?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Yes. First is the reason we desired a regular team to confront the teams of the Four Pillars. What we told you before about the contingency plan was true, but we didn't tell you everything. God was allowed to pick one team to support, but we also had the option of choosing one of the special two teams, Team Devil or Team Celestial. Team Devil is composed of clones of Players with the highest potential. Team Celestial is composed of Team Leaders who had reached the Second Stage or higher and were invited to join this special team by God. Now, putting aside Team Celestial which should be disbanded with the various restrictions placed by God, we could have just choose Team Devil to support. Do you know why we didn't do this?"

I thought about it for a second and then wanted to curse at myself. I had heard of Team Devil and Team Celestial in passing from Sozin back on that island. Team Devil should have been the obvious choice. The Guide did say Team Japan had a lot of potential due to almost everyone (Now everyone) unlocking their Genetic Constraints, but he never said we had the greatest potential in God's Dimension. We were just the most convenient due to having no connection to the Four Pillars. Team Devil is a team of clones created by God, so wouldn't they be more appropriate and willing to become God's arms and legs within God's Dimension?

Shin: "I'm guessing that it isn't because I'm this words fated protagonist, is it?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Don't make me look down on you more than I already have, human. The reason we chose you over Team Devil is... we no longer have control of that team. Team Devil and along with the disbanded Team Celestial have been high jacked by the Four Pillars recently. Time wise for a normal team like yours it was seven mission ago that Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade hacked God's Dimension somehow and stole the rights to Team Devil. Next, six missions ago the same thing happened again, but this time the organizations the Absolute Reckoning and Dove United revived Team Celestial and took reign of it. We no longer have a means of creating a special third team, and Team Freedom is too important a research example of evolution to taint with our interference, and so-"

Hearing the truth from the Guide, I felt like praising Jin. Among all of us he was the one who was most suspicious of God and the Guide's intentions about choosing Team Japan. I can't recall if I ever told him about Team Devil or Team Celestial, but he might have made he connection back then, but just didn't have the time or the confidence in his reasoning to share it with the rest of us.

Shin: "And so you came to us, Team Japan. Its good to know about Team Devil and Team Celestial beforehand rather than when we run into them, but fuck! I really didn't need to hear that after being told that we were special we were really just your fourth choice!"

Izuru Kamukura: "Not really fourth even. There were other teams as well we were considering. Team Japan is special, but not the most special. There are teams not affiliated with the Four Pillars, small organizations trying to usurp the Four Pillar's power. They've invested a lot into God's Dimension and although they are few they are strong. Five or six who are much stronger than Team Japan."

Shin: "...Then why us?"

Izuru Kamukura: "It's not us, but you, Shin. God chose Team Japan to support because of you."

Shin: "...Huh?"

Izuru Kamukura: " It's not that your the protagonist of this world like you joked about, but you definitely stand out within all the teams within God's Dimension. God has been watching you, Shin from the very beginning since your entrance into this world. You are an ideal sample of humanities potential to evolve. Anyone who shows God exceptional talent to evolve or reaches the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint with their own ability would be cloned into Team Devil normally. You are both the former and the latter, but what's important here is that for you that moment when God took notice of you was in H.O.T.D, and... do you know why? It was because you broke the three realms of which limits normal humans all in just that very first mission. Physical Realm which restricts the bodies full potential, Mental Realm which restricts the minds full potential, and lastly Longevity Realm which restricts humans ability to live longer and resist virus. It can be said that breaking all three is a degraded lesser version of unlocking the Genetic Constraint, just without the battle instincts and means to evolve. Shin, you are in fact the first person in all of God's history to have broken the three realms. Not even the founders of the Four Pillars have ever accomplished this feat. It can only happen on the first mission for those who never made contact with God and have been in the situations that lead you to breaking the three realms like in H.O.T.D, but all the same it was a grand achievement and one that made God take notice of you."

Shin: "...So are you saying that I'm in Team Devil right now? From all the way back when I completed H.O.T.D mission?"

Izuru Kamukura: "...Unfortunately, no. Once we lost control of Team Devil no more new potentials could be added to the team, but enough about that. The point is that we have been watching you Shin with both great expectations... And disappointment. Your growth as a Player can only be said to be first rate as you are already approaching the Third Stage on your own in an environment that doesn't take it easy on the teams in the beginning anymore, while established team of the Four Pillars fell. The Shin who took risk in H.O.T.D, acquiring lots of points and rewards while risking his life is the one we wanted to see. Starting from BTOOOM the existence of your comrades having been weighing on your mind, so you stopped taking chances like before. We commend you for establishing a power team in such a short time, but we felt that something has been lost. You would only take a big risk to survive a immediate threat like the time in Apocalypse Alice where you took the risk of equipping Holy Sword Switch to defeat the Diseased Girl despite the sword sealing away your enhancements."

Shin: "So what? Didn't you disapprove when I did that by accompanying Komaru to the end?"

Izuru Kamukura: "That was half true. God and I didn't mind the act, but your reasoning behind it bothered us. Not even for fun, but to help the NPC who you've grown to like save the city... How stupid. We won't risk our only chance on a Player like you... So we'll take your body for ourselves."

Shin: "...What?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Your body, your potential, and the potential of Team Japan. It's too hard to resist taking, so we'll be taking it for ourselves if you lose. To complete the fusion process which your Player Watch describes in the main mission you must either make me submit or kill us, then then the parts of us that make me the Guide will flow into you as particles of light just like enhancements work, and you'll be reborn as the Leader of Team Japan with your persona intact. But if you fail here however... I will force a true fusing on you. My persona will overwrite your own and I'll take ownership of the being known as Shin. I'll also do the same for the other members of Team Japan. They'll all have their personas overwritten by me, and thus Team Japan will be become the true arms and legs of God's Dimension!"

\- *CONTINOUS GUNFIRE*!

The one to make the first move was Shin. Hearing the Guide's insane plan for Team Japan his interest in hearing him out evaporated in a instant. Shin faster than he knew was possible raised M41A Pulse Rifle+M up towards the enemy's head and fired without hesitation. The entire action couldn't have even took a full second, yet the Guide reacted beautifully. In a flash he raised the bat in his hands to block the bullets. Shin didn't believe his eyes that a iron bat could block an upgraded D tier sci-fi weapon with light magic capabilities, showing that the items he forged himself were better than the norm. The Guide then he swiftly swung the bat slide ways in a batting motion. Shin gave a loud shout and rushed forward to the enemy after firing off the shot. He returned the Pulse Rifl to a Na Ring and swung Gravity Blade with both hands with all his might, but it was met by the bat in his hands.

\- *CLINK*!

Both weapons met head on. Shin slashed with the maximum increased weight of his magic sword which he could handle to over power the Guide, yet he was the one blown off his feet. Gravity Blade was knocked out of his hands and blown off his feet he was sent tumbling back a full thirty meters. As he landed Shin swiftly got back on his feet and glared at the Guide who didn't come after him to follow up. Like a statue, he was unmoving stuck in the pose of his swinging pose. Shin got ticked off feeling that the enemy was standing there just to admire his form, yet he was absolutely right on the mark.

Izuru Kamukura: "...Ultimate Baseball Star. After leaving Hope's Peak Academy, Izuru Kamukura has rarely gotten the chance to practice a sports related talent after joining Ultimate Despair. This body can't help but admire this savage, yet refined batters form. Pitching is amusing as well. The bat was made my stimulating Ultimate Blacksmith, so-"

Shin: "Cut the crap!"

Shin roared at the Guide having no intention of listening to him any longer. He brought out both the Auto 9 and Devil Sealed Gun from the Na Rings and entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode. His arms and leg body enlarged three times their size, and with those powerful legs he began to run with Instant Movement. The Guide calmly watched Shin then run around him a circle, but even he couldn't completely grasp his moments. Just like a famous scene in Naruto, Shin had become a blur as he ran circles around him with no hope of catching up.

\- *CONTINUOUS FIRE*!

Shots were repeatedly fired without hesitation from Shin as he ran. It lacked the concentrated gun fire of a the Pulse Rifle, but at the speed he was moving around it was as if the Guide was surrounded by 10-15 special agents armed with handguns and each shot had the accuracy to match such a description. The Guide would be turned into a beehive of he just stood there, so he reacted. He condensed his Psyche Force Scan to just a one meter radius around himself. He then drew one of the combat knives from his belt and along the iron bat he began to spin in places now swatting the bullets just as they were to reach him. Shin forcing his body to move faster continued to circle around and shot at the Guide and the Guide intercepted each of those shots without breaking a sweat. Shin even changed the types of bullets for the Auto 9 from armor piercing, exploding, and seeker, yet with technique borrowed from the Ultimate Dual Wielder the enemy effortlessly deflected each oncoming attack. This battle of offense and defense was destined to end in the Guide's victor once Shin wears himself out, yet destiny was shattered by a 3% chance occurrence.

DS Gun: "Hahaha! It's time to die!"

The magic effect of the Devil Sealed Gun finally took effect. At a critical moment the enemy's combat knife grasped in his left hand began to corrode as it tried to deflect a explosive round from the Auto 9. A mini explosion occurred and the knife in his hand shattered. The Guide's left hand was burned black and shrapnel dug into his flesh. The Guide for just the smallest moment flinched, but this was not over looked by his opponent. Shin still in the Second Stage threw away the Auto 9 with no time to properly stores it and jumped forward with Instant Movement and arrived in front of the Guide.

The Guide in Unlocked Mode as well along with a condensed Psyche Force Scan saw Shin coming and he instantly smashed down his bat towards his head. Shin covered his skin with Silver Dragon Scales and blocked the bat with his right forearm. On impact he definitely heard something snap when he blocked the bat and a massive amount of pain washed over him, but he shut off his sense of pain and immediately lashed out with a kick. The series of events gave no time for the Guide to defend himself, so a ruthless kick crashed into his stomach and sent flying off his feet spitting out a mouthful of blood, and dropping his bat without the strength to hold onto it.

Shin smiled at this sight. So far most of his opponents had been his comrades, so he couldn't intentionally use such force during his fights. Even during his downhill battle with Aqua he still refrained from any attacks that could certainly lead to her death, so that's why having a final boss, an enemy wanting to mind and body hack him came as a relief. Against such a foe he could go all out and then some. He could even enjoy the sight of the Guide blown away towards the other side of the lake and about to fall in helplessly. As he was falling the Guide in a desperate counter attack drew the SMG on his waist and opened fire towards the shore where Shin was watching from. Shin simply jumped back with Instant Movement out of the enemy's firing range and just watched as he fell into the lake.

\- *SPLASH*!

The Guide fell backwards into the lake and began to sink to the bottom. A full minute then passed in silence. Shin observed the entire lake from the shore and was ready to move, yet the enemy had yet to surface. A ominous feeling began to swell up and Shin didn't care for the silence. He would rather the Guide appear and give him more trouble rather than this silence. He had just gotten the initiative in battle with that last hit, but now it felt like control had fully returned to the Guide. Maybe that alone was the point to not surfacing yet. To recover from the strong kick to his stomach and regain control of the flow of battle.

\- *SPLASH*!

When Shin moved to retrieve his knocked away magic sword and the discarded Auto 9 that was knocked away and placed them inside the Na Ring's subspace, the Guide finally resurfaced. The enemy rises to the surface and only taking a short instance to take in air into his lungs and then took into a swimming form. His swimming speed was monstrous and was faster than most cars going 200 Mph. Shin took out the Pulse Rifle once more and opened fire, releasing a hail storm of death which would shredd the Guide to pieces and stain the lake red with blood, but he began to zigzag through the waters with unparalleled swimming talent and avoiding any damage. The first thought that came to Shin's seeing this was the name of the Ultimate Swimmer, but then something else gained his attention. As the Guide was approaching he saw that he was only using one arm to swim. At such a speed that alone was impressive, but the reason he was only using one hand was what shocked him. Held in his arm covered in plastic wrap was a large metal cylinder object.

Shin: "A rocket!"

Shin guess correctly what the Guide hid on the bottom of the lake of Towa National Park and moved into action. He put away the pulse rifle and took out multiple grenades from from the Na Ring, removed their safety pins and threw them all towards the lake. Explosion after explosion ripped apart the lake surface and the extreme heat of the blast created a white mist over the lake. Shin suddenly cursed and began to run. Despite that display of power the feeling of danger never grew weaker, so he had failed to stop the enemy. He was right. That very moment a loud blast could be heard and a rocket shot through the mist above the lake flying towards Shin.

Shin saw it's approach as he was running and knew it would be a direct hit and jumped into the air and used Void Movement to escape to the skies. The rocket pass through the space Shin once occupied, but to his surprise the rocket curved up and flew after him. This was first time he had ever seen a heat seeking rocket that were infamous for following their targets to death and he was not enjoying the experience. Shin kicked the air once more to change direction, yet the rocket followed him still. He was not versed well enough with modern weapons to smartly deal with the rocket, so he decided to just swat it down. Shin kicked the air on last time to enter a fall towards the earth and when the rocket began to turn to follow he drew Gravity Blade from the subspace and unleashed One Pound Cannon towards it. The spiraling compressed vacuum blade's speed was extreme and cut the rocket perfectly in half.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The bomb detonated over Shin's head up in the skies and only a hot breeze washed over him. Shin wanted to breath in a sigh of relief, yet had no time and jumped with Instant Movement and rolled away just as the Guide snuck up behind him, and with the bat he retrieved during Shin's crisis smashed down where he just stood creating a meter deep crater. The Guide was shocked at the failure of the surprise attack, yet he didn't stop attacking. The Guide twisted the handle of the iron bat and pulled his hand back to reveal a hidden sword within the bat, and slashed at Shin.

With the talent of Ultimate Swordsman he closed the gap between them in a instant and released a lightning quick horizontal slash. As the sword was swung towards his face he hit back with Soul Crushing Strike in the Second Stage and activating Silver Dragon Scales. This was effective! Shin suffered a deep cut in his right fist, yet the shock wave of the Ki attack shattered the hidden sword and continued to strike the Guide who was then blown backwards. The damage of the indirect Ki attack was small and the Guide quickly recovered back to his feet, but Shin still let out a sigh of relief. He had almost missed the initial surprise attack, and the enemy was equally as surprised that the sneak attack failed.

Izuru Kamukura: "How did you escape? The talent of Ultimate Assassin wouldn't lose to an elite veteran of the Assassins Clan."

Shin: "How could I not notice that rotten soul!."

Shin had no real answer to how he knew the Guide was approaching silently behind him and just said what he felt. His skin began to crawl in the Guide's presence once he learned what he had in store for him and Team Japan, and how he planned to steal their mind and bodies. Perhaps it was a extreme reaction of combat instincts feeling a threat to Shin's very existence and pushed themselves further to compensate. Shin didn't know or bother to want to know, and was just glad he was alive.

Izuru Kamukura: "No matter. It just means that body of your holds much more potential than God originally assumed. Rejoice human. Once I take hold of your body you'll become the Over Powered protagonist being that you always wanted to become."

Shin: "That sounds nice, but that wouldn't be me! I won't let you you-"

Izuru Kamukura: "Enough talk. All you have left to show me before you die is the Kakuja Kagune and Spirit Wave. Lesser Fenrir Coat is too damaged for you to use Red Moon Formation and your just wearing it around your waist for the stat enhancements. I've seen everything else of worth within your arsenal and won't work on me anymore. My full power will overwhelm your two trump cards, so you can't defeat me. Let's end this."

Shin saw the exact moment within the Guide's eyes that most of his interest in him fade, and immediately he felt a chill down his spine. A warning of danger so overwhelming that he could hardly control himself to not runaway. The Guide's words were not a bluff. Shin believed that the enemy was not at all serious till now and was a just having fun fighting him. There was no other way to describe the feeling of danger he felt and the unhindered and suffocating killing intent flowing out from the enemy. Maybe even using the powers he was saving to finish the Guide off wouldn't help him win.

Shin: (Well, what can you do? It's not like I thought I could ever defeat him in a straight up fight. My victory depends on my defeat and the enemies overconfidence. I'm destined to lose, so let's go all out without regret!)

Shin didn't wait for the Guide to act first. The concentration of Rc Cells within his blood grew stronger and stronger by the second. All the specs of his body shot up by 3-5 fold and two black armored Kagune Tails erupted from his back along the waist with four normal, but still deadly red tentacles. Shin entered into his Kakuja Form and additionally into the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode and the muscles in his body enlarged three times their size. The Guide seeing this simply bent his to the side as if to say "So what?" and was unintimidated by his transformation, yet in the next moment he desperately rolled away as Shin charged at him with blinding speed. He had used Instant Movement, but the Guide had no choice to admit that Shin's speed greatly exceeded his own. Especially when he saw flesh ripped off his left shoulder.

\- AS A ONE-EYED GHOUL YOU'VE DEVOURERED THE FLESH OF A SPECIAL INDIVIDUAL! INTELLIGENCE+300, CELL VITALITY+100, MENTAL CAPACITY+300, REACTION SPEED+100, MUSCLE DENSITY+100, IMMUNIZATION STRENGTH+100!

Izuru Kamukura: "Oh, and here I thought you were too disgusted to intentionally devour your opponents flesh. Color me surprised."

The Guide jumped far back as a armored Kagune Tail swiped at him and leaving behind a meter deep cut in the earth when it missed. Shin didn't want to discuss something like eating flesh with the enemy and just attacked. He felt a increase in his stats and didn't hesitate to use all of that power and more on the enemy! The Kagune tentacles gave chased after the Guide. They were fast and swift as lightning as they closed in to capture or stab the Guide to death, and to avoid this he hit back. Over and over again he would smash the red tentacles as they with ease, yet they regrew and reinitiated the attack to allow him room to breath. It was a pointless struggle that would lead to his death before Shin wears himself out, and so he went on the offensive the and maneuvered around the tentacles with sudden grace and power.

In the Third Stage with the talent of Ultimate Gymnast the Guide evaded and jumped over the tentacles as they swiped and whipped at him and reached within one meter of Shin in just a few seconds. Shin waited for this approach and jumped forward and slashed with Gravity Blade. The increased weight slash along with his heightened power and speed matched the force of the Guide swinging down his iron bat at him. The clash forced each of them back, yet the Guide more so barely kept himself from falling over. Shin's power and speed surpassed his, so to shorten that gap regain control with his superior skills he entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode and his originally slim body of Izuru Kamukura enlarged by three times the or norm.

The Guide stepped forward with speed greater than before to strike Shin down, yet before his bat reached Shin he was swiped at by an armored Kagune Tail and knocked away. The Guide defended at the last second with his bat to avoid damage, but Shin didn't let up and slashed at him with his sword and whipped and stabbed at him with his Kagune. The advantage of the his type Kagune was displayed in full at this moment. Four red tentacles and two armored tails continued to lash out at the Guide at different angles, and along with the sword attacks of Gravity Blade it was as of Shin were seven people who had the Guide surrounded. The Guide barely hanging on and suffering from small cuts and bruises, his claim that Shin had nothing more to show him seemed to be false, yet-

Izuru Kamukura: "Is this all? To not be able to finish me off with six extra limbs shows your lack of training. I doubt you'll be around to see it, but later I'll show you how to use that power correctly. Now..."

Shin's Kagune tentacles had the enemy perfectly surrounded and were about to pounce on him and the armored tails and Gravity Blade were ready to finish them off if he attempted to escape, yet the Guide looked unconcerned as always and simply stepped forward. His muscles in the Second Stage grew a size larger and his limbs were slowly beginning to tan. Shin was taken back by the transformation, yet more so by the Guide's glowing red eyes shinning with fighting spirit just like in a certain Manga about the ultimate disciple.

Izuru Kamukura: "Ultimate Martial Artist. Ogami School Martial Arts, Pulverizing Demon Rush!"

The next thing Shin knew he was blown away through the air and smacked into tree with his back. He saw what the enemy did, but it was unbelievable. The Guide's arms shot forward at the speed of light and returned to the side of his chest at the same speed, and the process was repeated 100 times in just one second. His Red Kagune Tentacles were ripped apart with nothing left and although the Kakuja Tail survived, but were bent and out of shape. Shin himself suffered a few dozen punches after the Kagune was repelled and as a result most of the bones on his body were broken. Only the left arm still holding Gravity Blade escaped harm. To return to fighting condition Shin needed to expand a large amount of stamina and Ki to heal his wounds, yet that required at least ten seconds and he was not given such time. The Guide knew as well of Shin's healing factors and rushed forward to capitalize on the dangers he inflicted before it was too late. The Guide ran with speed surpasses professional athletes and approaching the realm of super humans, and jumped. He twisted his body back half ways and covered his right fist with the palm of his left hand.

Izuru Kamukura: "Ogami Style Martial Arts Ultimate Move, ORG God's Punch!"

The Guide's body, Izuru Kamukura did not possess supernatural energies like Ki, Blood Energy or Mana, yet through fighting spirit and killing intent alone, Shin experienced an illusion of the space distorting and crackling with lightning. Shin himself knew it was just a illusion, yet his spirit was too overwhelmed by the enemy's spirit to be convinced otherwise.

Shin: (Takes too long to heal and I can't run In this condition. Can only fight back!)

Shin returned Gravity Blade to the subspace and picked himself back up with his broken body. He couldn't keep himself up for long with his injuries and used the tree behind him for support. He couldn't hope to run away in this condition, but he could still use his left arm. Shin squeezed his left hand into a tight fist and activated his ultimate technique, Spirit Wave, and a storm of energy blew around him. All the Ki within his body was converted into a higher tier energy bestowing a rush of power that then condensed around his left hand for for the strongest punch.

Shin: (The Spirit Wave sword attack with Gravity Blade is stronger, but its not a option. It's a rush that requires momentum and takes more time to gather the higher energy to a weapon than a part of my body. This is the only way!)

As the Guide descended down from above he became a twister as he spun around and added that force to his next strike for maximum power. The Guide along with his fist dropped down on Shin who couldn't escape such a reckless attack, and Shin countered the fist about to smash in his face with his one empowered by Spirit Wave. The two ultimate attacks met and-

\- *BOOM*!

The force of the clash destroyed their surroundings. The earth exploded, air retreated, trees were rippled out of their roots, and even the far off lake were blown back and receded a quarter of a mile. Nothing was left standing, including the one's who caused the destruction. The Guide was once more blown back into the lake and Shin tumbled across the earth and into the forest. Shin was thankful for this. The Guide was still alive and probably only suffered a fractured fist, bit this gave Shin the time to recover. Shin first took the last Intermediate Grade Healing Potion and chugged it down as fast as he could and then immediately began to heal his wounds through his his mutation. Liked Shin hoped the potion helped the healing process of his mutation. Even without any energy left in his body after Spirit Wave, with the help of the potion very little stamina was expended to heal his body back to 100% condition. The next step Shin tool was to recover his Ki with the Life Force Booster to recover all his spent energy.

Shin: "It's a shame it'll to use it all again, but there's no holding back with this man!"

Shin ran out of the forest with Instant Movement and wasting no time he took out Gravity Blade from the Na Ring. Once he spotted the Guide crawling out of the lake he then used the double acceleration combination of Instant Movement and Void Movement towards him, and activated Spirit Wave. A blue torrent of energy blue around his body quickly condensed itself into the blade of his magic sword. This combination of techniques was Shin's ultimate move he had grew to have absolute faith in. No opponent has yet to stand again after receiving this attack and even Jin said it's attack power was BB tier. Shin was still in his enhanced Kakuja Form as well. The Guide may have talents far beyond Shin and others could hope to match, but restrained with the body of a mortal in the end would be his undoing.

Shin: (Spirit Wave, Thousand Fold Gravity Slash!)

Shin slashed down at the Guide's neck with the reinforced Gravity Blade with enough weight where his own arms almost snapped off even in the Second Stage. It was a ruthless attack that could maybe even fatally injury Aqua in her Monster Wolf Form. Shin had that much confidence with this attack... and so when his blade failed to reach the enemy his soul left his body in shock. Utterly shocked to see Gravity Blade frozen in place just a few inches from the Guide's face. No matter how much he tried to force his attack through it couldn't close in any further. It was as if his sword had a invisible wall, yet there was the sound of shattering glass.

Izuru Kamukura: "That was a bit dangerous. You almost broke through Mind Force with that attack. A normal Guide without this superior body wouldn't have been able to do anything against that."

Shin: "...Mind Force?"

Izuru Kamukura: "Yes. My abilities are C tier Psyche Force Scan, B tier Soul Link, BB tier Suggestive Eyes, and the AA tier ability Mind Force. Mind Force belongs to the Psyche Force category, yet this is one of the final tier abilities of a Jedi Knight, a subcategory within Psyche Force like New Types and Espers, but even without the other required Jedi skills I can use it just fine. As a Guide, I can use any enhancement from God to its fullest potential. This is a special trait of a Guide equal to one of the powers of the Fourth Stages of the Genetic Constraint. Watch!"

Just as the energy reinforcing Shin's sword died down the Guide waved his hands and both of Shin's arms holding onto the sword were raised up and hos feet were no longer touching the ground. The Guide waved his hands again and a large invisible force smashed into Shin. The force wasn't moving fast, but he was unable to move and was force to take the blunt of the attack and crashed against a far of tree of the forest. Shin immediately tried to get back up, yet a the invisible force struck him in the stomach and pinned his body against the tree with so much force it was about to snap. As Shin struggled for freedom under this force he saw the Guide approaching with unsteady foot steps as if he was drunk. His eyes were more than bloodshot at this point with tears of blood flowing out of them and his pale complexion was no different than that of a ghost. It was as if he was the one at deaths door and not the other way around.

Izuru Kamukura: "...Stop struggling. Don't make me work so hard against a someone of your caliber, human. I kept something in reserve after those mental rebounds, but now I'm at deaths door. I'll be taking your body now."

Shin: "Like I'll let-"

\- *BAM*!

The Guide once again used the invisible force to strike at Shin to shut him up. The force crashed into his ribcage, knee cap, ankle, elbow, shoulder, waist, and then every inch on his body in rapid succession. Once the Guide was finished Shin was black and blue all over. He barely held onto his consciousness. He was no longer in Kakuja Form or even in Unlocked Mode. Shin was helpless and the only thing he could to was stay alive. He exhausted his Ki twice in quick succession, so spiritual he was wasted as well, yet if only to do something he attempted to recover any Ki that he could and thankfully he had exchanged for the Black Heaven & Earth Technique. This cultivation manual greatest feature was recover on the physical and spiritual body, so by the time it took the weakened Guide to come up to Shin he had recovered a tiny amount of Ki. The Guide was in no condition to take notice of this. He simply cut off Mind Force to lessen the burden on his mind and grabbed Shin by his neck. Shin feet weren't allowed to touch the ground and he could barely breath as his neck was coming closer and closer to snapping from the grip the Guide had on his neck.

Izuru Kamukura: "Human, you had no Hope of every defeating me, but that's not on you. Blame the challenge God gave you. A normal Guide would have been defeated you, but this Izuru Kamukura specs are too high. Defeating me with this body is at least a true A tier challenge. An A tier mission that rewards the entire team if I was given more freedom to act. At least know that as I take over your body and you slip into oblivion."

At that moment the Guide's body began to glow with a eerie back light. Then a few seconds later black particles of light escaped from the Guide's body and into Shin's. As they entered his body he began to lose feeling within his body and soon his mind began to waver. This was the Fusion the Guide spoke or, but one where not just the leader position is handed over, but where the Guide would take over his mind and body. It was a fate worse than death itself... but Shin could only smile.

Shin: (I knew it would come to this, but I wish it hadn't.)

Shin force his will to resist the Fusion. The Guide didn't see the point in such a pathetic struggle, yet Shin saw hope. Hypothetical TV showed him this moment played out. It was the only thing that Hypothetical TV revealed about their fight, so Shin prepared for this moment. He gave it his all despite knowing he would fail to weaken the Guide as much as he could when he made his move which was now! Shin split his small amount of Ki in half. One half flowed through his body towards the Kagune organ to revitalize it with new strength. A full six were impossible, but four tentacles were created, and three of them wrapped themselves around the Guide's right leg, torso, and right arm holding Shin up by the neck.

The Guide was surprised for a second, but then dismissed the threat. The Kagune tentacles were horribly deformed and weak. It was the perfect chance to Shin's Kagune to stab into the enemy, but the best they tentacles could do were hold onto him... yet despite this that was Shin's only goal. Next the fourth Kagune tentacle that was held back reached towards his waist where the remains of the Lesser Fenrir Coat was tied around. The Guide had no idea what Shin was up to, but the clink of something metallic and Shin using a weak full body Silver Dragon Scales gave him a moment of pause.

Shin: "Yo, Izuru Kamukura. I learned this from Ghost in Shell, but do you know the best way to kill someone?"

Izuru Kamukura: "You'll still go on about your anime even-"

Shin: "Of course. An otaku is a otaku till death. Now where was I... Yes, a gun can be defeated by body armor or a body guard taking the shot for them. An ambush of elite forces can be predicted and managed. A sniper is dangerous, but it's not impossible to avoid sniping if you know that you're going to be sniped. So what is the best method to kill someone? It's on the news all the time because there hardly a defense for it."

Izuru Kamukura: "..."

Shin: "It's when you don't give a damn about others, proof of life, or bother with accuracy. You just get close and personal, and blow yourself up!"

\- *CLING*!

The safety pins of multiple hidden grenades within the Lesser Fenrir Coat were taken out and thrown to the side for the Guide to see. He finally realized Shin's insane plan and the danger he was in at such a distance and tried to step back, but he failed. The Kagune tentacles binding him hindered his escape. In the end they were too frail to stop the Guide for breaking them apart, but by then it was too late. Hidden within the Lesser Fenrir Coat all three the high grade grenades Shin exchanged from Drebin893 went off and consumed both Shin and the Guide in a blazing fire, only to then be caught in a blast that swallows up 50 meter radius radius.

Shin: (Made by God items our no joke! I should have tested it out first instead of being overly worried about the Guide's surveillance of me. Just one would have been-)

Shin's thought were cut off there as he lost consciousness. By a freak miracle he was still alive, yet he was blasted 50 meters away and when he landed it looked like a smoldering black corpse with almost every bone and organ in his body destroyed. Even a expert in medicine like Sachi would assume at first that Shin was dead on the scene. It was a miracle that he was alive, but it was no miracle that he would recover from this damage. Shin Whole Body Enhancement and Mutation possessed strong healing factors and endurance, and were both at high levels. Shin has also consumed the Intermediate Grade Healing Potion. The Potion wasn't a instant cure, but one that heals wounds over time. The contents of this wonder medicine were still in his system, so he was recovering quite quickly and may even wake up within the next 6-12 hours. A far faster recovery time than his previous experience on the island in BTOOOM where he was hit by a BIM and was out for days.

As for the Guide he fared much better. He was swallowed up by the flames and hit by the shock wave of the grenades, yet his efforts to reduce the damage were superior to his opponent. The Guide punched at the air with the talent of Ultimate Martial Artist pushing himself back from the worst of the blast and used Ultimate Gymnast to find the best method to dampen the damage of his crash. In the end the Guide only suffered from a first degree burns, a shattered left arm, and a few broken ribs. It wasn't light damage, but compared to Shin's

Izuru Kamukura: "...You stupid human. What would you have done if you destroy my important new vessel with your suicidal action, or was that it then? A game if you win you kill me and if you fail you die and I fail to acquire you're body... No, I never saw him arm those grenades. He obviously prepared for this before he knew my intentions. so why? Well, no matter. God would revive you for me if you died anyways. You lost your gamble and I won. I'll now be taking what's-"

And it was only as he took a step forward did he notice it. Maybe it was the sudden attack or the forest having a become a sea of flames hard to ignore, but that didn't matter. Nothing matter anymore. The Guide had failed to notice Shin throw a dagger into his heart and was unable to block it, but that made sense. A dagger was thrown, yet their was no semblance of killing intent for the Guide to notice, as per Shin's plan. The blast also distracted the Guide, so he failed to block Holy Sword Switch from stabbing him in the heart.

Izuru Kamukura: "What meaning is there in this? I'm no longer controlling or capable of controlling anyone right now. Holy Sword doesn't inflict mental backfires just by stabbing a Psyche Force User either. A mortal wisdom is too laughable. Did he go insane with fear knowing that the end was-"

At that moment silence swept over the Guide. His body, mind, and his soul as a Guide were all frozen in place as the dagger stabbed into his chest began to radiate a blinding silver light that swallowed up him and his surroundings. The Guide gave it his all to resist this light and forced his body to move to take out Holy Sword, but as his only viable hand, his right hand, was about to grasp handle, his own shattered left hand clasped around the wrist of his right hand.

Izuru Kamukura: "Wh... What the hell is this!"

?: "You've done enough."

As the Guide struggled to regain control of his body a voice different from his, no the same as his but much gentler, warmer, and resolved could be heard. The Guide had no idea where it was coming from at first and he looked around. All he saw was a forest and lake swallowed up by flames. It was then that he realized... that voice had escaped from his own throat.

Izuru Kamukura: "...What is this? What are you!?"

?: "I'm the original."

Izuru Kamukura: "The original? Then could you be... No impossible!"

?: "That's right. You've played around too much with this body. You're not even Izuru Kamukura, but a fake created by a foreign god who possessed his soul. Get lost!"

Izuru Kamukura: "No... No... Was it Holy Sword Switch that freed your soul! Allowed you to resurface from scraps left within this bodies memories. No! I'm the Guide! The owner of the body of Izuru Kamukura. The one who will even succeed the will of the saints! I-"

?: "Even so... I won't allow anyone to take it."

Izuru Kamukura: "You're just trash! A relic of Izuru Kamukura!"

Hajime: "No. I... am not Izuru Kamukura... I... I'm Hajime Hinata!"

The inner voice within the Guide, Izuru Kamukura shouted loudly with great force. This force of will was reinforced by the magic of Holy Sword Switch and began to expel the soul of the Guide and and the mind of Izuru Kamukura, and erased them from existence. Then once the light of Holy Sword began to fade the one standing there was an entirely different person, yet the same. His long black hair disappeared and was dyed white and his pale skin returned to its natural color with none of the coldness of the Guide or Izuru Kamukura. All that remained of his time as Despair and as a puppet of God were red target shape pupils. All that remained... was the man named Hajime Hinata. Shin was unconscious to witness the results of his efforts and would miss a important notification from God.

\- HIDDEN GOD'S QUEST COMPLETE!

AS A PLAYER OF GOD'S DIMENSION YOU HAVE BEEN TESTED BY GOD AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND HAVE SUCCEEDED TIME AND TIME AGAIN. NOT ONLY HAVE YOU DEFEATED THE GUIDE, THE LAST TRIAL FROM GOD TO CHOOSE A NEW LEADER, BUT YOU'VE HAVE DONE SO IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T IGNORE THE PLOT OF THE MISSION! BY REMOVING THE BRAINWASHING OF IZURU KAMUKURA TO REVERT HIM BACK TO HAJIME HINATA, YOU HAVE STOPPED THE DESPAIR OF DANGAN RONPA 2 FROM EVER OCCURRING. YOU ARE THE IDEAL PLAYER WHO DOESN'T JUST SEEK TO SURVIVE THE MISSION WORLDS, BUT EXCEED THEIR LIMITS AND EVOLVE! REWARDED 8000 POINTS, A RANK REWARD, AND LIFE TOKEN!

\- LIFE TOKEN.

A TOKEN FROM GOD THAT CAN'T BE BOUGHT, TRADED OR STOLEN FROM THE PLAYER WHO RECEIVES THIS AS IT'S BRANDED ON THE BODY. IF YOU DIE WITHOUT EVER USING THIS LIFE TOKEN YOU WILL BE REVIVED. THE HOLDER OF THIS ITEM WILL REVIVED FIVE MINUTES AFTER DEATH. ALL BODY CONDITIONS WILL RETURN TO HALF THE NORMAL VALUE UPON REVIVAL. AT THE SAME TIME, THE HOLDER CAN CHOOSE TO LEAVE THE CURRENT MISSION AND RETURN BACK IN THE TERMINAL LOBBY, BUT ALL POINTS AND REWARDS SAVED UP WILL BE RESET TO ZERO.

MAIN QUEST: The Mission.

Objective 1. Completed.

Objective 2. Completed. Awaiting fusion.

As the notification finished a brand was tattooed onto Shin's chest around the heart while unconscious. It was a small coin shaped circle with a phoenix at its center.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren

Ultimate reason for the existence of Holy Sword Switch!


	196. Chapter 196

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 36, DRAE: UDG Final

Late evening of the next day.

In the lounge of the hotel Team Japan were currently occupying were five people. Shin was terribly wounded the day before and was being treated by Sachi. Komaru was by his side worried about his condition, yet looked nervous for another reason. Drake there as well with a tense look on his face sat in a chair nearby with the M41A Pulse Rifle+M held in his arms. Sachi as well while treating was remaining vigilant and was ready for battle at a moments notice. Shin looked back and forth between his group and couldn't help but sigh. It couldn't be help that they were cautious of the firth person present who was formerly a enemy.

Shin: "So hey. How does it feel being free of the that prick Izuru Kamukura and the Guide?"

Hajime: "...Just how am I supposed to answer that question? I'm having a identity crisis here, you know. Hajime Hinata... Izuru Kamukura... memories of a life that I've yet to live. Above all else I'm a creation of something calling itself God, called the Guide, and the knowledge that I have that I'm a NPC. The me from the DR2 had it much easier. I'm jealous."

Shin: "Yeah... I have no words to comfort for the guy who left me half dead. Shit, you barely have a scratch on you! Even your shattered arm and mental damage healed overnight while I was unconscious!"

Komaru: "Can't you be more sensitive about his situation, Shin. Realizing that your a NPC isn't a small matter. Also, your the one who caused your injuries by being so reckless."

Shin: "Yeah... Sorry about that."

Shin said so as he apologized once again for returning to her side gravely injured after the battle with the Guide, Izuru Kamukura.

Shin: (Yeah, I'm never blowing my self up again if I can help it. Still, Hajime Hinata, compared to my troubles this guy has a whole other level of issues to deal with.)

Shin thought so as he looked at the man sitting on a couch not too far away from him. Hajime Hinata. He was no longer Izuru Kamukura, but his original self, or more accurately the awakened Hajime from the end of DR2. After getting stabbed in the heart with Holy Sword Switch, not only was his Guide persona erased, his brainwashing and modifications done by Hope's Peak Academy which turned him into Izuru Kamukura were reversed. To what extent Holy Sword had a effect on him Shin didn't know, but at the very least he was not a enemy. Hajime hadn't attacked Shin who didn't have the ability to fight any longer, and went as far as to bring him back to the hotel his team was staying at. He also all too quickly discarded his dark getup and cut his hair which had turned white to reveal his original features as Hajime and with the exception of his red target pattern red and white hair he looked just like himself.

Shin: "It really was a gamble that Holy Sword had an effect of the Guide and I bet even he didn't expect that he was so bound by his setting as Izuru Kamukura. Still, I never expected that do so would result in such a rewarding Hidden Side Quest. Even Hypothetical TV never showed me such a possibility."

Drake: "So what is he then. You've defeated the Guide and even got a Hidden Side Quest, but what of the mission? You have yet to fuse with the guide to elevate your stage in the Genetic Constraint and the mission is not over yet either. Are you sure that you've really defeated this guy?"

Hajime: "...There's nothing to worry about. Despite returning to my old self, I'm still the Guide and I retain the memories from my time as both Izuru Kamukura and the Guide. I can confirm Shin's victory and I can begin fusion at any time. I haven't done so yet just because of my identify crisis."

Sachi: "Hey, that's sad and all, but we have things to do, so hurry it up. None of us want to stay in this god forsaken world anymore... Ah, sorry Komaru. I forgot you were born in this shitty world."

Komaru: "Hahaha. Don't worry about it. I was kidnapped, imprisoned for years, was only let out as killer bear robots rampage through this city, and even learned that the world outside was recovering from a event given a exaggerated name like "The tragedy", The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History. I can't honestly blame any of you for wanting out. Even I want out."

Shin: "And on that topic... Hey, Hajime, you haven't forgotten our promise after, right?"

Shin was in no condition to do so, but he gave Hajime a look saying he was ready for a fight if he didn't get the answer that he wanted. Right before he and Hajime were about to begin the decisive battle when the man was still Izuru Kamukura, he had asked a favor from the Guide. His favor was for him to have the NPC Komaru Naegi return with Shin to the Terminal Lobby. Shin had promised Komaru to bring her with him when he leaves the world of Dangan Ronpa and he planned to keep it. He knew of one method to do so, but it would mean him coming back and forth to this world, and so he just asked the Guide Izuru Kamukura to just let Komaru come back with him when his team leaves.

Izuru Kamukura asked why doesn't he just create his own Komaru Naegi back in God's Dimension, yet the answer he got back was one that he didn't like or understood. Shin said that he cared for the Komaru Naegi here in this world who he struggled alongside of and someone who just looks the same with fake memories wouldn't be the same. Also, knowing that the real thing is still out there, the idea of making a copy of her was very wrong and would never do such a thing. Izuru Kamukura had a fed up and disappointed look in his eyes as Shin made this request, but in the end he agreed to it.

Izuru Kamukura: "...What a foolish human you turned out to be. Sure, your request can be granted. Long as you defeat me God can let such a small rule violation pass for you."

Shin recalled Izuru Kamukura exact words. Hajime wasn't necessarily the same person anymore, but he was still the Guide, so he expected him to honor it. Hajime could feel Shin's intensity as he glared him, but not minding it he calmly answered him.

Hajime: "Yeah, don't worry about that. I'm still the Guide till the fusion, so I can honor the deal. Also, Komaru is a normal human/NPC for the most part, so it isn't like she'll increase you're fighting potential. Shin, you still have your right to a free Human Creation, correct. Long as you agree to give that up and pay an additional 500 Points, God will allow Komaru Naegi to leave with you once the mission comes to a end. She won't be a Player like you all of course, but will just be regarded as a human creation in rank as far as God is concerned."

Hearing this both Shin and Komaru let out sighs of relief. They were both uncertain if they could leave together, or that one of them would have to come back for the other, but like this they could leave the world of Dangan Ronpa together.

Komaru: "That's great, but can you afford these 500 Points Shin? If its too for you, then I'll..."

Shin: "It's no such thing, Komaru. For the current me 500 Points is nothing and for you I wouldn't hesitate to spend 5,000 or 50,000 Points. You're the video game heroine of my dreams after all!"

Komaru: "Shin... You could have said that better, but I'll take it."

Shin: "Was it that bad? You are one of the heroines I have always dreamed of dating, getting to know, and do all sorts of things with!"

Komaru: "All sorts of things!? Can't we at least have our first date before we... talk about those things. Also, not in public!"

Sachi: "Aaahhhh! I can't listen to these two flirt in front of me like I don't even exist! Drake, we're going! I need to let out some of my frustrations, so be my test subject for an acupuncture technique I just thought up. It won't hurt... too badly, so be a man and help me."

Drake: "Ah, no, I'm sorta on guard duty here and-"

In the middle of turning Sachi down Drake found a throwing needle had pierced into his neck and passed out. The culprit responsible Sachi, picked up his large body with little difficulty and began to walk out of the hotel lounge with a frightening smile across her face. Komaru was worried for Drake and followed after them leaving Shin behind with Hajime.

Hajime: "...Hey, just how did you survive to make it all the way to me with such a team?"

Shin: "Ah... Who knows. The fate of a protagonist, perhaps? Let's just go with that since I'm starting to get doubtful seeing them like this. Anyway, there was something that I wanted to ask you before the whole fusion thing."

Hajime: "What is it?"

Shin: "I wanted to know what will you do now? At this point in time in the original time line of Dangan Ronpa you were still Izuru Kamukura and about to begin the preparations for DR2. You destroyed the Alter Ego Junko AI in the heads of Shirokuma and Kurokuma as well, so the School Trip of Mutual Killing won't occur. What will you do now?"

Hajime: "...I really want to say "leave me alone alone", or "I'm still going through this identity crisis and it hasn't even been a full day since I'm back to being me", but I've given it some thought. For starters I wish to help Towa City get back on its feet. This was Komaru's job originally, but with her leaving someone has to do it. It shouldn't be too difficult anyways. Unlike in the original game Future Foundation couldn't come to help Towa City because the battle between the adults and kids was continuing, but things are a lot calmer here. Once you're team leaves this world I'll head to Towa Hills and free Byakuya Togami and Toko Fukawa of Future Foundation and ask for their help."

Shin: "Will they listen to you? If they know that you were once one of the Remnants of Despair-"

Hajime: "It'll all work out. I have my memories from DR2 thanks to being the Guide, so I know that they are the type of people able to look past crimes for the sake of the world and Hope. Long as I'm honest about what I do they should support me."

Shin: "I see. You can even ask help from Komaru's brother Makoto Naegi and his friends from Hope's Peak Academy."

Hajime: "That's the plan. Next, once Towa City starts to recover I plan to look for my friends who are still Remnants of Despair and try to help them."

Shin: "That's... In this time line they never met you for the most part."

Hajime: "I know. In this world we were never classmates at Hope's Peak Academy or on Jabberwock Island in the virtual world of the Neo World Program. Still, I remember our time together. All the good, bad, victories, defeats, partings, and most importantly... our pledge to look towards the Future even if its not just filled with Hope, but Despair as well. These memories are far too real for me to ignore, and so I can't abandon my friends. In this world we aren't yet friends, but I want to become one with everyone from that island."

Shin: "Will you use the Neo World Program?"

Neo World Program.

Also known as Psychotherapeutic Communication Simulator, is a program created by the Future Foundation, featured in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.

The Neo World Program is a program created by the Future Foundation that is programmed to place the user in a virtual world by synchronizing directly with the user's brain. It's built with the most recent psychotherapy technology and administrative software by the Ultimate Programmer, the Ultimate Neurologist and the Ultimate Therapist, among other talented people. By mounting a device to the cranium, the program allows its subjects to experience 'synthetic virtual world'. It can replace memories formed in the real world with information contained in the virtual world. Therefore, it's possible to undo trauma sustained in the real world through the use of the virtual world, which is why the program is also known as Hope Restoration Program. The device is for psychotherapeutic purposes only and any other use is expressly forbidden, as abusing the device risks total personality destruction.

The user in the game world is called Avatar, an existence created in the game as a copy of the user's real body. The real body of the user remains in a sleep-like state, as if they're dreaming. The avatars are constructed from specific memories of the user, thus the avatar's physical appearance and other traits depend on the memories and can be very different from what the person is currently like in the real world. For example, the avatars of the Remnants of Despair were constructed by removing their school memories, so they look and act exactly as they did before they entered Hope's Peak Academy. Since they had two or three years of school memories erased, their avatars look notably younger than their real bodies. This is especially evident in Hiyoko Saionji's avatar, as she was reverted back into her younger, child-like appearance. As hamsters have very short life-spans, it's very likely that Gundham Tanaka's Four Dark Devas of Destruction are already dead in the real world, and the program just created forms of them based on Gundham's memories

Since the Neo World Program is a next-gen software containing the ultimate reality, it tricks the user's brain into thinking that it's all real as their consciousness is uploaded into the virtual world. Thus, the program's virtual version of Jabberwock Island looks real because the students' brains think it's real. According to Monokuma, if you are hypnotized to believe you've been burned, a burn mark will really appear if the users' brains believe something is real, it's no different than it's actually happened. Furthermore, Sonia Nevermind explained the same method she had once heard:

"In a distant country, there was a certain experiment carried out on one of their prisoners. The prisoner was blindfolded, strapped to a bed, and had small wounds applied to his toes to drain his blood. That prisoner was left alone in the experiment room, as the sound of dripping blood echoed throughout the room. But in fact, his blood was not being drained. He was just forced to listen to the sound of dripping water, but he believed he was bleeding to death. However, in spite of that, the prisoner still died."

Originally, in the world created by the Neo World Program, a concept like violence never existed and the students were supposed to graduate after gathering the Hope Fragments. However, the virus that invaded the program forced them to kill each other. If a player's avatar experiences "death" while believing it's real, their brain inside their actual bodies will stop functioning too. Their real body will remain in a comatose state with very little chances of waking up. If an avatar that needs to be uploaded has been deleted, there's nothing that the Future Foundation can do. Nagito Komaeda and Mikan Tsumiki are a special case, as they knew they were in a program while "dying", meaning that they may have higher chances of waking up.

The students must choose "graduate". If they choose to graduate, and the Observer determines that there are no problems, they will complete the Hope Restoration Program. Their avatars will be uploaded into their real bodies, forcibly erasing their past selves. If the students choose "Graduate", it'll transfer their in-game memories, but their school memories will be gone forever and the people who have already died will not be able to wake up. However, if they do not choose Graduate, they'll just have to continue living their tropical life.

With this program Hajime can delete the personalities of the current class of Hope's Peak Academy's () Class who are Remnants of Despair, and replace them with ones never influenced by Junko Enoshima, but Hajime he wouldn't do that.

Hajime: "More accurately yes and no. I'll use Future Foundation's Neo World Program, but not like how they intended. I'll join them in the virtual world Jabberwock Island. Without my original interference the program should go as intended just like in the side game, and then we will Graduate instead of using Forced Shutdown to stop Alter Ego Junko. Oh, I already destroyed the Al of her of Shirokuma and Kurokuma when I was still Guide so she wouldn't interfere during our final battle. Now back on topic, from there, Graduation, I'll make my move. Instead of replacing the original personalities with the new ones from the virtual world, I'll modify the program so that instead the two personalities will fuse together, so just like how in the end of DR2 when I returned to Hajime Hinata while retaining my memories of my time as Izuru Kamukura, so will the others."

Shin: "And you can do that?"

Hajime: "Yeah. Your magic did indeed remove the parts of me that were Izuru Kamukura, meaning the major surgeries that restricted my memories and thoughts, so I'm no longer the Ultimate Hope level talent in every field like I was before, but I still have the knowledge. I'm back to being talentless, but talent is just grasping something quickly and efficiently using it. A normal man can become a top surgeon in his filed if he studies, practices, and seeks out new techniques for a hundred years without rest. A Hope Level Surgeon wouldn't be able to surpass such a experienced surgeon too quickly unless he leaned directly from the man, and that could still take years. I'm like that experienced surgeon. With my knowledge from my time as Izuru Kamukura I have the knowledge to rewrite the software of even a sci-fi like program like the Neo World Program."

Shin: "Why would you go so far? Why not get rid of the memories of their time as Remnants of Despair?"

Hajime: "...I don't believe it's right to erase the memories of what we have done. It's as simple as that. To both repay for what we've done to the world and to truly grasp the weigh of what we've done we need those memories. Makoto Naegi wanted to bear the responsibility of our actions after getting rid of our memories of Despair, but forcing us to bear the sins of another lifetime isn't right if we have no memories of it. Peko Pekoyama, Byakuya Togami (The fake Ultimate Imposter), Akane Owari, Teruteru Hanamura, Nagito Komaeda, Sonia Nevermind, Fuyuhiko Kuzury, Kazuichi Soda, Chiaki Nanami, Mahiru Koizumi, Hiyoko Saionji, Mikan Tsumiki, Ibuki Mioda, Nekomaru Nidai, and Gundham Tanaka. Makoto Naegi's Hope and our Future aren't the same thing after all."

Shin: "Do you think it will all work out in the end?"

I had my doubts, but Hajime simply smiled back at me. On his face was no longer confusion about his identity, but a look of resolve to see to it that a better future awaits him. No, for all of his important friends.

Hajime: "Long as a person is alive and they keep trying nothing is impossible... It is our future, right?"

Shin: "That's... amazing. We could use a guy like you on my team. Talent or no talent. I think you would be a great addition to Team Japan."

Hajime: "...About that... are you being serious with your offer?"

Shin: "Huh?"

Shin was taken back by Hajime's question. Sure, he had thrown it out there, but he wants too serious about it and didn't expect Hajime to ask. Hajime was waiting for Shin's response with the upmost serious look, and to respond in kind Shin seriously thought about for a moment and gave him his answer.

Shin: "...If you seriously want to join the team I'm okay with it and I doubt anyone else would will reject you joining. There's a way for you to join Team Japan as well. When I was considering methods for Komaru to come back to the Terminal Lobby with me I remembered a certain item from the Exchanges. A watch that allows a NPC to be recruited and join ones team with the status of a Human Creation and cost a D rank reward and 5000 Points. I also remembered there being a superior version of the watch as well that cost 5000 Points and a C rank reward. Long as there is a open spot on a twenty man team of God's Dimension the NPC can be recruited onto the Team with the higher status of a Player. Unlike the D rank reward watch, the C rank reward one let's the NPC acquire acquire their own points instead of sharing them with the one who exchanged for the D rank reward watch. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is. The watch give you the status of a Player, so if a Mission rewards all players 5000 Points and a B rank reward, the NPC will gain those reward as well. With the case of the D rank reward watch the NPC wouldn't get such a reward because they would only have the status of a Human Creation, a tool of a Player no different than a sword or gun. The C tier watch does take up the space of one of the 20 Players, but that's hardly a problem when that comes to you, Hajime. You would make a excellent addition to Team Japan and if you're willing I'll welcome you!"

Hajime: "...I see. Shin, I honestly want to join Team Japan, but there is..."

Hajime had quite the conflicted look on his face that was hard to ignore an Shin noticed it.

Shin: "Is there something stopping you?"

Hajime: "...Maybe. I do actually want to join Team Japan for both my own motives and to repay the debt I owe you for returning me back to Hajime Hinata. My own reasons for joining would be to save the world of Dangan Ronpa. I think you are aware of future plots of Dangan Ronpa and the concept of Bonus Missions. There will be more tragedies to come for this world and I need the power to stop them. That's where God's Dimension comes in."

Shin: "I see. It's for the world, is it. How noble."

Hajime: "Not really. I'm not such a noble human being. I also have a more personal reason. (the game girl)... is no longer alive in this world. Still, she will exist as a computer A.I in the Neo World Program and I want to give her life. The best life possible. My ultimate goal will be to create an artificial body no different than a real human body that can also download her consciousness into it. This way she will have a second life together with her friends."

Shin: "I see. Then what's stopping you?"

Hajime: "Time. Before I can join Team Japan I have to help Towa City. From there I have to make the many, many preparations for entering the Neo World Program to save my friends. I may even have to help Makoto and Future Foundation both find and capture them and bring them to Jabberwok Island. All of this will take time and I can't afford to leave this world just yet. Shin, I'll like you to come back and invite me to Team Japan three mission from now."

Shin: "Three Missions?"

Hajime: "Yes. Time passes by in each Mission World each time a mission assigned to you by God passes. Each world also has there own rate of time passing. FOR example, in the world of H.O.T.D only 6-8 months will have passed since the night you separated from the main cast once you finish this mission. The time in the Mission World of Dangan Ronpa passes by eight months by with each mission you complete."

Shin: "Three missions from now will be 18-24 months for you and that's the time you need to help Towa City and you're friends. Sure, I'll come back for you."

Hajime: "Thank you. I'll give it my all once I join the team, but I will ask you one thing. Please do not die. This world will come to a end when you and your team members who have been to this world die. It'll be more than bad for me if you die."

Shin: "That an easy request. Not only do I not have plans to die, I also have this. It'll be hard for me and this world to disappear from this world."

Shin then opened up his shirt and showed Hajime a tattoo recently burned onto his flesh by God. It was a picture of a rising phoenix on fire tattooed on the left side of his chest near the heart. It was the Revival Token Shin was rewarded for defeating Izuru Kamukura by undoing his brainwashing. If Shin were to ever die he will be revived. Hajime recalled Shin received such a reward and began to laugh.

Hajime: "You're right. It will be hard for you to die. Then we'll meet again three mission from now. With that settled let's get this Guide business over and done with. This lounge isn't opened enough. Let's go to the roof of the hotel to complete your fusion.

Late that night.

Along with Hajime Team Japan and Komaru headed up towards the roof of the hotel. Hajime stood in front of Shin, Komaru, Drake and Sachi lined up together. It was finally time for the mission to come to a close and Team Japan to leave the world.

Hajime: "Team Japan. Thanks to you I'm free from my persona as Izuru Kamukura. Words alone can't express my thanks to you all and my repayment will take a while. Now, it is time to complete the fusion and for my role as Guide to come to a end. Shin and Komaru, please step forward."

Shin and Komaru did as they they were told and stepped up to Hajime. Hajime in turn stepped forward and stopped as he stood directly between them and then he placed his hands on their shoulders. A white light illuminated Hajime's body and soon passed through to Shin and Komaru. Moments later they felt that a connection of some sorts had been formed and then Hajime stepped back.

Hajime: "With this Komaru is officially yours, Shin. I've deducted the 500 Points and your free Human Creation purchase. Komaru is now your created being and if you die she will share the same fate. Till death do you part if you will."

Shin: "Oh, so we consider this a wedding ceremony then? The whole supernatural connection thing is pretty great and better than any wedding that I would want to have."

Komaru: "Not me! I want at least one normal date first before talk about marriage. We've only kissed just the one time too!"

Shin: "...We can do more than kiss later if you want... but is this really okay? You're now mine. You don't belong to this world anymore. There's also a chance that you won't be able to see your brother again. Are you really okay with me?"

Komaru: "I told you that I'm with it. I also left a video message with Hajime earlier to give to my brother, I'm sure he'll understand. I've fallen for you after all and you ruined me. How can I fall for another man when a you appeared before me like a hero out of a Manga and saved me from danger time and time again? Take responsibility for your actions is what I said and I mean it. Also, I've found that you're a hopeless man, Shin. You may have a harem, but if I'm not around I'm certain that you'll become no good at some point."

Shin: "...I can't tell if you love me or pity me, Komaru, but I'll take it. I still like you a lot anyways and I doubt I can do without you,"

Sachi: "...Hey. I told you two to stop flirting in front of me! I'll turn the two of you into porcupines if you keep going!"

Drake: "Shin, Komaru, you should listen to her. Her acupuncture techniques... are not something to joke about."

Drake began to sweat heavily remembering his most recent trauma and tired to warn Shin and Komaru. Hajime watching this laughed awkwardly and then told Komaru to step back.

Hajime: "Now all that is left is to finish the fusion. Shin, the parts of me that make up the Guide will flow into your body as particles of light similar to enhancement processes from God. Once the fusion is complete your Genetic Constraint Stage will increase by one, you'll gain the position of Team Leader, and the mission will come to a close. Are you ready?"

Shin: "I have nothing left to do here. We also can't stay here forever to train, right?"

Hajime: "Yeah. God would do something crazy if you stay longer than necessary to train."

Shin: "Alright then. Towa City should be in good hands with you around, so let's begin."

Hajime: "Okay then. I'll begin fusion."

The moment those words left Hajime's mouth Shin was pulled into the half awake state. Though looking from him from the side would see him floated above the ground. Light particles emerged from Hajime's body and flowed into his, just like how it was when exchanging an enhancement like he had explained. There Shin heard God's voice.

\- UNLOCKING LEADER POSITION FOR TEAM JAPAN.

◆ TEAM MEMBER RECOMMENDATION UNLOCKING (EXCLUSION OF FOUR PILLAR SPIES).

◆ FREE DISTRIBUTION UNLOCKED (LEADER CAN USE POINTS ON OTHERS WITHOUT LIMITATIONS).

◆ MISSION PREVIEW (WILL BE INFORMED OF THE SETTING OF THE NEXT MISSION).

◆ ENEMY TEAM ELIMINATION (TEAMS WIPED BY TEAM JAPAN WILL FOREVER BE FREE FROM FOUR PILLAR CONTROL)

◆ GENETIC CONSTRAINT CHECK... SECOND STAGE CONFIRMED! EVOLVING BY ONE STAGE. CURRENT STAGE OF THE GENETIC CONSTRAINT WILL RISE TO THE THIRD STAGE. FUSION BEGINS!

God's voice was stern as usual. There was not a bit of emotion, but Shin being in the half awake state couldn't hear its voice halfway through because of the half awake feeling. Shin didn't know anything happening around him. The others, including Komaru were gone. They had already exited the world while Shin was forced to float in place while the particles entered his body. Particles continued to flow out of Hajime and into Shin till his job as The Guide was complete and was now just Hajime Hinata.

\- FUSION COMPLETE. OBTAINED LEADER POSITION AND VARIOUS BENEFITS. UNLOCKED THE THIRD STAGE OF THE GENETIC CONSTRAINT. MISSION COMPLETED FOR TEAM JAPAN!

\- TEAM JAPAN HAS COMPLETED THE LAST COMBAT EPISODE OF THE DANGAN RONPA SERIES AND COMPLETED AT ITS HIGHEST DIFFICULTY. ALL MEMBERS RECEIVE 5000 POINTS AND B RANK REWARD. THE DANGAN RONPA SERIES WILL NO LONGER APPEAR FOR TEAM JAPAN IN FUTURE MISSIONS.

Hajime: "Farewell, Shin. Let's meet again once we've both done what we needed to."

Hajime's words weren't transmitted to Shin, but the feeling certainly got passed along and just as he vanished from that world he smiled as a reply. The next time Shin opened his yes after leaving the half awake state he was standing on the platform of the Terminal Lobby of God's Dimension. Aqua, Hikari, Shuai, Connor, Jin, and Kisara were all unconscious on the floor, but they didn't appear to be injured. Not even those heavily wounded or exhausted from their battles. To Shin side and standing in awe of the Terminal Lobby were his newest comrades Drake and Sachi, along with the newest member of his harem, the heroine of "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls", Komaru Naegi.

Shin: "...I'm back again. No one died and we gained far more than ever before. Including a video game heroine... I have to wonder if I'm actually the Ultimate Protagonist after all!"

Shin couldn't help but laugh at his own plot armor.

GOD'S MISSION.

DANGAN RONPA ANOTHER EPISODE - ULTRA DESPAIR GIRLS, TWENTY MAN MISSION.

GUIDE'S TEST.

STORY PLOT.

MAIN QUEST: The Mission.

Objective 1. Escort Komaru Naegi. Help her escape Towa City safety, or chose to help her defeat the Warriors of Hope and save Towa City from their control.

Objective 2. Defeat the Guide, Izuru Kamukura and complete fusion.

Base Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

Combat Mission Reward: 2000 Points and C rank reward.

God's Test Mission Reward: The Leader Position will be unlocked, Team Member Recommendations will be unlocked, Free Distribution will be Unlocked, Mission Preview will be Unlocked, Enemy Team Elimination Unlocked, and level up in the Leader's Genetic Constraint stage by one.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points.

2\. Monokuma Robot KILL - Every 10 Monokuma defeated rewards 1 Point. Every 10 Bomber Monokuma defeated rewards 5 Points. Every 5 Siren Monokuma defeated rewards 1 Point. Every Junk Monokuma defeated rewards 5 Points. Every Guard Monokuma defeated rewards 3 Points. Every Beast Monokuma defeated rewards 10 Points. Every Ball Monokumas defeated rewards 10 Points. Every Destroy Monokuma defeated rewards 50 Points.

3\. Warriors of Hope Overthrown - Defeating four members of the Warriors of Hope awards every member 4000 points and C rank reward. Defeating Monaca Towa awards every member 4000 points and two C rank rewards. Defeating Monaca is not included in the first part of this Side Quest.

4\. Team Japan GENOCIDE - Defeating a member of Team Japan, both Players rewarded 2000 Points and C rank reward. Defeating an unlocked member of Team Japan, both Players rewarded 7000 Points and B rank reward.

5\. GOOD ENDING - Reach the Good Ending of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode - Ultra Despair Girls with Komaru Naegi by defeating Big Bang Monokuma after all members of the Warriors of Hope are defeated. Rewards every member 3000 Points and B rank reward. Defeating Big Bang Monokuma without the assistance of Komaru Naegi rewards 6000 Points and two B rank rewards.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 for a Player killing a Newbie Player. A New Player is a New Player till the start of their second mission.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per Sentence.

3\. Falling Behind - Cannot be more than 5,000 meters away from Komaru Naegi. Will be TERMINATED if outside that range. If Komaru Naegi successfully escapes the city alive then the mission will continue and penalty will be voided.

4\. Towa City War Zone - May not leave Towa City under any circumstances. Leaving Towa results in TERMINATION.

5\. The DEATH of a child results in DESPAIR - The injury or death of a Monokuma Kid caused by the Player deducts -10,000 Points. The injury or death of a member of the Warriors of Hope caused by any Player deducts -50,000 Points from every member.

6\. BAD END - Reaching the Bad Ending of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode - Ultra Despair Girls, or Komaru Naegi dies. All Players of Team Japan TERMINATED. If Komaru Naegi successfully escapes the city alive then the Bad End penalty will be voided no matter Komaru Naegi's after state condition.

7\. Guide Test Failure - If the potential team leader of Team Japan dies then all Players of will be TERMINATED. Failing the Guide Test results in the TERMINATION of all Players.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Mission Information.

1\. Brainwashed members of Team Japan may receive points and rank rewards from the mission, but only from the Basic Mission, Combat mission, and Team Japan Genocide. With those exceptions no other Side Quest rewards can be acquired.

2\. When a brainwashed member of Team Japan is defeated they will be removed from the Mission World and moved to a suspended state. Any and all injuries outside of Death will be repaired by the end of the mission. Failing to defeat a teammate before the mission is over will mean their death once the mission ends.

3\. With each defeat of a member of the "Warriors of Hope" the combat A.I of the Monokuma robots will be upgraded.

TOTAL SCORE:

Base Survival Reward, 1000 Points +

Combat Mission Reward, 2000 Points C rank reward +

Orientation, 100 Points +

Exorcising the spirit of Tokuichi Towa, 100 Points +

Monokuma Robot KILL, 10,015 Points +

Warriors of Hope Overthrown, 8000 Points and B rank reward +

Team Japan GENOCIDE, 42000 Points, 2A rank rewards +

TRUE ENDING, 3000 Points and B rank reward +

Bonus Mission, Destroy Monokuma Factory 25,000 +

Hidden Side Quest, Save The Children 5,000 Points, 1B rank reward, and Hidden Class Change Certificate +

Hidden God's Quest, Save Hajime/Izuru Kamukura 8,000 Points, 1A rank reward, and Life Token +

Dangan Ronpa Series Complete, 5,000 Points and B rank reward +

Five Mini Portable Surface to Surface Missiles, -10,000 Points +

Two Limb Regeneration Injections , -4,000 Points +

High Powered Grenades, -100 Points +

Three Medium Grade Healing Potions, -3000 Points +

Spoilers, -2340 Points +

Special Human creation Cost, -500 Points +

Current Points, 100 Points and two D rank rewards =

TOTAL CALCULATED SCORE: 89,275 Points. 4A, 1B, 1C and 2D Rank Rewards.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.


	197. Chapter 197

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 37, Dangan Ronpa Intermission

After repairing all injures inflicted over the course of the mission, Shin silently looked around the platform of the Terminal Lobby. It was the same white space with the ball of light calling itself God hovering above their heads. The same comrades that he had entered into the previous Mission World of Dangan Ronpa had woken up. Everyone was alive and present which was a relief, yet their was a new addition confused them. Drake and Sachi were standing to the side waiting to be introduced and as for the third new addition she was holding onto Shin hand while enduring the stares from the women of the group while trying not to break down and cry under their intense gazes.

Komaru Naegi, the main character of "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls". She had agreed to return with Shin to the Terminal Lobby and leave her world behind, yet seeing her confused face as she continued to look around the platform uncertainty entered his heart. Shin indeed liked, possibly loved Komaru after adventuring with her and the others in Towa City and wanted to be with her, yet he was now worried whether it was really right to bring her along with him. Komaru had left her family behind in Dangan Ronpa to be with Shin and so he wondered once more was this the right decision, yet with the decision already made and along with the fact that her world was a dangerous place filled with death and Despair he could at the very least accept that it wasn't a bad decision to let his feelings get the best of him and bring along Komaru.

Shin: (It should be okay. It also isn't like I'm stealing her away from her destined partner, so no NTR. Their wasn't a male lead within Another Episode, so as a heroine she was more available than most other heroines. Still, like with Hikari (Half in denial), Aqua (Still in denial), and Kisara (Fully accepting her fate) I have to take responsibility for my actions and my best to make her happy. To start things off with that thought-)

Shin looked towards his various comrades throughout the Terminal Lobby. Aqua, Hikari, Shuai, Connor, Jin, and Kisara. They were all a bit disoriented due to the brainwashing of Izuru Kamukura and were trying to recall the events of the mission. Shin saw that they all needed time to get adjusted, but he had a important announcement to make. Shin pulled the confused, half in tears, and now embarrassed Komaru into arms and called out to his comrades.

Shin: "Glad to see everyone is alive and well. You all tried to kill me against your will and all, but I, the protagonist and Leader of Team Japan that I have pulled through when other would have failed. Feel free to praise me... Okay. We all have been through a lot and have a lot to say, but first I'll like to introduce you to some important to me. This is Komaru Naegi. My heroine, no the heroine of "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls". One thing lead to another and now we're dating with marriage in mind like Aqua, Hikari and Kisara, and she decided to return with us to the Terminal Lobby. We couldn't stand to be apart. Please treat her kindly. Ah, also we have the pervert disowned priest Drake and the exiled sadist assassin now nurse Sachi as new additions to Team Japan, so there's that too."

Komaru: "Ah... Huh... Marriage... Nice to meet you all!"

Drake: "Our introduction seems lacking compared to out leader's new woman. Respect though."

Sachi: "He got the key points, so I won't complain pervert priest."

Aqua: "...No comment other than you've played around too much. Well talk later."

Hikari: "...As expected of our Shin. Even when the team was a inch away from being wiped out he finds a way to add to the harem... We'll talk later."

Shuai: "Don't care. I'm still pissed that you hurt Gnome."

Connor: "..."

Jin: "Hahaha! Congratulations on acquiring your first heroine! Komaru, I have a Human Creation girl/maid you can hang out with... although she's scary."

Kisara: "Shin I'm sorry for almost bisecting you back back there. I can't apologies enough for my actions despite saying that I'll be your sword... Also, we'll talk later about everything... Everything."

Shin: "...Well Komaru this is my Team Japan. I Hope they don't scare you like how they scare me."

Komaru: "Haha... I don't think that I'll find myself getting bored."

After Shin introduced Komaru and the two new team members to Team Japan Drake and Sachi, everyone decided to call it a day and return to their rooms. There was much to say, but the events of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode wore down their spirits greatly. Shin as well returned to his room within the Terminal Lobby alone disappointed (Komaru was my Human Creation in a way, yet Hikari dragged my newest harem member away and the others decided to return to their own rooms), but this gave him time to think. Once he entered his room and laid out on his bed to relax he began to organize the information that entered his head after the fusion with The Guide finished.

Shin: "Leader, huh?"

The leader position wasn't just a title. One of the benefits of the Leader Position was that Shin could quickly search through all the Whole Body Enhancements, Mutations, Sci Weapons, Magic Tools, the exchangeable items, and ever thing else in the system. Like Connor had the Demonic Mutation and Trion Energy, it would show him abilities, weapons, magic that were best for the his enhancements and would filter them out further if he included his unique fighting style and personality. This could prevent the team from wasting points and rewards. This had yet to happen much to the team (I don't like Devil Selaed Gun much anymore), yet it could stop it from other occurring.

The second benefit of the Leader Position, Mission Preview, was one that Shin now possessed. He now had the power to know what the upcoming next mission would be. Shin along with Team Japan could prepare suitable weapons and study the plot in advance. Missions with large number of enemies could be countered by acquiring powerful Sci-fi weapons and AOE Magic. Missions that take place in unique environments like the sea, frozen tundras, or space could he prepared for. Special environments like the Labyrinths of Apocalypse Alice could be conquered by prioritizing magic enhancements and weapons along with power search skills and tools. Shin couldn't help but think that this was the greatest advantage of gaining the Leader Position of a team. Even more so than the high value than being promoted to the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint. The Third Stage held a lot of potential and would allow one to bring out even more of the potential of their enhancements, yet it could compare to knowing what mission would be next which was a advantage only given to Team Japan and the two special teams.

Shin: (Just these benefits are enough to drool over, but there's more good news due to Team Japan's relationship to God... and some not that upsetting news.)

The Leader Position of Team Japan differed from the ones of the past due to forming an alliance with God to defeat the teams of the Four Pillars. Along with all the past benefits there were two more benefits, one penalty due to the alliance, and a benefit that helps out God rather than Team Japan. One new benefit was Team Recommendation. No longer could spies of the Four Pillars be allowed to slip into new batches of Newbies like in the past. They wouldn't be allowed to join Team Japan.

The Second new benefit was that the leader of Team Japan, Shin, was allowed to distribute his points without limitation. Previously Jin showed Shin that Players could make exchanges for other Players, but they were restricted to doing so for one Player per ten day break within the Terminal Lobby after each mission and just one final purchase. One could buy multiple enhancements for one Player, but was limited to just the one final purchase and couldn't go back to make exchanges for that same person later. Free Distribution would allow Shin to use his points as he saw fit without restriction. Those like Shin made the most points and rewards, so being able to use rewards for other who don't make as much, but have a important role to the team is a invaluable asset to them.

Shin: (With these benefits this snall penalty is worth living with. The penalty due to the alliance with God is called Team Leader Lock. It forbids me for every making the Exchange "Return to the Origin", the method to return to the real world for good till I wipe out the teams of the Four Pillars and reach the ultimate goal of God. That isn't bad in itself since I've no interest in returning to the real world. Anyone one else would fall into despair, yet it doesn't bother me. I have to ultimately face the Four Pillars and this brings us to the benefit that helps God in this alliance. It wants to get rid of the negative influence or the Four Pillars from God's Dimension, so it created Enemy Team Elimination. Any team that Shin and Team Japan wipes out from here on out will be forever cleansed of the control of the Four Pillars and will have the same Team Recommendation benefit allied to them for all eternity. Even if a uninvolved team meets the Four Pillars later on after its conception they will be automatically erased by God if they come to a alliance with them. This was the insensitive for God to support Team Japan.)

Shin could only sigh at this part. If his team weren't the mortal enemies of the Four Pillars before, they very much were now. Still, there was more good than bad in this deal with God and it even came with more information about God's Dimension that Shin had more access to. He had just discovered that there were a total of 69 awakened teams, those that are eligible for Team Battles of the total 196 team of God's Dimension. Teams were separated into regions according the countries of modern times. Team Japan contained one of the smallest lands with a smaller poll of a population to create a team if compared to Team China, yet within the new Manga and Anime format Team Japan held a unique advantage over all other teams due to being the origin of those fictional works. Shin didn't know how Team Japan ranked within God's Dimension, yet if victory or defeat came down to preparing for the mission and knowing the plot Team Japan could be said to be the strongest, yet as it turned out the two, no three special teams also still had the leader function and held a possible greater advantage than them.

The first special team was Team Devil. God copied the genes of players with potentials to form Team Devil. This was supposedly the strongest team among all. This team was used to test what environment was more suitable for evolution, and the one the Guide told me was taken away from God by Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade. God has stopped sending in new potentials to Team Devil, so those like Shin and others with high potential won't be copied into this team, but Team Devil can still receive new members from past Players with high potential.

The second special team was once unique in how it was created. The other team was once any time a person becomes a leader, or how it used to be, God would ask if this person wanted to join this team. So it contained the strongest member from every team. Of course, some people would refuse to join. Every member in this team had unlocked the Genetic Constraint to its Second Stage and there leader at the very least would be promoted to the Third Stage after acquiring a second leader position. Maybe higher whatever their unlocked stage they were out when they became the leader. This team was named Team Celestial. It was also formed as a test for evolution, yet it has changed in recent years as like with Team Devil it has been taken over by elites from the Four pillars, Absolute Reckoning and Dove United. According to God, Team Celestial is now made up of the elites Players of the Teams belonging to Absolute Reckoning and Dove United. This might be good news since their teams may be weaker than the teams belonging to Blood Crusade and Mass Enlightenment, but in exchange theirs a team out their made of super elites.

The third and recently established special team is Team Freedom. During the conversion from Horror Movies to Manage and Anime, this team came into existence by a mistake in the system, but was allowed to exist as another sample of evolution. Team Freedom are composed of Players who were all formerly NPCs and they were given a lot of freedom by God in order to complete a certain objective. This objective wasn't revealed even with the position of Leader. Not even why God allows them to move across this dimension and into the Mission Worlds of other teams. They are also allowed to have more than 20 members in their team, but they are still restricted by a maximum limit of 20 members per team which can be sent out. This all matches what Drebin893 told him when they first met, but still Team Freedom was a mysterious existence and rising threat for the other teams. Maybe more so than Team Devil or Celestial, the strongest team may turn out to be Team Freedom who are made up of fictional characters.

Shin: "...What a joke. All the Players and teams are just so minuscule in this world. They got toyed with like lab mice. Izuru Kamukura kept going on about the threat of the Four Pillars on God's Dimension, yet in the end it was just another experiment now that Team Japan is a counter measure to face them... Fine God I'll beat them all down, but I'll do things my way. Victor or defeat, life or death, its all on me. I won't handover my team or my potential over to you no matter the end result!"

Shin stared at the ceiling of his room for his bed as if God was watching him from above and said what he wanted to say and went to sleep.

The next day.

It was early in the morning of the second day of break before the next mission. For the first day of rest every member of Team Japan retreated to their rooms after the enduring last mission, yet as Shin walked out of his room the second day he saw that everyone; Aqua, Hikari, Shuai, Connor, Jin, Kisara, Drake and Sachi were up and about within the platform. Even Komaru was up and happily chatting with Jin's Human Creation, Shuai's Gnome (He's just decided to keep her out permanently hadn't he, this self proclaimed father), and a girl who Shin has never seen before, but was highly likely to be a new Human Creation of one of his comrades.

Shin: (Everyone survived in the end and we gained new comrades. It should always be like this after a mission. We're all up and about as well, so we might as well talk about the previous mission, the battle with The Guide, and our future plans.)

With such thoughts in mind Shin called for everyone to follow him into his room for their talk. Team Japan usually had these meetings on the platform and immediately proceeded to choosing enhancements, but as there was much more to discuss and they might not get to choosing enhancements right away. That is Shin thought it best to sit down and discuss things. Everyone followed Shin into his room without complaint, but to his surprise Komaru chose to stay behind along with the other Human Creation and Shuai's Gnome. Her reasoning was that she was simply having a lot of fun talking to the other and Shin could understand where she was coming from. Komaru was held hostage by Ultimate Despair and immediately after escaping had to deal with the Warriors of Hope. This was the first time Komaru woke up and knew for certain that the world wasn't going to end, so she was making the best of this time.

Shin: (How normal. Well, she may be a heroine, but has been repeatedly been told that she's average. Still, that's what I like about her. If she was super gung-ho about a meeting that revolved around preparing for the next battle than Komaru Naegi wouldn't be Komaru Naegi. She also knows about one of the subject matters on today's discussion, so if she wants to have fun while she can... I won't stop her.)

Shin after wishing Komaru a nice time and receiving a warm smile back, he left to join his companions waiting inside his room for him to begin the meeting.

Jin: "So Shin, seeing as we're all alive and well and that we even have new comrades it means that completed "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls"? I was kinda in a mastermind position for a while, so I have some idea what happened up to my defeat, but nothing afterwards. Come on, tell us of your grand tale of victory over your brainwashed comrades!"

Hikari: "You sound incredibly sarcastic Jin, but I want to know as well. Also, why did pick up a new girl during all this madness. And just so you know Komaru stayed in my room and we got to talking, so don't think you can lie to make yourself look cool, Mr. Cool Self Proclaimed Ultimate Protagonist!"

Shin: "Scary! So this is the legendary girls talk? Fine, I'll talk, but it a long tale of a grand adventure where I along with a few Newbies and my new heroine came together against all odds and-"

Aqua: "Annoying. Drake or Sachi. One of you newcomers explain in this terminal otaku's stead please."

Shin: "Wait! I'll explain properly, so don't take my moment away!"

In a panic to lose his moment to shine, Shin began to explain from the beginning what happened during the mission of "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls". From the moment Izuru Kamukura brainwashed everyone and too meeting the new capable Newbies and the heroin of Another Episode Komaru. Defeating the Warriors of Hope, taking out Big Bang Monokuma, and freeing everyone for me their brainwashing. And lastly, defeating the super human Ultimate Hope and Guide Izuru Kamukura, the fusion which promoted him to the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint, and the benefits of the Leader Position that he acquired.

Everyone listened on as Shin went into detail of every we event of the mission and how he overcame them. They were mostly in shock with the exception of Drake and Sachi who were by his side during the mission. On one hand they felt ashamed that Shin had to deal with everything on his own and even had to defeat them who were brainwashed and stood in his way. On the other hand by over overcoming these numerous difficulties Shin along with every member of Team Japan acquired a astronomical large sum of Points and Rank Rewards. They haven't checked yet, but from what they heard it wouldn't be wrong to say that they had enough rewards to transform Team Japan into a extremely powerful team of God's Dimension!

Shin: "That's basically what happened. I defeated the Guide with Holy Sword Switch and brought along Komaru since well I liked her and she said that she didn't mind leaving her world for now. In addition I promised The Guides true persona, Hinata Hajime that in three missions time from now that I would go back and recruit him to Team Japan. That's everything that's happened."

Hikari: "...Well, I guess I won't bother you too much for bring back Komaru with you. She's been through a lot and honestly likes you, so I unfortunately have no complaints... You cheating bastard otaku scum who is a failure as a boyfriend... but I still love you somewhat, so don't worry (She said with a innocent and understanding smile that was not so innocent and understanding)."

Shin: "...Okay. Now are there any questions? If not I think there more than enough time left today to go out and make our exchanges with our new fortune of points and rewards."

Aqua: "I have none except to say that along with reaching the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint this leader position may be the greatest reward that we've acquired during the mission. There are too many things to exchange from God. Enhancements, abilities, sci-fi weapons, magical weapons, supporting items. At least

over hundreds of thousands of options all with potential. There is actually no such thing as a useless exchange within the system. No human can read through all of them and I've tried. The Four Pillars most have spent a long time to come up with encyclopedia of all possible exchanges and what combinations are good or bad. It most have been a project where hundreds of thousands of, no millions of points and untold number of rank rewards were spent to complete. Now that we have a speed reader in you our fearless leader, we don't have to worry about wasting points and rank rewards!"

Jin: "I must agree as well. So where's the next mission going to take palace? You have Mission Preview ability, so you should know. Is it a difficult one or a easy mission to get us started out as allies as God. Even of it's a bit hard we should be able to mange and don't have to feel so anxious. There should only be a few situations that can threaten us judging from our power levels and power levels to come after this round if exchanges. First is team battles. It can be the most dangerous one or there won't even be a fight depending on the other team. Everyone is a large amount of points to the other team but it's also easy to get killed, just like Team Germany. This rule still hold some weight against the teams of the Four Pillars. Second, sudden change of plot. Like how you almost wiped in BTOOOM and Apocalypse Alice. Third, disaster settings, large scale wars, massive scale sci-fi worlds, and ones with strange rules that can't be overcome by power alone like the novel and Anime "Another", but God wouldn't put us into these unless we become really strong. For our current stage we just need to prepare enough Sci-fi weapons. With that said, what will our next mission going to be?"

Shin was still laughing bitterly at being called a speed reader by Aqua when Jin spoke up and although no one knew it he ruined the mood. Shin stopped smiling and everyone in the room sensed the tension now. It was something that had to be said, but deep down he was hoping to push it off till later, yet that would be too irresponsible as a leader. Shin gathered his courage and gave Jin and the others the answer they were waiting for without putting it off any longer.

Shin: "First of all God won't gift us with a easy time even if we are allies... No because were allies we should expect God to increase the difficulties for us as we're just another test for evolution. God selects difficulty according to the strongest member in the team and the achievements of the team. Team Japan has continually overcome uphill battles and I am at the Third Stage of the Unlocked Mode as well, so we won't be given a easy time. Also, while our team's name didn't change God might see us as this dimension's fourth special team after Team Devil, Team Celestial, and Team Freedom. Still, I don't know if we are lucky or not but the next mission might be manageable. The next mission is a world we've been too before. High School of the Dead. H.O.T.D for short. The world of H.O.T.D is a world Hikari, Aqua and myself have been too before and we're acquainted with the main characters, so we should have some advantages... but there are four points we should be wary of. First of all is that High School of the Dead is a unfinished work, so God might have changed the plot to fit a level of difficulty for Team Japan. We can thank the author who playing around with other works like "Triage" for this. Secondly, although it's hard to imagine what the main mission could be the difficulty will certainly be higher than my first mission in H.O.T.D for certain. With a few exceptions all future plots of a series will be more difficult than the previous plots. Now the third point to be wary of is that once a team obtains a leader, then all created beings must also enter the mission alongside us. Originally, if you were willing to spend a D rank reward you could exchange for their freedom, but God has changed it so they must absolutely join in the next mission and only if they survive will they be free. Luckily, this seems to be a one time event, so if we create more in the future we just need to spend a D rank reward to free them. Now lastly, but most importantly... the next mission will be a Team Battle... and like before we'll be entering the world first which means God has deemed us the weaker team!"


	198. Chapter 198

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 38, Dangan Ronpa Intermission

Hearing the details of the next mission due to Shin's Leader Position ability Mission Preview, Team Japan who should be rejoicing now able of knowing what the next challenge will be could only remain silent. With the exception of Aqua this was every members first time revisiting a previous Mission World for the Main Mission assigned to them by God and it is almost guaranteed to be more difficult than the previous Mission of H.O.T.D due to it being a future plot of the series and being a unfinished work. There was also the matter of being forced to bring along all of Team Japan's created beings. This meant Komaru who was allowed to join Shin with the status of a Human Creation and all other Human Creations. None of them possessed combat ability, so they will be both a liability and dead weight during the next mission. Lastly and most pressing was the matter that the next Mission will be a Team Battle. It will be Team Japan's second Team Battle and for those who were present at that time the memories still haunted them as they lost three good comrades.

Shin: (Five minutes have already passed since I told them and no one is speaking. Well, I can't blame them. The uncertainty of the mission and the Team Battle are enough to silence anyone. Still, although I'm worried about Komaru I not sure if the others care that much for their own Human Creations. Heck, not many of us have made one despite having the option. Aqua has her butter stay in his room for the most part, Jin probably uses his maid just for sex and reverse verbal abuse, and I bet that brown haired middle school girl with braids is Drakes, so who knows if he cares that much for her. I bet if Misaki was still with us he'll be shouting at the top of his lungs since he genuinely loved his Human Creation in the image of his childhood friend.)

Shin reminisced for a moment about his time with Misaki and other lost comrades, but knowing that there was a pressing need to focus on the present he stopped being depressed and called out to his still living comrades in front of him.

Shin: "I've told you about everything that I know and we don't have a choice but to keep moving forward. For now all we can do is study the details of H.O.T.D as much as possible, imagine the possible missions God might give us, and exchange suitable weapons and items. It has a Manga and Anime, so there's a lot of research material to make use of. We will leave this Jin and myself with my new search ability."

Aqua: "Alright then. We should definitely prepare extensively for this mission. During my time in H.O.T.D five missions ago I had a very easy time. Shin and the other Newbies that didn't go stupid and die early survived with minimal difficulties. It only got slightly difficult due to Shin and possibly my own actions that effected the plot. The point that I'm trying to make here is that even without the power we will have from massive windfall of rewards from "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode", we shouldn't be challenged at all. There may be a major change in plot to threaten us and then there's the Team Battle... if we don't make the most of this time we have a high chance of wiping out!"

Hikari: "That's right. We have a fortune of points and rank rewards, so we have the means to prepare. As we will appear first we'll certainly the weaker team, but long as we enhance ourselves wisely we can close or even reverse the gap in strength between us! I hate that unrealistic for Japan big boobs Manga, but I'll go over both it and it's Anime to come up with possible ideas for missions. Also, since this world is in a apocalyptic setting we should prepare a large quantity of food. It wasn't a problem for us back then as the apocalypse had just begun, but if a few months have passed then its very likely that everything has either spoiled or have been gathered by groups of survivors. We don't know how long this mission will last as well, so we might think about exchanging for a dimensional storage tool. I believe they are like the Na Ring, but those without special abilities for combat or support. Like Connor's normal Subspace Ring just need rank rewards. We should gather a few weeks worth of food as well and if the mission turns out to last for months like our time in Greed Island we can just always call for Drebin893 for more supplies."

Sachi: "I'll like to make a suggestion as well. Zombies are known to afflict other they touch with a deadly virus that kills/turns humans, some times animals as well into zombies. This is called Zombification. I recommend exchanging for a few Antidotes to counter act the virus. To my knowledge, unless one's Cell Vitality and Immunization stat points are well over 1000 than they will get infected, die, and then turn into a undead. This is just my knowledge for the most mild variation of the T-Virus, the most common strain of zombiefication."

Shin: "We should definitely get that. I've possess a mutation that grants me a lot of stat points for just those two stats, yet even I haven't reached 1000 yet in either stat. Any other ideas guys?"

I asked this and Drake raised immediately raised his hand. Like Sachi, he obviously didn't feel out of place within his new team to speak up. As expected of a pervert priest who goes around with nothing covering his upper body than a tank top to show off his muscles to the (Young) ladies.

Drake: "As for me I'll begin making special talisman. In the church order I grew up in they taught us how to make them. They can repel or weaken nearby dark forces like the undead. They are the higher variety kinds that cost 500 per talisman and I could even forge a few that that would cost 2000 points by inscribing them with Faith Energy, but they take time to make and some points for the high grade materials, but it shouldn't cost that much. We can have leader foot the bill!"

Shuai: "I have a suggestion as well. If we're dealing with zombies my recommendation is to buy infinite ammo weapons and of the heavy firearms variety. All the novels about zombie apocalypses basically say that getting surrounding by hundreds of zombies and not possessing enough weapons and ammunition results in losing most lives. We should also exchange for magic bullets as well since they should be effective on the undead even if you don't get a head shot or damage the spinal cord."

Shuai made a interesting point that I thought of as well. Modern weapons were enough for dealing with just zombies, but infinite ammo weapons and magic bullets will just guarantee the team's survival. It was then that Jin spoke up in support of this plan and added hos own ideas to the mix.

Jin: "Ah, about that... I have some ideas for an experiment for unlimited ammo weapons, so leave that to me. I'll have Shin exchange for a variety of weapons to face the horde of monsters and although it won't take that much time I hope we can delay the enhancements chapter of our preparation till tomorrow. I promise it won't be a waste of time if that means anything."

Shin: "It doesn't, but okay. Everyone can look over the enhancements from God for today or prepare however you like, but don't make any final exchanges. With new ideas the needs of the individual and the team may change. We'll also begin training the Hunan Creations so that they can defend themselves, but more important than learning how to fight should be how to not die, so keep that in mind. Aqua and Connor are the only ones with military experience, so we'll leave their training to them."

Connor: "...Sure."

Aqua: "Yeah I can teach your newest woman how not to get herself killed."

Shin: "I wasn't specifically telling you to help Komaru, but whatever. Use the time to bond as sister wives is good enough."

Aqua: "In your fantasies... Which are surprisingly becoming more real by the day. Fuck. I should definitely be more careful from now on when I'm around you."

Shin: "I love you to Aqua. I love you to, but don't curse."

Aqua took a step back from Shin's positive outlook, yet she still turned her head slightly away embarrassed.

Aqua: "Enough nonsense. Anyways, don't you think that it's about time you told us about the Third Stage? I'm sure we're all interested."

Shin: "Oh, I almost forgot. How should I explain about the third stage of the unlocked mode. It should be unlocking the constraint on your brain this time, but not completely. I think it needs at least the Fourth Stage to completely remove this constraint on the brain."

To demonstrate the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint Shin entered Unlocked Mode and thought for a long time. Then once he opened his eyes it was as if his natural facial movement, stance, and atmosphere changed. His face grew emotionless and had down casted eyes, while also exuding an aura of solitude as if he didn't want to be bothered while speaking in a low voice.

Shin: "...People are constantly emitting brainwaves. These waves vary their frequency every second and unlocking the Third Stage is like developing the unused areas of your brain... Once you entered the Third Stage you can simulate the brainwaves of people you have been in contact with and simulate their thoughts, actions, and even some of their abilities. That's the third stage, Simulation."

Connor: "...Were you you simulating me? It's not funny."

Shin: "Sorry, sorry, but it wasn't even that great a impression of you since you rarely talk that much. Now, in addition to Stimulation, there's a secondary ability of the Third Stage due to unlocking and gaining control of the brain. Without even stimulating anyone when entering the Third Stage I can significantly increase my reaction time. There was a similar ability in the Second Stage by taking control of the nervous system, but that was just a sign that I was coming close to the Third Stage and this ability is superior. If my already high Reaction Speed Stat is a 1, the Second Stage increase of reaction speed is about 4, than the Third Stage increases my reaction speed by 8-10 folds at minimal! It's all amazing! If stimulating the personalities of others wasn't good enough I now have the confidence to avoid sniper fire long as I have a general idea where the shots are coming from while in the Third Stage!"

Jin: "Amazing. Also, effectively you'll almost never be caught off guard in battle! So then, how complete is this simulation ability of the Third Stage? Can you perfectly replicate all abilities of anyone you have met?"

Shin: "No. Its only about 30-40 percent at this time, and it must be people you're familiar with and be in contact after you unlocked the First Stage. That's when you start to remember their brainwaves. Currently I can only simulate Zero, Saki, Kampa, Misaki. Renji for what's it's worth and you guys as well. I still need to keep practicing. The current level of simulation is too low. It's said that you can reach 100% in the Fourth Stage. And it won't be limited to just people you're familiar with, but also some animals and other life forms that you've seen. God only gave a name of the ability for the Fourth Stage, Genetic Manipulation!"

Aqua: "I see. I heard a few things from Sozin, but no wonder you need the Fourth Stage to use enhancements to their full potential. We are still only normal people and from the real world. Those enhancements and abilities were created by life forms in legends or the like, so we need to become similar to those life forms to use the enhancements and it's the Fourth Stage that gives us this power. If God's goal is evolution, genetic manipulation seems incredible enough. I can't imagine how the superior Fifth Stage will turn out."

Shin: "Me neither. God also gave the name for the Fifth Stage ability, Energy Manipulation. I don't really understand it but I think it might be referring to energies like Ki, Blood Energy and Mana. It's still too early to think so far ahead. God has revealed that about 33 Players have reached the Third Stage, but not more than 8 have reached the Fourth Stage within all regular teams. Though we don't know about Team Devil, Team Celestial, or Team Freedom. God doesn't reveal any information about those three teams even after we came to an alliance. Anyways, I believe that we are finished here, so your now dismissed. Make your own preparations and if you have any ideas how we can survive a world."

With that said every member left Shin's room to do their own thing. They were slightly worried about putting off the making exchanges, yet it was a small concern. Each member of Team Japan had unlocked the Genetic Constraint, so they were all capable of picking up new enhancements swiftly.

Two days have passed since the meeting to overcome the next mission in the zombie apocalypse of H.O.T.D and we each went off to do our own thing. Aqua and Connor help Komaru, butter and the girls (Human Creations) prepare themselves to survive the next mission with a emphasis on survival and what not to do, and Kisara ended up joining them. Drake was hard at work crafting talismans for the team (The young brown hard girl with braids was his Human Creation and he was enjoying every minute of her helping if out with the of small task). Sachi using her knowledge in medicine and poisons to compile a list medical tools to acquire for both the next mission and in general. As for Hikari, Shuai, and myself we reviewed the Manga, Anime, and all source materials of High School of the Dead to predict possible Main Missions and Side Quest.

Then finally on the afternoon of Day 4, one day more than Jin promised, he was finally ready to make his big reveal. Jin gathered everyone on the platform of the Terminal Lobby and everyone waited for him to begin expectation as they saw a table set up behind him where a pile of guns were placed. Believing in Jin they had all chosen to put off making enhancements since it could effect what choices they could make or whether they should pinch in to help out in his project... and Jin could tell what would happen if they think they wasted their important time.

Jin: "Haha! Can you guys not look like your about ready to lynch me just yet? It's understandable since it's me, but I promise that this is important enough for the wait."

Sachi: "You better. I've discovered a few good poisons within the Support Category, so prepare yourself."

Jin: "...Hahaha! That sounds fun, but lets save that for later and let's start. The topic of my few days of experiments was on the subject of magic bullets and unlimited ammo guns. Magic Bullets will become the most effective weapon against the zombies of H.O.T.D and I wish to combine them with the advantages of unlimited ammo weaponry."

Jin then reached for the table behind him and took picked up two handguns.

Jin: "There are exchanges for unlimited ammo weapon that shoot out magic bullets, but they are terribly expensive even for just hand guns. Even if we came into a large fortune of points and rewards I wouldn't recommend just purchasing them. The Lowest Grade Magic Bullets are inexpensive, yet the cost piles up if one expends them with heavy firearms that fire bullets in the hundreds and thousands within minutes, and if you exchange for Intermediate Grade or the most expensive Highest Grade, you be using up points in thousands quickly. Now, I have an idea around it to stop us from spending tens of thousands of points for them. Let me use a Desert Eagle for example. This normal Desert Eagle cost 10 Points. Cheap right? Well this unlimited Ammo version that I have in my other hand cost 100 Points. Still cheap since we all make at minimal 1000 points per mission, but from here the price explodes. The Unlimited Ammo Desert Eagle with Lowest Grade Magic cost 100 Points. The Unlimited Ammo Desert Eagle with Intermediate Grade Magic Bullets cost a whole 4000 Points. And lastly, the Unlimited Ammo Desert Eagle with Highest Grade Magic Bullets cost 8,000 Points and D rank reward. The heavily weaponry equivalents cost far more."

Shuai: "Question. Does the power of the bullets with the increasing grade of magic bullets?"

Jin: "Yes and no, Shuai. The actual power and speed of the gun won't change, but the quality of the magic bullets will. According to the description one ammo carriage of Highest Grade Magic Bullet cost 300 Points which is expensive if you are using say a machine gun, but only needs one bullet to kill a zombie. Now back my experiment. If I recall correctly Team Japan previous researched mass producing magic bullets, but this plan fell a part with the death of the teams precious mastermind strategist. My goal is similar, but instead of mass producing bullets I want to mass production infinite ammo weapons with magic capabilities, so infinite ammo weapons and enchanting them with magic properties was my goal. I had Shin exchange for guns, magic bullets, and a few infinite ammo weapons all for 5,000 Points and the results of my experiment were a success for the most part."

Jin then preceded to go into the finer details. After having Shin exchange for guns, magic bullets, and a few infinite ammo weapons Jin discovered a few things by taking part the magic bullets and infinite ammo weapons. What Jin discovered were unknown symbols, rune words carved on the shells of the bullets and inside the barrel of the infinite ammo weapons. There was just the one type of rune words etched into the bullet shells enchanted them with magic properties. From within the barrel of the infinite ammo guns there were two types of runes that served different purposes. Rune words for disposable magic enchantment that automatically inscribes all released bullets with the rune words for magic bullets and a rune word for mass conversion (Producing infinite bullets). For the first type Jin was able decipher the runes words for magic enchantment and was even able to recreate them them on normal and infinite ammo weapons. As for the rune words for mass conversion...

Jin: "That ended up a bust. The first type of rune words for magic enchantment were easy to grasp, yet too etch properly onto the insides of guns the rune words have to be written in a small font which requires time and special equipment, especially for Intermediate and Highest Grade enchantment, but in comparison the mass conversion runes are impossible to replicate at this time. The second Mass Conversion rune words are impossible to replicate with our knowledge. If magic was a science than what he found could be the equivalent of chapter 97 out of 100 in a book called "100 Step to Learning Advance Magic Theory" or the quantum mechanics of a superior race of aliens. It is absolutely notmcut and paste since the arrangement of the rune words have to be changed to match what your etching onto it. I have no clue how it works, so we can't make infinite ammo weapons, but we can convert normal guns and infinite ammo guns into the magic gun counterpart that can fire Lowest Grade and Intermediate Grade Magic Bullets. As for Highest Grade they are too time consuming to craft in mass and require to much effort. With the remaining time we have left maybe I can craft one if I don't mess up, but if I try to make more I won't be able to equip everyone with weapons. I could make a few human creations if necessary to speed things along-"

Shin: "No, let's not for now. If you made them they would have to join us for the next mission as well and they could die. I'll rather wait till afterwards to precede with your plan for mass production. Anyways, for H.O.T.D modern weapons and low tier Sci-fi weapons are good enough against zombies. Your plan will definitely give us a decisive edge, Jin. Just modern weapons with infinite ammo doesn't cost that much and we could possibly arm an entire army with just 10,000 points unless we exchange for top grade military heavy firearms."

Jin: "I guess. Then I'll precede with buying a few more infinite ammo weapons and etch the the disposable magic enchantment runes for Intermediate Grade on them to arm the team and potential future Newbies with. It shouldn't run me more than 2,000 points. I also plan to exchange for a Unlimited Ammo Rocket Launcher for 2000 points and crave the runs for Highest Grade disposable magic enchantment. The rocket launcher can shoot 10 rockets per minute without needing to reload the the High Grade enchantment will create a blast that will put dozens of zombies down for good who only just feel a wave of heat from the explosion. Such an item would cost 12,000 points and C rank reward, so it should be a powerful weapon against magic creatures and the supernatural."

Hikari: "...You know Jin I'm really impressed. These weapons will definitely help us overcome the mission and possibly help with defeating the enemy team... but I have one minor concern."

Jin: "What is it Hikari? Please ask away."

Hikari: "What was the reason we had to wait an extra day before making our enhancements? You don't need us for anything, right?

Jin: "Hahaha... I originally believed that this method to create infinite ammo weapons with magic properties couldn't be so easy to need only 9000-10,000 points to get started and arm the team, so I want to borrow points not just from Shin, but everyone... but as it turns out that's not necessary. Good right!?"

Shin: "..."

Hikari: "..."

Aqua: "..."

Shuai: "..."

Connor: "..."

Kisara: "..."

Drake: "..."

Sachi: "...I believe a punishment is in order."

Jin: "Hahaha... Ah, I should get started. Don't worry about me as I'll get my enhancements later, so go ahead and start without me. See ya!"

Jin then ran back to his room as fast as his feet would allow him to avoid the accusing eyes of his comrades. Shin sighed that they wasted so much time when Jin didn't need them, yet there was no use complaining. If necessary they could go back to Dangan Ronpa for 10 points per day if necessary, so time was not that big of a issue.

Shin: "Okay everyone. Now that the annoying guy has fled it's time to finally make our exchanges. Let's power up and show both God and the or opponent in this Team Battle that Team Japan is not to be looked down upon!"

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.

Shin is deducted 5,000 Points for the start up funds for the project. Jin then spent 4,000 of his own Points to finish the project. Points have little to no value for Jin, so there wasn't a good reason to put the whole burden of Shin.


	199. Chapter 199

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 39, Dangan Ronpa Intermission

At last it was finally time for our round of enhancements. Everyone that was present (Except for Jin hiding in his room) were in a state of excitement whether they were willing to admit it or not. The previous mission within the world of Dangan Ronpa was filled much danger and Team Japan came close to wiping out numerous times, yet as they say danger equals rewards. By overcoming all the challenges of the mission and Guide Test each of us acquired record breaking amounts of Points and Rank Rewards.

Hikari, Aqua, Shuai, Connor, Jin, and Kisara all ended with the same total rewards due to being in the same brainwashed state. Their totals were far less than those that participated in the mission as Player, yet that final sum was more than enough to more to be satisfied with. 15,000 Points, 2B and 1C rank reward. Basic Reward 1000 Points. Combat Mission 2000 Points and C rank reward. Team Japan Genocide 7000 Points and B rank reward awarded both Players and due to every member having unlocked the Genetic Constraint. And lastly the Series Complete for the standalone combat mission "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls" 5,000 Points and B Rank Reward.

As for Drake and Sachi the two newest members of Team Japan they acquired within there first mission a total that surpassed Kisara's previous record breaking final score as a Newbie. Basic Reward 1000 Points. Combat Mission 2000 Points and C rank reward. Warriors of Hope Overthrown for defeating all five members 8000 Points and B rank reward. Good Ending for reaching the true end of "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls" 3000 Points and B rank reward. The Bonus Mission where they each destroyed two Monokuma Factories and acquired 8000 Points. And lastly, 5000 Points and B Rank Reward for Series Complete for "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls".

Drake defeated numerous Monokuma robots in the end relying on Shuai now returned Pulse Rifle and so acquired 400 Points for the Monokuma Robot Kill. Sachi on the other acquired 200 Points for her Monokuma Robot Kill score and additionally 5,000 Points and B rank reward for helping to pacify the hatred of Kotoko Usagi of the Warriors of Hope which she alone accomplished. They each spent 4000 for Mini Portable Surface to Surface Missiles, but considering how how much they made it was just a investment to kill more Monokuma which paid off big time and even surpassed the record score for a Newbie's first mission. Drake finished up with 25,400 Points, 1A and 1C rank reward. As for Sachi she finished ahead of him with 29,200 Points, 1A, 1B and 1C rank reward.

Shin: "As for me... Hahahah! My time of Overpowered MC status has come at last! My grand total is... a shocking 89,375 Points, 4A, 1B, 1C and 2D Rank Rewards! Basic Reward 1000 Points. Combat Mission 2000 Points and C rank reward. Orientation 100 Points. Defeating tens of thousands of various Monokuma for a grand Monokuma Robot Kill score of 10,015 Points. Defeating all five members of the Warriors of Hope 8000 Points and B rank reward. Good Ending 3000 Points and B rank reward. Defeating all six of my comrades brainwashed by the Guide and who have unlocked their constraints in Team Japan Genocide 42000 Points and two A Rank Rewards. The bonus mission for destroying five Monokuma Factories 25000 Points. The Hidden Side Quest for defeating the Guide Izuru Kamukura with Holy Sword Switch to return him to Hajime Hinata, 8000 Points and A rank reward and a special Life Token. The Save the Children Hidden Side Quest by freeing all the Monokuma Kids from their brainwashing 5000 Points, B rank reward. and a Hidden Class Change Certificate. Series Complete of the standalone combat mission of "Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls", 5000 Points and B Rank Reward. I also received 100 Points for blowing away that ghost and to top it all off I had saved 100 Points and two D rank rewards previously! I spent 10000 points on five Mini Surface to Surface Missiles, 7100 Points on some items for the final battle, and I was deducted over two thousand points for telling Komaru her back story and 500 to make her my Human Creation. Oh, there was also the 5000 Points for Jin's guns and my repairs cost 1000 points, and yet... I still tower above my comrades with 83,375 Points! Oh, I also got a level up in my Genetic Constraint by one to the Third Stage and the Leader Position. Hahaha! Aren't I too broken!? Well, I hate such things in novels, but when it happens to me I can't help keep laughing!"

Aqua: "...I think he's finally snapped. I understand why, but this was long coming. Hikari, it's up to you to care for Shin now."

Hikari: "Don't abandoned him on me! He's so annoying now I don't mind a harem to split his attention away from me."

Kisara: "Don't say that Hikari. As the second sister wife it's your duty to do most of the work while Aqua the first sister wife enjoys the perks while the other are also pampered by our husband."

Hikari: "What frightening rules! Fuck, now I really hate this number two status!"

Off to the side Komaru watch Shin in his madness and couldn't help but smile at the three other woman her new boyfriend were in a relationship with.

Komaru: "Yep, harems are the best. I thought that there would be problems, but this is definitely my happy ending. I'm attracted to no good men... but I can't handle *that* alone."

After I was finished rejoicing over my not so small fortune of rewards and enduring the looks of pity from my harem, it was time to begin enhancing ourselves. As the Player with the most rewards and more than enough to share I offered to help everyone else out if needed. Thanks to Free Distribution I could use my rewards to enhance multiple comrades unlike everyone else who was restricted to one person per ten day break, yet to my surprise they refused the offer. Everyone felt bad about being brainwashed by the Guide and trying to kill me, so they didn't want to take away any of my hard won earnings even after I helped Jin with his project.

I was truly touched by their sentiment, but I couldn't help but feel that this was irresponsible. I alone couldn't grow stronger, so it was natural that as the the Player with the highest rewards and leader I should help them all improve for future difficulties that are to come, yet neither Aqua, Hikari, Shuai, Jin (Absent), Connor, Kisara, Drake, or Sachi would budge on the matter and in the end we came to a compromise. I would use the majority of my points and rewards on myself, yet I would set some aside to exchange for Hikari the Psyche Force skill Soul Link. This was a important ability that would support the entire team, so they all agreed. Additionally, anything that I had left over would be used for everyone if the need arises.

Shin: "Then before we go off to do our own thing let me recommend a few enhancements and ideas to everyone. The ultimate decision still lies with you, but now that I've become a speed reader of sorts thanks to my Leader Position it'll be a shame to not make use of me. We can forget about Jin who's in his room hiding and probably understands what he needs to enhance most already, so let's start with Hikari. Along with Soul Link that I'll get for you later as a present, I recommend that you use your rewards to acquire a defensive ability, but above all else a offensive ability. The defensive ability is to increase your chances of survival and that of the team, and... I think the Defensive Force Field is a good choice. It has a decent rating and it was a difficult power to defend against during the last Team Battle if you recall. It was because of that Force Field user that ruined our surprise attack on Team Germany that would have successfully wiped out their newbies and a few core members of the team, and resulted in Kampa's death. As for the offensive ability I thought it was about time for you to have one so you can expand from a pure support role and in a emergency you can fend for yourself. For a Psyche Force user like you I would recommend a remote control type skill or weapon. Long as it can be used both up close and within range of your scans it'll be the perfect match for you. I'll recommend using your C rank reward for the defensive ability and then upgrade it to a B tier skill. Then use your remaining Points and B rank reward for the offensive ability, and if you have anything left over exchange for support items and I'll help up you if your lacking."

Hikari: "Okay. I can't wait to get the offensive ability. My days of staying in the back while others are fighting are no more... but it's still my belief men should fight up front, so at least stand to my side Shin."

Shin: "I seriously can't tell if you are joking or not. Next..."

Shin then looked towards Aqua.

Shin: "You're hard to shop for Aqua. Your enhancements are already very high and you don't have the A rank reward to rank up Nen or Wolverine Mutation, but I can spot you a B rank reward so that you can upgrade them if you desire. If not, Nen can't be used for skills, so I recommend magic abilities for the Werewolf Bloodline and magic tools like you have been doing for now. You can also consider replacing the Life Force Booster that broke. There's also a cool magic spell for the Werewolf Bloodline that I recommend called Lunar Wolf Summoning. You might want to look into."

Aqua: "I might as well."

Shin then turned towards the rest of his comrades.

Shin: "For you Shuai I suggest getting a magic tool. Your gun wielding power along with Gnome was powerful, but a tool to increase your Shaman Power and the like would be good. Also a spell to deal with a lot of enemies like we'll be facing would come in handy. If it's us against a few hundred zombies we could easily to take care of them, but we have to be careful of thousands and tens of thousands of zombies surrounding us and rushing us. Such a crisis could spell a wipe out. Get one of the B tier AOE shaman skill. Quality usually trumps quantity, but enough quantity can easily wear down and destroy quality. This is the biggest threat to small groups like ours!"

Shuai: "Alright."

Shin: "Kisara. During our battle in the previous mission I noticed a flaw in your fighting potential which is ultimately my fault for my lack of understanding of magic weapons and skills. You had good movement skills and a strong weapon, but lacked the physical enhancements and energy to make use of them. Especially your weapon Shusui. It may not have any outright magic powers, but it should still be a powerful B tier weapon with end game potential, but you lack the necessary energy to bring out that potential. This is my fault. Exchange for the next tiers of Nen and Stigmata Implants. Then with what you have left acquire a sword skill that suits you. A fictional Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu will do fine. If we still find your power lacking I'll give you a B rank reward for Upper Class Nen."

Kisara: "Yes! I let you down and point my sword at you previously... but if you give me the chance I'll show you my worth!"

Shin: "Ah, I thought we already... Whatever. Just do your best Kisara. Now, Connor... just increase your fighting power. If you have questions just come to-"

Connor: "I won't."

I wanted to both laugh and cry at the child soldier's immediate reply. I and the rest of the team trusted him immensely, yet his cold attitude still got to me.

Shin: "...Drake my man. Your a priest, but your abilities all point towards the offensive powers of a exorcist and we already have a healer in Sachi. It conflicts a bit with Shuai, but lets not change that. Increase your Faith Energy. I wouldn't recommend a mutation at this time so you can acquire good skills to deal with supernatural dark forces like the undead. Now, as for a tool... the best spirit weapon within your price range if your up for it is a Innocence Cube. It takes a B rank reward and a few thousand points. It can be ranked up to the A tier Critical Point Breakthrough and AA tier Crystal Type Innocence (Exclusive to equipment types) once you've gathered the rewards. There's even a S tier upgrade I believe. You won't be disappointed."

Drake: "Then I'll get that then leader. If it's powerful it'll help me protect my woman."

I was pleased with Drake's straightforward answer and then... hesitantly turned his head towards Sachi. She was a ice queen beauty who may not even lose to Kisara, yet I never found himself attracted to her, and the reason was simple. Sachi was damn scary. Damn, damn scary. I never know what she is thinking about in that sadist mind of her and I was too afraid to stimulate her mind with the Third Stage unnecessarily.

Shin: "...Ah... You use needles in combat, so I recommend getting a set of Adamantium Needles. Like Aqua's claws they won't bend or break under normal conditions, so it's a good choice and it won't cost you more than 2500 points. Besides that get a energy to strengthen the body and a set of medical tools. Your not only a assassin, but a skilled nurse with medical expertise after all."

Sachi: "I'll take it under advisement... Not that I really will."

Shin: "..."

I wanted to cry that members of my team either left me wanting to cry or scared me to death. When you have comrades like this, who needs to be afraid of enemy teams?

Shin was the first to move towards the ball of light that was God and stood under it ready to make his first purchase. He had 83,375 Points, 4A, 1B and 1C rank reward to spend after all. As he looked at his rewards Shin felt some dissatisfaction that God didn't allow his multiple A rank rewards to become a S rank reward. With that and his large sum of points it would be possible to gain the bloodline of God or become a genuine immortal, but he could understand the reasoning. S rank rewards were needed for the very best enhancements and tools. Shin had even seen a defensive item called God's Blessings which could nullify all damge for ten seconds, even the explosion of a star collapse, and revive the holder once per 100 days if killed. That's S tier! The final stage of enhancements and is reserved for the top players. After the appearance of the four Pillars it was easier for their teams to get rewards, but it was unlikely that S rank rewards were possible to gain. Only those who can surpasses God's greatest challenges were allowed to obtain them.

Shin: "Not that I'm even close to that stage in ability or even Genetic Constraint stage. Anyways, now is the time to get started and power up! First off... It's time to finally advance my mutation to its A tier counterpart. Ki has already begun to move on from B tier, so there starting to form a in-balance towards their usefulness. I'll like to be able to use my Kakuja form more freely as well. God, exchange for me the SS Rating One-Eyed Ghoul. Mutation!"

SS Rating One-Eyed Ghoul Genetic Mutation -

Rating 120.

Applicable to most missions. Possess high combat and regenerative power, but is very hard to master. Allows access to one of four types of the predatory organ of a Ghoul, the Kagune. Owner will not effected with a ghouls need to eat human flesh. As an SS Rating ghoul its possible to form a complete Kakuja that'll significantly increase stats. Requires 5200 Points, A rank reward, and S Rating One-eyed Ghoul Mutation.

SSS Rating One-Eyed Ghoul Genetic Mutation -

Rating 160.

Applicable to most missions. Possess high combat and regenerative power, but is very hard to master. Allows access to one of four types of the predatory organ of a Ghoul, the Kagune. Owner will not effected with a ghouls need to eat human flesh. As an SSS Rating ghoul its possible to form a full body Kakuja that will vastly increase stats. Requires 9500 Points, two A rank rewards, and SS Rating One-eyed Ghoul Mutation.

The One-Eyed King Ghoul Genetic Mutation -

Rating 200.

Applicable to most missions. Possess high combat and regenerative power, but is very hard to master. Allows access to one of four types of the predatory organ of a Ghoul, the Kagune. Owner will not effected with a ghouls need to eat human flesh. As an One-Eyed King Ghoul its possible to form the ultimate King Kakuja and acquire semi immorality. Requires S rank reward, 15000 Points, and SSS Rating One-eyed Ghoul Mutation.

As I spent 5200 points and A rank reward for the SS Rating One-eye Ghoul Mutation, a beam of light shot down from God enveloped and then lifted me into the air. I both checked out the higher levels of my mutation along with recalling the specifics of it. A Ghoul from Tokyo Ghoul, or One Eyed Ghoul as I was a branch of demon that solely dominated the world. Ghouls eat the flesh of others to strengthen themselves and recover from wounds and lost stamina. Ghoul also posses the unique weapon called the Kagune, also called liquid muscle, a special liquid muscle that is as red as blood and flexible like the flow of water, yet can become firm and sturdy when used for offense and defense. There were four types of Kagunes and the type I found that I was blessed with was the same same as Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul, the Rinkaku (Shining Scales). When released, a ghoul's physique is strengthened, they are more resilient and their mobility heightens. A Kagune is composed of RC Cells, which flow just like blood, can be repeatedly hardened, softened and controlled at will by the ghoul, and with the addition of the Kakuja Kagune even though it came with some side effects it had saved my life at critical moments.

Shin: (At first I was uncertain in my choice of getting the hard to master One-eyed Ghoul Mutation, but now I have no regrets. It's powerful, comes with a unique and deadly weapon, I can recover easily from most wounds, and it compliments Ki quite well. Then there's the Kakuja Kagune which vastly increases by physical stats and improves the already powerful Kagune with an armor like exoskeleton. Now I can't do without out it, so I can't wait to see what the next level will be like!)

Shin wanted to see what was the difference between the SS Rating One-Eyed Ghoul Genetic Mutation and his previous S Rating One-Eyed Ghoul Genetic Mutation, but he had a long time to wait. The enhancement process as numerous particles of light entered his body took over thirty minutes. Shin couldn't notice any changes in the beginning, but towards the end he felt a change. At the location around the back of the spine where the Kagune organ laid, a shinning and ominous and dark red star of power could be seen by all. The dark red star grew brighter and yet darker by the second til the star collapsed on itself. From there the star fragments which were in fact highly concentrated Rc Cells began to travel through the blood stream and reaching every point of the body. The dark red star fragment fused with the skin, muscles, bones, organs and even the blood cells and the fusing wasn't complete until Shin's entire body glowed with a ominous red light which blinded all those present. Once the light dimmed down the beam lifting him into the air gently let him back down towards the earth where a few of his comrades had gathered to around.

Hikari: "Shin... are you alright!?"

Shin: "...Haha... Hahahaha! Yes! I'm finally starting to catch up with Ken Kaneki! Also, this is Team Japan's second A tier enhancement after Aqua's Elder Werewolf Bloodline. Look out Four Pillars, Shin takes his next step to almightyness... is what I want to say, but I hardly feel any chances. I feel the that my stats and Rc Cells count have risen, but nothing to dramatic like that light show would make us think."

Shuai: "Maybe it's like Ki Cultivation Manuals and other A tier and high enchantments and you won't feel a immediate change. Still, it's a mutation that effects your body, so you might adjust to this new power much quicker than you Black Heaven & Earth Technique."

Aqua: "I'll confirm that. I didn't feel that great a power up when I got my A tier bloodline as well. It takes a while."

Kisara: "Is that so? That sounds about right. For now how about just checking out your stats or try summoning your Kagune. An A tier mutation much have done wonders for you fighting potential."

Agreeing with Kisara's logic, Shin did as she said and first opened up his status page by connecting to God and focused on his stats.

STATS

Intelligence - 701

Mental Capacity - 771

Cell Vitality - 1353

Reaction Speed - 1078

Muscle Density - 1111

Immunization Strength - 1442

Shin was used to seeing the stat increases once granted to him by his magic coat that was was now gone and felt sad, but seeing current stats and was shocked. Four of his six stats have broken past 1000 and his two lowest stats were more than seven times the average. This alone was impressive, yet this only scratched the surface of the strength of this mutation. The Rc Count, healing factors, and Kagune were the focus points of the One-Eyed Ghoul Genetic Mutation, so there was much to look forward to testing. Next Shin began to examine his body by focusing his mind. Once one had unlocked the Genetic Constraint this was a simple task and he had just recently reached the Third Stage.

Seeing through every inch of his body was all to easy for Shin and once he began to examine himself he understood that a major change had occurred within the Kagune organ, and wanting to test this out he summoned his Kagune without delay. Around the back near the spine a deep red Kagune darker than ever before surfaced. Shin created the maximum number of tentacles he could and was surprised to discovered eight blood red tentacles alive and wiggling around him in a grotesque manner. Shin recalled when he was first able to summon his Kagune with the S Rating One-Eyed Ghoul Genetic Mutation he could only form four tentacles and after unlocking the Kakuja the number of tentacles shot up to six. Now ranking up to a SS Rating One-Eyed Ghoul the number of possible Kagune tentacles now reached an all time eight! Each Kagune tentacle could be controlled as naturally as he could breathed and Shin felt a major chance in the density of the Rc Cells, or liquid muscle composing his Kagune.

Shin: (This deep red shade isn't there just to make my Kagune more badass looking... Which it does a amazing job at. With a increase of Rc Cell density the natural basic specs of the Kagune had reached new heights! I'm confident that I could swipe them at a steel wall and cut through them like butter! I also feel like I haven't truly adjusted to it as Kisara expected, so maybe I could expect more improvement in the future.)

After Shin finished examining his upgraded mutation the other members of Team Japan continued their session of exchanges to power up. Everyone moved out to make their final exchanges, yet Shin for the most part stood off to the side. He wanted some to think more about his exchanges, and so he rested for three to four hours and only got up to check on the enhancement choices of his comrades and exchange for Hikari the Psyche Force ability essential for Team Battles and most mission in general, Soul Link, spending 5000 Points and B rank reward to do so. Once Kisara finished her enhancements he asked if she wanted the B tier Nen to power up even more, but she declined. Her reason being was that she had only unlocked the First Stage and going pass C tier enhancements without reason was a waste of points and rewards. She also didn't want to risk an imbalance in her powers and definitely didn't feel up to moving both her enhancements to B tier. She wants to at least adapt to her current level of power before upgrading any further. Shin argued a bit about this, but backed down when she got mad and asked if he was trying to buy her affection, and a rising master of a harem he knew it was time to give up here and run away. Three hour later everyone had finished up their exchanges and with a idea of what he wanted he returned to standing under the ball of light.

Shin: "Now after paying for Hikari's Soul Link ability... I now have 73,175 points, 3A, 1C and 2D rank rewards! Hahaha! Still a overwhelming amount of funds still in the bank! Anyways, I have both a large amount of points and high level rank rewards, so I can either go for tons of skills and equipment to arm myself, or instead go for a few higher tier items and combat skills... Yeah, let's go for quality over quantity! With the support of a team there's no need to think about covering all my bases perfectly. Let's begin with magic! Real magic like Jin, Aqua, and even Shuai all have. They all possess is something that I lack even now, magic, and I'm not that impressed by my Ki emission attacks even if they have their moments. I want something that screams magic and I know the perfect attack magic spell that'll do it for me. The first magic spells learned by Bell Cranel of Familial Myth, after he discovered a Magic Guidance Book left for him by the Goddess Freya. The magic spell that embodies Bell's image of powerful magic used by heroes, Fire Bolt!"

Fire Bolt (Familial Myth) -

Rating 83.

A scarlet lightning shaped flame that swiftly strikes the enemy. A speed cast magic that lacks absolute destructive power, but can be executed instantly, without channeling energy or reciting spell words. Power, speed, and scale of Fire Bolt will increase as the total sum of the individuals magic power or energy increases and with no additional output requirements. Magic both burns and stuns ones foes. Requires 8,000 Points and two C rank rewards.

As Shin made the exchange a unique scarlet colored thick book appeared within his hands. On the cover of the book was a young boy challenging a monster while controlling both fire and lightning as one. The book burned to ashes moments later and the information for the spell and how to cast it were implanted in his mind. Thirty seconds passed and once Shin digested all the information of the magic book a smiled surfaced on his face as the magic he chose was a spectacular one. Firebolt was a incredibly powerful spell and was one of the most expensive CC tier magic spell within the Exchange System, yet its strength lied in speed rather than offensive power, but by no means what it weak. The magic spell would shot out a lightning shaped flame at the opponent fired from one's hand in the blink of a eye without having to gather energy like most spells and techniques, and although the spell couldn't be enhanced with greater output like most if the situation requires it, the spell would increase in power and above all speed as the users total sum of energy increases while retaining a moderate consumption cost no matter how powerful the magic becomes in the end.

Shin: "Fire Bolt... This is a great skill! Both efficient and easy to wield. It's said that it's a bad match up with foes with tough armor or flesh, but the reverse means that it's a excellent skill to kill off soft body enemies. It's consumption cost isn't so bad as well for its high performance so no wonder it cost so much in points. That also makes it a skill that most wouldn't exchange for since it cost almost 10,000 points along with two C rank rewards. Hm, this magic spell has a lot of potential for me as well maybe it can offer me some hints on improving my Ki emission attacks?"

Shin thought about countless possibilities for a good while and then moved on to his next purchases. Like he decided beforehand he wanted quality over quantity, so after looking over the magic and sci-fi weapons that suited his fighting style he chose two pieces of equipment that cost as much as or over 10,000 points and required B rank rewards to purchase from God. The first item was a sword from the sci-fi category with a lot of power and versatility, the Deltoid Z-Saber. The second piece of equipment was both a weapon and support item that he had never heard of before, Adell's Legacy.

Deltoid Z Saber (Modified) -

Rating 103.

Suitable for users without a fix style of fighting. The legendary Z-Saber from the Megaman Zero series wielded by the robotic hero, Zero. The weapon's most interesting characteristic is the sheer amount of force it can dole out to enemies as it can easily slice through 300 mm of reinforced steel in a single stroke. Doesn't require any additional energy source to operate. Has been modified to transform into other forms of Zero's weapons: Shield Boomerang, Triple Rod, Chain Rod, and Recoil Rod. Special Skill, Mega-Charge: Using the Mega Buster Mk17 technology embedded in the saber, channel energy into the blade through the handle for a charged slash with increased cutting power, length of the blade up to thrity meters, and magic properties temporarily. The charged energy can be used with the other forms as well. Special Skill, Element Sword: Channel elemental properties from the holder through the handle to allow the sword form to dole out powerful elemental damage with magic properties for ten seconds. Unable to harm spirit type entities. Requires 8,000 Points and B rank reward.

The Z-Saber was the weapon of choice used by Zero, the robotic hero of the Megaman series universe along its titular character Megaman (Rockman in Japan). In the Megaman X series the Z-Saber held a light saber like appearance, but during the Megaman Zero series where Zero was the main playable character and the shape of the sci-fi sword took on a deltoid energy blade shape. The sword appeared before Shin's hands after a beam from God shot down an delivered him the sci-fi weapon. In the original game the blade-less handle was plain white, but this modified version was crimson red and oddly enough fit his hand like a old glove as he grasped it. Shin twirled the blade-less handle a few times and then pressed a button on its side with his thumb and instantly as if it was always there a weightless light green energy blade 4.1 meters long with a deltoid shape manifested. The energy blade softly hummed and when swung one could hear the very air being split in two. Shin was very pleased. The Deltoid Z-Saber, not only was it a powerful sci-fi sword, yet it possessed both multiple weapon forms to suit the situation, as well as two special skills to overwhelmed the enemy. Mega-Charge that slashes everything and Elemental Sword that applies the advantages of the users elemental magic properties. It was a great sword that suited him, yet he was the first to admit that the sword wasn't perfect. It had magic capabilities in a way, but as a Sci-fi weapon it couldn't damage spirits and to deal with powerful magic creatures a great deal of energy will have to be consumed to use its special skills.

Shin: "Still, it's a great sword and well rounded weapon. To exchange for a magic weapon similar to the Deltoid Z-Saber would at least cost double the rank rewards and points. I have Gravity Blade as a magic/anti spirit weapon, so I'm still okay for now. Gravity Blade is becoming more useful than before as I'm able to handle it with more increased weight, so it's still a sword I can rely upon. Also, while I don't plan to do so now I can always exchange an A rank reward later on to upgrade it to its unknown true form. Now, as for my other set of gear..."

Adell's legacy (LV1) -

Rating 119.

Suitable for users specialized in close combat with Pure attribute Ki. The combat gear left behind by the hero of Veldime still carrying on his fiery fighting spirit. Form a burning energy field around the gloves and boots with Ki for immense destructive power dependent on quantity and quality of Ki. Will not be harmed by the burning energy field. Soul Bound Equipment. If destroyed are restored after twenty-four hours. Requires 13,000 Points and B rank reward.

Disgaea, or Hell Chronicles Disgaea is a still ongoing series of tactical role playing video games. One of Nippon Ichi's most popular franchises, it has branched off into both a manga and anime series. The Disgaea games take place in a fictional universe called the Netherworld and are known for their uncommon RPG elements, such as complex gameplay, extremely high maximum stats and humorous dialogue. Main characters in the series often include cynical, power-hungry antiheroes forced to fight alongside heroic foils. It was by far one of Shin's favorite series of games.

Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories' main character was the Adell in question and was the first fist fighter specialist who started out with the Glove Equipment. Adell was Shin's personal favorite character despite Disgaea 2 being his least favorite game due to a largely weak cast, and what made him stand out among all the main characters of the series was his powerful and swift close up attacks that carried the fire element. Shin knew that what he just exchanged was a set of equipment that didn't exist in Disgaea, yet all the more it's what drew him in to exchange it. Additionally, among all B tier extreme close range weapons (gloves and daggers), Adell's Legacy was the most expensive in both the Sci-fi and magic categories.

After a beam of light was shot down on from God and as the beam disappeared a set of black combat gloves and boot appeared on the floor of the platform in front of Shin. Shin examined them and found symbols representing fire inscribed on the items and within the symbols were a single word. On the right glove and boot pair was the word "Spirit" and on the left pair of the set was the word "Solitude". Shin felt immense depth at these words and excitingly equipped them without hesitation. Once worn he felt a great increase of power within his swelling up inside. It felt as if his entire body was on fire, yet there was no pain and only a exhilarating sensation throughout his being to be found.

Shin: "It still just B tier, but there's no denying that the is item is first grade goods and is far superior to all of my equipment combined. All I need to know is that with these two pieces of equipments and my new magic spell, I've already reached a new level of strength that would allow me to cruise through the last mission... yet we are very far from being over. The exchanges continue!"

After acquiring SS Rated One-eyed Ghoul Mutation, the magic spell Fir Bolt of Bell Cranel, and the Sci-fi weapon Deltoid Z-Saber, and magic weapon Adell's Legacy, Shin once more connected to God to access a unique section of the Support Category of the Exchange System, Class Profession. A Class Profession were roles one took in games to specialize and learn skills in a certain ares and may even receive bonus to certain attributes. Within the Exchange System it's considered a Whole Body Enhancement like Ki or Mana, yet instead of a energy this Whole Body Enhancements bestows bonus characteristics. The Warrior Class gains bonus when using swords and sword skills. The Knights Class gains bonus when wearing heavy armor and riding animals. The Archers gain bonus when using bows and bow skills. Berserker Class gains bonus the more they kill and they themselves are injured by their opponent. The Assassin Class gains bonus while in hiding and deliver critical damage. Shin knew of these Class professions even before gaining the Leader Position, yet he wasn't interested in acquiring one before now.

Shin: "(There's a Martial Artist Class Profession that improves extreme close range skills like Soul Crushing Strike which could have come in handy and helps the learning of certain figuring styles, yet there are no major improvement. It's a enhancement path better suited for those who wish to study fighting styles from the ground up and are willing to put in the hard work. Kisara who's mastered her sword style wouldn't be too interested in the swordsman class for example. Still, it wasn't without value, and now that I acquired this I'm more than willing to gain a Class Profession. Hidden Class Profession to be exact.)

\- HIDDEN CLASS CHANGE CERTIFICATE.

ENABLE THE PURCHASE OF A ENTRY LEVEL HIDDEN CLASS (WHOLE BODY ENHANCEMENT) WITH ALL ITS AVAILABLE SKILLS FREE OF COST. WILL GUARANTEE THAT A DEVIATION OF ENERGY WILL NOT OCCUR IF ONE POSSESS OTHER ENHANCEMENTS. UNABLE TO USE THIS CERTIFICATE FOR THE EXCHANGING AA AND S TIER HIDDEN CLASSES. UNABLE TO USE ON ANOTHER PERSON.

Shin recalled how he acquired a unique item from the previous mission when he saved all the Monokuma Kids within Towa City from the Warriors of Hope's brain control helmets, and that that item was the Hidden Class Change Certificate. It would allow one to make a one time free purchase from one of the Hidden Classes within the exchanges. Hidden Classes were all A tier or higher and cost a whole lot of points to exchange for, so the certificate was a blessing for him. It also wouldn't cause a any problems with his other enhancements.

A Hidden Class Profession as described in the virtual reality game in the novel Shura's Wrath was the following: "A Hidden professions, these are touched upon in every virtual game world, at the same time it is also what all players dream of. The reason the hidden professions are called hidden, is because this type of class is listed outside of the main classes that every player has access to no matter how skilled they are. Nobody knows where these classes are or how to change to them. Hidden classes are not necessarily stronger than regular classes, but they all have their own special features and are all very rare. To change to a hidden profession requires enough luck and opportunity, of course you also need powerful strength. Usually hidden professions are all gained through some hidden quests of hell-like difficulty. Those few hidden classes hidden within the virtual game world are practically the dreams of all players that they desperately search for… But in previous virtual game worlds, there are only those handful of people out of China's hundreds of millions of players that could change to a hidden profession. And these people are either the Heaven Ranking and Earth Ranking experts with powerful strength, or big shots in powerful guilds with vast resources."

Compared to the regular professions, a Hidden Class displayed above average power, a unique ability, or even overpowered levels of strength not possible by the masses. Exclusive skills, abilities, and some times equipment were available to Hidden Classes, which was why in games every player desired to have one. A good example was the main character of the Korean Novel "Ark". His in game character Ark, by both skill and luck discovered a Hidden Profession and from that point on his path of a gamer was above others. Unique abilities, exclusive skills and equipment, and even Quest that normal players could hope to partake in. Additionally, his Hidden Profession played a major role in the main story of the virtual reality world, so he was involved in all the major battles including the final battle which allowed to be recognized as the number 1 gamer.

Shin: "With the Hidden Class Change Certificate I can make my pick of any profession on the list. Some overpowering, some useful in the long term, and that can become useful immediately, or could keep advancing to higher stages of the Hidden Class. Ah... I just can't chose! I want them all!... Is that a recurring problem for me?"

Legendary Moon Light Sculptor -

Rating XXX.

Applicable for combat, tactical combat, and strategic combat. Normally, the Sculptor class was a support class, for which it would be normal to be weaker than warrior classes, but the Moonlight Sculptor provided many strong advantages for combat in "Legendary Moon Light Sculptor". Craftsmanship, strengthened abilities, additional stats, and Sculpting Blade! It was an ideal job with nothing to complain about, with the exception of the great manual labor. In dungeons, or on dark nights, all stats are strengthened abilities by 30%. Special Skills: Moonlight Sculpting, Grant Life, Sculptural Transformation, Elemental Sculpturing, Nature Sculpting, Disaster Sculpting, (). Requires Hidden Class Change Certificate.

Sealed Ninja -

Rating XXX

Applicable to missions that require stealth and combat. The most powerful clan of ninjas, known for their strength and arrogance in Fantasy Edge. They have adopted the name of the Sealed Ninjas to remind themselves of their humiliation from the ninja wars that led to their sealed state. Sealed Ninjas specialized in assassination techniques and are heavily skilled with ninja magic techniques. All stats gain a permanent increase of 30%. Resistance to dark magic and poison. Increase damage of sword and throwing weapons. Substantially increase effectiveness of all Ninja techniques. Special Skill, Ultimate Shadow Blade: Integrate the essence of the dark shadows into your blade to perform soul shattering strikes, and can continually active by draining the users energy. Requires Hidden Class Change Certificate.

Ling Tian Battle Soul -

Rating XXX.

Applicable to missions that require combat. A special class born from inheriting "War God's" soul force, named by player "Ling Tian" of Shura's Wrath. This class chases after the most powerful attack strength, the characteristics of all class skills is that they all exist to reach extreme attack strength. Possesses extremely powerful destructive power, but after exchanging for this class a Player is unable to use any support, defense or CC Skills. Immune to all abnormal statuses that can cause physical attack strength and ability to drop. Special Skills: War God Technique, Ling Tian Slash, Ling Tian Burst, Four Corners Star Formation, and Battle Soul Possession. Can upgrade class to the next advancement with AA rank rewards and 10,000 Points. Requires Hidden Class Change Certificate.

Hero of the Shield -

Rating XXX

The Legendary Shield is one of the Four Legendary Armaments. The person which possesses this weapon is called the "Hero of the Shield". The Legendary Shield gives its user great defensive power and can evolve and transform to become stronger however the user cannot equip any other weapon. It has a special jewel in the middle which can transform the Shield under specific conditions. Additionally acquire the Defense Stat, a magic aura of defense that decrease the damage of blows. Requires Hidden Class Change Certificate.

(Any more)

Shin looked through a few interesting ones, but ultimately made his choice. He chooses the same hidden class as his favorite Virtual Reality novel character Ark from New World, the Dark Walker!

Dark Walker (Hidden Class) -

Rating XXX.

Suitable for those who prefer fighting solo. The Dark Walker is the hidden class of a Truth-Seeker and the class that once belonged to the legendary warrior, Hero Maban, one of the seven hero of New World. God has set this class to be fully realized with the power of the Three Marvels, the key to a Dark Walker's powers. Has assess to the following eight Skills - Spirit of the Cat, Eyes of the Cat, Gift of Darkness III, Summon Demon, Dark Blade, Blade Storm, Dark Dance, and Moonlight Shadow. Requires Hidden Class Change Certificate. To advance to the second Class advancement, 'Dark Soul', requires 10,000 Points and AA rank rewards.

Spirit of the Cat -

Rating 41.

The cat's roar and sharp eyes can make all small monsters tremble in terror in one minute paralysis. Vastly weakens the strength of small monsters, and their larger counterparts to a lesser extent. Requires the Dark Walker Class.

Eyes of the Cat -

Rating 50.

As a Dark Walker you can penetrate and see through the darkness with a cat's eyes. This skill includes Night vision, Life detection, and Weakness Perception. Requires the Dark Walker Class.

Gift of Darkness III -

Rating 109.

A Dark Walker's natural passive ability to become stronger in the dark. All stats increase by 50% in the dark, at night, or in dungeons. Can use the skill 'Stealth' while in the dark, or in a none combat state to merge with the darkness to conceal oneself. Requires the Dark Walker Class.

Summon Demon (Special) -

Rating 70.

You can summon up to three minor Demons from then netherworld that has the potential to evolve and will follow your commands. Restricting the number of potential summons to two will allow the ability to summon two Elite grade Demons. Restricting the number of potential summons to one will allow the ability to summon one Superior grade Demon. May chose what type of demon or demons. If a summon is killed they will be recalled to the netherworld and unable to be summon again for twenty-four hours. Once selection is complete, both the demon and its grade is permanently set. Requires Spiritual Power, or another type of energy to summon demons and to keep them summoned. Requires the Dark Walker Class.

Dark Blade -

Rating 76.

Assimilate your sword with the darkness and deal your opponent a delightful blow. A sword assimilated with the darkness ignores all physical defense skills of the opponent. Requires the Dark Walker Class.

Blade Storm -

Rating 100.

The first of Hero Maban's secret skills. It shatters the sword to make a maelstrom of shards that violently tears the enemy apart. The used sword for the skill is completely destroyed and quality of sword strengthens Blade Storm's power. Requires the Dark Walker Class.

The Dark Dance -

Rating 81.

The second half of Hero Maban's power increases your vision in the dark. By hiding yourself in the darkness, you can use quick movements to make the enemy's attacks collapse. Requires the Dark Walker Class.

Moonlight Shadow -

Rating 72.

The final Dark Walker's secret skill. By releasing the power of Hero Maban and the moon, you can create 3 shadows with 30% of the users strength (Stats). Your alter ego will be unable to move, but it will release a hostile energy to lure surrounding monsters with low Intelligence and Mental Capacity. When surrounded by monsters, this skill can be used to escape the crisis. Requirement to charge in the moon light has been voided, but can only be used three times a day, and is renewed at midnight. Requires the Dark Walker Class.

The Dark Walker Hidden Class.

While having exclusive abilities a Darker Walker at its core was a combination of a Warrior, Thief, and Summoner. The Dark Walker could use a sword to fight, had the speed and stealth techniques of a Thief, and had the power to call forth demons like a Summoner. Additionally, this class source of power is darkness and has many darkness related skills for offense, defense, and passively becomes stronger during the night or within darkness. Although not the strongest hidden class it did allow a lone warrior to sole battlefields without the assistance of comrades, and this appealed to Shin who just recently had to complete a mission alone and suffered from limited options. Shin was happy with his choice and was especially happy with the future prospects of this Hidden Class, the next class advancement of a Dark Walker, a Dark Soul.

Dark Soul (Hidden Class, Second Profession) -

Rating XXX.

Suitable for those who prefer fighting solo. Hundreds of years ago, Hero Maban realized the true power of the darkness, stars and moon while traveling by himself. He looked at the shining stars and moon in the darkness and realized the meaning of the true night. He hadn't realized it, but it was already embedded deeply in his heart. Hero Maban truly loved the darkness and left his knowledge in the 'Soul Stone', allowing a Dark Walker to change professions to a Dark Soul. The Skills Dark Blade, Blade Storm, The Dark Dance, and Moonlight Shadow will be upgraded upon purchase. Special Skill, Area Declaration - Glory of the Night will be learned. To advance to the third and final Class advancement, Dark Eternity requires 20,000 Points, S rank reward, and the act of defeating a true Last Boss within one of the Mission Worlds.

Shin: "Hm, looks promising. Too bad Dark Soul Hidden Class doesn't seem to have any of the anti demonic abilities from the novels, but it's understandable. The third and final advancement, Dark Eternity, can only be reached after defeating countless demons and ultimately A.I Lucifer, and that ability to defeat those demonic forces were the steps to reaching the Final profession. Well, I'm in no desperate need for those skills right now. Now, it time to become the new descendant of Hero Maban as I was always meant to be! God, with the Hidden Class Change Certificate exchange for me the Hidden Class, Dark Walker!"

God shot down a beam of light down on Shin... and it was intense. The beam of light lifting him into the air and the dark particles entering his body lasted for over a hour, but it was too be expected. Not only was Shin's body being enhanced, but he was being imparted with the knowledge of countless skills which was the greatest appeal of the Hidden Class Certificate. All skills of the profession, or the stage of the profession were acquired at the time of the purchase, it was was comparable to to gaining the enhancements of a skilled Player after 5-10 missions all at once. Once the beam lifted him back down to the platform Shin could feel his entire being bursting with power.

STATS

Intelligence - 844 [ +50% At Night ].

Mental Capacity - 1173 [ +50% At Night ].

Cell Vitality - 1493 [ +50% At Night ].

Reaction Speed - 1378 [ +50% At Night ]

Muscle Density - 1231 [ +50% At Night ]

Immunization Strength - 1562 [ +50% At Night ].

Shin: "Haha... Hahaha... HAHAHA! Yep, yep, yep! I'm officially a overpowered and broken MC! Oh, how I hate myself! Hahaha! Spirit of the Cat, Eyes of the Cat, Gift of Darkness III, Summon Demon, Dark Blade, Blade Storm, Dark Dance, and Moonlight Shadow. Eight skills along with not so mild boost in stats all around, especially Intelligence, Reaction Speed, and Mental Capacity. Hahah, and I'm still not done yet with my exchanges! I have to improve my Ki so it can match up with my mutation, but first let's improve this interesting spell. It's one of the main reasons that I wanted this class. Now, Summon Demon!

Summon Demon (Special) -

Rating 70.

You can summon up to three minor Demons from then netherworld that has the potential to evolve and will follow your commands. Restricting the number of potential summons to two will allow the ability to summon two Elite grade Demons. Restricting the number of potential summons to one will allow the ability to summon one Superior grade Demon. May chose what type of demon or demons. If a summon is killed they will be recalled to the netherworld and unable to be summon again for twenty-four hours. Once selection is complete, both the demon and its grade is permanently set. Requires Spiritual Power, or another type of energy to summon demons and to keep them summoned. Requires the Dark Walker Class.

\- PLEASE CHOOSE UP TO THREE TYPES OF DEMONS AND THEIR RANK. CAN SUMMON THREE STANDARD DEMONS, TWO ELITE DEMONS WITH MODERATE POTENTIAL AND INTELLIGENCE, OR ONE SUPER GRADE DEMON WITH HIGH POTENTIAL, INTELLIGENCE, AND GROWTH RATE. ONCE CHOICES ARE FINALIZED THE SUMMONING ABILITY IS LOCKED.

As Shin activated the summoning skill a choices suddenly appeared within his mind as the rigid and emotionless voice spoke to him. It appeared that God was overseeing the summoning process for him, so he didn't hesitate to make his choices. As for the number of demons he could summon Shin chose only one and as for the type he chose a demon skeleton. It was a odd decision, yet that sole demon would be born into the world as a Superior Grade Demon. He recalled that in the stories of Ark and God and Devil World, the summoned skeleton wouldn't be too powerful and at best would posses the strength a little higher than the average human at best (Very weak at first in Ark) and would need a long time to become powerful. By limiting his choices he was able to start off a Superior Grade Demon, a demon of a higher quality with much growth potential, intelligence, and growth rate according to the information from God. Once Shin finalized his choice new information invaded his head and in his mind he had touched a strange rune. The next moment, a bunch of mysterious incantations suddenly blurted out from his mouth.

Emptiness.

That was the first word that appeared in his mind as a giant cave appeared out of nowhere before him. The cave's atmosphere exuded endless death, with its scent in the air. Meanwhile, Shin felt a slight pain in his head as a mysterious force passed through, his head feeling a bit dizzy. Then a skeleton left with only bones slowly walked out from the cave. It was surrounded with a black mist, with two eyes flashing with magical flames. This skeleton wasn't the standard white or grayish skeletons usually found in literature and video games, but one with a silver and blueish bone structure. The bones of the skeleton weren't degraded in the slightest, but looked sharp and refined.

Overall his skeleton possessed and aura of death and inner strength that would make even a strong man cower, yet Shin was unafraid. Shin had a feeling of connection with the strange human-like skeleton that came out from the netherworld and even without connecting to God he could check the status of his demon familiar. Still, God prompted Shin to name his new familiar, so without hesitation he chose a cool and power name he had once made during his brief days of contracting eight graders syndrome, Grim Ash.

Special Summon, Grim Ash -

Superior Grade Skeleton Demon of the underworld. An ideal familiar for tanking enemy attacks, act as a forward guard, and independent action away from the summoner. As a Superior Grade Demon possesses the Undead Strength Whole Enhancement. Currently D tier Undead Strength. A 30% increase in stats in undead or demonic environments. Naturally heals over time, but if head, or 70% of its body is destroyed skeleton demon will be recalled and can not be summoned for twenty-four hours. Can collect the bones of the dead to strengthen itself through stats and possibly evolve under certain conditions. Next Evolution towards Lord Grade: 0% Progress. Can incorporate weapons and armor onto itself for its own use which will be strengthened, but equipping new items of the same type will destroy the previous ones.

Stats -

Intelligence - 75.

Mental Capacity - 150.

Cell Vitality - 450.

Reaction Speed - 400.

Muscle Density - 550.

Immunization Strength - 1000

Shin: "Hmm, not bad. Not bad at all. If a average player of God's Dimension barely getting by without gaining any rank rewards used all his points for state enhancements for 8-10 missions it would look like this with the exception of the high Immunization Strength stat. I expected it's abilities to some extent, but I didn't expect for it to have a energy. D tier Undead Strength is the energy for undead type mutations like zombies, skeletons, and lich. According to God this energy is unique as it increases physical strength and magic by a lot and allows the user to operate under heavy injuries rather than just surviving long as one's head and heart are intact, and also the energy has a decaying property like how Blood Energy has corrosion. This is another path for my skeleton familiar, but I won't enhance this at this time and if it evolves it should rank up by itself."

Shin looked over at his new demon familiar Grim Ash. The demon continued to stand tall. It was just satisfied by looking at its new master talk to himself and awaiting orders. Shin now felt embarrassed as he has yet to give his new familiar a order, so to start off with Shin told his familiar what it's new name was and asked for a handshake as proof of their partnership. Grim Ash took Shin hand, but without understanding just how much he was supposed to squeeze down it chose to use all of its strength with this simple action. Shin almost screamed under the force of Grim Ash and unconsciously used all of his strength to fight back and broke his familiar's bone hand. Grim Ash had power rivaling 5-6 adult men and a D tier energy, yet Shin possessed the strength of twelve men after his recent enhancements. Even without Ki that had already surpassed B tier it wasn't hard for Shin to destroy it's hand.

Shin: (Well, Grim Ash at least has a intelligence of 75 which should be high for a non-magic type undead, but this could just be a lack of common sense. Really, just how smart would a normal or elite skeleton be? What ever. In any case he really has a lot of power... but the current him won't be able to keep up with me. This level of power would have more than satisfied me back in H.O.T.D or BTOOOM, maybe even Apocalypse Alice, but not at my current level after my fifth mission which was broken with its rewards... Yeah, like I thought I have to enhance him as well. Despite having great strength and a cool appearance Grim Ash looks thin and his height doesn't even break through five feet. I definitely have to do something here!)

Shin first had it in mind to exchange to exchange Grim Ash a good weapon, but not too good. All equipment given to him would be destroyed once replaced and not having a good enough idea of his strengths and weaknesses, he didn't won't to waste a high level weapon on him that wouldn't match up. That's why for starters Shin exchanged for Grim Ash the Sci-fi DD tier weapon from Gundam Iron Blood Orphans, the Barbatos Mace. It was a durable blunt weapon that could fire metal spikes from the tip of the mace. It was also a low tier and cheap weapon, but Shin went further to buy the unlimited ammo model since the original could only hold a few spikes at one time and reloading the mace required taking it apart which couldn't be done in the middle of a battle. Shin also hoped that later Jin could use the Disposal Magic Enchantment rune to improve the Barbatos Mace.

Barbatos Mace -

Rating 57.

As mobile suits use Nano Laminated Armor for protection, such striking weapons are considered to be effective. The centre of the mace features a pile driver mechanism that fires a large spiked metal rod when activated. Firing range 30-50 meters. Requires 1000 Points and D rank reward. Unlimited Ammo version requires 2500 Points and DD rank rewards.

Next Shin chose to give Grim Ash a mutation and a powerful one at that. Grim Ash already had a mutation as a undead skeleton demon and even had a energy with Undead Strength, yet Shin wanted to do more and found a mutation that had a high chance of having a high affinity with him. The Kaguya Clan Bloodline. Despite the name it wouldn't give the godly abilities of Kaguya Otsutsuki. It was the true name of the clan of her descendants who held the ability to mold their Chakra with their bones like Kimaru from Naruto. There were countless bone related skill in the exchanges when Shin looked with his leader privileges to speed read through them all, yet most could probably be done by just acquiring and mastering this clan's Bloodline. Additionally this Bloodline cost a B rank reward and Shin wanted to see it in action first hand. B tier starter enhancements gave a huge boost in stats and a powerful ability, yet when they rank up there won't be anymore massive power increases. Shin knows that enhancements that start at B tier would be weaker than the ones that start at D tier and then reach B tier, yet Shin couldn't fully accept it. If starting with a B tier enhancement was a negative why would it be a option? There shouldn't be a worthless power within the exchanges, so there most be some merit in acquiring one, so Shin wanted to gain some insight on the matter.

Kaguya Clan Bloodline (LV 1) -

Rating 104.

A now extinct clan, known for their savage battle tactics and archaic values, and descendants of Kaguya Otsutsuki, as selected few have inherited a derivative of her original ability to manipulate one's bone structures. Dead Bone Pulse: A kekkei genkai which gives its wielder the ability to manipulate their own skeletal structure by infusing their calcium with energy, they could manipulate the growth and properties of their bones to their liking. Requires 5000 Points and B rank reward.

Special Summon, Grim-Ashes -

Superior Grade Skeleton Demon of the underworld. An ideal familiar for tanking enemy attacks, act as a forward guard, and independent action away from the summoner. As a Superior Grade Demon possesses the Undead Strength Whole Enhancement. Currently D tier Undead Strength. Possesses B tier Kaguya Clan Bloodline. A 30% increase in stats in undead or demonic environments. Naturally heals over time, but if head, or 70% of its body is destroyed skeleton demon will be recalled and can not be summoned for twenty-four hours. Can collect the bones of the dead to strengthen itself through stats and possibly evolve under certain conditions. Next Evolution towards Lord Grade: 0% Progress. Can incorporate weapons and armor onto itself for its own use which will be strengthened, but equipping new items of the same type will destroy the previous ones. Current Equipment: Barbatos Mace (Infinite Ammo Model).

Stats -

Intelligence - 176.

Mental Capacity - 324.

Cell Vitality - 770.

Reaction Speed - 828.

Muscle Density - 1010.

Immunization Strength - 1913.

A beam of light shot Grim Ash up into the air and once finished he now possessed a new mutation and was armed with a new weapon over its shoulder. Grim Ashes' bones became thicker in bone density, sharper edges, and has an aura of strength that made Shin slightly afraid of him and had take a step back. They have yet to try it out, but Shin expected that Grim Ash could now use its bones in a deadly fashion similar to Yue Zong's White Bones from God and Devil World even without any exchanged skills. As for the Barbados Mace held over Grim Ashes's shoulder it took on a strange shape. It's origin metallic surface was covered in blueish-silver bones same as its owner and had jagged and sharp thorn covering the tip which all increased the durability and power of the weapon. By all appearances it was a brutal weapon that looked as if it belonged to the C or B tier magic weapons.

Shin marveled at Grim Ash. He admits that he was worried if he got the right class when he could have gotten Ling Tan Battle Soul or Legendary Moonlight Sculptor, but the confidence he now had in his demon familiar just by being in its presence blew away such thoughts. He had wanted to gain a powerful familiar not just to have a comrade he could summon at all times, but to also have a protector for Komaru. Shin hoped that he didn't have to bring her into battle with him, but there were no certainties or truly is safe places in God's Dimension. A enemy could appear to kill her and the other Human Creations even if his team could find somewhere to let them stay as they fought on the front lines. In a emergency when Komaru is in danger he planned to have Grim Ash protect her, and now he was not worried. Shin marvels at the ability as he then had Grim Ash jump and run around the platform as it demonstrated its power. He looked at its movements an found them unrefined, yet it's speed and jumping power showed it's hidden potential. Grim Ash was still far weaker than Shin, but Shin wouldn't want to fight him if all possible once his familiar adapts to fighting, and now he could trust him to protect Komaru.

Shin: "I can definitely leave this important job to you Grim Ash... That's kind of a long name, so you're nick name will be Ash! Like the protagonist of Pocket Monster's western name. You could also be used to protect important NPCs during escort type missions. Later I'll get you a magic armor to increase your defenses and I'll get a tool to support your summoning like Shuai has. Let's work hard Ash!"

Ash: "..."

Off to the corner of the platform were the women of Team Japan.

Sachi: "..."

Kisara: "What a formidable looking warrior by Shin's side. As expected of our husband."

Hikari: "You really just go with whatever he does, don't you. Also, none of us our married."

Aqua: "Sachi, what's the matter. Don't tell me your falling for Shin as well?"

Sachi: "Please. I'm a sadist, but even I have better taste in men than all of you."

Hikari: "Oh, well I can't let that go even if you scare me Sachi. Then what are you looking at then?"

Sachi: "I was looking at that skeleton and thought that it's name doesn't match up is all."

Kisara: "Well, Grim Ash is a... exotic and powerful name to say the least. Still, it's a fine name."

Sachi: "That's not why. The name doesn't fit because it isn't appropriate. Judging by its bone structure and height Grim Ash, or Ash... is a female (lol is this dude yuki rito?). I'm certain with my medical knowledge that over there is a female skeleton."

Hikari: "..."

Aqua: "..."

Kisara: "..."

Aqua: "Shin really has the talent to make others laugh!"

All the woman began to laugh hysterically seeing Shin treat his prized female skeleton demon as a male. They also promised to not reveal this piece of information to him. Shin could hear the laughter coming from the other side of the platform and smiled.

Shin: "My women sure do get along well. Still... why do I feel eyes of contempt gazing at me. Hey, what do you think Ash?"

Ash: "..."

Grim Ash just silently stood there unable to speak. Whether it itself knew its un identity as female or what she thought of her new master... is a story for another time.

Twin Moon Necklace -

Rating 58.

A magic necklace that draws power from the the night and the moon and stars. Increases physical, mental, and spiritual regeneration by 10% when worn. At the night the stat increase increases to 30%, and under a full moon 50%. Slightly increases the strength of summons/familiars when worn and allows it to share in he benefits of this item. Requires 3500 points and DD rank reward.

Nameless Inferior Magic Armor -

Rating 45.

A basic set of unremarkable magic armor with the lowest grade of magic defenses. Requires 1000 Points.

After acquiring magic armor for Grim Ash to test our and myself a magic tool that increases regeneration all around and strengthens my summoned demon's power... it was time at last. Time at last to finally make the final, final exchange for myself. Maybe later on I would use my rewards for the other or supplies, but this will certainly be the very last big exchange for me. The BB tier counterpart of my Ki Cultivation Manual, the Black Heaven & Earth Technique. In other words the ultimate power hidden within the Black Heaven & Earth Technique, the mysterious and tyrannical Black Origin Threshold.

Black Origin Threshold -

Rating 150.

The purest form of the Black Heaven & Earth Technique and hailed as the ultimate Demon Art of all of Murim. The Black Origin Threshold forces the natural flow of Ki within the body to flow in reverse, signifying the moment when one surpasses the limits of the consciousness and the subconsciousness, the enemy & the self, and becomes the purest "Mu" (Fighting Spirit), where all limits are broken. Black Origin Threshold is an example of a released genetic constraint of the human soul and its effects are determined by the body, mind, and soul of the user. Only by the Fifth Stage can it truly even be begun to be mastered. Requires 12,000 Points, BB rank rewards, Black Heaven & Earth Technique, Advance Level Ki or higher, and have unlocked the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint or higher.

The Black Origin Threshold is the secret hidden technique beneath the Black Heaven & Earth Technique and is the perfect technique for my free style form of fighting. According to a master of martial arts from the Breaker Series where the technique originates from, martial arts is a mental activity. To move and attack without thinking at all is impossible for martial artists who emphasizes form and execution. Even if techniques are ingrained into one's body and soul of a master martial artist on some level they are still thinking... but there is an exception and that is the Black Origin Threshold

With Black Origin Threshold that basis one's power on emotion and rage a martial artist moves and acts without thought/delay. It has the side effect of causing the user to experience excruciating physical and spiritual plan, or even go mad in rage due to the reverse flow of Ki, but the technique is so powerful it makes up for this large defect. For one, the user moves without form, but spirit, so the user attacks are very unpredictable and above all fast. Between two masters of equal strength, the one using The Black Origin Threshold will act and react far faster than their opponent can due to the opponent relying on thought. There's also the possibility that the user will take in and learn whatever combat techniques that he sees and experiences first hand with their body. Also, once activated Ki as if it was a endless well continues to rise to the surface as time passes and bestows near endless stamina. So long as one's willpower remains strong enough they will continue to rise back up if beaten down and with even greater power.

Shin: "This is definitely the technique for me. One, I don't know martial arts, so fighting without proper forms doesn't disadvantage me in the slightest. Two, properly acting without thinking is really scary. Even in Unlocked Mode where I can react so much faster and efficiently I still have to think about things, or at least subconsciously. It might be something like a faster Unlocked Mode or variation of HxH's Killua's Hatsu "God Speed". Lastly, according to the description of the original Black Heaven & Earth Technique, after learning The Black Origin Threshold the conversation increase of Ki in quantity and quality will increase from 3-5 to 5-10. The Black Origin Threshold Doesn't sound easy to master at all, but at the very least my potential with Ki should double at the very least."

With that said Shin confirmed the the purchase for Black Origin Threshold and God began the exchange and was once more lifted into the air by the beam of light shot down from above. As particles of light entered the core of his being Shin entered into a trance like state. It was similar to the time he exchanged for Black Heaven and Earth Technique, yet the world he found himself in was vastly different. It was world of fog and underneath his feet was a pitch black sea that threatened to drag him down into the abyss. The entire space was filled with energy, rage, sorrow, hatred, but harder to notice purer feeling like joy and love. It was a strange place, yet for some reason he felt like letting everything go and entrusting himself to this space.

When Shin came out of the trance he found himself on the floor of the platform drenched in sweat and incredibly exhausted. The others were standing around him for the second time today wondering when he would wake up and once they saw hid awaken they approached him. Shin heard about what happened and was shocked. According to his comrades once the beam of light set him down one hour after the enhancement process began he just stood there and was unresponsive. Hikari, Kisara, and the others were worried and tried to approach him, but they felt a fierce killing intent that made everyone take a step back. Moments later Ki began to pour out of his body till the normal energy that had always appeared as a green aura of light became a dark green vapor cloud. Shin's eyes showed no showed no light and his face screamed indescribable rage and fury.

Aqua: "We didn't know what to think at the time. Your killing intent wouldn't lose out to my monster wolf form in intensity, Shin. No one wanted to approach you and only after you fell to the floor passed out cold ten minutes or so later did we dare to. This new ability of your was impressive and may not lose to the power from your Spirit Wave Technique when used and it lasted much longer... But you should be careful. Trust me. These kinds of powers which threaten to swallow up your mind and soul are no joke. Later test it out in your room's basement and make sure your alone. If you can retain your conscious then good but if not then you won't be able to use this power while in the presence of comrades."

Shin: "I will. This power, Black Origin Threshold will be necessary for us to compete with other teams. I won't let it harm me anyone here. I will completely master it!"

Even though Shin said that he was still worried. He didn't notice any grand changes after acquiring Black Origin Threshold... but he did notice one thing that was different. A sort of mental switch within his head. Shin didn't notice until it was over that the switch had been set up, yet he knew one thing for certain. Every cell in his body was warning him that by flipping the switch and following his new knowledge on how to reverse the flow of Ki according to The Black Origin Threshold... something terrifying will happen. Shin didn't know what, but at least knew that there might not be any going back if he flipped that switch.

Shin's Leftovers: 6,000 Points and 2B rank reward.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.

Next chapter will end the intermission. Except Shin's power ups, the other members of Team Japan will just be wrapped up in summaries. Shin also makes some last minute exchanges later and was reflected above. The dimensional belt was for the hell of it and the sniper rifle was the same. The belt has a ability which explains why Zheng couldn't find it. Had to look back to see how much the infinite ammo one cost. He also bought a ton of food enough to feed a country in Africa for a month which is why the final score is a clean 6,000 Points. In the future Shin wants to obtain high quality skills and equipment, but lacking the points he needs he's saving up. I also need Shin to save up for some things in the future, so I might not get him many new enhancements for a long time unless they are upgrades. Especially when he gets to seriously training Self Created Powers and Altered Skills. To sum it up it means I'm restricting his enhancement path a bit so he doesn't become one of those guys who can do anything and everything just because he's the MC (So not the MC from moonlight sculptor).

Enchanted Tool: Arrow Return -

Rating 50.

Suitable for those that use projectile weapons. A magic earring with the magic to return up to three thrown projectile weapons per day within a 10,000 meter radius. Requires 1000 Points and D rank reward.

Defensive Item: Jade Pendant -

Raring 77.

A jade pendant with a defensive ability. This pendant would block critical attacks automatically thirty times or until the energy within depletes. Require 500 points and D rank reward.

Ionic Gauss Sniper Rifle, Unlimited Ammo Version.

Raring 79.

The sniper rifle accelerates bullets with ions, the enormous kinetic energy it generates can almost destroy any modern or low sci-fi fortification. Requires 1000 Points. Unlimited Ammo Version cost 5000 Points and D rank reward.

Dimensional Storage Item: Subspace Belt -

Rating 105.

A magic of belt created by Xiuzhen technology. Can store 500 Cubic meters of lifeless items in a subspace dimension. The belt itself can replace itself with a normal belt and the real belt will enter it's own subspace to hide itself till called upon. Requires B rank reward.

Player Recruitment Watch -

Rating XXX.

Long as they are told the truth of God Dimension and they agree of their own free will, a Player is able to recruit a NPC as a Player to their team, and be regarded as such. Will be able to acquire their own rewards. An available spot on the team must be open. Requires 5,000 Points and C rank reward.

\- Hikari's Mental Capacity+200 for 2000 Points.

Also, I thought I would point out the the benefits of the Z Saber while comparing it to Zheng's Tiger Soul. Without adding any energy the Z Saber is superior to the B tier Tiger Soul and is equal in sharpness to its light blade, and even has special attack magic modes. Tiger Soul can change its shape with energy, but the Z Saber doesn't require energy to transform. Sci-fi weapons have this kind of benefit and show immediate usefulness as we've seen so far in the original, but they have weakness. One, it's normal attacks don't have magic abilities where as Tiger Soul does. Two, there is a ultimate limit to the Z Saber power without physically modifying it and it doesn't rank up into a A and AA tier like Tiger Soul. Tiger Soul can even reach greater heights with the quantity and quality of the users energy (Qi) as well. Third and lastly, magic weapons like Tiger Soul are less likely to break or require repairs. Also, I'm putting this out there, but the gloves of Adell's Legacy could catch or block the light blade of Tigger Soul with the burning field activated.

I do have plans to modify the sci-fi sword in the future, like giving it a megabuster form, but for those disappointed in the enhancements he got this time around you should have suggested something reasonable. Some mentioned mutations, but ghoul is all Shin will have for now.


	200. Chapter 200

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 40, Dangan Ronpa NEXT

Within the Terminal Lobby and Aqua's basement/training room, all members of Team Japan had gathered together for one last training session. It was already the ninth day of break for Team Japan after the last mission, so tomorrow would be the day the team sets off towards their next mission, H.O.T.D for a second time. The purpose of this gathering was for the team who had finalized there new exchanges to familiarized the abilities of their comrades for the upcoming mission if they haven't already. Also, Team Japan would test out the finished products crafted by Jin during his down time.

First they began with Hikari.

Hikari used her points and rank rewards to exchange for two new abilities, a weapon, and a support tool. The first ability paid for courtesy of Shin, the Psyche Force ability Soul Link. Hikari could connect up to three people with her mind and once she did the images of her Psyche Force Scan could be relayed directly to their minds with hers and everything within her effective Psyche Force Scan range could be shared. An entire area would appear within their minds as a scan of the area. Everyone rejoiced at this power which would allow the team to see enemy locations which was superior to Hikari's previous Game Map. This was the core ability of a team and increased the whole team's chances of survival as it would allow them to take hold of the environment and the enemies locations then they set up the area to the team's advantage before a fight. Additionally, there were no longer downsides to splitting up during the mission as they could now stay in constant contact long as the team didn't separate into more than four groups.

The second ability Hikari acquired was the skill previously used by a member of Team Germany which gave their group a lot of trouble, Defensive Force Field. This skill allowed Hikari to set up a transparent force field wall wherever she chose within her sights. Currently the shield wasn't as powerful as Team Germanys which could block the beam of the Unicorn Beam Magnum, so we suspect that Team Germany were using a A or AA tier or higher version, or they may have serious trained it as well, yet at the very least it was strong enough to to repel most modern firearms and even missiles. There was a surprisingly revelation though.

During her training the last through days Hikari discovered that she could remotely set up the Defensive Force Field within the range of her Psyche Force Scan which was 123.6 km, or 1236 km in a straight line. Double if she summons her Persona Adrasteia. This would allow her to contribute even more in battle, but the downside was the further away she sets up the force field wall the weaker it becomes. At the very edge of her scans the shield had the sorry durability of cheap clear plastic wrap, so mastering this skill was a work in progress. Hikari first exchanged for the C tier Defensive Force Field and later the B tier version the next day after she grasped the basics of the lesser version.

Next per Shin's recommendation Hikari acquired a offensive ability in the form of equipment. She still had a B rank reward to get a good ability, but skills and the like needed a lot of time to become powerful whereas weapons would immediately show their power, which was especially true for Sci-fi weapons. Shin used his Leader Position to speed read through the Sci-fi weapons that fitted Hikari and found a interesting weapon from his favorite series of giant robot Anime, Gundam, the DRAGOON from the Gundam Seed universe. Like Bits and Funnels, the DRAGOON were a remote weapons to attack enemy mobile suits from a distance and from unexpected angle. It was a hard to control weapon, but possessing the Cyber New-Type mutation (Wrong universe, but still...) with heightened spatial awareness it was a perfect match for Hikari. .

The type of DRAGOON Hikari acquired was the infinite ammo model of a beam cannon type that shots out energy beams and didn't need to be recharged, yet could only for ten shots before needing thirty seconds of cool down from overheating. Each remote control DRAGOON were four feet long and width of a human arm, and she acquired three of them each for C rank reward. Originally, DRAGOONs were a exclusively space weapon that needed special equipment to operate, yet according to the description God has modified it so it could be used on earth's surface by using Psyche Force and be controlled with it as well within the range of her Psyche Force Scan. Hikari tested the power of her new remote Sci-fi weapons and afterwards no one doubt that she was now apart of the main combat force of Team Japan all the while staying away from most dangers. No one doubted the power or threat of a remote control Sci-fi weapon which could fire at any angle.

Lastly and once more on Shin's recommendation with some input from Jin, Hikari acquired a support tool for Psyche Force. A Psyche Force Diffusion Plate+1. The plates were made from a special alloy that would buff her Psyche Force. Hikari didn't understand why she needed it or why the +1 version which required double the points from the normal ones, yet Shin and Jin had two hopes for the plates. One, will be the team's trump card to escape danger or reverse the battle if the enemy team has a Psyche Force user. Two, since H.O.T.D is infested with zombies it could be used to take control of them who will certainly have low Mental Capacity and may even be able to move an army of undead to wipe the enemy team. Jin's idea was truly frightening when they thought of controlling an army of zombies to attack the other team and they agreed this was a must power to have. Jin truly came to like this plan can even offer to buy Hikari two more +1 Plates.

Soul Link -

Rating 92..

Connect the user's mind with their comrades so they can see what they see. Can connect with up to three people at the same time, which means a group of four people can share their visions and thoughts. The ability also allows the user to mind control people with a weak mind/Mental Capacity, however, it will backfire if the target's Mental Capacity is too high. Requires 5000 points and a rank B reward.

Mini DRAGOON (Type: Mini Beam Cannon) - (×3)

Rating 75.

A DRAGOON (Disconnected Rapid Armament Group Overlook Operation Network) is a control system developed by ZAFT to guide remote weapons. The system allows a single mobile weapon pilot to control several smaller weapon pods to attack enemies from different angles, using a quantum communication network to send signals to move them around the battlefield. Equipped with a Beam Cannon. Needs to be recharged after every five shots. By using Psyche Force it can be controlled with the mind and it's limitations within the atmosphere have been overcome. Requires 1000 Points and D rank reward. Infinite ammo model requires 2000 Points and C rank reward.

Psyche Force Plate Diffusion Plate+1 - (×3)

Rating 69.

This metallic plate uses a special alloy and can buff psyche force for a short period of time. Only useable to Psyche Force users, otherwise one can get exhausted mentally. Can also interfere with or even control organisms with a low mental capacity. However, the duration is short. Each plate only lasts 120 seconds. Requires 2000 Points.

Defensive Force Field (LV1) -

Rating 50.

Cast a basic defensive force field wall to protect oneself or others. Durability, size, and distance the force field can be deployed depends on the Mental Capacity Stat and output of any additional energy. There will be no consumption of energy unless the forcefield is destroyed. Requires 2000 Points and C rank reward.

Defensive Force Field (LV2) -

Rating 88.

Cast a basic defensive force field wall to protect oneself or others. Durability, size, and distance the force field can be deployed depends on the Mental Capacity Stat and output of any additional energy. There will be no consumption of energy unless the forcefield is destroyed. Requires 5000 Points and B rank reward.

Aqua showed off her enhancements next with a sci-fi weapon, magic spell, and moment technique.

The sci-fi weapon Aqua acquired was the EMP Rifle. Aqua already owned a BB tier magic gun, the Thomson Contender Mystic Code which was a death sentence to most magic base creatures and users once they are hit with its Origin Bullet, yet it had its limitations. While the Mystic Code was arguably the most powerful tool again magic users and the like, the speed and range of the gun was no different from a modern weapon, and so for those with enhancements it wasn't impossible to avoid the deadly bullets. Additionally, the Mystic Code needs to drain a lot of energy from the user to craft Origin Bullets, which were released as single shots and to fire again needed time to reload.

The Thomson Contender Mystic Code was a powerful trump card and Aqua had no regrets about acquiring it, yet she now desired a powerful weapon that she could regularly use and mow down loads of enemies with, and the EMP Rifle fit the bill to a T. The EMP Rifle was twice as powerful as its Gauss counterpart and could shot through alloy walls with ease with needle size bullets, and with the unlimited ammo version that Aqua acquired it could shot 70,000 bullets per minute. This sci-fi weapons only draw back was that it would overheat and become unusable after a few minutes of continuous shooting, but it was an acceptable draw back. Long as she had the EMP Rifle for even a few minutes a horde of zombies could be wiped out well before the guns firing limit was reach.

The magic spell Aqua acquired was one related to her Werewolf Bloodline, Lunar Wolf Pack Summoning. It was a superior version of a summoning technique within the Exchanges to summon wolves for offense, defense, and scouting exclusive to the a werewolf like Aqua. The spell allowed her to summon beast form werewolves instead of plain wolves. They were stronger, faster, more intelligent, and above all fiercer than the average wolf and stood four feet tall. They also grew more powerful under the light of the moon and would gain stealth abilities. They would disappear after a certain amount of time after summoning, so they weren't like Shin's Grim Ashes and they would drain her of both energy and stamina, but according to the description she can improve the werewolves in both quantity and quality with practice. They already displayed for the team strength three times greater than the average man and could summon up to thirty already, so this growth aspect was very promising.

Lastly, Aqua obtained the moment technique Wind Chaser. It was a movement technique suitable to traversing over different harsh environments and would improve if one had a animal like form to take on like Aqua has with her Werewolf Bloodline. Her speed when using this new technique created a thin veil of wind around her body the accelerated her to new heights in speed while all the while repelling the forces around her like air and wind.

Lunar Wolf Pack Summoning -

Rating 89.

Summon a pack of magic wolf form werewolves temporarily. The rank one's Werewolf Bloodline also improves the quality and quantity of werewolves summoned along with training. Gain increased stats and stealth functions under the light of the moon. Requires 7000 Points, B rank reward, and Werewolf Bloodline.

Multiple Barrel EMP Rifle -

Rating 89.

The multi-barrel EMP rifle is two meters long, yet not too heavy. Has a mechanism that pushed air out from the bottom to reduce recoil. Shoots 70,000 needle thin bullets per minute capable pricing through modern fortifications. Infinite Ammo Model. Requires 2000 Points and C rank reward

Wind Chaser -

Rating 80.

Applicable to missions that require long distance running over different environments. Able to run with vastly increased moment speed and will be unhindered by the natural elements whether it's rain, snow, or storm. Performance of this technique will improve vastly if one takes on a animalistic form. Requires 4,000 Points and B rank reward.

Shuai to improve his basic abilities advance his Shaman Power to B tier Advance Level Shaman Power while also acquiring a new magic tool and a skill specifically to improve his chances of challenging the next mission within the world of H.O.T.D, the equipment Earth Sealing Staff and the spell Ghost Frenzy. The Earth Sealing Staff repels evil, enhances Shuai's abilities, and can even convert Shaman Power to Faith Energy although at a loss. Ghost Frenzy was a technique to handle a large group of enemies by obstructing them with a small army of ghost. They weren't too powerful and couldn't cause physical harm, yet was well suited to dealing with magic creatures and the supernatural. Shuai did consider using his points to advance Gnome to the next stage of a Earth Elemental, from Lowest Level Earth Elemental to Low Level Earth Elemental for 10,000 points and B rank reward, but as he wasn't confident that he could bring out her potential having only unlocked the First Stage of the Genetic Constraint and would use up most of his rewards, so he held off on that choice.

Advance level Shaman Power Enhancement -

Raring 88.

Applicable in missions that require contact with the supernatural. The power of a shaman allows one to contact spirits and elementals, and make contracts with them. Has access to Spirit Energy. Requires 2600 points and B rank reward.

Evil Sealing Staff of Earth -

Rating 86.

A staff used by Shamans and others of this field to combat evil. Can repel evil forces and enhance Shaman abilities. Increases affinity for the Earth Element. Can convert Spiritual Power into Faith Energy in a 2 to 1 ratio. Requires 5000 Points and B rank reward.

Ghost Frenzy -

Rating 79.

Call forth an army of ghost to strike down the enemy. Unable to cause physical damage, but can weaken the spirits of others and harm magic and spiritual beings. The number of ghost summoned depends on the amount of Spiritual Power the user holds. The summoned ghost can remain active for one hour or till destroyed. Can not summon additional ghost till all previous ghost are gone. Requires 7000 Points, C rank reward, and Advance Level Shaman Power or higher.

Connor acquired a Demon related spell this time around, but prioritized his firepower by improving his Trion and Trigger. The skill that he acquired was like Aqua's, a movement technique, yet one that emphasized stealth action rather than just speed. As for his Trigger he upgraded it from the C tier B-Class Trigger to the B tier A-Class Trigger which increased his Trion by ten folds and improved the specs of his Trion Body. From there Connor wishing to gain immense power made the odd choice get a physical modification for his Trion abilities with the Trion Receptor Horn Implant. A Trigger was implanted into his physical body and he grew two small horns hidden behind his dirty blonde hair. According to the description Connor's Trion would significantly increase and he's reported a 10-20 fold increase in Trion, yet there was a potential side effect if the Trion Receptor Horn Implant reaches his brain. Shin had warned Connor that in the Manga World Trigger there was someone who showed mental instability when his horns reached his brain, yet Connor didn't seem to care as he wanted to vastly increase his fighting power and his attack power very well did improve, yet noted that if he used up all of his Trion it would take more than a full day to recover. This showed that in exchange for great power Connor suffered a penalty to his Trion regeneration. Lastly, Connor like always had some spare points leftover, so he increased his stats rather than save them.

A-Class Trigger -

Rating 93.

Applicable to missions that require combat. Can store the users real body within the trigger and replace it with an A-Class Trion Body. Can download and use up to eight different types of triggers (Must be obtained separately). Triggers has the bailout function, able to escape after the Trion Body is destroyed, the main body will be ejected and fly away anywhere within 1000 meters of where Bail Out occurred. Warning: If the Trion Body is destroyed or Bail Out, the real body will be left in a state of extreme fatigue for hours. Gain assess to Trion Energy. Requires B rank reward, 3000 points and a B-Class Trigger.

Trion Receptor Horn Implant -

Rating 95.

Greatly increases a Trigger User's Trion through an implants to the head. A possible side effect is that the user may have their personality changed if the implants reach into the brain. Requires 7000 Points, B rank reward, and A-Class Trigger or higher.

Silent Approach -

Rating 73.

Use Demonic Power to stealthy move about and hide in plain sight without making any sounds while moving. Also significantly increase moment speed while lowering one's natural presence. During large battles with high death tolls the ability to hide one's presence vastly increases. Taking too noticeable of a action will cancel the stealth effects of this skill. Requires 6500 Points and C rank reward.

Jin failed to meet his teams's expectations of a radical choice of enhancements. He simply increase the tiers of his Whole Body Enhancement and Mutation both to B tier, yet he made a impact by presenting the finished products of his experiment. Jin was able to equip every member of Team Japan Unlimited Ammo handguns (IMI Desert Eagle) and submachine guns (TDI Vector Submachine Gun) that could fire Intermediate Grade Magic Bullets (Kisara refused to take one on the grounds she was a pure swordsman). Additionally, Jin handed Shin the only weapon he had time make with Highest Grade disposal magic enchantment, a Unlimited Ammo Carl-Gustav M4. As Jin described it the actual power and speed of these modern weapons even with magical enchantment hasn't changed, so they lose to Sci-fi and magic weapons that cost rank rewards, yet their enchantment put out magical damage in the DD tier range with just no additional effects like corrosion or purifying. Jin also said that if he has time he will see about upgrading the Ionic Gauss Sniper Rifle with Advance Grade Magic Enchantment depending on how long the mission will be and if there's time

Advance Rank Magic Power -

Rating 88.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. The standard of magic power in the Mushoku Tensei universe. Capable of complex Mana manipulation. Requires 2800 Points, a B rank reward, and Intermediate Rank Magic Power.

Warlock Genetic Mutation, Class C -

Rating 77.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Able to store a source of Mana inside their bodies, or within an object with no limit. Special Skill, Supporter - The ability to turn an inanimate object or a living being into a familiar called a Supporter. Requires a C rank reward, 1600 Points, and Class D Warlock Mutation.

Warlock Genetic Mutation, Class B -

Rating 92.

Applicable to most missions that require the use of magic. Able to store a source of Mana inside their bodies, or within an object with no limit. Special Skill, Supporter - The ability to turn an inanimate object or a living being into a familiar called a Supporter. Requires B rank reward, 2600 Points, and the Class C Warlock Mutation.

Kisara who was already a master swordsman of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, but lacked the strong enhancements to display her power in superhuman battles, so she chose to upgrade her entry level mutation and energy both to C tier. Kisara explained this and then told her comrades that she exchanged two skills and a stat upgrade package.

The first was a upgrade of her moment technique Accel Turn, now Double Accel Turn. Double Accel Turn was by far the fastest moment technique of Team Japan and was close to three times as fast as Shin's Instant Movement, but came at a price of putting a strain on the body with continuous use and a large drain of stamina, so it was a technique better suited for sudden burst of speed rather than long distance running.

The second technique which Kisara exchange for on Shin's recommendation and required her to purchase the C tier Muscle Density Stat Package was the fictional Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu technique used by Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu practitioners in the Manga, Kuzuryusen (Nine-Headed Dragon Flash). It was a high speed dashing attack were the user strikes nine vital points on the human body at god speed, or more accurately ten times her standard maximum speed for a brief instant to strike. It was a powerful B tier skill on par with Shin's Spirit Wave skill, and required Kisara to have a bare minimum of 1000 stat points in Muscle Density to execute. The technique was extremely fast, so Kisara used her remaining points to increase Reaction Speed and other stats.

Heroic Stigmata Implant -

Rating 79.

Applicable to missions that require high combat power. Special tissues created by reverse-engineering Nova cell cultures, which gives superhuman abilities and prowess to Pandora and Limiters. Females will develop into Pandora who can use HIGH END SKILL and Males will develop into Limiters who can use FREEZING. Requires 1600 Points, C rank reward, and Stigmata Implant.

Middle Class Hunter Nen -

Rating 81.

Applicable to missions that require close combat. Potentially has very high growth, but because of the specialist nature of Nen is very limited ability wise. Requires 1500 points and C rank reward.

Double Accel -

Rating 80.

Double Accel is a variant of the Accel Turn that allows a Pandora to go twice as fast than with a regular Accel. It is usually performed by doing one Accel followed by another. Requires 5000 points, C rank reward, Accel Turn, and Stigmata Implant or higher.

Muscle Density Package C -

Rating 75.

A 800 stat point increase in Muscle Density. One Time purchase. 2000 Points and C rank reward.

Kuzuryusen (Nine-Headed Dragon Flash) -

Rating 103.

A Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu technique. A dashing attack that uses Shinsoku (Godspeed) to simultaneously strike all nine vital spots on the foe's body from a normal kendo stance. It's said to be undodgeable and unblockable. It's power is determined from the speed, force, and weight of the user. Requires 5000 points, B rank rewards, and Muscle Density stat over 1000.

One of the two newest members to Team Japan Drake received many benefits after connecting to God to make his exchanges. As he already possessed Faith Energy and to a satisfactory degree God allowed him to void point requirements up to the C tier Faith Energy. Drake finished up with 25,400 Points, 1A and 1C rank reward. He got an increase up to Advance Level Faith Energy, a exorcising spell, and Innocence Cube, the Equipment Type in the form of one arm Gauntlet witht he interesting ability to take hold of certain vectors. For the remaining points that Drake had left over were used to gain a impressive boost in stats.

Low Level Faith Energy -

Rating 55.

Applicable to the missions that require combat against spirits and dark forces. Can buff stats and harm dark forces. The strength of one's feeling and beliefs can substantially increase potential of Faith Energy. Has a strong self healing factor. Requires 800 points and D rank reward. POINT REQUIREMENTS HAVE BEEN VOIDED DUE TO LEARNING FAITH ENERGY TO A SATISFACTORY LEVEL BEFOREHAND.

Intermediate Level Faith Energy -

Rating 70.

Applicable to the missions that require combat against spirits and dark forces. Can buff stats and harm dark forces. The strength of one's feeling and beliefs can substantially increase potential of Faith Energy. Has a strong self healing factor. Requires 1,700 points and C rank reward. POINT REQUIREMENTS HAVE BEEN VOIDED DUE TO LEARNING FAITH ENERGY TO A SATISFACTORY LEVEL BEFOREHAND.

Advance Level Faith Energy -

Rating 89.

Applicable to the missions that require combat against spirits and dark forces. Can buff stats and harm dark forces. The strength of one's feeling and beliefs can substantially increase potential of Faith Energy. Has a strong self healing factor. Requires 3000 points and B rank reward.

Dark Repulsion -

Rating 77.

Transform Faith Energy into a shied that defends against dark powers, or a concentrated blast which which rejects dark forces. Can also be used to free an individual from the control of darkness. Requires 6,000 Points and two C rank rewards.

Innocence Cube -

Rating 80

Applicable to the missions that require combat against spirits and dark forces. Acquire one of the 109 shards of Innocence and become an Exorcist. Will develop a Equipment or Parasite type Innocence weapon. Innocence is the natural enemy of evil spirits, demons and all things that go against the will of god. Possess an Evolution factor and access to Faith Energy. Requires 2450 Points and B rank reward.

The second newest member Sachi was a nurse with medical expertise and former assassin, so she used her rewards to make use of her talents. For starters Sachi acquired Ki Energy, yet not a high tier as she desired weapons and other enhancements instead. Sachi acquired Xian Enchanted Needle, Adamantium Needles, and Infusion Needles. Needles were still her weapon of choice even after hearing all the amazing sci-fi and magic weapons within the exchanges.

Sachi additionally acquired the throwing skill Psychic Throw. It wasn't a skill that increase the power and speed of her thrown needles, but allowed those variables to remain constant. Basically, no matter the distance, even on the other side of the planet, her thrown needles wouldn't lose speed or power till they connect to her intended target. It was a amazing skill, but was limited to her actual line of sight unless she was assisted by an outside power like Psyche Force, but even then it would be meaningless if she were to miss.

Sachi also acquired a magic tool in the shape of a earring with the power to recall released arrows or other small projectiles thrown. Shin hearing this chose to get one as well as his Deltoid Z-Saber had a spear form with a charged option and liked the ides of not looking for his thrown weapons. Sachi preferred to fight from a distance which was polar opposite of what her training taught her, but the last mission taught her she couldn't always fight safely from a distance. Sachi acquired a magic weapon, Hell Fire Fang. A dagger in a leather sheath appeared on her hand. She unsheathed the dagger and it burned with a light blue flame that can damage souls when stabbed into a organism. Lastly, Sachi acquired a B tier bloodline of a type of snake that anyone who has read or watched Harry Potter would know. The Basilisk. According to its description it was bloodline with many lethal abilities which suited Sachi.

Low level Ki -

Rating 62.

Applicable to missions that require close combat. Can buff stats substantially in short period of time. Requires 500 Points and D rank reward.

Intermediate level Ki -

Rating 75.

Applicable to missions that require close combat. Can buff stats substantially in short period of time. Requires 1200 points, C rank reward, and Low Level level Ki.

Xian Enchanted Needle -

Rating 70.

Suitable for those with knowledge of eastern technique of acupuncture. Twenty Golden needles in cased in a jade box. Forged using methods of the Xians. Even if you miss the acupoint while inserting it, the needle can still increase the subject's recovery rate. However, if you know acupuncture the value of this tool will rival A tier medical tools. Requires 3000 Points and C rank reward.

Unlimited Adamantium Needle Set -

Rating 40.

Suitable for those skilled in throwing needles. A set of Adamantium needles within a metallic box. Can hold up to one hundred needles and will continuously replace all used needles every sixty minutes. Requires 2500 Points and D rank reward.

Infusion Needles -

Rating 76.

Suitable for those skilled with throwing needles. A set of twenty-five magic needles that can absorb the energy of the user for increased throwing range and penetrating power. Limit B tier energy per needle and energy quickly dissipates once inserted. Increases throwing distance and piercing potential. Once energy capacity is reached needles will explode on contact and if stabbed into a target the volatile energy will inject itself into them. Requires 3500 Points and two C rank rewards.

Psychic Throw -

Rating 70.

Applicable for users versed in throwing techniques. By concentrating one's mind can throw small to medium sized tools over great distances without losing velocity. Limited to one's line of sight and within straight lines. Can be guided by Psyche Force for increased attack range, but unable to be used within the scope of another Psyche Force user or equivalent's masked or controlled area. Requires 5000 Points and two C rank rewards.

Enchanted Tool: Arrow Return -

Rating 50.

Suitable for those that use projectile weapons. A magic earring with the ability to return up to three thrown projectiles per day within a 10,000 meter radius. Requires 2000 Points and D rank reward.

Hellfire Fang -

Rating 62.

Suitable for missions against spiritual beings. A close range magic knife that burns with a blue flame that can burn the souls of any organisms. Requires 2,000 Points and two D rank rewards.

Basilisk Bloodline -

Rating 96.

Suitable for missions that require resistance to poisons and other toxic substances. The bloodline of the King of Serpents. Naturally produces poisons within ones blood and at higher tiers of this bloodline one can transform into a great snake. Special Skill, Basilisk Eyes: Chance of causing partial petrification on those who stare too long into one's eyes. Special Skill, Basilisk Venom: Produce a powerful poison that will continue to slowly weaken those with a Immunization Strength below 3,000 til they succumb to death. Can be produced through the sweat glands once ever seventy-two hours. Can only be cured with the tears of a phoenix or through God's Repair Function. Requires 5,000 Points and B rank reward.

After finished hearing about and examining the battle potential of his comrades Shin stepped up. He demonstrated his variety of powers while giving in depth discussion to his comrades.

◆ Ki - Shin's previous Advance Level Ki has been fully converted to the energy flow of the Black Heaven & Earth Technique and had begun to cultivate additional Ki with the added 5-10 fold increase with the benefits of Black Origin Threshold. As always his Ki would continue to recover at a quick rate due to his cultivation manual and after acquiring it's counterpart technique there's been further improvement. Has stated that if he used up all of his Ki it would take no longer than 60-90 minutes to recover it all, and with some Ki left over it would take just 40-60 minutes to return to full power. Recovery time depended on physical condition and mental state.

◆ Black Origin Threshold - As for the Black Origin Threshold Shin first tried it out alone in his basement and feeling that it wasn't as bad as they all imagined confidently showed it off before his teammates. When activated Black Origin Threshold vastly increased his Ki, physical stats, and stamina for as long as his body and mind could endure the immense pain from the reverse flow of Ki which, and the fact he risked dying from a overuse of Ki. The overall increase in power was no less than when Shin's in his Kakuja Kagune, so it made a great replacement for Red Moon Formation that was lost with the Lesser Fenrir Coat, and like Red Moon Formation it suited Ki abilities rather than his ghoul mutation abilities. After the demonstration everyone agreed that it was an amazing power, yet Shin would go on to say that he was just tapping the surface. Black Origin Threshold reflected his emotional state and would increase in power vastly the stronger they were, yet came at a high risk of going into a berserker state and lashing out at anyone within reach. There was also the risk of burning out from a overuse of Ki from the reverse flow, but Shin felt that the power gained was well worth it.

◆ Ki Techniques - There has been no great leaps of progress for most of Shin's techniques such as Soul Crushing Strike, Instant Movement, Void Movement, One Sword Style - Thirty-six Pound Cannon, and his various Ki emission techniques. There was some improvement like Shin training rigorously to master fighting 3-Dimensionally with Void Movement, but nothing that couldn't be explained by his increasing new levels of Ki in quantity, quality and Genetic Constraint stage. Having acquired a second sword Shin has been attempting to execute his sword technique with both hands, but has so far been unsuccessful, yet has seen a change in flying speed of the Thirty-six Pound Cannon when using his newest sword.

The only noteworthy success was the Gravity Blade and Spirit Wave combination attack. Shin tested the technique and like he originally saw when he used it in combat it was far more powerful and refined than than a normal Spirit Wave punch or kick. Shin imagined that the combination technique was at least BB tier in power just as Jin once said as he recalled that not a single enemy within the difficult mission Dangan Ronpa Another Episode could defend against it and were all taken care of with one slash, with the exception of the Guide. It was restricted to close range combat and it couldn't be fired outwardly like Thirty-six Pound Cannon, yet all the same it was Shin's most powerful offensive technique. He also experiment with adding Spirit with Soul Crushing Strike to create a internal Ki attack version, something that may even be able to kill Aqua's Monster Wolf Form which greatest feature is exterior defense, but such attempts ended up with blowing off his arms multiple times in practice.

◆ Magic - Shin's new and sole magic spell Firebolt was as powerful as he expected and had no regrets about its purchase. Power, speed, and scale were determined by the level of the owner's total energy rather than the energy output. There was a moderate energy consumption to use while the speed and powerful of Firebolt wouldn't decrease no matter how Ki was left which was a advantage to match it's disadvantage of unable to alter it's power with additional energy applied. Using a steel post as a target the lightning shaped fire released from his palm flew towards the target in a flash and burn and melt it down radiating electricity. It was so fast that almost no one in Team Japan had the confidence to avoid it. Aqua and Shin himself said maybe they could if they were on guard and in the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint, but no way would they be able to avoid the scarlet lightning shaped fire without knowledge of it in advance. Shin's Ki had surpassed B tier energy, so the power of the spell wasn't small and might even be effective against armored opponent. In the Light Novel where Fire Bolt originated from it was a pure fire type spell with only the speed and appearance of lightning, yet Shin's version exchanged from God also did electrical damage, so it would both burn and paralyze those hit by this spell.

◆ One-eyed Ghoul Mutation - Shin's body was slowly adjusting to his mutation's new rank as an SS Rated One-eyed Ghoul. His power, speed, reflexes, and above all recovery rate had reached new heights and he no longer needed to use Ki to recover from non-critical injuries. Shin also no longer felt as much backlash than he originally did. He also noticed he was more sensitive to the smell and sound of blood even if it was still locked within the human body, meaning his observational powers were enhanced as well due to a ghouls nature to seek out the blood and flesh of others. This could be seen as a sign that he was becoming more and more like the ghouls from Tokyo Ghouls with the new rank of his mutation, or a sign of evolution from reaching the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint and becoming something more than human and was now adapting to his enhancements.

Shin's weapon as a Ghoul, the Kagune now possessed eight blood red tentacles which were stronger, faster, and felt far more natural to use and possessed the confidence to fight like Menthuthuyoupi, the Royal Guard Chimera Ant from HxH would could repel all incoming attacks by striking them down. Shin could also morph his Kagune into any shape he so desired while perfectly controlling it's softness and hardness outside of Unlocked Mode. Hammer, giant swords, large claws, wires, and other shapes were all possible. This would give Shin a lot more options in battle for the upcoming mission.

There was a vast increase in all specs when Shin used the Kakuja Kagune after moving up a tier in his mutation. The number of armored Kagune in Kakuja form he could use increase by two for a total of four, and could be merged together for two powerful armored tails, or one extremely deadly armored tail that could extended thirty meters and slash through a ten meter thick alloy plate with a clean cut and had the durability to block heavily weaponry and rockets without suffering a dent in its armor. Shin was impressed, yet he it didn't escape him that his Kakuja Kagune was still in a incomplete state, so he imagined that he needed the Fourth Stage or some kind of breakthrough as a ghoul to form a complete Kakuja.

◆ Hidden Class Profession - Shin's acquired Hidden Class from the certificate was Dark Walker. It was a class with traits of a warrior, thief and summoner, and one that gains benefits from darkness. This Hidden Class thanks to the Hidden Class Change Certificate came with all of the skills, both active and passive of a Dark Walker: Spirit of the Cat, Eyes of the Cat, Gift of Darkness III, Summon Demon, Dark Blade, Blade Storm, Dark Dance, and Moonlight Shadow. A CC (Crowd Control) skill, a observational skill, passive skill that increases stats, a summoning skill that Shin has heavily developed, a sword skill, a stronger AOE sword skill, another moment skill, and lastly a cloning technique. Shin couldn't say that it was the strongest hidden class, yet it was one that vastly increased his fighting potential greatly.

◆ Equipment - Shin previously owned the Na Ring (2), the Lesser Fenrir Coat (Now lost), Robocop Auto 9, Devil Sealed Gun, and Gravity Blade, and now had six new tools joining his arsenal. An earring with a enchantment to recall thrown weapons, a dimensional belt that could hold 500 cubic meters of items, a magic necklace that improved energy regeneration and the power of familiars were among them, and the Ionic Gauss Sniper Rifle, yet they were not the most impressive.

First was his new Sci-fi weapon, the Deltoid Z-Saber. The Z-Saber creates a deadly energy blade with unparalleled sharpness that can be sustained forever. The greatest features of the Z-Saber is that it can transform into different weapons to suit the occasion (Sword, spear, spinning shield, chain, and tonfa) and possess two unique special skills. The first special skill was the Mega-Charge. In the Z-Saber's normal state the energy blade retains a light green color, but when charged with energy gains a deep blue shade that radiates intense blue light. The charged slash extends the reach of the energy blade up to 30 meters while increasing it's sharpness several fold. The second special skill, Element Sword was just as powerful. It absorb the elemental properties of the holder to change the attributes of the energy sword to match while also increasing the average slashing power of the Z-Saber by three folds for ten seconds. Currently, Shin has access to two elements. Darkness Element from his his Dark Walker Class which dyes the sword black with a sinister aura following after it and a unexpected and unique lightning/fire element form his new magic spell Firebolt which dyes the energy blade scarlet while radiating flames and electricity.

Both skills seemed overpowered as Shin tested them in front of everybody, yet as Z-Saber was a sci-fi weapon there were limitations. Both special skills required energy equivalent to B tier to activate them, so in his current state he can only use the special skills five times in a single battle at his peak condition, yet this was closer to a personal limitation that would improve in time. The sci-fi sword blade, along with its special skills were unable to harm ghost and the like, but as Shin had other means of fighting them this wasn't a big set back. The true limitation of Z-Saber was that it would overheat, turning white hot with repeated use of the special skills if used three times within one minute. If this happened the sword will need to cool down for half an hour unless to not risk destroying the weapon. Jin speculated that this was the limit of a B tier Sci-fi weapon because if Mega-Charge could be used freely than its ability as a close range, midrange, and short long range would make it BB or A tier. It was just like how if Kampa's Unicorn Beam Magnum could be continuously fired any none magical mission could be completed 100% it it just required fighting.

The second acquired weapon was the magic combat glove and boots set, Adell's Legacy. This exchange from God was more expensive than Deltoid Z-Saber and for good reason. First, the set of equipment increase ups the effectiveness of strikes with fist, kicks, and movement techniques. Second, the the gloves and boots were both durable and light even without using any techniques, as test with Connor Shin could block an anti-material rifle shells and sci-fi triggers aside from Ibis with ease, so even just as plain weapons they were superior than most. Lastly, it's most interesting power was the energy field of extreme heat it generated which could only br described as... destruction incarnate.

Shin: "Well, that's my current power. We've reviewed everything that we had to so let's all go to sleep and rest up for the big day. Although this second H.O.T.D mission has many unknown factors and is a confirmed Team Battle, I don't want see anyone dying in the next mission. Especially because of a lack of sleep. Get some rest... also Aqua, Hikari, Kisara, and Komaru. Let's head over to my room to discuss a few last minute matters to be safe. While we're at it how about have a sleep over between a man and his future wives to be!?"

Aqua: "How shameless! You just said to everyone one thing but you want to the other, and the other with four woman! You'll be the first to die terminal otaku... but sure. Let's have a sleep over."

Shin: "Really?!"

ATTACKER/CLOSE RANGE FIGHTERS -

1\. Shin: Team Leader, Black Heaven & Earth Technique, One-eyed Ghoul Mutation, Na Ring×2, Subspace Belt, Gravity Blade, Lesser Fenrir Coat, Robo Cop's Auto 9 Infinite Ammo Model, Devil Sealed Gun, Holy Sword Switch Magic.

2\. Aqua: Upper Class Nen, Wolverine Genetic Mutation (B), Elder Werewolf Bloodline, Thompson Contender Magic Code, EMP Rifle, and Red Ridding Hood's Cloak.

3\. Kisara: Middle Class Nen, Heroic Stigmata Implant, and Shusui (One Piece ).

4\. Sachi: Intermediate Level Ki, Basilisk Bloodline, Hellfire Fang, and a variety of special needles.

GUNNER/MID RANGE FIGHTER -

1\. Shuai: Advance level Shaman Power, Earth Elemental Gnome, Summoner's Ring of Earth, Evil Sealing Staff of Earth.

2\. Jin: Warlock (B) and Advance Rank Magic Power/Offensive magic user and Mastermind Strategist.

SNIPER/LONG RANGE FIGHTER -

1\. Connor: Sniper, A-Class Trigger, Demon Genetic Mutation.

SUPPORT/OTHER -

1\. Hikari: Support Type Persona, Psyche Force abilities, Magic Buffs, and healing spell.

2\. Drake: Advance Faith Energy and Innocence Cube.

Shin: (Fuck sleepovers! Do I have to actually say sleep with, or will that be taken literally as well? How does a protagonist go about asking for a five-some!? They don't show those parts in gal-games! Please show me how to manage my harem Japanese gaming entertainment society!)

Shin was upset as he looked around his bedroom. There were four woman sleeping on his bad sound asleep, but that was all there was. Aqua and the other girls used Shin's exact words of a sleep over to avoid his true aim. They talked, watched movies (Persona: More Than One Heart), ate junk food and went to sleep. To be honest he didn't have a horrible time and he enjoyed such carefree moments, yet his quality time with his loved ones fell short of his expectations and so he wanted to cry himself to sleep... but he couldn't just yet.

Shin made sure that they others were asleep before sneaking out and walking down to his own basemen training room. Once there and after setting up his training equipment Shin stood in the center of the house basement and slowly closed his eyes as he focused his mind. A special feeling emerged from within as he entered the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint. To him, it was as if Misaki, Saki, Zero, Kampa, and Renji were standing all around him and behind them were his still living comrades. They looked at him quietly and he could use their power and thoughts at will, just like everyone was fighting alongside him once more. He bore the powers of his comrades whether they had died or were still with him. These powers will stay with him until he dies or leaves this dimension.

Shin: (First Misaki.)

Shin suddenly opened his eyes and sprinted forward. His target was a large rock 50 meters in the distance. Shin only needed a few steps with Instant Movement with the help of his recent enhancements and items and as the rock was directly in front of him he jumped towards it with all his might. The knowledge of how to use all the forces within his body without waste and more flashed through his mind as spun towards the rock and his fist landing. Soul Crushing Strike was released and from the inside out the large rock was smashed into dust with a loud bang.

Shin: (Next Kampa, Connor and Zero!)

The expression on Shin's face changed as he ran towards his shooting range while equipping a submachine gun. There were over thirty human shaped targets 100 meters away, ten targets 300 meters away, one target over 700 meters away. Shin sprayed the bullets from the SMG without rushing, yet by no means was he slow. The shower of bullets all hit the upper body of the targets in a single sweep. Even if the targets were living soldier armed with the same gun they would find it hard to acquire the timing to shoot back at Shin. He then leaped forward with Instant Movement towards wall set to act as cover. Shin expression changed once more as he recalled the positions of the ten targets 300 meters away and jumped back out in a reckless roll equipped with a Gauss Rifle and fired. There was no time to properly take aim, yet each shot accurately hit the vitals of the targets. Shin stopped to take aim and for a third time his expression changed. Sniping became harder the further ones target was away as even a millimeter off could cause a bullet to veer off course by meters, yet Shin's aim was steady and true as a bullet was released and accurately as the head of the target was blown off with one shot. Shin was disappointed that he missed a dead center hit to the forehead of the human targeted, yet as long distance sniping was difficult, so he could only continue to practice.

Shin: (Now Hikari and Saki!)

Shin flew off towards a encirclement of twenty remote control machine gun torrents and flipped a hidden remote in his pocket. The gun turrets would now fire randomly. The gun and bullets were low power, so they wouldn't match up to the power of modern machine guns, yet by no means were they weak. Even for Shin and his high stats and regeneration abilities he'll still die if he's hit in the wrong place without using Silver Dragon Scales for defense, yet at this time he was unconcerned. As the machine guns began to roar as they fired Shin's perception of the area expanded greater than normal and he used swift and precise steps to avoid the storm of bullets that fired one after the other. Even those that aimed at his exposed back were dodged. Shin's face then grew expressionless as he jumped up from the ground and took his two sci-fi handguns from his Na Rings. He flipped forward while shooting on the ground in front of him destroying five gun torrents and as he landed set used the hidden remote switch to speed up the firing of the machine torrents. Shin had no where to run so he created a path for himself by narrow avoiding one barge of bullets and destroying torrents about to fire. Shin never stopped firing and without receiving a single scratch he destroyed all the torrents and upon closer inspection the inner gun barrels were blown up from the inside out.

Shin: (Lastly, Sachi, Kisara, and Aqua!)

Shin put back the two guns into the Na Rings and then retrieved two sets of weapons. In his left hand were borrowed adamantium needles and in his right the black magic sword and katana Gravity Blade. He then sets his sights on a far off tree ran with incredible speed, yet his steps were silent with a steady increasing pace. The lighting within within the basement was dim at best and he used all the natural shadows to traverse the basement. The tree was now in his effective throwing range and while hiding in the shadows five needles flew through the air and struck the tree with each needle no less than one inch apart from the other. Satisfied and now a short distance away from the tree Shin's running steps changed from fast yet silent to faster and efficient. With a sudden burst of speed he reached the tree in less than a second. He swung the black katana in his non dominant right hand, yet that seemed to not matter as the tree slid off its base and fell to the floor and where the tree was bisected there was a extremely clean and smooth cut as if polished by professional tools.

Next came a grouping of 100 human shape targets twenty meters behind the fallen tree. Shin felt himself reaching his limit, but pushing himself to stay in the third Stage he shot out with extreme speed, and as he approached the human targets Shin retrieved the Z-Sber and took it into his free dominant left hand. The sci-fi sword in his left hand and magic sword in his right. Shin's facal expressions changed one last time as he arrived before the targets. His two hands blurred and never stopped moving as the swords sliced through the targets til all 100 were disposed of ten seconds later. They were motionless targets unable to defend or counter attack, yet if they had such capacity they would be unable to find a single gap to exploit in Shin's swift, yet synchronized dual wielding swordplay.

Shin's eyes finally returned normal leaving Unlocked Mode and he took several deep breaths as he endured the pain from entering the Unlocked Mode of the Third Stage. He knew he succeeded unlocking the Third Stage and gathered the power of his comrades. It was already strong enough even though he couldn't use them to their full potential just yet as he could call forth the talents of all his comrades. Those Shin could currently stimulate with the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint were the following:

Aqua - The ability to swim and synchronized dual swordsmanship.

Hikari - Talent in hacking and good spacial awareness.

Misaki - A strong grasp how to use all of one's power for offense.

Saki - Increased intelligence, calculation processing, and ability to use two had guns with god like precision.

Zero - Long distance sniping superior to Connor.

Kampa - Ability to use small and heavy weaponry with the skill of a elite veteran soldier.

Shuai - Sensitive to the supernatural.

Connor - Skilled with all guns, sniping, but unlike Zero is more skilled in rough fights.

Jin - Skilled with anything magic like and insight into the human heart.

Kisara - Master of swords, swift movements, and predicting the next attack of the enemy.

Renji - Can spot the weak points of enemies (Recalled how despite his critical condition he attacked the hulk monster of Team Germany without hesitation).

Drake - Skilled in restraining techniques and sensitive to dark forces.

Sachi - Stealth, assassination, and skilled with projectile weapons.

Shin: "Ha... Ha... Ha... See that God? All my comrades, past and present, whether if they were born with them or acquired them are talented and special! Come at us! Manga, Anime, Light Novels, Video Game, Visual Novels, and whatever else you have up your sleeves. I won't die! We won't die! All of us will live on no matter what!"

Although Shin told everyone to stop training the next mission was more important than anything to him. Not only because he could lose his important comrades, but this was also the first time someone's life, Komaru, a woman who he has become close to was directly connected to his and would die along with him if he perishes. It was a paralyzing fear so strong he wished he hadn't brought Komaru with him for both their sakes if he knew better beforehand, but because he didn't hold the ability to turn back time so he could only use this fear to propel him to greater heights. Shin didn't want nor wish for that to happen so he couldn't fail no matter what, so he continued to train long hours every night to master his newest power. Shin had been practicing the Third Stage of the Unlocked Mode these past several days and began to understand some things. Like it only simulated the best ability of the target, and had a limited duration. Staying in the state too long would cause intense headaches, which would be detrimental during a fight, so finding the limit of the duration was most valuable accomplishment these past few days.

Shin: "...Still this isn't enough!"

Till dawn Shin trained nonstop to prepare himself for his next trial. He had worn himself down due to his fears which was detrimental to the coming battle, yet by the time Team Japan gathered no one could tell that a few hours ago he was on the brink of collapsing. The last few hours Shin sat down and meditated to recover his lost energy and stamina. This method was far more efficient than sleeping for eight hours, yet Shin didn't like this method as repeated use of ignoring a biological need like sleep placed a strain on his mind. The mind was perhaps his greatest weapon and was the key to the Third Stage, so he rather not ruin it.

As Shin and his comrades were standing on the platform making last minute preparations he saw that Sachi was still wearing a nurse's uniform, but modified to be more comfortable yet sexy all the same. He felt tired, yet he couldn't help but ask why still a nurse uniform still and got the following answer, "Because it's sexy and makes men lower their guards". Shin blanked out for a moment, but finding no flaw in her logic (emotionally as sexy is good) he didn't tell her to go change.

Shin then walked over to God along side Komaru and his skeleton demon familiar Grim Ash. Shin made three last minute exchanges. First was a heavy cloak to mask Ash's skeleton incase they run into humans would be freaked out by his appearance for just 1 Point. Second was was the 5000 Points and C rank reward Player Recruitment Watch. He planned on giving it to Hajime Hinata after the next three missions like he promised him. It was certainly too early to acquire it, yet for some reason, call it a premonition, Shin felt that if he didn't do it now when he had an abundance of rewards he wouldn't chose to do so later. Third and lastly was a 500 Points and D tier Magic Pendant for Komaru. The Jade Pendant with a defensive ability. This pendant would block critical attacks automatically thirty times or until the energy within depletes, similar to the C tier Dharmacakra. Of course its not as good. Shin wanted to cry now that he only had 6000 Points now when he began with close to 100000, yet he didn't regret a single purchase.

Shin: "Komaru always wear this as it will protect you. Along with having Ash guarding you with his life, this is the only way that I can certainly protect you. Promise me that you won't give it to anyone within the mission no matter what. Even to someone who needs it to live."

Komaru: "I promise. I'll follow your lead."

Shin: "Okay... but aren't you scared? You were such a scaredy cat back in the last mission after all."

Komaru: "Don't bring that up! I am scared, but being paralyzed by fear won't accomplish anything. You taught me that Shin. You've also been putting in effort all alone as well so nothing happens to me or anyone else, haven't you? How can I cower and lean on you now and increase your troubles?"

Shin: "You noticed?"

Komaru: "Yes, so I have to do my best as well. I'm now only a side character in your story Shin, but I won't fall to the status of a background character with only generic lines. Also, I've been secretly practicing my zombie routine, so I can blend in with them... Hey, it's going to work right (She said half in tears)?"

Shin: "Komaru... You really are a cute heroine. My cute heroine that I can't do without."

Komaru: "Shin..."

Shin then pulled in Komaru and kissed her passionately under the the ball of light in the center of the platform called God. As Shin kissed Komaru he reevaluated his feeling towards her and found himself falling for this repeatedly called average heroine of Dangan Ronpa Another Episode. They continued to kiss til Hikari threw the water bottle she was drinking towards Shin's head. Shin had to laugh at that Manga like comedic scene and walked over towards Hikari and kissed her as well. Then after he was pushed away by a embarrassed Hikari he ran into Kisara and for the heck of it kissed her too. Shin then looked over towards Aqua to see if she wanted a kiss as well... but a deathly glare she sent him reminding him of their previous life and death battle told him that it was time to get serious.

Shin: "Okay everyone it's time to stop messing around!... Okay, stop looking at me at like that guys. I'm perfectly serious... though I'm worried. Kissing three beautiful girls one after the other feels so fulfilling that I'm worried if I will be fine with dying. Oh my, is this the fatal flaw of my harem plan!?"

Hikari: "Shut up shitty otaku leader and get ready for the damn mission! The beam of light is already here!"

As Hikari claimed twenty beams of light shot down from above landed on the platform of the Terminal Lobby. Everyone discarding their previous carefreeness moved towards their own beam with the exception of Shin, Aqua, Jin, and Drake. Standing under the beam of light alongside Shin to his right was Komaru grasping his arm and to his left was Grim Ash standing silently. Alongside Aqua was her long forgotten human creation butler, Jin had his maid besides him, and Drake stood under the beam alongside his girlfriend human creation holding unto her hand. Like Saki once said there was enough space for two people, three if you pushed it, to stand under one beam shot down by God. Shin and the others didn't understand what exactly this meant, but at one time Jin speculated that in the possible case of a random teleportation which has yet to occur, those under the same beam would appear together.

Shin: (Although I hope we never get the chance to prove this theory since a random teleportation from the very start would be worse than what happened in Apocalypse Alice and could easily end in a wipe.)

Shin has such worries run through his head as he heard the rigid yet dignified voice of God that they have long since come to know and dislike. It was telling everyone what the next mission would occur and what world, yet Shin and the other knew beforehand thanks to the Leader Position, so they didn't bother to listen as intently as they used to.

\- Enter the beam within thirty seconds. Target locked. High School of the Dead Season 2: The Sea of Zombies. Beginning transportation.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.

Thank you all for reading the the sixth arc of "Terror Infinity - Side B", Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. This is my first Fan Fiction, so I am glad that there were many people who enjoyed it. The next mission is a confirmed Team Battle and will prove to be very exciting, so look forward to the action packed chapters to come. I will take a unconfirmed amount of time to write the sixth mission. Also proofreading to make the sixth mission the best arc to date takes time as well. My best guess is sometime around late December/early January, but it might be longer, and so please wait patiently for me to return since it will be worth the wait (Hopefully). On the main page I added a section for progress, so pop in time to time and maybe even reread the series.

I thought of the idea of the random teleport when I questioned why God uses individual beams of light to send Players to their next mission. Why? It's a hint, well two to be exact. One is the size of the beam which hints at the need of a storage item and to buy a human creation. The second hint is why can't Players stand under the same beam when going on a mission? Why are they not just instantly moved like at the ends of missions? This is a hint that individuals of a team may be separated at the beginning of a mission. Scattered across a city, country, continent, planet, or solar system!

Thank you, and look forward to future terrors that are to come in the upcoming Terror Infinity - Side B, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode - Ultimate Despair Girls.


	201. Chapter 201

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 1, H.O.T.D 2

Plot - "Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live... A real life?"

The world changes when you click YES.

In God's Dimension, you have to keep getting stronger, keep evolving to survive one horror movie after another. Do you kill everyone in your way to reaching the end as a lone king? Or fight along with your comrades and survive through the support of friends? Everything was just for staying alive. Until you find the secret of God's dimension. Who is the real enemy?

Terror Infinity - Side B

In a new experiment to push mankind to evolve, God has decided to send people into the worlds of Manga, Anime, Light Novels, Visual Novels and Video Games. Compared to horror movies, such worlds shouldn't be as terrifying and should be easy to return from, but... You would be very, very mistaken.

Welcome to Side B of God's World.

The Story so far -

Our protagoniat Shin, an otaku disappointed in his life chose YES when God asked if he wanted to know the meaning of life and wanted to live a real life, and was transported to God's world of horrors and terror in his new experiment.

Team Japan had survived their sixth mission, "Danganronpa Another Episode" and the Guide Test. Shin, the representative of the Guode Test, was forced to complete both the main mission and the Guide Test without the rest of his team and had to fight them when they were brainwashed by the Guide. He struggled and struggled, and finally against all the odds, and with the help of the main character Komaru Naegi, and the two Newbies Drake and Sachi they completed the mission and rescued Shin's comrades from the control of the Guide, and defeating him and freeing his inner persona sealed by brainwashing, Hajime Hinata, in a twist of fate.

Shin and his group left the Mission World of Danganronpa after making a promise to return for Hajime Hinata as a future team member. After he returned to the Terminal Lobby alongside his new girlfriend Komaru and the two new members, Drake & Saki, who helped him complete the mission. By completing the Guide Test and Main Mission Shin and Team Japan were rewarded greatly as the only team supported by God. Shin received the position of a true Leader, and every member of the team was rewarded with record-breaking points and rank rewards. Team Japan obtained a major power-up and would get to use the power they had gained in the upcoming Mission and Team Battle in the world of H.O.T.D, and so Shin finally returns to the world where everything began for him in God's Dimension. Would this be yet another turning point for him and Team Japan... it remained to be seen.

Short Summary of High School of the Dead -

It's the end of the world. A virus that turns people into the walking dead who feast on the flesh of the living has been unleashed, and things are rapidly going to hell. The plague strikes Fujimi High Academy, where unlikely hero Takashi Komuro, genius Saya, estranged love interest Rei, sword-wielding Busujima, Hirano a gun otaku, and a busty blonde school nurse and air head Shizuka-sensei, and along the way with the new addition of the small and innocent girl Alice along with her dog Zeke, need to escape the school and head for the city, where their parents might still be alive and where they must now adjust to the apocalypse.

Short Summary of God and Devil World -

In less than an instant the world as we knew it was at its end. That's right. The Apocalypse. In a single blink, Zombies and mutated monsters appeared and began to rampage all throughout the world. Now it was the human species' turn to fight for survival and planetary dominance! On the same day that the world descends into chaos, we meet Yue Zhong. Initially only hoping to get to his friends and escape to a refugee camp our protagonist sets out, inadvertently building a team along the way. After a series of fortuitous events and a few serious hunches, our protagonist decides it's time to do more than just survive! Yue Zhong begins to form the foundations of an enormous survival plan… before he suddenly discovers that he has only gotten over the first hurdle.

Unbeknownst to Yue Zhong and company, the world outside of China is mostly a nuclear wasteland! Country sized swathes of nuclear radiation and an extreme shortage of supplies in the world after the nuclear explosions were quickly becoming the "norm." Mutants, Evolved animals and what's worse, intelligent out of control dinosaurs had quickly appeared and claimed their own sections of the planet. There were several innately powerful Evolved races which appeared that were more than 10 times stronger than humans, nearly all of them possessing bodies impenetrable by normal bullets. The fabled orcs' were another of these Evolved races, the leader of which had in fact enslaved many of the remaining human beings. Unceremoniously exposed to such a cold and heartless new world, Yue Zhong is faced with a choice: Find a deep dark hole and hope it goes back to "normal"? Or overcome all obstacles and struggle towards Evolution!

That day we separated from Shin's group was the day our world shifted for the second time. The first shift began a zombie apocalypse that turned our world upside down. The dead came back to life as THEM and began to hunt us humans down, and in return we humans hunted THEM to acquire a sliver of a moment's peace. The second shift occurred at dawn after we left that apartment. Chased by THEM with even greater strength and the ability to now see and smell us, they kept tracking us down till the sun came up. During that escape, I lost my best friend. He took an attack for the woman I loved and turned into one of THEM. We couldn't believe it, but we couldn't allow him to stay as one THEM. He was one of us, not THEM, so I took my bat and smashed in his head. That day I killed my best friend and embraced the woman I love who cried for his sake. It was an experience that I would never forget, and then as the morning sun over the horizon bathed us in its light we heard his voice. A cruel and domineering voice of a being above us mere mortals.

\- "You Mortal Have Done Well to Survive So Far. We've Finally Gotten Rid of the Weak Ones, But Now the Fun Can Begin! I'm the Saint of this World! I Hate to Look at you Weak Humans Living a Quiet and Peaceful Life. From Now On, I Will Just Put you into the Failed Evolution Project 384, God and Devil System! So Struggle! Struggle Hard, and Become Stronger. Use Your Strength and Struggles to Please Me. Only by Continuously Becoming Stronger Will you be Able to Survive. Otherwise, You Will Die! Now, the Countdown Begins! 5... 4... 3... 2... 1! The Game Officially Begins. All of you Ants, Struggle to Survive!"

It's been more than six months since Hisashi left us and we all heard that heartless message from the Saint. After numerous struggles to survive in this ever changing apocalyptic world filled with endless armies of zombies and evolving zombies, mutant beast born from once normal animals now grown to the level of monsters of legend, and humans clawing for power and forgetting who they were and what they were supposed to protect... we had become stronger. Far stronger than any of us could have imagined when we learned of the God and Devil system. When others ran from the undead, we waltzed towards them with our guns raised high and swords drawn. When Mutant Beast invaded our territory, we displayed our inhuman might and showed everyone who was at the top of the food chain. And when humans jealous of our power and what we had protected, wanting nothing more than to steal everything from us and defile our bodies and souls with their blackened hearts and souls...

?: "Wait wait! I can explain! I know! I can get the Mayor to overlook you guys. He didn't know that you guys were this powerful, so I'm sure he won't try this again and will compensate you greatly. Women, money, food, even slaves! From former models who now willingly spread their legs and xxxxxxx for men and little children taught how to thoroughly please adults! Any luxury that your hearts can imagine will be yours. So just-"

Takashi: "Fuck off! You can curse your boss in hell... He'll be joining you soon. Die."

\- *BANG*!

With my Stinger Pistol raised to the man's forehead I pulled the trigger and watched as the man's head obtained a new hole, and his brain matter stained the abandoned streets of Tokonosu City. The man's lifeless body went limp falling sideways to the ground. His body was joined by the dozen others my team had just killed. Some died from gunshots to the head and heart. Some were cut in half by swords you wouldn't normally use in the modern era. Some burned alive by flames. Others were even mauled to death by a great beast with fangs impossible to find on even predators like lions. Blood and other bodily fluid dyed the streets of the city that was once my home town before the apocalypse and gave him the image of a river of blood.

Takashi: "Damn it all to hell! We haven't had time to grind in over two weeks with all that's going on at the base, and when we finally do get to go out this happens! Does that shitty Mayor not know we are Tokonosu City Survival Camp's strongest force? Getting rid of us right as a army of THEM are getting closer and closer increases his own chance of dying in the upcoming battle. Fucking moron!"

Saya: "Don't bother overthinking it, Takashi. That man and people like him out different from respectable and honor bound men and women like papa and mama. That's why he wants to get rid of us to weaken their position. Takashi, it's time to go back. Before the Mayors suspects his subordinates were wiped out, we need to tell our side first. That disgusting Major is just as bad as his son. He'll definitely spread rumors and make preparations against my father and us if he thinks we are still alive and killed his men. These were his elite forces after all."

Rei: "Yeah, he's definitely the type to try and say we killed his men for no reason so he could then make his next political move. Father like son, the two of them! They are human waste the world is better off without! I'm thankful for Aqua for killing that guy, but if we don't cut off the source, the man who made the man, nothing will be solved!"

Takashi: "Aqua? Ah, Shin's group. It'll be nice if they're still alive and we can meet again... Anyways, let's return like Saya said. There's also a convoy of new refugees coming in today from the fallen survival camp from one of the other cities. Saya's father couldn't risk sending out his elite forces because of the approaching army of THEM are head straight for us. That's why I'm worried. Saeko, Kohta, Shizuka-sensei, Alice. Let's head back. Also Alice... have Zeke stop eating the dead bodies. It's gross, and he won't gain more stats or evolve from trash like them."

Alice: "Yes! Zeke let's go!"

Zeke: "*BARK*!"

Takashi and the others despite what they've seen in the apocalypse could only grimace at the sight of a large creature bigger than a lion spitting out a half-eaten soldier lower body. The great beast growled lowly unsatisfied with his meal and turned back to his master, a small girl with red hair wearing military clothes for children. The large dog as it walked back began to shrink in size till it appeared no different than any other small puppy. Alice picked Zeke up who was covered in blood with a smile unfazed and began to walk to their Humvee with the others.

A tall woman with long straight-shiny purple hair and carrying a katana at her hip decked in light armor, a husky youth armed to the teeth with guns and carrying a sniper rifle over his shoulders, and a voluptuous blonde woman carrying a bag of medical supplies. Along with the pink haired woman with glasses with a magic wand and and accessories on her person, the orange haired woman holding onto both a mighty spear and bayonet, and their fearless leader covered from top to bottom in leather armor of mutant beast, and wielding an arm length war hammer with strange runes in one hand and a large pistol in the other, they boarded the Humvee and drove off towards the survey camp which they now called their home.

Tokonosu City!

That same half-awake feeling.

It would feel like an instant or perhaps years had passed, hell I couldn't tell. The feeling wasn't enjoyable in the least, and no matter how many times one experienced it one would never get used to it, and it never got better, well at least on the way to the mission. If it was going back to God's dimension, then one would still feel quite good despite the uncomfortable feeling, but that was probably because you were getting back to safety. Such thoughts raced through my mind when my eyes opened. I found myself on a large moving bus driving down a main road through a city. The road was in bad condition with even wild animals running about as if it hadn't been maintained in months and the buildings we passed were in even worse shape. Some even burnt to the ground.

I was seated in the near middle of the bus in a middle seat which was fully crowded, yet no one was speaking loudly, and a dark mood could be felt. This felt so strange. I recalled quite a few school trips as students who were filled with joy and laughter, yet this bus ride was the opposite of that. There were even men walking up and down the bus walkway armed with assault rifles and on their waist...

Shin: (You can only call those swords. Not western swords, but a Japanese Kodachi to be exact. I'm sure of this. I remember Kisara with a bright smile on her face once showed me a catalog of famous swords and their makers, so I can't be wrong. I was kissing the nape of her neck as she sat on my lap showing me a catalog of blades, so it's impossible for me to forget... probably. I was distracted and all with... No! Focus Shin! I'm the true Leader of Team Japan, so act like it!)

Shin shook his head to rid himself of the unnecessary thoughts and tried to stand up and look around, but he couldn't. He was bound by a seat-belt which made sense, but when he tried to unfasten it he couldn't. He even used his strength that had by now surpassed the strength of the average man by ten folds even without using Ki, yet he couldn't even make the tiniest of a tear in the belt. Shin wanted to panic, yet that was just a momentary emotion. He had been through too much and walked the line of life and death to many times to be disturbed by something as mundane as a seat-belt that wouldn't come undone. Shin closed his eyes for a moment, and when he reopened them, he was completely calm and stoically took in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that Komaru was seated to his right and his familiar Grim Ash to his left. Komaru was unconscious and fast asleep, but at least she was wearing the Jade Pendant around her neck, so he didn't have to worry about her. Grim Ash was looking out the window with a vigilant eye, draped in the cloak he exchanged for him, so no one noticed him and panicked at the sight of a moving skeleton.

Shin: "Komaru, Ash and I are all together, but I don't see the others. They could be somewhere on this bus, and I can see that there are even multiple floors to this bus... but I'm getting a bad feeling. It couldn't be what Jin said about random transportation coming true, could it?"

Shin said this out loud, but there was no response. Not that he was looking for an answer from the NPCs, yet not one of them turned their heads to his raised voice or acknowledged his existence. This along with the reason his seat-belt couldn't be taken off meant that the mission had yet to begin. Shin couldn't understand why God at least wasn't allowing him to move about the bus, but before he could dive into that line of thinking, someone made contact with him. Not physically, but mentally using Psyche Force and he only knew one person with such a skill.

Shin SL: (Hikari?)

Hikari SL: (Yes. When I woke up, no one was around, so I used Psyche Force Scan to locate everyone and then Soul Link to contact you and the others. Jin was the closest, so I made contact with him first, and he wants to talk to you. Should I put him through?)

Shin SL: (Yeah, go ahead. Check up on the others again and keep a watch on the area around us. There may be zombies, ah, I mean THEM around here that are being drawn to the sound of the bus engines.)

Hikari SL: (Okay. Hold on one second.)

Jin SL: (...Shin, first of all, you need to know that we are in trouble.)

Shin SL: (Trouble? That's the first thing that comes out of your mouth. How very "Jin" of you.)

Jin SL: (Haha! True. So do you want me to tell you?)

Shin SL: (...Go ahead.)

Jin SL: (First of all we appeared in a ruined city filled with zombies, or THEM. There are far more THEM than us humans. This city is dead it has been completely overrun. Next, we were separated upon entry into this world. We appeared to arrive on a fleet of bus driving through a city. There are twelve buses in total, and each member of the team occupies one bus and those of us who were together with someone under a beam were sent by God to the same buses and are seated together. Each bus is following the other with a quarter of a mile distance between each bus. Most likely to avoid being taken out in an ambush, yet close enough to support one another. For our locations... the lead bus will be 1 and the rear bus will be twelve. Aqua is on bus 1, Hikari bus 2, Drake bus 4, Sachi bus 5, Shuai bus 6, Kisara bus 9, I'm riding bus 10, Connor bus 11, and you Shin are in the rear bus 12. I've checked the mission already and saw that it's a twelve man difficulty, so we have three newbies somewhere, and so if the pattern holds they should be on buses 3, 7 and 8, but we couldn't pinpoint them. I had Hikari check this. Third, the first time someone is transported it takes a while to wake up, and there are plenty of people asleep on these buses, so it's impossible to find them for now. This is a confirmed Team Battle where their lives affect us, so this is a problem if we can't tell them apart)

Shin SL: (I see. That's a problem. Well, this isn't too bad, I guess. For our first random transportation it could have been worse than being more or less three miles apart at most.)

Jin SL: (Good point. God could have separated us throughout the city... but it's not really okay. Compared to what's about to happen just being separated, yet still able to contact one another would have been better. We definitely would have had more-)

Shin SL: (Wait wait wait! What do you mean? Does it have something to do with the mission? I haven't checked it yet.)

Jin SL: (Then do it now, Shin. It's pretty interesting stuff. It's far outside my expectations, but the danger we're about to face has nothing to do with that, or it does, but I just don't have enough information to say for certain. Anyways, just check your watch and keep checking your seat-belt. If you can get out of it means God has started the mission and things will turn to shit. Wake Komaru up before it's too late if you don't want her to die, eaten alive by THEM.)

Shin SL: (Thanks for the advice and fuck off, Jin. If she really dies you'll get the chance to apologize in heaven before you set off to hell!)

Jin SL: (Ha-ha!)

Shin ignored Jin and asked Hikari to allow him to speak with the others. Hikari could only connect up to four people at once with Soul Link which included herself, so it took a while to go through everyone. Then once he heard the voices of his comrades through Soul Link and knew they were okay, he gave a final warning to the team about the potential dangers they were to face.

Shin SL: (Everyone seems okay. Now, Hikari spread this message to everyone. I'm not going to say too much. Have your gear ready at all times. Zombies, at least low-level ones, whether through a virus or dark magic, are easy to take out. They're supernatural undead, but not immortal spiritual beings. Smash in their heads, or blow them away with a gun. Maybe even magic bullets are unnecessary. If your end up wounded by one first see about getting treatment with Sachi's Xian Needles within two minutes, but if that's impossible don't hesitate to use the Zombification Antidote we each have on our person. Lastly, don't die!)

Hikari SL: (Okay. I'll transmit the message to the others.)

Jin SL: (Haha! The way your words looked down on the existence of THEM... will definitely reassure the others. As expected of our great leader! That would be impossible for-)

Shin had Hikari cut the mental link so he couldn't hear Jin go on and on. Then as he waited for the mission to begin, he tried to wake up Komaru. She was a deep sleeper thus it was hard to wake her up. In the meantime, he continuously checked his seatbelt to see if it would come undone. Finally, Komaru woke up (Her face as she wakes up rubbing her eyes is too cute... Ah! My thoughts are going in a strange direction again!) He checked his watch, at last, to see what kind of mission they had. Jin called it interesting, so that meant it was interesting for him, but more so bad for the team.

Shin: "...What the hell? Cross Series Plot?"

GOD'S MISSION

HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD - EPISODE 2, TWELVE MAN MISSION.

CROSS SERIES PLOT.

TEAM BATTLE.

MAIN QUEST: The Mission.

Objective 1: Defend Tokonosu City Survival Camp for the next fifteen days. The death of both Saya Takagi's parents will also be considered mission failure.

Objective 2: Protect the main characters of High School of the Dead.

Basic Survival Reward: 1000 Points.

Team Battle Reward: 1000 Points. This reward is only given to players that have not ended in a Negative Score.

MAIN CHARACTERS:

Takashi Komuro - Negative 5,000

Rei Miyamoto - Negative 2,000

Saeko Busujima - Negative 2,000

Saya Takagi - Negative 2,000

Kohta Hirano - Negative 2,000

Shizuka Marikawa - Negative 2,000

Alice Maresato - Negative 2,000 points.

SIDE QUEST: Bonus Points.

1\. Orientation - The first player to explain to the New Players the inner workings of Missions, Exchanges and how to return home. 100 Points.

2\. Kill the Zombies - Killing 1000 zombies. Rewards 1 point to the whole team.

3\. Kill the Evolved Type 1 Zombie - Killing a mutant S1 or L1 Zombie. Rewards 1 Point to the whole team.

4\. Kill the Evolved Type 2 Zombie - Killing a mutant S2, L2, H1, or Hunter type Zombie. Rewards 5 Points to the whole team.

5\. Kill the Evolved Type 3 Zombie - Killing a mutant S3, L3, or Hunter Type 2 Zombie. Rewards 500 Points and D rank reward to the whole team.

6\. High School Students of the Dead Survive - All main cast members of High School of the Dead are alive by the end of the mission. Awards all Players 1000 Points and D rank reward.

7\. Enemy Team KILL - Killing a normal member of another team. Rewards 2000 Points and C rank reward.

8\. GC Enemy KILL - Killing a member of another team who has unlocked the Genetic Constraint. Rewards 7000 points and B rank reward.

9\. Total KILL - Killing the entire enemy team, not counting Penalty 'D-Zero'. Every member will be awarded a C rank reward.

PENALTIES: Negative Points/Death.

1\. New Players - Negative 1000 for a Player killing a Newbie Player. A New Player is a New Player till they go on their second Mission.

2\. Spoiler - Negative 10 points per sentence in the presence of a resident/NPC of the Mission World.

3\. D-ZERO - Any player with 0 or negative points at the end of a mission after all calculations are finished, will be killed, no exception.

4\. High School Students of the Dead WIPED OUT - If Takashi Komuro dies during the mission, each member of the team will be penalized negative 5,000 Points. Any other member negative 2,000 Points. Lastly, if all members of the main cast die than instead all members of the team will be penalized 20,000 Points and B rank reward.

5\. Point CASUALTIES - Killing a member of the other team will give your team Positive 1 Point. The death of an ally team member will give your team Negative 1 Point. At the end of the mission, the final score will be multiplied by 2000 and every living team member will be awarded or deducted points equal to the final score.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Mission Information.

1\. Team Japan will enter the world first on Day 1 during the Team Battle. Team Kenya will enter the world midnight of Day 10 at a random location within the approaching legion of zombies making their way towards Tokonosu City.

2\. Due to the incomplete plot and the need of an appreciate setting for the two teams, the world of H.O.T.D has crossed over into the story of God and Devil World.

TOTAL SCORE: Pending

There were too many points to take note of for Shin to decide where to begin.

Cross Series.

God and Devil World.

Mutant zombies.

Survival Camp.

And once more the main characters are involved in their mission.

Shin's mind blanked out and then went into overdrive to make sense of it all... and that's when it happened. Shin was still trying to get the seatbelt off all this time, and at last, it unfastened. It took him a few moment to even realize this, and that was when disaster struck. As the bus continued to drive down the main road out of nowhere from a dark alley from the side hundreds of undead flooded out. They had the same rotten flesh and tattered clothing that Shin remember, but they now had the ability to see and smell human flesh, which will lead them to the bus.

The entire street was now filled with THEM, and they hindered the bus, but still the driver kept calm as if he expected such a possibility and maneuvered the bus right around the undead flooding the streets and through a side road. Now Shin thought it was fine to panic with the possibility of driving off away from the fleet of buses carrying his team, but then another disaster stuck. A large zombie with dark red skin stepped out into the street and before the driver could respond it punched the front of the front of the bus with a glowing red hand. The bus engine was destroyed, the driver was killed instantly, and seconds later the bus flipped over onto its hood with a loud crash.

\- *CRASH*!

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren


	202. Chapter 202

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 2, H.O.T.D 2

Shin: "...Ahhhh... I wish I was still wearing the seat-belt."

Shin regretted his decision that went against proper vehicle safety greatly as he hit his head against the roof of the bus's first floor that had now become the floor when it had flipped over. A collision like this should have killed or knocked him out cold, but because of high stats and other enhancements, he got away with just a cut on the scalp which was already starting to heal. Shin felt that if he was in Unlocked Mode he would have had the reaction speed and judgment to use Silver Dragon Scales for protection or correct his balance and step onto the roof as the bus flipped over, but there was nothing he could do about that now and so he just took in his surroundings. When the bus flipped over those not wearing seatbelts like him had died or were seriously injured with the exception of the soldiers armed with assault rifles and Kodachi Blades, but even they weren't in the best conditions. As for those who were smart to wear their seat-belts like Komaru and Grim Ash, they were all okay. Just suspended in midair in their seats, which was now on the roof of the turned over vehicle. The situation inside the bus wasn't the worst it could have been, but the situation outside was the worst possible scenario they could face at that moment.

THEM.

Zombies had the bus completely surrounded.

Shin, Komaru, Grim Ash and the others could hear the disturbing noise of undead fingers scraping on the walls and windows of the turned over bus, eagerly wanting to taste their living flesh. The windows were beginning to crack from the force THEM were putting on them, and it wouldn't surprise Shin if any second now zombies would flood inside the bus to devour all the humans within. Shin was about to call the others. All he needed to do to connect to the others was for him to call out to Hikari, and as long as she was still conscious, yet the yelling of a man in his late thirty giving out orders interrupted his plan.

Commander: "All men prepare for battle with THEM! Enhancers over level 10 head out first and take care of those who will cause us trouble, and handle THEM at close combat with Kodachi Blades, followed by those under level 10 to offer support with gunfire! Clear a way for the civilians, and we'll see about regrouping with the rest of the fleet if they haven't been taken out! All civilians must follow all instructions, or get left behind! Under military law, getting in our way means execution without a trial or lawyer present! If there are any Enhancers present, please assist with the defense! Don't test me and get to it! Show them the power of Tokonosu City's brothers in arms!"

ALL Soldiers: "Yeahhhh!"

With those clear orders, the soldiers moved out filled with fighting spirit and justice in their hearts. There was a total of twelve soldiers. All men who looked to be in great shape. Along with the commander, four others took out swords and rushed out of the bus through cracked windows. They were then followed by five soldiers armed with their assault rifles. The last two were also armed with assault rifles and gave orders to the civilians to evacuate the bus in an orderly fashion. For the moment Komaru and I went along with them and then witnessed a shocking scene. A fat man who looked well off protested to the soldiers about getting special treatment and said he would pay them handsomely, but in the middle of his sells pitch the fat man had his brains blown out by one of the soldier's guns.

Soldier: "Special treatment? Go to hell for making me waste the bullets! Anyone here who dares to talk nonsense like that and hold us off can head off to the afterworld! Those that can't follow orders can go get bitten by THEM or take a bullet in their head! What will it be?!"

No one dared to speak up after that. Men, woman and even young children as they cried softly all obeyed the soldier without making a scene. It seemed obvious that they were used to such strict treatment by law enforcement and the like after the apocalypse. Komaru by Shin's side looked a little pale, so Shin reached out for her hand and told her that it'll be fine.

Shin: "Come on, Komaru. Compared to Monokuma these guys aren't scary. We've been through worse, and if they dare bother us I'll deal with them myself! This will be the last time you'll be placed in danger, so call on your inner heroine and stay strong."

Komaru: "I'll be okay. And you're right. Adults killing adults in a zombie apocalypse is far better than children and adults killing each other in a social apocalypse of Despair. What's to be scared of?"

Shin couldn't tell if Komaru really meant that, but she didn't show anymore worry on her face and so he just had to take her word for it. The civilians on the bus were lead out of the bus one by one following the directions of the soldiers and a minute later Shin, Komaru, and Grim Ashes still wearing the heavy cloak exited the bus as well, but what they found outside was not order, but chaos. Hundreds, no thousands of zombies, surrounded them along with the hundred or so civilians and soldiers.

The soldiers were desperately fighting against the zombies firing nonstop with assault rifles and for those that got close were beheaded by Kodachi Blades, yet it didn't appear that they were making a dent into the zombie horde's numbers. Shin was impressed as he saw the soldiers slashed out with their swords, taking out one zombie after the next as if it was second nature, but there were just too many of THEM. Shin had a thought as he watched them fight. Wouldn't it have been better for everyone to use their guns instead of half of them wielding swords, but the answer came to Shin a second later. They didn't have the ammo. They didn't own unlimited ammo guns or a storage bag to hold thousands of bullets, so it had become their style to save bullets by engaging in close quarter's combat.

Shin: (But even so this isn't the time or place to hold back... although the end result would be the same.)

It was obvious to all that the protection provided by the soldiers was going to fall any minute and half the civilians attempted to flee in all directions despite the official orders, but in the end, they didn't have to lift a finger to punish them for disobeying orders... The zombies did that for them. The zombies hungry for their living flesh followed after the escaping civilians and caught them all without exception and were eaten alive. Shin saw that the situation wasn't good and it was doubtful that he could just rely on the to handle the situation. Especially when he saw an especially tall and large red skinned zombie standing at seven feet tall with large bulging muscles throughout its rotten flesh.

This zombie was obviously special. It had especially large hands, easily capable of squashing the heads of grown men like water balloons. It gave a sense of danger greater than the mindless horde of normal zombies and didn't possess their slowness as it moved around. The five soldiers including the commander who went out of the bus first were engaging it in battle. These soldiers were not ordinary men and have gone through low levels of enhancements as well as military training, so their sword swings were ruthless. Looking at them Shin felt they could even do well in the normal undead monsters of the rank Labyrinth in the world of Apocalypse Alice, yet things didn't play out as he imagined. Their above average power and Kodachi Blades were ineffective as they could only delivery shallow cuts across the red skinned zombie's body.

Shin saw one soldier panic and open fire on the zombie with an assault rifle, yet each bullet simply bounced off its body. It was then that Shin finally noticed that most of the irregular zombie's body was covered in a layer of hardened flesh like an armor of sorts, and when bullets hit this armor sparks would ignite as they scrapped off its body. The large zombie seemed to be ticked off by all the bullets flying at him and rushed towards the soldier firing the assault rifle. The zombie moved with speed five times faster than the average adult male and punched the soldier with a right straight. Everyone at that moment heard the sound of something snapping and next they saw the mangled body of the soldier fly through the air for twenty meters before crashing into a group of normal zombies where the remains were devoured.

The commander from before looked enraged and jumped at the large zombie with his Kodachi Blade raised high. The sword glowed with a fierce light and left behind a dazzling radiance as it was swung, chopped down on the large zombie and severed its entire left arm. The commander's companions cheered in excitement, but both Shin and the commander didn't share that feeling. Shin saw that whatever the commander did had exhausted him greatly and may not be able to display that might again whereas the large zombie was already countering without a care for its loss arm, thus displaying the benefits of being a mindless zombie which did not know fear or pain. The battle was already a loss and only could be saved if Shin stepped in, yet he wasn't sure if he should. He had the confidence to break out of the entrapment of zombies alone, but if each zombie were like this irregular one here than he couldn't be certain. At least while Komaru had to be protected it wasn't a good idea to make a stand.

Shin: "Cross Series Plot, huh? This is H.O.T.D for certain, but it has combined with the story of the chinese web novel God and Devil World. If that's the case... then that would make this large zombie an L-series power type evolved zombie. It resembles the L1, but its battle power is above an L1 and closer to an L2 if low-level Enhancers and light weaponry firepower weaponry can't inflict much damage. Is this a change of plot, or is this just a mission to challenge Team Japan? Fuck! Even when we ally with God, we still have to deal with this crap!"

Shin decided to immediately call Jin for advice. The soldiers could at least last another minute or two, so he had the time call the others quickly. Hikari used Soul Link to connect him to Jin, and before he had a chance to speak Jin quickly apprised him of the situation. Zombies were attacking the fleet of buses and despite Hikari keeping a vigilant watch with Psyche Force Scan she couldn't see them. Hikari couldn't even see the zombies on her scans as they were right in front of her, but reinforcing her Psyche Force with her Persona finally displayed them on her scan, which revealed an abnormality. There were thousands of threads of Psyche Force on the back of the heads on the zombies. She couldn't tell what purpose it served, yet it felt like someone was looking through the eyes of all the zombies all at once. Of all twelve buses of the fleet, only three are operational. While others flipped over, they simply crashed, and the drivers were knocked out. Jin told everyone to meet up at these three buses, and they'll drive together to their destination.

Jin SL: (I spoke to the driver of my bus before he passed away from a head injury. The fleet of buses was taking 1200 civilians from a fallen survival camp and was headed to a new one. One of the largest ones in Japan and is centered on the organization founded by Saya Takagi's parents. I got more information from others, but that can wait. Shin, abandon your group and meet up with bus 2, 6, or 9, which are still operational. Feel free to show your might in front of others too. This is a world were super powers seems to exist now, but hold back on Sci-fi weapons and the truly insane abilities. Best for us if others see us as powerful to establish our influence in this world, but too powerful will lead to problems later on... but if it gets too bad don't hesitate and go all out. Just make sure no one is around to tell anyone how strong we really are!)

Shin SL: (I don't know what you have planned, but okay. Hikari, tell the others about what we just discussed and to meet up at the buses. Also, I have your three DRAGOONS in my dimensional belt since you couldn't carry them, but do you need them? I can meet up with you, or just let you remotely take control of them from-)

Hikari SL: (No need. The bus I was on has over thirty strong soldiers who are holding their own for now, and Aqua has joined me here. You are also the farthest away from bus 2, so head to bus 9."

Shin SL: (Alright. Coordinate with the others and have them meet up and also see about finding the Newbies. Most likely, Jin has already accepted that by the end of the day we are going to be at -3 Team Points. If it happens it happens, but it's still -6000 Points to all of us. Who else except me can take that kind of hit, so we'll be forced into a team battle even in the unlikely event Team Kenya wants peace? That's it. Contact me if anything happens.)

Shin disconnected with Hikari who went to inform the others of the plan but not before installing the Game Map of her Persona, Adrasteia. After exchanging for Psyche Force Scan the details of her mental map shot up and could even highlight key points, Ally positions, and enemies positions and how hostile they were, and the map itself will update from her future scans. Hikari could only speak to three others and connect their minds, but with this Game Map, no one on Team Japan would get lost. Still, she pointed out that the Game Map would probably miss the zombies who were cloaked from her scans without using Persona, so we were told to stay vigilant at all times and treat the Game Map as just a regular map rather than a real-time surveillance.

According to the map, Bus 9 was three miles away on foot with his speed thus would take less than ten minutes without rushing, but protecting the physically weaker Komaru and fending off possibly thousands of zombies made him feel that it would take much longer. Shin took one last look at the battle between the and the zombies and then set off with Komaru and Grim Ash. As they set off towards bus 9, Shin had Grim Ash take off its cloak to display its true form. A full-body demonic skeleton wearing western style magic armor with a layer of bone over it. If this was the God and Devil World he knew of, then his familiar would just be mistaken as the same special summoned skeleton skill that the MC first received.

Shin: "Ash! Clear a path for us! Don't you dare let any of THEM near Komaru!"

Ash: "!"

After finally being given the order to fight Grim Ash's eyes lit up with a demonic flame and rushed out like a lightning bolt. It extended its right hand out, and bone fragments began to expand from its palm, and in seconds a large bone covered Barbatos Mace formed on full display. It was Ash's first real battle, but the special skeleton didn't show any wavering as if it were a veteran warrior of many battles. Ten zombies stood in the way and scrambled towards his master Shin and his woman, and that was unacceptable. Ash twirled the staff handle of the Barbatos Mace like a helicopter blade from left to right with inhuman strength enhanced by D-tier Undead Strength.

The mace smashed into the ten zombies, and with sickening zombie-to-mace contact, blew them away as mangled pieces of rotten flesh. More and more zombies stood in their away giving them no breathing room, yet Ash simply continued its assault and more and zombies were blown away or smashed into the ground and were turned into paste by the mace. Both Shin and Komaru gasped at Ash's display of might. Especially Shin. The normal zombies could hardly be called a threat to someone with superhuman levels of power like himself, yet seeing zombies, monsters with a human form sent flying for tens of meters was still a surreal sight for him. There was only death whenever Grim Ash swung its mace, and he soon reaped the lives of over one hundred zombies in less than a minute. The skeleton was like a storm god of the underworld which no one could come close to, and he wouldn't allow anyone or thing to come close to its master or Komaru.

Shin: "...What a waste of points."

Komaru: "What are you talking about?! Look how fierce and dominating he is! If we had him before in my world, just imagine how easy we would have had it! Apologize to Ash! You'll hurt her, no I mean his feelings when he's just doing his best for your sake!"

Shin: "Huh? When did you two become so close? Also, I wasn't talking about Ash as a waste of points. It's the armor! It's a low tier magic armor that doesn't need rank rewards, but it was still a thousand points! Look! My familiar is so powerful and skilled that not one zombie has even gotten close to scratching that armor of his! It's a waste! If I knew he was this good, I wouldn't have bothered with the armor and just raised your stats Komaru instead."

Komaru: "Oh... Wait, why didn't you increase my stats!? I can proudly proclaim myself of having an average physical ability for a high school girl!"

Shin: "...I forgot (Although you've never been inside a high school). Sorry, but I got you some jewelry instead, so..."

Komaru could only helplessly look at her boyfriend... and fall for him even more. Shin was so hopeless and no good despite having so many protagonist-like qualities that he began to look even more handsome in her eyes. Komaru hated to admit it, but she was definitely into guys like Shin. Helpless fools who needed looking after. Shin was unaware of her feelings, for more the better than, the worse, at this time too busy keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings. The streets were filled with zombies rushing towards his group, yet with Grim Ash and his extraordinary strength and endless endurance due to him being an undead allowed him to by himself swept away all the enemies who dared to approach or got in their way. Shin was beginning to think everything would be okay and they would easily regroup with his team, yet he soon discarded such optimistic thoughts and entered Unlocked Mode for precaution. Shin couldn't believe that that this level of danger was a twelve-man mission for Team Japan. A twelve-man mission wasn't like a fifteen or twenty-man mission with a high possibility of a wipe, yet it's still difficult. No member of his team would have a hard time fighting his or her way through the zombie horde or running away. Even Hikari or Shuai who were physically the weakest could manged without revealing their true powers. Just armed with guns and the Unlocked Mode, it would be too easy for the two to escape any danger in this world.

Shin: (God placed us at a disadvantage from the get go, but you could hardly call it a challenge. He gave us soldiers and hundreds of human meat shields we could use to distract the zombies with. Things would have been worse if they all came after us and I still have the option of flying away with Void Movement. There has to be more to-)

A sense of danger swept over Shin, and he immediately stopped his train of thoughts there and picked up Komaru, and without warning and jumped high into the air. The feeling of danger had come from below his feet, so he jumped into the air and kicked the air with Void Movement landing near Grim Ash who was up front holding off an army of zombies. A split second later a giant hand half the size of an adult male's broke through the earth where he once stood and then retracted back into the earth. Shin had no idea what the hell that was even with his knowledge of H.O.T.D and G&DW, and he had no time to figure it out. Countless large humanoids crawled out of the hole and stood up facing Shin's group. There was a total of ten power type mutant zombies or L1s for short. They observed Shin's group with greedy flesh looking eyes but for a moment before they rushed forward. Each step they took crushed the cement paved streets and brought them closer and closer to their prey.

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Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren


	203. Chapter 203

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 3, H.O.T.D 2

Ten L1 Zombies climbed out of the hole in the middle of the street and rushed forward straight at Shin and Komaru. Shin placed Komaru down on the ground next to Grim Ash to prepare for their attack. They were fifty meters away, yet this distance was shrinking by the second. They had more than five times the speed of a healthy young male and would reach them in less than ten seconds, but this was more than enough time to respond for Shin was still in Unlocked Mode. Just one second was needed to respond to their assault with his own. Shin took out a cylinder shaped object, an infinite ammo rocket launcher from his dimensional belt and took a step to the side so Komaru directly behind him wouldn't get caught in the blast (GATE) and knelt down into a firing position with it over his shoulder.

Shin: (Don't know how I'll fare yet against an L1 at close range, much less a group of L1s, but this can't be called a threat. Like I wanted to avoid, you all should have come after me as a massive army of L1s! Die!)

Shin pulled the trigger of the rocket launcher and flames erupted from the back while the rocket was shot out and flew towards the group of L1 Zombies. To Shin's surprise, they held the intelligence to know the threat of a rocket, which could kill them, yet they were unconcerned. Just one rocket would perhaps kill off half their group and injury the rest, but for zombies without fear or a sense of pain that couldn't be called checkmate. They would pick themselves back up before the human could reload and smash him into the pavement. They would then pick up his remains and devour them, along with his companions, yet they didn't know two key pieces of information, which sealed their fate. One, Shin's rockets launcher was infinite ammo can could fire six rockets per minute without reloading, and so by the time they picked themselves up they would be wiped out by a second blast. And two and most importantly, the rockets of the launcher over his shoulder wasn't a normal rocket from a normal rocket launcher and would never have that chance to pick themselves up.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

After impacting the leading zombie of the group, all ten L1s were incinerated into nothingness as the rocket detonated. Originally the power of his unlimited ammo modern weapon wasn't capable of taking out ten L1s in one blast, so Shin smiled at the sight of the burning flesh of the zombies scattered across the street. Jin had recently inscribed onto countless infinite ammo weapons magic enchantment Rune Words to bestow the weapon with the power to deliver magic damage to the supernatural. Jin had inscribed an Advance Magic Enchantment inside the barrel of the infinite ammo rocket launcher, so his modern weapon had magic enchantment rivaling DD tier magic weapons according to their test. The actual power, speed, and AOE damage hadn't increased in the slightest, yet every part of the blast including even the burning hot winds spoke of high magic damage. The L1 who didn't know this were destined to die the moment Shin took out the rocket launcher which had been upgraded into a DD rank infinite ammo AOE magic weapon.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. TEN L1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 10 POINTS!

Shin: "Just ten points to every member? Not bad, but nothing like my last mission though that can't be helped. Hopefully, there are a lot more of THEM I can kill. More efficient than normal ones at least."

Komaru: "You're not normal to wish for that Shin... and it looked like you got your wish!"

It was as Komaru warned him. Three more L1s crawled out of the hole in the middle of the street and began to walk over towards their group. Shin laughed out loud seeing only three come out of the hole when another ten were wiped off the face of the earth with one blast his rocket launcher, but even though he was excited and at ease, he still didn't exit Unlocked Mode. They were all still surrounded by hundreds of normal zombies and then there was still that thing that was moving underground. That was what Shin was most worried about and had already told Hikari to spread the word to the team with Soul Link about an enemy that could traverse underground. Within Team Japan only he could fly and even then it wasn't forever and wore down his endurance and Ki with each attempt.

This was a threat that could get in the team's way, especially when Hikari's is having a hard time locating the enemies without her Persona summoned to boost her Psyche Force. Shin now wanted to gather more information about this enemy and was prepared to order Grim Ash to go ahead with Komaru and learn as much about this underground enemy as possible, and hopefully kill it here and now. That's when he saw something strange. The three L1s moving stopped moving together and separated. Two walked off the street and sat down while the remaining L1 continued to move forward alone and stopped fifteenth meters away. Also, all the zombies in the area began to back away. Shin was lost at first but soon came to realize what this was.

A challenge!

The enemy was challenging his side to a 1 on 1 battle. For what purpose Shin couldn't be certain of anything yet, but he felt something was wrong here. The enemies here in this world were zombies. They shouldn't have the intelligence, sense of self, or fighting spirit to engage in a challenge between warriors. Even with the introduction of God and Devil World, a Z type evolved zombie wouldn't order a zombie to do such a thing at least from where he last read to. Also, last time he looked there weren't any control type zombies listed on his Player Watch.

Shin: (Yet it feels that way. I don't feel a fighting spirit or anything close to a sense of self from these zombies, just a mindless desire for flesh. Someone behind the scenes is controlling these guys with a purpose in mind.)

Shin wanted to enter the Third Stage and simulate Saki or Jin's thought patterns to come to an answer on his own, yet he didn't want to wear down his mind if he didn't have to. He just told Hikari mentally over Soul Link to connect with Jin and show him everything he was seeing. Psyche Force Scans were useless right now, but she at least confirmed that shared vision through Soul Link worked just fine. He'll leave the plans and hypothesis to Jin who's better at that stuff. Meeting up with his comrades was important as well, but his instincts were telling him that this was an important chance to learn about the mysteries of this Cross Series mission.

Shin: "Ash you're up! You'll be my representative. We don't know what they have plan, but let's give them a show and that we're not to be messed with. Kill them!"

Grim Ash: "..."

Grim Ash no longer concerned itself with the zombies backing away and silently shot towards the lone L1 like an arrow. The L1 took a long stride and threw a powerful punch towards Grim Ash. Grim Ash remembered the image of the one soldier blown off his feet and crashing into a bus by a single punch of an L1, so she took a step to the side to dodge. The L1 tried to follow up with another punch, but Grim Ash, with superior speed, moved to its backside and slammed the Barbatos Mace at its head. The L1 that the soldiers from before could barely injury was now knocked down to the floor with a crack on its hard skin and bleeding.

This didn't come as a surprise to Shin as his familiar's weapon, a D tier blunt sci-fi weapon, was now covered in bone fragments to increase its striking force which was already of a high hardness made from a rare alloy used for mobile suit frames. Enemies like the L1 with tough armor were the perfect prey for this weapon. As Shin admired Grim Ash's power, he then gave the finishing blow by stabbing the mace into the L1's face and pulling the trigger of the sci-fi weapon. The center of the Barbatos Mace, the pile driver mechanism was activated, and a needle was fired from the tip of the mace. Needle was the name for it, but it was closer to a large spiked rod that stabbed straight through the L1 head killing it instantly. The spiked rod covered in rotten brain matter even had the power left over to pierce through into the earth nailing the L1 in place.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. ONE L1 ZOMBIE KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 1 POINT!

Shin was pleased with this announcement from God. It was just one point to each member of the team, but this confirmed that familiars like Grim Ash counted as his own power and so he and his team received the benefits. If not and the points and rewards for Grim Ash's kills didn't count then his value as an additional fighter would shoot down and Shin would be forced to use his familiar as a purely supportive role rather than a possible main combatant. This also confirmed that Aqua and Shuai who possessed familiars of their own could use them to gain the points and rank rewards.

Immediately after Grim Ash nailed the head of the L1 into the earth, the two L1 standing to the side immediately shot towards him. After losing 1 on 1, the enemy didn't hesitate to try 1 on 2, yet Grim Ash stood his ground and raised the Barbatos Mace, and aiming for the zombie on its right fired a metal spike rod. The spiked rod shot through the air with the speed of a bullet towards the L1's head, yet the zombie raised its right hand and swatted at the spike. It's entire right arm was torn off by the force of the projectile, yet unfazed it continued charging towards Grim Ash.

Shin: (They are learning quickly, or the one behind them is. So he is testing our power instead of trying to kill us for the sake of better his knowledge. Shit, this isn't Terra Formars! Unlike the Bugs, zombies aren't capable of growing as individuals with new knowledge. Only a Z type might do that, but that's still a stretch. Anyways, more so than the soldiers or civilians, it's best not to show our true power without first identifying the enemy.)

As Grim Ash fended off the two L1s alone Shin contacted his comrades for an update. Everything was going well according to Hikari. Hikari, Aqua, and Drake had secured Bus 2 and escaped the zombie horde and were on the move. Sachi, Shuai, and Kisara had secured Bus 6 with little trouble, but are being chased by the zombies and would be taking a detour to lose them. Hikari had them taking the best routes to the safe zones to take using Psyche Force Scan and kept a vigilant watch out for the zombies. Connor and Jin alone secured Bus 10 but lost most of the soldiers nearby, so they were on their own. This wasn't exactly a bad thing as they had command over the situation, yet this placed more pressure on them. Especially when they couldn't go all out.

Hikari SL: (Jin told me to tell you to that if you don't want to be left behind start running in thirty seconds. Go down the road that you are on for two miles, turn left and go on for three miles, and then turn right and use Void Movement to jump over the zombies. He said that you know it when you see it. Jin and Connor will be passing by with the bus. The others are okay for now, so I'll share my most recent scans with you.)

Shin SL: (...Okay, got it! I'll meet up Jin and Connor in a moment.)

Shin didn't disconnect with Hikari this time as she was sharing her scans from Psyche Force, but he returned his focus to the battle between Grim Ash and the two L1 zombies. Grim Ash who had the better balance of power and speed dominated the L1 who were only superior to him in brute force. Grim Ash had taken off the arm of the other L1, and both zombies were riddled with injuries that hindered their moments despite their lack of pain and fear.

Shin: "Ash, kill them now! We're escaping!"

Grim Ash heard his master's command and its empty eye sockets lit up with a demonic flame. Grim Ash strengthened its body with the little of its Undead Strength that it had and rushed the Two L1s. The Barbatos Mace was raised overhead and swung down on top of the head of one L1 closest to him. The zombie didn't die immediately with half its face caved in, but it was then finished off by a spiked rod piercing all the through the center of its chest and severing its spinal cord. At that exact moment, the other L1 waiting for this moments lunged for Grim Ash. It and the one behind the zombies learned that the mace that shoots spikes had a 6-8 second delay before it could fire again and took this chance to strike. The L1 raised its sole arm that was now glowing red and punched forward. It was the same move that stopped the moving bus and flipped it over on its back. Grim Ash only suffered a grazing blow to its right elbow but to both the skeleton familiar and Shin's shock its whole right arm holding onto its weapon and part of its ribcage shattered and turned into dust.

Shin: (A special attack that doesn't exist in God and Devil World. We can call it charged attack similar to what we encountered in Apocalypse Alice, but just less magic based. Still, sorry guys, but even with that Ash can still...)

It was as Shin said.

The magic armor incorporated into Grim Ash's began absorbing most of the damage, and like zombies, as a skeleton, it didn't feel pain or fear allowing it to immediately retaliate. The five fingers of its left hand merged as one and sharpened, taking on a thick knife-like shape, and Grim Ash stabbed into the L1. It's ability to manipulate it's bone structure after just being born, and lack of combat experience was frightening even as a Superior Grade Skeleton Demon, but it's Kaguya Clan Bloodline gave it the edge it needed to master this power. The bone knife that was now sharper and sturdier than even military grade knives used by the special forces was thrust forward and stabbed into the mouth of the L1 and opened a hole in the back of its throat. Grim Ash wasn't finished there as it then dug up into the L1's head and tearing out its rotten blackish gray brain in a gruesome manner for all to see. The skeleton demon then threw away the grotesque brain onto the floor, picked up its weapon that fell and rushed over towards his master and Komaru.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. TWO L1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 2 POINTS!

Komaru: "...There's too much to comment on here, but isn't Grim Ash just too dominating!? Like some kind of a battle genius right out of a Manga."

Shin: "Yeah. Like this, I'm worried about my spot as the most popular character... Wait! We don't have time for this "Awe and amazing" moment out of Manga and Anime! We're going Komaru! Recall Grim Ash!"

Shin directed one of his hands towards Grim Ash, a pitch black fog swallowed up his skeleton demon and was un-summoned and recalled back to the underworld. Shin would have liked to keep him out at all times as added protection, but with the running he was about to do Grim Ash would be left behind in the dust. Grim Ash could then only wait to be swarmed and killed by zombies and to avoid the twenty-four-hour penalty to re-summon it was better to recall him back to the underworld. This way he could re-summon the trusty skeleton demon anytime that he wants with just a bit of energy.

Shin: (The energy to summon Grim Ash from the underworld would increase as he becomes stronger, but with my current Ki it only takes 5% of my total reserves to summon him. Now-)

Shin had Komaru climb onto his back. Since he might need his hands Shin couldn't carry Komaru in his arms (Princess Carry), and trying not to become more of a burden she grabbed tightly onto him so he wouldn't have to worry about her falling over. The two then began to run. More L1's were crawling out of the hole in the street and in anger about them running away they gave chase, yet they couldn't keep up with Shin's speed even with Komaru clinging to his back. The horde of zombies that had backed away now came back charging towards Shin and Komaru in seemingly endless waves, but Shin paid them no mind and jumped over their heads.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.


	204. Chapter 204

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 4, H.O.T.D 2

I'll sometimes be referring to Adell's Legacy as just Legacy from now on.

With Komaru on his back, Shin leaped over the heads of hundreds of zombies rushing towards them and then jumped dozens of meters without needing Instant Moment. The footwear half of Adell's Legacy elevated his speed and jumping power many times over, making running and jumping even with someone on one's back feel as natural as walking. When gravity finally took hold of Shin, and he began to fall into the sea of zombies reaching out with their hands to grab him, he stomped hard on the head of one of the zombie and jumped once more into the air before he was caught by the horde. It would be simpler to just use Void Movement, yet the need had not yet arrived, and it was foolish to show one's full power to an intelligent enemy you knew little about. He will if he has to, but not till he has to.

Shin successful ran down the road Hikari told him to for two miles and turned left. This road was far less occupied with zombies than the previous one, but the danger had not gone down. On the road he had to go down for three miles Shin saw countless L1 Zombies mixed in with a few dozen regular zombies. Shin momentarily considered going around them, but in the ended chose not to. From the battle between the L1s and Grim Ash, Shin learned the extent of their power. Even when facing dozens of L1s and normal zombies-

Shin: "Hm, what's there to be afraid of?!"

Shin quickly checked to see if Komaru was secured on his back and accelerated with Instant Movement. In one short breath the L1s saw Shin kick the ground, disappear, and next moment he was right before them. Not more than one foot away already in a motion of throwing a punch. The zombies couldn't believe their eyes, but not because of his speed as they've fought Enhancers and Evolvers before. They had just never seen a human jump into a group of zombies unarmed before. Their infection spread just from the smallest scratch from THEM, so all humans without exception were fearful of getting close to them. Even warriors who used swords and spears kept 1-2 feet of distance when they attacked unless downed in full armor, which this human was not. They had also never seen a human jump in and punch a zombie before and the one controlling them had no countermeasure, and it was already too late to do anything. Shin's punch exploded into the L1's face completely ignoring their powerful defense, leaving nothing behind but rotten chunks of flesh and brain matter. Flesh and blood carrying the infection dirtied his hands, but the combat glove of Legacy protected his skin and swallowed up flesh and blood with a sizzling heat.

Shin: (My base strength is already ten times that of a normal human now. Even without these magic gloves and boots that increase my close range combat power, I would be just fine!)

Shin still marveled Legacy and his own power as he moved on with no time to waste. He had noticed it a few times, but he had long since begun to leave the bounds of power that a normal human could achieve. As he ran around most of the L1 and took out the ones who stood in his way, he couldn't help but feel amazed as if he was using Ki skills to run and strike the enemy. The greatest feature of this magic weapon was it's dual nature as striking weapon and tool to increase movement speed. The boots gave the wearer speed approaching Instant Movement to move around the L1s too slow to react. As for the L1s who managed to react and stand in Shin's way they were quickly put down. It took only but a punch to knock off the head of an L1 and a spinning kick snapped their spines in two. In no time at all with swift steps and even swifter attacks. These expensive B tier magic equipment only shortcomings were its short reach, but these faults never crossed his mind at the potential they showed in battle. Shin carrying Komaru completed the three miles journey killing about twenty-three L1 zombies and turned right.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. TWENTY-THREE L1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 23 POINT!

Shin: "What the..."

Komaru: "Shin, this is too..."

Both Shin and Komaru were left speechless. Shin remembered Jin saying that he'll know it when he sees it but could have been more precise. Jin could have said that there were tens of thousands of zombies flooding the streets and as soon as he looked at them, they ceased their mindless walking about and began to flood in his direction. Mixed in with were the large red skinned L1 Zombies and other suspiciously skin-colored zombies. Shin had to pass through all of them to rendezvous with his comrades, so he was a little taken back.

Shin: (So this is what an army of zombies look like. If I dared to stand my ground and fight how long would I last? It would be impossible with Komaru at the very least and with the Rocket Launcher I could perhaps only kill a few hundred before the army swallows me up in endless human bodies of zombies. Maybe Aqua and the EMP Rifle would fare better. If fighting isn't an option, then I have no choice but to use that after all!)

Shin came to the decision that fighting was impossible right now and ran forward towards the approaching army of zombies. They trampled everything in their path and didn't bother to pick the remains of fresh human flesh on the ground having been given a kill order for Shin. As the armies of zombies were tens meters away, he jumped meters into the air and began to kick the air to ascend higher and higher. Using Void Movement placed him completely out of reach for the zombies, and he began to continuously kick the air to fly over their heads. Ten seconds later Shin saw in the distance with his superior vision a familiar bus.

It was the same kind of bus that he awoke in when he entered the world, but a different bus than the one he left behind flipped over with a damaged engine. The bus he was originally on had its front smashed in by an L1 and flipped over, while this bus was merely banged up a little here and there. The zombies in the vicinity were too occupied with Shin's presence to notice the bus coming to a stop behind the army of undead. It would be far too easily to swallow up the bus that came to a full stop and devour all those within, but thankful this didn't happen, and by the time they saw the bus it was already taking off with Shin landing on the top of its roof. Once he landed someone inside the vehicle yelled to the drive to speed it out of there, and like, so they left the army of undead behind. A few zombies attempted to give chase, but as they did one after the other they had their brains blown out by an anti-material sniper rifle sticking out of the back window of the bus, courtesy of Connor. This was his first time-fighting zombie type monsters, and he was a young boy of ten years of age, but he was unfazed by the abnormality of it all he continued to blast the skulls of zombies again, again, and again with unmatched precision with the same unfazed expression as always.

Shin looked back at the army of zombies they were leaving behind and was about to sigh in relief when he spotted over two-dozen blue skinned zombies with razor sharp claws chasing after the speeding bus. They were moving more than ten times faster than the speed of the average human and possessed endless stamina, so it was only a matter of time before they caught them. Connor took aim at one of them with his rifle, and a bullet exploded from the muzzle faster than what the eye should be able to follow on a path towards, yet these blue-skinned zombies reacted in time and side stepped out of the path of the bullet. Connor was surprised, but it didn't show on his face as he continued to take aim at the blue skinned zombies. Shin watched as Connor managed to take out three zombies one after the other, yet he knew at this rate the zombies would reach the bus.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. THREE S1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 3 POINTS!

Shin SL: (They didn't have the combat instincts to dodge snipers in God and Devil World, but they are definitely the agility type S1 zombies! Jin, open the door to the bus and let Komaru inside! Connor, come out on top of the roof of the bus and snipe the S1 before they reach us. Leave the ones who come close to me. Jin, the evolved zombies love to break into sealed spaces like buses, so seal the walls and windows with your ice and reinforce it further with Mana.)

Connor SL: (...Roger.)

Jin SL: (Okay! Leave it to me!)

Shin had Hikari relay his orders through Soul Link, and everyone moved as directed without delay. As Jin opened the bus door and helped Komaru inside, Connor exited through the back window and flipped himself over on top of the moving bus and immediately aiming his rifle at the approaching zombie. Jin then closed the doors and windows to the bus and used magic to add a layer of ice onto the bus except for the front window and roof so the driver could see clearly and so Shin and Connor wouldn't slip off the bus. Jin additionally kept an active link to the ice to empower it with Mana for an added defense. Shin satisfied with Jin's defenses to the bus, and along with Connor, he focused on their offense to wipe out the approaching S1 Zombies. Their inhuman speed and reflexes allowed them to catch up to the speeding bus and with the state of the streets littered with abandoned cars it was impossible for the bus to go any faster. It was already predetermined that the bus couldn't outrun the S1, so Shin resolved himself for a fight.

Shin: "Connor, just worry about the S1 Zombies in the back of the pack chasing us. There are twenty-one super fast S1 Zombies left, and it's impossible for you to get them all unless you switch to the Lightning Trigger. Allow half of them through! They won't be able to enter the bus thanks to Jin, so they'll go after us instead. Don't worry them and just kill your targets. They won't be allowed to touch you!"

Connor: "..."

Shin said so with absolute confidence, yet remaining silent, he couldn't tell if Connor was moved or doubted if Shin could handle so many S1s. Connor now entering Unlocked Mode just laid flat against the cold rooftop of the bus and kept firing from his rifle. In the First Stage, his precision and technique increased dramatically. Every time the trigger of the anti-material rifle was squeezed an S1 would find its gray matter blown out and splattered across the street. Some would try to dodge to the side yet these actions were seen through by the child sniper in Unlocked Mode, and they all found new holes in their heads. The S1's response to Connor's killing spree was to spread out and do everything in their power with their agility and reaction time to give the sniper a harder time with his rapid killing spree. If they couldn't avoid being sniped, they would sacrifice the majority to allow a few to close and kill the sniper!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. TWELVE S1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 12 POINTS!

This was the plan of the one behind the zombies, and it worked. Half the S1 Zombies were wiped by Connor's sniping. Ten were wiped held back by the pressure of Connor's Snipes and eight finally caught up to the bus. Connor would have tried to stop them, but trusting his leader, he didn't do anything to stop their advance and continued to pick off the far off S1 Zombies. The eight S1 nearing the bus first tried to tear into its wall or break the windows, yet a layer of ice reinforced with Mana repelled their claws. They tore and clawed at the ice, yet it held firmly in place and what little they could peel off was quickly replaced by new ice conjured by Jin. They desired the flesh hiding inside the bus, but unable to do so they jumped on top of the bus and prioritized killing the sniper. One of the eight S1s saw Connor continuing his shooting spree unconcerned with their presence and rushed towards child soldier with inhuman speed, yet faster than it could react, a black sword cut through space between them and its head was cut off. The head fell to the floor of the roof and Shin holding onto Gravity Blade in one hand, and an Unlimited Ammo Submachine Gun in the other raised one foot above it and stomped down crushing it whole.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. ONE S1 ZOMBIE KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 1 POINTS!

Shin: "It was unfair of me to us my B tier combat gear to take out you small flies. Gravity Blade and an Unlimited Ammo Submachine Gun (with Medium Grade magic bullets) is good enough. Come at me!"

Shin didn't know if the remaining seven S1s or the ones behind them understood his words, but immediately after he finished speaking three of the seven S1 Zombies rushed over. And as they closed in he entered Unlocked Mode and circulated through his body the Ki of the Black Heaven & Earth Technique and RC Cells. The Ki greatly increased all his stats while the energy flowed through him and the Rc Cell strengthened his body further to inhuman degrees. Shin honestly didn't feel the First Stage was needed here to deal with the L1 Zombies with his already high stats and enhancements, but protecting Connor against multiple agility type monsters required greater technique and focus.

\- *WHOOSH*!

In a flash three black sword arc slew one of the S1 Zombies. Shin's Gravity Blade was swung at the closest S1, severing its claws as it approached Connor's neck. Once more the S1s nearby couldn't react to those laser fast sword attacks, only able to see trials of light following after the swung weapon which had bisected horizontally the clawless S1 with two quick sword slashes.

Shin: (This was my first time encountering the S1s in battle, but aren't they just much weaker than the L1s. They are faster than L1s for sure, but with their weak defenses and my high Reaction Speed stat, they are much easier to take out than the hard-skinned L1. Gravity Blade without increased weight was good enough for them, much less my newly acquired B tier equips.)

After the first S1 was slain, two S1 not caring for the loss of another comrade rushed towards Connor from behind Shin, but with the combat instincts of the First Stage, this didn't go unnoticed. A mental image of each S1 and their position appeared in his mind, which allowed him to act without observation. With Instant Movement he swung around to the backs of the two S1s and cut them in half from the waist down. In less than three seconds, three S1 Zombies were cut down without inflicting any damage to Shin and Connor who continued to snipe the S1s following after them unconcerned.

The S1 Zombies in the back were about to follow up and attack as well not knowing the fear of being outmatched, but a series of guns shots stopped them. The bullets from the SMG were all dodged, yet they were all pushed back to the edge of the bus roof and unable to approach Connor. It was clear that S1 Zombies or at least just eight of them were not good enough to even test these humans' abilities. The one behind them ordering this attack knew this, yet not caring for the small loss, he gave up on the child soldier and sicked the remaining four S1 Zombies on Shin desiring more knowledge, but unfortunately they were not able to gain any information.

The speed-oriented S1 Zombies couldn't challenge Shin's high stats and the First Stage, and so they were swiftly slain. As one final desperate ploy the class of the S1s started to glow and then grew by three feet giving them added attack range, yet simply increasing the weight of Gravity Blade by 10 fold for good measure he ruthlessly hacked through their claws and the upper halves of their body in one swing. And in this time he leisurely dispatched the remaining S1 Zombies on top of the bus, Connor finished picking off the S1 Zombies following after the bus. The short battle had not lasted even a full, so Shin was surprised to see when he looked back down the road the streets were littered with the corpses of S1 Zombies with their head blasted opening and staining the streets of the city. It was a unpleasant scene and he for the first time regretted his excellent vision, yet he couldn't say anything about Connor's ruthlessness as on the roof of the bus were S1 zombies were on full display spendidly hacked to pieces.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. EIGHT S1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 8 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. TEN S1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 10 POINTS!

Shin: "Connor, I really don't know what to say about this. I get that its only me who feels this way because of my high stats and that I wouldn't say this at my power level in the last mission, but this is too easy. If they don't send say a few hundred L1 or S1 zombies we're not going to lose and it's just Farming points if they don't. Jin's whole purposely holding back idea might be unnecessary."

Connor: "...Just have Jin unfreeze the bus already so we can go inside, or do you want me to keep watch out here?"

Shin: "..."

Shin couldn't laugh, but only cry as he was just blown off by his ten-year-old child soldier sniper and teammate. It looked to him that Connor had no respect for him, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. He had absolute trust in Shin's ability. That battle on the top of the moving bus did not last long, and it was easily won due to Shin's high stats and enhancements from the perspective of someone watching who didn't know better, but Connor knew that there was a deeper truth to that battle. When Shin swung his magic sword, the sword slashes were fast and precise which could only be seen as flashes of light from the outside, but more impressively he grasped when the enemy could and couldn't react. When Shin snuck behind the S1, he left their field of vision beforehand to throw them off rather than directly at them. When the S1's revealed a special technique, Shin did not panic in the slightest. In the smallest instance he had judged the power of the special skill and counter-attacked with just enough force to overwhelm them, but not to much to not waste too much of his own power. Lastly, Shin stopped eight S1 who specialized in speed and reaction time from approaching his comrade and kept a vigilant watch of his surroundings for surprise attacks.

As far as Connor was concerned, Shin was someone without training or refined techniques, had a "whatever goes" style of chaotic fighting, and relied on his talents and instincts too much, but that was his strength. Shin didn't have training that restricted his power for certain situations, could fight with a sword, lance, whips, guns of all shapes and sizes or his bare hands and feet if necessary, and had adapted to life and death battles to a frightening degree. It should be noted that Shin's path as a warrior after entering God's Dimension hasn't even reached half a year yet, but he had reached a level where those who were called gifted and trained for five or even ten years would look at Shin with awe and jealousy. Connor realized all of this just now, yet even that amazing display of battle intuition was Shin holding back without breaking a sweat as well, so he had to wonder just how strong Shin truly was... and if he had his love life more put together his respect for his leader would extend farther than the battlefield.

Shin looked out the window of the bus taking in the view of the dead apocalyptic world as they continued to head towards their destination. Komaru was sitting next to him staying quite and trying to remain calm at her first brush with the living dead this world calls THEM. Shin had recalled Grim Ashes and had him take the aisle seat of the bus, so they were protecting Komaru in the middle seat from threats from both outside and inside. Grim Ash received a few looks when Shin summoned him, but the people inside the bus didn't question about the demon skeleton. Just like Shin had hoped Grim Ash was mistaken as just another skill from God and Devil World.

Alongside Shin in the bus were number civilians scared out of their wits about the next possible zombie attack. A young soldier no older than twenty, the sole one inside the bus was trying to calm everyone down as best he could in the absence of his more experienced comrades who fell in battle not long ago. He didn't seem like the type to use threats or force to bring about order like the soldiers had earlier, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. He was the target of everyone's frustrations and the soldier didn't the have the skill set to handle them. The actual leader of this group was Jin and Connor (The child soldier was silent as ever) who were seated behind Shin and had cleared up the zombies when the most of the soldiers fell in battle.

The two took command and gathered a bus driver, the surviving soldier, and as many civilians as they could towards a working bus. Jin, the mastermind strategist of Team Japan of course didn't want to stand out, or at least just yet, so he had the surviving soldier take up the role as the temporary leader while Connor and himself were just his advisors... the real shot callers. Shin heard that the soldier wasn't too keen on the role of leader, but Jin reassured him that he was not alone and that it was only proper for an adult and soldier of our proud nation take command, and the soldier, too young for his own good, fell for these lines. Shin could only sigh at Jin's ability to quickly take control of a situation and manipulate others as he turned away from the window not seeing any zombies in sight and asked the man of the hour what had been on his mind.

Shin: "So, in the end I was a distraction for you to escape, Jin. You could have just said so."

Jin: "Sorry, sorry. I thought you would be against acting as bait with Komaru with you. That's all. Sorry for taking such liberties, leader. Also, I had the driver take a route that allows all three buses to meet up and had Hikari mask each bus. The enemy may be using Psyche Force, or something similar to scan the area and is able to mask THEM to a degree, hard for Hikari to notice. If we say he's using Psyche Force Scan we are now invisible to him and won't be able to find us, but if the enemy is using something like Soul Link to connect with each zombie, quite the frightening power when compared to Hikari who can only connect to four, he'll be able to spot us through the eyes of his zombies. This ability of the enemy may only just be a variation of Soul Link as Hikari, and all of us unlocked don't feel that we're being spied on."

Shin: "...Jin, don't say sorry if your not. I'm definitely feeling like just a figurehead. You don't regret having me run around the area to capture the attention of all the THEM away from this bus, and in doing that you and Connor without revealing too much of our power were able to repel all the THEM. Anyways, what's with hiding our powers? It's one thing if this was a modern world setting, but H.O.T.D is an apocalyptic setting and has apparently merged with the story of God and Devil World. A world with fantasy and game elements (Small). Will there really be a problem if we show off our power?"

Jin: "...About showing our powers, it depends on the time in place. We also don't know enough about the organization the soldiers belong to and their current situation. That's why I said to abandon the majority of the bus fleet. Trust me at least when I say we made the correct decision."

Shin: "...Right."

The words "Trust" and "Jin" were eternally antonyms as far as Shin was concerned. While he trusts Jin's ability as a strategist, he wasn't willing to not question him. Especially when he felt that he was hiding something, so Shin entered the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint to simulate Saki's thoughts. Saki thought out her plans with extreme logic with little emotion as compared to Jin who equally uses logic and the human heart when he thought up his own plans. If Shin didn't feel the need he would rather reserve the Third Stage for an emergency since it took a toll on his mind, but since they were safe for the moment, he wanted to do try and figure out what Jin was scheming.

Shin: (Revealing our power to the organization in control of Tokonosu City, or any governing body in this world has its gains and risk. The gain is Authority and Influence. God and Devil World shows us that Enhancers and Evolvers who possess enough inhuman power beyond imagination can have their way within survivors communities and even if they commit crimes like murder and xxxx, the government will allow such actions long the person shows himself as useful. Any Enhancer or Evolver who honestly joins the military will receive high positions and if they show loyalty they will be on the fast track to the top. Showing our might to the soldiers and helping as many civilians survive the zombie attack would boost our reputation and value to the government greatly... but it certainly comes at a risk. Fear and the Unknown. Both Team Japan's full power with the combination of infinite ammo weapons, overwhelming sci-fi weapons beyond modern technology, magic abilities and enhancements superior to most Enhancers and Evolvers, as well as access to resources by relying on Drebin893. We can become a powerful asset to any fighting force and turn the tides of war... or a threat that threatens the peace and stability of an organization. Especially those not united and factions fighting over authority. Governments are the most ruthless entities when it comes to in gain and risk. If they can use us then good and we can use them back then all is good... but if the risk for them is that our power eclipses their own to the extent we can wipe them out or we come to hold so much fame and influence we can easily take over take over...)

The conclusion Shin came to was a political purge.

Team Japan were outsiders who appeared out of nowhere with frightening power and were attempting to gain influence in the government. This wouldn't look too good for those in at the top who risk losing their control and power. Especially, the numerous corrupt officials that you'll find in the Apocalypse when order falls apart. The government would use Team Japan's might, and when the time was right, they would assassinate them and steal their powerful tools and resources. Shin thought a bit more stimulating Saki's thoughts, but soon he exited Unlocked Mode as he experienced a headache.

Shin found stimulating Saki with the Third Stage to be one of its more useful abilities, but more so than others trying to think like her took the most burden on his mind. He had a high Intelligence stat, higher than Saki's on paper, but her way of thinking was too foreign to him and he lacked her knowledge and wisdom to perfectly replicate her thinking patterns. Intelligence is intelligence. Wisdom is wisdom. And knowledge is knowledge. What most people misunderstood is that they are all different things and lead to different results. If not then all smart individuals revered as geniuses by the masses would act and think the same. This wasn't the case at all as people possess their own experiences, egos and values. Just how some of the best and brightest of society pursue knowledge and use that knowledge for the betterment of the world, others would pursue knowledge and use that knowledge for the sake of destroying the world like terrorist who craft the most detailed and masterful plans to raise hell on earth. Shin considered stimulating Jin next, but he didn't feel that he missed anything and that it wasn't worth straining himself.

Shin: "So that's it. So your not worried at all about making it to the survival camp and meeting up with the main characters. You're just not confident in controlling the aftermath if we make too grand of an appearance? If we don't want to risk fighting with the government of Tokonosu city Survival Camp, we shouldn't show our powers at all and only think of surviving the mission and team battle by working in the shadows, but we won't make too big of an impact when the zombies reach the city. That also means we can't acquire the points and rewards we should be able to acquire and we won't be able to warn them about Team Kenya assisting the zombies, which will most likely be their mission. But, if we show our full power that defies even the logic of this world with the introduction of God and Devil system we will just become targets. Jin, you either don't have the ability or time to gain control of the survival camp, and if we use force and wipe out the opposition we will be hard press to defend ourselves when the zombies arrive. That's why you had us aim for the middle."

Jin: "...Ah, so you simulate my own thoughts or the former strategist? To answer your question yes you're correct. By aiming for the middle, we will just look like strong Enhancers to everyone instead of monsters. This fleet of buses should have been lost to the zombie's raid and although we lost nine buses, bringing back just three along with some survivors and valuable soldiers will make us heroes. Modest heroes to be exact who did all they could to help as many people as possible, but still failing to save the majority. It's perfect! We can avoid the worst-case scenario and appeal to join the military. Remember the plot of H.O.T.D and what our first objective of the main mission is? Protect Saya Takagi's parents. With just that clue, who they were and what they did in the Manga to try and establish order, and knowing we have to protect Tokonosu City Survival Camp, it's easy to figure out that they are important individuals within the organization running the city. And on a side note, I've already heard from the passengers and the soldier over there. I don't know how united the organization is, but Saya's parents should be the leaders or individuals of a very high position. Our first objective is to locate the main characters once we get to the survival camp and they should be there as it's one of our mission objectives to protect them. If the main characters remember you, Hikari and Aqua, we'll use that connection to approach Saya's parents!"

Shin: "And what will you do then? The Manga showed her father as a no-nonsense man, so how can you convince him to give us influence we need in the upcoming battle?"

Jin: "Hahaha... Just leave that to me. Long as we can get an audience with Saya's father... the requirements for our victory in this mission and team battle will be all but complete, but first we must meet up with the others. Like us, they've taken command of their buses, civilians, and few surviving soldiers. I had Hikari scan ahead to find the survival camp, which is about 1-2 hours away from where we are. Well drive separately for now and meet up somewhere to drive the last stretch together. If the zombies have a clue about our destination than they'll set up one last ambush before we enter the survival camp. If we want to avoid showing all our cards, we need to meet up and join our powers to break through!"

Shin couldn't fathom what Jin meant by that, yet he felt both confidence and darkness from him at that moment, but since they were on the same side and their lives were connected as a team... he didn't question him further.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren.


	205. Chapter 205

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 5, H.O.T.D 2

Read the author's note at bottom if you get confused about a Psyche Force's ability to mask an area. I could absolutely be wrong about how it works.

During the next hour of driving Shin got caught up on their current situation thanks to Jin and Conner. Jin had pretty much taken care of everything before they met up, but at least he had to get himself informed of what was going on. A leader wasn't someone who just comes up with plans and ideas, but makes the tough decisions and Shin wouldn't let Jin, someone he trusted to come up with plans, but was not allowed to decide the direction of the team or when to risk their lives. Otherwise, he would really just be a figure head rather than the Leader of Team Japan who everyone acknowledged. He still felt pathetic at times, but knowing the team wouldn't mange as well without him made him feel better.

Shin contacted everyone with Soul Link to learn whether or not any of them were injured. Luckily he learned that they were all unharmed and were on their way to the meet up near a shopping mall that Hikari had spotted that was half an hour away from the survival camp with her scans. He asked how they were getting along with the civilians on their bus and the soldiers and he learned that unlike Jin they didn't need to use anyone as a scapegoat. They merely helped the soldiers guarding the operational buses and earned their place with them. Each member of the team had the power to defeat the zombies, including evolved zombies without showing off too much. Team Japan had reached a level of power where even when they were holding back they could handle the dangers of the mission, or at least the low-level threats without Shin's assistance. The soldiers were harsh when trying to keep order, but they showed great respect for those who fought alongside them to protect the people and back up their comrades in dire times, and when they mentioned meeting up with the other buses before arriving at the survival camp no one opposed this idea.

Another piece of good news was that Hikari managed to locate the three Newbies after Shin asked her to and she sent out members of the team to fetch them and bring them to the operational buses. Shin asked how Hikari had found the Newbies and she said it was simple. They juat stood out as the most freaked out people among the thousands of civilians in the fleet of buses. They were both scared and were asking dumb questions like was this real or were they brought to a movie set in denial of their surroundings. These were questions no one in the world of H.O.T.D would ask since zombies have long since been proven real. Hikari also noticed in her scans that their clothes were clean and in good condition as opposed to the civilians of the apocalyptic world fighting day to day just to get another meal and no longer cared about appearances (I had tried to ignore it till now, but they really stink. They definitely hadn't taken a proper bath in a long time). After getting them on the working buses the Newbies were then knocked out cold when they began making a scene about what was going on when Hikari gave their Orientation over a Soul Link to them.

Shin: (They don't sound like a promising bunch, but we can't be certain till we get somewhere safe and can check out their potentials.)

Shin and the others didn't have high hopes for this batch of newbies and had already decided to keep them at arm's length for this mission so that they wouldn't interfere. Talents aside, if there weren't those like Renji who had the will to support the team he would abandon them at the first chance he got. Shin wouldn't kill them unless they got in his team's way or if their deaths benefited the team. Currently, that was not an option, since this was a team battle where each members life counted. If he truly had to he would end them, but unless they gave him a reason he wouldn't kill them out right. If they weren't important to the team or didn't want to become important to the team then it couldn't be helped what fate would befall the Newbies. He wouldn't allow them to live if they couldn't adapt to HIS Team Japan. Putting aside how a twenty man team that wasn't united would bring problems in the future, just there their presence would increase the difficulty of future missions by three people. Even back in the BTOOOM mission, Saki once said that they may have to SELECT team members wisely since each member of a team increased the difficulty of the mission automatically. Looking back, Saki was probably worried that if all fifteen members of Team Japan, Veterans and Newbies alike, survived the mission it would mean that the next mission would have a difficulty rating between 15-20 man mission.

Shin: (Excluding the strength of the team, God randomly chose the difficulty rating of the main mission by choosing no less than seven but no more than twenty people on the mission, and the more people present the more difficult the mission will become. Having fifteen members of a team would mean we would never have the chance to have an easy seven man mission ever again and were more likely to have twenty man difficulty missions... Although Team Japan's shit luck with this hasn't been the best (8,15, 20, 18, 20, 12). This is only acceptable if every the team is united and each member has a important talent or skill to contribute to the team. Anything else is just an unnecessary demerits that threatens the well-being of my team and I absolutely won't allow that.)

Ten minutes of driving later as Shin considered all these options, all three buses finally met up as planned met. The two buses carrying Aqua, Hikari, Shuai, Kisara, Drake and Sachi arrived first and were waiting for Shin, Connor and Jin's bus to arrive. They had already set up a perimeter around the abandoned mall with the JSDF and we're dealing with the few zombies attracted by the commotion that they were making and the scent of human flesh and blood.

Once their bus arrived everyone disembarked. First, the sole soldier who left to report to his comrades and then civilians who wanted to breathe in some fresh air and stretch their legs. Lastly coming out of the bus were Shin, Komaru followed closely by Grim Ash, Connor, and Jin. As soon as they got off the bus they found their comrades, their human creations, and three people knocked out on the ground beside them who Shin could easily guess they were the three Newbies for this mission. They were all gathered together waving his group over. This was the first time Team Japan was all together since the mission began and were happy to see each other safe and sound. Especially Shin.

Shin: "So did you miss me? I know Hikari, Aqua and Kisara did, but you guys missed me as well, right?"

Hikari: "Just where does this confidence come from? Stupid otaku leader."

Aqua: "Never missed you, but you can fantasize in your dreams that I do."

Kisara: "I did."

Sachi: "Kiss ass samurai girl should keep quite. We would be better off of he got turned into THEM"

Shuai: "I wouldn't go that far... but purposely pointing out how much your harem misses you... I wouldn't mind not seeing you for a day or two."

Drake: "Harsh guys."

Shin: "Haha... Don't worry Drake I'm used to this. Everyone loves and admires me deep down, so I ignore most of their insults."

Aqua: "Wow, really, just where does such confidence come from?"

Shin ignored Aqua's harsh comment and began to chat with everyone. He had already over Soul Link, but face to face was much better. In also he had Hikari show him scans of the area ahead to their destination. The survival camp they guessed was run by Saya's parents. It was about a half hours drive to reach the perimeter of the compound. To Shin's surprise the survival camp took up more than a few neighborhoods, but the whole of the center of the city, parts of the middle, while the outskirts were left abandoned with some signs of construction being started. It appeared to be that humans were begining to take back Tokonosu City from the zombies, but it was either so damaged or enough people to fill it up like it once was, as they used less than half their space. Hikari counted around 100,000 citizens who looked to be barely getting by, but looked a bit more healthy than the people riding along on the bus with them.

Hikari also gave it a shot and tried to look for the main characters of H.O.T.D as it was a priority that we meet up with them, but this search operation failed. There were juat too many people inside the survival camp to sort through them all and when Hikari met them before she had not become a Psyche Force user, and as such wouldn't have had the opportunity or means to memorize their mental waves. Psyche Force Scan uses mental waves to distinguish each individual, but first they must be able to remember those mental waves if you want to locate someone within a large crowd.

Shin told Hikari not to worry about looking for the main characters anymore for now at least, and then asked her about the city's defenses, and she wad able to provide the answers. According from the scans the survival camp was being guarded vigilantly by soldiers who looked far more fierce than the soldiers who were accompanying their group. Most likely high level Evolvers, veteran soldiers from before the apocalypse, or new veteran soldiers forged after the apocalypse. Next, Shin and Aqua asked Hikari about the enemy. Hikari was doing so without her Persona's enhancements, but now she had the confidence to at least know when the enemy was masking the zombies in a general area. With her Persona she could perfectly see just where the border of the enemy's masking was.

Shin: "So how is it? Is the enemy coming after us, or..."

Hikari: "Not after us directly. There are zombies nearby keeping a watch on us, but I don't feel any large masked areas around us. Above ground or underground, but I feel masking just outside the perimeter of the survival camp."

Jin: "So it's as I thought then. The enemy will wait to ambush us as we try to enter the survival camp. Maybe like how Hikari can tell someone is using Psyche Force for the zombie's side, the zombies know we have a Psyche Force user as well. In a battle between Psyche Force users the advantage goes to the stronger user with more skills unless the enemy Mental Capacity stat is way higher than their opponents. I do think the enemy's Psyche Force user has the higher stat, but his skills seem to be the same as Hikari's. Psyche Force Scan and Soul Link, but just on a larger scale."

Shuai: "What's your point?"

Aqua: "The point I think Jin is trying to make is that both the enemy and Hikari are close enough in ability that one side can't gain an absolute advantage of over the other. We can't see through their mask and they can't see through our mask, and neither side can hide that they're masking their comrades either. Psyche Force's ability to scan, communicate with others over long distances, and other abilities are only a powerful advantage when your opponent doesn't have one or a similar ability. Long as both sides are vigilant then it's impossible to completely take one side by surprise. You can only hide what your masking, but can't hide the fact that your masking something."

Jin: "That's right. Unless one sides Psyche Force user is much more powerful and skilled, a battle between Psyche Force Users will always be a stalemate. Now then people what do you do in such a situation? You set up a trap! Before your opponent gets the chance, you mask an area you know your enemy must travel through and set an ambush, or an area the enemy had to move through to confront you. That's what the zombies have planned."

Drake: "So what will we do? Go around the masking or..."

Shin: "...No, we'll break through. The enemy has the stronger Psyche Force and an army of zombies to connect to. There's no getting around. Breaking through is our only choice. If we don't break through and get to the survival camp then the enemy can pick us off with his superior numbers. We still don't have a complete grasp on the enemy's numbers and combat potential of the second and third level evolved zombies listed on the Player Watch, so we shouldn't assume that we've seen all there is to the enemy."

Sachi: "And we can't rely on these people here to really back us up. They aren't skilled enough and can't be completely counted on as our forces. If we can't enter the survival camp we'll have to find shelter elsewhere. Hikari can't stay up twenty-four hours a day and the moment the enemy notices this he'll attack us. They'll just keep attacking us with endless armies of undead who don't need to rest. At best we can only last two or three days at most before wiping out. We need the security/meat shields of the survival camp filled with soldiers."

Jin: "And who knows what will happen to the survival camp if we're not there to protect it. God wouldn't make it our mission to protect its leaders along with the main characters if we didn't have to be there and... Well, protect them."

Shin: "Good point. We also need to prepare for the upcoming team battle and we can't do that on the run and tired out, so camping outside is out. There's a time to run and a time to kick ass, and now is the latter. We'll break through whatever ambush the enemy has waiting for us. Team Japan isn't so weak that we'll run away from mere zombies!"

Team Japan along with the others climbed back on board the buses and set off. They traveled for twenty minutes and had to enter the masked area around the survival camp where the zombies were waiting in ambush. Jin was confident that the zombies wouldn't launch an assault on them till they neared the survival camp, but unable to see far with Hikari's scans was too far dangerous and would have little time to prepare themselves for a sudden attack, so Shin ordered the team to take shifts to keep watch in Unlocked Mode. Just the First Stage would allow the team to sense incoming danger with heightened combat instincts, so at the very least it was possible to prepare for some kind of surprise attack. In the end Jin was right and the three buses carrying the team, soldiers and civilians had almost reached their destination encountering the enemy.

The civilians and soldiers were happy when they learned that they were minutes away from safety, but out of nowhere all the buses came to a step by the decision of the members of Team Japan. To reach the survival camp within the heart of Tokonosu City they had to cross a large bridge. From a distance where they were hiding they could see a large gathering of humans, soldiers armed with weapons guarding the bridge. There were even gun torrents installed by the sides of the bridge, reinforced walls along the river under the bridge, bunkers and supply shacks filled with weapons telling others how important this bridge was and to what lengths they would go to protect it.

One of the soldiers came over to tell Shin's group that they were certainly army who had gathered at the survival camp to protect it, yet even then Shin's group had the buses stay where they were. The civilians and soldiers couldn't understand why would they stop for a second time when there was still the threat of zombies coming after them, but through manipulation and generally established trust they listened to Team Japan's decisions for the moment. They had so far managed to avoid the majority of zombies that they should have come across with an unknown method and had quickly raced across the city as if they had a map that included the current state of the streets post apocalypse and knew where the zombies where roaming around.

Shin: "So how is it, Hikari? Is the area still masked?"

Shin asked this as he looked as Hikari to his side. Hikari had her eyes closed with a frustrated look on her face as she then opened her eyes.

Hikari: "Why do you keep asking me that? You can check for yourself with my Soul Link. We're inside the masked area of the enemy. I can't see anything more than 1000 or so meters around us. I've kept ourselves hidden with a mask, but the enemy definitely has an idea where we are. If I summon Adrasteia I should be able to force my scans through, but-"

Shin: "There's no need for that Hikari. Psyche Force isn't as easy as stamina or other kinds of energies to recover. You might be too exhaust mentally if we need you later. Anyways, it really looks like God has made it where we can barely keep a stalemate with Psyche Force... but it isn't like Psyche Force is the only method of surveillance that we can rely on. How is it going Shuai?"

Shin and the other members of his team now turned towards Shuai. Shuai along with his earth elemental Gnome were sitting on the ground in deep concentration. Like during one of the battles with Team Germany he and his elemental were scanning the area through the vibrations of the earth. It was a method Hikari could do nothing to stop as a Psyche Force user, so just what could the enemy do to counter this? It was almost certain even that they were unaware of what the two were doing to undermine their efforts to set up an ambush. Gnome then turned and gave Shuai a look who then appeared to be very happy. He patted Gnome's head with fatherly affection and finally answered Shin's question.

Shuai: "Like we thought there are THEM hidden underground. They've constructed hundreds of underground tunnels which are filled with THEM! Gnome counts about 100,000 zombies underground between us and the bridge guarded by the JSDF... No, they even go on for miles and miles far out from the survival camp. Gnome unfortunately can't make out anything more precise like how many evolved zombies that there are and of what variety."

Aqua: "That's good enough Shuai, but damn, there sure are a lot of those freaks. I don't know how many of THEM the enemy has to spare, but this seems excessive and more so too quick to set up. Even if they can go unnoticed underground how could they move 100,000 slow zombies in the few hours since we arrived in the world?"

Shuai: "About that I don't think they are there specifically for us. Gnome also told me that there are some unfinished tunnels going under the bridge and the river below towards the survival camp. I'm not Jin, but I've read enough military fantasy novels to figure out that this is the enemy strategy to attack the base directly without forcing their way through any of their defenses, or waste manpower."

Kisara: "Quite smart. It's certainly an classic strategy that you would find in history books around the world. It's a amazing strategy to defeat the enemy with the least amount of resistance in a unexpected surprise attack, but normally it takes a lot of time, manpower, and especially the right kind of environment, so most of the time this tactic goes unused despite its advantages, but with an undead slave labor force it's more than possible to accomplish."

Hearing this Shin entered the Third Stage to simulate Saki's thoughts. It wore him down mentally, but he felt it was a mistake to not consider what they should be doing. More so than simply entering the survival camp.

Shin: "Kisara's right. This is an amazing strategy, but unfortunately we're on the wrong side of things. Now, there's a chance that the zombies will let us safe passage. I honestly thought that this was where we would be ambushed, but I doubt the value of studying and killing our team is above these tunnels. Long as theses tunnels the zombies have constructed go unnoticed, the enemy can take out the survival camp whenever they want. There are about 100,000 or so humans inside the city who are made up of the flesh and blood that they love so much, so that's too big a meal for them to pass up. There's more than a 70% chance that long as we don't act suspicious or have Hikari continue to scan the area, the zombies will let us go for now. Then when they finally enact the plan to raid the survival camp they'll be able take the base and us whenever they please and they can stop our escape if they enact an above surface attack outside the base to lock us in. Our team can handle about a million zombies one way our another with our weapons and personal combat power, but if they have more than a million and along with the evolved zombies... we'll be wiped out even without the interference from Team Kenya! Damn... Shuai! Can you use Gnome to collapse the tunnels?"

Shuai: "...I normally wouldn't be able to, but yes. Too collapse hundreds of underground tunnels would normally be far too much even if I bestowed Gnome all of my Advance Level Shaman Power, but luckily the zombies didn't do too good of a job with the construction. The tunnel were haphazardly dug out and have not been reinforced well. Gnome and I can do it if I give her all my power!"

Jin: "Hahaha! I see! Shin, your amazing to have come up with this plan before me, but... you're too lacking. If we're going to do it we're going to make a statement! Shuai, use all your power to have Gnome take out every tunnel that you can spot without exception! If we take out a few no big deal, but if we destroy all the tunnels along with the hundred thousand THEM, what will the enemy boss think? He would think it would be too dangerous to proceed with any more underground operations, or at least the large scale ones. That's just giving us free points. Shuai make it as flashy as possible and all at once. If the enemy leader is one of intelligence this will give him a shock he won't soon forget!"

Drake: "But what about keeping a low profile? If Shuai collapses all those tunnels it would definitely result in a small earthquake at the very least. No Enhancer that we're play acting like should hold that kind of power, right?"

Jin: "Oh, then let me ask you this. Drake, where is your proof that Shuai caused this earthquake? Shuai has yet to reveal to anyone outside this team what Gnome could do. I think the other passengers that he rode along with just thought that she was Shuai's little sister or an inappropriately aged girlfriend before the apocalypse."

Shuai: "She's my daughter!"

Shin: "Shut up! That's not important. What is important is that long as we hide Gnome or her full power no one would suspect that you and she caused the tunnel collapse."

Hikari: "Now you're not thinking big enough, otaku boyfriend. Isn't this a chance? If were still going along with Jin's influence plan by making a good impression while hiding our true power this is it, isn't it? I'm sure not all THEM will die when Shuai collapses the tunnels and so, where will they go to avoid being buried alive? Above ground! After a big earthquake zombies suddenly appear out of nowhere! The soldiers guarding the bridge will be shocked and before they get their act together we come in driving a bus of civilians and their comrades who survived an ambush of THEM. We disembark the bus and then volunteer to help them repel the zombies. Shuai make sure to at least let... say ten thousand or so THEM survive the tunnel collapse. That's still 90% of the zombie's forces lost as a slap in the face for the zombie leader and 10% for us to wipe out to show off to the soldiers at the base! Haha! Even if we don't do much to support the army our reputation as heroes who will soar!

Shin considered Hikari's words and found no flaw with them even while in the Third Stage. He even found himself a little excited at such a daring plan. Like famous detectives and murder cases, famous heroes are those with the luck to get involved in big events. Heroes. That wasn't what they were going for and what they were planning to do. They planned to cause chaos to both enemy and ally alike, so they were a disgrace to heroes everywhere, but they weren't the main character. Team Japan were normal men and woman who are being made to take center stage in large conflicts like the protagonist of stories, but without the plot armor.

Shin: "...Hikari...That's so evil. I'm falling more in love with you! Then it's decided. We'll become heroes of Tokonosu City who selflessly helped out in a time of crisis! Like Kail of "Tsuyokute New Saga" would do, if you're not lucky enough to become a hero through chance and you don't have the time to wait, orchestrate it!"

And like so, Team Japan's vile yet daring plan to gain influence began.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Deltoren


	206. Chapter 206

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 6, H.O.T.D 2

There were more soldiers than normal guarding the bridge into Tokonosu City and patrolling the surrounding areas. There was the recent word of a approaching army of zombies on the way to the city. The government and army established within the city were preparing for this upcoming invasion and were gathering it's forces to deploy to meet them head on and away from the city and the survival camp, but they couldn't ignore a surprise attack before the main army arrives. Either man, zombie or mutant beast could take this chance to attack when they were preparing for the invasion, so the soldier guarding the bridge were ordered to be extra vigilant.

Captain: "Those fucking shit heads!"

Soldier 1: "Captain, speaking ill of our superiors is grounds for-"

Captain: "Let those dicks try something! They won't because they fear Supreme Commander Takagi. He's the one who grew the base to what it is today and has the respect of the people for risking his life for the people of Japan!"

JSDF Soldier 1: "Yes that's right, but it isn't like they didn't do anything either. The former JSDF commanders and that one politician did bring almost half the current survivors and good to the base."

JSDF Captain: "That would be nice if they worked hard to establish the camp more, but they don't. They just bicker and fight every day. The 5 Heads of Military won't lift a finger and pressure the Supreme Commander to undertake the dangerous tasks. They use the excuse that they have to maintain their regular forces, yet they demand him take responsibility for everything that goes wrong. That corrupt mayor as well is the reason Tokonosu City's social order is plummeting. He's taking bribes left and right, hates our upstanding leader, and can't work with the police force well for some reason. Compared to what it was like three months ago, we may have been better off staying as a survivor camp of 50,000 that was united rather than 100,000 that's unorganized as a child's play area."

Soldier 1: "But with the rumors of a legion of THEM approaching we need all the help we can get. Only by working together can we survive."

Captain: "Help? Work together? Please! Do you know why when the order was given to reinforce the city borders were given, newly all reinforcements came from Supreme Commander Takagi's army? The 5 Heads and the Military are hoping something will go wrong. They will come running to help, sure, they will use our loses to weaken Supreme Commander Takagi's standing and reputation. Fuck, just because we don't condone abuse of power, murder, and XXXX they want us dead!"

As the commander was fuming with rage another soldier in charge of communications ran over to then two discussions politics.

Communication Officer: "Captain! I've just received word from the fleet of buses we sent out looking for survivors from the fallen xxxxxx survival camp!"

Captain: "Really! I thought we lost contact with them hours ago? How are they?"

Communication Officer: "Not good. They were attacked by tens of thousands of THEM! They lost six buses along with most of the survivors and military personnel, but with the help of some Enhancers that they picked up, together they fought their way out and are on their way here. According to them they are due to arrive within a few minutes. I've already contacted those on watch duty and they confirmed that three buses are traveling towards us."

Captain: "That's good new, but damn! We borrowed five of those buses from the 5 Heads of Military and The Mayor. They are definitely not going to let it go that we lost their important resources to "Save some civilians", as they will say. Damn, Supreme Commander Takagi and his wife will lose face because of this."

Soldier 1: "But there's good new as well, right? With a influx our organization and power can grow bigger. Also, a group of Enhancers who could help the three buses escape a surprise attack of tens of thousands of THEM, they are sure to be talented. Long as we recruit them before the other powers can our military might will increase! Perhaps they'll turn out to be another Walking Dead Unit."

Captain: "Impossible. Those guys are all monsters who've adapted to the God and Devil system and mastered modern combat as well. They are so powerful that they act as a deterrent for the other powers to not do anything stupid, so instead of talking about fantasies let's prepare to greet our guest. If they were chased by tens of thousands of zombies like they said there's a chance that they were followed. Communication Officer! Contact HQ and report the situation and ask for back up just in case."

Communication Officer: "Yes. Sir yes sir!"

The communications offer then ran off back to his station to repot back to headquarters. The captain then ordered all personnel to prepare to greet the three incoming buses and prepare for possible battle with the zombies. Every man confirmed their personal weapons and the gun torrents were manned and ready to fire. Then a few minutes later the three buses came into view and as they were just one minute away arrival-

\- *RUMBLE*!

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE ZOMBIE. EIGHTY THOUSAND ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 80 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. THREE HUNDRED L1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 300 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIVE L1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 255 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, EVOLUTION TYPE 2 ZOMBIE. THIRTY L2 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 150 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, EVOLUTION TYPE 2 ZOMBIE. FOURTEEN S2 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 70 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, EVOLUTION TYPE 2 ZOMBIE. TWENTY H1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 100 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 5, EVOLUTION TYPE 3 ZOMBIE. ONE S3 ZOMBIE KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 500 POINTS AND D RANK REWARD!

Shuai: "...Did I just hit the lottery?"

Shin: "I hit the lottery in Danganronpa. This is more like finding a hundred dollar bill on the ground by smacking its owner as he is picking it up."

Once the rumbling came to a end what the army saw was hell on earth. The land before their eyes caved in and sank into the earth. The disturbed earth crashed against each other and created a fog of dust and other debris obstructing vision. Even nearby houses near the bridge collapsed on top of themselves during the earthquake, but if it was only that then they wouldn't begin to panic. What did it for them was THEM. Countless undead numbering in the thousands crawled out of the earth just like out of cheap third rate movies, but it was worse. This was reality and there weren't only normal zombies. The evolved L1, S1, and other evolved zombies of the God and Devil System rose up from the ground and began to attack the army along with thousands of normal zombies.

The army had little time to prepare themselves, but they were well trained and a quarter of them were Enhancers. Some even level 20 and up with good weapons and skills. They took out their weapons and opened fire on the approaching army of zombies and beheaded those that came close. It was clear just by their initial response time and mentality as they stood their ground as they were vastly outnumbered, that this group of soldiers were a cut above others. Their ability to react to the sudden crisis alone should be praised, but it wasn't enough to deal with the evolved zombies. It was military policy to either keep the abnormal zombies away with a endless rain on bullets or to take the initiative to attack up close themselves, but neither were possible due to the sudden battle. The S1 Zombies used their speed and reflexes to wave around the soldiers gunfire to get close and clawed and bit at their neck. L1 Zombies used their tough bodies crashed into the soldiers formations and give an opportunity for the normal zombies to approach.

The veteran and high level Enhancers all felt that unit wouldn't last at this rate and the zombies would overrun and charge through the bridge they were stationed to protect. They had to do something, but even they had their hands full with monsters more dangerous than the L1 and S1 zombies, and if they dared to let one of them pass to focus on something else a untold number of soldiers would be slaughtered. All they could do was quickly get word to HQ for reinforcements and warn them of a possible breach.

Captain: "Fuck it all to hell! If today's the day I die than so be it! I'll leave the rest to Supreme Commander Takagi and the Walking Dead Unit. That's why in exchange for out lives, let's show THEM the power and determination of the descendants of the Japanese samurai!"

ALL Soldiers: "Yeah!"

Soldier 1: "But captain my parents are both Chinese!"

Captain: "Go to hell soldier! Just-"

\- *BANG*!

It was then that a round of gunshots from the opposite side the bridge was facing were heard. Three large buses were driving around the large pit in the earth and on top of these buses were men and woman heavily armed with guns. The gunfire was none stop and dozens of zombies dropped by the second. Their shots were all incredibly accurate and never missed. Zombies were dropping like flies and this gave the JSDF some room to breath and remake their defense formations. They all still had to contend with close to ten thousand zombies that knew not fear or compassion, but the human soldiers didn't give up and stood there ground.

Shin: "These guys are quite impressive. Real men and women among soldiers... Definitely feel bad for causing all this, so at should at least end this quickly. Hey! Drive towards the bridge! Avoid the evolved zombies and we can handle the rest! Don't think that you can escape alive in just a bus against tens of thousands of zombies. If you don't want to die drive to the survival camp!"

Shin shouted at the drivers using Ki so those inside could hear, and unintentionally his voice was so loud it shock the bones of ordinary people and instilled them that they would be killed if they dared disobeyed. None of the bus drivers wanted to risk driving through an army of ten thousand zombies, but hearing that escape was impossible and the strictness in Shin's voice the drivers of the bus listened to him. They drove away from where the main fighting was taking place with the evolved zombies and Team Japan standing on the roofs of the buses provided cover fire and cleared a path for them. They finally arrived encampment in front of the bridge where the army was most concentrated. The soldiers with the commotion forgot that they were expecting them, and so were suspicious of the buses carrying Team Japan and pointed their guns at them, but the soldiers Team Japan had worked together with disembarked the three buses and calmed down their comrades pointing guns at their saviors. It was only when they finished explaining that Shin's group could be trusted and that they were the only reason they could make it back were the guns lowered.

Soldier 2: "Then my apologies for pointing our guns at you. This attack was too sudden and... Anyways thank you for protecting our soldiers and the citizens of Japan that you saved. You're all heroes."

Shin: "Thank you (I feel like shit). Then can you let the three buses pass through the bridge? I have companions who aren't capable of fighting, so I want them and the citizens (After thought) to get to safety."

Soldier 3: "No problem! It's the army's job to protect civilians. They can pass without a permission for now, but if you don't mind mind can your group help reinforce us here on the bridge? Reinforcements will arrive soon, but till then-"

Shin: "Of course! If you have the power to help one should help at all cost! But my group works together. We won't spit up under any circumstances even at the orders of the army."

The soldier agreed to this condition. Shin's group were not yet civilians of the Tokonosu City Survival Camp and they weren't so powerless that they needed protection. It would be one thing of they had gone through a normal inspection where their weapons and items from the God and Devil System would be confiscated, but this was a emergency and there was no time for that.

Soldier 3: "Just kill as many of those bastards as you can! I'll take responsibility!"

Shin: "Okay then. Let's fight to the death together! Aqua, Hikari, Shuai, Connor, Jin, Drake and I will be the ranged with guns. We don't need sniping just yet, but if we do, Connor, snipe from the top of the bridge. It wastes too much energy and stamina to get into a real fight with so many THEM. Just blast their heads off with guns is good enough. Once we get started the enemy's focus will begin to be on us, so Kisara and Sachi will defend us from the evolved L1 and S1 zombies who come to kill us. If any new types of evolved zombies show up then leave them to me or Aqua to test them out first. I don't don't want to see any casualties here, so don't let your guard down!"

Once Shin was finished positioning the team they all set out together. They left the majority of the army protecting the road to the bridge and entered the center of the zombie army. The soldiers watching them off saw it as stupidity and was a reckless move to leave a fortified position and let themselves be surrounded by undead, yet they could only watch as hundreds of zombies fell to the ground cut down by them. The zombies swarmed toward them like flies drawn to their flesh and blood, but every time they came close several gunshots burst their heads and their bodies began to burn until these zombies became ashes. The soldiers watching from a distance were stunned and even almost forgot about the zombies swarming them. Each member of Team Japan either got all head shots in rapid succession or only needed a few body shots to kill a zombie.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE ZOMBIE. 1000 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 1 POINTS!

This was the power of a team who were all in Unlocked Mode and had assess to infinite ammo weapons utilizing magic bullets. The First Stage of the Genetic Constraint alone gave each member of the team the skill to use handguns, SMG, and other heavily weaponry with ease, and add in their routine training in the Terminal Lobby gave them the added skill to compete with top tier soldiers. Maybe better as their weapons were infinite ammo and didn't require the spend time to reload, so they could continously shoot down the enemy one after the other endlessly. Of course not ever member of the Team Japan had the skill to endlessly get head shots, but even when they missed the head for the torso the zombies still died just the same. Shin, Aqua, Hikari, Shuai, Connor, Jin snd Drake were all using infinite ammo weapons enchanted with lowest grade magic enchantment. Each bullet fired were the equivalent to low grade magic bullets and when a zombie was hit even in none fatal area with a few bullets they would burn away into ash.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE ZOMBIE. 1000 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 1 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE ZOMBIE. 1000 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 1 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 2, KILL THE ZOMBIE. 1000 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 1 POINTS!

Shin: (Wow. A team with all unlocked members like us wielding infinite ammo weapons can just sweep through modern and low level supernatural missions like H.O.T.D with ease long we have magic bullets. We have infinite magic bullets as well. There really is nothing to worry about except them.)

Shin continued to get head shot after head shot while in the First Stage looked over and then saw dozens of S1 and L1 Zombies approaching. In just a few minutes since Team Japan entered the battle thousands of zombies had fallen to them. Add in the total kills from the JSDF and about half of the ten ten thousand strong zombie horde has been wiped out. The zombie leader behind the scenes couldn't accept such a massive loss on top of the ninety thousand killed in the cave in, and so he began to order his elite forces to kill the ones he held responsible even without proof. Team Japan!

The first to arrive were a group of fifteen L1 Zombies. The agility type zombies were faster, but the power type zombies were closer... and were the first to fall. This group of L1 Zombies were bombarded with a rain of magic bullets from Team Japan, yet eleven raised their arms up in time in order to endure and managed to not be killed instantly. They were weak to magic bullets like all zombies, but armor skin gave them some resistance to the lethal magic bullets. Three more L1 fell as they charged closer and closer to Team Japan, but that was when their end came. Without warning Sachi threw seven adamantium needles that soared across the space between team Japan and the L1 zombies and pierced into their eyes after being threaded with godly accuracy through their guards and into their brains. Just like humans the eyes of L1 Zombies were a weak point.

Jin: "Why did you leave one alive? Couldn't find a opening?"

Sachi: "No."

Sachi without explaining further threw another adamantium needle towards the sole L1, but this one dripping an ominous purple fluid without a scent. The needle made of adamantium thrown with decent power and accuracy effortlessly stabbed into L1's right foot. At first the L1 Zombie didn't seem effected by the needle whatsoever and the others were about to finish it off, but then all of a sudden the L1 collapsed onto the ground face first and unmoving. Everyone watch the evolved zombie with caution and intrigue and three seconds later it began to push itself back up. Sachi observed all this was a satisfied look on her face and jumped on top of the L1 with impressive speed, and before the zombie knew what happened Sachi grasping a reverse grip with a dagger burning in blue flames stabbed into its head. The L1 scream loudly and flames erupted out of its mouth and eyes as the soul burning blue flames of Hell Fire Fang damaged its soul, and then moments later it whole body burned up with not even ashes left behind.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, Evolution Type 1 Zombie. Eight L1 Zombies killed. The whole team is rewarded 8 POINTS!

Sachi: "My poison on stock can at least stun type 1 zombies for 3-5 seconds and Hell Fore Fang can damage zombies. I still need to test my Basilisk poison, but the results so far are alright if I do say."

Hikari: "..."

Aqua: "..."

Shuai: "...I'm a shaman, but I didn't need find out like this that THEM had souls."

Connor: "..."

Jin: "...Cool!"

Kisara: "...How deplorable."

Drake: "Scary as always. I'm glad I'm not alone in this feeling dread in the pit of my stomach."

Shin: "...I'm so glad that I'm not indiscriminate with my love life."

Everyone had things to say or not say at Sachi's cruel experiment, but they quickly got their act together as a new threat arrived. Twenty S1 Zombies rushing towards them. They ignored all the soldiers that they passed and like a arrow shot straight towards them. Shin and everyone else raised their various weapons and opened fire on the S1 Zombie. Only four were killed from the barrage of gunfire though. The rest simply scattered and avoided the bullets with animal like movements and continued towards their prey. The were now only just fifteen meters away. Close enough for the S1's with ten times the speed of humans to reach them in the next three seconds and tear at their throats with their long and sharp claws.

Shin: (But unfortunately your already dead.)

Neither Shin or any other members of the team dropped their guns or moved to stop the S1 Zombies. Only one of them armed solely with a katana stepped forward and charged with extreme speed surpassing the S1 Zombies. The peerless beauty and swordsman of the team, Kisara, shot towards the closest S1 Zombie leading the pack and in a flash it's head was lopped clean off. In that split second the S1 Zombies and most of her own teammates even in Unlocked Mode lost sight of just when did she swing her katana Shusui and beheaded the evolved zombie. Only Shin, Aqua and Connkr caught sight of that moment and just barely at that.

Kisara: "Accel Turn!"

From here on out everyone lost sight of the master of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. Kisara's body was illuminated with a myriad of radiant lights was there one moment and the next her figure was gone. The battle with the S1 Zombie when they closed in did not even last the full three second and when Kisara reappeared before everyone's eyes she was slowly taking small steps past the S1 Zombies. Half were beheaded like the lead evolved zombie and the rest were cut in half diagonally from their shoulder to the waist. The end came at lightning speed and Kisara did her title as the successor of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu renown for its speed and precision proud.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. TWENTY S1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 20 POINTS!

Drake: "Truly god speed! I heard Absolute Reckoning had a famous practitioner of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, but who knew it was this domineering! Isn't she just like a famous heroine with that katana?"

Shin: "I know right! And this peerless beauty and swordsman of Team Japan belongs to me, so don't get any funny ideas... Seriously. Comrades are important, but-"

Hikari: "Stop fucking around you two and get shooting! In real life you can't stop shooting to praise the pretty girl when your being flooded with endless waves of THEM!"

Shin: "So you do think she is pretty as well? Just so you know I'm not a man who shares his woman, but if you or Aqua want to kiss-"

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

Two bullets simultaneously passed centimeters from Shin's head which went on to to pierce the skulls of two far off zombies. A cold sweat ran down Shin's back and he didn't have to guess where the two shots came from, and he continued to shot the approaching zombies along with the rest of the team with a more resolute expression as he didn't want to anger his harem any further. Minutes later the effect of Team Japan had on the battle was clear as day. Of the original 10,000 zombies that surfaced above ground over 7,000 had been wiped out. Reinforcements still had not arrived from HQ, but even without them the tide had turned in favor of the JSDF.

Shin: "Good! It looks like this battle is almost-"

\- *BREAK*!

Then just as Shin and his team were confident of their victory a large hand bigger than a car erupted from the earth 1000 meters away from their Team Japan. Shin recognized it as the thing that was tunneling underground and allowing the zombies to move unnoticed below the surface. It seemed clear that Shuai and Gnomes attack on the tunnels didn't kill it and before anyone could identify it the large hand returned to the earth and climbing out of the hole it left behind were zombies... and at the same time on the other side of the bridge an armored black Humvee began driving down the road.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Deltoren


	207. Chapter 207

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 7, H.O.T.D 2

After the large hand retreated back into the earth and zombies began to climb out, we were surprised by how few there were. Only a dozen undead. It was negligible number in the face of a hundred of soldiers stationed at the bridge along with our Team Japan which just killed over 7,000 zombies in less than a half an hour of combat, yet the faces of the soldiers paled once they saw a good look at them.

Captain: "Oh no, there's more of those freaks! Everyone watch out!"

The captain roared loudly with a warning, yet it was too late. The twelve enemies turned towards the bridge with bloodlust in their rotted out eyes.

The first to act among them were four below average sized zombies with blueish green skin, powerful legs and claws sharper than their S1 counterparts. Once they started to move casualties instantly began to pile up from the soldier. These monsters possessed ghostly speed near equal to Kisara's own speed and they shot towards one solider to the next like laser beams, ripping out hearts and slitting throats with their sharp claws in a flash. The soldiers didn't just stand there letting themselves be killed and struck back with machine gun fire and slashes of their Kodachi Blades, yet the zombies with nimbleness like the wind effortlessly evaded such attempts on their lives. A few snipers in the distance tried to take them out not daring to get close to them, yet the small phantoms somehow knew the very moment they appeared within the scope of the snipers and evaded to the side just a bullets cut through the air to where their heads just were. To stop such monster would require the combined power of dozens of elite soldiers, coordinated snipping, or powerful heavy weaponry, and even then it would be hard to catch these types of zombies.

Next came them. Four towering dark red skinned zombie bulging with muscles over its body that were ten feet tall took long strides towards the bridge. They weren't agility types, yet their long and powerful legs crushing the earth underneath their feet gave them speed almost equal to S1 Zombies. Gunfire endless hit the bodies of giants bounced off not even leaving a scratch as if this flesh and blood undead creature was a tank. One reckless soldier grew fed up at the waste of bullets which couldn't do anything to them and rushed forward with their Kodachi Blade raised high. This ignited many close range fighter to join him.

The soldiers all swung countless times and slashed every inch of the monsters body, yet the result was the same as before. Their steel armor like skin could withstand insane amounts of damage deflected their swords. Not even the artillery shell of a tank could always break their defenses and weaknesses like the eyes being soft and vulnerable no longer existed, so it was foolish for Enhancers below level 20 armed with only low level equipment to dare to engage these monsters head on. One of these monster then grabbed the head of one of the soldiers, pinched, exploding his head then and there for all to see. Another monster grabbed a soldier young enough to be even be called an adult and squeezed tightly till his internal organs and blood were spat out. Enraged at the sight of their cruelty a veteran Level 30 Enhancer rushed over while activating a speed enhancing skill. His speed was almost near equal to the freaks currently massacring his comrades right at this moment and he would use this speed to swiftly deal with the four giants and save the rest of his comrades, but-

\- *BAM*!

Even his life came to a swift end. The towering giant the solider charged towards saw through his speed for the most part and sent a powerful left hook at him. The man was surprised, yet he wasn't so slow that he couldn't avoid this blow and he side stepped, yet this too was seen through by the enemy and another giant was there waiting for him with a full swing right straight shinning with a deadly light! The godly punch sent the veteran soldier flying over 300 meters in the air without a single intact bone left inside his body.

As the veteran soldier then crashed into the bridge limp and lifeless, all the nearby soldiers felt dispirited. They were beginning to think that this was the end for them and that things couldn't get worse, but as if they jinx themselves they did. The last four zombies to climb out of the hole were ready to attack. With yellow skin they had heads twice as large big as a normal person's head and were laying down on their stomachs facing the direction of the bridge. It had four short and bulky limbs so it's ability to move was just barely faster than a normal adult, but that's okay. Their specialty was never close range combat, but the opposite. Long Range combat! They opened their mouths wide, wider than they should be able to as former humans, and then a fireball that grew to the size of a mini van was shot out and exploded right onto the fortifications the military setup in front of the bridge. More than a third of their fortifications were destroyed which included a valuable newly installed gun torrent.

Everyone felt helpless in the presence of such monsters and even Team Japan was shocked by the power that just a dozen zombies made of the battlefield.

Shin: "Four L2 power type zombies! Four S2 agility type zombies! And lastly, four of the long range magic branch of zombies H1 Zombies! So they finally appeared. Hey, Shuai, you killed a S3 earlier, so do you want to give them a shot next?"

Shuai: "What the hell is this! They are so more overpowered than the ones before. Just how powerful was the S3 I accidentally killed? Nope! I'm taking a step back here. I used all my Spiritual Energy earlier with Gnome to collapse the tunnels. I'm in no shape to fight those freaks, and even if I was I'd have to go all out which doesn't fit with our plan."

Shin: "Don't shamans become more powerful in death? Really, what a third rate shaman you are."

Shuai: "Asshole! Go to hell yourself if you want to give it a go and check it out!"

Jin: "Knock it off you two! Also, you were right about the power of these undead and we can't manage to defeat them by holding back so much... but we don't have a choice in showing off here. If we do nothing all these nice soldiers we just impressed will die and who will be able to tell our tale of bravery? Shin and Aqua, like we planned you two will deal with our first encounter with the newly evolved zombies first. The two of you can use all of your power except for sci-fi weapons and the Thomson Contender Mystic Code. Aqua, the latter is our trump card which will we will save till a critical moment. Connor, switch to the Anti-material rifle with Medium Grade Magic Enchantment and take out the long range H1 Zombies. The rest of us will sweep the area and get rid of the normal THEM plaguing the soldiers."

Shin: "Then let's do it. Hikari, keep a constant connection with Soul Link between Aqua, Jin and myself so we can speak to each other incase something comes up. And also give the two of us, no give the entire team the speed and stamina buffs for now."

Hikari: "Alright! Wind Spirit and Lightning Spirit!"

As soon as the green and blue lights for the buffs for stamina and speed veiled Shin and Aqua, the two of them rushed out with neck breaking speed towards the enemy. Hikari buffs greatly enhanced their movement speeds and combined with their own skills and the Unlocked Mode they reached the powerful evolved zombies in seconds. With Instant Movement Shin flickered out of sight and reappeared every dozen or so meters before arriving in front of S2 Zombie. And Aqua with her newest werewolf movement spell Wind Chaser, she experienced zero wind resistance as she ran and the wind pushed her forward to move even faster, and with speed surpassing Shin she arrived to the side of a L2 Zombie that had just finished squashing a soldier with its foot.

Aqua: "Disappear!"

Aqua waved her hands at the leg stomping on the corpses of the soldier and the next moment from the knee cap down the leg was severed and ignited in flames. Three adamantium blades extended from the back of her hands and radiated with a fiery Nen aura. The L2 seemed unfazed by its missing limb or the flames burning its flesh. The L2 stood perfectly with just one leg to balance on and then lunged at Aqua with a thrown punch. The L2 Zombie had eyes that could grasp Aqua's speed and even if she dodged it would be able to follow her our counter attack the next time she closes in, but to his shock Aqua stood her ground and accept the blow with a one arm guard. No one would normally dare accept the fist of a L2 Zombie or a zombie with a viral infection, but the shock didn't end there. Aqua braced herself as the punch came and in the end didn't move back a step and then she stopped in closer to the L2 Zombie. Her hands swayed and swiped around the L2 Zombie shredded it into small fleshy chunks.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, EVOLUTION TYPE 2 ZOMBIE. ONE L1 ZOMBIE KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 10 POINTS!

Aqua: "When you have a high healing factor, and an adamantine skeleton that won't break or bend, and the claws to tear through your steel like skin, what's to fear from mere L2 Zombies?"

As Aqua triumphed over her foe Shin was still engaging the cunning S2. When Shin confronted S2 Zombie it clawed at him with sharp claws and he swung back with his Gravity Blade with increased weight dozens of times heavier than it should have been. Shin's blade and the claws of the S2 clashed and they repelled each other, and in the span of three seconds they clashed dozens of times. The S2 Zombie was both lightning fast and agile which gave Shin some trouble, yet he felt with just a bit more he could overpower the evolved zombie, but just as he was about to a second S2 arrived silently with the speed of a phantom and slashed at his back. The First Stage gave Shin enough perception of danger to sense the threat and he rolled forward, kicked the S2 in front of him and used that momentum from the kick jump away from the zombies. The back of his shirt was torn with five claw tear marks. The soldiers nearby brought up their guns about to gun him down thinking he was infected, but one veteran soldier with a keen eye told everyone to stand down noticing that the skin of his back had a strange silver tint without a single scratch to be seen.

Shin: (Close call! Silver Dragon Scales saved me. Just my luck. Aqua got a enemy she had a high affinity for with her claws, not that I couldn't do the same with my Dark Walker skills... like this! Eyes of the Cat!)

As soon as the skill was activated, Shin's eyes were colored with golden light. The life force and energy circulating through the S2's bodies were perfectly visible to him. More so than just reinforcing his eyes with Ki it did everything Ki enhanced eyes did and more. Red dot points formed on places here and there on their body. These were the weaknesses that he had detected with Eyes of the Cat. If he focused his attacks on the red points, additional attack power would be applied, as well as a high probability of critical hits which could cripple his enemies. It was inferior to the magic skill to see one strike fatal points possessed by Shinnosuke Arisu from Apocalypse Alice or the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception from the Type Moon multi universe, yet it was still a skill perfectly suited for those like Shin who fought at close range.

Shin: (The base of the claws and the right hip. Those are their weak points and both S2's have them!)

Shin knowing where to strike rushed forward without hesitation. The two S2 Zombies moved as well with ghostly speed. With amazing coordination the two S2's tried to attack from the front and back again, but Shin was prepared. He grew used to their speed and movements and no longer feared light grazes of their claws. As a claw came swiping at his throat from the front Shin with lightning fast reflexes hacked at the base of the claws and they snapped like toothpicks. Shin then went on to behead the S2 before it recovered and without a moments rest sent a roundhouse kick behind him. The soles of Legacy crashed into the right hip of the S2 behind him with both claws raised smashed the bone to pieces. With that critical damage the S2 Zombie grew limp, and losing its mobility and could do nothing as Shin slashed Gravity Blade from the top of its head and straight down cutting the S2 perfectly in half.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, EVOLUTION TYPE 2 ZOMBIE. TWO S2 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 20 POINTS!

Shin: "Nothing to it once you get over their speed."

\- *BANG*!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, EVOLUTION MAGIC TYPE ZOMBIE. TWO H1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 20 POINTS!

At the same time Shin slayed the two S2 Zombies Connor opened fire a bullet from the anti-material rifle traveling faster than the speed of sound and piercing the eye of a H1 Zombie about to fire off another fire ball. Shin recalled that in the original God Devil World H1 Zombies needed a whole fifteen minutes to reload and form another fire ball, but now both their power and cast time have been improved, just thirty seconds to shoot another giant fireball, but even with that it wasn't good enough to match Team Japan's child soldier and sniper. The other H1 Zombies didn't seem to care about their lost comrade and were about to fire another fire ball as well, yet in quick succession another H1's head was blown open. The H1 understood the threat of Connor's sniping and quickly hid back into the hole in the earth they crawled out of.

The remaining three L2, two S2, and other evolved zombies looked over towards Team Japan's members who weren't even challenged by those power Type 2 Zombies and gave up on the JSDF soldiers once and for all and all charged towards their human enemy. The one behind the zombies gave the order to just occupy the military's attention even if it meant wiping out so the evolved zombies could kill Team Japan. Shin and Aqua both retreated back towards their teammates as they saw almost hundreds evolved zombies stampeding towards them and prepared to greet them together.

Shin: "Wipe them out! I'll use my newest spell to keep blasting them and if any get close kill them! Aqua and I will take out the type 2 zombies and-"

\- *VRROOOOM*!

Just as Shin and the rest of Team Japan were preparing the face the zombies last desperate struggle the sound of a car approaching at high speed could be heard by everyone. From the direction of the survival camp and crossing the bridge towards the battlefield a black armored Humvee stained with blood and with cute dog pictures painted on the side of the doors crashed through the barricades set during the battle to hinder the zombie's advance. The Humvee then drive past the assigned soldier by the bridge and drove right through a horde of zombies. The Humvee crashed into and drove over hundreds of zombies, yet defying all logic it continued to drive steady and without losing speed towards their main target. The hundred evolved zombies stampeding towards Team Japan. Everything had happened so fast that the soldiers just blanked out, but moments yelling, no cheers of joy resounded through the battlefield. For THEM who arrived to harass and devour the human race as the apocalypse began, to oppose THEM, they appear to save the day. The pride of the human race.

Soldier 3: "Thank God, it's the Walking Dead Unit!"

Captain: "Well, I'll... Men get your act together! Don't show your previous unsightly performance to our heroes!"

All Soldier: "YES SIR!"

The Walking Dead Unit.

The Humvee carrying these heroes with such a ominous name finally came to a stop thirty meters behind the stampeding horde of evolved zombies, and as it was coming to a stop he appeared. Jumping out of the roof hatch of the Humvee wielding a mighty war hammer, the leader of the Walking Dead Unit, flew towards the center of the horde of evolved zombies. He saw that his predicted landing spot was occupied by none other than a powerful L2 power type zombie, yet he just smiled without fear in his heart. His eyes defocused as he raised and twirled the hammer in his hands before smashing down on the skull of the L2 Zombie. The mighty L2 Zombie which could resist even cannon fire head was smashed in by the man's hammer and was nailed into the earth like a nail. The man, not even a adult, but a youth that should be in high school was now surrounded by countless evolved zombies, yet with missing a beat he slammed his free hand against the earth.

Takashi: "Devil Flame skill, Devil's Tidal Wave!"

A deep crimson flame as if surging up from hell erupted under the palm of Takashi's hand and spread waves of Devil Flame outwards. The zombies felt the threat, but it was too late for most of them and one-third of the evolved zombies were swallowed up by Devil Flame and were burned to death. Not even ashes were left behind yet Takashi at the center of this hellish killing field was unharmed by his own skill. The flames finally extinguished as Takashi ended his skill and as he eyed the remaining evolved zombies he caught sight of a white box by his feet and a few coins of unknown origin. They appeared out of thin air left where the zombies just stood, yet as if it was a practiced action that had become second nature Takashi swept up all the times and into a subspace ring.

Takashi: "Tch, at this stage even white boxes are now invaluable treasures. Hey, you new Enhancer to our home. I'm Takashi Komoru, leader of the Walking Dead Unit. I heard the situation from the buses that passed by. My team is here now, so stay back and just assist from a safe... Ah, Shin! You're Shin! Also Aqua and Hikari! Why are here? So you really did escape on foot that night."

Takashi Komuro half in shock and half excited gazed at the figures of his long lost friends from the early days of the apocalypse.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Deltoren.


	208. Chapter 208

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 8, H.O.T.D 2

Takashi Komuro.

The main protagonist of the series. He was a high school second-year and now the leader of the main group of survivors from Fujimi Academy. He is also the childhood friend of both Saya Takagi and Rei Miyamoto and while he has strong feelings of love for Rei, he also shares intimate feelings for Saeko Busujima as well. Takashi is a pretty decent melee fighter, also skilled with firearms because of Kohta Hirano's tutoring. He is also shown to have good leadership skills, which often hold his group together in dire situations.

For me, it was nostalgic seeing Takashi again after such a long time and in a way he was one of my first comrades. When I was still weak we worked together to escape the zombie infected school and traveled together with Rei through the city to meet up with our separated comrades. We ran into trouble with some rioters and to face them we both took our first steps as protagonist together, and was present when I realized my purpose for being in this dimension. When I was injured he and Rei protected and treated me as best they could and we fought through a mob of rioters gone mad having each others back. Last I saw him and the H.O.T.D main characters had come back to save Alice and me, but due to the Hidden Side Quest I activated we had to go our separate ways due to the danger. He and the rest of the main characters had reluctant expressions as they left on their Humvee and watched Hikari, Misaki and I escape on foot from hundreds of zombies, but there was no helping it back then and in fact it was my hope for them to divert most of the zombie's attention away. It worked, but in the end I was bitten by one of them and almost turned into a zombie myself.

Shin: (But I awakened to my inner plot armor as the protagonist and survived long enough for Aqua to save me/avoided getting killed by her monster wolf form. My, how long ago that was. Since then I've become the leader of Team Japan, built something of a harem, have become pretty OP myself and raised a good team from the ground up... but it looks like he hasn't been playing around either. Takashi is decked in some strange armor, swinging around a majestic looking hammer like Thor, and is even unlocked. More so, like Aqua he's Unlocked up to the Second Stage.)

Shin confirmed all of this as he watched his long ago good friend reek havoc on the once stampeding group of evolved zombies. After the initial greeting the evolved zombies didn't wait any longer and pounced on the man who dared jump right in the middle of their ranks. Takashi couldn't take it easy talking to old friends anymore and started his own attack. As he was surrounded by S1 zombies, in the First Stage of the Genetic Constraints he twirled his hammer around like a baton and smacked the heads of the undead into bloody pulps and when the L1 Zombies came charging at him he swung his hammer and blew them away into the air like they have done to the soldiers whenever they got close and had the chance to do so.

Next a S2 Zombie appeared leading a small pack of S1 Zombies right behind him, and this made Takashi's eyes shine with a mysterious light at the impending threat. Takashi entered the Second Stage and his arm and legs expanded for greater power and speed. On top of that Takashi activated a movement skill which drastically increased his speed to a realm beyond the S2 Zombies. The S2 Zombie and S1 Zombies behind it couldn't react as Takashi closed and swung his hammer around like a war god of legends. The S2 Zombie was crush and mangled by the full weight of tne war hammer, splattered against the ground as rotten fleshy remains and the S1 Zombies soon met a even worse fate not having even a S2's defensive power.

Shin watched Takashi fight and came to a conclusion about his power. Takashi was strong. Incredibly strong and stronger than even the leader of Team Germany who once had difficulty defeating, yet he was a bit weaker than Aqua and himself. Not that his skill level wasn't high as it was probably greater than theirs, but Shin felt that the system he was working under was inferior to God's Dimension. Shin didn't have proof of this, but that's what he felt. Takashi was doing a far better job than his team at disposing of evolved zombies, but that could be contributed to his experience with the type of monster called zombie. Zombies weren't weak opponents per se, but it took a lot of courage and resolve to face zombies that have a viral infection, and even Aqua and Shin knowing that they would be fine with their high stats and healing factors were still consciously aware of the fear of being turned into zombies. Takashi and those like him had completely overcome this fear after an untold number of battles and hardships, so they were in the truest sense of the world master zombie hunters. Something that Team Japan was not. Takashi's rampage continued and he had no need of assistance from Team Japan or his own comrades waiting beside the Humvee, yet-

Shin: "Do I look like a damsel in distress to you!? Out of the wave now, Takashi! Fire Bolt!"

Shin extended his left hand forward with his open palm facing the evolved zombie grouped up together and charging towards Takashi. Takashi was directly his line of fire, but he felt like giving fair warning so he wouldn't be startled. He still was though. Unlocked Mode gave Takashi a heightened sense of danger and even had the Danger Perception skill leveled twice. He was wearing strong type 3 mutant beast armor, but his body screamed at him to run away, and he obeyed using his strong legs strengthened by the Second Stage to jump thirty meters away from the horde of zombie. The next moment a scarlet light blinded his was shot out of Shin's extended hand was a scarlet lightning shaped flames of immense power.

The lightning flames roared loudly and the instant the lightning flames hit the pack of evolved zombie, a dazzling light burst out swallowing them and the nearby zombies as well. It was like an orange flower blooming out and once the lights dimmed all that was left was death and destruction. Takashi was blinded and missed what happened, but others saw it. The scarlet lightning bolt pierced through the chest of countless zombies on its path and then in a flash scarlet flames swallowed up and incinerated over thirty zombies in one large explosion following after the lightning bolt. Hardly anything was left after Fire Bolt hit the evolved zombies. Not rotten flesh or blood, just smoke rising up into the sky. Only the power type zombies left charcoaled armor like skin behind, yet they obviously couldn't ever be hoped to be used for anything.

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. TWELVE L1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 12 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 3, EVOLUTION TYPE 1 ZOMBIE. THIRTEEN S1 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 13 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, EVOLUTION TYPE 2 ZOMBIE. ONE L2 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 10 POINTS!

\- SIDE QUEST REWARD 4, EVOLUTION TYPE 2 ZOMBIE. ONE S2 ZOMBIES KILLED. THE WHOLE TEAM IS REWARDED 10 POINTS!

Takashi: "Too severe! The power is equal to my Devil Flame, but much faster! Fire? Lightning? You incinerated even the type 2s with whatever that was."

Shin: "Impressed? Fire Bolt is just a death sentence for soft body targets!"

Both Takashi and its user Shin were overly impressed by Fire Bolt's effectiveness against zombies. In a flash of lighting close to thirty evolved zombies were incinerated into charcoal. Most targets could only helpless be burned alive and those with thick skin and muscles could still be killed. Fire Bolt power and speed levels up as the users Ki energy increases, and Shin's Ki had already surpassed the limits of B tier energy with Black Heaven & Earth Technique. It definitely lived up as a expensive CC tier magic attack spell. The power and especially the speed were outrageous. Even if you see it coming you might jot be able to get away in time.

Shin: (I could probably kill over fifty zombies in one shot if they were densely packed together, though it would be too overpowered if you could kill anything with it. I might not be able to inflict much damage L3 Zombies or aim and catch the S3 Zombies when we finally meet. I doubt there are too many of them, but if all it takes to defeat those monsters is Fire Bolt then this mission would be too easy to farm.)

As Shin considered this the battle was already coming to a close. Takashi's group consisting of the main character of High School of the Dead rushed over to back up Takashi and together with his own Team Japan they swiftly wiped out the few remaining evolved zombies with little difficulty and without injury. The H1 Zombies hiding in the hole were then killed by Takashi's group, going by the name Walking Dead Unit, by throwing a few grenades into the hole, but it looked like the giant that was digging holes underground had fled. Afterwards, the Walking Dead Unit and Team Japan helped the JSDF wipe out the last few 1000-2000 zombies roaming around. Thus the battle came to a close.

At night.

Inside a certain mansion within the Tokonosu City Survival Camp. Hundreds of soldiers and elite Enhancers were standing both outside and inside the mansion on full alert. This mansion security wasn't normally this tight, and would be impossible after the lose this group experienced against the Walking Dead Unit earlier today, but other big powers within the city brought some of their forces over for a meeting. They won't told by their bosses what was going on, but they didn't need to know. After the apocalypse began social order and laws fell apart, to survive in this world overrun by zombies and mutant beast you only had five choices in life.

Be devoured by the zombies.

Be devoured by the mutant beast.

Be devoured by your fellow man.

Summit yourself to a greater power than yourself and hope for the best.

And lastly, become powerful yourself and take it upon yourself joy to live your life choose what is just and evil in this new world.

The men from multiple factions within Tokonosu City guarding the mansion and their comrades elsewhere had chosen the fourth option. To submit yourself to a greater power, and unfortunately that greater power for them weren't good people. They used their power to abuse resources, force themselves upon women and humiliate their fellow man for sick pleasures. These men that they follow had lost their pride as Japanese men if they ever had it in the first place, yet their subordinates had no choice but to follow so they would be guaranteed food and shelter, and if you proved oneself to the masters then you could take part in their special *pleasure* and pretend to have power when you do not.

Power borrowed from their masters, and in this mansion most deepest most chamber were four of Tokonosu City's great powers. The largest faction was the military and political group run by Saya Takagi's parents, an organization that took in all sorts of powers, both military and civilian into the biggest force in the city. Then there were the 5 Heads of Military centered around former military higher ups of the JSDF who survived the initial days of the apocalypse and built their own forces from the ground up from both the JSDF and civilian volunteers. Three of these powers hated the Takagi's rule which respected the people and only moved justly, and the other two were neutral with a shared dislike of everyone else. Lastly, was the fallen government officials who used their political power before it lost its face value in the apocalypse to draft soldiers to protect their own interest while pretending to be working for the people, and it was lead by a man called Tokonosu City's Mayor, the former Diet member and suspected corrupt politician Ichirou Shido, but prefers the title Mayor.

The men in this meeting were all past their prime with gray hair and fat bellies, yet as if the opportunity for grabbing power in the post apocalyptic world was good for their health they all acted with energetic, yet greedy hearts.

Mayor: "You bastards! You dare tell me off for going after the Walking Dead Unit too soon? They killed my son! And you want me to wait till after the zombie invasion! Go to hell!"

Commander A: "Don't talk to us like we fucked your wife while you were hard at work! Also, we all know he was just a spare for your eldest son and I'm putting that kindly from the things we've heard."

Commander B: "He's right! We all know you just wanted to kill the Walking Dead Unit because they are Supreme Commander Takagi's best force capable of killing a tens of thousand zombies on their own just because he hindered one of your dirty back room dealings selling little virgin girls for favors. You were also hoping to capture and play with the beautiful woman of their group. Though I get that, but you've gone too far! We have to contend with a 3 million strong legion of zombies!"

Commander C: "There are also reports of a Z type among them with high intelligence. That along with our own resources... even best case scenario it'll still be a major loss to us all. We need the Supreme Commander and his forces to take the blunt of the damage for us. Only afterwards should you-"

Mayor: "Fine! I'll wait till afterwards to have my fun. Though it'll be tough. I've run out of pretty high school girls. They too easily catch the things that I have, so their appearances drop to the bottom unless I pay for their upkeep. I barely have it for myself, the bitches!"

Commander A: "Hahaha! Mayor, I still have a few so so good looking high school girls locked away somewhere if you like... but just remember the deal. We'll help the Supreme Commander on the surface, but we'll hold back our full forces and resources to weaken him. Even if the Supreme Commander suspects something he won't make a move against us till afterwards. He also won't hold back like us because of his pride and responsibility as a leader of the people. The fool! We'll come together with a united front once we repel the zombie legion and immediately launch a offensive against Supreme Commander Takagi! Afterwards we'll divide his territory, people, and eat up as much as his military power that's left over! Is that good enough for you, Mayor? Ah, but I get to keep his wife. The high and mighty bitch is my type. So prideful and well educated, that's why when you break and dirty them they are just so... Ahahah! I just love that broken and aroused look of a dog in heat on such woman as they lick my xxxx! Hahaha! I can't wait to xxxx her over the Supreme Commander's grave. I'll pay whatever the cost just for that!"

Mayor: "Fine! Long as I get what I want."

Commander 3: "Ah, Mayor, please remember that you owe me for that pretty American lady with blonde hair and tits almost as big as the Walking Dead Unit's nurse. If you can capture the woman from that unit then you can pay me back by helping me give a present for my son's tenth birthday in two weeks. I want to give him his first pet and I'll think that cute Alice would be nice! He has been eyeing her for a few weeks now. His first crush which is cute, but keeps begging me to abduct her for him. He hasn't grasped that there is a time and place for such things. *Sigh*. So hard to educate children these days, but I'm sure a good pet will get him motivated to learn."

Mayor: "Sure whatever."

Commander 2: "Wait! I wanted Alice-chan for my Lolita harem collocation. So pure and innocent. I also don't have a red hair yet! I thought I did, but when I checked the lower half it turned out she just dyed her hair. Damn it all! Had to throw that one in my rabid dog pen. At least they got enjoy some good and fresh meat for the next fight."

This disgusting topic went on until the Commander gave up on Alice. Once they finished up with that pointless discussion they moved on to the next topic. The arrival of a new group of enhancers. According to their spies they were a powerful group of enhancers which could wipe out thousands of zombies and could even contend with the frightening type 2 evolved zombies. This was interesting new, but unfortunately for them it looked like they had joined the Supreme Commanders faction due to having a past relationship with the members of the Walking Dead Unit.

Mayor: "What do you think? They are currently staying at the main house of the Takagi family. Do we need to do anything about them? They are quite impressive, but not at the level of the Walking Dead Unit. Just some skilled Enhancers."

Commander A: "I'm in agreement, but I wish for us to try to either bring them over to our side or kill them off. According to a report from one of my spies present at the border defense, this group killed thousands of zombies without borrowing supplies from the the army, and didn't appear to be carrying any supplies other than backpacks at the most. They might have the same Level 5 Treasure as Takashi Komuro. The subspace ring. That a valuable treasure we should be willing to kill for right now even if it offends the Supreme Commander, but we should wait till after the invasion. Then along with everything else of value, even their people... Hahahaha!"

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Deltoren.

Well... aren't they something. I just read Akame ga Kill a second time, and so I had some dark thoughts to expel.


	209. Chapter 209

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 9, H.O.T.D 2

This was writen before Yue and his gang took over that city way too quickly.

High School of the Dead.

It is the name of one of my favorite Manga/Anime. An action, adventure and horror story of a post-apocalyptic world quickly overrun by zombies. The story follows a small group of High School students, along with a school nurse, and little girl and her dog, as they fight their way through the streets of a zombie overrun Japan in search of a way to survive. The zombies are referred to as THEM, a form of mental protection against the cold act of killing former humans who have been turned undead creatures which were once thought as only the things of myths and children's nightmares. Zombies, social collapse, deadly human survivors taking advantage of the situation to commit horrific crimes and above all, and the slow decay of the main cast's personal moral code. It is an amazing work that quickly became popular thanks to its amazing story, art, setting, and characters. Especially the female cast who are more often than not are stacked, having large breast so plentiful that you would have to question if the setting really is in Japan, if you set aside all the other horror and gore. It is a still incomplete work as it has been on hiatus for years, yet it is still something that I would regularly read/watch again, and I regularly curse the author for not continuing this masterpiece.

Takashi Komuro -

The main protagonist of the series. He is a high school second-year and the leader of the main group of survivors from Fujimi Academy. He is a childhood friend of both Saya Takagi and Rei Miyamoto, and while he has strong feelings of love for Rei, he also shares intimate feelings for Saeko Busujima as well. His feelings for Saya appear as just friends for now, mostly due to her harsh nature and him being unaware that she harbors feeling for him. Takashi is a pretty decent melee fighter, also skilled with firearms because of Kohta Hirano's tutoring and the new experience of fighting THEM on a daily basis. He is also shown to have good leadership skills, which often hold his group together in dire situations.

In the time before the Outbreak, Takashi was laid-back and dis not mind skipping class. His casual nature can also make him hesitant, evidenced by the fact that he did not act on his feelings for Rei until it was too late. His passionate feelings are displayed when he is genuinely depressed by Rei choosing his best friend Hisashi over him. Takashi becomes more serious after the Outbreak and begins to exhibit the qualities of a leader. His resolve to protect Rei and his group earns him respect despite his feelings of inadequacy. He is usually kind to the other members of his group, and he does not hesitate to save people who are in serious trouble, such as Alice Maresato when she is attacked by "THEM", yet he would not in danger his own life anf those around him for a lost cause. During the initial Outbreak, Takashi fights strictly for survival, but as time passes he begins to show a willingness to fight for himself and the group rather than just for the need to survive. Saya has also mentioned that he and Kohta Hirano are likely to snap if their situation after the Outbreak continues and they have to keep killing things that look like people.

Rei Miyamoto -

She is the daughter of Kiriko and Tadashi Miyamoto. A classmate, childhood friend and love interest of the main character Takashi Komuro, and along with Saeko Busujima is one of the main heroines of High School of the Dead. Rei is also a member of the Sojutsu (Spear) club, and her combat skills have proven to be a strong asset to the group with her weapon of choice the spear, and is also shown to be skilled with an M1A1 Rifle with a bayonet attached. Despite always harboring a deep affection for Takashi, his constant reluctance caused her to give up on him and date his best friend, Hisashi Igou. Although she was dating Hisashi, she never truly got over Takashi and still holds feelings for him, despite their friendship appearing to be totally ruined to their friends.

Although Rei is supposed to be a senior along with Saeko, she was held back a year because of an incident where her father, the police officer in charge of investigating her teacher's father, Koichi Shido, back lashed on to her. As some sort of revenge for having his father investigated by Rei's father, he forced her to repeat the whole year, and since then she has held a grudge against him. More so then for herself, she hates Shido and his father with a passion because the event lead to her father apologizing to her in tears. Rei harbors enough hate for Mr. Shido and his father that if provoked enough she is more then willing to kill than settle their differences with words. It a good thing he's already dead, but there's still hie father the man responsible for everything.

Saeko Busujima -

A student at Fujimi High School, a member of the survivor group led by Takashi Komuro and the daughter of Master Busujima. Before the apocalypse, she was in her Third year and was also captain of the Kendo Club at Fujimi High School. In the group, Saeko is considered the most reliable of all fighters, and everyone can count on her combat skills to pull them through a tough spot if need be. Like Rei, Saeko is an athletic fighter and talented combat specialist whose forte is in melee attacks. She is one of the reasons why the protagonists have managed to survive as far as they have, but she holds a secret that she has only revealed to Takashi and what other can only expect. She likes to kill and hurt other. Saeko reveals sadistic tendencies while fighting "THEM" and later explains to Takashi that she had been that way for a long time before the apocalyptic chaos ensued. She reveals that she derives pleasure from causing pain and suffering to others. It can be assumed that Saeko's existential conflict manifests itself by cloaking her sadistic, malevolent, and violent nature with the facade of a well-mannered and cultured young woman, but it's unclear if the facade is really a facade. At the beginning of the series, she uses a bokken wooden sword that she used to fight "THEM" with, but she was later given a sword by Souichiro Takagi to fight "THEM".

Saya Takagi -

One of the main characters in High School of the Dead. Saya is a genius, and her high level of intellect is her major contribution to the group, though it often causes her to be stubborn and arrogant. She usually stays out of combat, preferring to think of strategies to help the others fight. However, this changes when the group prepares to leave the police station. Saya tends to be a very mean and somewhat impolite person. Being a genius, Saya always considers herself right and because of this can be considered 'stuck-up'. Despite being this way, Saya has been shown to be a very caring person and looks out for the rest of the group, mostly Takashi. Saya also considers herself to be a mother figure or an older sister figure to Alice and will scold anyone who tries to ruin her innocence. Saya's view of Kohta also changes throughout the series. She goes from thinking of him as a useless gun otaku to a respectful comrade. She also goes from calling him by his family name to his given name, a sign of closeness. Also Saya's view of Takashi has changed. Originally she thought of him as "stupid" and criticized him of cutting class, but the two work well together and he follows her orders without complaining. She may have romantic feelings for him.

Kohta Hirano -

One of the main characters in High School of the Dead. Kohta is an excellent marksman with many different types of guns, but he usually uses the AR-10 Rifle which has been remodeled in the style of a Knight's SR-25 Sniper Rifle. He also collects various weapons and ammunition for the group during their travels. Due to his excessive knowledge about firearms and military training, he serves as the groups primary the outbreak, Kohta's demeanor is one that is timid, carefree, and sanguine. Yet, at the same time he was constantly suppressing of his frustration he felt from the frequent bullying he suffered at school; all for the sake of having a "normal" life. As a result, when "they" started to emerge, Kohta was one of the few people who readily accepted to the change needed to ensure his and his comrades' survival, finally being able to unleash all the frustrations that he has accumulated so far. And while normally capable of maintaining a cool and level-headed demeanor (more so than Saya), Kohta has exhibited a sadistic and almost maniacal side of himself, to the point where he actually displays a slasher-style smile that shows whenever he kills "them" in cold blood. Saya once mentioned that Kohta and Takashi are the most likely to snap if things keep going the way they are. He has grown very attached to Alice Maresato and can often be found playing with her. He also seems to have crush on Saya, and is sometimes seen getting jealous when Saya gets close to Takashi.

Shizuka Marikawa -

One of the main characters in High School of the Dead and is the only adult in the group. Shizuka's main contributions to the group are her medical skills and extensive medical knowledge. She also serves as the adult figure and takes care of Alice Maresato and the others whenever she is needed to do so. Being the adult in the group, Shizuka feels it is her responsibility to take care of the kids. Although she is rather ditzy at times and is prone to panicking, she can be very serious when called for. Shizuka is also shown to be very caring towards the members of the group as she sees it as her responsibility as the only grown up among them, and acts as even more of a mother to Alice. She has a very sexually-oriented mind when she is drunk (as seen when she flirted with both Kohta and Takashi) or whenever she misinterprets someone's comments into something sexual in turn causing her to blush.

Alice Maresato -

One of the main characters of High School of the Dead. She is formally introduced in Chapter 8 of the Managa, Episode 7 in the Anime. Due to her young age, she currently doesn't have any weapons at her disposal, although she was given firecrackers by Asami Nakaoka to distract "THEM". Alice is about 7 or 8 years of age. She was saved from being attacked by several undead by Takashi Komuro after her father was killed by members of a household who wouldn't allow them to get inside and stay safe. Innocent and passive, Alice is the only member of the group that maintains a cheerful attitude despite all their troubles and the loss of her father. Alice looks up to everyone in the group as a bigger brother and sister; in particular, Kohta Hirano, whom she has grown very attached, and Saya Takagi, who at times presides over her like a mother. She is unwilling to leave anyone in the group, even if it is for her own safety. Alice is the happy-go-lucky person in the group. She almost always maintains a cheerful attitude, unless in danger. Alice doesn't like it when people are about to sacrifice themselves for her. This is shown when her dad dies trying to protect her, and when Kohta was going to put her on the other side of a wire fence, sacrificing himself for her. She is also scared whenever Takashi is in a bad mood and yells.

Along with Zeke the dog they picked up along the way, they make the cast of High School of the Dead.

God and Devil World -

While we are still definitely in the world of "H.O.T.D" and have even met up with its main characters, but as the mission would suggest with Cross Series, God has combined the world of "H.O.T.D" with at least one other work that we know of. That's "God and Devil World". Unlike "H.O.T.D" which is a Manga/Anime in Japan, "God and Devil World" is a novel originating from China.

In a nutshell, the story of "God and Devil World" goes like this. It's about how one day a god like being got pissed off at how easy going and weak human were, and this god decided to do something stupid and selfish for the hell of it. This god, acting more like a devil started up that world's apocalypse using the God and Devil System, a RPG Game like system where people can defeat monsters to level up, acquire special items to power themselves up, and learn fictional game powers like sword skills and magic, who are nicknamed Enhancers (Those who evolve obtain great powers faster) and the stronger Evolvers (Those who evolve). Most humans were infected with a virus and turned into Zombies and animals mutated into Mutant Beast, who all now have an evolution factor that defies modern science and the reality which they once knew. A fantasy world with a strong modern and mild game setting.

Gradually over time or through an outside stimulus, Zombies and Mutant Beast evolve and become much stronger, eventually to the point where modern firearms had no effect on them which is the main reason why I believe to be the answer as to why in just a zombie apocalypse the world turns to shit. It would take time but long as the governments of the world retained even a small part of their military might and used modern weapons the tide should eventually return to humans since zombies are slow, only need a headshot and damaged spinal cord to kill and only have numbers to rely on, but evolved zombies and Mutant Beast that go beyond human understanding keep humanity of the side of the defeated.

For example the evolved mutant zombies of "God and Devil World".

◆ The L Power Type evolved zombies - They are the branch of undead evolved zombies who grow larger and more powerful physically as they evolve.

◆ The S Agility Type evolved zombies - They are the branch of undead evolved zombies who are shorter, but acquire speed, reflexes, razor sharp claws as they evolve.

◆ The H Magic Type evolved zombies - They are the branch of undead evolved zombies who can shoot out magic attacks from their mouths as they evolve such as fireballs.

◆ The Hunter Type evolved zombies - They are the branch of undead evolved zombies who grow into savage four-legged beasts with speed comparable to the S types, yet possess combat and survival instincts most of the undead lack as they evolve.

◆ The Z Commander Type evolved zombies - They are the branch of undead evolved zombies who grow smarter and possess the ability to command more and more less intelligent zombies as they evolve. Also capable of attacking others with mental blast to destroy the mind of targets

The main character of "God and Devil World" is Yue Zhong, and before the apocalypse started in this world, he was just your average poor college student getting by with average looks and smarts. On the day the apocalypse began, by luck the first zombie he killed dropped a rare skill book for the beginning stages of the apocalypse they were thrust into. Summon Special Skeleton. A skill similar to my own Demon Summon spell after upgrading Grim Ashes. His skeleton demon started out with stats not much greater than the average adults but had great stamina and power superior to humans from the beginning which came in handy when facing hundreds of zombies on Yue Zhong's first day of the apocalypse within a large school campus. This special Skeleton Demon which he would later name White Bones would then further evolve, strengthen himself through collecting bones and learning skills as well becoming Yue Zhong's strongest partner in battle.

Yue Zhong used his early advantage and the strength of a few good comrades to survive the early days of the apocalypse and become a powerful Enhancer at an amazing pace. This was due to the survival of the fittest and lone king nature of the God and Devil System. The system is a single player game in nature, so there weren't Parties were people worked together to fight and share EXP or XP depending on what you called it. People could work together, but because only the one to get the last hit receives XP and power leveling others cuts acquired XP in half, so not everyone could grow together equally and it became more of a pain to help those weaker, or at least in the early stages before one reaches an extremely high level of power like Yue would one day. Once you reached a high enough level, killing zombies or mutant beast lower level than you was not worth no matter how many you killed, but for those of a low level or without enhancements yet, these monsters were treasures to gain quick enhancements, so Yue and other would capture these monsters that had no value to them and hand them over to those still had value for.

Before you reach this high level one would monopolize the XP and even good drops from defeated monsters for the sake of self preservation. That's why armies who knew the value of Evolvers and Evolvers will only have at most a few dozen or at most a hundred or so in the early days of the apocalypse because of how hard it is to raise them up. Also, the down hill learning curve of the new world was so dangerous that if one person didn't become OverPowered extremely quickly at the cost of hindering the growth of comrades then everyone would die, or that was how it was in Yue Zhong's case who could really only help level his best friend and his crush too a barely acceptable level, without hindering his own growth.

Unlike the trials that we are meant to go on where you could use team work or become a lone king to conquer most difficulties, "God and Devil World" only allows a lone king who keeps becoming stronger till he surpasses god and the gods above, which can be seen how overpowered Yue Zhong becomes when compared to everyone else throughout the story. They are either weak, have a gap in their powers, or only specialize in one area. All things which Yue Zhong is not. Even when doing the few quest available in the system only the leader gains rewards. Even if there were people around his level they couldn't hope to beat him 1 on 1, as they didn't have his high-level equipment, stats, and skills. He does face more danger than most, but understanding the nature of the system he does prioritize his growth over others for the most part. This can be seen where he takes control of his groups God and Devil System items with a few exceptions and devour most of the essence beads of the beasts which can raise stats, and only have they give him little to no benefits will he share them with others.

After the initial days of the apocalypse Yue becomes stronger, the first of very few to actually acquire a class and Hidden Class at that, set up his own survival camp that grows explosively due to his understanding of the system and choosing to face it rather than hiding behind walls. Of course this rise to power came at a price to his moral code. This degeneration of human values as others xxxx and pillage takes a toll on his mind as he's forced to confront it on an almost daily basis. He easily kills people if they get in his way or threaten him without batting an eye unless they have something of worth to him even if they are connected to the government. He can even execute both enemies and allies alike without hesitation and sometimes enjoys the suffering of those who opposed him.

There was even a time where he was threatened and almost killed by a physically and sexually abused woman who was slightly crazy due to her husband. Yue made it out of danger without a scratch and threatened the woman to show him a hidden treasure and if she did she could live, and despite keeping her end of the deal Yue cut off one of her arms while laughing and chased her off into a Mutant Beast infested forest where she'll have no hope of surviving. He never felt guilty about bullying a woman who could be called a victim when he really was never in danger as he had his skeleton familiar White Bones was with him, unknown to everyone. Yue was just playing along the whole time because it was an amusing drama and he was bored. Not even as an example for others to see if they cross him. Yue Zhong still had some good qualities left in him, but to survive the apocalypse with evolving Zombies, evolving Mutant Beast, and humans scrambling for power and resources while decaying into madness, Yue, whether there really was another way or not, became a tyrant warlord who treated his people well and saw all others as either enemies to be put down or people to bring in under his banner. I personally don't think he's justified as he cares more for the act of conquest and taking from others more than ruling, saving people (Only the Chinese, others are a afterthought), and making the world a better place, but that's just my opinion and their are plenty of arguments to justify and excuse his actions. I'm sure if we ask Yue about this he would either just say "You were not there", but more likely see us as a eyesore and kill us for questioning his morality.

In "God and Devil World", I noticed what were either plot holes or something lacking from "God and Devil World". In "God and Devil World", the rate evolution for the zombies stagnated at a certain point of the story. It was a little after Yue Zhong's first major battle against the zombies. And was very obvious in the second book, "Sea of Zombies." In the first major battle against an army of zombies Yue Zhong's forces along with a survival camp fought against the zombie army of 100,000 and suffered losses in a realistic way. The zombies used daring tactics and the strength of the various types of zombies, like the intelligence of Hunter Types to cause chaos within the enemy ranks or the H1 prioritizing the snipers. Yue Zhong barely got through and only survived after risking a lot to kill the Z1 control type Zombie.

After this battle Yue Zhong encountered a Power Type L3 evolved Zombie which gave him a lot of trouble, but then for a long period of time no new types of zombies appeared and when they finally did appear and in large numbers they were taken out by Yue far too easily. In the second zombie army fight of well over 2 million undead the humans suffered and wasted a lot of resources to deal with the never-ending waves of zombies, yet with the best modern weapons they held their ground at first to deal with them, and only received damage when the unity of the human forces broke. This was believable but unsatisfactory. In the third zombie army battle it was a one-sided slaughter by the humans as they fought the 4 million zombie army occupying a city. Yue Zhong certainly took the initiative to prepare and launch an attack, but the zombie's defensive response was sub-par and only sent normal zombies one after the other to die.

Basically, the flaw of the Z types after the first battle was that they began to only rely on wave tactics for the most part to exhaust their enemies and that there were no new further evolved or variety of zombies to give the humans a hard time. In the third battle, the zombie leader grew scared despite its numerical advantage against Yue Zong's forces and ran without putting up much of a fight only to be singled out and killed by Yue Zhong. The most evolved S3 and L3 were held back as a royal guard for the Z2 zombies when they could have been used to deal heavy damage to Yue Zong's forces if used correctly. The deadly magic type zombies didn't evolve or grow in variety and just stayed as fire magic attackers. Basically, despite the intelligence increase of Z2 the battle tactics of the zombies became simple.

Shin: "I read it, drop it and then pick it up again when I'm bored, so I don't know how it turns out. While I can't say that I like the MC much, but it's a good read no questions ask even if it doesn't have a story. Just going town to town conquering things and people, and meeting so many men and woman who a fan can't possibly remember all the names. Even minor characters who appear for half a chapter or paragraph get a first and last name. I doubt even the author can as well since 90% of the cast gets forgotten, replaced, and then forgotten again. Like what happened to the guy who stole Yue Zhong's bus? The children of the fire king he was getting along with? What happened to the mayor's daughter after what happened to her father was shot! And recently, what happened to his love interest's best friend who went with him to Korea. I've heard rumors, but how did he forget her? Tell me author, or better yet get your story together man!"

Hikari: "Shut the hell up otaku!"

\- *SLAP*!

With a B tier Mana empowered slap from Hikari, Shin's thoughts returned to the real world. He was currently gathered together with his comrades within a large room of Saya's manor. After the battle at the bridge the Walking Dead Unit, or better known to them as the main characters of High School of the Dead invited them into Tokonosu City Survival Camp where they lived. They picked up Komaru, Grim Ashes, and the still unconscious Newbies to the manor following after their Humvee with a borrowed car. Normally new residents had to go through an inspection, but their relationship with the main characters and their new reputation as heroes allowed them through the usual layers of security.

After arriving at the manor Shin and his team got the chance to talk with the main character in depth about what has been going on since they went their separate ways. Shin revealed on his side that Misaki, one of the members of Team Japan back then, didn't make it and as a result the main characters felt more open to talking about has happened to them. Takashi first explained that after going separate ways that night Hisashi was bitten by on of THEM, turned and then he had to take out his best friend. Shin hearing this recalled a thought he had back during his first mission when he went out to save Alice. By saving both Hisashi at the school he created an imbalance within the main cast members which resulted in Alice not being saved by following the plot. That looked to be a pretty good guess since after saving Alice in the end Hisashi who survived his fate to die within the school roof met a similar end that he was supposed to have. He could be wrong here. If Shin had escaped with the main characters that night maybe he could have saved Hisashi, and both he and Alice would have survived, but no one could no for certain except God.

Takashi and the rest of the main characters then went on to talk about what happened almost right after taking care of Hisashi after he turned. The message from god, no a being claiming to be a Saint who introduced the God and Devil System. Weapons called Novice Sticks appeared in their hands, and a plot that combines elements of "God and Devil World", and the original plot of "H.O.T.D" unfolded. The main characters grasped the importance of the system and the threat the zombies and new mutant beast, and they dived into battle to level up and gain equipment and skill books. Alice, the child was the first to realize that the behind days of the new system had high drop rates, the treasure boxes that appear sometimes when defeating a monster, and so they put in a lot of effort early on to gain a huge advantage which still supports them to this day. This was a divergence from Yue Zhong's initial party of survivors who were just trying to escape to a shelter and the majority of the group who wanted to avoid the undead monster. The main characters were also the first in the city to reach the Newbie Village and acquired an even greater advantage than Yue Zhong's group did in the plot of "God and Devil World". Before the day's end, they got each member to level ten so they could enter the village and gain game Classes which would bolster their power. Especially Takashi, Saeko, Saya and Alice who acquired hidden classes due to the skills they acquired before gaining a class.

◆ Takashi's Hidden Class was Flame Knight, a Hidden Class that uses extreme power and fire magic, and his reward for entering the village was a Level 5 Treasure, a war hammer that can crush anything and he uses a Stinger Pistol that had been upgraded more than once.

◆ Rei gained Solider Class for its practicality and was armed with the Level 3 Devil Spear and a advance rifle similar to the Stinger Pistol with an attached blade.

◆ Saeko's Hidden Class was Lightning Samurai, a Hidden Class with extreme speed and cutting power skills with the lightning element.

◆ Hirano's an Engineer who makes advanced weaponry like guns twenty years into the future and modifies their vehicles for the team and had acquired the Sniper skill to enhance his combat ability. He was the one who developed Rei's rifle based on Takashi's weapon.

◆ Saya's is a Full Elemental, a Hidden Class that bestows extra power and control with elemental magic of Fire, Earth, Water and Air (Kinda like Avatar).

◆ Shizuka's a Doctor, a class that can't heal as fast as priest who have spells for rapid healing, but can make medicine that can be saved and stored for later use, use skills without using Spirit (Energy for spells), and also has the Small healing spell level up thrice to its second order variant.

◆ Alice's Hidden Class is Beast Tamer, and she uses Zeke to fight who has become part mutant beast and buff spells to increase its combat ability.

After leaving the Newbie Village, the plot was close to the original plot of "H.O.T.D" that Shin knew. They traveled to Saya's home, but only temporarily not wanting to be absorbed into Saya's father group and left. The EMP incident which forced them to flee didn't occur though. This either meant that man was doing better than those in the plot, or worse without the chance to shoot the EMP missiles over Japan. A popular theory with zombie apocalypses is that long as the government retains some shape or form of its power they won't fall to mindless zombies, but since there's been no word of any governments like America doing well... it was more likely that the zombies did more damage than in the original "H.O.T.D" and those like the American President never had a chance to shoot missiles at their enemies. The main characters set out on a series of adventures which last for about six months where they rescued family, friends, and strangers and moved them to the Tokonosu City Survival camp set up by Saya's parents, Souichiro Takagi and Yuriko Takagi.

The main characters also had to deal with many villains and tyrants trying to gain power and abuse those below them over the course of their adventures, and despite not wishing into interfere them were swept up in big battles one after the other. Finally Takashi lead his team to victory without losing one comrade since the day Hisashi died. It was around this time that his group was giving a badass name like the Walking Dead Unit and there was a call for Takashi to rise up to power due to his popularity and military might, but he and his comrades were satisfied to leave a troublesome thing like leadership to Saya's parents. When Shin thought about it, Yue Zhong was the same in the beginning as he didn't want the responsibility of leadership and only did so out of necessity, but without an adult in power to trust he had to do things himself and eventually he grew to like his dictatorship rule with extremely strict rules and leaving most of the day to day governing responsibility to his best friend and others, while he went out to conquer and level up. He did sometimes do his job well, but he was not cut out for desk work and politics, so he settled things with force.

The Walking Dead Unit that they were called, lead by Takashi, were largely independent despite popular belief that they were Souichiro Takagi's subordinates due to their good relationship with him and that his daughter Saya was a member of the Walking Dead Unit. There was even a rumor that she was given to Takashi as a bride to show that he'll be next in line to rule, but of course this wasn't remotely true. Though they did still consider Tokonosu City Survival Camp their home territory. They normally spend their days not inside the survival camp where it was safe or alongside fellow soldiers, but out hunting zombies and mutant beast independently while also looking for survivors of the apocalypse needing rescue and pinpointing potential risk to the city (I wish I could watch these adventures as an Anime). That's why it wasn't strange for them to be gone for weeks and months at a time, but recently they've been unable to explore due to a approaching threat to Tokonosu City.

A 3 million strong legion of Zombies.

Two weeks ago a drone sent out from the city was shot as it was exploring Japan for the first time to estimate the state of damage in the far off areas. At first the leaders of the city thought that it was a human organization suspicious of the drone shot it down and in response they sent three more to scout the area the first drone was shot down, but the three drone were shot down as well, but not before relaying video of what shot them down. A large legion of zombies steady approach. At this point they only had 1.9 million zombies in their ranks, but as they traveled through cities and small towns their forces grew as they absorbed the scattered undead without leadership and the living who were slaughtered and turned into zombies as well. They also seemed to have crushed a few survival camps like Tokonosu City and absorbed the residents into their ranks as well, finally growing into a fearsome legion of over 3 million zombies. This was a threat too big for the Walking Dead Unit to ignore, so they've stopped exploring temporary and are helping Tokonosu City prepare for the immediate threat.

Aqua: "Hey, have you snapped out of your delusions yet? I asked about the plots, but that didn't mean I signed up for a in-depth lecture."

Shin: "Fine fine, So I've now explained the plots of "H.O.T.D" and "God and Devil World" since we didn't have a chance at the start of the mission. Also over dinner we also know what have the main characters been doing and what going on in Tokonosu City and about the invasion that's about to take place. The zombie legion has taken control of the zombies in the vicinity of the city and had them attack the city a few times, but Takashi warned us that the main body of the main body of 3 million zombie legion will arrive ten days from now, and since today is basically over we have only nine days left to prepare. That's also when Team Kenya are scheduled to arrive, so I think we can agree with this estimate. That means we have to survive five days against the zombies and another team till the fifteenth day of the mission."

Aqua: "What a complicated situation God has thrown us in. Even after becoming allies he still wants to see us squirm for his experiments and amusement. Anyways we need to decide on a course of action. To face the zombie army and the other team head on, or hide out till the battle is over. The latter is impossible if we do nothing. God won't give us an objective like protect someone or a place if they can manage on their own."

Shuai: "Perhaps Team Kenya's main mission, or at least one of their objectives are to kill the leaders of the city we're supposed to protect... or even the main characters. Both will definitely be involved in this large battle, so we can't just do nothing."

Kisara: "I recommend a direct fight. We almost failed the last team battle because we ran way, or at least because we ran away without a method to avoid the other team from beginning to end. Maybe we could have, but not understanding all the rules for Team Battles messed us over in the end and forced us into a confrontation were we had to provok Team Germany first. That's why I'll only agree to run long as we have a solid plan. If not its just better to take our chances in battle."

Drake: "I suggest fighting. We're a team that's all unlocked and could possibly gain the support of a large army of soldiers and super soldiers called Enhancers. Our changes of victory are certainly not as low as that Danganronpa mission and Guide Test.

Sachi: "The pervert priest is right. They have the power of modern weapons, so long as we take care of the evolved zombies that are beyond conventional means to handle I think we will do just fine. That's why God put us on the side of the humans and not THEM. Long as we can exterminate the evolved zombies the army can handle the rest just fine."

Drake: "Hey, Do you have to insult me here and now?"

Sachi: "...If you can honestly say your strike zone are women above eighteen, I'll go down on my hands and knees and apologize to you."

Drake: "..."

Drake looked over to his human creation, a girl no older than fifteen with brown braids and glasses. She had a common face, but she was certainly too young for him if they were in the real world, so Drake didn't open his mouth again for the rest of the night after that.

Hikari: "Stop fooling around you two. We're all tired from fighting in Unlocked Mode for so long, so let's just think of a general direction to go in for now and go to bed."

Connor: "Hey, can we trust that this place is secure?"

Hikari: "Yeah. For some reason the zombie with Psyche Force and its influence can't extend deep into Tokonosu City Survival Camp. They did make those tunnels under the city earlier, but he couldn't even mask them. If you told me you suspected something and asked me to check underground I would have found them, so long as I'm awake I can scan anywhere within the city with ease. Saya's manor is more so heavily guarded and the security is on high alert. I don't know why, but I think we can go to sleep in peace and wake up in time in case something happens."

Shin: "Then I guess we can rest in peace then. I've read about night attacks by humans in "God and Devil World", but they mainly only succeeded when there are few personnel or if ones guard is down. If anyone is worried I can have Ash patrol around at night since he doesn't need to sleep."

Jin: "That's overkill Shin and also a waste of his potential. Unlike everyone else in this team who has to sleep, only your summons has the ability to operate independently without requiring energy or being awake. He's not OP as you would say, but is extremely reliable. Shin, have your demon skeleton just go out of the city at night and kill zombies. That way we can gain points and lower the number of zombies we have to deal with when the main battle begins."

Shin: "And it also doesn't matter if he gets killed, right? I can just protect Komaru myself till I can re-summon him in twenty-four hours. I'll tell someone to not mind the skeleton coming in and out of the city. Ash should also be able to grow more powerful by absorbing the bones of the defeated into itself as well, so this is an opportunity. As for us... what will our approach be for this mission?"

Aqua: "Stay in the shadows or take a starring lead, is it? We're already famous and have to protect those fighting upfront, so the former is impossible."

Jin: "Yes! We'll take an active role here. This is the safest way to protect out interest and to defend against, and possibly wipe the other team. I suggest before the battle begins we increase our influence within Tokonosu Survival Camp. I have an idea about how to go about it, but we require three things. One, information about the power structure of the city, personnel, resources, and information gathered on the evolved zombies. Two, the trust of the main characters. Lastly three, we eventually, but soon need a meeting with Saya's parents, Souichiro Takagi and Yuriko Takagi. I ran a large guild in an online game, but they weren't made to be as complicated or mundane as real world preparations for war. Online games give you all the information in extreme detail, but real life isn't like that. Large battles are definitely not my specialty, but to come up with the best plan possible I need as much information as possible. So long as you trust me, I'll-"

Shin: "Don't trust you as far as I can throw you, which is far since I once literally threw you off a small mountain, Jin. We'll do your best to support whatever crazy ideas that you have. To survive both the mission and team battle, we will come behind our powers and survive! All of us!"

Not knowing what was in store for their fututre, first day of "H.O.T.D" came to an end.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Deltoren


	210. Chapter 210

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 10, H.O.T.D 2

There were some interesting comments from the editor, but due to standing out to much I used a number to show where it was and placed the original comment in the author's note.

The morning of Day 2 of the mission.

Team Japan's objective for the day was for help Jin formulate a plan to deal with the approaching zombie legion, as well as Team Kenya once they arrive at Tokonosu City Survival Camp. They discussed the possibility of going out themselves to handle to army of zombies before they reach the city. Using their powerful sci-fi and magic weapons to cut down the enemy numbers, but this plan was shut down almost immediately. Just the 9 members of Team Japan couldn't wipe and truly harm an army of the scale of 3 million by themselves. There were too many reasons to count why this was not a good idea. Hit and run tactics still had some merit, but without a large force to ultimately crush the core of the legion of zombies, this tactic would just result in Team Japan's exhaustion and death.

There was the military might of the city to factor in, but without a clear understanding of their forces, unity, and the lack of trust between Team Japan and the city this tactic was impossible to carry out. Team Japan were heros, but only to the people and a few hundred soldiers, so they couldn't influence the military to move in cooperation with just their current fame even if they relied on the main characters. Only after a team of God's Dimension acquired the highest level of enhancements and each member owned at least a C-B tier sci-fi weapon could they combat 3 million zombies alone, so they chose the path of gathering influence which was safer and more efficient. This meant gathering information around the Survival Camp and deepening their relationship with the main characters, so the team decided to split up.

Shin, Hikari, and Aqua who had the best relationship with main characters were to meet up with them at the personal barracks of the Walking Dead Unit.

Shuai, Connor, and Drake were to explore the city to gather information from the refugees who would mostly likely hear the best secrets.

Jin planned to hang around the Takagi manor to think up plans. Kisara will stay with him to keep him safe and protect the human creations, alongside Grim Ash who returned from a night of hunting zombies alone just as the sun rose.

The three newbies woke up early in the morning, freaked out again, and put asleep curtsy of drugs from Sachi. Sachi then volunteered (Without discussion) said she would head out alone to spy. Some were worried about her moving alone, but as an assassin she worked best alone and could escape alone if she ran into any troubles without worry, and after changing out of her nurse outfit that stood out like a thumb she set off first without waiting for Shin's permission.

Shin: "... Let's ignore her. She was originally a top assassin before entering the realm and now she has enhancements and gear rivaling well enhanced Players. She'll be fine on her own. Anyways, we've made about one hundred or so points in our sleep thanks to Ash. I thought the number would be bigger, but yesterday we might have wiped out most of the zombies in the vicinity of the survival camp. We all have our objectives and the faster we can complete them the better our position will be during the mission. Hikari will keep us in constant contact with Soul Link. Okay, let's give it our all today!"

Afterward the team split up to complete their objectives. Shin, Hikari, and Aqua arrived at the barracks of the Walking Dead Unit. It was only a short twenty minute walk on foot, so they arrived in no time. Yesterday, when Shin had asked about them having their own barracks Saya who was nearby frowned. Apparently it was set up by her parents who wanted her nearby (Saya rarely liked to use her room in the manor) even when she goes out on adventures for when she comes back. Her mother even provided for her group subordinates to take care of the barracks for when they were away, and they could use them even as soldiers no questions asked. Shin and the others arrived at the barracks and saw men and woman of all ages wearing normal office wear running around in a hurry. They shouldn't have been a part of the main forces of Tokonosu City, but it really looked like no one was allowed to sit still when 3 million zombies were due to arrive in little over a week. They asked someone who looked the least busy to see where Takashi's group was. The man for but a moment glared at each one of them with furious fighting spirit, yet immediately recalling everyone were just told friends were coming by to see the Walking Dead Unit, he preceded to show Shin's group the way. Shin, Aqua, and Hikari followed behind him, yet they were no longer so carefree and watched their surroundings and noticed several eyes on them.

Shin: (I thought they were just staff Says's mother hired, but they are real tigers and dragons pretending to be sheep. The look like white collar workers, but each of them moves and looks around with caution. Just like us. Before we knew it we walked a certain way in case of sudden attacks and look at their surroundings to see where they are most vulnerable to attack and where they will have an advantage. I bet they think we came here with the wrong intentions approaching their heroes out of the blue. I bet someone with ill intent who came here not knowing better would disappear without a chance to meet the main characters, never to be seen again.)

The member of the Walking Dead Unit's staff lead the three to a garage and inside were the main characters. Takashi was lifting weights, bench pressing weights that should weigh almost as much as two car engine. Rei was in the middle of dissembling and reassembling her gun (While taking glances at Takashi from time to time. Die protagonist! (1)). Saeko was cleaning a katana reflecting a strange light with a handkerchief with extreme care (While taking glances at Takashi from time to time. Die protagonist... Ah, is this how others feel when they see me, huh? (2)). Saya was in a sitting position and was actually levitating while apparently meditating. Near a line of three black armored Humvees Kohta was immersed checking under the hood with a wrench in his hand and covered in oil. Shizuka-sensei with the aura of an air head was organizing a desk covered in medical tools. Lastly, Alice was playing together with the dog that was missing last time around when Shin and others first appeared in "H.O.T.D", Zeke, as she chased after him on a small mountain bike... with bloodstains on the tires.

Staff Member: "Captain Komuro! Your guest have arrived."

Takashi: "Shin, Aqua, and Hikari! Thanks for coming. Also, you, I told you that Takashi is just fine. I'm younger than you and I'm not even a part of the regular army. Just borrowing this space through connections to Saya's parents, so-"

Staff Member: "Nonesense! I could never do such a thing Captain! Your Tokonosu City's hero! You also personally saved my five-year-old niece from becoming the plaything of that venomous Snake King Hattori of Kyoto. You traveled all the way there for my families sake. I could never call my family's savor disrespectfully! I rather commit "kyodo senpaku"!"

Takashi: "..."

Not wanting to argue any further Takashi stopped his training and dismissed the officer. He then walked over to Shin, Hikari, and Aqua. Takashi excitedly greeted them since even after seeing each other the previous day, finding friends that you didn't know were alive or dead was a blessing in this apocalyptic world more than ever. The other main characters stopped what they were doing as well and joined in excitedly. Takashi and the others had their own share of partings and they traveled Japan, so they were genuinely happy to meet again despite only knowing each other for about two days. Shin, Hikari, and even Aqua oddly felt the same. The main characters of "H.O.T.D" were just supposed to be NPC to them, but after fighting together and running away together they saw Takashi and the others as true friends and comrades. Especially with the way when the main characters heard about the death of Misaki and genuinely felt sad. Shin knew that even his own parents didn't feel sad at his passing, so this meant a lot to him.

Takashi: "So what brings you here to Tokonosu City again? Did you come to help out when word of the zombie legion spread? If so we'll welcome you. We saw you all fight and I have to say that I'm impressed. Shin, you're firepower as a Spirit based Evolver may even be more powerful than my own."

Shin: "Spirit base Evolver? Ah, yeah, I guess that I'm so so confident with my firepower with magic (Can't tell the truth just yet), but I have more confidence in my close combat ability. I also just learned that spell recently, so-"

Saya: "You've just learned that spell!? Fire Bolt, was it? Never heard of it. The scale of damage aren't too different. Just a difference of natural elemental affinity, but the speed far surpassed Takashi's Devil Flame which he has leveled up more than once. I'm a full elemental with a variety of attack spells, but I don't have anything as fast as that lightning shaped flame spell of yours. Just where did-"

Saeko: "Saya, before or after the apocalypse, it isn't proper to ask how another raises his power so easy. These secrets may be worth killing for. Just like how famous swordsmiths won't share their secrets of tempering steel. Even we have powers we don't want to explain to others, right! Especially if it leaks to those who will be our enemies."

Saya: "Yeah, your right. Sorry for prying."

Shin: "It's fine. So-"

Aqua: "So don't worry about it. We exactly don't want to tell others, but if you seriously ask and are prepared to answer our own questions, we'll be more than happy to share our information. It's probably something we had to talk about since we can't go hiding our true powers when THEM get here."

Rei: "What kind of things do you want to know from us?"

Hikari: "Quite a few things, but we also want your assistance. Isn't that right Shin."

Shin: "That's correct. For reasons we can't explain yet, but we want to help you all fend off the 3 million legion of THEM. To do so we need influence and want your assistance, but before we get any deeper into this I want to say we won't be staying here more than fourteen more days. We don't wish to take over or anything of the sort. That's just troublesome. I'm sure you've seen others try to make use of you, so you may not like the fact were trying to use your influence to strengthen our own, but if you allow us to help we can not just strength Tokonosu City's military power, but other issues you must be facing. Well, at the very least I can look you all in the face and say we're sincere."

After discussing it with Jin before we departed this was one of the methods we thought of to gain influence. An exchange of items. Like what was repeatedly explained in the world of "God and Devil World" there were severe lacks of resources. Weapons and food being the most wanted items, and in God's Dimension such things were as plentiful as sea water when you had a house on the beach. It may cost some penalties for spoilers, but it was worth it to gain the influence we needed before the legion arrives with Team Kenya.

Kohta: "Honest or not, honestly after the apocalypse sounds just like lies."

Alice: "Uh, Alice heads hurt, but they're good guys right. Shin saved me too! If they want to help..."

Saya: "Alice, these are adult matters and so you can't be so naive. Even when dealing with your own best friend or family, you must consider the pros and cons, and whether the other party has a hidden agenda. Especially after the apocalypse... although I still want to believe in people too."

Rei: "I feel the same, so both Alice or Saya are not wrong. The ones in the wrong are those who purposely manipulate people when they are desperate."

Takashi: "...Shin, we're comrades. I still think so. It was only for two days, yet those two days were the beginning of this apocalypse, so I'll give you the chance to prove that it's still true, but if you're playing at something, for the sake of friendship... I'll let you walk away just this once. I don't take to liars and betrayals all that well!"

Takashi's eyes flashed with murderous intent for a brief second, but we all caught it and felt a cold sweat down out backs. I honestly believe my Team Japan could take Takashi's Walking Dead Unit in a fight, but there would certainly be casualties on our side if we were not careful. I noticed it when Takashi was fearlessly fighting the zombies yesterday, but his mentality if nothing else was far stronger than any member of Team Japan. Our actual war potential was higher, but he and possibly his comrades had developed a fighting spirit tempered through an untold number of battles without rest, unlike us who receive guaranteed ten days of peace after each mission and could even go on vacation for weeks and months if we desired to. Possibly, in a one on one fight with Takashi, if I don't resort to using my full power and go in with the intent to kill... I would be killed before I could do anything.

Shin: "Don't worry. I think more of my friends and comrades than to pull one other on them. That includes all of you all. To start with... Here. You can have these!"

Shin called out for his hidden dimensional item and as a light appeared around his waist and the normal plain belt he was wearing was replaced with his Dimensional Belt. This gained the attention of all the main characters, especially when he took out two items from a subspace. It looked similar to the subspace of Takashi's own subspace ring, but Shin's dimensional item looked far more cutting edge, especially with an ability to hide or replace itself with a everyday item. Takashi and Kohta were the ones who picked up the two items Shin took out. In Takashi's hands were two glass bottles and Kohta with zeal took a shotgun.

Takashi: "What are in the bottles. Pills? Medicine?"

Kohta: "And what so special this shotgun? Don't get me wrong it's a great model. An A.H. Fox HE Grade Shotgun. But if you're just selling weapons, I don't think you can tempt anyone unless you have a few thousand of-"

Shin: "Inside the bottles are pills of compressed food and solidified water. Take one of each and you'll be full. I can supply you with enough to solve your food problems for the next ten years."

Saya: "Oh my..."

Saya losing her composure ripped the bottles from Takashi's hands and hasty tested the pills. There was a slight taste of food left in her mouth. She had forgotten to eat breakfast today, yet now she no longer felt hungry or thirsty anymore. It was a miracle item that couldn't be given enough value even before the apocalypse. Such an item could cure world hunger! The pills were also small and compact and wouldn't take up too much space, making it excellent rations for the soldiers on the move as well. If Shin's group could produce ten years worth of these pills for the 100,000 refuges of Tokonosu City, no just three years worth, so many of their problems would be solved in a instant.

Shin: "I can't teach the manufacturing method, but I can supply you with ten years worth of these in the next few days."

Saya: "Shin.. just... just who are you!"

Shin: "Just a friend helping a friend out. Now as for the shotgun... Kohta, do you remember Aqua's gun that you just went crazy with back when we first met?"

Kohta: "Of course! The Barreta Auto 9! The same model used by Robo Cop! It also had infinite ammo and... it couldn't be..."

Shin: "Yes! That shotgun is infinite ammo. Also, the ammunition themselves are low grade magic bullets which can kill zombies even without head shots. I don't have a lot of these, but I can supply everyone here of the Walking Dead Until with-"

Kohta: "Infinite ammo magic bullets!"

Without giving anyone a chance to stop him, at the speed of light Kohta ran off with the shotgun over to a target practice post just outside the garage. He raised the shotgun at the target and fired the gun. He repeated the process again and again, yet even after five minutes of continuous fire he didn't have to reload the gun once, proving Shin's claim as true.

Shin: "You can keep at it all day, but you won't run out of bullets, but I would be careful of overheating. The metal and plastic parts will deform and explode if you keep firing without rest just like any other gun."

Kohta: "Takashi! Saya! Do everything that they say! Even if they ask us to burn down a city or two we should-"

Saya: "Shut up! You've been completely bought with that gun, so you can't be objective. Also, just how does an infinite ammo gun even work? Even Takashi's Stringer Pistol can only produce a few bullets per day. I've been curious since I saw Aqua's Auto 9 when the apocalypse began. Before the God and Devil System began."

Saya was the smart type and was obviously suspicious as she should have been, but Takashi stopped her from inquiring deeply into the matter. As the leader Takashi made the decision that the benefits of what Shin was offering weighed far more than the mysteries surrounding Shin's group. Also, there was no guarantee that Shin or anyone else in his group would reveal anything through interrogation. He saw that each one of them had been in Unlocked Mode when they were fighting the zombies the previous day, and so would be difficult to break those with strong spirits, especially in time before the legion of zombies arrive.

Shin: "We're also willing to teach the method of crafting magic bullets. With magic bullets you can deal additional damage to magic and supernatural creatures, including zombies and mutant beast (The latter is uncertain, but they don't need to know that). With normal zombies if you don't destroy the brain or sever the spinal cord, it could take over a hundred bullets to down one of THEM, but it's different from magic bullets. No more than 5-10 would kill one of THEM and their remains would burn to ashes. Its impressive and eco-friendly! With magic bullets the skill requirements for gunner to wipe out the THEM would be lowered. You could even arm a group of kids with handguns if the situation because dire enough to instantly create a fighting force that could stop their advance."

Takashi: "Wait wait wait! We get it already! We agree to help you. I actually don't even want you to leave now after the battle is over, but I'll take what I can get. What do you need for us to see all of these benefits you're offering?"

Shin: "Great, but for the moment we don't have any dire demands. First we need information about Tokonosu City's resources, manpower and power structure. Our strategist, the one with the wrinkled blue jacket and magic staff on his back, he needs this information to come up with a plan to deal with the legion of zombies. Second, we'll like to fight alongside you guys, the Walking Dead Unit when the upcoming battle begins. We'll reveal our reasons in the end, but it isn't wrong to say that we just want to fight with our comrades again rather than mix in with the regular army. Lastly, we want to meet Saya's father and mother, the leaders of Tokonosu City Survival Camp. It'll be inconvenient for us if we start making large moves within the city without consulting him. I'll rather get rid of the suspicions as soon as possible."

Saya: "Yeah, that's the right course of action. If we're doing this we'll need his permission and support. At the very least modifying our ammunition into magic bullets will mean shuffling around resources for the upcoming invasion. I'll talk to Mama and Papa later and have you and them meet to discuss the details. Takashi should probably sit in as well. I'll try to have you meet them tonight."

Shin: "Anytime soon is fine. I'm just glad for the meeting. Oh, I'll give you all infinite ammo guns with magic bullets as well. Even if we can't make this deal work I want to arm you. Even if it just increases your chances of survival just a bit."

Without hesitation I took out all the spare infinite ammo guns modified by Jin on a nearby table gaining the awe and amazement of the main characters. The guns that his team uses in battle and some spares were still kept in the Dimensional Belt, but Jin and I had bought so many from God that the team had extras that they weren't using. Jin was the one who suggested offering these weapons to the main characters as a sign of trust and cooperation, but for me it was definitely more than that. While the main characters were suspicious of us at first, I saw in their eyes hesitation. That they wanted to believe us, their comrades during the early days of the apocalypse, that we weren't out to trick them in a grab of power. This meant a lot for me to know we still had comrades out there after the deaths of so many good members of Team Japan like Zero, Saki, Kampa, Renji and Misaki. I probably should have acted with more caution and emotional distance from the main characters, but I couldn't help it.

Shin: "I'm glad that we can work together... Kohta. Do you want to try firing a sci-fi weapon? A Gauss Sniper Rifle."

Kohta: "hgshhsnsjjsggggaaaaaaaaa (Spasming out of control)! A real Gauss Sniper Rifle!"

Shin: "Infinite ammo. Sorry, but it doesn't have magic-"

Kohta: "Oh my god and goddess! I... We have a few modified Humvees in the corner of the garage. We've smelt the scales a few Type 3 Mutant Beast over the metal exterior and tires! Even the fireball of an H1 Zombie or the special attack of an L2 couldn't hope to leave a dent in its armor. I've even added a optional Gatling gun attachment to the hood of the Humvee, but it has to be manned by a living person. I'll give you one, our two spare modified Humvees. Just let me have, no borrow it. Just let me try it out even once!"

Rei: "He's just taking liberties here, isn't he? His eyes are also scary."

Alice: "Um, is this what they call selling one's body?"

Saya: "No exactly, but you're not too far off. Objectively we were just bought off with food and weapons. Also, don't talk about selling your body, brat!"

A little later.

Shin and Takashi began taking about a few of their experiences since the apocalypse. Shin couldn't talk about God's Dimension and had to be more vague than he liked to have been, but the struggles that he's endured could still be felt as Takashi listened. Then as Takashi spoke of some of his experiences, he revealed that he was now in a relationship with both Rei and Saeko. In the end he couldn't choose one over the other and just choosing one would create an atmosphere that could break up the team, so he had to confess to both.

Takashi: "It's rough I tell you, man. You can't call it a real harem with just two women, but it wears you down all the same. Especially when random women keep hitting on me and offering their bodies. It happens all the time because I'm powerful, decent looking, and kind (Go to hell protagonist). Even little girls go after me. Rei and Saeko, especially Rei run them off and get mad at me for no reason! The relationship does have its good points, but it's definitely tiring. Especially when they silently stare at each other or indirectly provoke the other."

Shin: "...I understand. I also built up a harem of my own. Hikari, Aqua and two other women. The swordsman Kisara and the normal looking girl who draws you in the more you look at her, Komaru. They get along great, but... Hey, you have only two women, so maybe you can help me out here. How do you... go about asking your woman to sleep all together? It's fine if you can only tell me how to start with threesomes and I can handle the rest from there."

Takashi: "...Sorry BROTHER. I've barely been allowed to just have sex with one of them at a time. I got cut off for a month for even lightly suggesting it... and two slaps in the face from women who can bench press 500 pounds with ease! BROTHER! How can I gain the respect from multiple women!"

Shin: "... MY COMRADE... I... that's what I want to ask as well! Damn it all! My love has definitely reached them, so why?! I even read that book I picked up from before, but... Fuck! It looks so easy in books and visual novels, but why don't they show just how harms work out!? I want to punch the me of the past who thought making a harem was easy!"

Takashi: "Maybe its just a illusion, BROTHER. I've done my research as well... but I think Managa, Anime, Games and the like... as impossible as it seems... have been lying to us."

With those words said, both Shin and Takashi both fell to the floor with a cloud of despair over their heads. Their women looked over the scene and could only sigh. It was just all too sad that in both a closed space environment and post-apocalypse, the two of them were the best choices among the available men.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Deltoren.

1\. (ED: Hey asshole you are a fucking protagonist.)

2\. (ED: Yep fucker and you are worse with fucking 4 chicks than your cousin back home)

The magic enchantment in the gun diferr from the what one writes on bullets and is more complex. That's why they can't be copy and pasted without deeper knowledge that Jin has,


	211. Chapter 211

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 11, H.O.T.D 2

Jin SL: (Nice! Everyone, thank you for the hard work! The path is clear and the mission is all but settled. We have just a few things to do, but it's nothing to worry about!)

In Team Japan's room within Saya's manor, Jin sat cross-legged on a bed littered with papers and speaking to the team scattered across Tokonosu City over Hikari's Soul Link. These papers were documents delivered to Team Japan in the afternoon by Saya of the Walking Dead Unit upon agreeing to work together to face the zombie legion. The documents on the bed told informed him of everything that he needed to know and more, so he was in a very good mood. In addition to these reports his comrades learned a few things that weren't included in the reports, or were just too top secret to risk leaving a paper trail.

◆ Shuai, Connor, and Drake - The three explored the city and learned many things. Upon the start of the apocalypse civilization fell extremely quickly and chaos took its place, but the efforts of the Walking Dead Unit and the Takagi faction, lead by Saya's parents, some form of order was restored through the combination of modern weaponry and the new God and Devil System. The survival camp they created grew in both population and territory as the army they formed wiped out the undead within the city, invading mutant beast, and took in civilian from both within and outside the city. The laws set up were strict, yet fair and although there was not much food the people felt safe and secure. Unfortunately, that was till the organization of the survival camp grew bigger through inviting former JSDF commanders, the 5 Military Heads, and the Mayor of the city who had gathered their own people and resources. This was a move to bring more stability, yet it did the opposite. The social order fell as most of the 5 Military Heads and the Mayor allowed crimes to go unpunished by those of their subordinates and people of privilege before the apocalypse for various reasons similar to the original "God and Devil World". The Takagi faction wouldn't stand for this and if not for the need of their power at times they would have gotten rid of them. It was now common knowledge that the the three powers within the city were not on good terms with each other.

◆ Shin, Hikari, and Aqua - After speaking to the main characters they learned a lot of Enhancers and Evolvers and how they become more powerful. Just like in the novel of "God and Devil World" consuming the cores of Mutant Beast, Essence Beads, small beads found inside the bodies of power Mutant Beast, one could raise one's stats greatly without leveling up. They lost their effects the more you consumed them, but Shin and the others thought that if they could acquire some then maybe they could increase their own stats. Also, Takashi and the other main character revealed a startling military secret about just how they all acquired the power of Unlocked Mode. Each member of the Walking Dead Unit including Alice has unlocked the Genetic Constraint. They saw how Team Japan was the same in this respect, so didn't hold back the method they used to do so.

◆ Sachi - Sachi had set off alone to do her own investigations. The documents that Jin received and what Drake and the other learned from talking to the people revealed the general idea of how everything was for them, but not the deep and darker secrets. Sachi first investigated the police who were corrupted save for those hired by Saya's parents like Rei's father the police commissioner of the city, which then lead her to a string of corrupt official and their families abusing their power. Things like sex slaves, prostitution, child prostitution, illegal gambling, hoarding of food and water, and torture of citizens picked up the street in the dark of the night (Hearing this remind Shin of the setting of Akame no Kill in a bad way). Saya's parents strictly forbade such actions and even deported or killed those who openly behaved with evil intent, so they did terrible thing in secret and were just waiting for the day the Takagi's reign came to an end. Sachi... dealt with quite a few of them, and leaving behind a few ruined houses she acquired information that not even the Walking Dead Unit or Saya's parents and their staff knew. Sachi had collected documents, names, plans and even dates confirming the plans for the three of the 5 Military Heads and the Mayor's treachery.

Jin SL: (This is great stuff! From Shuai's group we've confirmed that supplying food and water for everyone would win them over hands down. They are just looking to survive one day to the next and can barely think about what they will be doing next week, much less months in advance. They try, but things like hordes of zombies and mutant beast attacks stop them. Next time we call Drebin893, we'll buy enough goods to win everyone over. I can also think up a few more things we can exchange to gain even more influence. Just one point can get us 1 ton of gun power and the materials for the shells are even cheaper. Like 1/10, or 1/100 of a point. Tokonosu City Survival Camp has barely enough ammunition to fend off 3 million zombies according to the reports I was given and if something goes wrong which they probably will with the intervention of Team Kenya, what they have won't be enough, so they might like this. Also it impossible to grow edible food after the apocalypse began. The seeds are unable to germinate. There are probably some seeds in God's exchanges that can grow even on wasteland planets in space without oxygen. They don't give us an edge in combat, so such life-saving seeds for the people of this world might not even cost ten points for a bag. Next, from Sachi we learned the dreaded plan of the Mayor and three of the 5 Military Heads. A secret plan to revolt immediately after the threat of the zombie legion is neutralized. I'm sure Saya's father would like to know of this treacherous plan when we meet him. Lastly, our leader and his group discovered a treasure of immense importance and possible a big Bonus Mission! The location of fruit that can turn Enhancer into Evolvers, but more importantly unlocks the Genetic Constraint! Takashi's Walking Dead Unit discovered on one of their adventures a tree deep within a Mutant Beast infested forest a fifteen-day drive outside the city. The main characters fought a hard battle feeling a high level Type 3 Mutant Beast wanting to protect something, and they desired it and won. Rei, Saya, Kohta, Shizuka-sensei and Alice ate a very unripe fruit and became both Evolvers and gained access First Stage. Takashi and Saeko ate an almost ripened fruit and they became Dual Evolvers and unlocked the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint. This was a military treasure which could create an army of Evolvers, but after the main characters had left... the forest grew larger and more mutant beast occupied the forest. They told the benefits to Saya's father and tried to claim it and he gave them three battalions worth of soldiers, but powerful Type 3 Mutant Beast in the dozens held the armies at bay. There were even sightings of a Type 4 Mutant Beast that was level 100 among them. This made it impossible for the main characters even with the assistance of the military to claim this treasure as their own, but it shouldn't be impossible for us. Shin, everyone, we need to find this tree and bring back it's fruit! The main characters only lost consciousness for a few days with a severe fever, and afterward they were reborn Evolvers who have unlocked the constraints. Allowing Newbies to consume this fruit increases their survivability and usefulness to the team. It also has benefits to us. It's a shame the tree is so far away and infested with high-level Mutant Beasts, when we need to already prepare for a zombie invasion in the millions. If we can obtain the ripened fruit before Team Kenya arrives the balance of power between our teams may even reverse. A team of Players of the Second Stage can definitely wipe Team Kenya! I'm also curious about the fully matured fruit. Maybe it could even unlock the Third Stage, or serves some other purpose... but we can't obtain this fruit without abandoning the main mission and the city won't lend us military forces at this time and nor will the main characters agree to come with us to get the fruit. I'll explain more later, so everyone can come back for now. I've finished my analysis of both the mission, the enemy's power, and what we'll be doing from now on.)

Late in the evening, Team Japan regrouped back at the manor. Shin, Hikari, Aqua, Shuai, Connor, Kisara, Sachi and Drake were standing around Jin waiting for him to start, but first their leader asked a question.

Shin: "So what is it that you have to say? Also, what did you mean before that mission is all but settled? The battle hasn't even begun and the other Team hasn't arrived yet. What are you scheming?"

Jin: "...Nothing much, and I meant what I said. The mission is all but settled. Long as our plans to gain influence succeeds our chances of survival will be over 90%. What we will do and what we've already done will allow us to safely pass God's trials for us. I'll get more into that later, but for now I'll like to start with my analysis of the God and Devil System."

Aqua: "Go on then... but is this going to be like when Shin went on and on for hours about Chinese Web Novelsqmand the contras between Japanese Web Novels?"

Shin: "It wasn't that bad."

Hikari: "It was that bad! I now actually have an interest to read the novels, you damn otaku!"

Jin: "Hahaha! As always this team is too interesting. Now, let me begin with the God and Devil System of this world. According to what I've seen and heard from Shin, the system is an easier, yet inferior system to God's."

Shin: "Really?"

Jin: "Yes. First are stats. For us the average of a normal human is 100, but here it's 10, so the conversation is 1 stat point in G&D System is 10 in the God's exchange system. What those like Takashi and others have going for them is the ability to level up to increase stats more frequently than us, who have to go through so many challenges just to get a few points and rewards. It's especially easier on Evolvers. Both Enhancers and Evolvers can also collect passive skills and essence beads to increase stats. There are also skills to temporarily increase stats as well, so most enhancers, especially Evolvers may be stronger than us physically, yet they won't have energy like Ki or Mana to strengthen themselves with."

Drake: "So anyone not Shin or Aqua should avoid a fist fight with anyone especially strong, but long as we use our powers correctly we should be okay."

Sachi: "Not quite. Its my opinion that we should stick to surprise attacks. I think we'll do better against armed group of Enhancers when they don't know we are coming. We lack the training and numbers to take out an armed organization by ourselves. We're more monster hunters than killers of men in large battles, so unless our power is so great we can discard the threat of bullets, snipers, and bombs we shouldn't fight an organized army straight up without a plan. We might manage if we go all out and recklessly defeat the enemy as fast as possible and coordinate the attack with Psyche Force Scan and Soul Link..."

Shuai: "Wait! Why are we talking about attacking humans right now?"

Jin: "Haha, well get to that soon enough. Next about this world's system is that it's far easier to acquire weapons, items, skill, and armor than God's reward equals danger system. You just have to go out and kill monsters and items will "Drop" sooner or later, especially during the early days of the apocalypse, but the options from God are vastly more superior in quantity and quality. Armed with just a C tier Sci-fi gun like the EMP Rifle with infinite ammo, Aqua can kill at least 100,000 zombies all by herself before it overheats from continuous fire. A single B tier magic weapon can kill just about any boss monster under level 100 to my knowledge."

Hikari: "Is it that simple?"

Jin: "No, but for Shin or Aqua it would be with their enhancements and the Unlocked Mode on top of it all. Now that brings us to the next and final subject. Combat potential. Out Unlocked Mode is superior to it counterpart in this world, Evolvers, by a few tiers. While Evolvers are called geniuses as they gain more stats easier and learn things quicker, like former housewife learning to use a sniper rifle in no time at all, unlocking the genetic constraint is superior. There's the danger of the recoil at first, but afterward you gain impressive power and combat insight that Evolvers just can't compete with. Even a normal human who only reached the First Stage can possibly kill someone with ten times their stats under the right conditions. To simplify it, all of us here can create a miracle when facing an opponent greater than us, but Evolvers are more suited for dominating over their fellow man."

Shin thought about what Jin said about their combat potential and couldn't deny it. It is a reoccurring theme in "God and Devil World" where Yue Zhong would take out his gun and shoot someone in the head, normal person, high-level enhancer, or otherwise without any resistance even if they had high stats and combat experience. This wouldn't happen to them as Unlocked Mode increases their perception of danger, give them combat instincts, along with increased physical and mental abilities. Any one of them could dodge that bullet aimed at their heads or block it with a weapon or if they were desperate with a part of their body, yet the people here can't, and that's due to them not having an Unlocked Mode to bring out their full combat potential.

Jin: "That's enough about the system and move on to our Side Quest. The 1 point for every 1000 zombies. God is trying to tell us with this unbalanced believes we can't evolve further by facing normal zombies even in large armies. Team Japan has reached a level of power that we could wipe even 10,000,000 zombies alone if given 2 weeks and that there were no evolved zombies, but at the very least God acknowledges the threat of millions coming to attack at once, so it made it 1 point for every member per 1000 killed. If we ever get a third mission in "H.O.T.D" I doubt God will give us points for killing normal zombies the next time around. It will be unlikely that we can kill the majority of the zombies to gain the full 3000 Points each and it isn't worth calling Drebin893 for a few tactical nukes. The kind of weapons needed to kill off this legion of zombies in one blast would cost tens of thousands of points and high level rank rewards, not that he sells those items requiring rank rewards. We won't make up for the cost of buying them, so let's give up the idea."

Aqua: "No one here except you would be crazy enough to consider killing 3 million zombies, so you don't have to worry."

Shuai: "But shouldn't we worry about what's going on in our strategist's head?"

Shin: "There would be no end to it if we do, so don't bother. Jin, continue."

Jin: " Okay (Ignoring the insults). Next is the threat level of the evolved zombies. For us it's not cost efficient to target the normal zombies, so the evolved zombie be our main targets. From what's Shin has told me they're stronger than the ones that appeared in "God and Devil World", but are still manageable for us. Also this mission is one where we can acquire a lot of points all around, so our goal is farming gold, no I mean points. The first stage of evolved monster, L1 and S1 zombies are a threat to the common man and low-level Evolvers, but not to us, so it's just 1 point, but with the possibility of a large number of them attacking they could be a good target for farm points with Aqua's EMP Rifle and Connor's high powered Triggers. The second stage of evolved zombies; L2, S2, H1, and Hunter Type 1. We haven't encountered Hunters just yet, but I imagine like the others they can give trouble to those lacking good gear or those of them who had not unlocked the Genetic Constraint. They are 10 points per kill, so they are a target for us to farm, especially in large numbers. The third stage of evolved zombies. L3, S3, Hunter Type 2 zombies. Each one of them rewards 500 Points and D rank reward to every member of the team. They're are our ultimate prizes in this mission! I suspect that there won't be too many of these for us to kill, but we should be especially careful. They are enemies that reward fifty times the points than the second stage evolved zombie along with a D rank reward to every member. Their power will definitely surpasses what was shown in the original "God and Devil World". Shuai only killed one by blind luck yesterday."

Connor: "How strong?

Shin: "I would think strong enough to push either me or Aqua to death. So powerful that even if I went all out I could still lose if I'm not careful. I've talked to Takashi and he said the Walking Dead Unit once killed an L3 and S3 about a month ago. The punch of an L3 blew away a tank into the horizon and they could jump over 300 meters to move from place to place. I suspect the monster digging tunnels was a L3. The L3 also possesses armor like skin to brush off a bombardment of rocket launchers and even his Devil Flame couldn't leave a burn mark on it. Takashi said he and the rest of his team took almost a full hour to break open its armor. Maybe the EMP Rifle or Connor won't be able to instant kill it. As for S3... they might as well be phantoms with how fast they could move. He and his team are powerful Evolvers over level 40, Takashi breaking level 50, but an S3 was still just a blur in their eyes. They only killed it by leading it to a nearby minefield. They also have incredible instincts, so Connor can't snipe one unless on of us get it to stop moving. Also, although Z command types were not listed in the mission they were still dangerous as well if they were to appear. The main characters once approached one with a group of soldiers and a Z2 sent out a mental attack that crippled the minds of everyone other than themselves. Takashi and the other main characters haven't come across the next stage of Hunter type, so we have nothing to go on, but from the novels I've read they should be close to speed to the S3, but more cunning and can spit up acid that can melt any modern fortification. The acid attack should be avoided at all cost."

As Shin went over the danger the zombie's elite forces presented, yet was confused about one thing. Who was leading the approaching zombie legion? Looking at the story of "God and Devil World" it should obvious be a Z type control zombie like a Z1 or Z2 zombie. Shin hadn't read so far into the story to know how smart and cunning a possible Z3 Zombie could be or how many zombies could it control, but it didn't seem to add up. Whoever was controlling the zombies took actions illogical for a zombie. Even for a command type. It tried to study Shin, and his team's ability, and even ordered the zombies to take action to against his team to lengths impossible for an intelligent, but still simple minded zombie.

Shin: (Could it a mutation of a Z type zombie? A plot change by God? If so it isn't listed in the information on our Player Watches... could it be a Hidden Side Quest or Bonus Mission? It could be a chance to acquire more points and rewards... but it's impossible for us. If this mutant Z type is leading the legion of zombies he'll hide himself among its 3 million followers and escape amongst them if he thinks that he has lost. Team Kenya may also protect this zombie as well. We aren't in a position to take the risk, so it's best to give it up for now.)

As Shin was considering about a potential Bonus Mission Jin moved to the same subject as well.

Jin: "Now Bonus Mission if we ever decide to come back and do missions here for points and rewards. Clearing a city to gain access to the Newbie Village, a D-DD tier mission which is low as we can borrow the power of the this city's army and main characters if we do it right. Recapturing the capital for the main city, Tokyo, C-CC tier mission. Reestablishing control of Japan, B-A tier. I've read "H.O.T.D" and I remembered that Saeko's father went away oversees. Trying to find him might lead to something. If he left to reach swordsmanship he may have gone to China, Taiwan, Korea or maybe even India. Well have to ask her. Lastly and most likely a big Bonus Mission would be making contact with the protagonist of "God and Devil World", Yue Zhong!"

Shin: "Yue Zhong? You mean he's here in this world?"

Aqua: "It would make sense since this is a Cross Series and we've confirmed the God and Devil System. It would be odd if he weren't involved somehow, so how do you for certain he's in this world, Jin? This isn't just a guess, right?"

Jin: "Yes. It was in the documents I received from a person matching his description. Tokonosu City Survival Camp once tried asking for overseas aid. It never panned out, but they received a report from the Japanese consultant in China before it was overrun with Zombies. About a warlord gaining influence in China who's a powerful Evolver who fights alongside a Skeleton Demon. This should be Yue Zhong! Meeting or defeating him will definitely lead to something big! I have a few other ideas as-"

Shin: "Stop talking about thing way, way into the future! I don't mind going on and on when I talk, but when others do it it just sounds like an info dump. Let talk about what we will be doing now. You said that the mission is basically cleared. Why? We haven't done anything just yet. We also haven't fought the legion of zombies yet either."

Jin: "Let me answer your question with a question. To win wars do you leave it up to fate and hope for the best?"

Shin: "...I'm guessing no."

Aqua: "No would be right Shin. I'm not good at looking at the larger picture, but I was still in the Marines, so I know a thing or two. And what I learned is that preparations are what win wars. Government or any organization don't want to wage a war that they could lose, so they prepare and calculate their chances of victory beforehand. Ideally, they only want to invest the manpower and resources into a war win they are 100% sure of victory. 100% is impossible, but something close to it and if it's less than 50% they would want to avoid war at all cost if possible. We teams of God's Dimension from different nations are made to fight battles where we could be wiped quite easily and sometimes we have to take risks and not know if we can win, but when an organization starts engaging in battles like us it means there's something fundamentally wrong."

Jin: "Aqua is right. When fighting a war you want to make sure you've prepared for everything and that you will win. That's what we have done, or will do."

Drake: "I'm lost."

Jin: "What I'm saying is that we've made all the moves necessary to acquire victory in this mission. The first move we made was thanks to our very own Shuai."

Shuai: "Me?"

Jin: "Yes. You and Gnome to be exact. The two of you identified the hidden tunnels underneath Tokonosu City Survival Camp. If we had not noticed them in time, this would have been the biggest threat to us during the mission set up by God. The city will come under attack. One would normally think the only threat to the city would be the invading zombie legion, but that's too simple and nice considering the personality of God. Like in HxH Greed Island, God gave us 90 days to complete the mission, but not completing it before Team Germany arrived on day 61 pushed us into a corner when Bomber killed all the clans for their cards and threatened us. Team Germany appeared just then as well, so we were put in a passive position in spite of having a whole month left in the mission. God would have probably summoned Team Germany for the final chase no matter what, but my point still stands."

Sachi: "So the tunnels were the trap this time! If we never noticed the tunnels in time possibly thousands or hundreds of thousands THEM would have burst out of the ground when we were fighting the legion and Team Kenya, and if by some miracle we were able to stop THEM coming from underground..."

Hikari: "We would have failed the mission or at least lost most of the citizens of the city. Perhaps they would have appeared behind the army as well and destroy any defenses we set up. It would be the end of us."

Jin: "Of course. As the team to appear first we were given a chance to prepare the most and obtain influence of the NPCs of the world. That's the human side. THEM, they seem more frightening, but long as the human side has enough weapons, ammunition, and we handle the evolved zombies correctly the battle will be our victory. The only variable is Team Kenya, but if we exclude them, no even if you exclude us and the plot changes from God, this battle would favor the human side even if at a high cost of resources. Tokonosu City Survival Camp has a 90% chance of victory long as the human side is... united."

Shin: "Okay, but what other preparations have we made that guarantees victory for us?"

Jin: "Ah, that's simple. Magic Bullets! The moment we introduce Tokonosu Survival Camp the method to craft magic bullets it's all but over for the other side. Even with the lowest grade magic bullets, the human side will obtain a weapon extremely lethal to THEM and will cut down expended ammunition by a factor of ten. That was why Saya Takagi was so startled by the concept of magic bullets will have on the battlefield. If you don't have the skill with a gun to get consecutive head shots then you're going to waste a lot of ammunition to kill just one of THEM. Possible 20-100 bullets, and I'm excluding all the bullets which miss the target completely. Like you told the main characters Shin, you could just give guns to little kids with no training and wipe out thousands of zombies. Magic Bullets need to be crafted by carving a Rune Word of the shell casings, but the lowest grade magic bullets are very simple to make. Any of you could do it just by me showing you once. It's that's simple, so once mass production begins and every soldier has a gun loaded with low-grade magic bullets... Hahah! We could even take on a legion of 10 million THEM with room to spare!"

Shin: "I see. Pretty genius of you. Also, unlike a normal army we have Enhancers and Evolvers who can fight at close range to save bullets. Long as we keep the evolve zombies in check we will definitely win! Jin, you're surprisingly useful evert now and again."

Jin: "Hahahha... Just every now and again? That more than what I thought? But Shin, it's not that I'm smart, but that I, we all identified the problems we needed to face and found solutions. While not every challenge we come across in these missions will allow us the time to prepare, when we can we should do so like now. I'm not exaggerating when I say we've cleared the mission. Locating the tunnels in time and introducing the foreign element of this message world, magic bullets, we've successful completed the challenges that God has thrown at us. We just need to make sure our plan to strengthen the city works. Gain our influence to act as we please and prepare for the only unknown variable. Team Kenya. The same variable which will allow Tokonosu City Survival Camp to withstand the enemy invasion with minimal risk. Team Japan has won the team battle before it's even begun!"

Jin said so with extreme zeal in his voice and a hint of madness in his eyes. His confidence was scary, but Team Japan knew that it'll be Team Kenya and the zombie legion who will be frightened to death.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Deltoren.


	212. Chapter 212

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 12, H.O.T.D 2

From the other side of the door of Team Japan's room.

\- *KNOCK*!

Female Manor Staff: "Excuse me dear guest. I'm here to inform you that Master Takagi and his wife are ready to see you at this time. We ask that just your leader follow me to meet them."

Shin: "Just me? Alright. I'll be right out. I'll be back everyone. Try not to miss me too much, but I know that's-."

Aqua: "I won't have to try."

Shin: "..."

Kisara: "I'll miss you."

Hikari: "Kisara, if your not just being a kiss ass, but are really a naturally devoted woman then I can only say that you were truly fortunate to meet a barley somewhat decent man like Shin. You differently would have ended up a tragic heroine if it was anyone else."

Kisara: "I think Shin is more than decent and is an exemplary man for his faults (Faults?)... second wife."

Hikari: "I told not to call me second wife, peerless sword bitch!"

Kisara: "..."

Hikari: "..."

Aqua: "Shin, you're a terrible man."

Shin: "Why are you putting this on... Never mind. I'm going."

Shin with a sigh and fear in his heart for staying a second longer opened the door and left with the staff member, but not before giving Hikari a meaningful look before leaving. Hikari understood what this meant (I was sad she didn't pause to think I was charming her with just my eyes) and she connected her mind with his with Soul Link. In addition, she opened up her Psyche Force Scan and observe the entire manor and the surrounding area. Hikari also summoned her Persona Adrasteia after the door was closed for greater detailed scans relaying them to Shin.

Hikari SL: (I've scanned the area and I've not found anything outright suspicious. I've marked a few people yellow on the scans who are wary of us, but I don't sense any hostility towards you or any of us. Just like the last time I've scanned. The main characters Takashi and Saya are here as well and is waiting in a room with two others who've I've already identified as Saya's parents, Souichiro Takagi and Yuriko Takagi. They match the description you've given me and I've already taken the liberty to memorize their mental wavelengths so I can find them anytime within the range of my scans. The staff member is leading you through the manor towards them, so this isn't likely a trap.)

Shin SL: (Good. Keep me connected with Soul Link in case anything goes wrong. Also send everything that I'm seeing to Aqua and Jin. Aqua can give me advice on how to deal with people in power since she was in the Marines and this is Jin's plan to gain influence, so I'm not letting him leave the negotiations solely to me and just sit back and wait. Hikari, tell everyone that if shit hits the fans and we need to split... don't hold back and use everything you have to escape. Destroy all the vehicles we come across and we'll escape with the Humvee Takashi's group gave us waiting out back. You can kill anyone other than the main characters and Saya's parents without question. Attacking them requires my authorization.)

Shin gave this final warning before being lead into a conference room by the female staff member. Hikari's scans already told him who was inside, but having two of the four inside being Saya's parents, who were important people who vital to Team Japan's plans... he was a bit nervous to say the least. Social skills were definitely not one of the strengths of an otaku who lived in the world of fantasy in his room for most of his life and all of his growth as a person since entering God's Dimension have just been as a fighter and still growing leader. Shin could about make friends and close relations with just about anyone given time... but he couldn't help but think the Suspension Bridge Effect and Closed Circles played more of a small part in increasing his success rate.

Shin SL: (I'll feel more comfortable fighting Btooom Lord Ryuta again than this. Team Japan needs a lawyer for times like this. Jin's smart and I'm okay at making friends, but we need someone who can go tooth and nails for these types of negotiations. In the future we may not he so fortunate as to be the savors and close comrades of our allies only daughter, and have the recommendation of a hero like Takashi.)

Hikari SL: (Suck it up otaku! Being an adult means doing things like this. Grow up already and have an adult talk about how to exterminate the approaching 3 million legions of zombies and how you can implement some reforms to better the lives of a refugee camp in the apocalypse... Normal adult talks.)

Shin SL: (Like hell that is normal! What kind of scary adult conversation is this!?)

Jin SL: (Sorry to interrupt, but I'm just reminding you not to just offer just magic bullets and food and water. The seeds which can grow anywhere, intel on those planning to overthrow the Takagi's, and... how about giving him one of our spare Antidotes for zombification . The more we offer the better our influence will grow.)

Shin SL: (Fine fine fine! I'm doing my best to look confident here, so don't speak up unless it's important.)

As Shin entered the conference room doing his best to look confident he eyed all the people in the room before being lead where to sit down around a table. To his right were the main characters Takashi and Saya. The two of them gave a light greeting as he entered the room and didn't look nervous in the least, or were just hiding it better than him due to experience. In the Manga and Anime Takashi admitted that he was too intimidated by Saya's wealth and status to ever come over to her home or meet her parents, and as for Saya she as well couldn't remain calm when dealing with her parents who she saw as perfect and honorable to a fault. Maybe that has changed and they can stand in the same space as them. Compared to the apocalypse what are just two intimidating parents?

Shin: (But this is my first time meeting you, so I wish you would stop exuding such a fierce aura, Saya's father! I'm not aiming to complete her route in this play through!)

Shin now glanced to his left and then straight ahead.

Sitting to his left was Saya's mother, Yuriko Takagi. Yuriko has long, light purple hair and eyes of matching color. She wears her hair down and has it much shorter in the front and pushed to either side of her face. She has a slender figure and dresses in a style which resembles the typical aristocratic attire which consists of a thin red dress, a white cloth wrapped around her arms and mid to lower body, and a silver necklace with a small charm on the front and lipstick. She is Saya Takagi's mother and the wife of Souichiro Takagi. It is indicated by Saya that Yuriko is also a genius, and she is where Saya gets her intelligence from. Yuriko was once a Wall Street stockbroker, and she later married Souichiro Takagi after she was impressed with his charisma and political skills. She acquired a large fortune while trading stocks, and thanks to her business connections, the Takagi family fortune rose significantly when she married Souichiro. She is very faithful to her husband and loves her daughter very much. She is also very skilled with guns since she had the training to protect herself from muggers in New York.

Then sitting in a chair directly in front of Shin across the table was Saya's father and Supreme Commander of Tokonosu City Survival Camp, Souichiro Takagi. He is tall and intimidating with the gaze of a predatory animal. Saya inherited his eyes as they have same eye color and he has jet black hair. In the original plot Souichiro Takagi was the Don of the Tokonosu prefecture's ultra-nationalist organization and is a very wealthy man. Souichiro is also the father of Saya Takagi and husband of Yuriko Takagi. He is a strong leader, even after the outbreak, and he will do whatever he can to keep Japanese society from collapsing. His leadership skills are unyielding, and he serves as an example for Takashi Komuro while the group is at the Takagi house. He truly wants what is best for the city, shown by his decision to take responsibility for the water and electricity, but he has a hard time conveying this to the people since they are strongly opposed to his political views. His views were not wrong, but hard to accept for normal civilians just right after the apocalypse began.

Shin: "..."

There was a tense atmosphere in the air mainly because of the intense aura exuded Saya's father, but the rest was due to the main issues of this meeting. Shin and his group claim to be able to teach them a method on how to craft magic bullets to strengthen the armies power and supply the city with enough food and water in pill form to solve their food issues for a long time. This was not a small matter that they were about to discuss, and it was Saya who opened the floor for the discussion. She had Takashi take out of his dimensional ring infinite ammo guns with magic enchantment and the glass containers of solidified water and condensed food. Saya then once more went over the obvious about their benefits and explained in precise numbers and such on how Tokonosu City's lively hood and defenses will skyrocket.

Sitting there Shin was overwhelmed by the official office style presentation Saya had begun (She even took out pie charts!), but he could imagine that this was all done the sake of the cooperation with Team Japan. Saya was a text book tsundere character, so she would act seriously as a front but deep down was a soft girl, and she didn't want her own parents to they and take advantage of someone she considered a comrade and who had helped her friends survive the early days of the apocalypse. That's why Saya laid it all out in the open how much benefit the city will receive and how low the cost will be.

Saya: "Long as Shin teaches us the method to craft magic bullets and isn't a lengthy process we can change out our ammunition for magic bullets before the zombie legion arrives. Even if it is lengthy we can recruit from the refugees and offer then food in exchange for hard labor. Food and water will be their reward and it will help keep them healthy and strong. We may even be able to Draft a few thousand good men and women to fight in the upcoming battle without using force to lower moral. If Shin is willing to supply the food for the effort we'll have no problems recruiting helpers. We can even use the food to have refugees work hard to help build fortifications where we plan to face the enemy... and I should state here that it's impossible to preceed without Shin's assistance. I've personally gone over the infinite ammo guns which fire magic bullets and I'm at a complete loss on how it works. I did try to replicate the symbols which I can only assume to be magic symbols, but I could never build my own. We need Shin's assistance at all cost if we desire this power."

Mrs. Takagi: "I see. Then Shin, can you provide the food and water immediately? Also, just how long will it take to craft magic bullets? Are there any special requirements as well that you will need assistance with? Time is of the essence after all."

Shin: "It won't take long. I can call for the food and water at any time. As for the magic bullets making them isn't complicated. You can even have small kids make them as a hobby or class assignment... but before I do either I need to confirm a few things first."

Mrs. Takagi: "...And what would that be if I may ask?"

Shin: "First is trust. Do I have it? If not then our cooperation won't go anywhere and I should just go. I'm a friend and comrade to Takashi and Saya, so they are willing to take a leap of faith for me despite my group coming out of nowhere like some suspicious character trying to con them. We, you and your husband, don't have such a splendid relationship. You might try to rip me off out of fear of me doing the same thing to you."

Mrs. Takagi: "That's just how life is for adults. And so, how can we gain your trust?"

Shin: "I just need to hear it from you for one. To raise a honest and bright child like Saya and from what I've heard around the city, the two of you are respectable human beings with a sense of responsibility and honor. You won't betray someone who comes to you out of goodwill, but you may do so if you don't fully trust them and more than expect them to do you harm. It more than well known of your dissatisfaction of allowing the 5 Military Heads and the Mayor to join your Tokonosu City survival camp and retain their power which is now used for evil. I'm here out of both goodwill and a bit of self-interest, but my interest is just wiping out the zombie legion and protecting the city. Just saying that you will work together with my group is good enough for one of my conditions."

As Shin said this he felt a power glare directed at him. Souichiro Takagi who was staring daggers into him and had remained quite thus far and left the negotiations to his wife finally seemed willing to talk.

Mr. Takagi: "...Very well. You're right about in that we meet goodwill with goodwill... and malice with even greater malice. Even if you have a hidden agenda, it doesn't seem to be our downfall, or a permanent place in my organization. What you're offering is too good to pass up. You're also a friend of my daughter who helped her survive the beginning of the apocalypse as well when I was not there for her. We'll work together to repel the zombie legion and if there's anything you need during your stay just ask and you'll have it. Now, what's this other condition for us to show our sincerity?"

Now came the difficult part. Shin didn't know exactly how Souichiro Takagi, his wife or the others will react to this request, but resolving himself for better or worse he took documents from his Na Ring that Sachi had gathered earlier today and passed them around the table for everyone to see. The plan Jin thought up was to show everyone proof of a conspiracy of the Mayor and three of the Five Heads of Military to take down the Takagi faction. Gaining their trust and getting rid of bad elements within Tokonosu City Survival Camp was Team Japan's ultimate goal right now. Jin said that if they knew about rebellion already then this wouldn't provoke a reaction, but of they didn't know of it, or suspected that they were planning to immediately take action against them after the zombie legion is repelled, then-)

Shin: (We can demand that the Takagi faction to take action to purge the distrustful elements of Tokonosu City. This reminds me of what happened in Yue Zhong's second major battle against the zombies when he entered an alliance with another organization, a city like Tokonosu City Survival Camp to fend off against 2 million Zombies lead by a Z2 Zombie. They worked together well enough the first day and almost wiped out half of the zombies, but the endless waves of undead monsters were draining all of their resources and manpower. The endless waves of fearless undead also began to break their spirits. Of course, they would have won in the end if they kept fighting, but for some of the military leaders the feared the this endless army and what would become of their own power afterwards once spent dealing with THEM, which drove them bat shit crazy. Two major military leaders abandoned the effort to fight the zombies which left a large hole in the human side's defense causing the entire military effort to collapse. Also another person of power went retarded and started a civil war in an effort to grab power despite knowing that over a million zombies were on their way and that they had to abandon their city and merge with Yue Zhong's organization. The man wouldn't accept losing his position, so he killed the mayor who sided with Yue Zhong, assassinated others, and dared to try to unite everyone to protect a city that was already lost.)

Shin couldn't help but think that the same thing could happen to Tokonosu City's efforts to repel the zombies. To repel the 3 million zombies the Supreme Commander Takagi, the Five Heads of Military, and the Mayor must pool in their resources and manpower to defend themselves. Anything less will make defending the city harder, if not impossible... but it was unlikely everyone could work together. If something unexpected happens or the situation become disadvantageous to the Mayor or the heads of the military he's conspiring with, they won't hesitate to run away or back stab the Supreme Commander during the battle rather than afterwards. This was unacceptable for Shin and Team Japan who were aiming to gain influence in this world through the main characters and Saya's parents.

Shin: "These documents here should make it clear what my final condition is. Mr and Mrs Takagi. Use the time we have left to purge those traitors from Tokonosu City Survival Camp! Kill the Mayor and the three heads of military working along side him! I won't trust my back or the back of my comrades with filth like them nearby. Kill them, their direct subordinates who support them and share their evil ways, and absorb the majority of their military might. Long as it's done correctly the city will still have more than enough power to fend the legion of THEM."

Takashi: "Wait, kill them all!? I want to do that as well, right now even, but there was a reason that none of us have done so. Tokonosu City grew too big too and fast. We needed the Five Heads of Military and the disgusting Mayor for the sake of running things. We can absorb their forces sure, but we won't have a capable staff to manage over a 100,000 population. There was also the issue of food and water before which they-"

Shin: "Then they don't matter anymore. You'll have to train new staff yourselves, but I can help you maintain order. I'm providing you with tools that are effective against zombies and mutant beast. I'm also providing food and water, but if that's not enough I'll sweeten the deal. I can provide seeds which can grow under the harsh conditions of the apocalypse. With these seeds you can farm and create jobs to simulate the community. I can also hand over a cure for the zombie infection as well, so the fear towards zombies will lessen and more civilians will be willing to become soldiers and fight the zombies. If even that's not enough I'll use my own group to help you kill the Mayor and the three of the 5 Military Heads backing him."

Mrs. Takagi: "Oh my... Just who are-"

Mr. Takagi: "Enough!"

With a powerful and masculine voice Saya's father spoke up as his wife lost her cool at Shin's many revelations. He then eyed Shin for a few seconds that seemed like hours and finally spoke.

Mr. Takagi: "We agree with your proposal for a purge to gain your cooperation. No, we have to if we want your cooperation. If we begin crafting magic bullets in mass and word of a influx of food gets around the Mayor and the Five Heads of Military will surely make a move. With the effectiveness of magic bullets as you and my daughter have described, they might not even need me anymore, or just think that they don't blinded by their greed and power. The things that your offering will cause a rift in Tokonosu City and if not handled correctly it'll lead to a civil war even before the undead legion arrives. I was also aware of a plot against me, but your reports fill in the blanks of my own investigations. Hahah! Impressive when you haven't even been here more than a day, young man! They will be gotten rid of without fail! I've decided that long ago despite them being somewhat capable, but their unjust actions have pass my threshold to accept even when law and order are all but nonexistent, and... they've even targeted my own daughter and her friends who are a valuable ally to mankind's counter attack against the apocalypse brought about by the Saint. Those fiends will die a thousand deaths if for nothing else than targeting Saya!"

Saya: "Papa... Why only at times like this you show your fatherly side?"

Mrs. Takagi: "Now now. You're father's an awkward man. Do you know how long it took me to win him over this righteous and stubborn man?"

Shin: "You must have had it rough. A man should be the one to pursue a good woman like you, though I bet the other way would be nice."

Takashi: "I agree. Saya needs to be more honest with herself like her mother."

Saya: "Are you badmouthing me!? The romantic opinions of harem bastards like you two can't be taken at face value!"

Mr. Takashi: "*CLEARING THROAT*! Getting back on topic we'll purge the vermin from this city. Well take out all the other trash under them as well, but we don't have time to wait with the approaching legion of THEM who we predict to be arriving in eight more days. We have too much to do and so little time, so we'll get rid of them tomorrow night. I'll have to consult our police commissioner Mr. Miyamoto later about how to contain the chaos this operation will bring onto the city and it's people. Now, it's my turn to ask something of you Shin."

Shin: "Me?"

Mr. Takagi: "Yes. Like you say you want my trust, I want yours as well. That means revealing all of your cards. I need to know what kind of man that you are, so... I'll have you fight Takashi at a place of my choosing tomorrow early afternoon."

Takashi: "...Huh?"

Takashi was just as shocked as I, yet the overbearing aura of Saya's father said it all for us. There was no getting out of this. A battle between the main character of "H.O.T.D"'s Cross Series and the main character (Self-proclaimed) of God's Dimension, myself, was already set in stone before the meeting took place.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Deltoren.

It's here! The Shin vs Takashi match up will be in next chapter!


	213. Chapter 213

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 13, H.O.T.D 2

Shin: "...Just how did it come down to this? I can't say that I hate fighting, but why do I have to engage in a serious fight with Takashi because Saya's father said so? That damn old man even asked to see Team Japan's full power as well. We did have to reveal it at some point how powerful we were, but-"

Komaru: "Isn't this just the fate of the main character? I had to deal with it before, and now it's your turn. It's kind of enjoyable to see others in my position as well. I'm sure the battle will inspire me when it comes to drawing my own Manga. I'm kinda stuck on the second arc in Alien."

Shin: "Were you a character who could enjoy my pain like this? I thought that was Sachi's role. Well, it does kind of make you cuter in a way. I definitely just want to-"

Hikari SL: (Fuck! Why are you forcing me to watch this from another car!? Also, can you not make moves on one of your own women in a car filled with people? This isn't the time or place, gross otaku!"

Shin endured the yelling of the woman screaming into his mind. He, Komaru, Hikari, the other members of the team, and one human creation were currently driving to the undeveloped outskirts of Tokonosu City. Four cars were driving side by side, each a modified Humvee made by Kohta which could withstand a surprise attack from either the undead or humans with ease. The four Humvees had even come across a few zombies on the road that had slipped by and would normally be dealt with by a regular patrol team, but without stopping or slowing down they ran through them all and the passengers inside barely felt an impact. This was impossible for even the state of the art military Humvee from before the apocalypse, so this was both a statement for the performance of these modified humvee and as well as Kohta who built them with the skills acquired from his Mechanics class.

Riding the lead Humvee were the main character driven by Shizuka-sensei, another carrying Saya's parents and were escorted by their elite and most trusted soldiers, and the final two were occupied by the members of Team Japan driven by Aqua and Drake. The passengers in the car driven by Aqua were Shin, Komaru (Wishing to see my cool side in action, so I had to have her tag along), Sachi and Shuai, and in the car driven by Drake were Hikari, Connor, Jin and Kisara. Grim Ash stayed behind at the manor to protect the other human creations and the three Newbies still being kept asleep. They were moving away from the city so that Saya's parents could see first-hand strength the power of Team Japan who was creating one miracle after the other, and they came out all the way here so no one could observe the fight between Takashi and Shin. Putting aside deeper reasons anyone would be curious.

Aqua: "You know this is a pretty good Humvee that Kohta modified by himself. Far better than the military grade ones I saw in my time with the JSDF, so you can take my word for it. I think a normal military grade Humvees which can withstand gunfire and explosions to some extent, will cost 2500 points and D rank reward in the exchanges, but this one is much better in comparison. According to Kohta this baby can go 300 Mph, has a man operated Gatling Gun install on the roof, could tank a surface to air middle and still run if it's flipped back over, has some low level magic resistance, and can even cross a deep river of water and can operate under water for at least a few hour. Something like this would cost at least a C or CC rank reward and a whole lot points to buy, and if it weren't a land based vehicle this machine would be a BB or A tier transportation tool."

Jin: "Is that so? Then this was a valuable treasure that we've come across. I thought about suggesting for the team about investing in a transportation tool one day, but the cost is high for flying transportation tools and to equip possibly twenty members is... I just wasn't for it yet. Like a 3000 Points and CC rank reward Hover Board which can fly over the terrain up to fifty feet. It's a convenient tool if we're in a city like this littered with abandoned cars and undead crawling through the streets, but they can only reach max speeds of 100 Mph and you need to exchange an expensive 100 Point battery every few hours. Also, its a flimsy product that can break too easily to compensate for its ease of use. I would prefer to get an AA or S tier magic flying ship, but ultimately the 4500 Points and B rank reward Sky Stick is my preference. It can reach much higher speeds, travel at a height above skyscrapers with ease, function underway for some time, and even has some good weapons such as mounted machine guns and flamethrower. For what it can do I'll call it a steal even if it requires you to switch out expensive magic batteries every now and again. When we can afford it without hindering our normal enhancements each one of us should exchange for one."

Sachi: "You can't make one? Aren't there design papers in the exchanges? The Four Pillars have their members exchange them early on and are told to build one. Not as good as the ones made ready by God, but a just degraded copy which can still function as a transportation tool."

Jin: "Huh? I'm trash so it doesn't matter if I'm inept at a few things, but do I look like a scientist or engineer to you? I'm only good with magic which is part of the reasons I grasped how to craft high-grade magic bullets so quickly. It's hardly just a copy and paste action like low-grade magic bullets. Team Germany didn't have such a tool as well, so they didn't have an engineer to build one either. The Sky Stick is a bonafide sci-fi tool with a magic energy core, for crying out loud. Even a degraded version should require the know how on what to cut back on and what not to. Design plans are hardly step by step directions to build one. It's best for us to just buy Sky Sticks for the whole team unless we one day encounter a scientist or engineer to build the degraded copies for each one of us."

Aqua: "Don't put all your hopes on a flying tool, Jin. A Sky Stick would certainly convenient, but someone with military training like myself would point out how easy it would be to get killed. Humans are land based creatures who are far from adept at dealing with flight, or 3-dimensional combat. Connor or that Zero from "Btooom" would be able to snipe at you riding on top of a Sky Stick with ease even if you had Reaction Speed rivaling Shin and myself. It's the same problem Shin has with Void Movement. He's not comfortable without the earth under his feet and he's moving at extreme high speeds and has to watch all possible angels for danger, requiring a very high spatial awareness. Watch Gundam, or any robot or space fighter Anime too see how often pilots get one shot and die without ever seeing their killer... Shit, he's infected me if I can sprout out Anime crap without a second... No, as I was saying, on a Sky Stick going who knows how fast, I bet it would be hard to react to a sniper's bullet. It's hard enough, almost near impossible to do so on the ground. On the ground all you have to worry about is you left, right, back, front, above and any combination of those directions and that's already very difficult. Now flying high in the skies, well, you have to more than double your awareness than on the ground."

Jin: "Is that so? Then maybe investing in a magic ship is really for the best, or a combination of the two. What do you think, Shin?"

Shin: "...We can just use these two Humvees for now. Unless we get hit by a nuke or B tier or higher sci-fi weapon we can avoid instant death at the very least. This should be able to withstand 5-10 seconds of continuous fire from an EMP Rifle as well. Anyways, I'm more worried about this sudden fight I have to take part in. Just how far should I go in this fight? I think that I'm more than just a bit stronger than Takashi even if he has unlocked the Second Stage and is a Dual Evolver. He lacks an energy to raise his stats further like Ki and he lacks a mutation that allows him to go beyond human limits. I also have a Hidden Class like his Flame Knight, but I have all the skills available for the entry Dark Walker. Despite saying all of that, Takashi has developed a mentality and skill level from constant struggle without rest which is superior to my own. I might have to resort to revealing my trump cards, the Deltoid Z-Saber and Adell's Legacy."

Aqua: "Oh, it should be fine. I think that completely dominating him in a fight would be too big of a shock for the others to accept, but if you're not stronger than Takashi by that much they should be able to accept the loss. It'll also allow them to believe in the back of their head that they can handle you if they have to."

Shin: "That's comforting."

Aqua: "That should be comforting for both sides if our allies can trust us. It's easier to trust someone you know that you can kill than someone that you can't. For someone you can't you would then have to start scheming of a way to do so, and there may be no turning back once you start. Whatever the case, Shin, we're here, so get ready."

As Aqua said this the lead Humvee driven by the main characters began to slow down and eventually came to a stop by the side of the road. The other Humvees followed suit and parked as well and the passengers disembarked their vehicles. Shin and the other Players looked around and found this part of the city in ruins. It wasn't just abandoned and left untended, but was battered from a big fight. Rei saw Team Japan's confusing and explained that this was the site of Tokonosu City's first defensive battle. Before the 5 Military Heads and the Mayor joined the camp, the Takagi's still growing organization and the Walking Dead Unit joined hands to repel 100,000 zombies lead by a Z1 Zombie from overrunning the city.

Takashi: "How nostalgic. Back then we lacked ammunition and the Takagi Faction and the rest of us weren't too powerful as Enhancers. We weren't Evolvers yet either. It was a hard fought battle that claimed many lives and showed us the terror of an organized army of THEM."

Alice: "But it was Zeke who saved the day! We diverted the Z1's attention and he ran around the zombies and, *chump*, bit off its head! Zeke and I share XP, so I finally reached level 30 with that kill!"

Connor: "...Good job, but sniping would have been less dangerous."

Alice: "No way! Zeke is better than some stupid sniper! Me and Zeke have killed so many that we've lost count. Isn't tht right Zeke!"

Zeke: *BARK*!

Takashi: "...Sometimes I forget, but children in the apocalypse are scary."

Shin: "Yeah, you don't have to tell me twice."

Just as Shin, Takashi, and everyone else took a step back in fear as the child soldier and orphan of the apocalypse as they began to talk about their kills, Saya's parents walked over to the two protagonist.

Mr. Takagi: "It'll be suspicious of were gone all day without leaving a good enough reason, so let's get to it. Shin, fight Takashi here in front of us all. Takashi is the most powerful human of the God and Devil System who've I've come across, including myself. He's the highest standard of power that we know of, so I can judge of strong you are from your fight. Don't kill each other, but don't hold your punches. Win or lose, our cooperation is already decided, so this is really just for all of us here to see you in action."

Saya: "Then this is really unnecessary! You're being rude to my friends!"

Mrs. Takagi: "I know Saya, and we apologize for this type of approach, but this is the kind man I've married and when decided something he sticks with it. It also troubles me that my daughter has that side of her as well."

Saya: "Like hell I'm so force- (She just saw the dead stares of her comrades)... Never mind."

Mr. Takagi: "Shin, Takashi, begin whenever you're ready."

Aqua: "Try not to get beaten too badly leader."

Hikari: "If you die I won't grieve over you forever."

Kisara: "Your the one I promised my everything to I know you won't fail, but if you do, I, your sword will become an avenger for your sake... And it's kinda romantic."

Komaru: "Why is his harem rooting for his defeat!?"

Shuai: "I'll take the lead in your funeral, leader, so rest assured!"

Connor: "..."

Jin: "Will our leader show us his tyrannical might and amaze us all, or will the hero this story show us what it means to be the protagonist? Ah, I can't wait! Also, I'm not holding a grudge about being blasted away and tumbling down a mountain, so I'm rooting for your victory. Definitely!"

Sachi: "Please don't die on us. I... I want to try out my latest technique with the Xian Needles on your half dead body."

Drake: "You can't send off our Leader like this. Shin, good luck... Not hat I think you will lose. Get beaten to the floor by that hammer of his. Not at all!"

Shin: "...This team is the worst."

Shin wanted to cry and only cry thanks to his cheering section, but doing his best to look unaffected he walked forward towards Takashi.

Shin and Takashi stood face to face as they stood in the middle of an abandoned and battered street. There were abandoned cars everywhere which seemed to either be destroyed or scavenged for workable parts by the survival camp. Team Japan, the main characters, and Saya's parents and their personal guards were watching down on the two combatants from nearby by rooftops. They didn't want to get in the way of their fight in case it grew too big and they wished to watch the surrounding in case they were being watched. This was not an issue for Team Japan who had Hikari's scans, but as they did not reveal this power just yet they, so played along with the surveillance role. Everything was prepared for the two on the ground to fight without worry, yet the two were unmotivated. Shin only cared about not embarrassing himself rather than who won or lost, and as he looked at Takashi, he saw that he wasn't in the mood for a fight and even looked slightly annoyed as well.

Takashi: "Ahh, what a pain. Saya's father is always like this and made it such a big deal. He also won't be satisfied unless I give it my all either. Well, if we're doing it let's get to it. Shizuka-sensei is quite skilled medic with a few a healing skills and potions, so long as we don't kill each other we'll be fine. We can even lose an arm and leg and could be reattached good as new in a few hours."

Shin: "Really? Our Sachi can do the same thing... but I'll rather get healed by your doctor rather than mine for certain ethical and emotionally scarring reasons, but enough joking around (Wasn't). Let's just go all out and the first to fall wins... I'll win in the end anyways."

Proclaiming his victory before the fact Shin entered the First Stage of Unlocked Mode and readied himself for battle. Takashi watched Shin enter Unlocked Mode and took a deep breath to calm himself. As Shin had stated himself, his fighting spirit was not as tempered as someone like Takashi yet from where Takashi stood the aura of strength radiating from Shin and the danger it represented were nothing to laugh at. From a Na Ring, Shin retrieved Gravity Blade and already wearing the boot set of Adell's Legacy he retrieved the glove set and put them on. Shin planned on first using Gravity Blade to test the waters out first, and in an emergency he would use Adell's Legacy. They had the appearance of normal black boots and gloves, so Takashi or anyone else wouldn't suspect that they were magic weapons. Maybe even the Player of another team wouldn't realize they were actually B tier magic weapons.

Takashi: "Confident, huh? Well, I'm not one who likes to lose, so don't mind it when you're beaten to the ground!"

Releasing a killing intent of his own that put Shin on edge, Takashi did the same as Shin and entered the First Stage and took out an item for his dimensional ring. He was already wearing his type 3 mutant beast armor under his clothes so all he needed was a weapon, yet unlike Shin who brought out a sword he took out a war hammer. Apprising the weapon Shin saw it was the very same one that Takashi used to smash L2 Zombies into meat paste, so he knew that this couldn't help think that their battle wouldn't end without someone lying on the floor half dead or worse.

Shin: (The value of that hammer is below my more powerful weapons, but close to Gravity Blade. An expensive C tier magic weapon at best, but it would still more than hurt if I was hit by that hammer in the hands of Takashi. One hit may be the end of me after all. Then it's best that it isn't me who gets taken out. Instant Movement!)

Without showing a starting motion one would suspect, Shin lightly kicked the ground and reappeared behind Takashi in a the blink of a eye. This Instant Movement wasn't the fastest, yet the sudden speed without any warning would catch most off guard. For certain most would, but not the leader of the Walking Dead Unit who was forced to survive an apocalypse and lead his companions to glory! Takashi swung his hammer with divine speed behind his back towards Shin. The hammer was aimed at shoulder instead of the head, yet it was still a critical injury which would do more than shatter his bone, yet Shin didn't flinch and countered.

Shin: (Silver Dragon Scales, and Soul Crushing Strike!)

\- *CLANK*!

\- *BOOM*!

Shin's free right arm armored in a silver light was threw a punch towards Takashi's hammer. His right hand struck the hammer and upon striking it a sonic boom rang, sending both parties back a step. Takashi collecting himself was shocked. He didn't go all out, but Shin's hand, no the bones in his whole right arm should have been broken on impact with his war hammer, but this was understandable not knowing about his defensive Ki skill or the magic combat gloves.

Shin: "Don't space out just yet!"

Shin swung Gravity Blade on a course for Takashi chest in that split second that he was distracted. The night black magic sword let loose with vastly increased weight would hopefully tear through Takashi's type 3 mutant beast armor, and if not the blunt force would stun him and allow Shin the chance to take him out, yet this move was countered as well. Crimson Devil flames clad Takashi's body and like a true Flame Knight he was armored in intense flames from hell. The Devil Flames couldn't melt a C tier magic sword like Gravity Blade instantly, but the flames repelled the black sword and forced Shin to jump back twenty meters and land on top of a car. Takashi not wanting him to escape raised his hand and shot out a Devil Flame Fire Ball. The fireball soared with the speed of an actual bullet and had consumed the lives if countless men and monsters, but Shin was not joining their ranks. He had the option of blocking with his Kagune, but feeling too much of a similarity to the Red Flame bloood spell of a vampire he once encountered in the real world, and recalling the bad affinity it had with him, relying on his Ghoul mutation seemed out of the question, but that's not all he could do.

Shin: "One Sword Style, Thirty-six Pound Cannon!"

With two hands gripping the sword handle, Shin swung and sliced the air and sent a vacuum blade of concentrated air towards the Devil Flame Fireball. Thirty-Six Pound Cannon cut the fireball in half as it approached. The vacuum air blade still retained enough momentum to continue its flight towards Takashi. The vacuum air blade soared towards its target with blistering speed and forced Takashi to escape with an agility enhancing skill boosting his speed higher. He side stepped as the vacuum blade passed by and next on its flight path it cut a far off car in half. A shiver ran down Takashi's back and he shot a 10 meter wide and tall giant fireball at Shin in retaliation. Shin kicked the car he was standing on and jumped into the air to evade and the giant fireball swallowed up the car and it exploded. Takashi then prepared to launch more fireballs at Shin after he jumped into the air, yet stopped himself as he saw Shin kicking the very air to retreat a distance away and land back on the street.

Takashi: "You can freaking fly!? In what month and what year did you kill a monster to drop such a ridiculous OP skill?"

Shin: "Trade secret! Also, should we just stop here? Thirty seconds haven't even passed, yet we are already coming close to killing each other."

Takashi: "Sorry, but I refuse! Now I really want to see your true power! Haaaaa!"

Entering the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode Takashi let out a beastly roar and charged straight towards Shin. Takashi's whole being was clad in Devil Flame more intense than ever before and was growing wilder by the second. His speed and power were already high as a Dual Evolver, but the Second Stage and the Devil Flame cladding his body shot them up even further, and crossed the distance between them in just three seconds. Takashi hosted his war hammer above his head and swung down with all his might towards Shin's head who then backed away with Instant Movement. Shin escaped, but Takashi followed after him with no signs of slowing down and with his sharp eyes trained through numerous battles he saw through Instant Movement's speed and predicted where Shin would move, and he would them strike out like a warring flame god of legends past. Shin's sword and Takashi war hammer clashed dozens of times in their high-speed chase and each time they clashed Shin felt the bones in his arms shake. Shin was pushed closer and closer to his own limits took every opportunity he had to strike back, but Takashi would retreat slightly to avoid his attacks and return stronger than before with sharper and more violent attacks which continued to push Shin back. By this point Shin was in the Second Stage as well and reinforcing his entire body with Ki and Rc Cells, but Takashi's mad rush was slowly surpassing him in power,

Shin: (I've definitely underestimated Takashi and I'm not using my Gravity Blade against this mad man any longer! It might really break! I'm switching out!)

Shin took what he thought was an opening to place Gravity Blade back into his ring, but this was not a good enough of an opening to do this in the middle of such an intense clash. Takashi was not forgiving and stepped forward to run his war hammer into Shin's torso, yet just as he planned to just that he saw Shin's left-hand approach the hammer with a red glow and pulled back and jump away. Takashi didn't know just what it, but he felt terror as his fingers approached, and that terror grew as he gazed at his own weapon. His Level 5 treasure War Hammer which had never bent or deformed before had faint, but still noticeable finger imprints burns with a red glow. Takashi then looks back at Shin and saw his left hand, or rather the glove he was wearing was glowing with a radiant red glow. At first the image of fire surfaced in his head, but that wasn't accurate enough. It wasn't like fire or like the sun either. It was...

Shin: (It's called a burning energy field, but it's more like lava. Like that girl in Tower of God with her awakening on the Hell Train, but the wearer can't feel the heat which makes it weird. But still... it's an effective weapon!)

Shin crouched down to the ground and placed his left hand on the cold streets floor. And as he did so a clear sizzling sound could be heard and upon examination the part of the street where his hand touched the floor had melted and into a molten like substance.

Shin: (This is a straight up melting ability rather than something like fire which would at least leave ashes of some kind. It was totally unexpected from the description, but it's extremely powerful so it's all good. Also, it separates me as fire user from those like Misaki and Aqua. Standing out is important?)

Takashi observing Shin's actions was startled.

Takashi: "...Is this really power from the God and Devil System? This is just..."

Shin: "Oh, so you can tell that much? You've definitely not grown into an ordinary warrior, Takashi, but I'm the same. I haven't gone all out yet, so this is your last chance to admit your defeat."

Takashi: "Oh, is that so!"

Takashi clad in Devil Flame charged at Shin with a burst of speed. Shin watched calmly as Takashi deployed a similar tech that a former comrade used to fly and jet around with a stream of flames underneath his feet. He was calm at first, but for a moment he felt nostalgic at the sight, yet it was only a moment. Shin's gaze felt cold as Takashi approach and he entered deeper into Unlocked Mode as he pulled out a new weapon. A white metallic sword handle without a blade to speak of. Then as it emitted a green energy blade from the handle, Takashi's heart skipped a beat. One of the powers of the Third Stage, absolute control of the brain, had the power to increase reaction speed substantially and he saw through Takashi's great speed and slashed with Z-Saber. Takashi barely evaded the first slash by a hairs breath as the green energy blade flew past his neck, but then sensing a greater threat from the sci-fi sword he jumped back as far as his legs would allow over twenty meters away, but that wasn't enough to escape.

Shin: "Mega-Charge, Mega Sword!"

Takashi: "!"

Rei: "Takashi!"

Saeko: "Takashi!"

Rei and Saeko watching from the rooftops saw the impossible scene in shock. Before the attack even began Takashi felt terror from the eye-catching weapon and he jumped back to avoid the slash of the now blue energy blade, but he was still caught by it as it extended over thirty meters in a flash and was swung towards him. A soft tearing sound was heard as the energy blade split apart the very air of the path it traveled. Takashi then glared at Shin while pointing his War Hammer in his right arm towards Shin and doing his best to avoid the obvious. His left arm from just under the elbow was severed by Z-Saber and was lying on the street in a pool of blood.

Takashi: "...What the hell kind of futuristic sword is that! I'm a Strength and Spirit Dual Evolver, yet that blade severed my flesh and bone through mutant beast armor and my Devil Flame Clad Armor in one stroke! I'm even wearing our new Type 3 Mutant Beast armor. You also perfectly saw through my attack leaving me barely any room to escape. Just who are you?"

Shin: "I'll tell you later if you want, but for now... sorry for the arm. Sachi should be able to reattach an arm or leg with ease... so are you ready to call it quits yet?"

Takashi: "Go to hell! Not till I crush one of your limbs with my-"

Mr. Takagi: "Stop it here!"

As Takashi glared at Shin with a rage and excitement filled expression a man jumped down from above between them. Souichiro Takagi. He jumped down from the rooftops above and landed with amazing posture showing everyone that he was an Enhancer of great power and not just a government official who can only lead from behind his subordinates. Souichiro called on both Takashi and Shin to lay down their weapons saying that he had seen enough and declared Tokonosu City Survival Camp would enter into a relationship with Team Japan.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Deltoren

Cool fight, right? Wanted to add Kagune to the mix, but it comes later.


	214. Chapter 214

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 14, H.O.T.D 2

In the dead of night on the third day of the mission, in the Takagi manor where Team Japan was residing in was currently bustling with activity where most people in the city were asleep at this time of day. Tonight was the night the military and political purge of Tokonosu City would commence. To swiftly bring unity to the city before the 3 million strong massive legion of zombies arrived, everyone was hasty making preparations to take out the cancerous elements of the city. Three of the 5 Military Heads and the Mayor of Tokonosu City who they were conspiring with. The goal was not the complete elimination of their forces in all entirely, but to just cut off the heads of the organizations and those loyal and complicate in their treachery and general wrongdoings, and absorb what remained of their manpower and resources.

Such an operation shouldn't have to be rushed, but Souichiro Takagi had long since prepared for the day when he would purge these vile elements of power who he had invited in and constructed plans to get rid of them at a moments notice. He despised them all for their evil actions and for being the one for allowing them in, but hoping he could turn them around to his way of thinking he was tolerant of them at first. It was perhaps his only weakness as a leader to want to believe in his fellow man would do he right thing when it was a time to come together during the apocalypse, but such hesitation had allowed his fellow countrymen, no enemies, to take power and abuse it within the organization he built. And now that the mayor's and three of the 5 Military Heads' treachery has come to light, neither Souichiro or his wife Yuriko Takagi standing by his side would allow them to do as they please. No negotiations and no prisoners. Tonight the moon above was hidden by clouds, so tonight was the perfect time to launch a night attack.

Shin: (They really have it all planned out. It'll be a simultaneous attack, so none will be able to request reinforcements or warn their comrades. Where our targets will be, who's protecting them and how many, the battle potential each target has and personal details as well. They also took note of where their families will be so they wouldn't be caught up in the chaos which is surprising, but nice. Yue Zhong could take a ethics class from the Takagi's and maybe that way so many of his initial fans wouldn't have dropped the story to bitch and complain about if his every action was justifiable, inexcusable, or even necessary in the first place, but that's not important now. All that's left is to incorporate Team Japan's battle potential into the plan, but more specifically hers. Her existence with what she can do changes everything about our approach!)

As I thought this, I looked to the side where a gathering of officers who were surrounding a young girl in her mid-teens. This girl was Hikari, and was currently hard at work working on a laptop as her fingers blazed across the keyboard. She didn't have an air of military might about her, but no one around was looking down at her because of her age or because she was an outsider. The reason was she was the key to increasing this operation's efficiency by many folds. For one, once we revealed Hikari's ability of a Psyche Force/Persona user and what exactly that meant, everyone was shocked. Psyche Force Scan, which could see through all structures and track any person's position from miles and miles away, bypasses all forms of modern security and what those who knew of the existence Enhancers and Evolvers could prepare for. And Soul Link, which could connect the minds of up to four people who could then secretly talk with one another and share vision was just as frightening a spying tool. It was a shame that Hikari could not connect an infinite amount of minds which could create the ultimate espionage ring in history and allow this operation to all but not succeed, yet her talents did not end here.

Before even entering God's Dimension Hikari was an internationally wanted hacker genius, and now had access to this dimension's infinite resources and information. Saki, before she passed away, had made Hikari countless military grade computers and she spent her free time creating hacking programs in secret since the events of "Btooom". She underestimated Tyrannos Japan's technological ability to respond to her hacking and almost got herself and others killed, so not wanting to repeat the same mistake twice, she had prepared herself for the next time her talents could be of use. Unfortunately Hikari had to wait a whole four mission for the chance to prove herself, but now was that time. She installed onto multiple Flash Drivers hacking tools created from technology an knowledge that only someone from God's Dimension had access to. They weren't at the level of true sci-fi hacking tools just yet, but she had the confidence to break into any military, national, or advance cooperation without being caught in a modern timeline.

Hikari: "Hahahaha! What a piece of junk! They might as well as not get back up and running the security cameras and rely on their own eyes and ears. A third rate hacker could have broken into their systems. Did most of the smart people who should have told them to make their security systems a closed system from the outside die, or after an apocalypse they all let their guard down against electronic warfare? Whatever the case may be... Naive!... And we're done! There you have it people. I uploaded a link on the manor's home system which will give you full access to their surveillance feeds installed around and inside their homes."

All Staff Officers: "Wow!"

The officers around her praised Hikari and she was enjoying every second of it. After the "Btooom" Mission Team Japan was given two mission where she couldn't showcase her talents. She might have been able to do so in the modern/light sci-fi world of Dangan Ronpa, but she was brain controlled by the Guide and never had the chance to help. In a modern or sci-fi setting she can finally display her talents as a hacker and be useful, so she was quite excited and confident in herself.

Shin: "Her excited smile... is cute. Hikari is super cute when she's not bashing me verbally, but the contrast makes her even more cute and attractive. This is a real life Tsundere! No wonder spineless protagonist put up with them... I wonder if this is a bad time to kiss her and-"

Aqua: "It is you good for nothing terminally ill otaku! Come on! Hikari is finished with her hacking, so it's time. The others are waiting to go to the last meeting before we set out."

Aqua then dragged Shin by the arm and took Hikari away from her fans praising her, and towards the meeting room where everyone is waiting. They entered the room and found the main characters, Saya's parents and their highest staff members including attack squad leaders.

Staff Officer: "Now that everyone is here we'll begin the final meeting. Supreme Commander Takagi, the floor is all yours."

Mr. Takagi: "Good. Thank you all for coming tonight. In a few minutes we'll be heading out to begin the operation, so let's go over our responsibilities one last time. I'll have my wife elaborate further."

Ms. Takagi: "Then allow me to explain. The forces of my husband and I among other things will act to suppress the supporters of our main targets and maintain order in the city. Even if we cut off the heads of our opposition it'll just allow those below them the opportunity to seize their power, and so in time we'll be back here where we started, but much worse. They'll hide their malice and strike when we least suspect. We plan to strike under the darkness of the night and swiftly take out our targets, but word is sure to eventually get out. Mass riots are all but expected. We're doing this to gain order, but some people who do not now better will see this as an act to grab power. It is in a way it really is despite our best intentions, but they won't understand that we're doing this to protect the citizens for the long term. They are sure to riot, so we'll have to police the city in the aftermath calling for martial law. We have the full support of the police force, or at least the police we can trust and they are preparing themselves as we speak for the suppression, so the situation shouldn't turn to full blown anarchy. Then while this is going on-"

Saya: "It'll be our turn! Our own Walking Dead Unit and Shin's team will be the ones responsible for the elimination of our priority targets!"

Saya forcefully took over for her mother for the meeting. On the table they were sitting around she took out some diagrams for three different large complexes and a government building. These were the homes for three of the 5 Military Heads and the Mayor. These diagrams weren't for any public records or were they drawn up by a spy sent by the Takagi's. They were drawn up by Hikari in Unlocked Mode using Psyche Force Scan and Persona for greater detailed scans. These diagrams included revisions and modifications not found in public records. Hikari's Psyche Force Scan and Soul Link abilities combined could relay real-time accurate scans of an area and enemy positions, but Saya and even Jin suggested that Hikari draw them up since she couldn't connect to everyone with Soul Link at once and that in case something happens each member should know their way around.

Saya: "We have four targets total. The goal is to assassinate the leaders and those protecting him. Anyone who surrenders will be left to the few men papa is lending to us, but if they refuse to surrender kill them! Kill them without hesitation, make an example of a few, and the weak ones will be happy to be absorbed into papa's organization. Now, Shin has agreed to split his group up and mix with us, so we'll split up into smaller four teams made up for the sake of efficiency. Takashi, Shizuka-sensei, Aqua, and Shuai will attack the compound of Commander A who has the largest military might next to Papa. Saeko, Connor, Kisara, and I will attack the compound of Commander B who is so so in military might, but has cultivated many relationships to get where he is today. Shin, Hikari, Drake, Kohta and Alice will handle Commander C who possess an elite force of Enhancers, the Dimond Dogs Unit, lead by a renown Level 40 Evolver named Junpei. Last name unknown. Junpei's level might be much higher or lower than reported since this is second-hand information. This elite group of experts are combat tested and possibly second only to our Walking Dead Unit in the city, but if it's Shin leading the charge it should be fine and work out one way or another. Lastly; Rei, Jin, Drake, and Sachi will handle the Mayor. Haha, that scumbag politician lost most of his forces trying to kill us a few days again when we wiped them out! He is in the weakest position, so we don't need to expend too much deal with him, so you don't need top combatants to help you win."

Shin: "But with that said we should move on the side of caution. Hikari will look over each battlefield and every team leader will connect to her through Soul Link with an odd one out depending on their needs. Leaders alone can ask for tactical support from Hikari and other must request such support through their leaders with a military phone. Hikari, this will be a tasking assignment. Are you up to it?"

Hikari: "Of course! I could even still act as a main combatant. But it might be better for me to support one team in full at a time. Our objective is to swiftly take out the targets, so each battle won't last long if done right. I'll disconnect the phone lines, so they can't warn one another. This way rather than four simultaneous attacks which I have to oversee, we just swiftly strike one base at a time and with me watching the battle with my full attention which is safer. If things grow chaotic in multiple locations we'll fall back to the original set up."

Shin: "That sounds good. Well do just that then."

Mr. Takagi: "Then that's all! Everyone move out and don't die in such an unimportant battle. Our true enemy is the legion of 3 million zombies who will be here any day now."

Takashi: "That's right! This is just a battle to prepare for an even more important battle. I won't forgive anyone here dying for something so stupid like a political purge in the damn apocalypse! Now move out!"

With no objections everyone began to leave.

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Deltoren


	215. Chapter 215

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 15, H.O.T.D 2

On this night there was not a spec of light to be found and the winds were powerfully blowing throughout Tokonosu City. Everything was shrouded in a blanket of darkness except only a few areas within the city. The manor of the Takagi's, the barracks of the Walking Dead Unit, the compounds of the 5 Military Heads, the Mayor's office, the border patrol watching out for stray zombies and Mutant Beast wondering into the city, and lastly a few homes of important individuals. Tokonosu City had acquired a steady flow of power to keep the city operational very early on, but it wasn't so abundant to allow everyone access to electricity at all hours of the day 24/7, and this is what allowed a few elite units to move about unnoticed in the middle of the night as everyone slept.

The Takashi's military forces spread out through the city towards their own individual targets awaiting for the time to simultaneously strike. This operation was being lead by the Supreme Commander himself, alongside his wife. Lastly came Team Japan and the Walking Dead Unit. They rode four modified Humvees, followed by eight large transport vehicles painted black each loaded with fifteen elite soldiers, totaling 120, towards the four priority targets. The 5 Military Heads had conflicts of interest with one another on most occasions, including with the Saya's parents. Therefore they didn't share the same residence as one military. The distance between each compound they set up stretched a few kilometers apart and City Hall where the Mayor worked and lived in was at the center of the city, so it was impossible to stay together any longer, and so-

Shin SL: (...We're splitting up here. Everyone, good luck!)

Shin relayed his order with Hikari's Soul Link to the leaders of each attack force, and they split up taking with them two cars of soldiers.

Just outside the compound of Commander A.

The strike team consisted of Takashi, Shizuka-sensei, Aqua, Shuai and Drake, and thirty elite soldiers under their command. Numerically they were not equipped to launch an assault on a military compound with over 2,500 soldiers armed with the best modern weaponry had to offer, yet what they lacked in quality they more than made up with quality. Also, they held the element of surprise and the frightening advantage of Hikari's scans it was more than enough to launch a sneak attack with the objective of killing Commander A. They were the first to reach their target while the others were just 5-10 minutes away from reaching their own destinations. A few minutes later after the phone lines were cut, and Takashi's team was given the go-ahead to attack first and we're allowed to make us of Hikari's Psyche Force abilities in full.

Shizuka-sensei: "I can't help but feel that I'm not needed here. If things go as planned then no one will get hurt."

Takashi: "The enemy will and that's where you'll come in sensei. We don't want to kill everyone if we can help it since we need every able body man and women to fight against the approaching Zombie Legion. Commander A has the largest force next to Saya's father army of 4500 trained soldiers, so when we were arranging teams Saya and that Jin fellow both suggested this is where you're most needed. Well kill those that get in our way and beat down the rest till they surrender."

Aqua: "Though like she said, she will hardly be needed here. Shuai's abilities will render the enemy all but useless once he gets going. With that said, Shuai, are you ready to go?"

Shuai: "All good. To cast the spell I'll need three minutes of uninterrupted peace to chant the aria in full. Just one if I am in Unlocked Mode to chant at high speed, but if I miss a single word or pronounce it incorrectly I'll have to start all over again and I also won't get back my spent energy. Ahhhh, I also can't have Gnome out as it is too draining, so I don't feel safe at all."

Aqua: "That's why we are launching a sneak attack in the dead of night with us protecting you. Takashi and I will handle the rest, so you don't even need to fight, so get to chanting!"

Shuai didn't like Aqua's demanding tone and pitying Shin who was attracted to such a woman, ans started up his spell. Entering Unlocked Mode he sat down in a meditating sitting posture and balanced his Evil Sealing Staff of Earth in his hands which increased his shaman powers. As Shuai began to chant an unrecognizable aria in a low, yet fast pace in the First Stage, Spiritual Powerful from within his body flowed out and seeped into the earth. This energy drew in dark yet harmless spirits nearby in mass and traveled towards the center of the military compound unnoticed by patrolling guards.

Shuai: "...Ghost Frenzy!"

Sixty seconds passed. The aria was complete and once the spells named was released into the world there was a reaction from within the military compound where the Spiritual Power was gathered and formed into a large cluster. The cluster grew bigger and finally burst open and over a thousand specter-like beings, actual ghost flew out in all directions. These ghosts were mindless beings created from Spiritual Power, but they carried a single programmed desire to latch onto the anything moving and drain them dry, and that's exactly what they did on Shuai's command. The thousands ghost flew across the base and latched onto every patrolling soldier before they could even react, and then moved onto those off duty and resting in their bunks.

The appearance of these ghostly beings was too foreign and sudden for the soldiers to proper react. Especially tnosewho were just fast asleep. The ghosts clung onto countless soldiers and began draining them of their life force. It was nothing extreme or fatal, yet the frightening appearance of the ghost along with their draining ability didn't allow anyone to think straight. Screams of terror from all across the compound and all one could make out were ghastly yells. Order was lost in an instant. The ghosts weren't powerful in the least and could be swatted away with enough force, but hardly anyone was in a state of mind to realize it.

It didn't take a full minute for the military compound to become defenseless and this was taken advantage of by the strike team. A fifteen-foot barbed fence surrounded the compound and jumping over the fence with ease and swiftly running towards the center of the compound were Takashi and Aqua.

Aqua: "Wind Chaser!"

Aqua entered the Second Stage and with a burst of speed with the wind at her back she left Takashi completely behind as she rushed forward. Her job was to assassinate Commander A while Takashi was to bring order to the chaos within the compound. Takashi eyed each and every soldier within his sight and knocked them out with swift punches and kicks. There were, of course, those high-level Enhancers who all too easily repelled the ghost sticking to them and didn't take kindly to Takashi's one-sided massacre and fought back, and for them Takashi didn't waste any effort trying to take them alive. For those that closed in on him he swung his war hammer killing them instantly and for those trying to gun him down they were burned to ashes by Devil Flame Fireballs in a instant.

It wasn't so clear when Takashi fought almost equal battle against Shin, but he was a god amongst the average Enhancer and Evolver. Even those of a high level were ants before his might and lightning reflexes. Takashi, although some his enhancements were different, was the equivalent to Yue Zhong from the original "God and Devil World". Mostly likely even stronger in direct combat as his unlocked Mode gave him better combat techniques, power, and instincts than anyone in the original "God and Devil World" at this stage of the apocalypse. Of course, the Yue Zhong of this world in the modified plot may be more than a monster in battle than his original self.

Then just as it looked like no one could stop him a sniper from afar locked onto him. Takashi was fighting so openly that the sniper sneered at him thought of him as an all too easy target to put a bullet into, yet the results were far from what he expected. Takashi never much a glanced in his direction, but he side stepped the bullet that should have splattered his brain matter onto the ground. Takashi then took out a rifle for his dimensional ring, and with an inferior gun and impossible accuracy in the darkness of the night without taking aim, just fired once and opened up a hole between the eyebrows of the snipers head.

Takashi SL: (Hahaha! To unfair! When you know where to find all the trouble snipers who waiting to ambush you, war just becomes a game for us high-level Enhancer and Evolvers! All if not most of the advantages from relying on modern warfare dry up with the introduction of one Psyche Force user. Hey, how about joining the Walking Dead Unit, Hikari?)

Hikari SL: (Am I being hit on? Sorry. I've already been defiled in both body and soul and forced into my otaku leaders harem, so I must refuse... Ah, not that I was actually forced or anything, but sorry I'm a one man lady, Takashi. Shin's also cooler than you and has some good points... underneath a mountain of otaku culture. Now enough joking around. There are a few guys few waiting to ambush inside the tank three hundred meters to your left. They are pretending that it's unmanned. Take care of it.)

Takashi SL: (I wasn't trying to... Forget it. I'm on it!)

Then as Takashi was dealing with the tank, Aqua had reached within the range of her target, Commander A, hiding within his living quarters. Standing before Aqua was a reinforced building which could withstand even missiles and Hikari's scans had revealed over two dozen strong Enhancers who freed themselves from Shuai's ghost and positioned themselves to protect Commander A hiding within his room. Some more throughout the building Aqua was a close range fighter and as such, infiltrating the building and killing Commander A wasn't impossible for her, but there was a chance he could escape out the back by throwing his Enhancers at her.

Aqua: "Then let's tear down the whole damn thing!"

Aqua smiled frighteningly with glee as she reached behind her into her RPG Bag and retrieved a two-meter long sci-fi with a sleek design. The Multiple Barrel EMP Rifle. She flipped a switch and a deep blue flare of EMP light shone out of the barrels as they began to rotate and from the bottom air was released pushing the rifle up and steady. This was one of the weapons Team Japan were afraid to show off due to its overwhelming power that was attractive enough for others to try and steal, but with the alliance with the main characters and Saya's parents there was no need to hold back anymore. The EMP Rifle unleashed countless bullets the size of needles towards the reinforced building that failed to live up to its name in front EMP Rifle. Tiny slices and cuts appeared across the walls of the building and almost instantly everyone inside including Commander A and his guards was shredded before they knew what happened. Then moments later the entire building collapsed from the damage it suffered.

Aqua: "Wow! This EMP Rifle is cheating when you can let lose in a modern setting. I've seen this gun cut through alloy plates before, but the destructiveness is out of this world."

Hikari SL: (Aqua! Some men are escaping! They heading north out of the compound in jeeps filled with heavy artillery. Chase after them!)

Aqua SL: (Why go that far for trash. Isn't this why I have that summoning skill. Lunar Wolf Pack!)

Aqua bent down and slammed her right palm onto the ground with a *PA!*, moments later a magic circle with a illustration of the moon at the center appeared around her and shadowy figures with inhuman forms crept from the magic circle. There were thirty of them and they looked like wolves with dark fur at first glance, but were far too big and muscular to be normal wolves. They were at least three times the size of normal wolves with a mutant like atmosphere to them.

Aqua: "There are a lot of you cute guys, but for a B rank reward and close to ten thousand points you only have about 3 times the power and speed of normal wolves. Don't make me regret getting this skill and get to work. Kill those escaping to the north and bring back their heads!"

Aqua gave a cold order that the shadow wolves not only couldn't disobey, but were pleased to and set off. Their speed was spectacular as they gave chase after the Jeep and in less than two minutes they caught up and attacked. The lead shadow wolf pounced on the driver bitting off his neck before he saw the wolf approach. The Jeep then crashed into abandoned car left of the way side of the road and the passengers in the back not wearing seat belts fell out of the car hard. They all either died on impact or had broken spines and would no longer be able to walk, but that was irrelevant here and now as the shadow wolves showed no mercy. They pounced on the weak and screaming soldiers on the ground and tore them apart. Aqua was connected to the her summons mentally and seeing what they had done was pleased... till they began to literally bring back the heads of the dead to her and she canceled the summoning.

Hikari SL: (That was too gruesome for words to describe. Just what does Shin see in a brute like you anyways?)

Aqua SL: (Who knows, but Hikari, do we NEED to have a talk about respecting your elders who can XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXXX? I think I'll have the time later if you like to-)

Hikari SL: (Everything looks to be wrapped up here! Hahaha! Shuai has recalled his ghosts and Takashi and the soldiers you've brought along are apprehending those that surrendered. The strike team attacking Commander B is starting their mission, so... got to go!)

Aqua laughed loudly hearing Hikari cut the link between with parting words she would have expected from Shin... but she stopped laughing and joined the others once the idea she too was being infected by that otaku as well.

Inside the military compound of Commander B.

Within Commander B's personal office the lights were dimmed low and scented candles filled the room. He was not alone as he looked on with a smile at dozen women crawling on the floor. They were all top level beauties who he never have had the chance to lay his hands on before the apocalypse, but now it was different. On his say so and rarely with coercion would women wear tight see through lingerie or stick out their buts for him. He watched the scene of the women with an all too big smile and from a table picked up from a plate a delicious steak dripping with fat and sauces and then threw it on the floor. Commander B then watched as the women crawled with a speed surpassing animal towards the food and begin to fight over it. It didn't need to be said how degrading this all was, but even when thrown on the floor it was impossible to come by meat after the apocalypse, not just any meat but meat from a type 2 mutant beast cow, so they didn't hesitate to fight over this meal and even resulted in a bloody struggle. Commander B knew this and loved to watch his pets fight it out, but soon growing bored he told them to stop and line up... but of course still on all for and with their butts sticking towards him.

Commander B: "... Hmm. I really don't get it. I must be strange. Why on some night I forbid my pets to wear undergarments, but on days like today I get off with the mystery of cloth over their loose holes which they would spread for a meat bun? Truly a mystery. Hey, you bitches! Half of you take off your damn panties already so I can think this through! Damn whores I can't even get it up with such lousy..."

\- *BANG*!

\- *EXPLOSION*!

Commander B and his guest were currently residing in his personal office which was well defended and rested in a fortified building, yet in an instant everyone within the office was killed in a resulting explosion of a enemy attack. Not just the office, the entire top half of building was blasted away by a cannon ball from the distance. The soldiers standing guard nearby and everyone else within the compound were on high alert and had become vigilant still not knowing if their boss was alive, and yet there was nothing they could do to defend themselves. They could only burn.

A child soldier of middle eastern descent was crouched down and aiming large and overbearing rifle dyed in an aura. Under the boy's dirty blonde hair were small white almost unnoticeable horns radiating with yellow light and stimulating the Trion within his body. Trion Energy along with a malicious red Demonic Power flowed together and into the Ibis Trigger grasped in his hands, and *BANG*, another shot was released. An orange cannon ball forged from Demonic Power and Trion flew through the skies and smashed through the wall of building.

This particular building housed the deceased Commander B's strongest experts. High-level Enhancers and Evolvers as well as elite soldier if given the chance could wipe Team Japan with their power and coordinated military might, yet everyone inside the building and those close by just rushing out were taken out. Swallowed up in a large blast which claimed over 90% of their expert's lives and crippling 5% more who were unable to continue fighting with blown off arms, legs, and serious third-degree burns. The child soldiers, Connor's comrades Saeko, Kisara. and Saya watching by his side were stunned by his display of power. Connor alone could be called a tactical weapon who could turn the tides of any small to medium sized conflict at this point. Even Connor was secretly in awe of his own power. This was different from Aqua and her EMP Rifle sci-fi weapon. Through a true combination of enhancements alone he has surpassed a level of destructive physical potential a single human should be allowed to possess. It still wasn't anything too outrageous, but he had certain reach a level of power impossible with modern weapons, guns and cannons, and had entered the realm of sci-fi weapons with enhancements alone.

Connor SL: (...A-Class Trigger, Trion Receptor Horn Implant, and Demonic Argumentation spell. It's almost at the level of the "CANNON" from the Manga.)

Kisara SL: (You shouldn't look so disappointed Connor. The Trion Receptor Horn and A-Class Trigger vastly increase your Trion Energy to new heights. You already have the highest destruction power in our team, so feel proud. And Shin made me watch that Anime three times... so I can say confidently that you're close. I'm sure that once you get the Demon Mutation to B tier or higher you'll more than surpass Takakoma's Cannon!)

Hikari SL: (...I thought I was done for after getting involved with Shin, but you're no goodness is at a whole other level. Even your soul has been tainted!)

Saya: "...I don't even want to know what you're going on about, but stop it! We're in the middle of a mission! Connor, stop bombarding the compound. You destructive power is too high and we won't capture, ah, no, I mean recruit any soldiers like this. Hikari's scans show most of the soldiers have grown scared and are not daring to move, so you've done enough. Connor, use a less powerful weapon and snipe those trying to escape."

Connor: "..."

Connor with a silent nod recalled the Ibis Trigger and replaced it with the Eaglet Rifle Trigger and began to run off into the darkness of the surrounding area. His steps weren't too fast yet as he then activated Silent Approach his movement speed picked up and as if he was melting into the darkness of the night he quickly disappeared visually from his comrades sights and even his foot steps were perfectly masked.

Saeko: "...How chilling. A skilled sniper with the ability to destroy reinforced military building, can stealthy move about where even I cannot perceive him with my eyes alone, and has the Unlocked Mode as well. If he can match a super sniper like Kohta as well he would be a troubling foe to take out, especially so with the support of his team and someone like Hikari who can help him locate his targets and warn him of enemies attempting to close in from any possible direction."

Saya: "Then we should be thankful to the Saint for our good fortune of coming to an alliance with them. Anyways, it's time to clean up! I'll put on a show with my magic, so you and Kisara take out those who resist. If we do this right, we can capture more than 80% of the deceased Commander B's military might!"

Saeko: "Understood."

Kisara: "Then let's end this battle."

Saya then walked out of the darkness she was hiding in along with Saeko and Kisara by her side. These three beauties lead thirty soldiers for reserve to use. The panicking soldiers were startled by their appearance and recognizing Saya and Saeko, it all made sense. The Walking Dead Unit was famous and Saya herself was the only daughter of Supreme Commander Souichiro Takagi. It was clear why they were being attacked, and as they about to respond with violence, a loud screech scrapped against their ears. More than half of them fell to the floor covering their ears while the other half, Enhancers over Levels 30 withstood the pain and saw Saya with a raised hand releasing magic sound waves, and using those sound waves she amplified her voice.

Saya: "I'm Saya Takagi! Member of the Walking Dead Unit and daughter of Tokonosu City's supreme commander! Throw down your weapons and surrender now or be killed by bombardment like your boss! Choose!"

Saya possessed a naturally powerful voice and when amplified by magic it became even more so. She even used the earlier destruction caused by Connor to increase her leverage in an already one sided negotiation. One by one soldiers began to throw down their weapons and surrendered as she asked. Saya was pleased, yet she saw more than a few high-level experts among the deceased Commander B's forces, over two dozen of them had not backed down. They aimed their assault rifles at her and releasing a rain of bullets down on Saya and those by her side, yet to their shock the bullets never reached her. Saya simply waved her hands activating a Psychic Barrier Skill and the rain of bullets floated in the air and were immediately dispersed by the barrier. The experts continued to shoot at her, yet no matter the angle not one bullet reach her, Kisara, Saeko, ot the soldiers behind them.

Elite Expert: "Fucking freak! Go get in close range and cut off their arms and legs. Don't kill then, hahahah! We haven't gotten to play around with such beauties in a while! Get them!"

Saya: "Why do all the men we come across go one about xxxxxxx us? Saeko, Kisara, I'm done dealing with them. Dispose of them for me."

Saya with a look of disgust turned her back without a care in the world to the experts now wielding Taichi Blades charging at her. She hadn't really let down her guard and was prepared to kill them with a lethal spell, but that was unnecessary because they made the most foolish choice. They made the mistake of not running away, but instead move in for close combat with those two present.

Saeko: "Overconfidence is a man's prerogative, but know that some women are forever out of your reach, scum!"

Saeko welcoming the battle of men wanting nothing more than to kill and violate her drew her katana eagerly, a Level 4 Treasure of the God and Devil System. Her eyes grew sharp, yet vacant entering Unlocked Mode and she showed a sadistic bright smile as the experts approached and her body began to glow as she activated a skill exclusive to a Lightning Samurai Hidden Class, Divine Lightning Gift. Streaks of electricity radiated from her whole body from the top of he long purple hair to the tips of her toes. Pure power flowed through her veins which was nothing less than Ecstasy for her. Saeko entered fully into the Second Stage for the greatest power and speed, and as she took that first step forward, she vanished from everyone's vision. Different from Connor's Silent Approach skill this wasn't invisibility, but pure unrestrained speed. The earth cracked open with a burst of electricity with each step Saeko took. Just three seconds passed and over a dozen experts found themselves decapitated with cauterized wounds stopping their bleeding. Not a spec of blood could be found on her katana pulsating with electricity, but as if it were an unconscious action she swiped her katana in the air as if to remove the blood from it and returned her sword to its sheath.

Saeko: "I left ten for you Kisara. Will you-"

Kisara: "Double Accel! Tempest Turn!"

As Saeko called out to Kisara the battle was already decided. Kisara seeing Saeko's godly sword skill and speed felt overwhelmed, but more so a burning competitive spirit within her soul. For Shin's sake and more so for her own goals she wished to be the strongest swordsman and seeing Saeko in action compelled her to not lose to her. She couldn't do anything about the Second Stage, but at least in sword skill she didn't want to lose. Kisara entered the Unlocked Mode of the First Stage and used the next level of Accel Turn in combination of Tempest Turn. With speed far surpassing any member of her team she sprinted forward with inhuman speed. There was barley a trace of her to be seen, yet from there she spit up into ten after images that rushed for each remaining expert.

None of them could even react to Kisara speed after acquiring the Heroic Stigmata Implant and other enhancements, and not even able to blink an eye as she closed in she slashed each expert with katana. Each expert were strong body Enhancers wearing the armor of type 1 or 2 mutant beasts, yet her B tier sword Shusui reinforced with Middle-Class Nen effortlessly slashed through their armor, flesh and bones without any resistance to be felt. This was not something even Saeko herself could achieve, so watching Kisara's moments with sharp eyes she was not just impressed... but interested in her. Not as a target of sexual attraction or as a fellow swordsman, but...

Kisara: "!"

Kisara jumped away from where she stood frightened. She unmistakably felt a wave of bloodlust in the air and its source came from-

Kisara: "..."

Saya: "Hey, I called over the soldiers to help with the surrender of the guys here and, I just heard from papa and mama. The purge his going well in the city. We just need to keep watch here till they arrive to help us process these guys."

Saeko: "That's great. I wonder how Takashi, Rei, and the others are doing."

Kisara: "..."

Kisara losing her chance to address that feeling of bloodlust could only stay silent and help out.


	216. Chapter 216

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 16, H.O.T.D 2

The scenery outside the City Hall occupied by the Mayor of Tokonosu City and his loyal staff... had transformed into a scene straight out of hell. Not a biblical landscape of the fires of hell, but a winter hell world where life was not allowed to grow, but stand still for all eternity. The grounds and steps leading up to the building was covered in a layer of ice making it hard for soldiers to move around and would continue to slip. Cars used by government employees trying to escape had large boulders of ice smashing the hoods of the cars and killing those within. There were human brings encased in solid ice still alive and slowly suffocating to death. No where else was the surreal scene taking place in the city. It was just the outside of the City Hall, and at the center of it all was a lone youth in his late teens wearing a wrinkled blue jacket and grasping a magic staff.

Jin: "Boring. Like I predicted the defenses and military of the Mayor's faction shot down to hell and the few experts he had left are guarding him inside City Hall. Perhaps just killing the weakened Mayor as a example would have been enough to unify the city under one banner? Whatever. What's done is done and I'm bored out here. Rei and Sachi who went inside get to have all the fun. I'm trash, an existence not worthy of taking a single breath as a member of such amazing team and fighting alongside such cool main characters, but this treatment is too unfair! There's nothing that much fun about bully the-"

\- *CONTINUOUS GUNFIRE*!

Five soldiers who stayed hidden snuck up behind Jin. They had to walk carefully as to not slip on the ice on the ground, but that just made them extra cautious. Once they found the ideal timing they raised their assault rifles, took aim, and showed him with bullets. Jin's body should have been riddled with holes and turned into a bloody mess, yet not one bullet reached him. Jin knew someone was trying to sneak up behind him from Hikari's scans and only pretended to be unaware of the approaching threat. He was just playing around with them. He activated Mana Shield a split second before the attack arrived and the blue orb shaped translucent barrier covered him and stopped the rain of bullets.

Jin: "Frostbolt!"

Jin's eyes showed no excitement, yet a smirk appeared on his face as he twirled his magic staff, The Arrogant Water Dragon King and pointing the end with the crystal towards the five soldiers still in shock. From the crystal a blue ray shot out and enveloping the soldiers, and in the next moment they were encased in a solid rock of ice still alive like the others and slowly suffocating.

Jin: "And you don't get points for this. Probably because God set us on the side of humans in this mission."

Soldier: "Die!"

A soldier in hiding ran out from his cover behind a destroyed car and charged towards Jin and in his hands was a rocket launcher. Jin had previously killed a man who had brought out this weapon with Frostbolt, yet the weapon wasn't frozen in place but fell on the ground where the soldier picked it up. The lone soldier felt he was the only one still alive outside City Hall and not expecting reinforcements he chose to act alone. He aimed the rocket launcher, pushed the trigger and the rocket flew out with the speed of a bullet, and seeing all this Jin was mildly impressed as he entered Unlocked Mode. Not even his Mana Shield was strong to completely withstand a rocket just yet, so he avoided it all together. Ice gathered and encased his feet just before the rocket reached him and with speed impossible for him he shot out of the way. The rocket missed leaving the soldier stunned in place which turned into a fatal mistake. As if leading a river of ice as he shot across with floor with impressive speed and found himself behind the soldier. Jin didn't bother with turning the guard into an ice sculpture and took out from a holster the Mana Gun firing twice, one drilling a hole into the guard's back protected by Type 2 Mutant Beast armor, and the second then his whole head was blown off.

Jin: "Ice Stream, a technique to forge a path of ice below ones feet to achieve high speed travel. The description even says it can be used across oceans and the very sky in a similar manner to the guy from that one live action movie, but seeing as I haven't gotten a notification I haven't reached Skill Mastery just yet. What a-"

Hikari SL: (Jin! Someone is starting up a helicopter on the roof of City Hall!)

Jin SL: (Oh, is it the Mayor trying to escape!? Hahaha! Lucky! At last a chance for this pathetic existence to show off his worth by finishing off the-)

Hikari SL: (Sorry, but no. The man fitting the description of the Mayor I was giving is cowering inside his personal office ever since word of an attack reached him. He had his guards fill the hallways to stop Rei and Sachi, but they've made it impossible for him to escape. It's probably just someone trying to escape, but I'm warning you to be careful since the helicopter has a high powered rotary cannon attached. Even my Defensive Shield would shatter under continuous fire after 10 seconds.)

And as she said this the helicopter could be heard above City Hall and was now trying to fly away. It was getting further and further away by the second.

Jin: "A helicopter has such high combat potential. It could have been of much use to us, but you try and take fly away with it? Unacceptable. Ice Missile!

Jin pointed his magic staff with its blue crystal top changing in color into a deep and dark red. The Arrogant Water Dragon King was now his Supporter increasing its effectiveness by many folds. Then charged with Mana Jin acquired from his B tier enhancements Warlock Mutation and Advance Rank Magic Power, multiple lights shot of the tip of the magic staff and flew towards the escaping helicopter already three miles away. This was all within the range of Hikari's scans, so it was more than possible to target something so far away with the combination of Psyche Force Scan and Soul Link. The lights impacted against the helicopter encased the entirely of it in ice and it fell to the ground below.

\- SKILL MASTERY REWARD!

WITHIN 70% ACCURACY YOU HAVE EXECUTED THE FOLLOWING SKILL - "ICE MISSILE"! ONCE YOU RETURN TO THE TERMINAL LOBBY YOU CAN EXCHANGE FOR THE COMPLETE "ICE MISSILE" SKILL FOR 1/10 OF ITS POINT VALUE AND D RANK REWARD!

Jin: "Oh! I finally hit skill mastery for Ice Missile at last! I've collected quite a few skill masteries as of now, so once I get back I should just exchange for them all to get it over with... or maybe I shouldn't bother. I think I've more than 100% mastered a few of... Wait. I didn't hear an explosion when the helicopter fell. Hikari! Are the others okay in City Hall?"

Hikari SL: (Yes. They are closing in on the Mayor now. I doubt they'll have any-)

Jin SL: (Hahahahaha! Good! Then show me where the helicopter fell. Everyone has been nice to us so far and we've even been given those two modified Humvees, but I doubt they'll lend us a valuable helicopter which can fly and travel fast, so this is a chance! Show me where it is and I'll sink it into the ground with Quagmire to hide it and later have Shuai resurface it with Gnome. From there we'll have Shin take it into his Dimensional Belt and when we get back to the Terminal Lobby we can fix it up, and just like that we will have our own helicopter!)

Hikari SL: "(Jin, on this team, only you would have the idea to steal our friends valuable resources during a political purge. Whatever, it's a good idea so I'll show you the way.)

And like so Jin set off with his mind full of new possibilities for Team Japan.

Inside City Hall was a milder, but similar a scene of hell. The electrical system was sabotaged and the entire building was shrouded in an ominous darkness. Bodyguards and soldiers borrowed from the 5 Military Heads littered the floor of this government building as well. Half had thin needles sticking out of the hearts and the nape of their necks, while the other half had fallen to the floor from a single stab wound, yet mysteriously their mouths and eyes were burned back from the inside. With the exception of a few guards still protecting the Mayor in his office, the other still living soldiers were captured by fear and unable to act. Five such men who had abandoned their post were hiding in an office trying not to make a sound to stay safe, yet the occasional echoes of dying men and women frightened them more than anything else.

Guard 1: "I'... I'm scared?"

Guard 2: "I... I can't take it anymore! I'm getting out of here!"

Guard 3: "I'm with you! They aren't paying me enough for this!"

Guard 4: "No! Don't leave me behind!"

Guard 5: "Wait don't-"

But he couldn't stop them. Three of the five guards rushed out of the office frightened out of their minds. Even knowing that even if they escaped the building there would be an Enhancer with terrifyingly powerful ice magic waiting for them they couldn't care less. They just wanted out. No one had even seen the face of the assassin who hid within the darkness and one by one killed the guards of City Hall. The assassin who had alternated between two styles of killing from silent kills with needles reaping their lives, or out of nowhere men would flail about as if their souls were on fire, screaming as blue flames shot out of their eyes and mouths. It was a different kind of fear that they have never experienced before. The fear of the unknown so great they would gladly face Zombies and mutant beast than stay locked up in this building, but in the end...

Sachi: "..."

As the three guards dashed through the halls littered with the bodies, unnoticed they passed just under the assassin hanging from the ceiling making her existence within the darkness. The assassin had her eyes closed as they were unneeded feeling at home within the darkness, and without hesitation she let go of the ceiling with sharp fingers able to stab through strong materials and kicked the ceiling shooting herself down without making a single sound. The guard running in the back of the group before he knew what really happened he had already left this world. Using only her fingers tips which were as sharp as knives she silently slit his throat and his corpse was gently placed onto the floor as to not alert his comrades.

Sachi: "..."

The assassins trained sensez allowed her to pierce through the darkness of the hall and locate the still unaware two guards fleeing, with or without her eyes open. She silently reached into a metal case in her pocket retrieving two long, thin, yet unbreakable Adamantium Needles and threw them towards the fleeing guards. They shot through the space between them and all too easily pierced through their back, cutting through their hearts, with the tip of the needles coming out their torsos.

Sachi: "..."

Hikari SL: (...When you're serious you are scarier than any zombie. I'm glad that Shin is too afraid of you to add you to the harem.)

Hikari said all this to the assassin Sachi through Soul Link, but she didn't get so much a telepathic response from her. Sachi was in Unlocked Mode and far too focused to respond to Hikari. Sachi silently went towards the left open of the office. To afraid to move to close it the two remaining guards were keeping a vigilant watch on the open door, yet with speed from the reinforcement of Intermediate Ki and bloodline, and the assassin technique to erase one's presence, Sachi entered the room unnoticed and stealthly moved behind them. Sachi's first move was to stab her dagger into one of the two guard's head. Blue flames burst out of the man's mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. There was only a short scream before his head was burned into just a skeleton. The last living guard was shocked at the scene and tried to scream at the top of his lungs a but a needle dripping with a strange liquid stabbed into his back. The needle oddly didn't strike anywhere fatal, so in desperation he tried to flee, but almost immediately he fell to the floor as in excruciating pain coursing throughout his body.

Sachi: "...It's not too powerful just yet, but Basilisk Poison is fun to use and has room for improvement. See you."

Guard 5: "W... W... Wait! Please... Please kill me!"

Sachi didn't bother to turn around as she left the room to rejoin with Rei laying siege on an upper floor of City Hall where the Mayor was hiding. Then seventy-two second later all the while experiencing excruciating pain... The last guard died of shock from Basilisk Poison.

\- *BANG*!

Guard: "Gyhaaa!"

Rei: "Just two left!"

Rei saying this started to sprint down a hallway with a bayonet rifle raised and a spear tied to her back. Throughout the hallway were countless bodies of guards killed by Rei alone and on the other end of the hall were two guards protecting the sole door to the Mayor's office. The two guards pointed Submachine Guns at Rei hoping that they would finally be able to kill her, but this hope was shattered. Rei's agility and reaction speed as an Evolver over Level 40 who had unlocked the First Stage was inhuman and a skill of the Soldier Class, Projectile Prediction, she saw through and predicted the aim of the gunfire using that knowledge to zigzag through the hail of bullet reaching the two guards. Soldier Class skill, Z Shake. From the outside it looked like she merely swayed in a Z shape, yet doing so with lightning speed and precision was all it took to avoided the bullets. The blade of her bayonet rifle stabbed through the neck of one guard, pressed the trigger, blowing the guard away dead with two new holes in his body. The other guard became pale as a ghost at this brutal scene which delayed his own response, and so he followed the same fate as his companion. Like the wind and with only one arm she retrieved her Level 3 Treasure Devil Spear and beheaded the guard in one motion.

Rei: "Don't blame me. Go complain to your boss in hell when he arrives. It won't be a long wait."

Sachi: "Aren't you having fun. Can I join?"

Startled, Rei suddenly heard a voice behind without sensing a presence and swiftly turned around with both her spear and bayonet raised, but calmed down having seeing that the voice belonged to Sachi. She wanted to complain about her suddenly appearing and disappearing out of thin air without a sound, but was glad she was here. Sachi had helped Rei get into City Hall unnoticed and helped her deal with a few troublesome guards inside, so she was happy to for her to have her back. Hikari then contacted them both relaying that no one was left alive within City Hall, so it was alright to proceed. Rei and Sachi now stood in front of the door to the Mayor's office and with one hard kick they slammed the doors down. The man inside saw the two breaking into his office and went for his window. His office was on the fourth floor, yet he felt it was better to take the risk and jump, but he was no allowed to escape. The man met the eyes of one of the woman as he escaped, which made him think of a snake, and felt his body become numb and he fell to the floor. He was then unable to move even a pinky, much less try anything to save his life.

Sachi: "These eyes are pretty good. When they can't control their bodies anymore and can only wait for death... Ah, how wonderful."

Rei: "Hey, I know we're not exactly the good guys since we're carrying out a political purge and I'm here for revenge against this man, but you're really making us look like the villains here... I kinda like it."

Sachi rolled her eyes at those remarks, and so Rei moved on to the feeble Mayor lying on the floor of his office. Sachi's Basilisk Eyes paralyzed him. Her eyes weren't as powerful as a true Basilisk which could cause death or indirectly looking at their eyes causing petrification, but at the very least her eyes could temporary stun non-enhanced weak organisms. Only at A tier Basilisk bloodline could she cause stone petrification and at AA instant death. Rei looked down at the Mayor wondering if he knew who she was, what he had done to her, and the grief that he caused her proud father to cry for the first time in her life as he apologized for getting her involved in his official police matters when the Mayor had ordered his son to hold her back a year in school. She wondered if he knew any of this, but she didn't care if he did or would it change anything. Some, if not most people would tell her that holding a grudge for so long after the actual apocalypse was pointless. Deep down Rei knew that it was, but-

Rei: "...In the end I can't forgive. You're going to die anyways, so..."

Sachi: "Oh, torture is it? Let me help out."

Mayor: "No no no no no noooooooo!"

Together Rei and Sachi in acted a scene so gruesome that it forced Hikari keeping watch with her scans to look away and just surveyed their surroundings. First they cut out hid tongue, lips, then gouge out the eyes, next they cut off his arms starting from the tip of his fingers up to his shoulders, and both legs fell to a similar fate. Then finally Rei borrowed an Adamantium Needles soaked in Basilisk Poison and stuck it into the Mayor's torso. Neither Rei not Sachi blinked at the evil they were committing or as blood splashed on their clothes. Rei had seen and done far worse since the apocalypse began and so she was no longer that innocent high school girl she once was, although she wouldn't let her beloved Takashi see her like this. As for Sachi she was a trained assassin with a preference for slow and agonizing deaths.

Rei: "We'll have to burn down the building to hide this. I have a ring equipped on me with the Fire Ball Skill, so we'll be good. It's best of others don't see this side of us, right?"

Sachi: "Doesn't matter to me. I'm not trying to look pure for my boyfriend. I'm just curious which will come first. The Mayor burning alive in his own home, or dying from my poison."

Rei: "*Giggle*! As they say, mystery is the spice of life. That's what my mother taught me. We will always have this memory to cheer us up when we are feeling down. Let's go. I spotted some tacky flammable drapes downstairs for us to use."

And like so the two left City Hall in a lifeless state and now set ablaze. The only witness to this event with Jin having gone off to hide a helicopter was Hikari and Hikari alone, but she swore to herself to forget everything that she saw. She also promised to try to treat Shin nicer for having the good judgment to not include Sachi in his still growing harem. Any man who could see the danger of getting involved with such a person is worth respecting, harem or no harem.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Deltoren

Deltoren:I feel like Sachi could be better at torturing considering she is a sadistic assassin. Hell to a guy like that I would do way worse than her... then again I am a sadist


	217. Chapter 217

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 17, H.O.T.D 2

At the compound of Commander C.

There, waiting outside a ways away was the last strike team consisted of Shin, Hikari, Drake, Kohta and Alice, and the thirty elite soldiers under their command. Commander A, Commander B, and the Mayor (Hikari couldn't look me in the eye as she confirmed the Mayor's death for whatever reason) had fallen to the combined efforts of the Team Japan and Walking Dead Unit. Word of the purge had yet to reach this compounds ears, so no one was expecting them, giving this small, yet powerful group the chance to overcome a much larger force than their own.

Shin: "Now all that's left for us to do is wrap up this place and we're finished. Here the plan. I'll infiltrate the base alone first, and take a page from a certain Warlord to set up bombs outside the housing of Commander C's elite forces. Once I've finished and two minutes pass, Kohta, borrowing, and I mean just BORROWING my Gauss Snipe Rifle (The damn nerd keeps hugging my rifle like a Anime body pillow... I miss Lala) and snipe Commander C. The Gauss Rifle can totally shoot through the walls of the compound with ease and Hikari will guide your aim with Psyche Force Scan and Soul Link. The resulting gunshot will be too loud to ignore, so the base will then go on high alert even if they don't realize that their boss is dead. I'll activate the bombs as well from my end to kill the elite forces. Kohta, will next destroy the watch towers after you kill the commander. Drake and Alice, the two of you will march into the compound and make a big scene. Hikari, it's finally your time to shine and cause some death and destruction of your own. Protect Drake and Alice, and use your remote control weapons and destroy everything that looks important. I'll cause some mayhem of my own till everyone in the compound either surrenders, or dies."

Shin finished explaining the plan set off alone under the darkness of the night. Activating the Dark Walker skill Eyes of the Cat, his vision adapted perfectly to the darkness of the night and felt as comfortable as taking a walk in the middle of the afternoon on a sunny day. Shin using Instant Movement sped forward like the wind, yet he silently approached the compound by entering the Third Stage to simulate Sachi. Even while moving so fast, crossing dozens of meters across the earth with each step, copying the fundamental way Sachi moved swiftly yet silently allowed Shin to not make a sound to alert the soldiers on patrol watching out for possible night raids. In addition his Hidden Class had a stealth ability which made it even less likely to be spotted. From watchtowers shining down power beams of light to catch any suspicious moments, but with his own eyes and Hikari's scans he avoid them with ease without alerting suspicion. When Shin reached a fence that surrounded the perimeter of Commander C's Compound, with Void Movement, he jumped high and lightly kicked the air propelling himself over the fence, and kicking the air a second time towards the earth allowed him a soft and silent landing.

Shin: (Good I'm in. Now like Solid Snake, I'll sneak my way past security!)

Shin feeling some excitement at his first stealth mission ran towards his destination while avoiding all wondering eyes utilizing Psyche Force Scan and the Third Stage. He couldn't help but think that he honestly preferred direct fights and not sneaking around like this, but sneaking missions had their own amusement to them and so he just embraced it. He could only feel this way since he didn't fear the soldiers or even the high level Enhancers living on this military compound. One on one, or one against a hundred, Shin felt that he wouldn't be challenged no matter how they came at him. The strongest individual in all of Tokonosu City Survival Camp was mostly likely Takashi. This was a acknowledged fact from countless rumors his team had picked up and from the respect and admiration he had personally seen in the eyes of many military personnel as they looked at Takashi, so his experience fighting him boosted his confidence. Of course, what he was doing now was a surprise attack which gave his team the advantage, while a open battle where they knew he was coming would be all but suicidal alone, but-

Shin: (Even so I don't think that I'll die. My power after the last session of exchanges shot up by a lot. The Dark Walker's Gift of Darkness III bestows me great advantages at night. Fifty percent boost in all stats and I can merge with the darkness with stealth. This is superior to the standard buff I received from my old magic armor. If I wanted to couldn't I just kill everyone here by myself?)

Shin knew this line of thinking could be dangerous, but he couldn't help but indulge in such thoughts as his ultimate goal in this realm besides building a harem was to become a OverPowered protagonist from the bottom up. Especially as he Hikari notified him of a group of soldiers moving about in a nearby building. He didn't have to enter the building on his route to the housing of the elite experts, but the windows faced that building, so-

Shin SL: (So it's better to get rid of them before I set the bombs. Got it!)

Hikari SL: (You're having too much fun here, otaku.)

Shin Sl: (That can't be helped, Hikari. Without fun, Anime, Manga, and women what's there to live for and get up in the morning for!)

Hikari SL: (Why are you putting women below Anime and Manga!? You good for... Stop. Stop it Hikari! If you keep responding to him like this people will start calling me a certain annoying character type!)

Despite saying this Hikari showed Shin exactly where the soldiers were for him to take them out. A big group of seven soldiers on the sixth floor. According to the scans they seemed to be chatting happily as they were walking towards a room at the end of the floor occupied by... little kids. Both girls and boys alike. Without clothes and bruised all over were lying on the floor. Hikari at this moment was boosting her Psyche Force with her Persona Adrasteia, so her scans were so detailed to such a high level that it even picked up the soldiers wicked smiles and the conversions about what they were about to do and the vacant dead eyes of the children.

Shin: (THAT'S IT...EVERYONE DIES!)

Shin's previous good mood was shattered by the reality in front of him and his own blood lust boiling to the surface. Shin knew that he was no hero of justice and nor did he desire to become one like Shiro Emiya, yet what angered him angered him, and his anger right now almost blinded his rational to not just incinerate the soldiers through the wall with Fire Bolt which he knew he could do easily. He also knew and had to remind himself that such an attention grabbing action could ruin their already flimsy plan to attack the military compound. His side was winning one battle after the next, but this was only possible due to swiftly taking out the enemy command structure and the element of surprise. Knowing this Shin settled for something more up close and personal as he charged into the building.

Not intending to allow those vile men to see their victims, Shin rushed through the halls the halls in a beastly manner on all four and climbed the stairs. Shin had long since forgotten about stealthy action, but his speed was truly lightning fast and didn't allow anyone a chance to notice him. In just ten seconds he reached the sixth floor. The room with the children and the soldiers was down the hall to the left of where he appeared. Shin's face was filled with rage as he entered Unlocked Mode and then jumped with Instant Movement down the hall. Since he jumped out at such a high speed, he was heading straight toward the wall at the end of the hall, and Shin landed on the wall then made another jump and charged into a group of ten soldiers in an instant.

The men were not on duty, were unarmed, not expecting combat till the zombie legion arrives, and were about to partake in some *Fun*, so when the first person lost his head, the others naturally surprised stared at his neck in shock. It wasn't until another person's head flew off before they came back to their senses. They were all Level 20+ Enhancers after all who had gone through numerous bloody battles. Unfortunately, it was already too late and they didn't even have have the chance to yell for help. Shin was in the middle of the group with the Z-Saber and he was like a tiger among a flock with this Sci-fi weapon, high physical stats, his Ki, and the combat instincts from the First Stage of the Unlocked Mode. It was not even a battle. It was a slaughter of Shin swinging his peerless and sharp Deltoid energy blade over and over again that lasted just one second. Body parts and blood splattered the hallway for a instant yet in the next there was nothing. Not even a red stain on the floor.

Hikari SL: (...Why did you put their bodies in the Dimensional Belt?)

Shin SL: (I didn't want to alert anyone with the smell of blood. The main characters told us the strongest enhancers around, this Junpei and his group, is second only to the Walking Dead Unit, so maybe one of them has sharp enough senses to notice the bloodbath. That's why I took their bodies into the belt.)

Hearing this, Hikari was both surprised and frightened at Shin's calm and sharp judgment despite just moments ago flying into a rage. She was happy that he had not become a pure berserker, yet was worried if that was a bad thing if he was becoming something more or less human. Despite her worries, she didn't vocalize them since this wasn't the time to do so and maybe perhaps in this dimension such a change was to be expected or better yet highly desired if one wanted to survive.

\- *BANG*!

\- *EXPLOSION*!

A few minutes later the next part of the operation began. Guided by Hikari, a delighted Kohta wielding the Gauss Sniper Rifle with a loud bang released a terrorizing bullet shot with immense kinetic force through reinforced walls and straight into Commander C's head over 5,000 meters away as he slept in bed. This gunshot did not go unnoticed in the dead of night as countless soldiers on guard became alerted or those off duty sprung out of their beds, but that sound was all too soon overshadowed by the next sound of a loud explosion at the heart of the compound. The housing of the elite experts of Commander C was swallowed up in a blast from bombs set up by Shin.

Watch Tower Soldier: "Enemy attack! Shine down the spotlight and-"

Two soldiers were posted on top of each watch tower, and just as the soldier ordered his comrade to shine down the spotlight to find the enemy, BANG! A large hole appeared in both soldiers chest.

Kohta: "Double tap, baby! Hahahaha! Gauss Sniper Rifles are the best! Bang!"

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

\- *BANG*!

Kohta with a mad glee in his heart and an ecstatic expression on his face turned the Gauss Rifle towards the other watchtowers and fired one round after the other. Even from a distance the bullets reached their targets long before anyone heard the gunshots going off and then seeing more soldiers trying to repay the ones killed Kohta used the power of the Gauss Rifle to destroy the watchtowers themselves. The Gauss's rifle in his hands was also a infinite ammo model, so he never needed to stop shooting to reload. The entire military compound was in disarray from the endless sniper kills. They wanted to find this deadly sniper who took out all the watchtowers, but so much was going on and the chain of command was broken. The strength of an army lied in its organized ability to act together and putting the whole other the one, but now there was no organization and everyone was beginning to just think about themselves. As they were now they were less threatening than a unorganized gathering of zombies and evolved zombies without a Z commander type present.

Soldier: "I'm getting out of-"

\- *BANG*!

One soldier tried to escape and abandoned his post, but foolishly doing so in front of a commanding officer he was shot in the back of the head without hesitation by the officer.

Captain: "No one leaves! Anyone who tires will be subjected to military law! Shit, it hasn't even been confirmed that the Commander is dead, yet all of you can only think of-"

And it was then as a few captains and experienced soldiers were trying to bring back order did a new disaster befall them. From the East of the compound and demolishing the perimeter fence and casually strolling in were two human and a small animal. A man in his late thirties with a strong build wearing a tank top shirt and had vermilion color hair, a small girl with red hair, and her even smaller dog. Drake, Alice, and Zeke. Over a few dozen soldiers saw them walk in without a care in the world, but obviously releasing killing intent, so they without hesitation they opened fire on them.

Hikari SL: (No one cares about Drake, but not even minding shooting a little girl is too evil! Defensive Force Field!)

Just before the bullets reached them a translucent and wide wall appeared out of thin air floating in front of the intruders. The bullets struck this wall and each one was repelled. The wall held strong and showed no signs of shattering. Only a barrage of rockets or a even more power weapon could hope to break through Hikari's Defensive Force Field which had ranked up to B tier. A few smart ones understood this immediately and tried to run to the armory to find such weapons, but spotting this through her scans how could Hikari allow this? So just as they were about to reach the building housing the majority of their weapons and ammunition, a remote controlled machine the length of adult male's arm flew above the armory. This remote controlled weapon, one of Hikari's three Psyche Force controlled DRAGOONS gathered energy and from the muzzle tip a pink light of destruction was fired. A beam weaker than the deceased Kampa's destroyed B tier sci-fi weapon, but all the same still powerful melted through the roof of the armory and reeked havoc inside.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The beam attack caused a chain reaction inside the armory. Bullets flew in all directions and bombs were set off, and the whole building blew up in a grand explosion claiming the lives of everyone inside and those nearby. From there the remote control DRAGOON set off with two more of its kind controlled by Psyche Force and darted across the military compound. From their attached beam cannons shots were fired which decimated building after building and for those unlucky few who received a direct hit from a beam cannon had half their bodies incinerated.

Drake: "Well look at that! Our Psyche Force user is actually one of our top combatants! Now, Alice, it's for us to go all out as well!"

Alice: "Sure, but please do not talk to me. Hikari and the others said you were a good guy, but a no good pedophilic exiled priest who already has a teenage girlfriend, so..."

Drake: "..."

Drake did his best to ignore those words and focused on the task at hand with Alice. Hikari's recent attacks made some forget about these two and that was a big mistake. Drake raised his right hand that was equipped with his Innocence weapon. In its current firm it looked no different from a normal green ring around his middle finger that covered his his finger from the base up, but upon activation the ring expanded across his skin into an arm length green metallic gauntlet that went all the way up to his elbow. Carved on the palm of the gauntlet was a religious cross which now glowed with a bright green light. The light of the holy weapon known as Innocence. One of the enemy soldiers lucky enough to get a hold of a machine gun during this crisis was unlucky enough to draw Drake's attention. The soldier's body glowed faintly with the light of Innocence, was lifted up a few inches off the ground, and finally came hurdling towards Drake. The soldier smashed hard into the now closed fist of the gauntlet crushing his ribcage as Drake now opened his palm.

Drake: "Innocence Activate! Hand of Polaris!"

Drake said the name of his Innocence out loud and now a dark green light enveloped the crippled soldier and was sent flying 500 meters away and smacking hard into a group of soldiers. Hand of Polaris was a Innocence with the special ability to pull and push objects or people. Shin back in the Terminal Lobby when he first saw it commented that it wad similar to the strongest combat ability of the Rinnegan from Naruto which had the power to control gravity or the esper ability of Academy City's strongest LEVEL 5 through vectors, but Drake didn't completely agree. He wasn't under the impression that he was controlling gravity, but using Innocence to take control of special imaginary vectors. Although it was hard to explain, but the best way he could was to describe it not as ordinary vectors, but those that could even move the soul. Hand of Polaris at this time could only push and pull, and was only centered around his right arm, but he had high hopes for this power's future development knowing his weapon was still B tier.

Drake went on a warpath causing havoc while under the protection of Hikari's defensive shield, and that was when the young girl Alice made her move. In a similar manner to Hikari, Alice buffed her dog Zeke with many spells that boost his specs, and then as an added bonus Hikari did the same upon Alice's request. Now over a dozen magic buffs were now enhancing Zeke who glowed brightly with a rainbow of lights ran out from the protection of the defensive shield and-

Alice: "It's chow time, Zeke! Get them!"

And his carnage began. Zeke's muscles and bones wiggled in a grotesque manner as it grew larger and larger by the second, and what was once a cute dog was now a great mutant beast drooling spit that was acidic eyed the cowering soldiers with a bottomless hunger. Zeke transformed into a Type 2 Mutant Beast that was far from the monstrosity that was Aqua's Silver Fang, but for all of these hardened soldiers now cowering at the sight of Zeke. A true monster had appeared before them. Zeke rushed out with speed greater than even S2 Evolved Zombies killed everyone in sight. The mutant beast would claw at, stomp on, or just devour the upper bodies of soldiers one after the other. Zeke had a beastly, yet joyful expression on his face as if this was a game that allowed him to catch food, but for those watching...

Shin: "Yep, I don't want a dog like this when we officially get married, Hikari. Aqua's transformed state still gives me nightmares to this day and Zeke would only be a bad reminder. What kind of pet so you want? I think our children would still love to have one."

Hikari SL: (...It's nice that you're not a man who can't envision a future with a family. It truly is in this day and age where modern men get scared at the word commitment and can only see themselves getting married and having kids after they turn 30 or 40... but long as that vision has more than one wife... I'll leave it as, No Comment. Also, get your act together! This is the battlefield! Why is the girl telling you this?)

Shin SL: (Why? Aren't we just about done?)

Shin said this as he looked down from the highest building still standing in the military complex. He had a relaxed expression on his face as he looked down to observe the battle, but his defocused eyes showed that he was still in the battle state of Unlocked Mode. While everyone else was fighting Shin went out to deal with anyone he considered too strong and dealt with them along with those nearby. As proof, behind him and being strangled by the neck by his Kagune were eight experts belonging to Commander C. They were all above Level 30 and one of them was even an Evolver with a nasty skill who could have killed Drake or Alice if he had somehow gotten close to them. They weren't in their housing when Shin bombed it, so he set out to take care of them. These soldiers held by Shin's eight Kagune tentacles were still alive and struggling to free themselves, but it was no use. After exchanging for the SS Rated One-Eyed Ghoul Genetic Mutation, his Kagune has upgraded by a tier in quantity and quality. He could now summon eight tentacles, two more than before, and the concentration of Rc Cells increased several fold and allowed him to use a more powerful and durable Kagune than ever.

Shin: (Eight Kagune tentacles allows me to cover all blind spots and increases my attack options, but the best part is the increased RC count. Without additional reinforcements my original frail Kagune can block a hail of bullets with ease! The striking power and attack speed shot up along with durability, and I'm still adjusting to this new mutation! Hahah! I wonder just what will SSS and the final One-Eyed King rated ghouls mutations will be like! And the day I can 100% adapt to them with the Fourth Stage... Hahaha! Just how powerful will I be at that time!?)

Shin fantasized about his future prospects just as one of them soldiers behind him being strangled by his Kagune raised his hand towards Shin's back. He was going to cast a fireball spell enhanced twice to burn him alive, yet it wouldn't work. Even without relying on Hikari's scans he was well aware of what was going on in the space around him in Unlocked Mode. Plus he felt movement through one of the tentacles giving him ample warning. Shin didn't even bat an eye at this incoming danger and just hurled the caster and the others strangled by the neck with his Kagune off the roof. Those soldiers didn't even have the chance to scream before they hit the ground below busting open their heads with brain matter and blood now staining the ground.

Hikari SL: (...There's something wrong with me feeling attracted to how ruthless you can be. Ah, not only do I have bad taste in men, my mind has now been... Anyways, Shin, we have a problem.)

Shin SL: (What is it? Far as I can see everything is going well. Everyone is alive, and the soldiers we borrowed are now moving in to subdue the everyone who has surrendered. Hasn't everything been wrapped up nicely in a blood stained bow for the Takagi faction?)

Hikari: (...Do you remember the experts you bombed by planting bombs where they were sleeping minutes ago. Well, it seems like some of them survived somehow and escaped through a hidden tunnel under the building. I count about 40 or so experts. I thought that they were dead and missed them till just now and they just escaped Kohta's shooting range. They took a few cars loaded with heavily weaponry and ammunition and are fleeing to the south. What should we do?)

Shin: (...Hikari, coordinate the operation here and call me if anything else happens. I'll head after the escaping experts on foot with Instant Movement.)

Hikari SL: (Alright, but will you be fine alone? I'm not very skilled at telling how strong someone is, but even through my scans I felt that they were all at a high level. Especially the one who seems to be the leader.)

Shin SL: (I'll manage. Besides, this is a chance to really go out and test my new level of power after the exchanges. Takashi was strong, but we weren't really trying to kill each other despite how it looked. We never attacked each other without a certainty that the other could survive somewhere in the back of our heads. That's why... I'm looking forward to this!)

Shin revealed a somewhat childish smile filled with anticipation for the upcoming battle. Long as it wasn't a battle that had the certainty of claiming the lives of his comrades and he was up against enemies who were certainly villains, he was all for acting out the role of a mainstream protagonist, so he jumped off the roof of the building and chased after the escaping experts of the Dimond Dogs Unit on foot.

Authors Note:

Rate/Follow/Favorite/Comment.

Proofread by Deltoren

With how easy these battles have been I've realized how bias I've been about God and Devil World, so next chapter I'll have Shin fight a hard battle against some elite Enhancer and Evolvers for some reason.

Editor Deltoren: I think a high-level mutant or zombie combined with a high-level enemy team would be better


	218. Chapter 218

Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 18, H.O.T.D 2

In the dead of night, Shin gave chase after the escaping forty experts of the Dimond Dogs Unit. There were signs of riots finally beginning to start up and spread through the city, and were yet to be calmed down my Supreme Commander Takashi's men alongside the police who could impede their escape out of the city, so they went around all the chaos through a deserted area of Tokonosu City not yet restored from the destruction of the initial days of the apocalypse. The experts were escaping by military Humvees driving as fast as they could, yet Shin using Instant Movement to move at high speeds and flying over obstacles with Void Movement, he was closing the distance between by the minute. Shin was moving at a pace impossible for most humans even if they were to greatly enhance themselves, yet the Ki of Black Heaven and Earth Technique flowing through him with the greatest recovery speed and endurance allowed him to keep such a pace with ease. Especially after his many, many enhancements which strengthen his entire being.

Shin: "Still, this is taking too long. Should I just enter the Second Stage and chase after them with Void Movement?"

Hikari SL: (No need. Those experts escaping appear to be preparing to make a final stand up ahead.)

And as Hikari said a few miles ahead the escaping experts slowed down and stopped their Humvees and prepared for battle. One of the experts with a unique skill in tracking knew that they were being followed by a lone man, but one with super human ability capable of following the Humvees on foot and while closing the distance. He told their leader this and he made the decision to stop. Escaping was impossible long as the pursuer wasn't killed, so he ordered everyone to prepare for battle.

Shin: "Oh, sounds fun. Hikari, pinpoint where the snipers are and where they are preparing ambushes. I may be one man, but I can take out an entire battalion of army trained Enhancers if given the chance!"

Shin saying slowed down and entered the abandoned area of the city. He was still moving quickly, but not out in the open where it would be all to easy for someone to snipe him. Snipers held a great, if almost absolute advantage against a lone warrior or small group in a wide and open space with a minimal 1000 meter distance between each side, but within the concrete and metal city with hundreds, if not thousands of building to hide behind as one moved forward, a lone and skilled warrior could reach a sniper stationed over 10,000 meters away. Especially one that had gone through supernatural and magic enhancements. Looking through Hikari's scans already revealed to Shin the enemy's plans and just how appropriate his actions were. The experts of Commander C's army all too quickly set themselves up to greet him. The experts despite the pressure of being on the run organized themselves in an orderly, yet swift manner. It was quite clear to even an amateur like Shin these men had extensive training, experience, and the judgment that came to veteran soldiers who risked their lives on almost a daily basis.

The experts of the Dimond Dogs Unit split themselves up into three largs groups of 20, 12 and 13, and lastly a 5 one-man group of snipers. The three large groups were combatants armed with the latest automatic weapons and the best God and Devil equipment available. The five snipers were hiding in wait in vantage points to be able to spot Shin no matter where he approached from and they could support one another coordinated sniping. Shin viewing the enemy's set up through the scans felt a cold sweat run down his back as he imagined what would have happened if his team didn't have a Psyche Force user. Like Sachi once said Team Japan wasn't trained to directly deal with a skilled and organized army. Team Japan and the Walking Dead Unit only got away with taking our three large military compounds and City Hall in a single night due to the element of surprise and their unique powers that went beyond the norm and were largely unknown to the general public. Shin was thankful for Hikari's presence which gave him a cheat level of warning about the enemy's movements, but even with that he entered the First Stage of Unlocked Mode so he wouldn't let his guard down.

\- *BANG*!

A few minutes later the first shot of the battle rang through the city. As Shin jumped out of cover and onto the streets from an open window, by all appearances intending to quickly cross the street, but a lone sniper hidden under night-time camouflage gear on the seventh floor of a building across the street locked onto him, opening fire immediately. He should have waited a bit more so he could coordinate with his fellow snipers, but it was too golden a opportunity to pass up for any sniper who took great pride in his skills. The lone sniper also had a go ahead to kill if it was impossible to coordinate with other snipers, so this wasn't a unforgivable breech in military protocol. His target was a center mass target, the heart, and his aim was true. The sniper's actions could be called lightning fast when he took swift and decisive action to end the life of the enemy and stopping them from running away, but his shooting was so quick that he failed to notice that the enemy was clearly looking in his direction as he fired and the Z-Saber's handle was grasped in his hand. Shin knew where the sniper was and with the addition of the sudden sense of danger sweeping over him he knew that a shot was coming even before he heard the gunshot.

Shin: (Shield Boomerang!)

Shield Boomerang.

Shin with the scans and his own senses in Unlocked Mode, he saw through the bullet's trajectory as he changed the weapon form of Z-Saber and placed it before the path the bullet would cross to cut through his heart. The Z-Saber mounted onto his forearm and began spinning like a chainsaw forming an energy shield. The sniper's bullet came in contact with the spinning energy shield and was deflected away harmlessly. The sniper was shocked seeing the sudden appearance of the shield through his scope, but if he knew the details of the Z-Saber he wouldn't be. The Shield Boomerang can reflect almost all projectiles, however, it provides no protection from melee attacks, nor is it capable of deflecting exceptionally powerful attacks ranged attacks such as B tier Sci-fi guns. Extremely powerful against gunners and snipers, but a shield weak in close combat and overly powerful weapons. That was the Shield Boomerang Form of the Z-Saber, but like all form changing weapons there was more to this weapon.

Shin: "Sniper! How about a little scare! Mega-Charge, Mega Boomerang!"

Shin charged the Shield Boomerang with 1/10 his Ki, shining with a blue light rather than its normal light green color, and was thrown through the air like a razor blade. The sniper was too shocked by this to immediately fire at Shin after reloading his gun, but let out a sigh of relief seeing the razor blade flew past the building he was in. The sniper was then about to mock Shin as he adjusted his aim and about to blow out his brain matter with one last bullet, but them a tearing sound came directly behind him interrupted his concentration. This was the last thing he heard as he was then torn apart by a blue energy razor blade tearing through the building. Then moments later as the razor flew back towards Shin and reverting back to the normal Z-Saber, the upper half of the building the sniper was inhabiting collapsed terifying all those nearby who had seen what had happened.

Shin: "That should give them all a scare they won't be forgetting. Fear of a greater power than their own can make even seasoned veterans act stupid. Mistakes will be made and that'll be my chance!"

Shin placed the Z-Saber back into a Na Ring and replaced it with the Anti-Material Rifle borrowed from Connor and he entered the Third Stage of Unlocked Mode. Shin chose to simulate the personality and abilities of Connor. From testing different talents in the Third Stage, Zero from "Btooom" was the better sniper of the two with extreme long range sniping, but between the two it was the middle eastern child soldier who was more skilled in urban setting and chaotic battles. Shin memorized the exact positions of the snipers hidden throughout the area waiting to snipe him and chose to turn the tables on them with their own medicine. Shin sped through the streets with Void Movement and before the snipers were even aware that he was approaching he shot them dead between the eyes. One after the other the snipers fell and left the experts without their skilled sniper and began to panic. The experts on the ground were left without snipers to cover them or help corner the enemy felt rushed to end that battle quickly. One of the three ground units, consisting of twenty high level Enhancer above level 30 quickly, yet still carefully checked each street that they passed searching for the enemy. They had a scout with the tracking skill, so finding him wasn't impossible, but he was stationed with their leader's group, so they were just going off the scouts guesses over a walkie talkie, so it took a while for them to find him. They were now sure that Shin was just around the corner, so once the other two groups get in position they would surround and corner him like a rat, but-

Shin: (Chain Rod!)

Expert Soldier: "Gyaaaa!"

-At that moment a long chain like rope held together by energy chain links with a small energy blade tip was thrown by Shin into the air. Then using the advantage of Psyche Force Scan, he manipulated the chain to turn the corner and capture on of the experts. And he succeeded. The expert was caught off guard by the chain wrapping around his arms and torso tightly and the tip of the chain a stabbing into his chest. Everything happened in just three seconds. The expert was completely tied up and suffering from a critical injury, and then pulled towards Shin around the corner and away from his comrades who could only watch. They watch their comrade fly through the air screaming as he imagined the fate that awaited him on the other side, and when they could no longer hear his screams a moment of silence passed... came a sudden rage of emotions. These experts were morally trash of society as they worked for Commander C and even did his dirty work of kidnapping women to even little kids, but they all still saw each other as brothers in arms, so they couldn't forgive the enemy to capture and most likely killed their comrade right before their eyes and they charged out in a rage. This went against their training and orders to wait for everyone to fully surround the enemy, but they could care less right now.

Shin: (Too easy! Triple Rod! Mega-Charge, Mega Lance!)

Shin jumped back with Instant Movement a good distance just before the experts were about to turn the corner in rage. The Z-Saber shifted in form once more taking the shape lance with a long energy tip. Shin channeled energy into the lance and now shined with an overwhelming blue light. Then once the lance's glow reached its peak, Shin entering the Second Stage gave a shout and threw it out with everything that he had. The lance crossed 1000 meters then pierced into the corner building just as the experts were ready to jump out. On impact a blue light emerged. There was no sound of explosions, but the light incinerated everything in a circular radius of fifteen and wiping out the remaining experts. Shin was shocked by this level of destruction was overly impressed and recalled Triple Rod with through the Enchanted Item Arrow Return, and the lance flew back into his hands with the speed of a bolt of lightning.

Shin: "I. Love. This. Sword! It's a shame it isn't a magic weapon, but best purchase ever! Hahaha! And I still haven't shown all of what it can do... though I don't need the Recoil Rod long as I have Adell's Legacy for extreme CQC. Same goes with Chain Rod as I have my Kagune... Maybe I can ask Jin to look into modifying it, but even if he can't this is still a great sword though!"

\- *CONTINOUS GUNFIRE*!

As Shin marveled his sci-fi sword another until of twelve experts emerged from the other side of the street and opened fire with their automatic weapons releasing an endless rain of bullets, yet were impossibly accurate in their firing. The was nowhere to escape on the ground Shin could only use a movement technique to escape, yet-

Shin: (Push forward with the new movement technique! Dark Dance!)

Suddenly, as time seemed to slow down a change occurred before the bullets reached Shin as he activated Dark Dance and entered the Third Stage for increased reaction speed. The area before his eyes was dyed with darkness. In the distance, 12 red imprints were seen with their rifles raised and releasing a storm of bullets cutting through the air towards him. The images seemed like an infrared mode in spy movies, and all this was only visible before his eyes. And at that moment Shin heard the sound of bullets slicing through the air could be heard a red footprint also appeared on the ground in front of him. It seemed like the commentary one would see in martial arts textbooks about footwork.

Shin: (Dark Walker skill, Dark Dance. Just like Ark, I'll follow the footprints!)

Shin laid a foot on the red footprint carved on the ground. The footprint had disappeared when a new one appeared in front of it. The more times he stepped on it, the faster the footprint disappeared. Although it was initially easy to follow along, over time Shin had to concentrate to keep up with the speed of the footprints even with the acquired focus of Unlocked Mode. However, the effect was beyond amazing. Just by following the path the footprints lead him forward and he moved like the wind and avoided all the hail of bullets. The experts continued to spray Shin with gunfire they were left speechless and couldn't explain just how he was crossing the street, closing in at lightning speed with dance like movements, yet avoided the storm of bullets effortlessly. Shin didn't suffer a single gunshot wound due to following Dark Dance's shown path to avoid the incoming attacks. From beginning to end Shin didn't suffer a single wound and closed the distance between his attackers till he was just a few feet away.

Shin: "Dark Blade!"

In combination with Dark Dance Shin used the Dark Walker skill Dark Blade. In the original novel chaining skills together from the Dark Walker Hidden Classed showed a sharp increase in attack power, but in real life there was no such convenient game effect. Still, as they were skill from the skill set of the same Dark Walker Class, the two skills seemed to flow all to well together without awkwardness. Shin with frightening timing swung the sword form Z-Saber now enveloped in a dark veil at the experts. The Deltoid shaped energy blade spread out like the rib of a fan and struck the experts and bisected them right of them in one motion. These experts were wearing mutant beast armor as elites, but the cutting potential of Z-Saber and Dark Blade's ability to ignore physical defenses proved too much for anyone to help that their armor could save them.

Shin: (Though adding Dark Blade with a sharp energy blade which can slice through reinforced steel is certainly overkill.)

Expert Soldier: "Damn you! Kill him!"

The surviving four experts activated agility enhancing skills and rushed up towards Shin just finishing his attack. They raised their three Kodachi Blades and swiftly swung their swords to behead and cut off his arms. It was at this moment that they showed their worth as veteran soldiers and Enhancers who have slain untold numbers of mutant beast and had reached a high of a level 35, but even this couldn't take away Shin's life.

Shin: (Moonlight Shadow!)

Just as the swords were about to sink into his flesh Shin body was scanned by a blue light which temporarily blinded the four experts. They lost sight of Shin, yet they carried out the sword regardlessly. They felt their swords slice into flesh and were overjoyed, but an abnormal sensation soon vibrated through their trained bodies that have reaped the lives of men, zombie, and mutant beast. This wasn't the sensation of how it should feel to cut flesh, and they were right. What that had beheaded and cut the arms off was a dummy Shin had switch places with.

Shin: (Too late!)

Shin's feet executing Instant Movement reappeared behind the experts and waving Z-Saber through the air, releasing a humming sound that was the prelude to death, sliced through their neck. Blood sprayed through the air and Shin jumped back to avoid staining his clothes. One expert who appeared to be the leader of this small group got away with a shoulder wound which cut through all the way to his bone. The expert looked at Shin with a hateful expression and was about to counter-attack, but in an instant fear struck him and made him flee. He saw in Shin's eyes, no the one black eye with a red iris, a characteristic from Shin's mutation when Rc Cells flowed through his veins, yet the expert saw a vision of his own death, and so he chose to run but he did not get too far. A red tentacle with the density of steel and sharpness of a refined sword stabbed through the expert's back and out the chest the very moment he turned away, dying instantly with his remains then thrown across the street like garbage.

Shin: "*Sigh*. How boring to just run away like that in the middle of a fight. Whatever. Now all that's left are-"

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei: "So you're the one who's been killing my men. They were trash, but I hope you're still willing to pay the price!"

Shin: "...them."

In front of Shin now were eight impressive looking men in military Mutant Beast armor, with the man in the center of the group decked in the same type 3 Mutant Beast armor as Takashi. This man had an imposing figure that was impossible to ignore and on his back he carried six high-ranking longswords of the God and Devil System. There were five more men having masked their presence and were lying in wait in the surrounding buildings. Shin knew that the last group of thirteen experts was closing in on him through the scans, but seeing them not take immediate aggressive action like everyone else he had met gained his interest, yet more so caution and stayed in the First Stage.

Shin: "So... why aren't you attacking? If you want to give a villain style speech, I don't mind waiting for you to finish first before I run you through with my sword!"

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei: "Know your place lower life form. You're in the presence of a higher species. You only exist to work hard for me and my fellow kind."

Shin: "Higher species? Evolver? Just because of that small advantage you think that you are-"

And it was then that I saw it.

A familiar sight before my eyes when I would spar against comrades and fought other teams. The leader of the experts and his men all had defocused and a calm expression on their faces that was all to familiar to me as I was in the same state as them.

Shin: "...The First Stage of the Genetic Constraint. Then just like Takashi's Walking Dead Unit, you've all Unlocked."

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei: "Those eyes... so your the same as us. My apologies then for missing it at first. It won't change that we have to kill you long as you hinder our escape, but I'll like to thank you my fellow superior race. You've must have taken one of the divine fruits of evolution like Takashi and his group did. We did the same. Commander C ordered us to follow the Walking Dead Unit at one time like the Mayor did recently to see if we could kill them and bring him the cute Alice. We missed our chance unfortunately, but we discovered after they left the Sacred Forest the Fruit of Evolution. We were then chased out of the forest by powerful mutant beast. I lost a lot of men that day, but all of us here before you managed to take back a unripened Evolution Fruit, and I managed to find a full ripened one that Takashi had missed! At least half of them had taken the fruit then and there and passed out in a mutant beast infested forest, so they were scrambling to escape and missed both us and the ripened fruit left behind. Hahaha! Evolver are the next step in the human evolutionary chain, and for those of us that have Unlocked are the elite of the elite of this new race! It would be an insult for me to treat you as common human filth who are only worth allowing to live to produce us food, clothing, and females to warm our beds at night. As my fellow kin, I'll ask you just once. Won't you join my new empire of the new race that stands at the top of the food chain?"

Shin saw the mad zeal in this man's eyes and knew he believed every words of garbage that came out of that mouth. As for his answer...

Shin: "...Let me think about it for... Here it is. Fuck off is my answer! Superior race my ass and just the First Stage or Second Stage won't make you a god. Also, what did you mean by thank you?"

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei: "Haha! You did us a great service by killing Commander C, and judging by the chaos going on in the distance, you and the Takagi's must have purged the other powers of Tokonosu City. This will make it easier for us to assassinate the leadership of the city when we return, claiming our rights as kind of the lowly human race in our new empire. There's still our equals in the Walking Dead Unit, but once we leave the city, as you all deal with the zombie legion, us elite will grind our levels and skills hard and then return when you are all weakened. It'll be too easy to conquer an exhausted Tokonosu City Survival Camp with just the few of us!"

\- PRE-HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD CROSS SERIES BONUS MISSION!

IN THE AGE OF THE APOCALYPSE THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW RACE OF HUMAN MOST SUITED TO SURVIVE THE GOD AND DEVIL SYSTEM OF THE SAINT HAVE ARRIVED. EVOLVERS! NOW ACQUIRING THE POWER TO REMOVE THEIR CONSTRAINTS, THESE EVOLVERS NO LONGER SEE THEIR FELLOW MAN AND WOMAN AS EQUALS, BUT AS CATTLE AND TOOLS TO EXPLOIT FOR THEIR PLEASURE. NOW EVOLVERS WILL EXPLOIT THESE CHAOTIC TIMES AND SWEEP THE LANDS WITH TERROR AND FEAR! KILL FUTURE CULT LEADER "MASTER JUNPEI" AND HIS FUTURE ELDERS IN ADVANCE. TIME LIMIT ONE HOUR. KILLING "MASTER JUNPEI" REWARDS DD RANK REWARDS! KILLING EVERYONE ELSE AND NOT ALLOWING ANYONE TO ESCAPE THE CITY ALIVE REWARD 3000 POINTS! ALLOWING MASTER JUNPEI TO ESCAPE OR IF TIME RUNS OUT, DEDUCTS 3000 POINTS AND DD RANK REWARDS FROM EVERY MEMBER, AND ONE RANDOM PLAYER WILL BE ERASED.

At that moment Junpei released his killing intent and following his example the others men by his side did the same, and those lying in wait in the shadows looked their sight on their enemy. An advanced race like themselves, but standing in their way and who needed to be killed to bring about their vision of the future. And as for Shin, object of their hatred and killing intent...

Shin: "...You, God, all of you can just go to hell!"

Shin despising the sudden Bonus Mission which could claim the life of a comrade if he failed roared loudly releasing his own killing intent. Till now all the experts, no cultist experts ever saw Shin exhibit such ferocity before and were momentarily taken back, but then let down as the opponent used this opening to escape. One of the hidden cultist experts released a storm of gunfire with powerful automatic weapons down on him, but knowing their positions from the beginning allowed Shin to easily escape with Dark Dance.

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei: "After him! Agility Evolvers!"

Among the Dimond Dog Unit's elite Evolvers four Agility based Evolvers, each one in Unlocked Mode of the First Stage pursued their enemy. Shin ran around a street corner and they lost sight of him momentarily. The Agility Evolvers in Unlocked Mode felt danger around the corner and swiftly, yet with caution, they followed after him, but as they neared the corner just two seconds after Shin had they had an overwhelming premonition of danger. Of the three, two possessed the danger Perception skill and backed away with frightening reaction speed, but for the other one Agility based Evolver his fate was sealed.

Now veiled in numerous magic buffs cast thrice thanks to Hikari, Shin popped right back around the corner in front of the two experts and in a two-handed slash swung Z-Saber. The two cultist experts at the last second activated agility enhancing movement techniques, barely avoid being bisected by the deltoid energy blade, but Shin didn't appear disappointed in the least as his attack was not over. Set loose from the edge of the energy blade was a deadly vacuum blade of air cutting the two cultist expert in half from the waist down, and not stopping there Thirty-six Pound Cannon continued to fly towards the other members of Dimond Dogs.

The vacuum blade shot out with neck breaking speed impossible most even most Agility based Evolvers to dodge on a direct course the enemy's leader. The Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei didn't even so much as bat an eyelid at the approaching attack knowing a Spirit Based Evolver would step up. One of the hidden cultist experts waved his hands, skipping the chant, and a summoning circle instantly appeared before in front of the vacuum blade. A strong and impossibly large twenty-foot tall black bear appeared out of thin air and swatted down the vacuum blade in mid-flight suffering only a shallow cut on its arm.

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei: "Trash! It's not over yet! Have him kiss the floor!"

The other two Spirit based Evolvers possessed the same identical skill, Vertical Gravity Control, and activated them at the exact same time. For most Enhancers and Evolvers, to use such a skill required time to chant the spell, but for those that have Unlocked they could skip this phase and immediately use powerful spells just like now. Shin sensing an immediate threat backed away with Instant Movement, but a Strength-based Evolver wielding hammer larger and heavier than himself intercepted him. Shin let loose a flurry of sword slashes with Z-Saber and the expert not in the possession of a God and Devil system weapon which could block the sinisterly sharp green energy blade was ruthlessly diced up into countless pieces, but in the end serving a purpose the expert had held Shin back for one second that was needed for Vertical Gravity Control to take a hold of him.

Shin: "Nnn!"

As if an invisible and all encompassing hand from above pushing down on him, Shin could barely move as finger as the air distorted around him. The gravity within a one-meter area around him was taken control of by the Vertical Gravity Control skill of the two Spirit based Evolvers and placed twenty times the normal gravitational force of earth down on him. Seeing this as a chance they all raised their guns and opened fired. Shin should have now been riddled with numerous bullet holes which was a sight they all wanted to see, but their opponent surpassed their expectations. Shin entered the Second Stage of Unlocked Mode and with increased power and speed even under the weight of two Vertical Gravity Control spell, he moved just out of the way in time with Instant Movement, but clearly his speed had dropped to the bottom as it only looked like he jumped ten meters swiftly with each step rather than living up to the name of an instant movement from one place to the next.

Shin: "Fire Bolt!"

Struggling to raise his free right hand straight out but in the end succeeding, Shin aimed towards the two Agility based Evolver and the giant black bear behind them. Scarlet flame and lightning flickered in front of his extended hand for a split second just before a blinding flash was set off. In the next moment the two experts were incinerated into black ash. Shin fired off a second blast at the summoned creature and the black bear lived up to its name, it's fur completely burned off and it's skin a smoldering black flesh just before it evaporated in nothingness with the spell broken. The Spirit based Evolver/summoner spit out a few mouthfuls of blood as a rebound, but was able to hang on for dear life to Shin's demise as well as Hikari watching over his battle.

Hikari SL: (Shin! They are about to fire on you again! I'll use Defensive Force Field and-)

Shin SL: (Don't bother, Hikari! We're too far apart for you to put up more than a flimsy glass shield. I'll just have to-!)

The Dimond Dog experts surrounded Shin from three different directions. Shin was just thankful for the warning from Hikari and tried to escape the crossfire, but suddenly he was unable to move. The two Spirit Evolvers and Gravity Control users poured all of their Spirit into their skills to restrain him and succeeded. Shin's knees finally fell to the ground and could now barely keep his upper body steady and up straight even with the power of the Second Stage. The experts saw their chance and opened fire without mercy. Shin couldn't escape the increased gravity pressure even in the Second Stage, and cursing out loud, but muffled by the distorted space it went unheard by the enemy.

Just before the bullets slicing through the air towards him just under the speed of sound, Shin in a desperate ploy to stay alive coated his entire body in Silver Dragon Scales. His body reflected a silver light as he struggled to stay upright as thousands upon thousands of bullets crashed into him. The experts rejoiced in their hearts that finally their guns would tear him to bloody shreds, but were shocked at the reality before them. Thousands of bullets struck Shin's body, yet each one was deflected off his now pale silver skin as if hitting a metal wall. Silver Dragon Scales was a defensive Ki skill that gave the user the tough and durable skin of a silver scaled dragon. It originally had the ability to perfectly block blades and handguns with ease, and after gaining more Ki through enhancements and cultivation techniques, it had finally reached the point where the defense can nullify most modern firearms. Shin at least had the confidence now to tank one rocket launcher explosion and keep fighting.

Dimond Dog Expert: "This freak! Does he have a skill to turn his skin into that of a mutant beast!?"

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei: "Don't panic like little girls! Guns are useless and I suspect so are bombs, so out him done in close combat! Strength and Endurance based Evolvers move forward! Summoner, bring out two more black bears! Spirt Evolvers, hold him down properly, or I'll skin you alive later!"

The experts followed their leader Junpei's orders swiftly out of fear of being killed. The close range fighters all charged forward, the summoner called for two more giant black bears to appear, and even the Gravity Control casters pushed themselves further to hold the enemy down. Shin being pushed further and further down to the floor and now even struggling to draw breath. He saw all of this and-

Shin: (...This isn't looking too good. Is this what I get for dissing God and Devil World all this time? Fine! Takashi and you guys showed me the worth of the God and Devil System, so I'll show you the power of God's Dimension!)

Shin resolved entered the Third Stage and flipped a mental switch of sorts in the back of his head and the naturally flowing Ki of Black Heaven & Earth Techniques through his body passed for but a moment, and then all too quickly began to flow once more, but in reverse. And at that moment a chilling killing intent unlike anything that they've felt before swept passed through all those present. It was a dark and intimidating aura with Shin at its center. The Ki within his body had now reached a boiling point, yet showing no signs of drying up as Ki and stamina endlessly regenerated, and it manifested a dense vapor of Ki flowing out all parts of his body. In this state Shin slowly stood under the pressure of the gravity control skill and while there were still signs it was having an effect it no longer seemed like it would hinder his moments by much. The experts of the Dimond Dog unit not understanding what was going on with their enemy's body were terrified by this unknown and took a step back. They didn't know that this was the other half of the ultimate technique of the Black Heaven and Earth School and Murims most feared demon art.

Shin: (My body feels like it's on fire and mind is slipping even after entering the Third Stage, and in the end this is just a shallow entry into Black Origin Threshold. It's good enough to handle these guys, but honestly, what an outrageous technique I've gotten my hands on!)

Shin had not entered into the BB tier skill Black Origin Threshold, but more accurately a shallow pseudo-Black Origin Threshold. The true Black Origin Threshold would swallow up his consciousness and replace it with his subconscious self-driven by animalistic instincts along with limitless stamina, Ki, and an inhuman endurance for pain. This shallow entry into Black Origin Threshold wouldn't bestow as much stamina or endless Ki regeneration as the real one and Shin had to endure a pain of the reverse Ki flow at the price of not handing over his consciousness to his inner rage. He also had to keep in check his mutation. If he let his mind waver and entered the Kakuja while in Black Origin Threshold, he would immediately lose consciousness and awareness of friend and enemy, become a wild beast who may even return to the military base or into the populated city, and kill everyone he lays eyes on. That was another reason he could fully enter Black Origin Threshold, but even so, the end result of this shallow application was a Ki wielding martial artist with semi-supernatural stamina and heightened Ki regeneration.

Shin: "New race, or whatever you call yourselves! You want my life? It ain't cheap! Take it if you can!"

Shin revealed a smile full of malice reflecting his inner torment from entering Black Origin Threshold and his own hatred of the everyone before him. Shin kicked the ground with enough force to crush the concrete of the city streets and in the next moment he vanished before the eyes of the experts. Only their leader had eyes capable of following after Shin as he used swift footwork to close in of one of his men, but he was in disbelief. He was still under effects of two the gravity control skill, so it should have been impossible for him to move so fast and with such grace. Then thinking about how fast Shin would be if he was no longer under the increased gravity made the leader break out in a cold sweat.

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei: "Be-"

Shin: (Soul Crushing Strike!)

By the time Colonel Junpei tried to warn his comrade it was to late. Instant Movement brought Shin right before an Endurance based Evolver wielding a Kodachi Blade in one hand and a rifle in the other. With these weapons the expert had claimed the lives of hundreds of men and women, including Enhancers and Evolvers, but Shin movements were too fast even for an Agility based Evolver, so when he was already in the motion of swinging his fist there was nothing that could save his life. Physical movement and circulation of Ki perfectly matched up as Soul Crushing Strike smashed the Kodaichi Blade into pieces and continuing forward crashed into the cheat of the expert, and in a comical fashion he was blown off his feet and twirling in the air.

The Endurance based Evolver who should have had the highest threshold for damage died on impact from the internal Ki strike ripping apart his inner organs, so the rest was just for show how powerful his strength was regardless of techniques. This one punch just went to show that after entering Black Origin Threshold Shin's power and speed were enough to kill any expert there. His power, speed, physical endurance, reaction speed, and even Ki techniques shot up by a few levels. In pure physical enhancements Black Origin Threshold lost to the current Kakuja Kagune after ranking up to the A tier SS Rated One-eyed Ghoul, but in combination with Ki it far surpassed it, as well as the benefits gained from the former Lesser Fenrir Coat's Red Moon Formation.

Shin: (All directions Thirty-six Pound Cannon!)

Grasping Z-Saber handle tightly with two hands and in just one second, Shin spun numerous times in place brandishing his sword with speed impossible to follow even for the expert's leader. It was only a second, yet dozens of vacuum blades faster and sharper than before shot out towards every living person nearby. The blades flew through the air with blinding speed and sliced the air so clearly that a beautiful melody could be heard. Only the leader expert just barely had the reaction and movement speed to roll to safety, while the others had to endure the barrage of flying sword slashes. All the Strength and Endurance based Evolver that had closed in on Shin just before were slain in an instant. They were all in the First Stage and followed their combat instincts to preserve their lives, but the lightning fast vacuum blades were too much handle and were chopped down into small pieces.

Vacuum blades chased after the Spirit based Evolvers hiding in the in the rooms of nearby buildings. The summoners had their giant black bears endure the blows for him, and one fell to the floor dead with a slash beheading one of their heads. As for the two Vertical Gravity Control users they had no defense skills to rely on as vacuum blades slice through the buildings they hid in and cut down, thus releasing Shin from his constraints. Now free to show his full might Shin charged right at the giant and sole black bear with a ruthless glint in his eyes. He latched onto the back of the beast and with his bare hands tore out its flesh. The bear's flesh were as tough as rocks, but Shin's ample strength and hands gloved in Legacy easily tore it out. The back bear wailed loudly and tried to fall backwards to crush Shin, but foreseeing this he kicked the bear first pushing himself away and with enough force to cause the bear smash into the ground face first.

Shin: "Fire Bolt!"

From his extended palm a scarlet shaped lightning bolts of flames struck the giant black bear and was incinerated into black ash. This was the final nail in the board the Spirit based Evolver/summoner. After having three summoned creatures who were spiritually connected to him slain, the mental feedback was so great that his mind self-destructed and throwing up mouthfuls of blood he died. Shin then checked his surrounding and realizing that no one was present, he check the area from Hikari's scans through Soul Link. The leader of the experts and his main target was fleeing towards a humvee parked a block away. If he escaped then the God would erase one of his comrades, so Shin flew into a rage as he gave chase.

Doing this he felt his consciousness slipping and entering deeper into Black Origin Threshold, but on the plus side he felt his power was slowly rising to compensate. Shin ran after Colonel Junpei and turned a street corner to find the man already starting up the engine of his Humvee. While not as fast as Shin, this man had inhuman physical strength, speed, and had entered the Second Stage which allowed him to reach the parked vehicle in seconds after making the decision to run away, jump into the driver's seat, and start up the car. Shin cursed and was about to give chase when he noticed a pink glittering light in the corner of his eye. A remote control DRAGOON controlled by Hikari hovered above the night skies of the city and aimed the muzzle of its beam cannon towards the Humvee.

\- *EXPLOSION*!

The DRAGOON fired just once and release a laser beam that in the span of a second cut through the night sky and pierce straight through the engine of the fleeing Humvee. Colonel Junpei felt the danger even before he saw the attack and by the time the beam cut through the vehicle's engine he had already thrown himself out of the car. A second later the Humvee blew up and what remained of the wreckage was burning red hot. Colonel Junpei had a furious look on his face and knowing escape was impossible he prepared for a life and death battle.

Hikari SL: (Since he was in Unlocked Mode I didn't think I could snipe him, so I just destroyed his car.)

Shin SL: (Great job! Just leave the rest to me, but keep the DRAGOON visible and flying around to pressure him!)

Shin dashed towards Colonel Junpei with Instant Movement. His speed bordered ghostly as he crossed dozens of meters in seconds, and Junpei prepared himself as best he could. Junpei entered the Second Stage of the Genetic Constraint and his muscles enlarged by three folds. He then he activated his special skill that he had upgraded four times, Second Order Steel Manipulation! After being upgraded four times it had even evolved into a higher tier Skill of the God and Devil System and was a force to be reckoned with. So much so that in pure power he was only slightly inferior to the ace of the Walking Dead Unit Takashi who was a high-level Dual Evolver and the second Dual Evolver of the Walking Dead Unit Saeko. The six swords on his back began to levitate and swinging around Junpei at lightning like a helicopter blade. Anything or one that came within fifteen meters of him, the six God and Devil weapons would fly out hack them to pieces.

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei: "You had fun killing the small fry, so try fighting a real master!"

Junpei charged forward to meet Shin in a head-on collision. His movement speed wasn't nearly as fast as his opponent, but revealing a cruel smile as they were about to clash and he raised his right hand forward. In that split second as Shin was about to swing Z-Saber to slash through the six weaving swords hovering around Junpei, he saw the raised hand aimed pointing at him. The first thought that he had was that this was a magic attack like Takashi's Devil Flame, so he would either temporarily escape or intercept the attack with his own magic, but feeling that lack of pressing danger of an incoming attack and feeling an underline danger almost impossible to notice gave Shin pause. It was then that he noticed that the handle of his sword became heavily and tried to forcefully escape his hands.

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei Junpei: "It's already too late! Cutting Edge Enhancement!"

When Z-Saber tried to wrench itself out of Shin's hands it threw him off balance at this critical moment just as he was about to clash with the six helicopter spinning swords. Shin felt through every cell of his body that he was in grave danger, especially when those six spinning swords began to emit a faint cyan radiance. Those six swords of the God and Devil System were already high-level treasures superior to the Kodachi Blades which were mainstream for the strong mid-level Enhancers, and now with increased sharpness of the Cutting Edge Enhancement skill there were few who could come out alive in an exchange of swords with Junpei. Takashi with his Level 5 Treasure war hammer enveloped in Devil Flames or Saeko's lightning reinforced Level 4 katana could counter Junpei's swords, and Shin's own Z-Saber could with unparalleled sharpness and special attacks could do much more than counter, but without it...

Shin: (Fuck!)

\- *CLINK*!

Junpei's helicopter blade came together as one large mass of swords and struck Shin's shoulder intending to bisect him from the shoulder down. Junpei showed a savage glee on his face seeing his swords even cut through Shin's flesh hardened with Silver Dragon Scales, but was shocked when his blades came to a stop. At the last moment Shin recalled his sword back to his ring and then blocked the incoming swords with his hands. This should have been the most foolish action imaginable by Junpei, yet when his six swords came into contact with those hands covered in only black gloves they couldn't cut through and were repelled. Junpei didn't realize that the gloves were, in fact, powerful magic weapons, so without answers he was hopelessly confused. Shin then used this opening to kick Junpei hard in the stomach, inflicting both damage and blowing him away, and jumping backwards for space. Falling backwards from the hard kick to his stomach Junpei growled in pain. Despite being in the Second Stage. That one kick from Shin in Black Origin Threshold held unreal force and broke a few of his ribs. Furious, Junpei used his Steel Manipulation skill to send his six glowing cyan swords chased after him from and from above stabbed down to skewer Shin, but he had already escaped Junpei attack range over twenty Instant Movement.

Shin: "Fire Bolt!"

Unable to use a sword Shin fell back into magic as he raised a hand towards Junpei and cast Fire Bolt. In a flash of light the speed cast magic of scarlet lightning shaped flames shoot out towards the enemy, but he was prepared having seen this attack already more than once. Just as Shin had raised his hand and was about to cast Fire Bolt, Junpei ordered his six swords to hover in front of him and spin like helicopter blades faster than ever before. When the scarlet lightning shaped flame came into contact with the makeshift helicopter blades Fire Bolt dispersed in all directions, yet away from its intended target. Junpei smiled seeing this having figured out that while Fire Bolt was quite lethal to soft body targets, it lacked a physical destructive force to break through strong defenses.

Shin: (So what if you figured that out!)

Shin wasn't dispirited at the least at seeing Fire Bolt taken out and moved on to his next attack by channeling a large amount of Ki into his combat gloves. An energy field of heat reminiscent of lava was formed around Legacy and the very air around the gloves began to burn with an audible sizzling sound. Shin then jumped into the air and repeatedly Void Movement flickering in and out of Junpei eyes with insane speed. The air shook violently with each kick with Void Movement and in the blink of an eye Shin reappeared behind Junpei. Junpei felt the immediate threat and jumped forward as Shin came crashing down from above into the earth where he stood. With one hand pressing down on the earth the ground began to melt into molten rock. The destructive power of the energy field of the gloves shocked him and in response he sent three swords waving through the air towards Shin. The three swords shoot out at lightning speed and would give most experts no time to react, but for Shin it was all too clear. Shin waved his hands at the approaching swords and on contact with Legacy the three weapons of the God and Devil system instantly melted and the remains fell to the floor as wet molten fragments.

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei: "Damn! I'm... I'm... I'm a vessel of the Saint! Don't fuck with me!"

Junpei used his Steel Manipulation skill on every object in the entire area. Abandoned cars, street poles, and even the Taichi Blades and other weapons of his fallen comrades. He took command over as many objects as he could intending to smash Shin in a storm of metal. Of course, the more objects that he tried to take control of the power and accuracy of each object would fall drastically, but under the threat of being smashed, impaled, and sliced apart by hundreds of objects it would be enough to reap the life of any foe. This included Shin even if he activated Silver Dragon Scales to harden his skin for protection and even with a sword it would be impossible to intercept every incoming object.

Shin: (Ha! Am I supposed to be sacred? This is just another chance to show off, but there's no need to use the Kakuja here!)

Shin looked down on the attack and warmly welcomed it. Hundreds of deadly items were then hurdled towards him. There was no room to escape through the storm of metal mass or a method to take defend against it, but summoning his Kagune Shin proved that the latter was not true. Eight blood-red tentacles surfaced, and wiggled around their master ominously before then lashed out violently at the surroundings. Cars, streets polls and swords were targeted by the tentacles and swiftly torn, sliced, and smashed indiscriminately. The Kagune suffered little to no damage them as they stuck the incoming projectiles and when it did occur they regenerated in an instant without ever stopping their attacks. What was supposed to be a storm of metal in an instant turned into a red hurricane of violence with Shin at its center as the eight tentacles swirled and lashed out protecting their master.

Shin: "The A tier mutation, SS Rated One-Eyed Ghoul is pretty good. Not even needing to use a defensive skill or that form. Now, your metal manipulation or whatever it was has been proven ineffective. Will you surrender? I'll promise to take you in... alive."

Dimond Dogs Colonel Junpei: "No! Monster! Stay away !"

Junpei, a Evolver and one who had Unlocked up to the Second Stage who was so proud of his power and authority, turned his back to the enemy and started to flee. Then in a truly desperate final ploy to keep his life he had the last three of his God and Devil System swords once more spin into a helicopter blade. It was weaker than the previous one, but it would still disperse Fire Bolt if his opponent casts it. Shin was disappointed by Junpei's decision. He was lying about taking him back alive, yet he wanted to see just what would his enemy do now backed into a corner, and he frowned when he found his answer. Junpei was a supposedly known to be extremely powerful and second only to Takashi. This close to true enough on paper, but in actuality it was an insult to Takashi to speak their names in the same breath.

Shin: (When I fought Takashi, even when it was just a spar I felt a pressure like you can only experience facing a boss monster or team leader in a battle to the death. My actual power is greater than his, but close to everything else like skill, experience, and mentality he surpassed me and it was those things that could perhaps kill me if we were to fight to death in a real battle. Takashi and this guy are like night and day. If not for the Second Stage and fending off a unit of Unlocked Evolvers, I would question God about the difficulty of even DD for this mission.)

Shin thinking so even regretted entering Black Origin Threshold. Unless he had Hikari heal him he would have to endure a rough physical and spiritual recoil, so he was pissed. That's why he didn't bother to pursue Junpei as he ran farther and farther away, and just raised his left hand. Shin prepared to launch Fire Bolt to kill Junpei from a distance, but to accomplish this with the helicopter spinning blade as a wall between them he used the Third Stage to simulate Jin who was skilled in magic for inspiration.

Shin: (Jin is by far the best when it comes to manipulating magic, but... Hahahahaha! I can't help but feel like a scumbag villain when I start thinking like that guy!)

Shin showed the same eyes as Jin that shined with madness as he aimed the palm of his left hand towards Junpei's retreating back. Fire Bolt's good characteristics were that the energy consumption wouldn't change as the user became more power and would be able to bring out more destructive power, but it came at a price that most Ki skills and magic spells didn't have. One could not alter the scale or power with additional energy. This was a different flaw than the Ki skill Spirit Wave that drained all the users Ki without reserve. Shin had felt hardships with these flaws he had no control over, yet this simply leads to a new way of looking at things as he emulated Jin's thought patterns. He had never reached this conclusion when he was training back in the Terminal Lobby, but here on the battlefield where his stress and adrenaline were higher than normal, a spark went off in his mind forming an idea.

Shin: "If you can't change the energy output, then change the way you use you use the energy you have! Fire Bolt-"

Using the concept of his various Ki bullets skill Shin cast the Fire Bolt spell, but held back for ten seconds. This was a grave opening an enemy could have exploited, yet Junpei was too distracted by his fear to notice the opportunity. A spark of flames and lightning ignited in front of his palms, form a pea sized scarlet ball of energy. This scarlet energy ball grew larger by the second till it reached the mass of a ping pong ball, and then shifted in shape into a modern long rifle shell. Once the shape was finalized, discharges of both fire and lightning surrounded the bullet, and the radiating power of the scarlet bullet started to burn Shin skin of his arm to the degree he now required Silver Dragon Scales to protect himself.

Shin: "-Bullet!"

\- *BANG*!

The scarlet shaped bullet formed of fire and lightning was released from Shin's palm, but the recoil far exceeded all expectations. The knock back forced Shin off his feet and tumbling backwards uncontrollably for over thirty meters where he then crashed into the wall of a building with more than half the bones of his left arm shattered into pieces and his flesh bruised back and twisted. In his backlash Shin missed the result of his new technique or if he missed or not, but he didn't have anything to worry over. The scarlet bullet cut through the air with the speed of a bullet fired from a high caliber sniper rifle, smashing through and melting the helicopter blades on contact, and with the bang of a thunderbolt punched a foot size circular burning hole radiating with electricity through Junpei's torso, and finally coming to a stop when the scarlet bullet crashed through the walls of a far off building and leaving a burning trail of scarlet flames and lightning.

\- PRE-HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD CROSS SERIES BONUS MISSION COMPLETE! AWARDED 3000 POINTS AND TWO D RANK REWARDS!

Authors Note:

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Proofread by Deltoren

No one said evolution was easy. Powerful self-created skills, or altered skills have some risk when creating or using them. Also, Bonus Mission really came out of nowhere even for me. It became the only way I could sorta justify a confrontation between the two sides. At least it helps to foretell what future Bonus Missions in this world may be about. Anyways, were done the first part, so let's speed into the team battle!

Scarlet Bullet -

Rating XXX.

The Fire Bolt spell shot out as a scarlet shaped bullet radiating sparks of electricity and flames. Strong recoil. Upon impact a large flaming thunderbolt lashes out violently. Power, speed, piercing potential, and firing range are depended on the quality of the original Fire Bolt Spell.

To read the rest of the arc for H.O.T.D. 2 please go to Royal Road Legends. I'm busy with other projects and can't keep uploading chapters to fanfiction, so for those following Side B here just go to RRL where the rest was posted earlier.


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